THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996            TAG: 9610190231
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: By DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   45 lines

WHAT'S IN A NAME? A LOT OF CONFUSION IF YOU'RE IN CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS WITH SIMILAR NAMES AND ADDRESSES CAUSE MIX-UPS.

If you're moving to Great Bridge and want to check out the schools, call ahead first for directions. Don't try searching on your own.

You'll find that Great Bridge Middle School North is temporarily the home of Hickory Middle School but next year could become part of Great Bridge Middle School which was known as Great Bridge Middle School South last year.

It won't be much easier if you're looking in Deep Creek.

Within a four-mile radius, you'll hit Deep Creek Elementary School as you head toward Deep Creek High School. But just on the other side of George Washington Highway is Deep Creek Middle School, which is very close to Deep Creek Intermediate, which is around the corner from Deep Creek Central Elementary.

Such confusion occurs when you have Chesapeake's tremendous growth bumping heads with policies and traditions of naming schools after their locations.

In late August, the School Board voted to change the school-naming policy to allow schools, other than high schools, to be named after individuals.

Board members said naming buildings after prominent folkscould instill a sense of history in its students. But board member James Reeves put it more bluntly: ``It could eliminate some of the confusion.''

There's a Southeastern Elementary and a Southwestern Elementary. Crestwood Intermediate School is at 1240 Great Bridge Blvd., while Crestwood Middle is at 1420 Great Bridge Blvd.

At 1571 Mt. Pleasant Road is Butts Road Intermediate, and three miles away is Butts Road Primary at 1000 Mt. Pleasant.

Looking for Western Branch High? It's at 4222 Terry Drive, but don't mistake it with Western Branch Primary, which is at 4122, or Western Branch Intermediate at 4013. Or is that Western Branch Middle? No, Western Branch Middle is on Hawksley Drive.

If you want WBHS, just think big school.

Even the postal service confuses the schools.

``We do get their mail, and they get ours,'' said Edna Bunting, a secretary at Deep Creek Central Elementary, referring to Deep Creek Intermediate. Er, Deep Creek Elementary.

``We get their calls, and they get ours.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color illustration] by CNB