September 17, 2008Photos from Cave Spring Middle School Back-to-School Night Cave Spring Middle School held their annual Back-to-School Night last night at 7 p.m. Parents had the opportunity to visit their students classrooms and meet their teachers among other things. William Brancati, Assistant Principal at Cave Spring Middle School was kind enough to send us a couple photos of parents and students during the back-to-school night.  OTHER RECENT CAVE SPRING MIDDLE SCHOOL COVERAGE: * Sept. 16: 96 photos from Cave Spring Middle - Andrew Lewis volleyball game Photos from Hidden Valley High School Back-to-School Night It's hard for many of us to believe that school is already a month in...and back-to-school nights at many area schools have begun. Monday, Hidden Valley High School held their back-to-school night for parents to visit their children's classes and their teachers. At 7 p.m. students, parents, teachers, and administrators filled the hallways and the auditorium for a PTSO meeting before heading out to other parts of the school. SWoCo stopped in to take some photos. Check out our gallery here and be on the look out for other Back-to-School photos for Cave Spring High School and Hidden Valley and Cave Spring Middles Schools. OTHER RECENT HIDDEN VALLEY COVERAGE: * Sept. 16: Webcast features video from Hidden Valley - Bassett football game North Cross 6th-graders take orientation tripNorth Cross 6th-graders recently took an overnight orientation trip on Thursday, September 4 and Friday, September 5. The class traveled to Camp Roanoke to camp, have a campfire program, participate in a ropes course, and a climbing tower challenge The 6th-graders left campus Thursday afternoon and returned on Friday afternoon. The trip was led by middle school science teacher, Sandy Patterson at North Cross School. "The aim of the trip is to develop cohesiveness or "team feel" within the class and to take students to an educational setting that is different from the familiarity of the classroom," Laura Neff-Henderson, Director of Marketing said. Neff-Henderson was nice enough to send us photos, taken by Patterson which we have compiled in a gallery here. OTHER RECENT NORTH CROSS COVERAGE: * Sept. 15: North Cross students to meet Miss Virginia September 15, 2008North Cross students to meet Miss Virginia on Sept. 15 On Sept. 15, Miss Virginia, Tara Wheeler, will talk to middle school students at 2:20 p.m. in Fishburn Auditorium. Her presentation, “Empowering America’s Youth” will cover a broad range of topics, focusing primarily on breaking stereotypes to build leaders. “I am excited to once again bring Miss Virginia to our middle school students and faculty. Her positive message and leadership abilities make her an excellent role model for all of our students,” said Amanda Amos a middle school teacher who leads the middle school’s Student Council Association which is coordinating the event. Wheeler, 24, is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in journalism. Growing up in a military family, Wheeler has lived all across the country but has called Virginia home for 13 years. Her education was funded, in part, through an Air Force ROTC scholarship. At Penn State, she was an Air Force ROTC cadet mentor and flight commander. She completed officer boot camp at the top of her flight. While at Penn State, she was also the starting goalie for the Lady Icers Ice Hockey Team, holding numerous goaltending records and she participated in the US Olympic Team tryouts. Upon completion of her year of service, Wheeler hopes to pursue a masters degree in journalism at Regent University and work as a reporter or anchor in television. Continue reading "North Cross students to meet Miss Virginia on Sept. 15" » September 12, 2008Cave Spring cheerleaders hold pancake fund-raiser Sept. 27The Cave Spring High School cheerleaders are holding a pancake breakfast on Sept. 27th at the Tanglewood Applebee's to raise money for new uniforms. You might be interested to know that this is one of the side-effects of the county not charging certain school fees -- you'll likely notice a lot of other school groups holding fund-raisers. What: Pancake Breakfast Message from the cheerleaders: We would like to invite you, your family and friends to join us at the restaurant or you can pre-order as many boxes as you want and pick them up before 9:30 a.m. To get tickets: Contact Stacey Cotter 772-1589 or Mitzi Martin 521-0023 for tickets, or any CSHS cheerleader. OTHER RECENT CAVE SPRING COVERAGE * Sept. 10: 90 fan photos of Cave Spring volleyball North Cross schedules open housesNorth Cross School will hold the following informational events for anyone interested in learning more about the School. To learn more about junior kindergarten and/or kindergarten: To learn more about first through twelfth grades: To register for any of the events listed above, please contact Deborah C. Jessee, Director of Admission and Financial Assistance, at 540-989-6641, ext. 330 or djessee@northcross.org. Additional information about the School, including an online inquiry form, as well as testing dates and application materials, are available at www.northcross.org. This news release was written by Heather Farber, a student at the University of South Carolina, interning in the Development Office. OTHER RECENT NORTH CROSS COVERAGE * Sept. 12: North Cross to host invitational volleyball tournament
