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During their regular meeting Thursday evening, the Danville School Board made the following recognitions:
DPS winners of the VSBA Southern Region Student Art Contest, including Ivy Hughes-Groskopf, a 5th Grader at Forest Hills. Her piece "When Night Falls" won Third Place in Elementary Schools. Samara Pinnix, a 7th Grader at Westwood received Third Place for Middle Schools for her piece “Let’s Eat.”
The Galileo Indoor Track Teams were recognized for their performance in the state championship. Galileo Boys finished in second place overall, the highest finish in school history. This was also the most events Galileo has ever won at a state championship track meet with the boys winning the 4 x 800 Meter Relay, 4 x 400 Meter Relay, 500 Meter Run (Alex Gomez-Hernandez), and 1000 Meter Run (Jamison Mantooth) with each of those events also breaking school records. Carol-Anne Garrett also broke the school record for the girls 3200 Meter Race while also collecting a 4th place medal. Other medals include Dylan Kirk (3rd place 1000 Meter Race), Ava Wray (4th place 1000 Meter Race), Jackson Herndon (5th place 1600 Meter Race), and the girls 4 x 800 Meter Relay team (6th place).
Child Nutrition Director Phillip Gardner and his staff were recognized, as Danville Public Schools was selected for a CACFP Achievement Award by the USDA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Office.
GWHS Sophomore Zamarian Griffin was recognized, as his design was chosen for a second time for the official logo for the Virginia Association for Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Vision Impaired “RISE and Thrive with New Vision” virtual conference being held march 17-18.
The following items were communicated to the board:
Director of Finance Sharon Barksdale shared three accounts payable warrants with the board.
Director of Services for Exceptional Children Dr. Tia Hairston gave an overview of the upcoming C3 Resource Fair, which will be held Tuesday, March 22 from 4 - 7 p.m. at Bonner Middle School.
Coach Rusty and Coach Eddie with the Southside Area Tennis Association (SATA), joined by the Woodberry Hills Elementary School Tennis League, presented to the board what they do in DPS schools and with other youth in the community. Since 2019, SATA has been working in DPS schools to conduct weekly classes in 6 elementary schools. They serve 250 youth each week through DPS, the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and Danville Parks and Recreation.
Board and Policy Committee Member Dr. Phillip Campbell held a first reading of Section I: Instructional Programs policy regulations. Public comment will be received here: https://forms.gle/8AXCd7vbcwjhrxhH7.
The following action items were taken by the board:
Approved Personnel Recommendations brought forward by Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Natalie Halloran. Dr. Hairston recognized new administrators from these recommendations, including Kelsie Aherron (Schoolfield Assistant Principal), Johnny Cressell (Galileo Assistant Principal), and Summer Guill (Westwood Assistant Principal).
Approved the Finance Report brought forward by Barksdale
Approved Dr. Melissa Newton’s request for a waiver on makeup days based on state requirements.
Approved Dr. Tia Hairston’s recommendation for a service provider for occupational therapy: Speech and Occupational Therapy Specialists of Danville VA (RFP-2022-492)
Approved Dr. Tia Hairston’s recommendation for a service provider for speech: Speech and Occupational Therapy Specialists of Danville VA (RFP-2022-493)
Approved Dr. Tia Hairston’s recommendation for a service provider for oral motor therapy: Speech and Occupational Therapy Specialists of Danville VA (RFP-2022-494)
Approved Dr. Tia Hairston’s recommendation for a Special Education Teacher Service: Procare Therapy of Peachtree, Georgia (RFP-2022-495)
Schoolfield Super Students!
Schoolfield recognizes Super Students and Staff each month for exhibiting the 3Rs: Being Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn! Each "Super Student" received a certificate, Super Student t-shirt, and recognition at the monthly PTA meeting. Way to go, Jaguars!
March Super Students (2).pdfThe Middle School honors orchestra performs at VBODA District 6 Concert Assessment
The Middle School Honors Orchestra went to Heritage High School to participate in the VBODA District 6 Concert Assessment on Friday, March 11th.. The students performed very well and received a superior rating!! This is a great accomplishment! Ms. Griffin, Orchestra Director, would like to thank everyone for supporting of the orchestra program. Congratulations to the Middle School Orchestra students from Bonner and Westwood.
Bonner Honor Band receives excellent rating at assessment
From Bonner Band Director Kameron Walker: Last week the O.T. Bonner Honor Band traveled to Blacksburg High School to participate in the District VI Concert Band Assessment and their performance was outstanding! The Bonner Band has not participated in the District VI Concert Band Assessment since 2017, and I am very proud to say that we received an "Excellent" rating. This is an amazing accomplishment for the students because many of them have never played their instrument until this year. As you see the students who participated, please congratulate them on a job well done.
