Wythe County Public Schools
Autumn 2012
The Summit
Volume 2, Issue 1
Inside this issue:
From the Superintendent
2
Kindergarten Camp
3
Calling All Communities 4 Teacher of the Year
4
Pre-Engineering Class
5
Briefly
6-7
Education in Action
8
Upcoming School Board meetings: Oct. 10
9:00 a.m. SBO
Nov. 7
7:00 p.m. SBO
Dec. 12
9:00 a.m. SBO
A red-carpet welcome Teachers, principals and support staff rolled out the red carpet—literally—for returning students in August. Schools across the county made sure their students felt welcome and energized for the new year. Sheffey Elementary had a red-carpet entrance , complete with “paparazzi” and upbeat music. Two enthusiastic teachers, equipped with cameras, tried to make sure they snapped a photo of each and every student that walked through the front doors that morning.
Thanks to a lot of hard
work and preparation from everyone, this was one of the smoothest school year starts ever! Welcome back students! We’re so excited for an excellent year.
Vice President Joe Biden visits Wytheville rare opportunity to open our campus to an important political figure. Vice President Joe Biden stopped in Wytheville during a campaign tour through Southwest Virginia.
Relevant Reads “93 Percent of Virginia Schools Meet SOL Standards,” VDOE “Virginia Students Continue to Outperform Peers Nationwide on SAT,” VDOE
At Jackson Memorial Elementary, teachers and staff weren’t afraid to be a little silly at an opening assembly to put the students in good spirits.
Amidst the business of preparing to begin a new school year, WCPS had the
The August 14 event, held at Spiller Elementary, began with Spiller students reciting the pledge of allegiance on stage. Frances Watson, a veteran teacher of WCPS and well-known supporter of the local Democ-
ratic Party, was invited to give Mr. Biden’s introduction. Regardless of political affiliations, we are proud to have the opportunity to engage in democracy and practice good citizenship at all levels of government.
Nov. 6 is Election Day. Don’t forget to VOTE!
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Notes from the Superintendent Welcome back to the start of another school year in Wythe County! Students and staff are settling into their routines as the first six weeks is now behind us. Over the past few years WCPS has made great strides. This is the third year in a row WCPS has achieved full accreditation by the state. We’ve enhanced our teacher strategies to incorporate more technology as a learning tool by equipping our students and schools
with more than 1,000 different technology upgrades, replacements or purchases. Alongside developing a new Capital Improvement Plan that will bring our facilities up to date, we have completed several smaller renovation or improvement projects at our schools—a resurfaced gym floor at Spiller, more outdoor lighting for safety, cafeteria upgrades, and much more. Because of the School Board’s commitment to en-
suring our teachers and employees are fairly compensated, we’ve been able to retain and attract some of the best education talent in Southwest Virginia and provide our retiring employees a sustainable health care benefit option. Even with decreases in state funding, mandated VRS employee contributions and a struggling economy, WCPS has become a fiscal leader and model for surrounding counties to follow because
of the Board’s proper and thorough planning. It takes all of these things together to keep us pressing forward to a better education for our students. From what we see in our vision of 21st Century education, the future of WCPS is looking bright.
The mission of WCPS, in partnership with our entire community, is to ensure that each student is empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future.
Wythe County Public Schools
1570 W. Reservoir Street Wytheville, VA 24382 Phone: 276-228-5411 Fax: 276-228-9192
http://wythe.k12.va.us/ Educating students for success in the 21st century.
