Vance County Schools to host Bus Driver Training

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Vance County Schools will host school bus driver training sessions Monday August 8  – Wednesday August 10, at L.B. Yancey Elementary School.

Interested persons must attend the training on all three days to receive certification. We will only be training individuals to drive school buses.

The training sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at approximately 3 p.m. each day.

Those interested in participating in the training sessions must register five days prior to the sessions with the school system’s Transportation Department, located at 226 Welcome Avenue off Raleigh Road south of Henderson. For additional information, call the Transportation Department at 252-438-5012.

J.F. Webb High School Campus

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Last week, on Tuesday, July 12th, the Granville County Board of Education held a special called meeting to take up discussion about the future of the J.F. Webb High School campus.  Superintendent Dr. Dorwin Howard presented information to the Board members regarding demographics and other information about Webb High School and the School of Health and Life Sciences which is on the Webb campus.

Following the discussion, the Board arrived at consensus to issue the following proclamation: The Granville County Board of Education and the Granville County Public Schools Administration are committed to maintaining the two distinctive schools that comprise the J.F. Webb High School campus, and to take continuous action to improve the academic achievement, student behavior, discipline and safety for all students.

Board Chair, Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan, also offered these additional comments, “Tonight the Granville County Board of Education adopted a statement that clearly supports the continuation of the School of Health and Life Sciences on the JF Webb campus.  The Board is concerned that rumors in the community assumed the school would be merged with JF Webb High School next year- this is in fact not the case, and furthermore, there are no plans to merge the schools anytime soon.  We look forward to the continued success of this school and support the efforts of all of our schools to serve all students to the best of their ability.”

Superintendent Dr. Dorwin L. Howard, Sr. also commented on the discussion, saying, “We are committed to providing the best possible education to all of the students at the JF Webb campus.  We will continue to work closely with the leadership teams at both schools to improve the academic achievement, student behavior, discipline and safety for all students.  Warrior pride is strong, and the future is bright for all students on that campus.”

(The final three paragraphs are verbatim from a Granville Co. Schools press release.  The first paragraph was altered slightly for clarity.)

Vance County School Show 07/18/16

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New Teacher Bag Donations

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The following from the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce:

New Teacher Bag Donations

We need your help to welcome our new teachers to Vance County!  Snacks, gum, candy, water bottles, notepads, pens, pencils, coupons etc. are just a few of the things we need to pack in the bags. Make sure your business name and contact information is on the items you donate.

We will be packing 120 bags and these will be distributed to new teachers at all Vance County Public schools, Kerr-Vance Academy, Henderson Collegiate, Vance Charter, and Crossroads Christian.

If you would like to make a donation, please contact Melanie Mann at 252-438-8414 or info@hendersonvance.org.

Deadline for donations is this Wednesday, August 3rd.

STEM now accepting applications

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Vance County Schools is now accepting applications for STEM Early High School for grades 7 and 8 for the 2016-2017 school year.

STEM is an innovative early high school that focuses on science, mathematics, engineering and technology. All students are provided with a laptop computer and work collaboratively in an environment that encourages high levels of problem solving through the use of engineering principles and creativity.

Limited space is available for students.

Applications will be accepted through July 27 at the school on the campus of Northern Vance High School or at the Vance County Schools Administrative Services Center at 1724 Graham Avenue in Henderson.

Applications are available on line at www.vcs.k12.nc.us.

Decisions regarding acceptance will be made prior to August 5, 2016.

Fourteen graduate from EMT-Paramedic training at VGCC

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Vance-Granville Community College honored 11 men and three women who completed the college’s year-long Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic program on July 13.

The graduates included Michael Hunter Robbins of Bunn; Catherine Garner of Creedmoor; Fuller Caton, Herbert Hill Davis, James Hughes, Cassidy Ivey, William Jenkins, Tyler McDaniel and Courtney Moss, all of Henderson; David Drumheller of Mebane; Jonathan Kraemer of Raleigh; Harvey Grim of Roxboro; Joseph Farlow of Timberlake; and C.J. Phillips of Youngsville.

Vivian Loyd, a Registered Nurse and Paramedic Level II instructor, was the instructor for the class.

EMT-Paramedic instruction includes 596 hours of didactic (classroom) training and 500 hours of clinical education, or field internship. To be eligible to take the EMT-P course, students had to have already completed a 203-hour EMT-Basic course and passed a state exam.

