January 14, 2021

Mineral Springs recently named its Honor Roll for the second nine weeks.

A Honor Roll

Third Grade: Ford Applewhite, Chassidy Brown, Aubrey Morman and Robert Rush.

Fourth Grade: Rylee DeCubellis, Oliver Lambeth, Emma Talley and Briley Webb.

Fifth Grade: Jack Barberousse, Tashaun Dowdy, Abigail Hinson, Gavin Hunsucker, Trystin Rogers and Cathy Thao.

A/B Honor Roll

Third Grade: Gracelyn Autry, Sydney Carter, Alexis Gutierrez Valdes, Lelan Owens, Skylar Rogers, Leila Shahi, Conner Smith, Grey Young and Denali Zera.

Fourth Grade: Jennifer Carrillo, Cheyanne Cooke, Ella Cooper, Brian Julian Dominguez, Elijah Lantz, Yicel Lopez Cruz, Autumn Maree, Jazmin Martinez, Antonio McKoy, Noah Quick, Faith Seibles, Bobby Smith, Dulce Vences, Emilee Wright and Cole Young.

Fifth Grade: Kennedy Baldwin, Bryson Evans, Jacqueline Gopar, Alanna Johnson McBride, TeMaya Lockhart, Carley McCormick, Carley McCormick, Ella McIntyre, ZyRihanna Robinson, Brooklyn Tyler, Siris Vaughn, Maci Wagoner and Alyssa Webb.

January 14, 2021

West Rockingham Elementary recently named its Honor Roll for the second nine weeks.

A Honor Roll

Fifth Grade: Bryan Mendoza and Cameron Drew Greene

Fourth Grade: Leah Leviner and Sophie Allen

Third Grade: Aryanna Cook, Jolee Cook, Grace Dunn and Bryson Hill.

A/B Honor Roll

Third: Brad Hutton Allen and Masiah Leak

Fourth: Hallie Allen, Neriah Benfield, Jordan McIntyre, Chloe Bowman, Breanna Bullard, Chloe Jimmerson, Kinley Kendrick and Chloe Gardner.

Fifth: Karen Hernandez Zamora

January 13, 2021

East Rockingham Elementary has recently named its Honor Roll for the second nine weeks.

A Honor Roll

Third Grade - Gustavo Aguilar, Riley Fields, Harrison Coward, Curtis Ingram, Addison Chappell, Christian Braye Chavis, Lexi Swink, Brooklyn Arnold, James Sellers and Amethyst Shepard.

Fourth Grade - Rodrigo Alvarez Ayala, Ryker Dixon, Christopher Hinson, Damarion Allen, Mattox Wallace, Jonathan Honeycutt, Kinya McLaurin, Cadence McIver and Kingston Gil.

Fifth Grade -Darien Roman, Shamakh Alshaif and Khloe Radford.

A/B Honor Roll

Third Grade - Caylie Barber, Nevaeh Eide, Jeremiah Johnson, Aiden Miller, Carson Beasley, Uzziah Medley, Dakin Velazquez, Adrianna Crowley, Nayla Madrigal Cadena and Kailyn Hildreth.

Fourth Grade - Isaac Call, Brandon Reyes, LaTavian Watkins, Natalia Quick, Summer Konopasek-Rigdon, Cane Taylor, Chloe White, Emily Almanez, Dalton Chavis, Lendell Blue, Chloe Cagle, Josiah Gilbert, Kevron McSween, Kayleigh Nelson and Jewel Nicholson.

Fifth Grade - Anna Allen, Promise Brown, Alexis Smith, Mason Watts, Edwin Esparza Vasquez, Bentley Warwick, Madason Coward, Irving Esparza Vasquez, Arlee Goodman, Madison Hancock, Martin Lopez, Bryceson Fields, Michael Ingram, Nevaeh Covington and Donovan Jones.

Terrific Kids

K- Daniel Ramos-Sampson, Cooper Bowman, JoyAnna Pittman and Ahnalee Chappell.

1^st-  Terrence Bow, Bryson Hinson, Savannah Street and Mylee Blanton.

2^nd- Grace Warner, Zaden Hildreth, Jacob Smith, Logan Ingram and De’Amari Martin.

