Blue Demon Bulletin

February 19 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day

February 19 - VHSL Spring Sport Start Date

February 21 - National Honor Society Induction @ 6:00 pm (CHS Auditorium)

February 27 - CHS Club Day

February 27 - Career Quest Field Trip for 10th Graders (Berglund Center)

February 28 - Make-up Parent/Teen Driver Education Meeting @ 6:30 pm (CHS Auditorium)

February 1, 2024 marked the start of Black History Month and the celebration will continue through the end of the month. The 2024 Theme for Black History Month is “African Americans and the Arts.”

We welcome the opportunity to deepen our understanding in this area and intentionally invest time to enhance our knowledge within this specific domain. It is important to acknowledge that the pursuit of continuous learning extends beyond a singular month each year. Nevertheless, Black History Month serves as an annual commemoration, emphasizing that black history is an integral part of American History.

We look forward to celebrating the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary and other forms of cultural expression throughout the course of this month. Please be on the lookout for various opportunities to deepen your understanding and appreciation of African Americans and the Arts.

Congratulations to the CHS Teacher of the Year - Emilyne Danielson and the CHS Support Staff of the Year - Beth Connelly. We are extremely fortunate to have these two individuals represent CHS in such an phenomenal manner. Ms. Danielson and Ms. Connelly are extraordinary individuals who play such vitals roles as a part of the CHS Team! We could not be more excited to recognize these two individuals for all of their contributions to the CHS community and MCPS!

- The CHS Theatre Department attended the State Thespian Festival and presented their show “Digging Up The Boys”, which was awarded Best Costuming, Best Creative Staging, and four of our students received Best Actor Awards out of the 15 that were awarded. Those students were Addison Campbell, Nina Smith, Jasper Moore, and Jack Townley.

- On January 25, CHS hosted their Academic and Career Planning Night! It was a huge success with outstanding attendance, especially from the rising 9th grade class.

- CHS had three first place winners from the 2024 Southwest Virginia Governor’s School Science Fair. Those individuals were Cole Abbott, Madison Burrows, and Allie Swenson.

- CHS had (29) students who were selected to participate in the All-District Chorus event that was held on February 9-10.

- CHS held their first Student Advisory Council meeting for 2024 that incorporated the voices and input of twelve individuals that make up the team. During the first meeting, students shared that CHS is thriving in the areas of having students more connected, the school environment is more positive, well organized and informative college prep events, high club engagement, students are more attentive, less tension and conflict in the building, and people are more attentive in class.

- The Girl's CHS Swim & Dive Team placed 2nd overall in the Region 3D Championships! The CHS Boy's Swim & Dive Team placed 5th overall. Both teams will be sending several athletes to compete at the 3A Swim & Dive State Championships.

- Luke Rawlings and Sierra Symanoskie earned Region Champion honors in the 1-meter diving competition at the Region 3D Championships.

- Victoria Zeff and Santiago Diaz Espinoza earned Region Champion honors in the 100 breast stroke and 200 freestyle.

- The CHS Girl's Basketball Team qualified for the Region 3D tournament based on their standings throughout the 2023-24 season.

- Katie Hoover scored her 1,000th career point for the CHS Girl's Basketball Team on February 8th, 2024 as only a junior.

- The CHS Wrestling Team placed 6th overall at the Region 3D Championships. They will be sending a total of four wrestlers to the 3A Wrestling State Championships.

- Brady Hand earned Region Champion honors at 138lb. weight class!

- Leila Haley broke the school record for the 300m dash as a part of the Girl's Indoor Track & Field Team.

- Demolition and construction has begun at Christiansburg High School. We are extremely excited to see movement and what the coming months will bring!

As we start the Spring semester, we would like to stress the importance of attending school and ensuring your child is making the most of their experience at CHS. It is extremely important that your student be present each day at school and if your child is not able to attend school, it is required that a parent or guardian contact the school to document the reason for the absence.

Any absence will count towards your student’s compulsory attendance. If your student should miss five days of school, please expect contact from your student’s grade level administrator. Should your student miss additional days of school, please expect contact from your child’s administrator and a meeting request to develop an attendance plan for your child.

It is also important to remember the impact of tardies on your student's success at CHS! If your student checks-in or is late to class, this will count as a tardy. The accumulation of four tardies will result in your child being assigned lunch detention. Your child will also receive lunch detention upon their 5th, 6th, and 7th tardy to a single class. Upon their 8th tardy, the student will be assigned one full day of ISS.

If your student missed their opportunity to attend the Parent/Teen Driver Education Meeting in mid September, there is going to be a make-up meeting on February 28, 2024 at 6:30 pm in the CHS Auditorium.

All students enrolled in Classroom Driver's Education must attend a 90 minute Parent/Teen Driver Education meeting outside of class time. Parents are highly encouraged to attend with their teen. However, parents may opt out of attending this meeting. If parents choose to opt out, they must complete the parent opt out for PRIOR to their child attending a meeting. Students are required to attend and meeting with a parent or with their parent's completed opt out form.

Please note that if you were unable to attend the meeting on September 20, 2023 at Christiansburg High School, this will be the final opportunity for you and your child to attend the mandatory meeting for the 2023-24 school year.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelley Sutphin @ ksutphin@mcps.org

2023-24 Driver's Education Parent OPT OUT Form (link)

10th grade students will have an opportunity to participate in a field trip to the Berglund Center to participate in CareerQuest on February 27, 2024. CareerQuest is a career exploration expo where students will have the opportunity to visit with businesses and interact with hands-on experiences. Students will be exposed to potential career fields and employers within our area. Career Quest is hosted by the Virginia Workforce Development Board.

If your student is interested in taking part in this opportunity, 10th grade students who turn in their signed permission form will leave CHS around 8:45 am February 27 and return at approximately 12:00 pm. Students will eat lunch upon their return to the high school.

In order to participate, YOU MUST pick up a permission slip from the counseling office AND have it returned by February 16, 2024, no exceptions!

As we prepare for the final stretch of your child’s high school career, we wanted to take an opportunity to share some important information with you regarding the timeline for the remainder of the year and scholarship information that you may find valuable.

There are three documents attached to this message that you can review with your student. They include a “Senior Year Timeline”, a “Scholarship Guide”, and a “How To” with finding scholarships. We hope this information proves helpful to you as you continue to navigate the remainder of the year.

Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Joel Bates (Senior Counselor) at joelbates@mcps.org or 540-382-5168.

The CHS Prom will take place in the CHS Cafeteria from 8:00 - 11:00 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024. This year's theme is "STARRY NIGHT."

ONLY Juniors and Seniors are allowed to purchase tickets for the CHS Prom and the cost of the tickets are $20.00 a piece. Ticket sales will take place during lunch from April 3 - 12.

There will be free food, drinks, and great music available! We look forward to seeing you there!

The CHS After Prom will take place at the Christiansburg Recreation Center from 11:00 pm - 2:00 am on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

Admission is FREE!!! There will be snacks, games, activities, and raffles available throughout the night. Some of these activities will include mechanical bull riding, inflatable axe throwing, and more!

This event is available to seniors, juniors, and any date that is brought to the CHS Prom. Each person will need a ticket for admittance. These will be made available when prom tickets are sold in April!