From PCPS’ Cliff Davis, re: the most recent school board meeting: The Board of the Petersburg City Public Schools tonight approved a new partnership with the Crater Area Health District, after a presentation by Dr. Patricia Radcliffe, Director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel for the Petersburg City Public Schools; and Dr. Kay Rankin, Health Director of the Crater Health District. The Crater Health District will send a registered nurse into the Petersburg City Public Schools, for a half-day per week, to be available to talk with students and promote health issues. He or she will not dispense medication or make a diagnosis, but will seek to answer questions that students may have.

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Considering joining the PHS cross-country team. Your new coach is excited to meet you and begin practicing for a fun and rewarding season. If you are interested, please contact Coach Heidi Pierce at 678-677-4260.

1) Principal of A.P. Hill Elementary, Phyllis Byrd, earns Doctorate in Educational Leadership
2) The season’s first Jr. Varsity football game will be in Halifax County; seats on a bus are available for those interested in going to the game.

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1) The Board of Education of the Petersburg City Public Schools will attend its annual VSBA School Board Development Seminar for the upcoming 2008-2009 school year, Thursday, August 28, 2008, at the Charlottesville Omni (Wilson Room), Charlottesville, VA, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

2) New teachers welcomed into Petersburg City Public Schools (cont.)

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Whether they signed up for archaeology or music, doll-making or robotic construction, Gifted and Talented students reaped a rich harvest in this year’s Gifted and Talented Summer Program, sponsored by the Petersburg City Public Schools.

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The Petersburg City Public Schools is proud to announce the placement of our first billboard in the city honoring some of our students who have shown that “it’s cool to be smart.”

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Tomorrow, August 14, the second class of teachers graduating from the Oliver W. Hill, Sr. Algebra Project Professional Development Academy will be honored at a graduation ceremony and reception from 12pm-2pm at Vernon Johns Junior High School, 3101 Homestead Dr.

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The Petersburg City Public School Board will participate in a Superintendent’s Advance on Tuesday, August 12 and Wednesday, August 13, in the library at Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary. The Tuesday session will run from 11am to 4:30pm; the Wednesday session, from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The Board will meet with members of the Petersburg Schools administration. The public may attend but will not be able to participate in the Advance.

The Petersburg City Public Schools will host its annual Teacher Job Fair on Friday, August 15, from 9am to 1pm at the PCPS Administration Office, 255 E. South Blvd., Petersburg. For information, call 804-862-7054 or email cahines AT petersburg.k12.va.us, rlambert AT petersburg.k12.va.us, or pawalker AT petersburg.k12.va.us. You must pre-register no later than Wednesday, August 15.

Any student, male or female, grades 9th thru 12th, interested in joining the Petersburg High School golf team needs to meet at the high school from 2:30pm until about 7pm on Tuesday, August 5th and Wednesday, August 6th. No prior playing experience is needed and equipment will be provided. After about a 30-minute orientation, we will proceed onto the practice facility of the Dogwood Trace golf course. PLEASE BE ON TIME!!! If there are any questions, please contact Coach Thompson at 804 479-6745.

On Monday, August 4, school uniform vendors will be at Walnut Hill Elementary School from 9 a.m. to noon and at Peabody Middle School from 1 to 4 p.m., taking orders for school uniforms.

1) The weekend of August 1, 2, and 3 has been designated a sales-tax holiday for certain back-to-school items. If you have not received your child’s list of necessary supplies from his or her school, please contact the school or visit its website.

2) CBS 6, Food Lion and other generous donors are sponsoring the 9th Annual Back to School Rally across central Virginia on Saturday, August 9. In Petersburg, the event will be held at Peabody Middle School starting at 9am. School supplies will be distributed to students. For more information, read here.

Portraits for Petersburg High School seniors (Class of 2009) will be taken from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday, August 11 to Thursday, August 14, 2008 in the PHS Auditorium. Appointment cards will be sent to students from Prestige Lifetouch Studios. For more information, call 804-862-7095.

