New River Valley Chapter 2021 Reading Teacher of the Year/ /
Rachel Simmers, Title I Teacher at Dublin Elementary School, was awarded the honor of the Virginia State Literacy Association New River Valley Chapter 2021 Reading Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Simmers is a team player who is eager to go the extra mile to support all students at Dublin Elementary School through programs, such as virtual reading nights and putting new books in the hands of students. Mrs. Simmers has been teaching for 18 years. She received her Reading Specialist certification in 2018. She is currently involved in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training. Mrs. Simmers always strives to bring best practices into the classroom.
Senior of the Month
Pulaski County Public Schools and Pulaski County High School are proud to honor Kimberly Brooks Lyons as Senior of the Month for December. Kimberly is the daughter of Dustin and Faye Lyons. The nominator stated, “I have known and worked with Kimberly over the past four years as a member of the Competition Cheer program. Kimberly is a vital asset to the program and will be greatly missed when she graduates. She has served as Captain of the PCHS Competition Cheer team during both her junior and senior seasons. She was also named a member of the first-team All-Region cheer team and first-team All-State cheer team three times and is a two-time Region 4D Cheerleader of the Year recipient (as a freshman in 2018 and again as a senior in 2021). Her positive attitude, kind spirit, and immense work ethic serve as a great leadership example both on and off the competition mat. Not only is Kimberly athletically gifted, but she is also a scholar-athlete. She currently has a 4.15 GPA and has already earned 28 college credits from dual enrollment courses. Kimberly is compassionate, working to make her community better by regularly participating in service projects. Examples include a drive to collect supplies for the Women's Resource Center and fundraisers to support local backpack programs. I believe Kimberly Lyons represents all that is good about Pulaski County High School. She is kind, considerate, and dedicated, with a bright future ahead of her and very deserving of the title of Senior of the Month.” Upon graduation, Kimberly will be attending Virginia Tech majoring in bio-chemistry. She plans to go into the medical field, but at this time is a bit uncertain as to which avenue to choose. In her spare time, Kimberly enjoys drawing, painting and hanging out with friends.
Let's all make it home safely!
The Pulaski County High School Theatre Arts Department is known for putting on outstanding stage presentations. This presentation is sure to be another great one. Come out and see our students as they perform White Christmas.
With the goal of offering every student an activity to be involved in, Pulaski County Public Schools is pleased to announce the formation of a new program for our students. Beginning this spring, PCHS and PCMS will be the newest members of the Virginia B.A.S.S. Nation.
The two schools will form a Bass Fishing Club and a B.A.S.S. Fishing team at each school to learn about bass fishing and take part in competitive competitions. The teams will compete against other area high schools and middle schools. The regular season will conclude with a state championship tournament, known as the Joseph Thomson Memorial 6 Man Team State Championship.
While this project is in the beginning stages, we want to get the word out now and begin to build interest. We are working to plan an initial interest meeting in the next two weeks. That information will be posted on the Pulaski County Public Schools website and Facebook page, along with the high school and middle school pages.
If you or someone you know, who is in good standing with their grades and the school, might be interested in this team, please help share the word.
We will also be looking for boat captains for our tournaments. Boat captains must be 18 or over, not a student, and able to pass a background check. Boats must be at least 16' long, have an electric bow mounted trolling motor, sufficient livewell capacity to maintain a limit of bass by two contestants in good condition during the duration of each tournament, and a motor at least 40 hp and no larger than 250 hp. Boats must include all safety equipment, have a valid Virginia registration and insurance.
More details, rules and information will be put out over the next few weeks. Be sure to visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Pulaski-County-Fishing-Team.
Critzer Elementary School will hold an asynchronous virtual day on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 so that faculty and staff members can participate in the private memorial service for Auston Wingo. All other schools will operate on a regular schedule. Please continue to keep Auston's family in your thoughts and prayers.
Come out Thursday and enjoy some of the sounds of the season!
Pulaski County Public Schools are devastated to announce the passing of a kindergarten student from Critzer Elementary School. Details of the incident that led to their passing and the student’s identity are not being released at this time. Extra staff and counselors have been made available to the schools this morning. We ask that you keep the family and friends of this student in your thoughts and prayers as they begin to process this terrible tragedy.
Congratulations to the following Cougar football players for their recognition on the All-River Ridge District and All-Region 4 teams.
This is a reminder that tomorrow, Monday, December 6, 2021 is an asynchronous virtual day for all of Pulaski County Public Schools. Thank you.
