Our bands brought the house down at this year’s Winter Concert! 🎺🎶
On Tuesday evening, students, staff, alumni, and community members filled Singleton Gym for a warm night of music and community, watching the outstanding performances from our 6th Grade, 7th & 8th Grade, and High School bands.
Directed by Mr. Barnhill, our musicians delivered a fantastic program featuring classic winter standards alongside bold, contemporary pieces, and the crowd loved every minute.
Many of these students from our 6th Grade band had never picked up an instrument before Mr. Barnhill's class began in August. In just a few short months, they learned the fundamentals and confidently wowed the crowd with a number of recognizable tunes. There's nothing quite like the aptitude of a Pirate!
For one lively section, seniors Felix Reyes and Cassi Wright jumped on electric guitar and bass, adding a splash of rock & roll to the evening. And as the band wrapped up the concert with the beloved annual performance of Sleigh Ride, Mr. Barnhill invited the youngest audience members to step up to the podium and conduct the band themselves. Looks like we might have some young conductors in our future!
The winter concert is a special tradition, one that brings our community together to celebrate the creativity, hard work, and growth our students have shown throughout the fall semester, we look forward to it every year. We couldn’t be more proud of these talented musicians, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this spring!
Our BCHS Academic Team completed their league season last Saturday at the Lake Cumberland Academic League, and our Pirates showed out!
🏅 Rose Ramsay - 2nd place in Arts & Humanities Assessment (JV)
🔬 Elliot Windland – 5th place in Science Assessment (JV)
⭐ JV Team MVP - Gage McClees
⭐ Varsity Team MVP - Brayden Morris
🌟 All-League Team Selection - Elaina Kirby (her first selection!)
Give it up for these increadible Pirates on the buzzer, showing everyone what Berea is made of.
The team will be back in action on Saturday at the inaugural Capital Academic Tournament (CAT) at Frankfort Christian Academy. Let's cheer them on!
We want to send a HUGE thank you to some amazing community partners for donating gift certificates and prizes to our Middle School and High School faculty, staff, and students this year:
Raising Cane’s – Richmond, KY
Texas Roadhouse – Richmond, KY
Domino’s – Berea, KY
Our MS/HS Culture Committee has worked closely with these local businesses to make this possible, helping us bring more recognition, celebrations, and positive moments to our schools.
These prizes will be used throughout the school year for award ceremonies, student recognition, and special staff shout-outs.
Thank you for investing in our kids, our staff, and our school community — we appreciate you! 💙🐻📚
Today, our High School and Middle School Choirs took over Kennedy Theater to rehearse for tomorrow night’s performances! If you listened closely, you could hear their voices filling the halls with holiday cheer. We're all very excited to sit back and watch the show, and we hope you're planning to join us!
Event Schedule:
MS/HS Choir – 6:00 PM | High School Theatre
Middle School Band – 7:00 PM | Singleton Gym
High School Band – 7:45 PM | Singleton Gym
Can’t make it in person? Don’t worry! The concert will be live-streamed on our official YouTube channel so everyone can enjoy the incredible work of these talented Pirates!
Four swimmers represented Berea at the Whitley County Classic this Saturday at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY. Three of our athletes competed in five events, and out of eight teams, Berea earned an impressive 4th place!
3 senior swimmers were recognized: Michael Winkler, Travis Harris, and Lucas Marshall.
What a great group! So respectful and such hard workers. We're proud to have these Pirates representing Berea Community.
- Austin King placed 1st in HS boys and was the Top Overall Male archer with a score of 288 this weekend at the Kingston Winter Classic.
- Berea Swim team placed 4th out of 8 teams at the Whitley County Classic at the University of Cumberlands. 7th Grader Graham Ramsey was awarded the Bronze (3rd) - 200 freestyle, 7th - in the 100 freestyle. Senior Travis Harris won Bronze (3rd) - 50 freestyle out of 17 swimmers
and placed 6th in the 100 freestyle. Senior Michael Winkler was 4th in the 200 freestyle.
- Congratulations to our MS Volleyball team as they swept all 3 games against Danville Christian last week.
- Also, Congratulations to our HS Boys Basketball team as they picked up their first win of the season on Saturday against Eminence.
Don't forget to join us on Dec. 9th for an evening filled with beautiful music, holiday cheer, and plenty of Pirate Pride!
You’ll enjoy performances from our Middle School and High School Choirs and Bands, plus a special student art gallery on display in the gym. It's shaping up to be a night to remember!
Event Schedule:
MS/HS Choir – 6:00 PM | High School Theatre
Middle School Band – 7:00 PM | Singleton Gym
High School Band – 7:45 PM | Singleton Gym
We can't wait to see you there! ❄️
Congratulations to this year's All-State Choir selections! 🎉🎶
- Jonah Hill — KMEA Senior High SATB All-State Chorus
- Vincent Pickle & Elizabeth Tait — KMEA Junior High All-State Treble Chorus
These students were chosen from hundreds of taped auditions to be among the top young singers across Kentucky. We couldn't be more proud to have them representing Berea Community on the statewide stage. This is a huge honor, and a testament to our student's musical talent and dedication. Our Pirates keep knocking it out of the park! Let's give them a HUGE round of applause for this amazing accomplishment! 👏🏴☠️
Our HS Boys and Girls Basketball teams kick off the regular season this week. 🏀
Both have home games, so a great chance to check them out!
Good luck to ALL of our teams and coaches this week. Go PIRATES!!
