This past week in the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District has been filled with celebrations, recognition, and meaningful opportunities for our students, teachers, and community.

Our Roanoke Rapids High School Men's Soccer team thrilled us with their hard-fought victory over Spring Creek in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A State Playoffs. 

After a tense penalty kick shootout, they secured their spot in the second round, where they faced Heide Trask High School. Congratulations, Men’s Soccer! We are so proud of your hard work and determination. 

Our fighting Yellow Jackets football team competed in the first round of the 2A football playoffs against the James Kenan Tigers on Friday night. We finished this year’s football season with a record of 6-5. 

A big thank you goes out to The Maverick 102.3 WPTM for broadcasting our games and especially to Matt Hux and C.J. Reddick for a great job at play by play.

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At Roanoke Rapids Early College, scholars Ebony Mayo (Senior) and Katelyn Simmons (Junior) were inducted into the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Halifax Community College. 

This honor recognizes their academic excellence, dedication, and leadership. 

Well done, Ebony and Katelyn! Additionally, some of our juniors and seniors explored North Carolina Central University (NCCU) this week. 

Touring NCCU's beautiful campus gave them insights into programs and campus life at one of North Carolina’s historic institutions.

At Chaloner Middle School, we celebrated six teachers who exceeded growth on the 2023-24 End-of-Grade tests: Terri Jones, Kitty Archer, Kim Taylor, Sarah King, Robin Proctor, and Leasa Roach. Congratulations on this outstanding accomplishment! 

Chaloner’s Lego Robotics teams also made waves at their recent competition. 

The Brickhe@ds Team earned the Engineering Award for their impressive robot, website, and app design. 

The Rapids Riverbots won the Innovation Award for their Deep Sea Camera project and will advance to the State Competition in January. Fantastic job to both teams!

Our high school students in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy made a special impact this week by joining first graders at Belmont Elementary and Manning Elementary Schools for story time. 

The Leader Academy students read favorite stories like Fox in Socks, Pete the Cat Rocks School, and Ten Counting Mermaids; donated five-book sets from Chick-fil-A as part of the “One Million Book Giveaway” to students, and fostered a love of reading. 

By encouraging students to read, as well as reading with them, our goal is to increase literacy and form stronger bonds between the high school and the elementary schools in our school district. 

A big thank you to RRHS English Teacher Molly Wallace and Manning Community Outreach Liaison Julie Liverman for coordinating this wonderful partnership and to our participating students for being role models and making literacy fun. 

The participating RRHS students were Makenna Whitley, Emilee Campbell, Gabby Burke, Mary Lynch, Praj Peddireddy, Morgan Beam, Juleigh Hall, Jeremy Robertson, Kaylee Lynch, Madison Scott, Miley Lynch, Brianna Mabrey, Esteven Cordon-Carballo, and Dekker Pernesky.

We also celebrate Mrs. Stephanie Taylor, who was recognized by the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) for being an Outstanding Elementary Mathematics Teacher for the State of North Carolina and RRGSD’s Outstanding K-5 Math Teacher for 2024. Mrs. Taylor’s commitment to her students’ growth and excellence is inspiring. Congratulations, Mrs. Taylor, on this well-deserved honor!

Lastly, we observed Veterans Day with gratitude for the men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your sacrifices and dedication. 

Additionally, I was grateful to be able to attend a wonderful reception on Friday for our three departing Halifax County Commissioners: Commissioner John Smith, Vice-Chair Linda Brewer, and Commissioner Carolyn Johnson. 

We are thankful at Roanoke Rapids Graded School District for their combined 30+ years of service to the people of Halifax County.

Our Board of Trustees also met this week to discuss important updates from our Policy, Facilities and Safety, Curriculum, and Finance and Personnel Committees. We are grateful for their continued leadership and support of our schools.

Thank you for celebrating another successful week with us! 

Together, we succeed to make Roanoke Rapids Graded School District a place of building opportunities and fostering community.