The CTE/STEM program at Pulaski County High School offers students the chance to learn skills that allow them to leave high school ready for the workforce. Students also learn skills that prepare them for life after high school, as well as skills that allow them the opportunity to explore their creative sides. The Agriculture Program, led by Mrs. Carley Pavan-Ballard, is one of those classes. Recently the class has been hard at work creating Christmas decorations and making apple butter. The apples were collected from trees located on the PCHS campus along the Sensory Trail and then the apple butter was a combined effort with the Culinary Arts Program. The greenery used in the decorations was collected from the trees that were cut down to make way for new construction on the backside of the PCHS campus. The ideas for the ornaments and decorations came from the students. Ag students will now take these items and offer them for sale at the first ever Pulaski County Winterfest, scheduled for Saturday, December 4, at Randolph Park. The event will run from noon to 6 p.m. and will feature Christmas trees, wreaths and tons of other offerings from local vendors. Visitors to the event can also pay a visit to Santa Claus, who came into town yesterday for the Pulaski Jaycees Christmas Parade.
The CTE/STEM program at Pulaski County High School offers students the chance to learn skills that allow them to leave high school ready for the workforce. In some of those programs, students can earn state licenses or certifications that will dramatically increase their starting wages. One of those programs is the welding program, led by Mr. Bobby Petty. With Christmas upon us, his class has been involved in several projects, including one where they are welding snowflakes out of horseshoe nails. Seen here with Mr. Petty are junior Danielle Bolling and senior Darius Conner with some of their finished products. Be sure to tune in to the 6 p.m. news tonight on WDBJ7 as reporter Janay Reece paid the class a visit earlier this morning.
The PCHS JV Lady Cougar basketball team has been rock solid for several years. The 2017-18 season ended with a record of 22-0. In the 2018-19 season, the JV squad lost one game. It was the season opener against Carroll County and the team only had five players. The next day, several key eighth graders moved up and the team finished out the season with 21 straight wins to finish 21-1. The 2019-20 season saw them drop two games to a very strong Salem JV squad, but they ended the season 15-2. Last year, the JV squad finished 7-0 in the COVID season. Tuesday, they opened the season with a commanding 48-19 victory over Abingdon. That means that over the course of the past four seasons, JV girls basketball has a record of 65-3, plus the win from Tuesday. Meanwhile, our Lady Cougar varsity squad has earned a trip to the state title game in two of the past three seasons. Will this be the year? Time will tell.
Thursday, November 18, the Culinary Arts II and Culinary Specialization classes visited the Virginia Western Community College Culinary Department in Roanoke. The tour was led by Chef James Zeisler, Program Head, Culinary Arts.
The department is housed in the renovated historical Lincoln theater, located near Center in the Square. Much of the original building is still intact, as it was an important anchor in the Gainsboro African American neighborhood. Duke Ellington appeared at this theater in the 1920’s.
Virginia Western invested $6 million in the new kitchens. Included is high tech kitchen equipment, computerized cameras to allow for close up demonstration as well as a refrigerated room dedicated to meat fabricating and instruction. There is a specific classroom for artisan bread making as well chocolate, since both require temperature and humidity control.
There is a Euro kitchen influenced by the European style, where all cooking stations are designed around a central island. All the main kitchens are connected through pantries and storage rooms.
The curriculum offers both degrees as well as multiple certification programs. Students could get a degree in culinary arts, baking and pastry, or hospitality for hotel management.
At the conclusion of the tour, the students were invited to create their own pizza.
Pulaski County Public Schools will hold an asynchronous virtual day on Monday, December 6, 2021 so that faculty, staff, and students are available to participate in the memorial service for Mrs. Debbie Griffith, a long-time educator with our school division. We ask that our Pulaski County community continue to keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers over the coming days.
Congratulations to our Class of 2022 nominees for the Most Valuable Cougar Award. The Most Valuable Cougar Award is the most prestigious award bestowed upon a member of the Pulaski County HIgh School senior class. The nominees were chosen by their fellow classmates and each nominee is an outstanding representative of the Class of 2022. These students will serve as ambassadors for the student body during our senior year. This year, the candidates are (from left) Elija Rollins, Skyy Semones, Gwendolyn Puckett, Kimberly Lyons, Brooke Arnold, Arushi Arora, Carrie Blankenship, and Allen Queen. We will be posting more photos later.
The following information is for anyone who plans to attend any sporting events this winter at Patrick Henry High School.
Where are all the Pulaski County art students?
Come enjoy the music of the season with the PCHS Choral Department.
Sign on today!
