www.roanoke.com

Here you will find a Public Service Announcement, starring two students from Southwest Roanoke County, one from Hidden Valley High School and the other from Cave Spring High School.

The PSA's are part of the It's My Prom.org Organization, a prevention campaign to spread the message of safe proms and smart choices. Over time it has become a time to educate everyone in the community, not just students and parents about underage drinking, risky behaviors, and poor choices.

This PSA is one of about 24 that the Roanoke County Prevention Council, It's My Prom.org Organization and WDBJ7 put together. The PSA's have been played during the Friday Football Extra Program on WDBJ7 and other times during the week. The PSA's were phase one of the program.

The next phase consisted of a banner contest. The contest started on Sept. 4 and is open to all students and clubs from schools in the WDBJ7 viewing area.

The finale will a fashion show held on Jan. 16, 2010 at 1 p.m. at Northside High School where students themselves will serve as the models. There will also be an essay contest.

For more information, visit the Roanoke County Prevention Council's website at www.preventioncouncil4youth.org.

And of course, if you didn't get a chance to see the PSA, check it by clicking the link at the beginning of this post or click here.

For other PSA's and stories about these PSA's check out these links below:

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeGp87dOPUc

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYFJdWo3U8E

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHAFiCY9bm4

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrs5k3VqRhc

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkjRZ92NsQQ

The Cave Spring Middle School Robotics Club won first place in Teamwork at the First Lego League Robotics Challenge and qualified for the state tournament at JMU on December 5-6.

Team members include,

• Nathan Rose
• Kemper Scott
• Jordan Clingenpeel
• Khal Clary
• Lyle Beard
• Khuslen Ganbayar
• Drew Bond
• Aiden Fleenor

Submitted by Stuart Rawlings

5,570 cans were collected during the food drive last year. Emily Flora SWoCo

Roanoke, VA - Cave Spring High School’s Marketing Class and Nutrition Association are very proud to announce that our goal of 4,000 cans will be collected to be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Cans were collected through a homeroom contest that rewarded the winning homeroom with a free breakfast. Students also volunteered their time to collect cans in front of the Kroger store on Brambleton Avenue and Tanglewood Mall. Cans were also collected in several neighborhoods.  A special thanks to Carmike and Kroger for donating both bags and boxes, also for allowing us to collect cans at their store.

The cans will be picked up on Tuesday November 24 at 10:00 AM in the Cave Spring High School cafeteria. Students will be on hand to help load the trucks.

For more information or details please contact Jacki Lucki, Marketing Instructor at (540) 562-3900 extension 20049, or Dreama Rhodes, Nutrition Manager at (540) 562-3900, 20040.

Submitted by Jacki Lucki

Courtesy of Cy Harbourt

David Harbourt of Southwest Roanoke County received his Ph.D. in Toxicology from the School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina.  His public thesis defense was held October 16, 2009 at UNC.  David is a 2001 graduate of Cave Spring High School and a 2005 magna cum laude graduate with a BS in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech.  He will begin a 2 year post doctorate fellowship at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD in January 2010.  David is shown with his sister Diana and parents Cy and Bonnie Harbourt of Roanoke County.

Submitted by Cy Harbourt

A student from Cave Spring and also from Hidden Valley recently did a Public Service Announcement for the Roanoke County Prevention Council. We've got that PSA here and would love to share it with you.

Click on the link above to view the PSA.

And as always, send us your news by emailing us at news@swo-co.com.

Courtesy of Laura Neff-Henderson

North Cross School recently distribute 150 Netbook computers to upper school students. According to Zack DeMoss, Director of IT at North Cross, this is the first year that computers have been distributed to the students and is part of an idea to move North Cross towards 21st Century learning.

"We started the planning stages last year," DeMoss said. "It really took off in the summer- making sure we had everything in place. We got them in August and had them turned back out to the students in a month and a half."

Courtesy of Laura Neff-Henderson

A netbook is a small, wireless computer that stands about an inch think and is about the size of a piece of paper. They use a different processor than most laptop computers and as DeMoss says, they are much more portable and wigh only about a pound a half.

"The idea behind the program is that the students get the netbooks at the beginning of the year and they return them at the end of the year. The goal is to have seniors take them when they leave and go to college," DeMoss said.

Those students who wish to take them after graduation must buy them.

"I think we are fortunate. We are innovators here and we jumped on the bandwagon. It's good to sort of get ahead of the crowd on this one," he said about getting the netbooks.

Student were just as excited as the faculty to receive the computers. DeMoss said the students knew they were coming, but weren't sure when they'd actually get them in hand.

"They were really anxious to get them. It was sort of a Christmas morning of sorts, you could see the joy in their eyes. It was the quietest the school has ever been."

DeMoss said that the netbooks have a lot of benefits for the school and the students. It will require less moving around campus to get to a lab with computers and the internet. Teachers will not have to worry about reserving labs. The netbooks will also enable students and teachers to continue class discussion and share information from home, as well as in the classroom.

"We can fully encompass the business function and become a part of that society," DeMoss said. "It's just a collaboration and the ability to have information at your fingertips."

Netbooks went out to all of the upper school students and DeMoss said that North Cross hopes to roll the program into the middle school in the future.

"It's been fun and exciting and we've really enjoyed rolling oit out and the kids seem to enjoy having them. We can really see the benefits in the fruits of our labors," DeMoss said.

For more information on the netbooks at North Cross School check out their press release here.