North Cross School to host Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Sept. 13 On Sat., Sept. 13, North Cross School will host the 13th annual Volleyball Invitational Tournament on campus, in the Carter Athletic Center. About 100 athletes, from seven other schools across the state will compete in the Tournament. The event will begin at 10 a.m., with a game between North Cross School and Hampton Roads Academy. Others schools participating include Collegiate School in Richmond, The Covenant School in Charlottesville, Flint Hill School in Oakton, Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy in Suffolk and Wakefield School in The Plains. Last year, the School’s varsity volleyball team, coached by Heather Donaho, ended the season with a record of 14-11. They attended the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) semi-finals. Kendall Patterson ’08 and Sarah Jessee ’10 were named to all-state teams. Tickets will be available at the door for $5 (adults)/ $3(children). For more information contact North Cross School Athletic Director Donna Satterwhite at 989-6641. North Cross School is a college-preparatory, day school grounded in a strong liberal arts and science curriculum combined with exceptional co-curricular programs. The academic program, from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade, prepares students to become responsible, successful citizens by encouraging them to explore their interests and develop their talents. The School is located at 4254 Colonial Avenue, Roanoke, VA, 24018. This news release was written by Heather Farber, a student at the University of South Carolina, interning in the Development Office. Do you have news or photos involving teams or players from Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com OTHER RECENT NORTH CROSS COVERAGE Sept. 10: North Cross Raiders pull off huge road win in volleyball
Cave Spring Middle School sports teams open their seasonsCave Spring Middle School’s volleyball team, football team, and cheerleading squad were all in game action during the first week of school. The volleyball team opened its season at home with a straight set victory against Andrew Lewis and gave head coach, Audrey Easter her first win as head coach for the Lady Squires. The girls dropped a close match while visiting Read Mountain on August 28 and were humbled by Benjamin Franklin before getting their second victory on the year with a win at William Byrd. The football team, under head coach Fuzzy Minnix, lost a see-saw battle to Dublin in their opener by the score of 24-18. The Squires were overwhelmed at Central Academy by the score of 37-0 in their second game. Playing William Byrd at home, Jordan Bryant out-jumped and out-wrestled Byrd’s pass defense to score all 16 points in the Squires’ 24-16 loss to the Terriers. The football team plays at Benjamin Franklin for its next game and the volleyball team will play Andrew Lewis Middle School. Submitted by William Brancati Do you have news or photos to share about teams or players from Southwest Roanoke County? Doesn't matter whether it's varsity, junior varsity, middle school or rec league, you can share them at news@swo-co.com Our last post about Cave Spring Middle School was Sept. 5. September 11, 2008Hidden Valley Homecoming starts on MondayIt may feel like school just started, but it's already time for Homecoming. Hidden Valley will be celebrating Homecoming all week. Cindy Lawrence, the Senior Class Sponsor shared with us the following information about how they will be celebrating! Some of which the community can enjoy as well. Check it out: The senior council of Hidden Valley High School has been working hard to put together Homecoming 2008. Alyssa Lawrence, Senior Activity coordinator has once again scheduled Tom Deluca, a hypnotist from Florida to kick-off the activities on Tuesday September 16th with the Tom Deluca show. Tom usually hypnotizes 20-25 HVHS seniors. The show starts at 7 PM and the cost is $10. Community members are welcome. Submitted by Cindy Lawrence OTHER RECENT HIDDEN VALLEY COVERAGE: * Sept. 10: Hidden Valley volleyball JVs win over Franklin County September 10, 2008Hey, college students!Remember when you were little, your mom took a picture of you on your first day of school? Well, guess what? Now you can take your own picture. Once you’re settled in at college this fall (and by now you should be, right?), take a photo of yourself -- in your dorm, out in front of the administration building, whatever works for you -- just something where we can see how you’re doing at college. Then send it to us at news@swo-co.com and we’ll share with with the folks here at home. (Parents -- you can send ‘em in, too!) September 8, 2008"Art of Cooking" cookbooks available through Hidden Valley Middle Hidden Valley Middle School art students and their art teacher, Teresa Worth are selling their "Art of Cooking" cookbook again this year. The cook book is $12 and contains artwork from the students at Hidden Valley Middle School. The art is arranged in collage and separates the different sections. The book is spiral bound with laminated dividers to separate the sections which include about 500 recipes. Included in the book are recipes for: Appetizers, Beverages and Dips, Soup and Salads, Breads and Muffins, Breakfast, Casseroles, Side Dishes, Meats and Main Dishes, and Cookies, Cakes, and Pies. It also includes helpful hints throughout. "Visually it's a really nice book and well put together," Worth said. "the students did a really good job of helping and participating. I'm thankful for all the parents that helped donated recipes." About 100 students at HVMS were involved in the project, but not all of the were art students. Some were students from other classes who did projects to help out. Continue reading ""Art of Cooking" cookbooks available through Hidden Valley Middle" » Art exhibit at North Cross School open until October The art shown featured North Cross community artists. Artists include Annette Pfaeffle who is teaching art to the upper school at North Cross and shows her artwork in Miami, Dolly Buswell from Charlottesville who also shows in New York, Valarie Poole, Susanna Quinn the North Cross Art Director, Elizabeth Rock a 6th-grader at North Cross, Katie Highfill, and more. Work included most artistic mediums like acrylics, oil, photography, clay, etc. This art show will be open until the end of October in Logan Gallery located in Old Slack Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to the community. The Logan Gallery highlights the work of local, regional, and sometimes nationally known artists during five separate shows each year. Pieces vary from Sandi D'Alessandro’s multi-media compositions to Preston Mayson’s landscapes in oil. Each show is on display for about two months, and kicks off with a Sunday afternoon reception. This provides North Cross School the opportunity to fulfill its mission to serve as a community resource. The exhibits also serve as an educational opportunity for students who may not otherwise be exposed to professional artwork on a regular basis. To view more photos from the art gallery visit here. Photo: Artist: 6th-grade North Cross student, Elizabeth Rock. Continue reading "Art exhibit at North Cross School open until October" » More first day of school photos
This is what she had to say: "It's a tradition at our house to hold up the number of fingers to correlate to the grade they're in that year. It's a great way to keep track! They attend Green Valley Elementary." If you have photos of your kids on the first day of school -- or any day of school, for that matter -- you can share them at news@swo-co.com Previously, we've had back-to-school photos of: * Emma Oertle (Green Valley Elementary) Madison West (Green Valley Elementary) Kaitlyn Tucker (Glen Cove Elementary) September 5, 2008Knights Crossing hopes to have another successful year Tommy Maguire, head coach for the Cave Spring cross country team, and assistant coach Laurence Loesel have had many milestones in their coaching careers. The first is the simple fact they have been coaching together for seven years. The second is that Maguire and Loesel brought a cross country invitational to Southwest Virginia. “We work our butts off the two of us. We’ve worked together for so long. The two of us are in charge,” Maguire said about himself and Loesel. This year will mark the fifth year of their Knights Crossing Cross Country Invitational, which will be held on Saturday, September 13 at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County at 7 a.m. “It’s an exciting event. We’ve really been trying to build it up to make it a premier invitation in the state,” Maguire said. “We tried to work it so that Southwest Virginia could be involved. We go to Northern Virginia and the Chesapeake area and Richmond for invitationals. Southwest Virginia was kind of getting left out with hosting big invitationals.” Sponsored by Cave Spring High School, Project 50, the Knights Booster Foundation, Roanoke County Parks & Recreation, and Fleet Feet Sports, Knights Crossing has been very successful over the years. "We started pretty small. We had very small team when we started and didn’t have a lot of expectations and definitely never dreamed wed get an invitation this large," Loesel said. “Our first year we had about 300 people show up and mostly regional teams,” Maguire said. “The second year we had a little less. Then we started marketing to get more and more teams in there and we’ve steadily grown.” The third year of the invitational hosted about 700 people and this year they estimate will draw about 1,200 people. "I would definitely say we’ve been growing an average