Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 6, 1993 TAG: 9304060016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Joanne Anderson
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
PURE ENERGY SHOWS KIDS A HIGH OLD TIME
Its motto is "High on Life, A New Generation," and its media are songs, skits and mime about natural highs.Those are good times without drugs, and it is PURE ENERGY, an acting peer group with a message at Christiansburg High School.
Originally part of the support group Teens Need Teens, Pure Energy students were trained by Natural Highs, a Roanoke group.
Performances have been given at several elementary and high schools in the New River Valley. The group will perform at the DARE Jamboree on April 30, and hopes to present one of its productions at the pre-prom party for Christiansburg High School.
Members of Pure Energy practice on their own time after school and select skits and messages appropriate for the ages of their audiences.
Freshmen in Pure Energy are Daniel Milburn, Becki Kovach, April Orange and Michael Lee. Sophomores are Amy Chrisley, Stacey Wills, Mary Ann King, Rebecca Griffith and Angela Griffith. Juniors are Tiny Roy, Deanna du Plessis, Michelle Irvine, Leslie Moran and Ted Castor. The sponsor is Regina Meredith, English teacher at Christiansburg High School.
Three people and one organization were given awards by PHI DELTA KAPPA at its March 26 initiation and awards banquet. The Excellence in Education Award went to Virginia Tech YMCA and the innovative educator award to Karen Stipes, media specialist at Blacksburg High School.
Dolores Grapsas, social studies teacher at Blacksburg High, received the Outstanding Educator Award. James Ruffa, director of secondary education for Montgomery County schools, took the Public School Professional Educator Award.
If you live in the neighborhood of any of the ADVANCED PLACEMENT CHEMISTRY CLASS STUDENTS at Christiansburg High School, don't try anything sly. These kids are about to be instructed in evidence collecting, fingerprinting and interrogation techniques by the Christiansburg Police Department prior to their investigation of a fake murder.
Social studies students will participate in the mock trial.
\ IAN LAUCHLIN HOWELL has been awarded the 50th class reunion scholarship for studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the fall.
Howell, the son of John and Susan Howell of Blacksburg, is a senior at Blacksburg High School and active in the Music Club, Environment Club and Student Council. He attended the Governor's School for the visual and performing arts and is a regular honor roll student.
Ann Cassell, daughter of Dr. Cassell and Mrs. Stuart Kent Cassell Jr., was crowned MISS BLACKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL March 26.
Thirty-six contestants vied for the title.
First runner-up was Machelle Pack, second runner-up was Melissa Parcell, and third runner-up was April Sutphin.
The event was sponsored by the Blacksburg High School Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America.
A SPRING BOOK FAIR will be held at Prices Fork Elementary School, 4237\ Price's Fork Road in Blacksburg, today, 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wednesday, 8:45\ a.m.-7 p.m.; and Thursday, 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Proceeds go to the school library.
PARENTS ADVOCATING GIFTED EDUCATION will meet April 13 at the Blacksburg Middle School library at 7 p.m. The topic will be "Is Your Child Really Getting a Gifted Program?" For information, call 552-7226.
Sixth-graders at AUBURN MIDDLE SCHOOL recently took part in the Great AUK Knowledge Competition, a national computerized contest of knowledge on various school subjects.
They finished third in Virginia out of 20 schools and placed 66th nationally among 863 schools. Their sponsor is Kathryn Brennan, a sixth-grade teacher at the school.
At WILLIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL on Thursday, the school photographer will take individual pictures and the Vaughn class group photograph will be retaken because the original negative was damaged.
Preschoolers may have pictures taken 8:30-9 a.m. that day.
At the state DECA competition in Williamsburg in March, Kellie Phoenix represented SHAWSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL as a voting delegate. DECA, formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, is an organization for high school students in marketing classes.
Daren Harmon of Shawsville High placed third in the general marketing comprehensive event, and will attend the National Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., in May.
Bray Haynes, a senior at Christiansburg High School, placed first in the full-service restaurant marketing event and also will go to Orlando.
Questa Sain, a junior at Christiansburg High, and Jessica Tickle, a Christiansburg High sophomore, also participated in the state conference.
Parents of soon-to-be kindergartners in the Blacksburg area are invited to attend a kindergarten information night at HARDING AVENUE ELEMENTARY on April 13 at 7 p.m. Kindergarten registration week, which is April 19-23, will be discussed.
Karen Finch, speech coach at BLACKSBURG HIGH, has received the Secondary Speech Teacher of the Year Award from the Virginia Speech Communication Association.
She also was named 1993 speech teacher and coach of the year from Virginia and a seven-state region by the National Federation of Interscholastic Speech and Debate Association.
Finch has coached the Blacksburg High School forensics teams to five straight Virginia High School League AA championships, three consecutive Catholic Forensic League championships and two straight National Forensics League mid-Atlantic district championships.
Her philosophy is: "Every student who learns to feel comfortable in front of a group and learns to express thoughts coherently to another person is a winner."
\ RADFORD HIGH SCHOOL students Joel Young and Chad Floyd will attend the World Scholar-Athlete Games as soccer players. Young is captain of the varsity soccer team and was named to the first team all-New River district and all-region IV the past two years.
Young is school president and was a representative on the Youth Alcohol and Drug Prevention Project.
Floyd is a member of the varsity soccer team and earned all-district, all-region and honorable mention all-state honors last season. He is an honor-roll student and vice president of his class.
Joanne Anderson is filling in for Melissa DeVaughn, who is hiking the Appalachian Trail for the next six months. If you have an interesting news item from your school, write to the New River Current in care of the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley Bureau, P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg 24073.