Wayne County Schools

Earlier this month, a group of Wayne County educators attended the national Model Schools Conference in Orlando, FL. Wayne County was designated an Innovative District at the Model Schools Conference. Hosted by the Center for Model Schools, this annual gathering celebrates excellence and innovation in education, spotlighting exemplary practices that serve to inspire and empower educators worldwide. According to the Center for Model Schools, "Chosen from a distinguished array of institutions, Wayne County has showcased exceptional dedication to fostering student success, championing equity and inclusion, and implementing innovative strategies to address the diverse needs of its learners." As part of this designation, members of the Wayne County Schools Curriculum Department presented at the Model Schools Conference where their approaches to developing teacher leadership were showcased. Members of the Curriculum department (Tonji Bowen, Kelli Arthur, and Rhonda O'Neal), as well as the Leadership Team from Fort Gay PK8 (Katie Bills, Jill Kitts, Erin Fitzpatrick, Emily Davis, and Amy Sexton) were in attendance.

🔵Infuse 🔵 Network 🔵 Value 🔵 Engage 🔵 Support 🔵 Target 🟰 NVEST 🏛️ Those pillars highlight the importance of the WVDE’s annual INVEST Conference. This year, 700 plus educators from around the state gathered in one place to learn and grow from one another. 62 WCS educators attended the 2024 conference. They spent the week attending sessions for elementary teachers, secondary ELA, Math, Science, CTE, Social Studies, and many more. 📚 WCS was also proud to be one of seven counties recognized by the WVDE as a “Bright Spot” for our Science of Reading implementation. That recognition highlights the terrific partnership with our SOR Implementation Team and Classroom Teachers. 📖 🍎 Our team left the conference refreshed and looking forward to applying new concepts and methods in the classroom. 👏

The journey of learning is one that never ends, every day is a good day to learn something new. In their never-ending pursuit of knowledge, more than 110 Wayne County Schools ELA and Math Teachers are at the 2024 WCS Summer Academy. Through our partnership with Carnegie Learning, teachers are taking on the role of students this week to sharpen their skills, learn new strategies, and grow as educators. 🍎 The sessions are focusing on: English and Language Arts (ELA) 👇 📓 Early reading concepts aligned with the Science of Reading 📖 Literary Nonfiction Math 👇 🟰 Building fraction sense through operations 📈 Exploring the structures of mathematical functions We are thankful to have so many educators in Wayne County who love to learn. When teachers grow, students succeed!

School is out, but the doctor is still in! The Valley Health Offices at SVHS and WHS are open this summer and are offering a number of services. ✅ Sports Physicals ✅ Well Child Visits ✅ 7th & 12th Grade Immunizations ✅ Sick Visits ⏰ Hours: Spring Valley High School Location 👉 Monday, 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Wayne High School Location 👉 Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Both locations are accepting walk-ins!

Buffalo Middle School student Rylee Sebastian was recognized by the Wayne County Commission last week as an Honorable Mention in the CCAWV's annual essay contest. Rylee's teacher Rachel Aldridge was also recognized for helping her throughout the process. Congratulations to you both!

What a Weekend! We are proud to announce that the Tolsia High School Band gave a stellar performance at Kings Island Saturday. Our talented musicians wowed the audience with their amazing skills, and even had time to get on a few rides! A huge thank you to everyone who supported our band, both in preparation and at the event. Your encouragement means the world to our students and makes moments like these even more special.

