Check out this great shot of the newly-resurfaced track at Memorial Stadium!

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Policy News

This was a short meeting, but the Board adopted revised Policy 5010, Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action, on second read. All staff should review this policy. If you have questions, contact Human Resources or Assistant Superintendent Garth Steedman. Look for updated procedures and a new Affirmative Action Plan to come soon.

There were not a lot of other action items, other than those normally listed on the Consent Agenda, that came before the Board, but that doesn’t mean there was nothing crucial. To stress the importance of school attendance, the Board passed Resolution 2020/2021-01 proclaiming that our district will “stand with the nation in recognizing September as “Attendance Awareness Month.” Chronic absence can be significantly reduced when schools, families and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from getting to school.

The District recently completed the bid process to engage with a contractor to begin “campus security” work at each of the district buildings. The contract was awarded to Chinook Contractors, Silverdale, WA, who will begin their work soon to enhance security at building entries/vestibules.

The Board has scheduled a virtual study session/training for September 17th at 3:00 p.m. This training, with goals of equity awareness and action in our district, will be provided by Patricia Beuke from the Olympic Educational Service District (OESD-114). A link will be provided on BoardDocs the day of the meeting for anyone who would like to attend the webinar.

The Board will continue reading How to be Less Stupid about Race by Crystal Erin Fleming. They will review chapters 3 through 5 at the next meeting on September 17th.

The Board took many occasions to express their deepest appreciation and gratitude to each and every staff member for all of their hard work. You rose to a challenge that no one could anticipate. There has been so much uncertainty, particularly for our students, over the past year, yet we’re certain they will look back on this year and remember your grace and resilience. Our fall may not be normal, but we know that our sense of community will only grow stronger. As a district, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards so that there will be no shortage of opportunities for you and your students. We are Bremerton!

To view any of these documents, visit https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/wabrsd/Board.

Compiled by Ioanna Cossack, Board Secretary

Our fall school meals program includes DAILY meal distribution at all schools* and delivery by bus! Please visit (and refer families to) www.BremertonSchools.org/Meals for more information and bus route information!

*No meals distributed at Open Doors, Renaissance or West Sound Tech.

Please consider posting this graphic with a link to www.BremertonSchools.org/Meals on your Google Site and Google Classroom.

1) Click on image to enlarge it

2) Right click on "save as"

3) Save image to a location of your choosing

4) Upload image to your Google Site or Classroom.

5) Link image to www.BremertonSchools.org/Meals

Thank you!

Interested in other graphics, photos or clip art for your Site or Classroom? Feel free to use anything in this folder.

The Washington Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) Administrator of the Year Award recognizes administrative CTE professionals at the school, district, county, or state level who have demonstrated leadership in ensuring teacher and student success and have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique, and effective Career and Technical Education programs.

Shani Watkins serves as the director of West Sound Technical Skills Center in Bremerton. Shani found her passion working in Career and Technical Education after graduating with a university degree in Accounting. Her journey as a reformed accountant took her back to school and earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Education, Master’s in Education with a focus on business and marketing education, Master’s in Organizational Systems, and an MBA.

For more than twenty years, Shani has served in education as a teacher, instructional facilitator, assistant Career and Technical Education Director, principal, and director. Truly, her work in Career and Technical Education at the local, state, regional, and national levels is her passion and she strongly believes in providing students with pathways to their futures, recognizing that not all students follow the same path. The best days for Shani are those when former students come back to thank their former teachers for the lessons and skills learned and to share their successes out in the world. As recently heard, “this work is heart work, and hard work, but it is definitely rewarding work.” Shani lives this daily, CTE is her passion, not her job.

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Look for the "Help and Troubleshooting" button in RED at the top of the home page.

Please consider posting this graphic with a link to www.BremertonSchools.org/TechHelp on your Google Site and Google Classroom.

1) Click on image to enlarge it

2) Right click on "save as"

3) Save image to a location of your choosing

4) Upload image to your Google Site or Classroom.

5) Link image to www.BremertonSchools.org/TechHelp

Thank you!

Interested in other graphics, photos or clip art for your Site or Classroom? Feel free to use anything in this folder.

Sharing these great tech tips/reminders from Kati and Lisa in case the email they sent got lost in your in-box!

Here are a few tech tips to help you navigate the first day and first week of school:

• Double check that all the materials embedded on your website are shared so that “everyone with the link can view”. You can do this by checking sites in an incognito window. If you have trouble viewing things in an incognito window, so will your families!