Petersburg High School (PHS) will begin the 2008-2009 school year with nearly 28 new members of the National Honor Society, following an induction ceremony held at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Although the 12th grade students in the group went on to graduate from PHS in June, rising juniors and seniors will be back in the fall, exemplifying scholarship, character, leadership and service – four key requirements for membership in this prestigious national organization.

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The Hoops! Basketball Tournament, sponsored by SAVY, Petersburg Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition and the Petersburg City Public Schools, will be August 9, 10am to 4pm. The tournament is open to ages 12-19, males and females. Pre-registration and Petersburg residency required. Tracy Williams, formerly of the Harlem Globetrotters, will be present. Click here to access the flyer and registration form.

Attention all Petersburg City Public Schools employees, media and interested community members: The Petersburg City Public Schools 2008 Convocation will take place at 8am Tuesday, August 26, at Petersburg High School. This is a change from the date originally announced. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Crystal Kuykendall, who is president of Kreative and Innovative Resources for Kids, Inc., former executive director of the National Alliance of Black School Educators and author of several books, including “From Rage to Hope: Strategies for Reclaiming Black and Hispanic Students.”

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The Petersburg High School (PHS) Summer School Commencement Exercises will be held Thursday, July 31 at 9 a.m. in the PHS Auditorium. This ceremony is open to the general public.

1) For informational purposes: the dress code for Petersburg High School and Vernon Johns Junior High School.

2) Physicals for Petersburg High School (PHS) student athletes will be offered at PHS on Saturday, July 19, from 8 a.m. to noon, in the PHS Gymnasium.

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The Petersburg City Public Schools will hold a worksession Wednesday, July 16 at 6 p.m. The agenda will be available Tuesday afternoon at the Petersburg Public Libraries. Major items for discussion will include Policy Revisions to Section G (Personnel), an MOU update, and updates to the Secondary Reconfiguration Timeline as well as regarding the progress of construction in the district.

Summer in Petersburg brings a special tradition – one that has often received applicants from as far away as Amelia and Charles City counties. That tradition is the three-day Summer Challenges program for Gifted and Talented Students, sponsored by the Petersburg City Public Schools (PCPS) and hosted at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School (ARGS).

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The Petersburg City Public Schools announces its district-level winner for the 2008 Mary V. Bicouvaris Teacher of the Year award, Ms. Hallie Powers, who teaches English at Petersburg High School. Ms. Powers will now compete for the honor of Regional Teacher of the Year. The winner of that competition will compete for statewide and possibly national honors.

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Aaron Cudjoe, a student at Vernon Johns Middle School in Petersburg, was honored at the Petersburg City Public Schools Board Meeting earlier this year. Aaron was one of 36 students, and the only one from the Tri-Cities, to win in the James River Chapter division of the 2008 Virginia Parent Teacher Association (PTA)’s annual Citizenship Essay Contest. This year’s theme was: Education, the Foundation of Freedom. “It’s important for students to get their ideas and their talents out there, for people to see the things that they can do,” said John Hart, president of the Petersburg Citywide PTA.

Five men were honored on June 18, at the Board meeting of the Petersburg City Public Schools, by R.E. Lee Elementary School Principal Barbara Patterson. These members of the Petersburg Kiwanis Club provided Lee students with supplies and other educational tools during May and June of the 2007-2008 school year. Their goal was to revive the long-standing Kiwanis “Terrific Kids Program” in Petersburg.

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The Richmond Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) presented the Middle School Computer Terminology Quiz Bowl on May 24, at the Times Dispatch Building in Mechanicsville. Students from Vernon Johns and Peabody middle schools in Petersburg were excited to represent Petersburg City Public Schools in this event for the first time. Teams had to answer questions about Computer Science and Technology, in a Jeopardy game show-style competition, testing their quick recall of very detailed, technical information.

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1) Middle College High School to begin in Petersburg on Monday
2) Petersburg Health Occupations Students of America students now aim for national honors

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