Isle of Wight Achievers: April 6, 2017

The Vision for Isle of Wight County Schools is to create a learning environment that will enable every child to discover his or her unique gifts and talents. The Isle of Wight Achievers section of our board meeting gives us an opportunity to recognize and celebrate our students, and staff, for their unique talents and gifts.

WINDSOR HIGH SCHOOL Eagle Scouts Several students from WHS recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Luke Denoncourt worked with the Ruritans in Rescue and refurbished the community center

building. They primed and painted the doors, pressure washed and stained the wheelchair

ramp, and overhauled the front garden. The new garden included nautical rope decorations

and clam shells to give rescue the nautical theme it embraces.

James Denoncourt, in conjunction with other scouts, restored the AME church Ebenezer cemetery on the intersection of Bob White and Poor House road. A significant portion of the graveyard was not accessible and the graves in this section were never recorded. Other graves had not been recorded since 2001. The scouts started by picking up trash and cleaning the front section of the graveyard. By clearing an overgrown wooded area, they made the entire graveyard accessible which uncovered over a dozen grave sites that were completely obscured and forgotten. Thanks to other scouts and his family, he completed the project and had the entire graveyard recorded by the Isle of White Grave Task Force.

Steven Miller’s project took place at Windsor Christian Church. His fellow scouts and Steven took down old playground equipment from the church that was no longer safe for children to play on. They removed the old equipment, hauled it off and built a brand new play set. Once the new set was completed with the help of the local Cub Scout pack he re-mulched and landscaped around the church, planting new flowers and bushes, and added a river rock bed behind the prayer garden. This added to the beauty of the church and provided a new place for the children to play. Tyler Aston realized his church, Southside Baptist Church, did not have a flagpole to fly the American flag and decided to make that his Eagle Scout project. With donations from Woodmen of the World Lodge 46, and lots of planning he was able to secure a flagpole and full-size American flag. Tyler and several fellow scouts worked for two to three days at the church

with the end result being a new, fully installed flagpole, complete with flag. It will be utilized by the church and Suffolk Christian Academy which partners with the church.

Pictured left to right, front row: Tyler Aston, Steven Miller, Luke Denoncourt, James Denoncourt Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

SMITHFIELD HIGH SCHOOL Eagle Scouts Three young men from SHS recently achieved the Eagle Scout rank through their troop, Troop 7 in Smithfield. Carter Greer, Jason Phelps and Benjamin Lockwood all completed projects within the county as part of their Eagle Scout project.

Carter Greer painted a 36 foot x 20 foot World Map as well as a 33 foot x 11 foot map of the five provinces of Virginia on the blacktop at Carrsville Elementary School. The maps will promote active learning while students practice their map skills. Carter has been with scouting since first grade.

Jason Phelps constructed a new and improved wheelchair ramp outside of the fourth grade hall at Westside Elementary School. He has been with scouting since 3rd grade.

Benjamin Lockwood built a sun shade for the Luter Family YMCA in Smithfield to give summer campers relief from the heat of the sun. Benjamin has been a scout since elementary school.

Pictured left to right, front row: Jason Phelps, Carter Greer, Benjamin Lockwood Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

Swim Team The Packers' Swimming program was well represented at the 4A State Swim & Dive Championships in Richmond. The SHS swimmers who qualified for state competition in individual and team relay events are:

Katelyn Bryant, Courtney Collins, Thomas Gover, Payton Hancock, , Benjamin Lockwood, Jonah Lockwood, Will Malley, Grayson Naylor, Alexandra Neikirk, Storm Ogle, Pace Palmer Delaney Wright

Head Coach for the team is Ken Hirlinger along with Assistant Coach Lucy Lockwood.

Pictured left to right, front row: Storm Ogle, Grayson Naylor, Will Malley, Tom Gover, Jonah Lockwood, Katelyn Bryant, Courtney Collins, Assistant Coach Lucy Lockwood, Benjamin Lockwood Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

Boys Basketball The Packers Varsity Boys Basketball team made a historic run this season, with multiple buzzer beater finishes throughout the tournament, and ending with a trip to the 4A State Tournament Quarterfinals in Salem, Virginia. This was the first team the team had been back the State Tournament since 1989. The distinguished squad finished with an overall record of 21-5. The 2016-2017 Varsity Boys Basketball Team is: Ian Cullen, Marcus Custis, Nymel Greene, Quadarius Hopson, Ryan Jones, Jameek Jordan, RonQua Melvin, Iziahn Moore, Christopher Pierce, Jonathan Pullen, Tory Robertson, Sascha Stafford, Keon Tucker. Keon’s almost half court shot at the buzzer to beat Lake Taylor in the regional quarterfinals was highlighted by all the local TV stations and newspapers, and was even picked up by USA Today online. Plus it directly caused a meltdown on social media. Senior Ryan Jones was recently named to the 2017 VHSL Group 4A Boys All-State Basketball Team. Head Coach for the team is Richard Pullen with and assistant coaches are Sherlon Savage and Warren Jones.

Pictured left to right, front row: Marcus Custis, Quadarius Hopson, Tory Robertsn, Ian Cullen, Ronqua Melvin, Ryan Jones, Sascha Stafford, Keon Tucker, Coach Pullen, Coach Savage, Coach Jones. Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

DECA: SHS DECA had a strong showing at their annual state conference in March. They competed against nearly 4,000 other students throughout Virginia in various marketing related categories. Every student that competed had previously won or placed in their regional competition.

Each student was given two prompts, ten minutes to prep, and then they immediately

interacted with the judges. The role-play scenarios included real world business issues in each

respective category. Students were asked to find viable solutions and were given minimal

preparation time. They also had to take a 100 question test that measured industry trends, how

they would handle the evolving marketing world and overall competency.

The following students achieved the honor of being named a STATE FINALIST in their respective categories, advancing them to DECA Nationals later this month: Trevor Addison, Robert Barnes, Dayron Cardoso, Noah Guill , Rachel Thibodeau, Bryce Thompson, Tyler Vincent To put this into context, only about 6% of students that competed statewide advanced, but 58% of SHS students that competed advanced!! Just missing out on advancing but still placing in the Top 10 statewide in their test/role plays were: Skylar Hedgepeth, Sam Mott, Amber Reid, Madison Yates Several of the students even received follow up interest from business executives, who served as judges during their role plays. Club sponsor is Matt Moore. Pictured left to right, front row: Club Sponsor Matt Moore, Trevor Addison, Madison Yates, Robert Barnes, Amber Reid, Noah Guill, Rachel Thibodeau, Skylar Hedgepeth, Sam Mott, Bryce Thompson, Dayron Cardoso, Tyler Vincent Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

BETA Club BETA Club students from Smithfield High competed during the annual State BETA Convention in February and brought home numerous awards.

Third Place in Math: Christian Smith Third Place in Speech: Ally Mott Third Place in Jewelry and Third Place in Recycled Art: Carson Wallner Third Place in Banner: Lily Eng Third Place in Fresh Look at BETA: Genna Province, Emily Vierrether, Kelsey Briggs, Ally

Mott Second Place in Language Arts: Alexander Lindsay

Second Place in Math: Payton Hancock Second Place in Spanish: Steven Burton Second Place in Poetry: Camille Brayshaw Second Place in Technology Video and Second Place in Spotlight on Service: Kelly Moore First Place in Social Studies: Matt Lemon First Place in Character Skit: Camille Brayshaw, Sam Mott, Ally Mott, Alyssa Rose,

Robert Barnes, Steven Burton, Heather Kennedy, Sarah Lemon, Olivia Blatt First Place in Speech: Jordyn Cowen First Place in Scrapbook: Jessica Bruner First Place in Advertising Design: Cassi Lecompte, Sophie Erickson, Ashlyn Newberry,

Carley Morehead First Place in Show Choir: Grayson Rowland, Cassi Lecompte, Liam Baylor, Vaughn

Briggs, Camille Brayshaw, Robert Barnes, Tamara Spratley, Tristin Hogge, Taylor Machart, Kendall Stalls, Sarah Lemon, Jack Darden, Matt Lemon, Payton Hancock, Alyssa Rose, Sam Mott, Steven Burton, Megan Johnson

First Place in Living Literature: Kelly Moore, Kat Henk, Genna Province, Emily Vierrether, Clayton Ketcham, Sydney Roots, Molly Ryan, Skylar Hedgepeth, Justin Harris

Club sponsors are Julie Eng and Kate Gover.

