AdVance Academy, the alternative high school for Vance County Schools, presented high school diplomas to 24 graduating seniors during mid-year commencement exercises held during the evening of December 18.
Principal Stephanie Ayscue led the proceedings.
An audience of about 500 parents, other family members, school system educators, special guests and community members were on hand to honor the graduating seniors.
The Vance County High School Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard presented the flags at the beginning of the ceremony and during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Those students receiving their diplomas included: Dylan Allgood, Christopher Almanza, Andrew Brown, Takara Cozart, Christian Cruz-Ochoa, Jevon Durham, Hayley Eatmon, Tyrae Fuller, Hector Garcia-Gregorio, Dustin Gouldman, Diamonique Hargrove, Marquise Hargrove, Malik Hill, Justin Joyner, Anthony Meadows, Chase Parrish, Miguel Ponce, Sekedric Rainey, Austin Ray, Zhakeitha Scott, Da’Kayleen Seigle, Sincere Williams-Taylor, Jacob Wilson and Charles Wurster IV.
Graduates of AdVance Academy at the school’s mid-year commencement exercises stand after entering the auditorium for the ceremony. (Photo Credit: VCS)
AdVance Academy seniors walk across the stage as they receive their diplomas and congratulations from Vance County Schools officials. (Photo Credit: VCS)
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-Information courtesy Terri Hedrick, Public Information Officer, Vance County Schools
The Vance County Board of Education meeting, originally scheduled for December 10, has been rescheduled to Monday, December 17, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the school system’s Administrative Services Center. The public is invited to attend.
Vance County Schools hosted another “Community to Schools” event on Friday, December 7, with community leaders visiting four of our local public schools to learn more about what educators and students are working on during a typical school day.
Superintendent Anthony Jackson and other key school system leaders escorted the business, church, civic and public service agency representatives on visits to L.B. Yancey Elementary School, Vance County High School, STEM Early High School and Vance County Middle School. The visits were held during a four-hour period in the morning.
At each of the schools, school administrators greeted the touring group. They showed the participants key advances and programs for our students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Those who participated in the school visits were able to go into classrooms and see teachers and students at work and they visited computer labs, educational workrooms and the new Vance Virtual laboratories at the middle and high schools.
Dr. Carnetta Thomas discusses student incentive programs at L.B. Yancey Elementary School while hosting community leaders in her school. (Photo Credit: VCS)
Dr. Carnetta Thomas, principal of L.B. Yancey Elementary School, introduced the tour group to several of her teachers and students who were actively engaged in classroom work. She also had them visit with students, parents and staff during the school’s special “Books & Breakfast” event held throughout the school and featuring parents eating breakfast with the students and then going into various parts of the school to read with, and to, student groups.
During their visit to Vance County High School, Principal Rey Horner welcomed the tour participants and talked about the many programs and services provided to students in his school including the Vance Medical Academy, Fire & Public Safety Academy, varied Career and Technical Education programs, expanded extra-curricular activities for students and the newly expanded athletics programs for male and female students.
The group also visited the school’s newly renovated cafeteria and music room. They received hands-on experiences in the Vance Virtual lab, located in the school’s media center, as student ambassadors showed them how the zSpace digital student learning centers provide three-dimensional studies for students through special software applications in a variety of subject areas.
Teresa Robinson of Walmart Distribution Center, watches a Vance County Middle School student demonstrate the three-dimensional dissection tool on a zSpace digital student learning center in the school’s Vance Virtual lab. (Photo Credit: VCS)
Horner noted that the newly consolidated high school, now with more than 1,100 students, has had a smooth beginning to the new school year and he and his staff are continuing to provide additional educational opportunities to their students.
The tour group then visited the STEM Early High School and saw firsthand how teachers and students focus on project-based learning, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Assistant Principal Melonee Hunter led the visit and was assisted by an outstanding group of student leaders. The tour participants were able to visit several classrooms to see how students work in groups to collaborate on projects teachers challenge them to complete as teams.
The final stop for the “Community to Schools” tours was Vance County Middle School where Principal Heddie Somerville welcomed the group to the newly consolidated school that serves over 900 students in grades 6-8. The facility, formerly known as Northern Vance High School, has been renovated to accommodate the middle school population and Somerville stressed that more work will be done to the facility throughout the school year and the upcoming summer to provide additional educational enhancements for students. Her school’s student ambassadors led a visit for the tour participants in the Vance Virtual lab and demonstrated how students use the digital student learning centers to enhance classroom instruction through the use of state-of-the-art technology.
