After passing out awards for exemplary performance to several staff members at each school, Superintendent Gena Keller presented David Stemple with a Fluco sweatshirt for all the work he did digitally documenting the process of building the new high school.
Stemple, a former part-time photographer for the Fluvanna Review who said he is moving to Georgia, took 14,000 pictures and gave them to the school.
Keller said when she was first hired as superintendent, Stemple sent her an email welcoming her and thanking her for coming to Fluvanna.
Stemple also donated a drum set to the high school, she said.
“You don’t have to stop being a Fluco, “Keller said upon handing him the sweatshirt.
Fluvanna Director of Curriculum and Instruction Brenda Gilliam told the Board about how Lego League came to the county.
“It was really a leap of faith,” Gilliam said. “The parents are doing it. We have three teams all coached by parents. All teams won some component of their regional competition.”
Larry Landsberg, one of the parent coaches of the youngest group, Lego Nerdz, explained the set up in front of the Board.
Before the meeting, Landsberg and his students set up the table on which his team put their robots through their paces. It tested the team’s ability to program specific functions into the robots brain. The team’s proficiency in that and two other tasks helped students take fourth place overall in their age group out of 20 teams, and first place in the Core Values part of the competition, Landsberg said.
Team members Aidan Girard, Jason Drumheller, Jackson Landsberg and Jordan Drumheller, all sporting black –rimmed, taped glasses, put their robots through several missions – all to the oohs and ahhs of Board members.
Keller said she was impressed by the students’ abilities and hoped more get involved.
“That was absolutely wonderful,” she said. “We expect for this to grow so much that we have to hold this meeting at the high school.”
In addition to the Lego Nerdz, the Cyborg Zombies, representing Fluvanna Middle School, won first place for their Project Presentation at their regional tournament in Staunton on Nov. 2. Fluco Creators, the third team representing Fluvanna, took first place in the Core Value aspect of its tournament at James Madison University. The Zombies and Creators presented their winning entries to the Board.
Carysbrook Elementary School Principal Don Stribling said after seeing High School Principal James Barlow’s presentation to the Board last month, he didn’t want to be outdone.
So to prepare for his presentation, he asked his teachers if they would be interested in helping him.
The result was a “day in the life” video prepared by fourth grade teacher Kim Keim’s students.
When the Board showed its appreciation for the student’s work, Barlow, who was in the audience, laughed and chided Stribling.
“You used kids. That’s not fair,” Barlow said jokingly.
Financial Director Ed Breslauer reported Governor Bob McDonnell ‘s budget is due to be released on Dec. 16.
It will take the state school board and then his team a few days to understand the nuances of proposals involving school funding, he said.
The Board unanimously approved Keller’s request to make Jan 3 a “work from home day” for staff.
The following staff members were recognized for their exemplary work over the past semester:
Central Elementary School
Stacy Fuller
West Central Elementary School
Patty Friemuth
Carysbrook Elementary School
Literacy Partners – Corey Crawford, Marguerite Matics, Lori Hall, Renee Perry
Fluvanna Middle School
Theresa Scruggs
Fluvanna County High School
Gerald Martin, Doug Tanner, Herbert Adams