At this week's Board Meeting, Regional and State Social Fair winners, 2024 WV Golden Horseshoe winners, and a host of employees were recognized for striving to be excellent! Congratulations to all, you make Wayne County proud. WV State Social Studies Fair First Place Winners: Mia Cheung and Makynlee Bragg – Division II – Group – Anthropology – “Ching-Shih – The Pirate Queen” Ainsley Brumfield, Bentley Ord and Scout Maynard – Division II – Group – Political Science – “Conspiracy or Conviction: The Assassination of JFK” WV 2024 Golden Horseshoe Winners: Madison Muncy – Crum PreK-8 School Drake Anderson – Vinson Middle School Bobby Hensley – Vinson Middle School Zackary Meadows – Vinson Middle School Cheyenne Johnson – Vinson Middle School Teacher Regional Finalist: Nicole Pratt – Regional Finalist – Hallie Harless Distinguished Teacher Award Regional Social Studies Fair First Place Winners: Jase Hatfield – Division I – Individual – Economics – “Elvis” Mason Spurlock, Kaylen Spurlock, and Dalilah Fonner – Division I – Group – Geography – “The Pumpkin House” Henry Harris – Division I – Individual – Political Science – “Carved in Controversy: The Untold Story of Mount Rushmore” Abram Gonzales and Declan Perry – Division I – Group – Psychology – “The Winning Benefit of Pitches” Paislee Bailey – Division I – Individual – Sociology – “Family Tree DNA” Myranda Wilson – Division I – Individual – State and Local Studies – “Pepperoni Rolls: WV’s Coal Miner’s Sandwich” Alona Hill, Lilly Parsley and Brilee Prince – Division I – Group – State and Local Studies – “Mothman and the Silver Bridge” Cooper Henderson – Division I – Individual – World History – “How the Weapons of WWI Changed Modern Warfare” Marlee Damron and Lucy Ball – Division I – Group – World History – “The History of Barbie” Mia Cheung and Makynlee Bragg – Division II – Group – Anthropology – “Ching-Shih – The Pirate Princess” Ainsley Brumfield, Bentley Ord and Scout Maynard – Division II – Group – Political Science – “Conviction or Conspiracy” Greenlee Vance and Carly Johnson – Division II – Group – Psychology – “Michael Jackson vs. Elvis Presley” Olivia Chatterton and Madalyn Wilson – Division II – Group – State and Local Studies – “The Jones Diamond” Bentley Roark and Jace Hager – Division II – Group – World History – “The Zimmermann Telegram” Employee Recognitions: Jordyn Lucas – Teacher – Genoa Elementary School Valerie Robinson – Teacher – Genoa Elementary School Roscoe Spaulding – Bus Operator – Transportation Department Kyle Crisel – Bus Operator – Transportation Department Mike Newsome – Mechanic – Transportation Department Kassandra Spaulding – Bus Operator – Transportation Department Audra Stephens – Bus Operator – Transportation Department Cassondra Burton – ECCAT – Ceredo-Kenova Elementary School Angela Donahoe – Executive Secretary – Central Office Crystal Barton – Bus Operator – Transportation Department James Frasher – Bus Operator – Transportation Department Charles Ethan Spaulding – Mechanic/Bus Operator – Transportation Department

The Wayne County Family Engagement Academy will be hosting an online Communication Workshop tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Meeting ID: 291 877 497 20 Passcode: MtSBYh You can also join using the link below: https://teams.microsoft.com/v2/?meetingjoin=true#/l/meetup-join/19:meeting_NzQ4Yjk1OTMtOGM1YS00ODE0LWJlYTktOTZkZDc2NGNmYjJl@thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22e019b04b-330c-467a-8bae-09fb17374d6a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%222abb49bd-8878-485d-b26d-b9c58b5c61d7%22%7d&anon=true&deeplinkId=899db949-5052-41b6-8278-74dd261c8b48

Parents/Guardians, please see the important reminder below for an upcoming WCS Family Engagement Academy! This Friday, May 31st, we will be talking about Attendance Challenges. Laurie Vennes, a nationally recognized speaker, is presenting her series titled "Tackling Attendance Challenges." We hope to see you there! Location - Spring Valley High School Auditorium Time - 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. When - Friday, May 31st A boxed lunch will be provided!

This Summer the Wayne County 4-H Camp will be held June 17th through June 21st at Cabwaylingo State Forest. All Wayne County students are invited to register for a week of fun and adventure! Non 4-H members can register at this link: https://4h.zsuite.org/external-event-registration/29404 Current 4-H members can register here: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/29404

Project Lead the Way Students at Lavalette Elementary and Vinson Middle School are wrapping up an exciting year learning and growing their STEM skills. LES - Buzz is the Word! To finish off their PLTW: Lifecycles and Survival unit, third graders invited Wayne County beekeeper Travis Kahle to their class. Travis demonstrated a few of the techniques he uses to take care of his bees. The group also talked about the lifecycle of bees. VMS - App Creators! Students in this PLTW program created an app from the ground up. First they determined a problem and then built (designed, coded, and tested) an app to help solve the problem. Students created a variety off apps, including an American Sign Language Study Aid for SVHS students. Earlier this week, students demonstrated to friends and family and county leaders how their app works!