An EMT-Paramedic has enhanced skills beyond the EMT-Basic level, including being able to administer additional interventions and medications. The EMT-P delivers the highest level of pre-hospital medical care in North Carolina.

In order to successfully complete the EMT-P course, students had to pass several different exams, including a “scope of practice” exam. This scenario-based evaluation tested the hands-on and critical thinking skills of students, as they delivered the appropriate treatment to multiple trauma patients and dealt with pediatric, environmental, and mental-illness situations. Each student also had to complete an 80-hour Anatomy and Physiology course.

Now that students have completed the EMT-P course, they must take the 100-question North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services credentialing exam to become state-certified.

VGCC offers Emergency Medical Services training from the basic to the Paramedic level, in addition to continuing education. For more information on enrolling in these courses, call Stephen Barney at (252) 738-3273.

Home and Garden Show 07/12/16

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VGCC to offer second Enrollment Day on July 20

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Vance-Granville Community College will hold the second “Enrollment Day” of the summer on Wednesday, July 20, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., at all four of its campuses. On Enrollment Day, VGCC counselors and other staff members will be ready to assist anyone who is interested in enrolling at the college for the Fall 2016 semester, which starts Monday, Aug. 15. No appointments are required.

For new students, the process of enrollment begins with an application for admission and an application for financial aid. Then, students must request their official high school transcripts, and in some cases, their transcripts from other colleges they have attended. Next, they should meet with an academic/career coach and schedule a placement test, unless it is waived. Finally, students complete an orientation session, either online or in the traditional face-to-face format. On Enrollment Day, incoming students will be able to accomplish all of these tasks or schedule them, so they can stay on track to start classes in August.

VGCC’s Main Campus is located on Poplar Creek Road in Vance County (about midway between Henderson and Oxford) at the intersection with Interstate 85 (Exit 209).

The Franklin County Campus is located just west of Louisburg on N.C. 56.

South Campus is on N.C. 56 between Creedmoor and Butner.

The Warren County Campus is located at 210 West Ridgeway Street (U.S. 158 Business) in Warrenton.

Registration for fall classes at VGCC is ongoing, through July 29. For more information, contact VGCC at studentsuccess@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3330, or visit any campus.

Home and Garden Show 07/05/16

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New VGCC Scholarship established in memory of Sam Watkins

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A new scholarship at Vance-Granville Community College will honor the memory of longtime Vance County business and community leader Sam Watkins Jr.

His son, Trey Watkins of Wake Forest, recently visited VGCC to formally establish the “Sam Watkins Jr. Academic Achievement Scholarship” on behalf of himself and his wife, Sarah.

Sam Watkins, who died in 2014 at the age of 80, was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a U.S. Army veteran. For many years, he was the president of Rose Oil Company, a member and chairman of the Henderson-Vance Economic Development Commission, and a member of the Maria Parham Medical Center Board of Trustees.

Watkins co-founded the Henderson Downtown Development Corporation, from which the North Carolina Main Street Program evolved. In 2008, he and his twin brother, George, were the recipients of the Community Hero Award given by the Vance County Commissioners for making the community a better place in which to live. He was a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and, in 1985, he was Vance County’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year. He served on the local Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Citizens Bank and Trust Company Board, and chaired the local North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) Board in Henderson. In his later years, his proudest accomplishment was the forming of the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation, responsible for building a new public library and cultural center in Henderson. Watkins was also a beloved father and grandfather.

In awarding the new scholarship, preference will be given to students in the VGCC Nursing program. “We would like to support students with compassion, who show commitment and pride in their work in the health care field,” Trey Watkins said. “My father loved both the hospital and the college, so this would be a fitting tribute.”

Sam Watkins supported and partnered with the college in his economic development roles, and VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams remembered him with fondness. “Sam Watkins was a tireless leader and advocate for his community,” Dr. Williams said. “His legacy of service will continue through a scholarship that will help Vance-Granville students for generations to come.”

Just as Trey is establishing this scholarship in his father’s memory, Sam and George Watkins endowed the S.M. Watkins Sr. Memorial Academic Achievement Scholarship at VGCC to honor their father in 1991.

Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 8,500 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information about the Endowment Fund, call (252) 738-3409.