of 15 to 20 percent a year and I'd say that’s pretty much on pace for what we’ve seen," Loesel said. At the first invitational about 15 teams participated but Maguire said this year they currently have 46 teams signed up already. “We’ve had some out of state teams commit, but because of fuel costs it’s been a bit of a problem.” This year, three teams from Tennessee will join Cave Spring to participate in the invitational, one of which is ranked in its area as number one and the other ranked at number three. The girls' team will also participate, ranked at number two. Continue reading "Knights Crossing hopes to have another successful year" » August 29, 2008Sir Mackey is knighted at Cave Spring High School  Cave Spring High School senior Greg Mackey has been selected as the 2008-9 Knight by principal Steve Spangler. Being named the Knight is the highest honor any student can achieve at Cave Spring High School. Mackey becomes the 48th student to be honored with the title of Knight at Cave Spring High School. Mackey is the SCA president-elect, captain of the Cave Spring boys' basketball team and vice-president of the Beta Club. He attended Boys' State at Liberty University over the summer and has attended the HOBY Leadership Conference in Newport News. "Greg is an outstanding student and embodies the qualities of a Knight," said CSHS principal Steve Spangler. "We all are very proud of Greg and he will represent the Cave Spring student body very well," said Spangler. Probably the most notable Cave Spring Knight is former NFL star Tiki Barber (1992-1993 school year). -Chuck Lionberger Photo 1: Mackey is formally knighted by Cave Spring H.S. Principal Steve Spangler Other recent Cave Spring High School coverage: * Aug. 27: JV volleyball team wins over Brookville August 28, 2008Hundreds of children benefit from summer programs at North CrossNorth Cross School sends us the following release about its summer programs and how many children they reached: As students across the country head back to school in the coming weeks, one thing is for sure. The more than 600 children who participated in North Cross School’s summer programs this year will have plenty of exciting stories to share with friends when they return to the classroom! “It’s wonderful to see so many students from across the Roanoke area benefiting from the many wonderful camps we have here each summer,” said Summer Programs Director Stephen Belderes. “Our camps give children of all ages the opportunity to investigate new interests, develop new hobbies, and meet new friends.” School officials believe strongly that these programs should be a resource to the entire region that NCS serves, and should strengthen the School’s relationship with the community. Therefore, programs are available to students from all schools as well as NCS students. More than 60 percent of the record-breaking 600 students who participated do not attend North Cross School. Continue reading "Hundreds of children benefit from summer programs at North Cross " » More back to school photos We have another first day of school photo. This comes from Stephanie Oertle and shows Emma Oertle (2nd grade-Green Valley Elementary) Madison West (1st grade-Green Valley Elementary) Kaitlyn Tucker (1st grade-Glen Cove Elementary). Thanks, Stephanie! Previously, we had first day of school photos of: * Jayden and Alyssa Mabry at Oak Grove Elementary Do you have back to school photos? We won't even insist they be from the first day! You can share them at news@swo-co.com August 27, 2008Another first day of school photo We asked for your first day of school photos. We got one from Savannah Wilson at Cave Spring High School. And now Dana Mabry sends us this. Here's Jayden (3rd grade) and Alyssa Mabry (2nd grade) on the first day of school at Oak Grove Elementary. Do you have first day of school photos? You can share them at news@swo-co.com. We'll even take second day of school photos, if you want to share 'em! All Roanoke County schools meet "No Child Left Behind" standards We reported on August 15 that it looked like all the schools in Roanoke County would meet the federal standards under the "No Child Left Behind" act. Today, the formal report came out, and yes, every school in Roanoke County did meet the standards. The standards, known as Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, measure students in reading and math. Schools last year had to show that 77 percent of students passed Standards of Learning tests in English and 75 percent passed the tests in math in order to meet the federal benchmarks. The law also requires that students of different demographic groups pass the tests at the same rate. The standards become increasingly difficult every year until 2014, when all students will be expected to pass the state tests. You can look up information on each school in Roanoke County (or anywhere in Western Virginia, for that matter) on our Datasphere. For a news story on schools across the region, click here. Got an opinion? You can click "comment" below.
