SCPS announces $200,000 in grants from Moore Educational Trust

Shenandoah County Public Schools announced the recipients of six grants totaling nearly $200,000 through the Moore Educational Trust.

The largest grant of over $74,000 was distributed to Sandy Hook Elementary to revitalize the school’s courtyard into a fully functional, nature based learning environment including garden beds, outdoor seating, and inviting space for instructional activities.

Strasburg and Stonewall Jackson High School’s received about $50,000 to modernize their welding programs.

Approximately $41,000 was granted to Triplett Tech to improve their Electrical Essentials Lab allowing students to move beyond basic circuits and positively impact the automotive technology program.

Other grants included $20,000 to continue Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Shenandoah County, $17,40 for Peter Muhlenberg’s collaborative learning classroom upgrades, just over $10,000 for Sphero robots for Ashby Lee Elementary School which will provide coding and creative opportunities for students, and $4,500 to Signal Knob for Flexible seating options.

For additional information on each of the grants, click here. 

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

SCPS alum competes in Netflix cooking show

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Stonewall Jackson High School and Triplett Tech graduate Sid Rubenstein is a contestant on the new Netflix culinary competition show Next Gen Chef.

Sid, 21 years old, currently resides in New Jersey and is a private chef for professional athletes in New York like the Jets of the NFL and Red Bulls of the MLS.

He has worked locally at locations like The Woodstock Cafe and The Monument in Winchester and across the country including Jackie Reys Ohana Grill in Hawaii.

The series takes place at the Culinary Institute of America in New York City and showcases up-and-coming chefs all 30 years or younger competing for a $500,000 grand prize.

The show, hosted by Olivia Culpo, features acclaimed chefs as guest judges including Michelin Star recipients, Top Chef Winners, and Food Network stars.

The finale will air Wednesday night.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

FCPS and SCPS appoint administrators

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Frederick and Shenandoah County Public Schools recently announced the appointment of a few administrators.

On Tuesday, the Frederick County School Board named Christie Sibert as the Assistant Director of Finance.

She has been with FCPS for over 10 years as Payroll/Finance Specialist, accountant, and most recently the payroll supervisor.

On Monday, the Shenandoah County School board approved two appointments.

Michael Lennox will serve as the new principal of Stonewall Jackson High School.

Lenox has been with SCPS since 2011 in a variety of roles including math teacher, athletic director, and assistant principal.

Shenandoah County also approved Ellen Baker as Director of Student Services.

Baker has worked in public education for over 25 years and is returning to SCPS after the last 10 years in Page County as the Director of Special Education.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

VBOE recognizes three SCPS schools

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The Virginia Board of Education recognized 141 schools including three in Shenandoah County for their high achievement and continued improvement as part of its Exemplar School Recognition Program.

92 schools including Strasburg and Stonewall Jackson High Schools earned the Board of Education Highest Achievement Awards for demonstrating high levels of success across all school quality indicators including:

  • narrowing achievement gaps
  • addressing chronic absenteeism
  • the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI)
  • Dropout Rate

An additional 49 schools were honored with the Board of Education’s Continuous Improvement Award including Signal Knob Middle School.

To be selected, schools demonstrated continuous improvement from the 2021-2022 school year through the 2023-2024 school year.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said, “Being recognized in the Exemplar School Recognition Program is a direct reflection of the school’s commitment to high performance and increasing excellence… I commend each school’s leadership, educators, students, and community for earning this achievement.”

To learn more about the Exemplar School Recognition Program, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCSO respond to a dispute detain a juvenile at Stonewall Jackson High School

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The Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) report the response to the report of an unruly teen on October 9.

The incident occurred at Stonewall Jackson High School where one juvenile was attempting to assault another juvenile.

Law enforcement and School Administrators were able to stop the attempted assault between the juveniles but one turned on the authorities.

The 16-year-old female from Edinburg became combative toward law enforcement and school personnel and assaulted them.

That female has been detained and has been taken to Juvenile intake in Woodstock for a hearing.

The girl is charged with assault and battery on law enforcement and school officials attempting to preform their duty.

The female has a hearing pending.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS receives $150,000 to improve sound systems

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Shenandoah Community Foundation.

The funds will be used to replace sound systems at the three high schools in the school division.

Superintendent Dr. Melody Sheppard accepted the donation on behalf of SCPS and said, “We are honored to receive the Bowman-Shannon Cultural Arts Grant.  This generous support will benefit our students and the entire community through a variety of events, including musical performances, theatre plays, and more.”

The goal of the Bowman-Shannon Cultural Arts Fund of the Shenandoah Community Foundation is to educate, guide, and stimulate the enjoyment of and participation in cultural arts in Shenandoah County.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Graduations dominated the weekend

The weekend saw a number of Graduation ceremonies in the area.

Shenandoah University (SU) had over 1400 students receive diplomas in several ceremonies starting Sat. and ending Sun..

Senator Mark Warner was the keynote speaker on Sat. morning at SU.

Shenandoah County’s Stonewall Jackson High School held graduation Sat. morning with 134 seniors receiving their diplomas.

Luray High School held their ceremony Sat. morning as well with close to 120 graduates.

Sat. night Shenandoah County’s Central High School held their graduation with 176 seniors receiving diplomas.

Page County High School handed out close to 145 diplomas at their Sat. night ceremony.

Congratulations to all seniors and all the best in your future from the River 953.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS accepting bids for new signage

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Bids will start being taken for replacing the signage at two different schools in Shenandoah County starting today Fri. Feb. 19 at 1 p.m..

Funding for the renaming of Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary would come in part from this year’s budget.

The actual funding won’t be known until bids and estimates of cost come in.

Then Superintendent Mark Johnston will go to the School Board for a reallocation of funds.

Meanwhile Shenandoah Forward has been established to help offset the cost.  

 For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.