Pictured left to right, front row: Kate Gover, Steven Burton, Carson Wallner, Olivia Blatt, Heather Kennedy, Aldona Mott, Tamara Spratley, Megan Johnson, Katherine Henk, Kelsey Briggs, Skylar Hedgepeth, Kelly Moore, Vaughn Briggs Pictured left to right, back row: Sam Mott, Robert Banes, Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Jack Darden, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

SMITHFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL Junior BETA Club Students from Smithfield Middle also brought home awards from the recent state Jr. BETA Convention held in February.

Third Place in Robotics: Ian Atkins, Noah Conyers, Jason Cox, Austin Jackson, Evan Rehrauer

Third Place in Spotlight Your Club: Caroline Burke

Third Place in Scrapbook: Elizabeth Zillioux

Second Place in Poetry: Austyn Haywood

Second Place in Fiber Arts: Elizabeth Zillioux

Second Place in Advertising Design: Caroline Burke, Carter Kelly, Allyson Ross, KaitlynStephens

First Place in Essay: Josie Altizer

First Place in Candidate Skit: Regan Berry, Noah Conyers, Anna Cook, Grace Eriksen,Hailie Fowler, Riley Goetz, Isabel Johnson, Mya Lukkes

First Place in Technology: Annie Eng

First Place in Speech-: Samantha Solomon

Deanna Cena was elected to serve as state chaplain for the Jr. BETA club.

Club sponsors are Beverly Burke and Deanna Thompson.

Pictured left to right, front row: Josie Alter, Kaitlyn Stephens, Elizabeth Zillioux, Hailie Fowler, Isabel Johnson, Anna Cook, Riley Goetz, Carter Kelly, Deanna Cenna, Mya Lukkes, Caroline Burke, Sponsor Beverly BurkePictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Westside Elementary Math Club participated in two "Fermi Off the Wall Math League" on- line competitions this school year. Taking first place honors in both competitions was sixth grader Ayden Shannon. Sixth graders Lia Corning and Emily Brown won second place in the competition held this semester. In the combined 5th and 6th grade category, several Westside teams placed, include 4th place for the team of Live Free or Pi Hard and 5th place for team Mathy Cabby. In the combined 3rd and 4th grade category, team Multiply the Power placed 4th out of 46 teams. In all, students and teams from Westside Elementary School placed 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th competing against teams from all around the U.S. and even from a few foreign countries.

Pictured left to right, front row: Lisa Kardos, Ayden ShannonPictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

GREAT COMPUTER CHALLENGE On April 1, students from Isle of Wight County Schools were among the over 80 teams of 6th - 12th graders who gathered at Old Dominion University to compete in the 32nd Annual Great Computer Challenge (GCC). IWCS had thirteen teams that placed in the Senior Division competition, with two of them taking home first place. The competition included teams from public schools, private schools, Governor’s School and Technology Centers. Windsor High School Honorable Mention: Desktop Publishing--Tessa Stingel, Naomi Bullis, Kendall Pulley Honorable Mention: Graphic Design--Riley Stiles, DeMarcus Porter, Grayson Chavis Honorable Mention: Video Editing--Sean Eanes, Erubey Mendiola, Sadye Janas, Paul Mayer 3rd Place: Music Composition--Connor Logwood, Kaleb Brunner The GCC teams from Windsor High were coached by Tyler Mosley. Pictured left to right, front row: Sean Eanes, Erubey Mendiola, Noami Bullis, Tessa Stingel Pictured left to right, back row: Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton Smithfield High School 2nd Place: Web Design--Kayla Segner, Alexandra Meade, Ethan Price 2nd Place: Desktop Presentations-- Kelsey Briggs, Brianna Peterson and Abby Rotruck 1st Place: Video Editing--Kelly Moore, Molly Ryan, Skylar Hedgepeth Coaches for Smithfield High are Tricia Hoff and Amber Price. Pictured left to right, front row: Kayla Segner, Ethan Price, Alexandra Meade, Kelsey Briggs, Brianna Peterson, Abby Rotruck, Skylar Hedgepeth, Kelly Moore, Amber Price Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

Smithfield Middle School

2nd Place: Graphic Design--Hannah Oberdorf, Jake Fales 1st Place: Video Editing--Jason Cox, Evan Rehrauer 1st Place: Desktop Publishing--Alexandra Grossman, Allison Fales, Kylee Hilbert The Smithfield Middle School Coaches are Pam Riddleberger and Donna Baldwin.

