Exciting night last night at the season opener for our HS Volleyball team. Here's to a great season for our Lady Pirates!
Last Wednesday, students shuffled into Mr. Woodward's high school science classroom on their first day of school, only to discover a few of their classmates had wings and feathers. Those who’ve taken Mr. Woodward’s class before know this to be an annual staple of his classroom.
As Woodward puts it:
“The first day of school needs to serve a lot of purposes. The students deserve to have some fun as they transition back, but they also need to realize that this will be a learning space. We want parents to know their children are excited to be in school. Finally, I need to know what they can do as burgeoning scientists. They are tasked with designing an experiment to test what type of food chickens prefer. I get insight into whether they understand experiments, know the terminology, and can spot possible mistakes in experimental design. It’s a complete bonus that they end up going home and discussing science with their families.”
Sitting in on the class period, I watched students engage with their classroom in a special way, not through traditional assignments and quizzes, but by freely designing experiments and interacting with their classmates (feathered and not). Woodward pushes the limits of the science classroom and places students in extraordinary situations that excite their minds and challenge their expectations of school.
“The irreverence of chickens pooping in the room, students having various levels of comfort or discomfort around animals, and birds roaming around the room are all bonuses in my mind.”
This is why we love Berea!
-Boys Golf @ All A Regional on Wednesday
-SEASON opener for HS Volleyball on Monday
-HS District Soccer double header showdown @ Madison Central on Thursday
-MS Soccer and Football also kick off their seasons this week
Let's give it up for all our high school teachers! We've had such a lovely first week back thanks to their hard work and dedication to our students. And congratulations to all you students for making it to Friday already, such an exciting start to the year!
Extending a warm welcome to all students and staff returning to the building this morning to kick off the 2025-2026 school year! So happy to see our beloved building come alive again. And to all our proud parents, as you're taking those first-day-of-school photos of your kiddos, remember to email them to luke.seals@berea.kyschools.us so we can put together a showcase of our excited students as they set out on their first day of school!
We wish you all a great year ahead!
🎉 Happy Birthday, Dr. Neaves! 🎉
We’re excited to celebrate our Superintendent today and thank him for the incredible leadership he’s shown these last two months. Your dedication to our schools and community has already made a lasting impact. We’re proud to have you at the helm of our Pirate ship as we sail into the new school year.
Join us in wishing Dr. Neaves a fantastic birthday!
A huge thanks to our community partners, Sara White from Milton Hershey Company, Chase Riddle, Belinda Riddle, Larinda Agee, Steve Riddle from Corley & Foley Law Offices, Brian and Keith from Green Dot, our Berea Retired Teachers, and all our other amazing volunteers for providing meals for our Berea staff as they prepare for the first day of school. We are so grateful for your support and dedication to our community!
Good luck to our Girls Golf Team as they compete in the All "A" Regional on Tuesday in Lexington.
Join us tomorrow, August 8th from 5-8 PM at Berea Community Schools! It’ll be a fun-filled evening with:
✅ Free ice cream
✅ School supply giveaways
✅ Inflatables & food trucks
✅ A chance to meet your teachers and connect with community partners
This will also be another opportunity to meet our new superintendent, Dr. Neaves, and get help with online registration and Apptegy to ensure you’re ready for the new school year.
Students in all grades are welcomed and encouraged to be there. We can't wait to see you then!
This week, our high school class meetings were a huge success! Students came together to learn about the upcoming school year, set goals, and build a stronger school community. From important reminders to moments of motivation, these meetings helped kick off the new school year on the right foot. Huge thanks to everyone in attendance. Here's to a great year ahead!
Another big shoutout to Berea College and Tracey Blevins with Blevins Law for treating our staff to a fantastic lunch!
We are so grateful for community partners like these who support and uplift our team. Your generosity helps make the work we do possible, and we’re lucky to have you in our corner! 🏴☠️
#WeAreBerea
Berea Community Schools is thrilled to welcome Luke Seals as our new Public Relations Specialist! A proud Berea alum, Luke is here to strengthen communication between our district and our community. Join us in giving him a warm welcome to the Berea family!
Instead of starting with a traditional meeting or lackluster PD session, Dr. Neaves brought our staff together for an exciting GooseChase scavenger hunt across the school and community. Teams worked together to complete creative photo and video missions worth various points — everything from singing the fight song in front of Madison Southern, to doing the Griddy under the Chase Street sign, to tracking down the mayor for a candid photo.
One of the biggest challenges? Finding the Berea shields that Dr. Neaves secretly hid all over the city last night!
It was the perfect mix of teamwork, laughter, and community spirit to launch the year ahead. A huge thank you to Dr. Neaves for organizing such a fun and engaging start to our journey together this year!
Big congratulations to the Green Goldfish team for snagging 1st place and earning this one of a kind Dr. Neaves creation.
Stay tuned for some more highlights that will be shared as we approach the back to school bash!
