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We Are Bremerton!

Bremerton School District community e-newsletter

We Are Bremerton! Bremerton School District community e-newsletter

December 2023

February 2024 Funding Measures

Be a part of our strategic planning process!

December highlights

Winterfest 2023

The Bremerton High School band and drill team helped kick-off the holiday season at the annual Bremerton Winterfest and tree lighting earlier this month (Photos courtesy of Larry Steagall Photography).

Crownhill's Annual Frosty's Breakfast

Frosty's Breakfast is a beloved holiday tradition at Crownhill Elementary that started 18 years ago! When families arrive at school, they wait in the festively-decorated library and enjoy coffee provided by Crownhill PTA until it is time to meet their student in the cafeteria for breakfast. Crownhill Alumni from Bremerton High School and Mountain View Middle School volunteered as as Frosty and Rudolph! Special thanks to our Child Nutrition Services staff for their help in making the event extra special every year! View more photos here!

ROTC Annual Inspection

Congratulations to Bremerton High School's JROTC program for scoring a "10+" (the highest score possible!) during their annual inspection earlier this month.


They scored in the elite category and Commander Quidachay, who was evaluating our Cadets, commented that "Bremerton Knight Company is doing it right."


Commander Quidachay was so impressed he asked our JROTC instructors to help lead the Area 13 Leadership Camp next summer which includes Cadets from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Northern California.


We are so proud of our JROTC program! We invite you to view more photos from the inspection here!

Mountain View students perform "Pan"

When Kathryn Donaldson started teaching music at Mountain View this fall, she was excited to hear that students were interested in a drama club. In September, students began meeting regularly as a club after school and chose the title of the first play performed at Mountain View in more more than five years!


After auditions this fall, the cast and crew included 43 students. The actors rose to the occasion and made the most of each scene while having fun during rehearsals, according to Ms. Donaldson. Meanwhile the very devoted tech team made set pieces, found costumes for everyone collected props. Shout out to Mrs. Ronda Sherwood, a para educator at Mountain View, for serving as technical director.


Hundreds came to watch the performances last Wednesday and Thursday. Some casting issues arose last minute due to illness and injury, but that provided some drama club members a chance shine in a new way and save the day! Everybody is looking forward to their spring musical.


While Ms. Donaldson is new to Mountain View, she is not new to music and theatre. Ms. Donaldson, a 1999 Bremerton High School graduate, always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Both of her parents were educators in the Bremerton School District. It was after taking choir at Bremerton Junior High that she decided she wanted to be a music teacher.


After 17 years of teaching middle school choir and theatre and high school theatre in Colorado, Kathryn moved back to Bremerton to be closer to her family and joined the District in 2022 as a music teacher at Kitsap Lake Elementary (KLE) before moving to Mountain View Middle School this fall.


View more photos here.

Firefighters deliver coats for kids

Firefighters made a visit to Naval Avenue Elementary this week to deliver warm winter coats to our students! Kids got to tour emergency vehicles and visit with the firefighters! So much fun! Thank you to the Firefighters Benevolent Fund and Bremerton Fire Department! (Photos by M. Reid, Kitsap Sun).

West Hills STEM Academy families get to "Shop with a Cop"

Kitsap Shop with a Cop is a 501C3 non – profit organization formed by a group of volunteers from local law enforcement agencies. The organization raises money throughout the year for the program which provides children from Kitsap County schools and tribal reservations with money and an opportunity to go shopping for the holidays.


Sixty West Hills STEM Academy students were selected to participate in the program this year. Students and their siblings were bussed to the Poulsbo Walmart with a police lights and siren escort. Each child was paired with a “cop” for the day who assisted them with their shopping. Students received goodie bags and got to visit with Santa!


Thank you to all of the local law enforcement agencies for providing this wonderful holiday opportunity for our students - and to all who have supported the Shop with a Cop program!

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Bremerton High School "Winter Letters" tradition continues!

Winter Letters is an ASB, student-led project that started in 2020 when many students felt isolated at home during the pandemic. ASB leaders wanted to bring some warmth and good feelings to our BHS community so students wrote and mailed letters to every student at Bremerton High School. It was so popular that they have continued the tradition.


This is no small task! Bremerton High School students design the cards (see a few examples below!) and student volunteers met after school (photo, left) and hand wrote letters to every BHS student and staff member. That’s around 1,600 letters in all!


The letters were distributed during Knight Skills (home room), or mailed home for students who don't have a Knight Skills Class.

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Bremerton Backpack Brigade sends home nearly 8,000 pounds of foods

On Saturday, more than 40 Bremerton Backpack Brigade volunteers worked to bundle nearly 8,000 pounds of food to help 219 families over winter break. Much of the food was collected at food drives at local grocery stores over the past few weeks. Thank you volunteers and Bremerton Backpack Brigade!

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BHS's AVID program highlighted at national AVID conference!

The Bremerton Rotary partnership with the Bremerton High School AVID program began with about a dozen Bremerton Rotarians mentoring BHS AVID students. Now, a dozen years later, the program is stronger than ever with more than 70+ Rotary and community mentors meeting monthly with BHS AVID students in cohort-style groups where students receive career, academic, and life coaching. Former AVID scholars have returned to BHS as mentors for the program to share their life experiences and give back to the program from which they benefitted!


This program is pretty unique for both AVID and Rotary - but word is getting out and other schools are wanting to learn more! Recently, Briana Faxon, Bremerton High School AVID Elective Teacher and Steve Rice, local retired business owner and long-time Bremerton Rotarian, had an opportunity to give a presentation at the AVID National Convention in San Diego.


Their presentation titled "It's All About Who You Know: How to Build a Mentorship Program to Foster Empowered Community Partnerships" was positively received and so popular that they even ran out of seats at one of their presentations.


Not familiar with AVID? The AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a comprehensive initiative aimed at preparing students to for college and career, with a focus on academic support, skill development, and empowering students to reach their full potential. AVID provides professional learning for educators to close opportunity gaps and improve college and career readiness, especially those traditionally underrepresented in higher education. AVID is offered as an elective at both Mountain View Middle School and Bremerton High School, but the Bremerton School District utilizes AVID strategies in all grade levels to enhance learning for all students.


Photo: Lisa Gordon (MVMS AVID teacher), Melissa Rohr (District AVID Director), Emily Wise (BHS AVID teacher), Josh Brown (MVMS AVID) and Briana Faxon (BHS AVID teacher) attended the conference to learn more about how AVID is being implemented in other places in the country to make BHS AVID instruction the best it can be.

Bremerton School Board Updates

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Bremerton School Board meetings are in-person and online! All are welcome at Bremerton School Board meetings. Interested in participating in a meeting? Access the meeting schedule and learn more at BremertonSchools.org/SchoolBoard.

The next regular School Board meeting is Thursday, January 11, 2024. There is only one board meeting in January.

What's happening at the PAC?

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Find out what's happening at the Bremerton High School Performing Arts Center (PAC) at www.BremertonSchools.org/PAC!

Join our team!

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View all current job opportunities at BremertonSchools.org/Jobs.

The Bremerton School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employee(s) has been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Garth Steedman at 360.473.1031 or the Section 504 Coordinator, Mark Mayfield at 360.473.4702. Mailing address: 134 Marion Avenue North, Bremerton, WA 98312.

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Bremerton School District

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Email: communications@bremertonschools.org
Website: www.BremertonSchools.org
Location: 134 Marion Avenue North, Bremerton, WA, 98312
Phone: 360-473-1000


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