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The first of six “Future Focus” sessions for juniors and seniors at AdVance Academy was held on November 28, with Dr. James Hunter, a certified counselor with Vance County Schools, as the featured speaker.
LaShawn Hawley, career placement specialist with the district’s Career and Technical Education Program, is coordinating the sessions.
Hunter is shown in the accompanying photo as he talks with students at the school about their career choices. He told them their strategies for future success should include: researching colleges and careers; building and maintaining support from others; planning; setting goals; and persevering through obstacles.
The remaining “Future Focus” sessions will be held once each month January through May and are designed to provide diverse guest speakers who can discuss with the students their future plans and how to enhance their chances of successfully getting into college and beginning their vocational careers.
Dr. James Hunter, a certified counselor with Vance County Schools, talks with students at AdVance Academy about their career choices. (Photo Credit: Vance County Schools)
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Selvaraj Arulappan, an Exceptional Children’s teacher at Vance County High School, was chosen as the Vance County Schools’ Exceptional Children’s Educator of Excellence for 2018-2019.
With his award, Arulappan represented our school system in the N.C. Exceptional Children’s Educator of Excellence Award competition at the state level and attended the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 68th Conference on Exceptional Children held in Greensboro November 15-16.
Selvaraj Arulappan, an Exceptional Children’s teacher at Vance County High School, was chosen as the Vance County School’s Exceptional Children’s Educator of Excellence for 2018-2019. (Photo Credit: Vance County Schools)
Arulappan has 13 years of experience as an educator and is a leader among his peers at Vance County High School. He received his master’s degree in special education from N.C. Central University.
He has a passion for working with students who are intellectually, physically and behaviorally challenged. He also is very successful in engaging and connecting with students.
He is a leader in the classroom and serves in multiple roles at Vance County High including on the Leadership Team, as a PBIS Committee member and a vocational rehabilitation counselor. He also collaborates with the music therapy and art staff to provide diverse experiences for his students. His colleagues describe him as caring, compassionate, supportive, proactive, dedicated and engaging.
“Mr. Arulappan has done such amazing work serving his students in preparation for transition into life after high school,” one colleague said.
Another colleague noted, “Mr. Arulappan stands out above others with his ability to engage and connect with students. He actively engages the parents in meeting the educational needs of their children.”
Several educators who work with him said that Arulappan goes beyond the call of duty to support his students and colleagues.
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Selvaraj-Arulappan-Vance-County-Schools.png265504WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2018-11-29 16:58:052018-11-29 16:58:05Arulappan Named Vance Co.Schools’ Exceptional Children’s Educator of Excellence
Vance County High School and Vance County Middle School each won first-place trophies in the N.C. School Boards Association State Conference video contests for schools across the state during the organization’s annual event held at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, November 12 – 14.
Vance County High School theater arts students, under the direction of their teacher Samantha Campbell, accepted their award during the evening of November 13. They went on stage in the Guilford Ballroom and patiently waited for the top video selection to be announced. Hoke County High School received the third-place trophy and A.L. Brown High School finished second.
N.C. School Boards Association officials present the first-place trophy and $3,000 check to Vance County High School students, starting third from left to the right, Jaida Lewis, Kahlil Kingsberry, Arianna Long and Isaac Bell McLean. (Photo Credit: VCS)
Accepting the award for the Vance County High Vipers were Jaida Lewis, Arianna Long, Kahlil Kingsberry and Isaac Bell McLean. Lewis made comments on behalf of her fellow students and her school. She thanked everyone who supported them and worked with students to produce the video. A special thanks went to Campbell and to Destiny Ross, a technology and curriculum specialist with the school system, who led the development of the award-winning video
At the end of her comments, Lewis noted, “We are all Vance County Proud!”
Vance County High School received a handsome trophy and a check for $3,000 as the first-place winner in the competition, which included impressive video entries from approximately 30 high schools across North Carolina.
The Vance County Middle School Jaguars were awarded first place in the middle school video competition during awards recognitions held on November 12. Darlynn Oxendine, chairperson of the Vance County Board of Education, accepted the trophy and a $100 gift certificate on behalf of the school and its students. There were over 50 entries in the middle school video competition, with the Jaguars’ entry selected as the best.
Both of the schools’ videos were about 60 seconds in length and followed the theme “What is Super about Public Schools.”