Central Office Staff Dr. Lee Brannon
Division Superintendent
Dr. Melinda Robinett
Exec. Director of Educational Services
Jeff Noe
Exec. Director of Instruction
Richard Thomas
Director of Personnel
Marcy Olinger
Director of Elem. & Middle Education
Beth Cochran
Coordinator of Federal Programs and Testing
Dr. Wesley Poole
Director of Facilities and Operations
Keith Cochran
Technology Supervisor
2012 School Board Members William Kidd, Chairman
East Wytheville
Chalmer Frye, Vice-Chairman
Speedwell
Walter White
Fort Chiswell
Stephen Sage
Blacklick
Patricia Hines
Lead Mines
Deborah Crigger
At-Large
David Martin
West Wytheville
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K-Camp: Big success for little people Wythe County elementary schools hosted Kindergarten Camp this summer. Incoming Kindergarten students got a jump start on the 2012 school year by spending three days in school with their soon-to-be teachers. 182 students spent half a day in class learning kindergarten routines, getting to know the new faces of their classmates, teachers and school staff along with becoming familiar with the school, cafeteria, and playground. Families were invited to lunch at the end of the week where they learned more about school expectations and ways to best help their child succeed in school. Parents loved the camp because it gave them a chance to gradually introduce their child to school and it of-
fered another opportunity to connect with the teachers. Teachers loved that K camp students adjusted more quickly to school routines when school did start and that they were able to get down to the business of teaching and learning more quickly. Parents and teachers alike agreed that knowing more names and faces on the first day of school make the transition much smoother! Smart Beginnings Wythe Bland helped to facilitate the experience and is actively seeking partners for K Camp 2013. K camp was made possible by Wythe-Bland Foundation, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, Wytheville Noon Rotary, Wytheville Wal-Mart, Wythe County Public Schools Foundation for Excellence, Smart Beginnings Wythe Bland, and Virginia Kids NOW!.
2012-2013 School Calendar Oct. 11
12:30 p.m. Student Dismissal; Parent Visitation (1:00 – 3:00, 4:30 – 7:00)
Nov. 6
Schools Closed for Students – Teachers Professional Development Day
Nov. 9
End of Second 6 Weeks; 12:30 Student Dis missal
Nov. 21
12:30 p.m. Student Dismissal; ½ Teacher Workday
Nov. 23
12:30 Student Dismissal: Beginning of Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov. 22 & 23
Schools Closed - Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec. 13 – 18
Exams
Dec. 16
12:30 Student Dismissal; Last Day before Winter Holidays
Dec. 19 & 20*
Make up days for up to 2 days missed prior to Dec. 16, Last Day in Attendance, Student Dismissal 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 – Jan. 2
Schools Closed – Winter Holidays
Jan. 2 **
Teacher Workday; Make up day if more than 2 days have been missed before
For WCPS fall sports calendar information, visit http://wythe.k12.va.us/ to find links to the Mountain Empire and Hogoheegee District schedules.
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Calling All Communities! Cell phone company U.S. Cellular is hosting its 4th annual “Calling All Communities” campaign. Since the program began, the company has donated $3million to 38 schools. This year they’re divvying up another $1million among 18 schools. The winning school will receive $150,000 and the next 17 will receive $50,000 each to spend however they want— technology, playground equipment, science equipment...
Voters do not have to be U.S. Cellular customers to participate. Anyone interested needs to visit their local US Cellular store, pick up a voting code, and go to www.uscellular.com to place their vote.
September 14—October 21. There’s still time to vote for the school of your choice! Let’s put WCPS on the map!
Want to receive important information about school closings, parent-teacher conferences or announcements from your child’s school right on your phone? Sign-up for the Honeywell Instant Alert system. Go to the WCPS homepage and click on the link to the Honeywell site under the Parent Resources section. The link will provide you with instructions on how to create your account.
At its two-week tally of votes, Spiller Elementary was #86 on the list of Top 100 schools across the US Cellular service region. The campaign runs from
To cast a vote for your school: 1. Visit your local U.S. Cellular store to pick up a voting code. 2. Enter your information online at www.uscellular.com to place one vote for the school of your choice.
