ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 TAG: 9703180006
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: CLASS NOTES
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKRZ
The following Montgomery County students were selected as Seniors-of-the-Month for February.
Allyson Laffoon is a student at Auburn High School, where she has been a member of the Beta Club for four years and the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America for three years. She also is active with the Student Council Association. She has been a member of the school's chorus and the All County Choir for two years and the All District Choir for one year. She also sang with the National Anthem Choir for a year.
Laffoon is listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students and is a recipient of the Rotary Junior Academic Achievement Award. She is the daughter of Donald and Yvonne Laffoon of Christiansburg.
For the past four years, Dawn Espley has been an active member of Marching Band and Symphonic Band at Christiansburg. She also is a four-year member of the All-District Band and a two-year member of the Roanoke Youth Symphony. In addition, she was a one-year member of the United Joyfully in Movement Arts Dance Company.
Espley is also active with several organizations, including serving as an officer. She is vice president of the Astronomy Club, president of the Beta Club and a member of the National Honor Society and Key Club. Espley is recipient of an Academic Letter and a Christiansburg-Blacksburg Rotary Club Junior Achievement Award. She also is a National Merit commended student.
Outside of school, she works at the Whistler Candle Co. and is an active member of her church youth group. She is the daughter of John and Cathy Espley of Christiansburg.
Sports has been a big part of Chance Hall's high school career. He is a five-year member of the baseball team at Shawsville High School. He also played golf, football and three years of basketball, including his senior year.
Hall is a member of the Beta Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the College Club and the Student Government Association, of which he was vice president as a junior. He has been a homecoming court representative and is a graduation representative. He also sings in the Swing Choir.
He is recipient of an Academic Letter, Leadership Award, Academic Bar and Citizenship Award. He also received a U.S. National Mathematics Award as a sophomore. Hall also volunteers with Broomin' and Bloomin' - Montgomery County's spring cleanup. He is the son of Bubbie and Diane Hall of Elliston.
Being a leader has been a part of Brittany Clemmer's four years at Blacksburg High School. She is senior class president, vice president of peer counseling and president of Amnesty International, an organization she helped start at the school. She is a member of the National Forensics League, having placed second in the Virginia High School League competition in domestic extemporaneous speaking. She also has participated in Odyssey of the Mind for two years. Her team placed first at the regional and state competitions both years.
Clemmer is a member of the National Honor Society and the Women's Studies Club. She was nominated for a William Randolph Hearst U.S. Senate Youth Scholarship and Girls State. She volunteers at the Montgomery County Christmas Store and has served on various service projects through her church's youth group. Clemmer works part time at the Virginia Tech Office of Scholarship. She is the daughter of Jamie and Linda Evans of Blacksburg.
The Southwest Regional Mathcounts competition was held at Virginia Tech on Feb. 22. Students from 12 schools competed at the national competition for seventh- and eighth-graders. It combines coaching and competition in an effort to increase skill and interest in mathematics at the middle school level. Three area teams placed in the top three. The team from Dalton Intermediate School won first place, followed by Blacksburg Middle and Pulaski Middle schools in second and third place, respectively.
The first-place Dalton team members are Jessica Barry, Rachel Mayo, Melissa Hwang and James Tong. Hwang also won first place individual. The team is coached by teachers Cindy Miller and Mildred Whitt. The team competed at the State Mathcounts competition in Richmond last week. Other students from Dalton who participated are: Jessica Castleberry, Chuck Gill, Ben Hiltonsmith, Jeremy Masker, Samad Mubeen, Michael Turner, Sarah Turner and Nathan Zimmerman.
The second-place Blacksburg team members are Elise Beisecker, Norbert Huber, Eunice Kim and Chris Pollio. Two students also were individual winners. Pollio placed second and Huber placed third. In addition, Heather Wright placed the third highest in the competition; however, she was on the alternate team and cannot participate in the state competition. Other Blacksburg students who competed include Adam Duncan, Stavroula Hatzios, Chris Kamke, Nufayl Khan, David Kraige, Mary Wood, Kim Jones, Brian Templeton, Babak Mostaghimi, Ashish Singal, Matt Witherspoon and Rebecca Merola.
Mathcounts consists of three rounds of testing: the spring round tests for speed and accuracy; the target round focuses on reasoning and problem-solving processes and the team round pulls the four team members to work together on 10 challenging problems. At the state competition, there also is a fast-paced oral round of testing where the top scorers on the previous rounds face each other.
Events, meetings & happenings
Auburn High School's Swing Choir will have a spring craft show Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 382-5160.
Giles County Public Schools will have kindergarten registration for the 1997-98 school year starting in April. Children who are 5 years old by Sept. 30 can be enrolled or parents must notify the school if they want to wait a year. Children who are 6 years old by Sept. 30 must enroll in kindergarten. Parents are asked to bring with them their child's birth certificate, Social Security card and immunization record. Children should come with parents. Children will be checked for vision, hearing, speech, language and motor development. Listed below is a schedule with the name of the school and date for registration. Times are between 9 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. Parents should call schools for more information.
Eastern Elementary/ Middle: April 7.
Narrows Elementary: April 9.
Macy McClaugherty: April 11.
Seventh-graders at Macy McClaugherty School in Pearisburg will hold a silent auction on Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Items offered for bidding include sports memorabilia, gift items and crafts. A hot dog supper will also be held. Proceeds from the auction will be used for the seventh-graders' trip to historical and cultural sites throughout the state and Washington. For more information, call the school at 921-1363.
Prom season is just around the corner. While juniors and seniors are worrying about having enough money, finding a date or that perfect dress, parents are busy preparing for after-prom parties. After-prom parties are a tradition in the New River Valley.
The parties start after the dance and last until dawn the next morning. Most schools have them at the school. The parties are alcohol and drug free, including no smoking. Students can leave the party at any time, however they are not allowed to return once they leave.
Students who attend the party have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities such as casino, carnival games, pictures and dancing. In addition, students have the chance to win prizes from cash to stereos and TVs.
Schools are looking for donations from area businesses churches and civic organizations. If you are interested in making a donation or are interested in more information, call the after prom party coordinators. Their names and numbers, along with the prom date, are listed below.
Auburn High School's After Prom Party, May 10. Shirley Smith, 639-3354.
Blacksburg High School's After Prom Celebration, May 17. Faye Crist 951-8683.
Christiansburg High School's After Prom Celebration, May 10. Debbie Memitt at 381-2611 or Kathy Habeeb at 382-4505.
Floyd County High School's After Prom Party, May 10. Stanley Hawkins at 745-9450.
Giles High School's After Prom Party, May 3. Brad Nicholson, 921-3280.
Narrows High School's After Prom Party, May 3. Brad Nicholson, 921-3280.
Pulaski County High School's After Prom Party, May 3. Regina Cook at 731-3377.
Radford High School, May 10. Margaret Hoskins, 639-3226.
Shawsville High School's After Prom Party, May 17. Craig Hixon, 268-2262.
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Clemmer, Laffoon, Espley, Hallby CNB