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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.

Tim Thornhill submitted these photos of Josh Henderson, a basketball player at Cave Spring High School, signing a letter of intent with Vanderbilt.

Thanks, Tim!

The Roanoke County School Board meets tonight. Here's the agenda.

David Atkins shares this photo gallery of the Hidden Valley band at the Salem.

Thanks, David.

You can view his photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format.

The Faith Christian School community invited all Veterans to come and be honored at their 'Honoring All Who Served' Veterans Day event at 9 a.m. this morning.

Head of School, Sam Cox, welcomed all of the vets to Faith Christian, followed by an invocation given by The Reverend Ed Dunnington.

The upper school drama students gave several performances during the event. Those students in the drama club include: Rhett Adams, AC Branch, Alex Byrd, Danny Byrd, Trevor Byrd, Meredith Green, Abby Head, Tori Head, Kristen Iler, Jackie Jessop, Jack Jordan, Katie McCurdy, Monica Pollard, Megan Sweeney, Alton Wampler, and Anna Willis.

The drama students performed 'Because of Them' and 'In Their Own Words: War Letters'. The letters used in the performance were selected from those documented in three books, War Letters, Behind the Lines, and Grace Under Fire by Andrew Carroll.

Roanoke County Sheriff's Department Honor Guard presented the colors and a salute to Armed Forces was played in which all Veterans stood to as it was played.

Taps were conducted by John Vitello of Cave Spring High School, who played the trumpet.

After the service Susan Childs said a message from a local resident was played over the loudspeaker to everyone in the School.  It was from a women who said she drives by Faith Christian School every day and that it was so moving to her to see the kids (our SGA) in the rain this morning at 7:30 waving flags along Buck Mountain Road. She said it was easy to stand in the sun and wave a flag, but for these kids to stand out in the pouring rain as a show of support to our military, was a very moving thing for her.

Boy Scouts, Pack 632 also greeted the carpoolers this morning with a corridor of flag waving upon arrival.

View photos from this event by watching the slideshow above, or click here for a more traditional view.

Toles Hartman (second from left) and Anthony (AD) Banks (second from right) sign letter of intents. Emily Flora SWoCo

Earlier today we had a post from Laura Neff-Henderson of Anthony (AD) Banks and Toles Hartman who signed this morning to play at Division I schools.

You can check out that post with more information about Banks and Hartman by clicking here.

To the left we have a photo of both boys signing their letters of intent. North Cross held the signing for the two athletes this morning at 10 a.m.

Senior Banks will attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and senior Toles Hartman will attend UNC Asheville.

Anthony (AD) Banks. Courtesy photo

On Wed., Nov. 11, a dream will come true for two North Cross School seniors. It will also be a day of firsts. Both are the first in their families to attend an independent school and both are the first seniors in NCS history to receive full scholarships to attend Division I schools to play basketball.

Senior Anthony (AD) Banks will attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Senior Toles Hartman will attend UNC Asheville.

“This is a proud day for us for two reasons,” said Headmaster Timothy J. Seeley. “First, of course we are delighted that these two young men are able to continue playing a sport they love and have worked hard at in college. But secondly, and more importantly to me, it is a demonstration of us making good on our commitment to prepare our students for college academically, and help to secure for them the largest number of options as they make their college choices, whether they choose to continue with sports or other activities or not.”

Toles Hartman. Courtesy photo

AD Banks

Banks played two seasons at Patrick Henry High School before transferring to NCS in 2007. He averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots last season as a junior for the Raiders. Banks was named second-team All-Timesland last season. At Patrick Henry, he made The Roanoke Times Sizzlin' Sophomore team in 2006-07 in a group that included two players now playing at Division I schools.

Banks received offers from the University of Akron, UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina, Appalachian State and South Carolina Upstate. He plans to study business management and entrepreneurship at UT Chattanooga and is the son of Chaunae Banks and grandson of Sarah Banks.

