By Stephen Smoot
The Hardy County Board of Education meeting room was a packed house on May 4 for the first regular meeting of the month. Superintendent Sheena Van Meter opened with the customary invocation, praying “Heavenly father, we thank you for the opportunity to come together this evening to do the work of Hardy County Schools. We’re thankful, Lord, for all the students and the staff that are here with us this evening and the parents, and that we get an opportunity to celebrate the greatness that’s within our school system.”
Next came the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and then introductions of those present.
The first order of business lay in recognizing student achievements. A number of teachers and students introduced themselves among central office staff and Board members.
“Welcome, everyone!” said Board President Dixie Bean, “it’s always good to see so many people with us,” she shared.
Derrick Parks stood and spoke on behalf of East Hardy High School, where he serves as principal. “This is just a snapshot,” he added, “this whole building would be completely filled if we were celebrating everything we wanted to celebrate.”
He first recognized young writers and invited Michelle Wolfe, EHHS English teacher, to join him. She came to “sing the praises” of her students and those who help them.
Wolfe stated that the two winners, Bailey and Sierra were the county winners for her East High School and for the county at large. And I just have to say that both Bailey and Sierra are really good students who really care about the quality of their work. And so I really appreciate that they’re both word smiths, and they care about getting just the right word in.”
Bailey had the opportunity to read aloud their stories that earned them accolades. A middle school honoree also had a chance to share her prose.
“They really help to build a culture of writers,” Wolfe added about the high school winners.
Next came recognition of Social Studies Fair winners. Gideon Good and Aubrey McCullough won first place with a project on the West Virginia Mine Wars. In third place Violette McDonald and Taylor McReynolds earned third place with a project examining the French Revolution. Jessa Mongold and Emily Weaver also took a third place prize on the impact of Greek immigration to the Mountain State.
Luke Holliday and Chance Hahn were honored for winning the Golden Horseshoe, given to those eighth graders exhibiting superior knowledge of West Virginia history.
Jonathan Montgomery received honorable mention for a study on the economics of Prohibition.
Morganne Miller, East Hardy wrestler, was also recognized for being the West Virginia honoree of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. East Hardy High School is the only school in West Virginia to boast two such winners. In 2021, Sierramarie Miller took home the prize.