Teacher of the Year: Kristen Williams A “cooperative spirit” and a “caring disposition” are just two of the many things that describe Wythe County 20112012 Teacher of the Year Kristen Williams. Mrs. Williams is in her fifth year as the guidance counselor at MMES. Before that, she worked for several years at FCMS as an 8th grade English and science teacher. The most rewarding aspect of her job, she said, “is seeing improvement [in students] throughout the year.” The majority of the time, Mrs. Williams is preparing and presenting character education lessons for the students. This
special teacher wears lots of hats, though. She counsels students and families, leads the bullying prevention program at school, sponsors student council and coaches girls’ basketball at FCHS—just to name a few! She is also continuing her education at Radford University working towards her degree in administration. Mrs. Kim Frye, principal at MMES, is especially grateful and proud of Mrs. Williams, who was chosen by the faculty to receive this honor for their school. “She’s like my right hand,” Mrs. Frye said. “She’s tremendous with the children.”
Anyone who walks into a classroom where Mrs. Williams is teaching will immediately notice this too. Her patience, humility and gentle nature makes for a rapt audience of otherwise-wiggling first graders. For all these reasons— and more—Mrs. Williams rose above an extremely excellent pool of applicants across the county for this distinction. She garnered the WythevilleWythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year too. We’re certainly proud to call her ours!
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, Wythe County Public Schools is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.
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Simple Machines, Bright Minds works. For the first time, the WCTC is offering Pre-Engineering. The new program, made possible largely by a $125,000 grant for equipment by the Foundation for Excellence and the Wythe-Bland Foundation, gives students practical experience for engineering theory. Recently, they’ve been working on a unit about simple machines—studying things as simple as a soda can tab to moving robots. “ I want the students to understand what it takes to make theory reality,” said class instructor John Willis. Part of the class he spends with students brushing up on their geometry and trigonometry, the other part of class he shows them how to use technology and machines to fabricate and explain the theories they learn about. He also takes time to teach them about real-world vocational opportunities for engineers and everyday object an engineer helped to create. A new program at the WCTC is shaping the minds of students who are thinking about pursuing careers that will change the way the world
“We always talk about how an engineer had to design that [machine],” said GWHS sophomore Travis Hedgepeth.
said the class has really opened his mind to new career possibilities. He plans to apply to Virginia Tech next fall. His favorite project so far, like Travis, has been building the Lego robot. “Seeing it all come together in one product was a good feeling,” he said. And getting to use all the cool new technology has definitely been a plus, students said. Their classroom is quipped with iPads and two different high-tech computer engineering software programs. “I want them to be comfortable working on many platforms when they get to college or into their careers,” Willis said. He even makes them write about their experiments—both successful ones and “failures”—in their engineering journal. By chronicling all their ideas and tests, they can reflect back to see what worked and what didn’t and try to figure out why, Willis said. “I want them to learn how to work through a problem.” All of the technology, math, and science integration found in this classroom is surely going to take our students into the 21st century.
Josh Quesenberry, a junior at FCHS,
The 6th Annual Foundation for Excellence Summer Enrichment program was a smashing success with 400 students, 20 high school volunteers and 50 teachers enjoying a week of fun learning, nutrition, wellness and summer reading encouragement. Students grades Kindergarten through 8th grade participated in classes which included: Fishing Beautiful Braids and Neon Nails Cake Appeal
Visit the
Digging for Dinosaurs
Foundation for Excellence
Origami
website to learn more about our programs and opportunities!
Boys Club and many, many more!
This great summer learning opportunity was made possible through a generous grant from the Wythe-Bland Foundation and community support from Gatorade, Jones, Adams & Delp, P.C., Dr. Michael Spraker, and other community donors.
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Congratulations Wythe County Public School teachers and students ...
Art Intensive Mid-June brought 45 Wythe County students to the downtown Wytheville area for a week of drawing instruction with Savannah College of Art and Design graduate Meagan Averill. Students enjoyed using different mediums to express themselves as they learned different drawing techniques. They enjoyed creating artwork representing their
interpretations of scenes throughout the downtown area, producing several pieces to take home at the end of the week. 150 parents and community members attended Friday evening’s wonderful exhibition, “Drawing Explosion”, where students displayed their work from the week. We look forward to an expanded program in 2013,
offering students who participated in the 2012 program an opportunity to continue their art concentration while providing additional students the basic drawing curriculum. The generous support of community donors and the PLAY Fund made this excellent opportunity available to our students.
