Rappahannock’s top spellers
Twenty-five students earned a spot to compete on stage in this year’s Scripps Spelling Bee. Joel Wangsgard, a sixth grade student, earned the first place medal.
Rappahannock County High School senior Lauren Petty has been named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. As stated on the Certificate of Merit, Petty “advanced to Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship Program of 2020 by demonstrating through distinguished performance high potential for future academic accomplishment.”
Petty, who had learned that she had earned recognition as a semifinalist in the academic competition back in September 2019, was very gracious about being honored as a finalist.
“I am so grateful that I was able to have this opportunity,” said Petty. “I think a lot of it is due in part to the amazing faculty at Rappahannock and the friends that I have made who have gotten me through the process.”
Scripps Spelling Bee
Rappahannock County Elementary School held a Scripps Spelling Bee in front of an attentive audience of students and parents. Twenty-five students, five students from each grade third through seventh had earned a spot to compete on stage in this year’s competition. Before the event, grade level spelling bees had been conducted, with the top five finishers per grade level being invited to compete.
Following several rounds and elimination, three students were awarded the top prizes.
Joel Wangsgard, a sixth grade student, earned the first place medal, a trophy, and will receive an online subscription to the Encyclopedia Britannica Jr. through the Scripps enrollment. When asked about his experience in the spelling bee, Joel replied, “I went in with an open mind and once we hit the final six I figured, maybe I can actually win this. Who would have thought?”
Finishing in second place was sixth grade student, Everett Zook. The third place finisher was fifth grade student, Faith Harrison. The second and third place spellers received medals and subscriptions to the Rappahannock News, the sponsor of the Spelling Bee.
The top spellers by grade level included Shelby Clem (7th grade), Joel Wangsgard (6th grade), Faith Harrison (5th grade), Lorelei Critzer (4th grade), and Harley McKnight (3rd). Each received a medal in recognition of this achievement.
Congratulations to all winners as well as all of the students that earned a spot to represent their grade levels during this event. All participants earned a certificate for advancing to this level of the competition.
Grade 7: Summer Byars, Aiden Stoner, Shelby Clem, Cody Marcus
Grade 6: Bella Parker, Kylah Switzer, Everett Zook, Declan Perrot, Joel Wangsgard
Grade 5: Nolan Berry, Faith Harrison, Isabelle Robey, Jayden Criss, Cameryn Reder
Grade 4: Lorelei Critzer, Dominick Molyneaux, Julius Montiel, Riley Garrido, Brooklyn Smith
Grade 3: Taven Carroll, Harley McKnight, Annie Robey, Rose Grimsley, Garrett Moore
The real world
The annual Reality Store event was held for 8th grade students in the RCHS gymnasium.
The Reality Store, provided by the Virginia Cooperative Extension and RCPS, is a financial management program that brings awareness to the value of a dollar when factoring in the cost of daily living. At the start of the activity, each student was randomly assigned a specific scenario that included monthly net salary, career, and marital/family status.
They were instructed to visit all of the booths, which were run by community volunteers. Each booth represented common, “real life” expenses: childcare, clothing, communications, entertainment, transportation, furniture, grocery, housing, contributions, medical/ dental, personal care, student loan, utilities. In addition, there was a crystal ball station where students took a chance at either receiving or losing money.
The students were responsible for staying within their budget and were given the opportunity to select from high-end, more expensive items and more affordable items at each booth.
Following the event, the community volunteers were treated to a luncheon of lasagna, minestrone
soup, salad, focaccia bread, and apple crisp prepared by the RCHS culinary students. RCPS thanked all of the community volunteers, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the Fagus Foundation for their generous donation.
Growing sprouts
Volunteers from RappFLOW, Master Gardeners, and Master Naturalists visited the RCES kindergarten classes on two separate occasions throughout the past week to conduct a Growing Sprouts lesson during science time. The students were read a short story about seeds and were given a jar of sprouts to care for in class over the next several days.
On a second visit, Ms. Beth Gall, Ms. Christina Loock, Ms. Jane Smith, and Rachel Bynum, who also serves as RCPS School Board Member, were enthusiastically greeted by the young students who had been diligently caring for their classroom sprouts. After discussing the growth of the sprouts, the kindergarteners had an opportunity to taste them and plant their very own pea plant to take home.
— RCPS submissions by
Holly Jenkins
WCDS bat boxes
The Wakefield Country Day School Wildlife Conservation Club is currently working on mitigating the negative impact of White-Nose Syndrome on the local bat population with a bat box project.
White-nose syndrome is a disease that affects hibernating bats. It is named for the white fungus that infects the muzzle of hibernating bats and is considered one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern times, having killed millions of bats across North America.
The 14-member club joined forces to build and distribute 36 bat houses locally. After inviting Jeb Wofford,
National Park biologist, and dad to Will (WCDS grade 5) and Mac (WCDS grade 3), to give a presentation on bats and this devastating disease, the club undertook the project and partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to build and distribute the boxes.
Amanda Bassow, director of NFWF's Northeastern Region Office, invited the club members to their Washington, D.C. office, gave a presentation on bats, and then the club members worked with NFWF staff to build and distribute the boxes.
“Bats are an extremely important part of our ecosystem,” says Gwynn Major, president of the WCDS WCC. “Bats eat a lot of insects. Bats contribute almost $4 billion worth of insect control for farmers in the U.S.; without them agricultural crops are harmed and more pesticides would need to be used. The White-nose syndrome is thought to affect bats in damp caves, so building boxes for them to hibernate in is one small way we think we can help.”
The WCDS WCC is one of the most active Clubs on campus. Partnering with the NPS, NFWF and SCBI, the club is engaged in a wood duck nesting box project, songbird project, the bat project, and is in plans to build a pollinator garden on campus.
— WCDS submissions by Suzanne
Zylonis
Belle Meade variety
Belle Meade Montessori School is presenting its first student produced and performed variety show TopsyTurvy on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m., as well as Soup & Bread on Saturday, March 7 at 1:15 p.m.
Everyone is invited to laugh and sing with this student produced and performed variety show. This performance includes original skits and music written by students as well as some old favorites turned on their heads.
Tickets for the Friday evening performance are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets for the Saturday performance (including lunch) are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets to be purchased at the door.
The school is located at 353 FT Valley Road south of Sperryville. For more information, please contact John Glass at (540) 987-8970 or school@bellemeadeschool.org
JMU President’s List
James Madison University has announced its fall 2019 President's List, which includes Bridgett Horrocks of Sperryville and Kayleigh Flanagan of Washington. Congratulations ladies!
Established in 1908, JMU has grown to 22,000 students and 4,000 faculty and staff. The university offers 124 degree programs at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels, yet keeps classes small with a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio.