A Community Service Requirement For Graduation Is Approved For Bath County High School

Warm Springs, VA – Bath County High School will have a community service requirement for students in place next year. At Tuesday night’s Bath School Board meeting, the Board approved incorporating a community service requirement for graduation into the program of studies at the high school.

High School Principal Sarah Rowe explained that college and scholarship applications ask about a students’ community service work. She also said a number of programs that students already participate in are in place at the school and those will meet the requirement. The community service requirement will be ten hours per year, for a total of fifty hours during a student’s time at the high school.

Incoming eighth graders will start the program. There will be no penalty for current students if they don’t complete the total number of hours, but Rowe said they will need to log their community service hours.

Bath County High School government teacher Marion “Bo” Trumbo was recognized Tuesday night as being the recipient of the 2012 John Marshall Foundation Teacher of the Year Award. In the state of Virginia, there is only one high school award winner and Mr. Trumbo was selected.

Students were also recognized for their achievement. Bath County High School senior Chelsea Dudley won second place in mixed media at the First Annual P. Buckley Moss Invitational Juried Art Show.

And students in the high schools culinary arts program won big at the Family Community and Career Leaders of America state leadership conference. Sarah Wright and Ashley Rice both won a gold medal and best in show. Kiwi Plecker and Ryan Woodzell both won second place awards. And Bethany Reese won a gold medal in the job interview category and qualified for nationals.

The culinary team of George Miller, Kala Day and Charley Adams won a gold medal and top honors in the state and qualified to go to nationals. The team would like to attend the FCCLA National Convention in Orlando in July. Students will be fundraising and accepting donations in order to attend. The registration deadline is coming up shortly and the Board approved paying the registration fee and approved the trip, pending proper funding being obtained.

School Board member Dr. Ellen Miller commented on the Board’s proposed budget for next year. She said additional money is being requested for a full time principal at Millboro Elementary and for a staff raise that is overdue. She said most of the money being asked for was out of the Board’s control.

She encouraged parents to come to meetings and also talk with school staff to advocate for their children, if they feel their children are not being property prepared for college or work by the Bath school system. She said she appreciates all that the Bath Board of Supervisors has done to work with them and hopes that discussions can take place in meetings where there can be a two way exchange.

Also on Tuesday night, the Board accepted the resignation of Christine Forbes, a cafeteria worker at Millboro Elementary School.