“One hundred percent - this is definitely a dream come true. I know I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t come to North Cross,” said Banks. “It was just too hard to stay focused on the books before I got here. The focus here is on graduating and going to college. I’ve been told in the past that I was going to make it, but Coach [Joe] Lambert has really helped me focus.”

Toles Hartman

At 6-foot-6 Hartman, who averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game for the Raiders, had a strong summer playing for three AAU teams including the Charlottesville-based East Coast Fusion in tournaments in Morgantown, W.Va., Chantilly, Va. and Las Vegas. He also received an offer from Gardner-Webb University.

He has played on the Raiders varsity basketball team since coming to the school in 2008 from Christiansburg High School. At CHS, he was a former River Ridge District high jump champion. Hartman, who plans to study environmental studies at UNC Asheville, is the son of Tom Hartman and Jada Barber. It’s clear that athletic aptitude runs in his family. His father, Tom Hartman, was an offensive lineman at Virginia Tech and had a tryout as a free agent with the Washington Redskins in 1985 until a shoulder injury ended his career.

Hartman credits the teaching and athletic staff at NCS for his success. “If I wouldn’t have come here, it probably wouldn’t have happened,” said Hartman.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them both. I knew they both could do it if they worked hard, and they have definitely worked hard. I have no doubt that North Cross has prepared them well for the collegiate level,” said Varsity Basketball Coach Joe Lambert.

Submitted by Laura Neff-Henderson

North Cross School's 48th annual fall book fair will be held from November 9 - 15 at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke. The weeklong event is the library’s major fundraiser.

The public is invited to come and enjoy a wonderful selection of books for all ages and interests. Shoppers need to use a voucher (available here and on-site at Barnes & Noble) to have their purchases count towards the NCS fundraiser. Vouchers may be used at any of the Barnes & Noble locations. Purchased books may be donated in the name of a friend, teacher, or a family member.

The event is organized by the School’s library staff and chaired by NCS parent Laurie Saunders.

A Summer Reading Book Fair will be held on campus, from March 22 – 26, during which time students will have the opportunity to purchase the books needed for this year’s Summer Reading program.

For more information, please contact Librarian Kay Anderson at kanderson@northcross.org or 540-989-6641.

Submitted by Laura Neff-Henderson

North Cross School has received a $750 grant from ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program. Stop In Food Stores, Inc. worked with the School to secure the grant, which is one of 2,400 available to schools across the country served by Exxon or Mobil stations. The grants were made possible by funding the Exxon Mobil Corporation.

“North Cross School works hard to make learning interesting and fun,” said Tom Turner, of Stop In Food Stores. “As an Exxon dealer, we are proud to help young people of the Roanoke Valley.”

The ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to provide Exxon and Mobil retailers with an opportunity to invest in the future of their communities through educational grants to neighborhood school. ExxonMobil believes that, as members of the community, local retailers are best qualified to work with local educators to help identify schools and programs most in need of support.

Stop In Food Stores met stringent eligibility criteria before applying for and being awarded this grant, including having a commitment to provide a superior buying experience for customers.

Submitted by Laura Neff-Henderson

On Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1:30 p.m. former and current students from Oak Grove Elementary came out dressed in their best tiger outfits and holding tiger stuffed animals to march in a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the school.

Children and their parents participated in the parade which began at about 2 p.m. around the school and music from the Hidden Valley Middle School Eagle Band.

Following the parade students and parents and other community members gathered inside the gym for a presentation. Guests included Dr. Lorraine Lange, Roanoke County Superintendent, Drew Barrineau, Roanoke County School Board, special music led by Gloria Howell, music teacher at Oak Grove, Peggy Moles, former Oak Grove Principal. Special recognition was given by Stephanie Farmer and Gwen Vieth and a video montage of memories from Oak Grove was shown during the assembly.

After the presentations, participants were able to travel 'Through the Decades' and visit with former staff and students and enjoy refreshments served in the 50's Cafe.

We have these moments on film. Check out our slideshow above, or click here for a more traditional view. And don't forget to send us your fondest memories of Oak Grove Elementary School! Email them to us at news@swo-co.com.