Sylvan Learning moves to new location on Brambleton Just in time for the new school year, students in the Roanoke Valley now have more space to learn at Sylvan Learning’s new location at 3634 Brambleton Ave. The location was selected to provide more convenient access to Sylvan’s supplemental educational services. “We chose this space for easier accessibility for parents and for the constant traffic flow on Brambleton. It’s much more visible,” said Tina Kitchens, CEO of HoneyTree Early Learning Center, which owns the Sylvan franchise in Roanoke and Christiansburg. “The new space is much more open and provides for a better teaching area. It is bright and well lit and very inviting to the students.” The new center features one large teaching area, a testing room that’s also used for SAT classes, and several offices. The foyer is set up for parents to be able to have a place to wait. Continue reading "Sylvan Learning moves to new location on Brambleton" » Schools and organizations welcome students back School is underway already. Another school year has begun! Horray! Hidden Valley High School posted this banner, welcoming students back to school for another school year. And as I was driving through Southwest Roanoke County I also spotted this sign that the Cave Spring Rescue Squad put up asking drivers to be safe and watch for buses. Welcome back students and have a great year! (And if you have news or photos about your school, you can share them at news@swo-co.com.) -Emily Flora  Green Valley gets recognition from Governor KaineGovernor Tim Kaine sent Green Valley Elementary School this letter of recognition on July 24, 2008 for earning the Governor's Bronze Award for Best Practices in Nutrition and Physical Activity. Here is a copy of the letter. On behalf of the Commonwealth, I congratulate the staff and students of Green Valley Elementary School for earning the Governor's Bronze Award for Best Practices in Nutrition and Physical Activity. The award is evidence of the school's commitment to practices that promote student health and enhance learning. Green Valley Elementary has implemented best practices that serve as a model for others by demonstrating what is possible. This success epitomizes the ethic of constant improvement that is the hallmark of a school moving from competence to excellence. Please extend my appreciation to Principal Tammy Newcomb and the school's scorecard team for their dedication to improving student health, a critical factor in learning. Their efforts have brought honor to Green Calley Elementary and to Roanoke County. In recognition of this honor, the school will receive an award banner. Thank you for you support of the Healthy Virginians Initiative on behalf of studnts. As superintendent you play a key role in helping all schools achieve the Gold Award by implementing the highest nutrition and physical activity standards. Sincerely, Timothy M. Kaine. Cranwell, Garrett named to North Cross Board of Trustees  Laura Neff-Henderson, Director of Marketing at North Cross School sent us this press release about C. Richard Cranwell and J. Randolph Garrett III being elected to Board of Trustees: Continue reading "Cranwell, Garrett named to North Cross Board of Trustees " » August 26, 2008First day of school photo We asked for photos from the first day of school -- and here's our first one, from Savannah Wilson, on her first day of ninth grade at Cave Spring High School. Savannah says: "I know I don't look thrilled but it was 7 A.M. !" So do you have photos from the first day of school? (Or, as time goes on, any day of school, for that matter.) If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com. Our original post, with a comment from Savannah, is here. We had a previous post about Cave Spring High School on August 24 -- photos from the first home football game. August 25, 2008Send us your first day of school photos!Today was the first day back to school for students in Southwest Roanoke County. So did you take photos of your young scholars before they headed off? If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com August 22, 2008Roanoke County bus routes now onlineOops! When we published the Roanoke County bus routes in Tuesday's edition of The Roanoke Times, we accidentally left out Hidden Valley High School. Those routes are now in today's Roanoke Times. If you'd prefer a digital version, we have those, too. The Roanoke County bus routes are now online here -- and the online version includes everybody. August 20, 2008Photo from Roanoke County pre-school picnic Chuck Lionberger, Community Relations Specialist with Roanoke County Public Schools sent us this picture from the Preschool picnic. Olivia Holland (left) speaks with her new preschool teacher, Tatum Majors (right) during the annual Roanoke County Public Schools Preschool picnic. Holland will attend preschool at Clearbrook Elementary starting August 25. Nearly every Roanoke County elementary school has a preschool program. Photo courtesy of Chuck Lionberger. Faith Christian School