3^rd- Bella Sweatt, Gustavo Aguilar Sanchez, Brooklyn Norton, Curtis Ingram and Lillie Quick.

4^th- Ana Gonzalez Nunez, Chloe White, Shelia Garcia and Seth Cox.

5^th-Khloe Radford, Zyquail Little, Shanakh Alshaif, Hector Saraoz and Kean Hester.

Virtual All-Stars

K- James Dixon

1^st- Neil Campos Galeas, Coraline Smith, Cera Jeffrey and Andy Roscoe.

2^nd- Savannah Gutafson, Natalie McDonald, Samantha McDonald and Zion Sesay.

3^rd-Lexi Swink, Carson Beasley, Uzziah Medley, Esmeralda Gallegos Cabos and Nayla Madrigal Cadena.

4^th- Austin Smith, Mattox Wallace, Cadence McIver and Kayleigh Nelson.

5^th- Allen Martin, Irving Esparza Vasquez, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Alisha Moore.

January 12, 2021

Ashley Chapel Educational Center recently named its Honor Roll for the second nine weeks.

A Honor Roll

Tenth Grade: Shamiah Thomas

A/B Honor Roll

Seventh Grade: Chloe Williams 

Tenth Grade: Asya Manning 

Twelfth Grade: Kwalei Harley and Arica Ray 

December 10, 2020

In consultation with the Richmond County Health Department, Richmond County Schools has made the decision to temporarily go 100 percent remote for all Richmond County Schools' students beginning Monday, December 14 and extending remote learning at least through Friday, January 29, 2021.

This decision was made due to the increase of community transmissions of COVID-19 and to keep our school family safe.

All learning will continue remotely. Our students will observe Christmas and New Year's holidays December 21 - January 4. Additional information regarding our next steps after January 29 will be made in consultation with our local health department and utilizing CDC guidelines and data from our local and state metrics. As always, our priority will be the safety and well-being of our students and staff.

All high school EOC in-person testing for Biology, Math 1, Math 3 and English II as mandated by the North Carolina Department of Instruction will be postponed until second semester. All CTE state assessments that require in-person administration will also be postponed until second semester.

November is National Career Development Month and we want to celebrate by highlighting our current Richmond Senior interns!

Senior Douglas McDonald has always enjoyed working with computers. His mom told him about the internship opportunity with Richmond County Schools’ Technology Department and he decided to give it a try.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my future, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to test some stuff out,” he said.

With Richmond County Schools' Technology Department, McDonald does a variety of tasks like re-imaging and setting up laptops and iPads for the schools. At Richmond Senior, he took classes such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel which McDonald said has come in use when it comes to software, but there were some steps he needed help with along the way.

McDonald is not sure of what he wants to do post graduation, but knows he’d like to pursue something in technology. He’s looking at attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte or NC State University.

“I’ve been enjoying what I’ve been doing here and I want to further my knowledge when it comes to setting stuff up and messing with technology,” he said. “The CTE program has helped me see that there’s a lot more to (technology) than I thought. Learning more stuff about technology has been fun for me.”

November is National Career Development Month and we want to celebrate by highlighting our current Richmond Senior interns!

Seniors Will and River Meacham are completing their internship at Meacham Logging, Inc., a family-owned company that’s been in business for 30 years.

The cousins have been involved in the business since they were young. Now that they’re older, River is considering staying in the logging business, while Will said he’s considering a career in welding.

“I started taking welding classes last year and that’s when I realized I was more interested in welding,” said Will. “I’ve been thinking about a new career but I just started asking about welding last school year.”

Some of Will and River’s tasks include operating the cutter, skidder and loader machines. They’ve been familiar with the work needed to run their family business, but both agreed that their classes at Richmond Senior have been helpful.

“I’ve been able to apply what I learned in my classes,” said River, who’s taken classes like advanced manufacturing. “My OSHA certification has helped as well.”

“Advanced manufacturing and welding have been helpful,” added Will. “Jason Felts and Mr. Perakis are good.”

After graduation, River plans to go to a four-year university and is looking at N.C. State University. Will said he will complete the welding program and look for work.

“Being in the CTE program, I’ve been able to learn and view different jobs,” said River. “It teaches me critical work skills that I need for work.

"I've also learned more about work manners and being on time," River added about his time at his internship.

“The CTE program has helped me realize there are other options,” said Will.

November is National Career Development Month and we want to celebrate by highlighting our current Richmond Senior interns!

Roderick Hudgen thought he wanted to be a doctor. His mom and grandma were both in the health field - his mom is an occupational therapist and his grandma is a CNA  - and the classes came easy for him.

“I always knew I wanted to pick something that would make money, so I was like ‘doctor’,” he said with a laugh. “At first I thought it was a little kid type dream when you tell your teacher that you want to be a doctor, but I said I would go for it.”

The moment he knew the health field was the career path he wanted to take was back when he was in the tenth grade. The terminology came easy to him and he really liked it.

“Everything just came naturally,” he said.

Hudgen is completing his internship at Murphy Chiropractic. There, he operates machines, files charts, inputs patient information in their system and keeps everything sanitized. But during his time at his internship, he’s also discovering what he wants to do moving forward.

“This is my first internship and it’s shown me what I like and what I don’t like,” said Hudgen. “I’m looking at what interests me, and right now I’m looking at neurology. I had a psychology class and I really liked it.”

Hudgen is looking at several college options including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University and East Carolina University.

Hudgen is thankful for the CTE program at Richmond Senior High School. He said it not only you teaches you a field, but also how to work under pressure.

“They can’t keep telling me what I need to do, like do this or do that, all the time,” he said. “So it makes you adjust and that’s really good.”

November is National Career Development Month and we want to celebrate by highlighting our current Richmond Senior interns!

Senior Kendell Watson comes from a family of firemen - his grandfather, uncle, father and brother are all firefighters. Watson considers it a “family tradition.”

When he was younger, he and his brother would go on calls with their dad. Seeing his dad work and doing his thing made the brothers proud and was the moment Watson knew he wanted to be a firefighter.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else other than that,” he said. “If we can be like (dad) that’s what we want to do. I think me and my brother are living out his dream that he wanted us to have.”

Watson is interning at the Aberdeen Fire Department where he goes on a variety of calls. Recently, he was able to get more training on confined spaces after visiting the Southern Pines Fire Department. He’s also learning more about tower trucks at the Aberdeen Fire Department.

Watson credits what he’s able to apply to his internship with what he learned through the fire academy at Richmond Senior High School with Vic McCaskill.

“If I didn’t take the fire academy, I wouldn’t have any of the classes that I have now behind me,” he said. “(The class) has prepared me to know things by the book and how things should be done. And if I didn’t have that, I would have to start from the beginning.”

After graduation, Watson said he would like to work in Moore County full time and gain more experience. When he turns 21, he hopes to move out closer to the beach and find work along the coast. His dream is to go to New York.

“My mom has been my biggest cheerleader through all of this,” he said.

Watson is thankful for his time in the CTE program and how it has helped him get to where he wants to go. He said he’s seen the program develop from the time his brother was a senior in 2017 to now.

“It keeps kids ready for the future and shows them what they’re getting into,” he said.

Watson encourages more people to get into the fire service. He considers it one of the best jobs he can think of.

“(Mr. McCaskill) is a great guy to talk to about (fire service),” he said. “Without him, I don’t think any of the students who came through his fire academy would be where they are now.”

November is National Career Development Month and we want to celebrate by highlighting our current Richmond Senior interns!

Working on cars isn’t new for senior Jeremy McDonald. His grandpa started Phil’s Automotive Repair in Rockingham and he’s been working around the shop since he was a little boy.

“I was raised in it pretty much,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been doing this since I was tiny.”

While interning at the shop, McDonald has done work like pulling out transmissions and motors and anything else that comes with working on cars.

He’s learned quite a bit from working in his family-owned shop, and his automotive and manufacturing classes at Richmond Senior High School have helped him as well.

“Automotive has taught me a little more,” he said. “Greg Norton, Jason Perakis and Tony Clewis have helped me get to where I am now.”

At the shop, McDonald works with his grandpa, dad, grandma, cousin and brother -- which he says he likes.

“It’s been good working with my family,” he said.

After his internship and graduating, McDonald said he’d like to keep doing what he’s doing and work on cars. He said he’s looking into Sandhills Community College and their automotive class.