THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507210226
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Students, faculty, parents and other citizens have a year to lay the groundwork for Hickory High School's own special identity before the September 1996 grand opening of the city's newest high school.
As the first stakes and pilings went into the ground, Chesapeake School Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols brought Harry Blevins out of retirement to act as the planning principal for Hickory High. Blevins is the former principal of Great Bridge High School.
The School Board chose to name the new school after the former Hickory High, which closed in 1949 when it consolidated with Great Bridge High School.
Carolyn Bernard, assistant principal at Great Bridge High, chaired a steering committee composed of faculty, students, former Hickory High students and community members, who made some early decisions about the character of the new school. They chose a hawk as the mascot and black, gray, teal and white as the school colors.
``But before the doors swing open, there are still so many more choices and decisions to make. There is the school seal, the alma mater, the pep song, the band and all kinds of clubs and organizations that have to be planned and put into place before the fall opening,'' said Blevins. ``Hickory has to be plugged into all district and regional schedules. Plans have to be made for next summer's band camp and football practice. And many arrangements, like ordering uniforms, establishing a new library, contacting vendors for yearbooks, senior pictures and class rings for the Hickory Hawks and selecting students to attend the Governor's School must be made before school starts.''
Blevins said he hoped eventually to have an on-site office, where he will help coordinate community committees and encourage the 2,000 students from Deep Creek High, Great Bridge High and Great Bridge Middle South who will attend the school to participate in writing the school song, designing the seal and joining clubs so they can be a part of their school from the very beginning.
According to Blevins, creating a time line of events and identifying the student body will be one of his first jobs.
Rising seniors from the Class of 1996 zoned to attend the new school will have the option of remaining at Deep Creek or Great Bridge to graduate or transferring to Hickory to be a part of the first graduating class. Ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-graders who live in the Hickory zone will automatically be transferred to the new school.
Once construction starts, Blevins will review the plans, walk the halls and confer with the architect and the construction superintendent to identify the 105 classrooms and work out the traffic flow of scheduling and changing classes.
Tom Cupitt, the school system's public information officer, said that it would be later in the 1995-1996 school year before the principal and administrative faculty would be appointed. The new school also will have a staff of about 200.
``Hickory High will be more in line with Great Bridge or Deep Creek than it will be with Oscar Smith,'' said Blevins. ``Oscar Smith was designed as a multifaceted facility to serve the community in many ways with its theater, auditorium and 3,000-seat gym. It was planned to accommodate not only community but district, regional and state events. But Hickory High is going to be outstanding in its own right.''
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS by CNB