Archives for March 2014

Congratulations to Mr. Josh Rooke on being selected as the GHS 2015 Teacher of the Year.   Mr. Rooke teaches Spanish and has worked at Goochland High School for six years.  He is a respected member of the faculty and a valuable colleague.

Simply walking into Mr. Rooke’s classroom can be an inspiring occasion.  Typically, he is standing in the middle of the room and speaking with students.  Students are always engaged in Mr. Rooke’s classroom and take an active part in the lesson.  I have often felt that I could learn to speak Spanish with Mr. Rooke as my teacher.  It is the interaction with students that makes the difference in his classroom.  Lessons are fun and academic and always include a reinforcing message that encourages everyone to do their best.

Reflecting upon being selected as the teacher of the year, Mr. Rooke said, “I feel incredibly  honored to have been chosen as Goochland High School’s teacher of the year.  During my six years at GHS, I have had the privilege to work with many outstanding teachers, administrators, and students and I am proud to be part of such a wonderful team.”  We are extremely proud of the work Mr. Rooke accomplishes each day and for the contribution he makes to lives of his students and colleagues.

Congratulations, Mr. Rooke – 2015 Teacher of the Year for Goochland High School.

Goochland High School will hold its 2014 graduation ceremony at John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school’s administration is recommending to the Goochland school board that the original date of May 30, 2014 be changed to Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. This date change is due to circumstances originating with JPJ Arena. We believe the May 29th alternate date is the best option offered to us. Final approval of the date change will rest with the school board.

I met with the senior class on Monday of this week to discuss the potential change in our graduation date. I have since met with every 12th grade government class to further discuss the impact of a date change. Student concerns focused on dated announcements and travel plans. Seniors have been advised that there will be no additional costs to them in reprinting dated materials such as announcements. They felt with a May 29 graduation date, celebration plans already made would not be negatively impacted.

On May 29th the high school will operate on a regular bell schedule with seniors to be released from school two hours early. Any school division employee planning to attend graduation (especially those that are parents of graduating seniors) who may require more flexibility with time in order to get to JPJ earlier are asked to contact their principal or direct supervisor (or the superintendent) to work out the details. Following graduation on May 29, all graduating seniors will be excused from the final six days of school (May 30 – June 6). We will work out details of final exams for seniors in the near future.

We are sensitive to the scheduling challenges a date change will cause. Every effort is being made to have the date shift be as smooth as possible for all families. Graduation announcements and other dated materials will be reprinted and available to students very soon. We apologize for the inconvenience you may experience and look forward to seeing you in Charlottesville for the graduation ceremony of the Class of 2014 on Thursday, May 29, 2014.