Healthy Competition A big shout-out to the students at GWHS and FCHS. Together, the schools raised more than 15,000 items for the Agape Food Pantry in Wytheville. That’s about a month’s worth of food for the twice-amonth distributions. As part of a friendly rivalry before their football teams faced each other on August 31, the two schools collected can
goods all week long to promote school spirit and give back to their community. They had to wait until the football game to hear the final tally, as the number of items each school had was kept top-secret throughout the week. In the end, FCHS brought in about 4,000 items and GWHS about 11,000. The students, staff and admin-
istrators are all in agreement that this is a tradition they want to keep going for a long time!
Wythe County students care about their community. They always find time to give back!
Calendars Mark it on your calendar: this year was the first time WCPS has printed a districtwide comprehensive calendar to help families keep up with their busy school schedules. The full-color calendars feature photos and events from each school in the division. You can see when PTO meetings,
Picture Days, school breaks and many other important events will be happening at our schools. Additionally, the county handbook is printed in this calendar . The Program of Studies, which used to be printed in book form, can now
be found online at the WCPS homepage. . A big “thank you” to Teresa Wassum, Textbook Coordinator, who spent months designing and creating this wonderful publication. A limited number of extras are available at the School Board Office.
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...on achieving state accreditation for the third year in a row!
Cafeteria Changes Students who purchase school lunches will be getting a few more fruits and veggies on their trays this year. Federal regulations stemming from the Healthy Kids Hunger Free Act passed by Congress in 2010 have changed the requirements for what is served in our school cafeterias. Calorie allotments have been fixed, less grains and more leafy greens are just a few examples of the changes.
The traditional food pyramid has been supplemented by the MyPlate graphic, which indicates what a healthy balanced meal should look like. Students are encouraged to try new foods with taste tests and free samples. (Weekly menus are available on the WCPS homepage.)
What we’re already doing: have the convenience of putting money into their child’s lunch account through a credit card on the internet. To set up a Café-Prepay account, go to cafeprepay.com and follow the prompted directions.
In addition to menu modifications, WCPS has implemented Café-Prepay, which allows parents/guardians to
NASCAR Driver NASCAR driver Greg Biffle paid a visit to Spiller Elementary in August in an effort to drum up support for the race at Bristol Motor Speedway and to announce his intentions to donate 5% of September’s profits from the rock excavating company Triple B he and his brother own in Speedwell.
Representatives from BMS were also present and pledged to give WCPS a $5,000 donation from them and their sponsors at Sharpie. 3M, Biffle’s main sponsor, donated apple Post-It note dispensers for all teachers in Wythe County.
A special thank you to Bristol Motor Speedway, Triple B Stone, 3M, and NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle!
Marimbas, Music and Math Students at Rural Retreat Elementary School worked together to make a new bass marimba to add to their collection of Orff instruments. Ms. Heather Mills, elementary music teacher at RRES, received a grant from the Foundation for Excellence to have Brent Holl build a bass marimba. Mr. Holl has built marimbas with students since 1998.
The marimba was made using the style and design created by Jon Madin in his book, Making Your Own Marimbas. Mr. Holl built the frame and cut the bars and resonator tubes to the exact measurement needed for the correct tones to be played. The older students helped chisel out the middle of the bars to get the right vibration and tone. The younger stu-
dents helped sand the bars to make them nice and smooth. Every student at RRES had a part in building this magnificent instrument that will be used for many years to come. The making of the instrument required measurements from math, sound and vibration from science and music, as well as performance and learning in music.
We serve fresh fruits and veggies
Only 1% or fat free milk, water, and 100% fruit juices are available
Sandwiches are served on whole wheat or whole grain bread
Salads are offered every Tuesday and Thursday
Introduced lower sodium entrees
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Education in action
The Summit is a publication of Wythe County Public Schools . It is published four times a year—autumn, winter, spring, and summer . All materials, including photographs and content, are copyrighted by WCPS unless otherwise noted.