Oxford Prep Girls Track Team NCAC Conference Champs
-Information courtesy Patricia Lyons, Coach, Oxford Preparatory School
The Oxford Preparatory Girls track team won the 2018 NCAC Conference Championship in their first year of competition. Competing with only six girls, the Griffins won the meet against track powerhouses Franklin Academy and Voyager Academy.
Coach Patricia Lyons stated, “I explained before the meet what had to take place for us to win. They all assured me that whatever event they needed to do they would try it. Every girl placed in the top three in all the field events which propelled us to win the championship.”
The Griffins now have their sights set on the NCHSSA Mideast Regional at Pender High School in Burgaw, N.C. on Saturday, May 12, 2018.
Oxford Preparatory School Celebrates College Signing Day
On Friday, May 4, 2018, Oxford Preparatory School celebrated College Signing Day. The school is proud to announce that 94% of Oxford Prep students have been accepted by a four-year college or university and 67% have made the commitment to attend the four-year college of their choice.
As a symbol of that commitment, OPS Griffins participated in a signing ceremony that was attended by the entire student body, faculty and families.
Students committed to further pursue their education at a four-year university include:
Appalachian State University: Olivia Brown and Jose Kyle Maghanoy
East Carolina University: Autumn Brantley, Kim Campbell, A. Luis Rodriguez, Erin Thomas, Jacinthia Williams, Kenard Williams and Nicoria Williams
A few of the many Oxford Preparatory School students headed to four-year colleges in the fall.
Elon University: Mary Catherine Stallsmith
Johnson & Wales University: Antwan McCrimmon
King University: William Trey Reese
Meredith College: Haley Hight, Clara West and Kayla Whirley
North Carolina A&T University: Zenia Hart
North Carolina State University: Bo Puckett
University of Mount Olive: Bailee Barker
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Layla Alashmli
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Riley Proctor
University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Chelsea Gatgewood, Caleb Hunt, Madeline Stallsmith
University of North Carolina at Wilmington: Andrew Crumpler, Andrew Whitt Daniel, Ca’rin Green and Joseph Vaughan
Western Carolina University: Megan Ayscue
Wingate University: Cassidy Griffin
Granville County Budget Work Sessions – May 15 & 24
-Information courtesy Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board/Asst. to the County Manager, Granville County
BUDGET WORK SESSIONS 2018
The Granville County budget work sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at 10 a.m. and Thursday, May 24, 2018, at 4 p.m. at the Granville Expo Center located at 4185 Highway 15 South in Oxford.
Meredith College VP To Speak At VGCC Curriculum Graduation
-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College
Dr. Jean Jackson, vice president for college programs at Meredith College, will be the principal commencement speaker for Vance-Granville Community College’s graduation exercises on Friday, May 11.
Sovanny “Sophie” Taylor, president of the VGCC Student Government Association, will be the student speaker.
Nearly 500 students are scheduled to be honored during ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. at the gazebo by the lake on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. For those unable to attend the event in person, VGCC will broadcast a live video feed from the ceremony online at www.vgcc.edu.
Dr. Jean Jackson will serve as the guest speaker at Vance-Granville Community College’s curriculum graduation ceremony on Friday, May 11, 2018.
Dr. Jackson, a native of Vance County, oversees strategic planning and budgeting for offices at Meredith that include Academic and Career Planning, Athletics, Campus Police, the Chaplain, the Dean of Students, and Student Leadership and Service. She became a member of the English faculty at Meredith in 1983 and continues to teach courses on English Poetry of the Romantic Period.
Dr. Jackson, who is the daughter of Ira and Rose Mabry Jackson from Middleburg, graduated from Vance County High School. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, at Meredith College, double-majoring in English and Religion. She also earned both a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition, she completed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Among numerous honors, Dr. Jackson has received the Pauline Davis Perry FAME Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Laura Harrill Presidential Award and the Meredith Alumna Award. She has been inducted into the Greater Triangle YWCA Academy of Women as its Inductee for Education and into the inaugural class of the North Carolina 4-H Hall of Fame. She is the recipient of three international travel grants for research in Great Britain and the recipient of travel grants for presentations or panels in Canada, Hawaii, and England.
A member of Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Nu Sigma, Silver Shield and Theta Alpha Kappa and a Patroness for the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, she also frequently serves as a reviewer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Sovanny “Sophie” Taylor, president of the VGCC Student Government Association, will be the student speaker for the ceremony.
Taylor, the student speaker, is graduating from VGCC with an Associate in Arts degree and an Associate in Science degree. Later in May, she will graduate from Franklin County Early College High School, completing both of her degrees and her high school diploma one year earlier than the traditional early college high school graduate. She has received a scholarship to continue her education in the fall in Honors Carolina at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she plans to study molecular genetics.