Pictured left to right, front row: Pam Riddleberger, Alexandra Grossman, Kylee Hilberts, Allison Fales, Hannah Oberdorf, Jake Fales, Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton Westside: 2nd Place: Desktop Presentations--Lindsey Greer, Amiah Beale. The team was coached by Sarah Butler. 2nd Place: Desktop Publishing-- Carlin Lockwood, Isabel Leang. The team was coached by DeNay Smith 2nd Place: Video Editing--Mary Tomlinson, Thomas Rose. They were coached by Hattie Garrow. Pictured left to right, front row: Hattie Garrow, Isabel Leang, Lindsey Greer, Carlin Lockwood, DeNay Smith Pictured left to right, back row: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton APRIL SENIORS OF THE MONTH: Throughout the year, our high schools nominate a Senior of the Month for recognition by the School Board and Superintendent. As part of the program, each Senior will receive a $500 scholarship sponsored by our business partners. There will be a reception near the end of May to honor these students, and for them to honor an educator who has influenced their life. Representatives from the companies and organizations sponsoring scholarships are invited to attend and sit with the seniors and their family. Last year was the first year of the program for IWCS and we are excited to continue the program this year.

Windsor High School:

The April Senior of the Month for Windsor High School is Taylor-Raye Council. Taylor-Raye is a young woman who always strives to be her best. She never takes the easy way out, whether in her classes or in her extracurricular activities. Taylor-Rae has a very rigorous schedule this year, all in her effort to prepare herself to achieve her life goals. She is diligent in pursuing her future goals and in staying true to her high standards.

As a member of the Social Justice Club, she exemplifies the values of our school as an inclusive environment open to all students. She is a fine representation of what a student leader can be. Taylor-Rae has been accepted at VCU, ODU, and Richard Bland College. While she has not made her final decision yet on where she will attend, she plans to pursue a future in music.

English Teacher Luann Scott stated:

"Taylor-Raye has a strong sense of her own values and holds those around her up to those standards. She is a reserved young lady, but she is always willing to stand up for what she believes. Her fellow students respect her; her teachers love her. I believe she provides a moral compass for many young people and serves as a model for others."

Pictured left to right: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Taylor-Raye Council, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton Smithfield High School: The Senior of the Month for Smithfield High School is Amber Reid. Amber's creativity, critical thinking and planning skills are remarkable. She embodies the 5 C’s through her actions in the development and improvement of the JROTC/DECA Blood Drive. Amber had directed the JROTC/DECA Blood Drive for the past two years, including the marketing, operations, and all aspects of the highly successful drives. She has gone above and beyond to communicate and collaborate with JROTC to improve the marketing and execution of the Drive. The improvements she has made to streamline the upfront marketing process has made a huge impact to the efficiency and recognition of the drive. The school blood drive is more successful than adult-run drives, and has collected the most units from a school-run drive in the entire Hampton Roads region. Amber is also a valuable member of DECA. She won first place in the regional DECA competition in her category of Apparel and Accessories, and finished in the top ten at the state conference. Moreover, Amber was instrumental in assisting the Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN) program get off the ground. CNA Instructor John SanGiovanni, noted that Amber has a

genuine passion for learning, seeks opportunities to help other students and teachers, and has tremendous school spirit. Amber will attend James Madison University in the fall.

Marketing Teacher and DECA Sponsor Matt Moore stated: "As an educator, club sponsor and coach, I come in contact with many students on a daily basis. These students vary in talent, aspirations and athletic or academic accomplishments. They come from different walks of life and see things differently; but, what unites these students and what eventually separates them is how they treat others and their ability to lead. It is these two measures that separate Amber from other students. Her exceptional ability to lead and her empathy towards others, in addition to her high academic and extra-curricular accomplishments, make Amber Reid ideal to represent SHS as Senior of the Month."

Pictured left to right: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Amber Reid, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton

GCA Employee of the Month:

The GCA Maintenance Employee of the Month was Luke Wall.

Pictured left to right: Ian Cullen, Jackie Carr, Alvin Wilson, Luke Wall, Vicky Hulick. Kirstin Cook, Julia Perkins, Dr. Jim Thornton