News, Information and Updates for Bremerton School District staff.

View archives here.

• Link to BHS graduation live stream (begins at 6:50 p.m. tonight!
• View the RHS graduation video
• View the RHS senior brunch photos
• View the RHS graduation photos
• View the WST Senior Celebration photos
• View the Open Doors graduation photos
• View the BHS Grad Walk photos

Click the graphic below to view the BHS graduation live on YouTube!

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POLICY NEWS

There was only one change to the District's Policies and Procedure at this meeting. Following adoption of revised policy 6220, Bids or Request for Proposal Requirements, new procedures (6220P) were presented to the Board as a written report..

The Board was excited again to be honoring students and staff. This included students who who received awards by participating in the Olympic ESD Regional Art Competition. All of these award winning entries will be submitted to the State Superintendent's High School Art Show. You can view the winning art here.

ELL Paraeducator Pablo Flores was honored by the Board for his recent Kitsap "20 Under 40" Award. The Board viewed a video honoring all of the 2021 retirees, and pictures were shared from the recent drive-through celebration.

ASB Advisor Elise Erickson presented the Association Student Body draft 2021-2022 Constitution for Board approval. Committees have been formed to consider additional changes for the coming year. The Board approved the draft as presented.

Student Representative to the Board Rodgie Oliver provided his last report to the Board this year and provided a brief glimpse into the end of year events, particularly for seniors. Staff and the Class of 2021 are all excited for their upcoming graduation and celebration. He also too the opportunnity to introduce Mitchell Alexander who will serve as Student Representative to the Board for the 2021-22 school year.

To view any of these documents, you may also visit https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/wabrsd/Board.nsf/Public#.

Compiled by Ioanna Cossack, Board Secretary

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Please consider sharing this information with your students.

• Right-click on the graphics below and add to your Teacher Google site and/or Google Classroom
• Download the flyer (English & Spanish) below and share with your students.

Important dates:

• The last day for school meals (delivery or pick-up) for the school year is Tuesday, June 15. On that day, students will receive two breakfasts and two lunches since there is no meal service on Wednesday, June 16.
• The first day of our Free Summer Meals program is Monday, June 21.
• The last day for meals at the Boys & Girls Club is Wednesday, June 16. The Club is NOT offering grab-n-go meals for summer 2021.

  
  

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We are pleased to announce that we are in the process of updating all of the District websites. The District site and Armin Jahr sites are now live (though tweaks are still being made), and the rest of the building websites will be transitioned to the new template in the coming weeks.

Please note many of the sites' internal pages look "wonky" from the transition - but this will be cleaned up. The big job of updating all of the content will continue over the summer and into next fall. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time-intensive transition.

We will announce the updated site to families sometime in August when we've had time to "fine-tune" things and all sites templates are updated.

Feedback is welcome but we ask that you please be kind :-) and remember this is "work in progress." Shout out to the website team of Karen Bevers and Lucinda (Cindi) Probst.

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So important that they even have their own Kindness King who is only 7 years old.

KLE's own Nicholas V. is ready to provide a compliment at a moment's notice. He gives them often and he gives them well. This goes for the rest of his first grade class too. They intentionally practice kindness along with their kind teacher Mrs. Rebecca Montgomery. Their class even has a Compliment Club.

In addition to receiving Kindness Cards in the mail - each envelope had a personal compliment that either King Nicholas and Mrs. Montgomery co-wrote or a collaboration of what their classmates wrote specifically about them.

Each compliment ended with...Way to be KLE!

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• This is the Nation’s first public state-operated long term care insurance program.

• The program will be funded through employee premiums collected by employers starting January 1, 2022. The premium will be 0.58% of wages. Employers do not pay any share of the premium.

• To calculate your monthly tax you would take your monthly gross earnings and multiply by .0058 or .58%. Please note that this is all gross wages including bonuses, longevity pay, timesheet pay, stipends, etc.
  
  

• Ex: (monthly gross) $1,900.00 x .0058 (.58%) = $11.02 per month
  
  

• To qualify for benefits, an employee must have worked and contributed to the program a minimum of 500 hours per year for:

A) At least ten years at any point in their life without a break of five or more years within those ten years (Ex: I retire at 65, have paid in at least 10 consecutive years prior to retire, and need care at 80, I can access benefits) or

B) Three of the last six years at the time you apply for the benefit. (Ex: If I stop working in 8 years and pay the tax for those 8 years, I can access those funds if I need care, but only if I need care within 3 years after I stop working)

• A qualified employee may become an eligible beneficiary by filing an application with the Department of Social and Health Services and undergoing an eligibility determination that includes evaluating whether the employee requires assistance with at least three activities of daily living.
  