Darlynn Oxendine, chairperson of the Vance County Board of Education, center, accepts the first-place trophy on behalf of Vance County Middle School at the N.C. School Boards Association State Conference from NCSBA officials Minnie Forte-Brown, left, and Paige Sayles. (Photo Credit: VCS)
The Vance County High School video features the music of the popular song “This Is How We Do It” with new words and singing done by students at the school. Led by the theater arts students, the video shows a variety of locations and classes within the high school and includes a large number of students and some school staff. The video has lots of energy, bright colors and a good variety of classroom and outdoor scenes, with the words written by the students scrolling across the bottom of the screen
The Vance County Middle School video follows a “Star Wars” type of theme and has a futuristic look. With student narration, background music and lots of impressive special effects, the video explores the future look of public schools. It also features different students shown in areas throughout the middle school.
Edward Ortega, now the assistant principal at both L.B. Yancey and Pinkston Street elementary schools, led the efforts to produce the middle school video. He was assisted by teachers and administrators at the school, as well as having great cooperation and participation by students.
The Vance County Middle School and Vance County High School students and educators who produced the videos will be honored by the Vance County Board of Education at its meeting on Monday, November 19, beginning at 7 p.m. in the school system’s Administrative Services Center.
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Vance County Schools hosted ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Vance County Middle School and Vance County High School on November 9 to officially open the schools’ “Vance Virtual” or “V2” laboratories.
The laboratories, located in the schools’ media centers, feature approximately 24 digital learning stations each for students to engage in interactive three-dimensional instruction using special computer software applications (like the ones found on this website)in a wide range of subject areas including science, health and geography.
The establishment of the laboratories is being made possible through a $400,000 grant awarded to the school system from the Golden Leaf Foundation. The grant was awarded during last school year and following the completion of construction work the laboratories are now open.
Vance County Board of Education member Ruth Hartness watches as Vance County Middle School students explain how they are using the zSpace digital student learning center and three-dimensional software application in the new Vance Virtual lab in their school. (Photo: VCS)
“Vance Virtual” has the largest number of zSpace digital learning stations of any school system on the East Coast of the United States and one of the largest deployments of the stations in the nation.
The zSpace STEM Learning Initiative represents a new direction for instructional delivery and academic outcomes for the students in Vance County. This initiative will systematically and intentionally embed the technical and essential skills into our instructional programs to ensure student readiness for the local, regional and global workforce.
The digital student-learning stations will be available for use by students in the middle school and high school, as well as the STEM Early High School.
Teachers will be trained on specific skills to utilize virtual reality technology in the delivery of their individual content areas. Wikis, blogs and an e-lesson repository will be constructed to allow teachers to share and collaborate as they train and implement new strategies.
Business and industry partners will engage with our Career and Technical Education program teachers to develop a functional profile of the worker needed to support their industry. These skills and attributes will be embedded in the core competencies and outcomes of each learning module. Students will have direct interaction with virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) software to enhance their level of knowledge, understanding and application of science, career and technology coursework.
Vance County High School students work with software applications on the zSpace learning centers in their school’s new Vance Virtual lab as the large digital screen on the wall follows their actions. (Photo: VGCC)
The school system received valuable support from the Vance County Board of Commissioners for the virtual reality project and the Golden Leaf Foundation grant funding.
“The launch of this project represents a seismic shift in the learning ecosystem of our school district,” said Dr. Anthony Jackson, superintendent of Vance County Schools. “This game-changing technology is cutting-edge and provides our students with real-world hands-on opportunities to engage collaboratively, think critically, communicate effectively and create authentically in a rigorous and challenging academic environment.
“Through our Vance Virtual Workforce Labs, we are confident that our students will leave us with the essential skills necessary to effectively navigate and compete in the local, regional and global workforce,” he continued. “This is yet another example of the academic ‘Vanceformation’ taking place in our schools and in our community. I am indeed Vance County Proud.”
“Students in Vance County Schools are ready to explore science, math and other content areas at a higher level of application in environments that are technology-based,” added Dr. Cindy Bennett, assistant superintendent for Student Services and Strategic Planning. “Vance Virtual labs will provide that opportunity with virtual and augmented reality experiences and investigations in an interactive learning environment. As educators, we continue to seek to bring the brick and mortar models of education into the 21st Century. Vance Virtual labs do just that and our students will investigate tomorrow TODAY!”
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