Seventy-three children went through the recent kindergarten roundup at Hagerstown Elementary School, according to information presented to the Nettle Creek School board on April 12.
Superintendent Emily Schaeffer reported, “This is the highest number of students we’ve had since before the pandemic. We are excited to welcome our next group of Tigers!”
During the meeting, Schaeffer and the board honored Chase Sutherland, a senior student at Hagerstown Jr.-Sr. High School who will not be graduating with his class because of joining the U.S. Marine Corps.
The son of Mike and Stacey Sutherland, Chase was involved in wrestling at HHS where he qualified for semistate his junior and senior years. He has attended the New Castle Vocational School, where he received a certificate in property and facility management. This year Chase had a 98% attendance rate and carries a 3.9 GPA.
Currently, Chase is completing a Work Based Learning experience at Hagerstown Elementary School in the maintenance department. Chase starts his day at 6 a.m., works until 8 a.m., attends class from 8:30-11:30 a.m., then returns to work until 5:30 p.m.
Chase will be leaving on May 8 for basic training with the Marine Corps. He plans to enter as an engineer. He will miss graduation ceremonies but Schaeffer and the board celebrated his achievements.
The board approved an overnight field trip for the HJSHS Band to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Oct. 6-9. They will perform at Dollywood and visit the Smoky Mountains.
The board also approved the following personnel changes.
Certified staff hiring: Kaitlyn Smith, elementary teacher; Brad Catey, HJSHS school counselor.
Noncertified staff: Samantha Stainbrook, sub mini bus driver; Kathy Malloy, temporary HES administration assistant; Sierra Searcy, HES instructional assistant; Garrett Mull and Zachary Golliher, student maintenance workers.
Retirement: Linda Isom, HJSHS teacher.
Resignation: Alyssa Snyder, HES instructional assistant.
Summer school / jump start staff: Christy Herr, AG SAE; Kendra Sanders, summer band; Chris Blaase, PLATO; Michelle Hart, ELA HJSHS; Amy Dickerson, Laynie Vinson, Paige Johnson, Madilyn Coomes, Brynden Alvey, Leah Stinson, and Hannah Rogers, HES jump start teachers; and Haley Dickerson, Rachael Gideon, Paige Stuart, Kristin DeJong, Barbara Sullivan, Jeff Becker and Tory Jarrett, HES jump start assistants.
The board’s next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 in the Hagerstown Elementary School LGI room, 299 N. Sycamore St., Hagerstown. The public may attend.
A version of this article appeared in the April 26 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.