At a subdued Rappahannock County School Board meeting on Tuesday, July 13, board members discussed masking guidance for the new school year, an update on the new Wellness Center, and plans for incoming High School Principal Carlos Seward’s transition into his new role.  

Serendipity Equine held its first Youth Horsetopia Clinic last week. During this fully immersive horsemanship experience, young participants learned various skills related to horsemanship and horse care and enjoyed equine-themed crafts and activities — including riding, of course, both in the arenas and along Serendipity’s wooded trails.

It’s been a good year for Panther sports. The Rappahannock County High School varsity softball team traveled to Warsaw, Va. yesterday, June 23, for the Virginia High School League state semifinals after winning the region championship game at home on Thursday, June 17.

Rod Osborne of Castleton announced earlier this week that he has filed an official Declaration of Candidacy with the Rappahannock County Voter Registrar and is running to represent the Stonewall-Hawthorne District on the Rappahannock County School Board. Osborne will challenge incumbent Larr…

At a subdued Rappahannock County School Board meeting on Tuesday night, Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley and Chair Wes Mills recognized teachers and school staff who retired in 2020 and were not recognized at the time because of the ongoing pandemic. 

Often when people hear the word “scholarship” they think about money dedicated to the four-year-college bound high school senior. In the four counties that Northern Piedmont Community Foundation serves (Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Rappahannock), we want all our residents to know that of the 43 scholarship funds we manage, many of them have universal appeal.

When Covid hit in spring 2020, the Rappahannock FamilyFutures board realized their nonprofit might be able to help home-bound kids spend some of their screen time learning about money and finances in a fun online summer “camp.”

Lord Fairfax Community College could become Laurel Ridge Community College. The name change was opposed by Rappahannock’s supervisors and other area elected officials.

Eighteen-year-old Agustin Garcia Prieto says joining the Sperryville Rescue Squad was the best decision he made this year. The recent Rappahannock County High School graduate has volunteered there for the past two months and is working his way toward becoming a fully independent emergency medical technician (EMT).

Photos by Rachel Needham

Unedited video of the RCHS 2021 graduation at the high school gym, May 28, 2021.

RCES students showed their competitive spirit and lots of smiles while enjoying a variety of fun, field day events on Friday, May 21. Organized by Ms. Rhonda Jenkins, the activities included hurdles, flag tag, corn hole toss, softball throw, egg race, two-man toss, sack race, bumper balls, and more!

Early on the morning of May 12, Jenny Kapsa drove to the 4-H Center in Front Royal to get ready for camp. By the time the counselors arrived a little after 8 a.m., a campfire was already crackling away. At 9 a.m., Rappahannock County Public School students poured off their buses for the last day of the Wonderful Wednesday program.

Rappahannock’s Morgan McKinney celebrates a major milestone 

Reinboldt, a graduating senior at Rappahannock County High School, found out about the Workforce Solutions program from Lisa Heiser, his college counselor. Plus, he had watched his friends, Logan Butler and Richard Jenkins, complete the program and become successful equipment operators right out of high school.

Held in a large tent under the stars, Rappahannock County High School Prom was a night to remember for the historic class of 2021. The students may have celebrated in small groups, but the energy and excitement were shared by all. The seniors enjoyed dancing at their tables, taking photos with friends, and winning raffled gift cards, which were generously donated by S.A.D.D.

“People would bring me junk stuff and I would just pull it apart [and] try to put it back together,” he said. “Eventually I was able to put it back together." Since then, Foster has learned how to fix all kinds of things: weed eaters, farm equipment, and lawn mowers...

Organized by the Profile of a Graduate (POG) team, Senior Week at Rappahannock County High School celebrated the Class of 2021. The festivities began on Monday, May 3 with a special senior donut breakfast in the commons area.

In a crowded Rappahannock County Elementary School gym on Tuesday night, the school board introduced the new principal of Rappahannock County High School.

Rappahannock County Public Schools is pleased to announce that Carlos Dwight Seward has been appointed as the next principal of Rappahannock County High School.

Here’s a rundown of RCPS end-of-year activities starting this weekend:

Origins of name shifts from aristocracy to nature

Football was Matt Sisk’s first love. Even though he has had a successful high school career as a wrestler, becoming a four-time state qualifier and making it to the state semifinals, football has his heart. 

Rappahannock County Public Schools have seen an elevated number of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, though school officials say the incidents are isolated.

Rappahannock County Public Schools have seen an elevated number of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, though school officials say the incidents are isolated.

This June, 59 seniors will graduate from Rappahannock County High School, and 14 graduates — 24 percent of the class — will be buoyed on the college voyage by a Headwaters scholarship. Since its founding in 1997 with the aim of supporting the county’s public schools and the children who learn there, the nonprofit foundation has awarded more than $600,000 in financial aid to pursue higher education.

To celebrate the achievements and extraordinary resilience of the historic class of 2021, the Rappahannock News will feature one Rappahannock County High School senior each week until graduation on May 28. Students have been nominated by their teachers and mentors to be featured in the Senior Spotlight series.

Rappahannock County Future Farmers of America members attended Rockingham Cooperative’s second annual one-day immersive Market Animal College at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds on April 24.

In a special ceremony in the RCES courtyard, the Rappahannock County Garden Club and Friends of Rappahannock recognized students for their poster submissions, which reflected the importance of trees.  The ceremony, held on April 19, 2021, honored one student from each grade level. Posters were judged on the students’ understanding and depiction of trees’ role and contribution to the planet.

In countless ways, the pandemic has impacted the lives of everyone — students perhaps most of all. A little more than a year ago, parents never imagined most children would be thrust into attending school either partially or full-time on a computer.

While the rest of the world was grinding to a halt at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel Weghorst was starting a business. 

“During quarantine, I was like, ‘I don’t have anything to do,’ so I looked up a bunch of YouTube videos and articles about how to open your own Etsy shop,” she said. “It was just the perfect opportunity.” 

The mood at the Rappahannock County Public School Board meeting on Tuesday night was at once relieved and triumphant, reflecting the schools’ sense of achievement after successfully bringing all students in grades K-12 back to in-person learning four days a week.

The historic Scrabble School, a Rosenwald School in Castleton, will be the subject of yet another documentary to be released in May 2021, this time in cooperation with Education Week, an independent news organization that has covered education since 1981.

On Monday, April 12, Rappahannock County Public Schools welcomed both A and B cohorts in grades 6-12 for four-day in-person instruction. At the high school, this marked the first time the students had seen their classmates all together since the start of the pandemic.