Dr. Nealie Whitt III's Notes

Welcome to October, Viper Nation!

As we move into the fall season, we hope everyone is settling into the rhythm of the school year. October is an exciting month with plenty of activities, opportunities, and reminders to help our students and families stay informed and engaged. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of this month!

Tips for Success in October

• Stay Organized: With projects, tests, and assignments coming up, it’s important to keep a calendar or planner. List key deadlines to ensure you're on top of your schoolwork.
• Ask for Help: Whether it’s with classwork or personal challenges, our counselors and teachers are here to support you. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
• Balance Your Time: Remember to balance your academic responsibilities with extracurricular activities, family time, and self-care.

Attendance Matters

Attendance is key to academic success! Make sure your student is attending school daily, arriving on time, and staying engaged. If your child is absent, please ensure that all absences are properly excused and communicated with the school.

Fall into School Spirit!

As the weather cools down, our school spirit is heating up! We encourage everyone to participate in spirit days, athletic events. These are moments to make lasting memories and celebrate what it means to be a Viper.

Health and Wellness Tips

• Stay Healthy: With colder weather approaching, encourage your students to wash their hands regularly, get plenty of sleep, and eat well to stay healthy.
• Mental Health Support: October can be stressful with deadlines and extracurricular activities. Remember that our school counselors and social worker are available to help students manage stress, anxiety, or any challenges they may face.

Together, let’s make this October an amazing month full of success, spirit, and growth. As always, thank you for your continued support of Vance County High School. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to our staff.

Go Vipers!

The Vance County High School staff and student body performed a 2 week skit, from

September 25, 2024 to October 11, 2024, about the process of voting. The skit was an idea of

Sheila Burwell, the school’s librarian and the Civic Literacy Teacher, Loretta Terry. Ms. Burwell

wanted to teach the student the importance and the process of voting in America. She reached

out to Ms. Terry, who does class projects in class similar to what she was trying to do. Being

that it is voting year the idea was a great one.

Burwell and Terry collaborated on how she wanted it to be and the idea was to let the

students vote on each department teacher of the year, starting with the Principal which would of

course be the school’s president and then selecting candidates from each department. Burwell

and Terry formed a Committee of students that would not only be the actors in the skit but also

act as the Board of Election. The process was to prepare a voter’s registration form and each

student had to register to be able to vote. Once they registered to vote there was a ballot

created for those the committee selected as candidates for each department;, which took about

two to three days. The students then had to come to the polls on election day and vote. The

voting process lasted school one day. There were about 310 students that came to the polls

and voted. The votes were counted by a selected group of teachers. On the last day of the skit

the committee/actors performed a skit detailing the history of voting. It started with the creation

of the Constitution and shows a few of some important changes made with voting, starting from

only caucasian men being the only people to be able to vote, to black men, to white women to

all Americans.

The purpose of the skit was to teach our younger people the importance of and the changes

that had to be made when it came to voting to include all Americans. It also showed that there

are still changes being made even in the year 2024. To see the students so excited and willing

to play their part was what made the entire process worth the work. To hear them explain their

feelings about being in the play was even more important and exciting. It has been a long time

since I, Terry, have seen students so willing to partake in a school activity like this. To see the

students take part in their favorite teacher’s campaign and hear them cheer for the teacher they

wanted to win with so much excitement made the whole process great.

There was a lot of work put into this skit to make it successful but none of it would have been

possible without Faith Edmonds, Choice Puryear, Rosette Mlanda, Maurice Jackson,

Alayna Johnson, Jontavious Nile, Destiny Crudup, Camarion Ragland

Javion Vines-Holder, Jeffery Walthall, Antoine Doyle, Jr., Taeshawn Alston, Kristina

Burnett, Lianna Vega, and Xya’ Riah Best the committee/actors. A special thanks to

Vance County High School principal Dr. Neale Whitt for his support and allowing us the

time and space during school hours to do it.