Community Voices Session I
The Community Voices Program kick-off took place last week and was a great start to what we hope will be something wonderful for Henderson/Vance County–citizens working together to build a strong community.
Co-sponsored by NC Agricultural & Technical State University in Greensboro, and Vance County Cooperative Extension, the training sessions already have members of our community who are trained to ready to serve as facilitators for this program. And there is no cost to participate.
Even if you missed the kick-off, please come to Session I which will be held on Thursday, October 27, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market located at 210 Southpark Drive (off Beckford Drive) in Henderson.
Please call 252-438-8188 to sign up to attend next week’s session so we may have adequate supplies ready for you. Also, please feel free to promote this to someone in your community who might like to participate.
This training series is designed for:
- People who want to be trained for help others to discuss critical community issues.
- People who want to create a shared vision for their community’s future.
- People who are interested in learning good listening and communication skills.
- People who are willing to volunteer their time to implement a community action plan in support of this community effort.
Sessions may be scheduled different days of the week to accommodate the participants’ schedules and the holidays. Following is a list of the training topics to be discussed:
- Session I – Creating a Shared Vision of Community’s Future
- Session II – Connection Our Vision to Community Strength & Resources
- Session III – Communicating a a Group to Reach Our Vision & Making Shared Decisions as a Group
- Session IV – Learning to Solve Our Community Problems, Step by Step & Selecting Community Problems from our Vision
- Session V – Seeking More Information About Our Problems & Determining Solutions for Our Problems
- Session VI – Determining Solutions to Our Community Problems
- Session VII – Making a Shared Community Action Plan & Planning to Continue Our Work
- Action Forum & Graduation
VGCC Women’s Volleyball team honors sophomores
The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards women’s volleyball program paid tribute to its sophomore leaders on Oct. 11, just before a match with conference rival Davidson County Community College at Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson.
The two second-year players rounding out their VGCC playing careers are Jesse Edwards and Kiyanna Kearney, both of Henderson. Edwards is a Northern Vance High School graduate, while Kearney is a product of Southern Vance High School, where she played not only volleyball but also softball and basketball. Edwards is a College Transfer student at VGCC, with plans to enter the Associate Degree Nursing program in 2017. Kearney, meanwhile, is studying Criminal Justice.
The “Sophomore Night” match turned out to be a thriller. A hard-fought first set ended with a 25-23 victory for the Storm from Davidson County, who then secured a more dominant 25-14 victory in the second set. But the Vanguards came back to win the third set, 25-22, and the fourth, 25-20, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Storm edged out the home team, 15-12, to win the match with a 3-2 victory.
VGCC’s two sophomores were, as usual, key players that evening. Kearney led her squad with 20 kills, with Edwards second at 16. Kearney also had the most digs (31) and solo blocks (4). Meanwhile, freshman Stormi Abernathy contributed all 50 of the team’s recorded assists, along with 19 digs. Katelynn Ray, also a freshman, made 19 digs as well, while Edwards posted 17 digs.
The loss brought VGCC’s record to 11-7, and followed a pair of conference wins (3-1, 3-0) over Rockingham Community College.
VGCC names new coordinator for Student Activities & Athletics
Jermiel Hargrove has been named the coordinator of student activities and athletics at Vance-Granville Community College.
Hargrove will oversee clubs, organizations and extracurricular activities that engage students on campus, as well as the college’s intercollegiate athletics program, which includes men’s basketball, women’s volleyball and a new cheerleading squad. He will also serve as the advisor for the VGCC Student Government Association (SGA).
A resident of Henderson, Hargrove has been a member of the VGCC staff since 2006, serving as webmaster and digital media specialist. He is a graduate of Northern Vance High School and of VGCC, where he earned a degree in Web Technologies.
Hargrove has also served as head coach for the Northern Granville Middle School girls’ basketball team, guiding them to a conference championship. He noted that he has focused on preparing his players to advance to high school-level athletics, and was pleased that 90% of them made the A/B honor roll. Earlier this year, Hargrove also served as interim assistant coach for the VGCC Vanguards men’s basketball team and assisted with the college athletics program for several months on an interim basis before assuming his new full-time role.
“Jermiel brings to his new position a deep understanding of VGCC as both a graduate and an employee of the college, along with a passion for working with young people,” VGCC Dean of Enrollment & Outreach Jeffrey Allen said. “Under his leadership, we will continue to develop student-athletes who succeed both on the court and in the classroom, while also providing enriching experiences and service opportunities for all of our Vanguards.”
Fall Festival to be held at Vance County Early College High School
The Vance County Early College High School would like to invite the community to attend its annual Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 28th, at Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, from 6:00-9:00pm.
Families are urged to attend for good food, fellowship and fun!
Eaton-Johnson Middle School, VGCC partner to show students pathways
As local educational partners, Vance-Granville Community College and Eaton-Johnson Middle School in Henderson help inspire young students to prepare for higher education. A faculty member recently made a visit to the middle school and brought along an EJMS alumna who is now a VGCC student.