Let's give a hand for the exceptional teachers and staff who helped make this achievement possible. Their dedication is unmatched. As highlighted in The Edge’s recent article, Superintendent Dr. Neaves praised the team, saying: “Their professionalism, persistence, and commitment to high expectations laid the foundation for these results.”
Middle & High School Principal Ms. Caldwell echoed this gratitude, telling staff: “This is all because of YOUR dedication to students, standards-based instruction, holding all students accountable while supporting their needs (…) and most of all, being on board with our vision to support students in being the best they can be!”
We're proud to celebrate our teachers for the expectations they set, and the mentorship they provide our Pirates every single day. And we’re equally proud of our students—their determination, pride, and willingness to rise to those expectations inspire us all. They deserve a school like Berea, one that believes in their potential, supports their growth, and creates an environment where success is inevitable.
Last Friday, our senior class came together during school to host a Thanksgiving potluck, connecting with their class and celebrating this season of gratitude together.
This event was a truly special display of community, right within the walls of our school. From preparing the dishes to planning and organizing the entire gathering, our seniors took the lead every step of the way. Their effort and enthusiasm showed just how much they value their classmates and their BCHS family. That’s what it means to be a Pirate.
We couldn't be more proud of these students and the example they set. Their commitment to their classmates and excitement for their school is unrivaled, and the impact of that dedication can be felt far beyond this one event.
This is community. This is family. This is Berea. 🏴☠️
Our archers delivered an outstanding performance this Saturday at the Boyle County Tournament, earning 4th place overall with a score of 3114, with three of our archers receiving medals. Congratulations to Elaina Kirby, Austin King, and Story Lockwood for their placements!
Way to go, Pirates!
- Our Archery team had 3 members receive medals at Boyle County:
Austin King, 3rd place for HS boys, 293
Elaina Kirby, 8th place for HS girls, 280
Story Lockwood, 8th place for MS girls, 271
The HS team placed 4th with a score of 3114. Congratulations to all!
Let’s give a big shoutout to Avery Plessinger, who officially signed her National Letter of Intent yesterday to continue her basketball career at the University of Northwestern Ohio!
This is such an exciting milestone in Avery's future, and we can't wait to see everything she goes on to accomplish. Join us in wishing her the very best as she takes this exciting step toward her future! 🏀
For the first time ever, BCHS has scored in the Blue Tier, the highest performance level in Kentucky’s Summative Assessment Accountability System!
Our overall score jumped from 56.1 (Orange) last year to an impressive 87.8 this year—an extraordinary achievement made possible by our students’ hard work and by our teachers’ and staff’s unwavering dedication to standards-based instruction, holding all students accountable while providing the support they need, mentoring, and encouraging every student to reach their fullest potential.
We couldn’t be more proud of this historic accomplishment. Join us in celebrating by wearing BLUE this Friday! 💙
Elementary and High School are learning about fire safety together!
This morning, Mr. Billings’ Fire Science class took the stage outside our Kindergarten classrooms for a hands-on presentation about fire safety. Our Fire Science students demonstrated various tools and gadgets a firefighter might use in an emergency, and explained the importance of having a safety plan at home.
For our Kindergarten students, a fully suited firefighter can seem intimidating at first, so or Fire Science students focused on showing them the person underneath, and familiarizing them with all the firefighter equipment.
Demystifying these concepts makes all the difference, helping students understand and trust our local emergency responders, which is paramount in a real emergency situation.
It’s always special to see our Elementary and High School students collaborate on projects like this, educating learners from both ends of their BCS journey and helping break down barriers between the schools. You could tell many of the High Schoolers remembered being on the other side of a presentation like this, and that full-circle moment is a meaningful experience—both for our students, and the educators who get to watch these kids grow and change over the years.
A huge thank-you to Mr. Billings and his Fire Science class, as well as all our Kindergarten teachers and staff, for giving our students this valuable opportunity right outside their classrooms!
The evening kicked off with a hype-filled introduction of this year’s teams, followed by a series of intense, fast-paced scrimmages that had the crowd on its feet from start to finish.
A huge shoutout to this year's Pirate Basketball Teams! If this preview was any indication, we’re in for an explosive winter sports season. We can’t wait to see YOU in the stands the next time our Pirates hit the court! 🏀
A look back at Homecoming Week 2025... through our students’ eyes 👀📸
Last month, we sent out a couple students with point-and-shoot cameras to capture all the Homecoming week activities from their own perspective. Safe to say, the results did not disappoint, they took the idea and ran with it!
From the Homecoming Bonfire to the "Under the Sea" themed dance, they snapped candid moments, funny faces, and school spirit in full swing. We pulled their photos together into one big collage with our Homecoming King front and center (by popular demand- since he hadn't been featured during Homecoming Week 👑) a snapshot of what it means to be a student at BCHS.
This is Berea. This is students connecting with their school community and celebrating their Pirate traditions. They're excited about their school, and so are we!
A Pirate for 13 years, Jayden 's favorite memory at Berea has been spending time with friends. Her favorite teacher has been Mrs. Jones, who she says has helped her a lot in school. After graduation, Jayden plans to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Everyone give a hand for Jayden Alewine 👏
We can't wait to see what's next for you! 🎓
Let’s give a big round of applause to our incredible Academic Team Seniors, who were recognized at Tuesday’s Senior Night before their matchup with Madison Central. They were acknowledged for their contributions to the team, including their efforts in facilitating Berea's first time at NAQT's Small School National Championship Tournament.
These students show us every day what it means to be a leader, a trailblazer, and a scholar. They set the bar high for our Academic Team, and our school, and we're proud to have them representing our student body. Everyone give it up for Elaina Kirby, Cerra Miller, and Mady O'Bryan!
