What's New

School Board Honors 2014 Coding Challenge Winners

The Smyth County School Board honored the winners of its 2014 Coding Challenge during its Jan. 12th meeting. Ten students mastered the Challenge, which required them to solve Level 10 of the web-based Blockly maze. Sitting, left to right, are Zakery Tuell, Jonathan Phelps, and Austin Evans of Chilhowie Middle School. Zakery, Jonathan, and Austin worked together as a team to solve the challenge. Standing in the back row, left to right, are Nick Hale and Jordan Tuggle of Marion Middle School; and Katie Jo Blevins, Jacob Turley, and Will Russell of Chilhowie Middle School. Nick and Jordan also worked as a team to solve the Coding Challenge, while Katie Jo, Jacob, and Will solved the Challenge as individuals. Two high school students, Kevin Patrick of Marion Senior High and Patrick Jahnig of Chilhowie High, also solved the Challenge as individuals.

The Coding Challenge is designed to encourage interest in computer science careers among Smyth County students and help our students develop their problem solving and logical reasoning skills.

Smyth County School Board Budget Committee to Meet Jan. 29

The Smyth County School Board Budget Committee will meet at 4:00 pm Thursday, Jan. 29, in the board conference room, 121 Bagley Circle, Suite 300, Marion, Va.

Smyth County School Board to Meet Feb. 2

The Smyth County School Board will have a called meeting at 5:00 pm Monday, Feb. 2, in the board conference room, 121 Bagley Circle, Suite 300, Marion, Va.

Mount Rogers Health District Urges Vaccination, Hand Washing to Prevent Spread of Flu

The Mount Rogers Health District has released information to help parents and other caregivers prevent the spread of influenza. Proper hand washing practices and vaccinations remain the primary means of preventing the spread of flu. More details…

Influenza Fact Sheet

Information for Parents Regarding Flu and Cold Season, Plus Enterovirus D86 and Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Cold and flu season has started, and area health providers are also seeing children with enterovirus D86, as well as hand, foot, and mouth disease. Please see the Smyth County Schools Health Services webpage for more details.

Public Service Announcement

Recently, Smyth County Public School bus drivers have reported an increase in the number of vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses. As a school division, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our students. We are asking our community to share this commitment. We would like to remind our community members that all motorists are required to stop when a school bus is loading or unloading children. All of our drivers are required to complete a pre-trip inspection to ensure all safety devices are working properly. All motorists should be aware that in the event these safety devices are not functioning, you are still required to stop when a bus is loading or unloading children. Drivers are required by state law to stop in all directions when the red lights on the bus are flashing and/or the stop sign is out unless they are travelling on a divided highway. There are penalties for failure to stop for a stopped school bus. Penalties may include:

• Reckless driving charge
• Jail time up to 12 months, fine of $2,500 (or both)
• 4 points on your license

Our students are our most precious resource, and we take the responsibility of ensuring their safety seriously. Central Office staff, school administrators and bus drivers work together to coordinate our bus stops and have as many students as possible load and unload on the passenger door side of the road. This is not always possible and as a result, some students actually have to cross the road when they are loading and dismissing from the school bus. When a bus is stopped and its red lights are flashing, a child could potentially have to cross the road in front of traffic. Please consider all of the above mentioned safety rules to ensure the safety of our students.

VRS Offers Learning Resources for Hybrid Retirement Plan

The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) offers a variety of learning resources for current Smyth County School Board employees who are interested in the VRS Hybrid Retirement Plan. Details…

©2015 Smyth County School Board