The Bremerton community was treated to a concert with more than 110 voices - including those of 30 Bremerton High School alumni who participated in the first ever Bremerton High School Alumni Choir Concert on the Sunday of homecoming weekend. The choir, which also included students from all of the current Bremerton High School choirs, rehearsed on Saturday afternoon and Sunday before the Sunday afternoon performance in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). Alumni also sang the national anthem at the Friday night homecoming football game. Alumni include members of the class of 2024 back to 2002 - and many classes in between.

The idea and initial planning for an alumni choir concert started four years ago, but was interrupted by the pandemic. “It meant a lot to me to have the opportunity to spend the weekend with these amazing BHS choir alumni, said Wendy McPhetres, BHS choir director. “We spent time reminiscing, telling stories of yesteryear, and making great music together!”

The Bremerton School District has been awarded its fifth Department of Defense Educational Activities (DoDEA) grant. This five-year, $1.5 million grant will fund Project AGILE, an initiative designed to revolutionize education for military-connected and all students.

Project AGILE aims to:

• Enhance college and career readiness: By providing real-world experiences through mentoring and internships.

• Personalize learning: Through competency-based approaches tailored to individual student needs and interests.

Guided by data-driven insights, our goal is to equip students with the skills and mindset needed to navigate their futures and thrive in employment, enlistment, or higher education.

In addition to Project AGILE, we are currently implementing Project THRIVE, a DoDEA-funded initiative awarded in 2023 that focuses on ensuring strong initial instruction, fostering student empowerment and boosting teacher efficacy.

By leveraging these grants, we are committed to providing exceptional educational opportunities for all our students, especially those connected to the military.

The Bremerton School District is excited to announce that we have once again been awarded the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) grant from USDA. Through this program, the District hopes to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables children experience, increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, and make a difference in children’s diets to impact their present and future health.

This year, four of our elementary schools qualified for the FFVP. During October, students have enjoyed a diverse selection of fruits and vegetables, including blood oranges, pineapple quince, bell peppers, hobgoblin grapes, orange cauliflower, Starkrimson pears, and even mini pumpkins (for fun but not eating!).

For Halloween today, students were treated to delicious cotton candy grapes. The fruits and vegetables are served as a snack in the classroom during the school day and featured during lunch whenever possible.

Exciting progress is happening in the Bond Program as we work toward the replacement of Armin Jahr Elementary and View Ridge Elementary Arts Academy. Our project team is developing the education specifications, which detail how each space in the new schools should function and look. This information will guide the design and support the upcoming schematic design phase. We’re also working with the City of Bremerton to coordinate our permitting plans and reviewing site reports to ensure the new buildings are designed with environmental and site conditions in mind.

Our Replacement Elementary Advisory Committee (photo, right), which includes community representatives, is actively involved and providing valuable feedback to the project team. We look forward to providing more engagement opportunities soon, so please stay tuned for ways to learn more and lend your voice to the project!

Meanwhile, we’re also moving forward with the district-wide HVAC upgrades. Our design team has been reviewing each school, and we will soon recommend a contractor to help address aging systems and bring cooling to our classrooms. We’re also taking steps for the replacement of the Consolidated Facilities building, and with state approval in December, we’ll begin assembling the next project team.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support as we work toward building better facilities for our community!