holds orientation For some students in the SwoCo area, today is the first day of school. But despite all the nervousness and excitement that the first day of school entails, some students at Faith Christian School on Buck Mountain Road got a taste of the upcoming school year a bit early. SwoCo went out to Faith Christian and took photos of the students' orientation which was an all day event held for the entire school population. Orientation was held on Tuesday, August 19 and was a drop-in day for all students. Students were asked to bring their school supplies with them. Those in kindergarten and lower school had orientation in the morning, while the upper school met during the afternoon. Students, parents, teachers, and other staff members toured the school and spoke with teachers. The lower school students were give "passports" in which they received a stamp for every stop during their orientation which included stop to the music department, gym, and other classrooms. Once their passports were full they were able to turn them in to be entered into a drawing. Upper school students were able to try out their locker combinations and fill them with all their school supplies to get an early head start on the first day of school. They were also able to tour the school for their classroom in preparation for today's start of school. Check out our pictures of the Upper School orientation at our photo gallery located here. Our last post on Faith Christian was June 8 -- a photo gallery from graduation. August 19, 2008Roanoke County bus routes published todayThe bus routes for Roanoke County public schools are published today in a special insert in The Roanoke Times. August 15, 2008Young entrepreneurs sell lemonade to raise money for party The Blue Buddies Class at Childcare Network at 4225 Brambleton Avenue were excited about selling lemonade to those that passed by on Thursday afternoon. Especially Victoria Barefoot and Jennifer Asbury members of the Blue Buddies Class for ages 5 and 6, who were selling lemonade when SWoCO stopped by. The class sold lemonade at their Lemonade Stand from 2 - 6 p.m. A refreshing cup of lemonade was only 25 cents a cup and even contained a real lemon in it! Rod McGough, teacher of the Blue Buddies class and his assistant Brittany Loyd, use the lemonade stand as a way to teach the children how to county money. Photos by Emily Flora Continue reading "Young entrepreneurs sell lemonade to raise money for party" » Roanoke County schools meet yearly progress requirementsPreliminary reports from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) indicate all 27 elementary, middle and high schools in Roanoke County have met all the requirements of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Additionally Roanoke County Public Schools has met all AYP requirements on a school division level. “I am so proud of our students, teachers, staff and parents,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange. “It takes a team to achieve success and I am so happy that together we have worked to meet all the requirements. We look forward to starting another successful school year in just a few days,” said Lange. The preliminary report is based upon Standards of Learning (SOL) test result data from the 2007-2008 school year. SOL test results will be formally released later this month by the VDOE.
August 13, 2008Green Valley Elementary School receives gift from Food LionGreen Valley Elementary School has received $2,500 from the Food Lion Charitable Foundation. Green Valley Elementary School will use the gift to purchase trade books for the classrooms’ literacy libraries. “Food Lion and its staff have been very supportive of Green Valley Elementary,” said Tammy Newcomb, principal of Green Valley Elementary. “Manager John Novistky contacted me to offer his store’s support of our school. He has donated school supplies and now this grant, it is overwhelming.” Green Valley Elementary established literacy libraries in each classroom. The premise of this program is to allow students to read on their independent reading level 30 minutes at school and at home daily. Each student is assessed to determine at what reading level he or she is reading independently. The classrooms have coded, leveled books the students are allowed to choose from to read. The teachers discuss the books with the students individually. The students log their reading and, at the end of each week, the students earn a payday for their efforts. The grant will help purchase new titles for these libraries with a goal that daily reading will improve academic achievement across all curriculum's. Established in 2001, the Food Lion Charitable Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to improving the communities in which Food Lion operates. The Foundation places an emphasis on the support of primary and secondary education, feeding the hungry, and organizations that enhance the quality of life in Food Lion’s local communities. Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Gr |