Camden Hodge (sitting center) signs letter of intent for Radford University. To his right is his mother, Penny Hodge and to his left, his father, Craig Hodge. In the background are his coaches. Emily Flora SWoCo

Camden Hodge, 17 and a senior at Hidden Valley High School, signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Radford University on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Hodge, who plays shortstop, said that Radford University was his first pick. He also plays 2nd and 3rd base and outfield.

"I really like the coaches and I like their view of baseball and the team itself," Hodge said about his choice.

Hodge said his decision came after his AAU team played at Radford during the summer and he decided he wanted to play there in July.

Hodge plans on studying Finance while at Radford University and looking forward to the new chapter in his life.

"I'm just really excited to play the next level. There is a lot of talent there," Hodge said.

Coach Jason Taylor said he has known Hodge for the past 8-years, since Hidden Valley School opened and Hodge played in the school system.

"His biggest thing is speed," Taylor said. "He's really fast and he's an intelligent man. He has always known his position on the field."

Taylor said that he was not surprised that Hodge would play baseball at the college level.

"It was a matter of where's he'd go. He's a really good hitter and he loves baseball. Radford is going to be a good fit for him," Taylor said.

Camden is the son of Penny and Craig Hodge. His father sid that he was not surprised his son chose to paly bsaeball at the college level either.

"He's worked so hard for it. He's worked really hard for me to be surprised," Craig Hodge said.

Faith Christian School celebrated their 6th Annual Grandparent's Day on Friday, Nov. 13. Students invited their grandparents, who came as far away as California and Iowa, to the school for the celebration. Susan Childs said they had about 300 grandparents throughout the day.

A Grand Cafe was set up with coffee, ham biscuits, sweet breads and fruit for grandparents and the students to enjoy before and after the performances. Performances were spread out by grade beginning at 8 a.m. and lasting until about noon. Gifts were also given out to each grandparent and then grandparents were invited to visit the classrooms.

Check out our slideshow above for photos from this event or click here for a more traditional view.

A controversial novel challenged by the parent of a Roanoke County high school student will not be banned, but school officials have chosen to restrict access to it. We have more on this story from reporter Courtney Cutright.

Here's the full text of the release from Roanoke County schools:

CHALLENGED BOOK TO RETURN TO SHELVES, WITH RESTRICTIONS

Review committee restricts access to juniors and seniors

ROANOKE – Following a concern raised by a William Byrd H.S. parent about "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," a committee consisting of three librarians met to review the merits of the book, as required by Roanoke County Public Schools policy.

At the time of the challenge, the book was available in the libraries at William Byrd and Hidden Valley high schools. Copies of the book were pulled from the shelves during the review process.

The committee recommended that "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" be restricted to juniors and seniors only. Freshmen and sophomores may check out the book, with parental permission.

"I would like to thank the review committee for their diligence and thoroughness,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Lorraine Lange. “The committee gave this concern careful consideration and we feel their recommendation is appropriate,” Dr. Lange said.

As a result of the committee's recommendation, the book will be returned to the library shelves at William Byrd and Hidden Valley high schools.

The committee’s complete report is available on the Roanoke County Public Schools Web site at http://www.rcs.k12.va.us.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Cave Spring Elementary School 5th-graders held their annual Veterans Day celebration in the gymnasium called 'A Celebration To Honor Our Veterans'. All of the students attended the event, as well as some parents.

The 5th-graders led the student body in The Pledge of Allegiance and then continued to sing songs which included, Star Spangled Banner, This is America, Lights of Freedom, Heart of America, American Tears, This Land is Your Land, Fifty Nifty United States, God Bless U.S.A., Oh I love America, and Thankful for the U.S.A. A poem entitled, 'I am an American' was also read. The 5th-graders were under the direction of Ann Kelley.

The 5th-graders include: Riley Assaid, Madison Aurnou, Brynn Austin, Mallory Austin, Abigail Baker, Kyle Bridgers, Kole Bridgers, Peyton Brock, Matthew Brown, Grace Burton, Rebecca Butterowrth, Rohan Chakraborty, Shivani Chati, Annie Clark, Kiel Cook, Elaina Corfield, Emma Cummings, Morgan Cundiff, Alec Dalton, Brian Daniel, Chris Daniel, Rachel Delaney, Ermin Delic, Bennett Desimone, Cody Dice, Ross Dixon, Thomas Engl, Jocelyn Essington, Zach Farmer, Travis Finch, Olivia Forbes, Taylor Gray, Sidney Green, Robby Greigg, Randa Habazi, Celia Harding, Sara Harmon, Lauren Harrison, Jared Harvey, Keara Henry, Mari Hooper, Trip Hudson, Faris Iqbal, Jacob Jones, Elizabeth Kemp, Christian Lamanca, Grave Landolt, Noah Laplante, Dylan Lewis, Stephanie Lodico, Drew Lucas, Julia Lucktong, Rachael Lumpkin, Hannah McCormick, Nathan McVey, Julia Melki, Stephanie Meriwether, Casey Murano, Emily Peery, Jesse Morrison, Josh Pompeo, Priyanka Pugazhenthi, John Purcell, Naima Rasul, Drew Ratliff-Fuqua, Garrison Richmond, Clay Roach, Ryan Scribner, Daniele Staykov, Ginsey Stephenson, Caroline Sublett, Matthew Terwilliger, Savannah Thompson, Izabelle Thompson, Jack Thompson, Jessi Tochimani, Mack Werner, Sam Wilkerson, Trey Willard, Brad Williams, Elizabeth Williams, Lauren Winston, Mitchell Yates, Chase Zegarski, and Jack Zeleznik.

For photos, view our slideshow above, or click here for a more tradition view.