Westmoreland County

Public Schools

Life has come full circle for Westmoreland High School art teacher Holly Ransone. The 1981 graduate of Washington & Lee High School was recently named the Westmoreland County Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year. As she begins her 39th year in education, Ms. Ransone remains as optimistic about art and her students as she has since beginning her career as a teacher in 1985. Except for a brief hiatus for an extended maternity leave and a three year venture at Woodland Academy, Ms. Ransone has spent the rest of her teaching career at Washington & Lee High School and now Westmoreland High School.

Montross Middle School eighth grader, Brielle Hall, took the stage and correctly spelled her way to another year of victory at the annual Westmoreland County Public Schools District Spelling Bee. It took six rounds before the winner was declared. At the end of the evening, Brielle Hall sealed her victory by spelling correctly the final word of the night, “antlers.” Dr. Michael Perry, Superintendent, presented Ms. Hall with a “Free-Lance Star” dictionary for her accomplishment. Dr. Perry asked each of the competing spelling champions to come to the stage for a final recognition and bow before the proud and cheering audience.

The area’s VDOT is gearing up for the winter season. This year, one of its plows will stand out from the others. Decorated with a large winter scene featuring Northern Neck deer frolicking in the snow, the plow was designed and painted by a group of Westmoreland High School art students.

Fourth and fifth graders at Washington District Elementary School have been spotted talking to Ozobots after school. As part of the afterschool sessions offered to WDE students, STEM students have been working with engineers and scientists from NSWCD-Dahlgren base since January. According to WDES principal, Michael Bathgate, the program began with one demo each month followed by three sessions that would allow students to learn STEM through hands-on activities.

Samantha McKenney was attending a class at the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School when her name was announced as a 2023 College Board National Recognition Awardee. When she returned to Westmoreland High School later that morning, congratulations were coming from her friends and teachers. Samantha had been named a National Rural and Small Town awardee.

Janet Garland, the new principal of Montross Middle School, has two guiding principles that she follows in her educational career; ALL students CAN and TEACHERS do important work. The new MMS leader says these principles are at the forefront of all her decisions. A long time educator, Mrs. Garland worked in Chesterfield County as a Special Education teacher and Assistant Principal. More recently she was a principal in Essex County.

A contingent of interested science students and family members recently departed Montross Middle School on a brisk Saturday morning for high adventure. Their mission was to release baby trout into the cold waters of Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, Virginia. For the past seven months, the students of Mrs. Debbie Travis’ Life Science classes raised baby trout from eggs to fingerling size. The trip to Graves Mountain was the final step, which was required of the funding grant, Trout in the Classroom. The school was awarded this grant in 2022. The grant was funded by the Friends of the Rappahannock and the Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the grant was to support Environmental Education in the Rappahannock River Watershed.

The Class of 2023, all 98 of them, stepped onto the Eagle football field and made history by becoming the first graduating class of Westmoreland High School. They were cheered on by a raucous crowd of parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends. Both the WHS principal, William Bowen and Westmoreland Pubic Schools’ Superintendent, Dr. Michael Perry, reminded the students of this historical moment.

Twelve Montross Middle School students had an out of the world experience on April 21, 2023. The students had been selected to participate in a chat with Astronaut Steve Bowen. The ARRIS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) program allows for radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and a local school. Montross Middle School was one of nine schools selected in the United States for this unique opportunity.