Westwood Honor Band participated in District 6 Band Assessment
The Westwood Honor Band traveled to Blacksburg High School and participated in the VBODA District 6 Concert Band Assessment on Friday, March 11th. The students performed well and received an Excellent rating. The Westwood Honor Band is led by Mr. Demond McNair and consists of 31 students from Westwood Middle School. Congratulations to students in the Westwood Honor Band.
BuildStrong Initiative building in Danville
We are excited to share with you a unique opportunity to join a community-centered initiative focused on improving youth opportunity and sustaining community safety. Our organization is proud to partner on the BuildStrong Initiative and we are looking forward to working with you in this important work.
The heartbeat of the Initiative is its workgroups where Initiative goals are set and brought to life. We hope you will join us and participate in one of our workgroups.
Please complete the Community Survey by Thursday, March 31, 2022. We look forward to working with you on the BuildStrong Initiative: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5FXRZNW
There is a lot of energy supporting this Initiative and, therefore, you may have received this communication from another BuildStrong Initiative partner.
The Danville Dashboard is now live: https://cyfadvocacy.org/danville-dashboard/
Kindergarteners connect literature with music
In this video, Forest Hills is taking to heart what we learned at the Winter 2022 Professional Learning Conference. Students are connecting Reading/Literature with Music. While reading "Mortimer" (written by Robert Munsch, and illustrated by Michael Martchenko), students play mallet instruments and drums ("Mallet Madness" by Artie Almeida) to accompany the story. Students are learning performance etiquette, how to play instruments and sing in a group setting, how to keep a steady beat, how to recognize high and low pitches, and how to connect literature to music. Watch as these amazing students make the story of Mortimer, who would much rather sing than go to bed, come to life through music.
Important Upcoming Dates:
March 19 - Japan Day at GW from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
March 22 - C3 Resource Fair at Bonner from 4 - 7 p.m.
March 23 - DPS Career Fair at the Institute from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
March 28 - April 1 - Spring Break
Spanish 1 students celebrate Carnaval
Spanish 1 students at Westwood Middle School learned about “carnaval” celebrations in South America. After looking at examples of masks from several countries, students used gems, glitter, and feathers to make their own 3-D carnaval masks. Carnaval is the merrymaking and festivity that takes place in many South American countries in the last days and hours before the Lenten season.
Donut Donation
Donut Donation
On Wednesday, March 16, West Main Baptist Church dropped off four dozen donuts and 40 thank you cards for all teachers and staff at Park Avenue Elementary. Thank you for your support and generosity, West Main Baptist!
Park Avenue students learn about St. Patrick's Day
Park Avenue's Kindergarteners enjoyed reading and writing about St. Patrick's Day. Here they are creating their own leprechaun!
Gibson students plant marigolds
First grade classes went to the Greenhouse and got the chance to plant their own Marigolds. Students put their own soil in the pots, discussed the different parts of the plant and talked about what plants need to survive. Before leaving, we got a tour of the Greenhouse, saw different plants that were growing there and even watered our Marigolds before leaving.
Gibson celebrates St. Patrick's Day
Gibson Elementary celebrated St. Patrick's Day with festive treats, St. Patrick's Day themed writing prompts and math activities, and through reading authentic texts surrounding the holiday! #GibsonBulldogsRock
Science Fair at Bonner
Bonner Middle School held a Science Fair on March 15, 2022. The students and staff had a great time with the interactive science games! The night ended with dinner from Chick-Fil-A. Way to go Broncos!
Park Avenue students get creative in math
Park Avenue fifth grade students are using pipe cleaners to create angles.
Raising the flag
At Grove Park Preschool our wonderful head custodian, Jackie Edwards chooses a little helper to raise and lower the flags each day. Today's helper is Jaden Barley. It may have been a cloudy day, but these two brightened the day right up!
Popsicle Day at Woodberry
Fourth Graders at Woodberry celebrated on Friday with a fun popsicle day after working so well on their MAP and Benchmark tests over the past two weeks. The fourth graders worked extremely hard and enjoyed a rewarding treat for all their efforts!
EXCITE teacher flyer (1).pdfListen and share! Danville Public Schools' podcast Passing Notes has NEW episodes every Friday. On this week's episode, Superintendent Dr. Angela Hairston and Guidance Counselors Jill Cleary and Gordon Thompson discuss social-emotional learning and its place in our schools. Click here to listen on Spotify.
Got content for the Friday Feature? Email it to ldavis2@mail.dps.k12.va.us
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