Buffalo Elementary 5th Graders put together gift boxes as a thank you for their bus drivers for all the rides to and from school, away games, field trips, and everything else in between. Each box had short note for the driver. The kids had a blast making them and their drivers were so grateful for the gesture!

🎨 Art Show Award Winner!🥇 The Huntington Museum of Art Awards are here. Madden Coble, a student at BMS, received the Middle School Art Award. Madden competed against middle school students from across the Tri-State Area. There were only four middle school awards granted. Congratulations Madden!

Join our Family Engagement Academy on May 31st at Spring Valley High School as nationally renowned speaker Laurie Vennes talks about the importance of attendance!

Students receive their high school diplomas and then move onto higher education or enter the workforce...usually. Two Wayne High School Seniors, Clayton McDaniel (right) and Robert Cremeans (left), had something else in mind. The pair have been taking classes at the high school and at Mountwest Community and Technical College. During their time at MountWest, Clayton accumulated 30 hours of college credit and Robert accumulated 40 hours. All before finishing high school! As a result of their hard work, Clayton and Robert recently graduated from Mountwest with a technical certification. Making the two college graduates while still in high school! Congratulations on this tremendous accomplishment! We can't wait to see what you do next.

Starting with the 2024-2025 school year WCS, in partnership with Marshall Health Network and Cabell County Schools, is launching a new CTE program for students called MedEx. The first MedEx class will be made up of students from Wayne High School and Cabell Midland High School. MedEx is a two-year healthcare program that introduces high school students to the Marshall Health Network Program, which is a partnership with school systems, the Education Alliance, and the WVDE. The program also provides opportunities for on-the-job experience. In the last semester of this program, students will be eligible to be compensated while at the hospital. The MedEx program was modeled after a similar manufacturing program that originated with Toyota. In preparation for the program's launch, administrators from Wayne and Cabell Counties toured St. Mary's and Cabell Huntington Hospital to see where students will be working. WHS is hosting a signing day on May 15th for students who are participating in the inaugural year of MedEx!

Happy National Teachers Appreciation Week! We are thankful for all of the talented educators in Wayne County Schools. They are leaders in and out of the classroom and go to great lengths to make sure their students have everything they need to succeed! If you have the chance this week, find your favorite teacher and let them know what they mean to you! Thank you to all of our educators in WCS.

As part of the CEAS (Civics Empowers All Students) grant, fourth grade students at East Lynn Elementary piloted the We the People program this year. The We the People curriculum aims to incorporate civics and constitutional principles into younger grades to set a foundation of knowledge moving into middle and high school. Using this curriculum this year, students have learned about: 👉 Separation of Powers 👉 Individual Rights 👉 Government Policies and Procedures To wrap up the We the People program, fourth graders participated in simulated congressional hearings. The entire class, working in cooperative teams, prepared and presented statements before a panel of community representatives acting as a congressional committee. Students then answered follow-up questions posed by the committee members and got to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles. Mrs. Ross worked closely with Rebecca Tinder from the Center for Civic Education throughout the year. East Lynn would like to thank the congressional committee that graciously donated their time to empower young students in their civic journey: 👏 Pat Dillon – Retired West Virginia Teacher. 👏 Bruce Perrone - Retired Attorney 👏 Tom Tinder - Retired Attorney East Lynn Students have had an incredible time in this program. Who knows, we might see one (or several) of these students in office one day!

In 2015, Marshall University launched a new program for medical students. The B.S./M.D. program allows students to work on their B.S. and M.D. degrees in just seven years. Traditionally, earning a B.S. and M.D. takes closer to 10 years. Each year, 10 students from West Virginia are chosen to join this program. Joining the program this fall is Ava Coburn from Spring Valley High School! Congratulations, Ava! Earning this spot takes hard work and determination, we know you will do great!

First graders at Lavalette dove into their Scholastic News to learn about the parts of flowers. Students took some time to read about flowers and then they got their hands dirty with a flower planting enrichment activity! Students enjoy being able to see, touch, and feel what they are learning about. Happy planting, LES!