• Here’s how to share and embed your Classroom calendars on your website.

• Here’s how to change your sharing settings on Google Docs, Slides, etc.

• Remember to schedule your Week at a Glance (aka Weekly Learning Path) for Friday at 5 pm.

• Keep your parents informed by inviting them to link as a parent/guardian for Google Classroom and activating parent summaries.

• Add the link to our new Family Technology Support Page on your teacher website. Then share the link with your families and students.

• Here are some last-minute tips and reminders about Google Meet

• And if you need tech help on Wednesday, we’ll have a Google Meet set up from 10 am to 2 pm for a virtual help desk. Drop in and ask us your questions!

And finally, take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back, and remember - you’ve got this! We are Bremerton!

Kati and Lisa

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As you may have heard, there is a voluntary deferral of workers’ federal payroll taxes Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

BSD will not be participating in the voluntary payroll tax deferral. We will continue with the normal Social Security tax schedule.

All taxpayers should review their withholding annually. They can use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to check and make sure they’re not having too little or too much federal tax withheld. This tool offers workers, retirees and self-employed individuals a step-by-step method to help figure out if they should adjust their withholding.

Those who need to adjust their withholding should submit a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate to their employer.

People who should check their withholding include those:

• who are part of two-income families
• working two or more jobs or who only work for part of the year
• with children who claim credits such as the child tax credit
• with older dependents, including children age 17 or older
• who itemized deductions on their 2019 tax return
• with high incomes and more complex tax returns
• with large tax refunds or large tax bills for 2019
• who received unemployment at any time during the year

The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help taxpayers check their withholding.

• This tool will help determine if they should complete a new Form W-4.
• It will also help users determine what information to put on a new Form W-4.
• It will save them time because they don’t need to complete the form worksheets. The Estimator does the worksheet calculations.

Taxpayers who complete a new Form W-4 should submit it to their employer as soon as possible. With withholding occurring throughout the year, it’s better to take this step sooner, rather than later.

People should generally increase withholding if they hold more than one job at a time or have income from sources not subject to withholding. If adjustments aren’t made for these situations, they will likely owe additional tax and possibly penalties when filing their tax return.

On the other hand, people should generally decrease their withholding if they are eligible for income tax credits or deductions other than the basic standard deduction.

Having the most recent pay statements, information for other income sources and the most recent income tax return can help taxpayers use the Withholding Estimator to figure out their correct withholding.

They might also need to adjust their state or local withholding. They can contact their state's department of revenue to learn more.

Share this tip on social media -- #IRSTaxTip: Tips for taxpayers who need to file a new W-4. https://go.usa.gov/xfSMk

Hello Educators!

We are excited to be facilitating another Invasive Species for Grades 3-8 on October 3rd from 9:00 AM to Noon. This workshop will explore invasive species of Washington, give an overview of Washington Pest Watch curriculum and have built in collaboration/planning time.

Please see the attached flier for more information. Below are the logistical details of this online workshop:

• Investigating Invasive Species for Grades 3-8
• Saturday, October 3, 2020, 9 am to 12 pm
• Online via Zoom
• 3 Washington State approved STEM clock hours
• A $75 participation stipend

Please click on this link to register: https://web-is-3-8.eventbrite.com

We are very excited to announce our first virtual Growing Up WILD! (Exploring Nature with Young Children) training.

This workshop is for educators of students age 3-7 (pre-K through 2nd grade) who want to get kids outside.

Who: Pacific Education Institute

What: Growing Up WILD! Workshop

Where: Virtual via Zoom

When: Saturday, September 26th, 9am-12noon

Cost: $30*

Participants will have the opportunity to earn 4 OSPI STEM clock hours or STARS credits. *The workshop cost covers the Growing Up WILD! program guide and shipping.

If you want to learn more, please see the attached flier - and contact your regional FieldSTEM coordinator if you have specific questions. If you are ready to register, click HERE!

Thank you,

Karen Lippy (she/her)
West Sound FieldSTEM Coordinator

www.pacificeducationinstitute.org

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• Staff Updates newsletter archives
• Submit ideas or content for the Staff Updates newsletter to: Karen.Bevers@BremertonSchools.org

BSD Staff Updates Newsletter 2020-21/ Issue #1: 9/9/2020

Website: www.bremertonschools.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BremertonSchools/
Twitter: @BremertonSD