She was elected president of the SGA for the 2017-2018 year, and, in that capacity, also served as the student member of the VGCC Board of Trustees. She is only the second early college high school student to serve in those leadership roles in VGCC history. At VGCC, she has been named to the President’s List. Taylor is the daughter of Mrs. Cleveland Evans of Louisburg and Mr. Ronald Taylor of Cary.
Students serving as graduation marshals will be Savannah L. Brogden of Oxford; Brenda G. Ellis of Durham; Kacie L. Gann of Durham; Alyssa M. Gupton of Oxford; Jayla N. Harris of Henderson; Fatima N. Hawter of Henderson; Samantha C. Hines of Henderson; Kynleigh E. Holley of Wake Forest; Evan A. O’Geary of Henderson; Abigail M. Smith of Oxford; Alexis M. Watson of Henderson; and April Zuniga-Trejo of Henderson.
Four Shot on Hilliard Street in Henderson
-Press Release, Henderson Police Department
On May 4, 2018, around 11:27 p.m., officers with the Henderson Police Department were dispatched to 519 Hilliard Street. Once on scene officers located four individuals that had been shot. Thomas Williamson, age 47, Latoya Taylor, age 36, Travis Williams, age 23, and Dana Elliott, age 26, received gunshot injuries and were transported to area medical facilities for treatment.
We are currently gathering information and investigating this incident in conjunction with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. We urge members of our community to come forth with any information that may lead to the arrest of the individual(s) responsible for this crime.
Please contact the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141, Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925, or use the P3 app on a smartphone or tablet device. Callers may remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers offers rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in criminal acts.
Authority: Chief M.W. Barrow
Audition Date Announced for “Clybourne Park”
–Submitted by Crystal Allen, Henderson-Vance Recreation Program Supervisor
“Clybourne Park”
Sponsored By: Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Dept.
Audition Date: Saturday, May 19, 2018
Where: City Hall of Henderson, 134 Rose Avenue
Time: 10 a.m.
Directed by: Stephanie Asabi Howard
Contact: Crystal Allen at (252) 431-6091 or email callen@ci.henderson.nc.us for more information
Local Educators Complete Professional Development Programs
-Press Release, Vance County Schools
Two accomplished educators from Vance County Schools have completed participation in professional development programs held at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) in Cullowhee, N.C.
The center is a recognized national leader in professional development programming for our state’s teachers.
Fatina Bunch, a teacher at Eaton-Johnson Middle School, and Dr. Lisa Webster-Caroon, also a teacher at Eaton-Johnson Middle School, successfully completed their participation in programs at NCCAT. Bunch attended the “Developing Engagement and Understanding in Middle Grades Math” program and Webster-Caroon attended the “Project Based Learning in Digital Format” program.
Increasing teacher effectiveness is fundamental to improving public education. NCCAT provides teachers with new knowledge, skills, teaching methods, best practices and information to take back to their classrooms. NCCAT conducts a wide variety of high-quality professional development for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers.
Marcia Allen – Vance County Board of Education District 7 Candidate
Name: Marcia Lynnette Allen
Candidate For: Vance County Board of Education – District 7
Age: 52
Town of Residence: Henderson
Previous position(s) held: Department of Social Services Board of Directors
Degrees/Certifications Earned: Bachelor of Arts – Psychology
What motivates you to want to become a Vance County Board of Education member?
I am running for office because I believe in education and the importance of ensuring that every student is allowed the opportunity to obtain the necessary tools that will enable him/her to successfully move into the next phase of life.
Running for this office allows me the opportunity to give back to the community and school system I grew up in and present myself as a mentor and role model for our most important onlookers, the student.
What do you see as the Board’s primary roles and responsibilities?
The Board’s primary roles and responsibilities are to ensure that every student is afforded the opportunity to receive an education. In receiving an education the students should be provided an environment that is safe and conducive to learning.
Additionally, the Board should include opportunities to prepare students for higher education and preparation for the workforce if not pursuing a college degree. Ideally, students in Vance County should be able to compete globally with their peers nationally and internationally.
What is your vision for the future of education in this community?
My vision for education is that every child succeeds in school. I believe there must be an aggressive action plan to improve school’s state performance grades so that each school is equipped to provide the curriculum for success readiness.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the Vance County Board of Education?
The biggest challenge is safety. The goal is to provide every student with an atmosphere that is safe and conducive to learning.
I believe that success is contingent upon the cooperation and unity of three factions of every student; parents/guardians, school and community. It is my belief that each of these areas is critical to the firm foundation-building of each student.
How would you handle the request of individuals and special interest groups?
I would acknowledge the request and, if appropriate, refer them to the Superintendent, full Board or Community Public Affairs Specialist for a formal response, especially if it involves private information pertaining to a student, family or school personnel.
(WIZS News will be publishing a series of candidate question-and-answer articles in the days leading up to the May 8th primary here on WIZS.com. Significant portions will be broadcast on WIZS Radio with equal time allotted for each candidate.)