VGCC Public Services Department Chair Steven Hargrove was accompanied on his visit by McKallah Pendergrass of Henderson, a Criminal Justice Technology student who had not set foot in her old middle school in years. Pendergrass is preparing to graduate this academic year and plans to transfer to either North Carolina Central University or UNC-Charlotte.
Hargrove and Pendergrass met with the middle school’s lead counselor, Dr. Priscilla Chavis-Lockley, who took them on a tour of the new EJMS Paxton/Patterson lab. Established under the leadership of the school’s new principal, Dr. Brad Jones, the lab features hands-on stations that help students learn about various fields, including manufacturing, robotics, forensics, audiovisual production and computer graphics.
Hargrove noted the clear connections between all the lab’s different skill areas and VGCC’s Business and Applied Technologies programs, showing students that they could continue to study these fields at their local college. As a longtime Criminal Justice instructor, Hargrove was particularly interested in the forensic science computer program that students were using to create a digital reconstruction of the face of a criminal suspect. He noted that now, students have a new opportunity to complete an entire bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice without leaving VGCC’s main campus, thanks to the “Eagle Voyage” partnership with North Carolina Central University. The program is set to graduate its first students in 2017.
“It is important for us to talk to eighth-graders about college,” Hargrove noted, “because that is when they start thinking about careers. They need to start planning their high school and college education and they need to see pathways. We must let students and their parents know about the opportunities that are available.”
Planning for college studies at the middle school level has become increasingly important in recent years, as students have options to enroll in Early College High Schools, offered by VGCC in partnership with local school systems, starting in the ninth grade. In addition, new Career & College Promise pathways have been developed for students in traditional high schools to earn college credits, tuition-free.
Eaton-Johnson’s partnership with VGCC is largely the result of the efforts of Dr. Chavis-Lockley, who earned two degrees at Vance-Granville — early childhood education and associate in arts (college transfer) — before moving on to North Carolina Central University for a bachelor’s degree and three master’s degrees, and to North Carolina State University for a doctorate in education and counseling. She also established a student ambassador program at EJMS that has partnered with VGCC’s own ambassador program in the past.
Days after the visit to the middle school by VGCC, the partnership continued as a group of EJMS students visited the college campus for the annual “Manufacturing Day” event to learn about technical careers.
Teachers in Vance County Schools receive new laptops
The deployment of almost 600 new laptop computers to teachers in Vance County Schools began today with teachers from six schools coming to the Administrative Services Center in the afternoon to get their new devices.
The teachers were returning their old devices and then picking up new ones, which are Lenovo E460 laptops, that have been fully programmed and equipped to use as teaching tools each day in their classrooms.
Technology Department staff members have worked long hours to get all of the new laptops ready for the teachers.
Teachers from Southern Vance High, Early College High, Aycock Elementary, Carver Elementary, Clarke Elementary and New Hope Elementary received laptops today. New laptop computers will be given tomorrow afternoon to teachers from Northern Vance High, STEM Early High, Dabney Elementary, E.O. Young Jr. Elementary and Zeb Vance Elementary.
More computer deployments are planned for teachers at additional schools on October 25 and 26.
Zeb Vance Elementary Celebrates National Grandparents Day
Grandparents of students at Zeb Vance Elementary School were invited to join their grandchildren for lunch in honor of National Grandparents Day. Although the official day is to be observed on the first Sunday after Labor Day, Zeb Vance hosted its festivities on the following Monday.
“The smiles on the students’ faces when they saw their grandparents come out to have lunch with them was priceless. I was floored by the number of grandparents we had visiting,” said Kristian Herring, Principal of Zeb Vance Elementary School. “101 grandparents had lunch with their grandchildren. This shows just how important our grandparents are to our students and how important our students are to our grandparents.”
Guidance Counselor Valerie Hairston was also ecstatic at how Grandparents Day connected generations. “Grandparents left with joy in their hearts and a token of appreciation in their hands,” she stated. “This was a great way to honor grandparents.”
This initiative was started at Zeb Vance as a way to have grandparents visit the school and enjoy the company of their grandchildren over a nutritional meal. Zeb Vance also uses this as a venue to recruit volunteers for the school.
“It is wonderful to see our students’ faces light up when they see their grandparents in the cafeteria to join them for lunch,” shared Marian Faulkner, a third grade teacher at Zeb Vance. “Some students invited their classmates (who didn’t have a family member there) to join them and their family for lunch. Anytime we can merge our Zeb Vance family with our students’ families is a positive experience.”
Mike Patel, grandfather of a Zeb Vance Kindergarten student, shared his satisfaction with the Grandparents Day celebration. “I enjoyed the lunch very much,” he said. “I liked seeing all the loving moments between the grandchildren and their grandparents.”
President Jimmy Carter signed a federal proclamation declaring the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. What a way to celebrate Grandparents Day by promoting participation and community involvement.
Pictured in the attached photograph are (left to right): Mike Patel, Maci Hunt, Maci Short and Dinky Ramsey