Washington County Public Schools

K5 STEM Academy: Looking for a fun opportunity? Check out the K5 STEM Academy at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. Once a week for 5 weeks, students will experience hands-on lessons in STEM, with a concentration in technology.

Special Visit: A big thank you to Attorney General Jason Miyares and Former Gov. George Allen for making a stop at Damascus Middle School on Tuesday. During the visit, they dropped off donated supplies to help with ongoing flood relief efforts. Miyares and Allen also spent time talking with students and families.

Escape Room Challenge: Sixth grade students at Damascus Middle School recently enjoyed a digital escape room using their knowledge of converting between fractions, decimals, and percents. Pictured are the first escapees in each class -- the winners!

Special Performance: Fifth grade students at Valley Institute Elementary School recently put on a wonderful performance of the "Principal's New Clothes." This play was an opportunity for students to learn about educational topics such as: fluency, oral expression, and public speaking. As well as the educational opportunities, students were able to play out a scenario that taught them about kindness, where the characters in the play learned that being kind is the most important thing and giving to others makes a difference. While preparing and rehearsing for this play, the students learned first-hand to work together as a team!

Homecoming Preparations: Holston High School Turfgrass Management students have been hard at work this week preparing the game field for Homecoming! Students have been involved in every aspect of planning the design, laying it out, and painting the field. Athletic field markings are a major component of the Turfgrass industry.

Special Education Parent Involvement Survey for the 2023-2024 School Year: All parents of school-aged children and youth with disabilities who receive special education services in Virginia are requested to complete the VDOE annual Parent Involvement Survey: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/44315/638460354617170000 This survey will remain open through December 13, 2024. Please complete one survey for each of your children who received special education services during the 2023-2024 school year. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Dr. Chiquita Seaborne, Family Engagement Specialist/Special Projects Coordinator, via email at [email protected], or via telephone at (804)418-4672.

History Lesson: Students in Mrs. Tignor's 5th grade class at Abingdon Elementary School are showing off their knowledge of how the American Indians lived, with an emphasis on the Arctic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plains (Lakota), Southwest (Pueblo), and Eastern Woodlands (Iroquois). The students also described how different resources were used in each environment.

A message from our health partners: ImmunizeVA, Virginia's immunization coalition, is conducting a survey to help understand the resources and challenges of getting vaccinated in Virginia. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete, and your responses will be anonymous. The survey will be open until November 30. The results from this survey will be used to develop goals and strategies for a statewide immunization plan. To take the survey, click here: https://bit.ly/m/immunizeVAsurvey

Be sure to check out the latest edition of The Washington Way! It's our division newsletter to help you stay updated with what is going on across the WCPS system. Visit this link to read the news: https://shorturl.at/SweJd

Elementary School Visit: Watauga loves it when members of the Abingdon High School Football team visit their former elementary school each year! The players made the most of their visit by playing on the playgrounds, reading in the classrooms, receiving high fives, riding scooters in PE, and even working on their dance moves in kindergarten! We love seeing our older student's bond with our younger students. An added thanks to the AHS coaches for allowing team members to visit feeder schools.

Virginia Farm to School: Students and staff at Patrick Henry High School enjoyed a Virginia apple and participated in the Crunch Heard 'Round the Commonwealth! @VDOESCNP #VACrunch #VAFarmtoSchool

From the WCPS Transportation Department: Due to an accident on Interstate 81 and traffic delays as a result, several WCPS buses are delayed in their afternoon routes.

Special Recognition: During the School Board meeting on Monday, October 7, members recognized students from E.B. Stanley Middle School and Abingdon High School for their participation and excellence in TSA (Technology Student Association). TSA is a national non-profit career and technical student organization (CTSO) of middle and high school students engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Board heard from the students about their accomplishments during the past school year, and the awards received on a national level. To learn more about TSA, click here: https://tsaweb.org/ E.B. Stanley Students: *Astrid Bockhorst -- 1st place Vlogging, 2nd place Chapter Team, Community Service Video 4th *Maggie Nishida -- 1st place Vlogging, 2nd place Chapter Team, Community Service Video 4th *Liam Regelin -- 1st place Vlogging, 2nd place Chapter Team, Community Service Video 4th *Liam Hartley -- 1st place Vlogging, Community Service Video 4th *Andrew Williams -- 1st place Vlogging *Remy Atkins -- 2nd place Chapter Team, Community Service Video 4th *Joel Waters -- Participation Abingdon High School Students: *Erin Johnson -- 2023-24 Regional President *James Nishida -- 2024-25 Regional President *Lincoln Baxter -- Participation

Student Relief Fund: Thanks to the Washington County Public Schools Finance Department, an account to accept donations specifically for Damascus-area students has been created. Funds will be allocated for supplies and other needs as identified by school principals for students at Rhea Valley Elementary, Damascus Middle, and Holston High. Monetary donations can be made directly to the Washington County Public Schools Central Office at 812 Thompson Drive, Abingdon, VA. Please make checks payable to Washington County Public Schools and indicate WCPS Damascus Relief Fund in the memo line of your check. Thank you to everyone for your continued support for the Damascus community.

Fall Fun: A big thank you to the Lowe family for donating a pumpkin to every student at Greendale Elementary School! We appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Homemade Ice Cream: Ms. Harrison's Introduction to Animal Systems class at John S. Battle High School finished out their Dairy Cattle Unit by making homemade ice cream! In this unit, they learned about dairy cattle breeds, dairy cattle facilities, & products that come from dairy cattle.

Reminder: At the October 7 School Board meeting, members voted to move the end of the first quarter grading period to Friday, October 11. As a result, the 2-hour early dismissal that was originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 9, has been moved to Friday October 11, to allow time for teachers to complete grades. Schools will be closed Monday, October 14 through Wednesday, October 16 for Fall Break. Report Cards will be sent home with students on Tuesday, October 22.

Washington County Public Schools will operate on a regular schedule on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. We do have the following transportation information and route changes for students and families to be aware of. These changes will be in place until further notice: *Taylor's Valley Bus 37 -- Students who live in Taylor's Valley can meet Bus 37 at the VFW Post on Route 91 at 7:15 a.m. Pick up in the afternoon will be at approximately 3:30 p.m. *Konnarock/Green Cove Bus 69 -- Students who live above Green Cove Road on Route 58, or on Green Cove Road, can meet Bus 69 at the intersection of Green Cove and Route 58. Students who live on Rhymer Road or the closed section of Route 58 can meet Bus 69 at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church. Your driver will reach out to you with additional messaging about times. *Bus 38 -- Students who live on Rush Creek Road can meet Bus 38 at the intersection of Rush Creek and Confederate Road at 7:00 a.m. with drop off at approximately 3:45 p.m.

Donation Collection: Members of the Glade Spring Middle School Volleyball team are pictured with donations that were collected at their volleyball game against Northwood on October 4. These donations will be packaged and sent to Damascus Middle to assist in continuing recovery.

Homecoming Spirit & Giving Back: John S. Battle is gearing up for an exciting Homecoming game on Friday, October 11th! As part of the celebration, you have the chance to support local families in need by donating non-perishable food items for the Mendota Food Pantry. Donations will be collected beside the ticket booth at the stadium gates before the game. Suggested Donations: *Canned Milk *Canned Meat *Canned Vegetables *Canned Fruit *Cornbread Mix *Tuna Helper *Pasta *Rice *Monetary donations are also welcome! Please make checks payable to Mendota Community Association with "Food Pantry" in the memo line.