In The News

NNPS STUDENTS and staff win state honors and awards

Bull’s-eye: NN students win honors

(April 7, 2009) - Newport News students won individual and team honors at Virginia’s first National Archery in the Schools Program Tournament, held at the end of February in Fishersville.

Isaiah Gibbs, a student at An Achievable Dream, won first place for elementary boys, while Danni Foster, a student at Warwick High School, took top honors for high-school girls. Sarah Leser, another Warwick student, took third among high-school girls and won the girls’ overall individual state title after a shoot-off.

Dyamond Bishop placed second among elementary girls, and Xavier Taylor was third in the elementary boys’ division. Jessika Grant was second among middle-school girls. All three students attend An Achievable Dream.

In team awards, An Achievable Dream placed first among elementary schools and third among middle schools. Warwick finished second in the high-school division.

This is the second year the NNPS health and physical education department has participated in the National Archery in the Schools Program. Participation has grown from one city school last year (Warwick, whose team captured the state championship in a virtual tournament) to four middle schools and three high schools this year. Archery is offered as an intramural activity or as part of the physical education curriculum.

The National Archery in the Schools Program is designed to expose students to the sport and to have a positive influence on student attendance, behavior, self-esteem, and confidence.

Safety is the top emphasis of the program, according to Duke Conrad, supervisor of health and physical education for NNPS. Teachers in the program have to be certified by the NASP, and safety measures are enforced strictly.
The national tournament will be held May 8-9 in Louisville, Ky.

"Wow!" NN students win state awards

Two NNPS students, Troy T. Clark, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary School, and Laney E. Vaughan, a ninth-grader at Woodside High School, each won an Award of Excellence in the Film Production category of the annual state PTA Reflections contest. Reflections is a PTA arts program that allows students to compete in literature, music composition, photography, visual arts, dance choreography, and film production. The theme for the 2008-2009 contest was “Wow!”

Counselors of the year

Two NNPS school counselors, Emma Vinson Brown from Huntington Middle School, and Lorraine Adkins, from Denbigh High School, recently were named Virginia School Counselor Association Counselors of the Year. Congratulations to both women, and to the many students who benefit from their guidance.

SkillsUSA winners

Two Telecommunications Center teams won state awards at the SkillsUSA Virginia competition held at Hampton Convention Center at the end of March. Megan Herrera and Madison Padrick won for live video production and Jordan Chaffee and Alexandra Sproles won for television/video production special effects. SkillsUSA is a non-profit partnership between teachers, students and industry professionals dedicated to providing the United States with a skilled workforce. The organization has more than 13,000 school chapters.

Other NNPS winners:

Courtney Hylton and Alexandra Sproles, second place, live video production; Kevin Tucker, third place, television/video production special effects; Taniche’ e’ Cain, third place, pre-produced cuts-only; Arianna Millington, third, extemporaneous speaking. Megan Herrera and Madison Padrick will represent NNPS in national competition in Kansas City, Mo., in June.