  

• Beginning January 1, 2025, benefits will become available to eligible beneficiaries.
  
  

• Benefits will be paid out at $100 dollars a day, with a maximum lifetime limit of $36,500, to access services and supports like professional personal in-home care, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home, etc.

Employees may seek an exemption (opt out) from being assessed the premium by filing an application with the Employment Security Department (ESD).

To qualify for the exemption the employee must:

• Be over the age of eighteen

• Attest that he or she purchased long-term care insurance prior to November 1, 2021.

• Apply and be approved for an exemption with the Employment Security Department.
  
  

• An employee applying for an exemption must do so between October 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022.
  

• Once an employee becomes exempt, the employee remains exempt permanently. (Once you opt out, you cannot opt back in)
  

• If the ESD approves the employee’s exemption, the ESD will send the employee an approval letter. The employee will need to provide the letter to their employer.
  

• If the employee fails to provide the approval letter to the employer, the employer will deduct premiums from the employee’s wages until the employee provides the approval letter. The employee will not be entitled to a refund of the premiums that were collected prior to the employee providing the letter to the employer.

• Benefits begin January 2025.

• Only Washington residents qualify for benefits.

Please click here for more information: http://www.wacaresfund.wa.gov/

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A friendly reminder from the business office...

Employees are encouraged to be proactive in knowing your own leave balances, how much you have used during the school year and how your balance is affected by your working agreement and District policy.

If you earn vacation you should ensure your balance on August 31st (June 30th for Administrators) is no more than thirty (30) of your work days. Any days in excess of thirty (30) days will be forfeited on September 1st (July 1st for Administrators).

Additionally, each employee should review their working agreement regarding their rights associated with personal leave. If you are allowed to accrue personal leave, it is accounted for in the “Other Paid Leave” category in the Time Off Section of EA+. Any excess personal leave not used or cashed out (if eligible) by June 30th (August 31st for full year employees), will be forfeited on September 1st. If you are on a July - June Contract you must use your Personal leave by June 30th. For Personal Leave that qualifies for cash out (please read your specific Collective Bargaining Agreement, located on the District's website), complete a paper leave slip, mark “Other” and write “completed qualifications to receive _(insert number)_ days of Personal leave cash out”. Your request for cash out (leave slip) must be approved (signed) by your building administrator and must be submitted to Payroll by June 30, 2021.

Download the leave slip below.

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Download the graphics here!

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Join the local NAACP, Kitsap Public Health District and several other organizations for a Juneteenth Resource Fair on June 17th from 11am-2pm in the parking lot of the old Kmart in East Bremerton.

In addition to resource tables and food trucks, there will be a Covid-19 vaccination clinic.

Vendors accepted until June 5th. Contact naacpbremerton@yahoo.com.

Download the flyer to share.

The Bremerton School District has a table at this resource fair and at Evergreen Park on Saturday.

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Join Pacific Education Institute (PEI) and our ClimeTime partners to take a deep dive into Wetlands in Washington. Participants will learn about the Solutions Oriented Learning Storyline format, which includes: local anchoring phenomena, culturally responsive practices, NGSS three-dimensional student growth measures, and a solutions-oriented approach to adapting to climate change with opportunities to elevate student voices in their communities.

This workshop is part of a series of activities that includes three online Zoom sessions and two self-paced learning opportunities.

Synchronous Dates and Times: June 21, 22 & 23, 2021, 9 AM to 11 AM each day

Participants who attend all three online sessions and complete all associated work on Google Classroom* will receive:

• A $80 participation stipend
• 8 STEM Washington State Approved Clock Hours

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Click here to view the Virtual Community Center. Please help spread the word!

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Feel free to share the graphics below on your Google Teacher Site or Google Classroom! Just "right click" the graphic to save it.

The Peninsula Community Health Services Clinic at Mountain View Middle School will continue to provide services two days per week over the summer. www.BremertonSchools.org/Clinic

Background photo: Renaissance High School Class of 2021 at their graduation on June 2.

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

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