001I think yours will be prepared. All right. and just welcome you. folks recess [Music] and Trevor John is going to join us. Okay, I'm call right now. Yes. All right. I just wanted to welcome everybody for coming. This is our um our opportunity to have the the board's undivided attention. Um talk about things that they may not know that we have going on on a daily basis. Um and I'm turn it over to our color guard. Here comes Up close arms. Order arms. [Music] Arch march. Go. Right. So, we had a particular order we were going to do things, but um we've got um one of our student presenters um has a a prior commitment, so we're going to go ahead and bump her up to the top. Um I give you our young writers
002winner for Wayne County's 11th and 12th grade students, John [Applause] In the hills of West Virginia, there was a small town called Fort. It was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone in life moved at a gentle pace of the season. At the edge of the town from the ridge stood a house with a porch that seemed to touch the sky. It was a place where leaves fell like whispers in the fog. Women carried the step pie and watch the screen. It was a place where memories were made and some were left behind. That was where I found myself. Not by choice but by circumstance. The old F-150 ruped to a stop and as soon as the door opened, I leaped out. My paws hit the ground and I stretched my legs for the
003first time and ouched. The air smelled different here, clean and crisp with a hint of wood smoke. I ran in circles, sniffing everything I could, my tail wag. When I turned to look back at the truck, it was already pulling away. Wait, don't leave me. I barked, sprinting after it. My legs pumped as fast as I could, my heart pounding in panther. But the truck didn't stop. It disappeared from him. Nothing but a trail of dust in it. I stood there confused and scared until I heard a voice. "Hey, buddy, come here." I turned to see a man sitting on the porch. He had kind eyes and gray hair, and a smile seemed to steady the trip on my chest. "You're a runner, aren't you?" he said, kneeling down as I cautiously approached. Sir, where's
004my owner? Why did he leave me here? I whimpered. Though I know he couldn't understand. Well, it looks like yours now, he said softly, scratching behind my ears. His touch was gentle, and for a moment, it felt like everything might be okay. Before I could figure out what was happening, the boy came bounding out of the house. He couldn't have been more than eight. His face lit with the song. Is this him, Tom? Is this our wallet? Yes, Daniel. What should we name him? The boy tilted his head, thinking hard. Then he grinned. Trump. Trump. Tom laughed. That's a strong name for a strong dog. I like it. Daniel knelt beside me, his hands finding a perfect spot behind my ears. I melted I melted into his toes, my tail wagging despite the ache of
005being left behind. Now, Daniel, don't love on him too much. You wear him out and we'll leave him to hunt, Tom said with a chuckle. I didn't know it then, but I not my new family. The next morning to I woke up to the sound of birds singing the smell of new grass. I didn't know what the day would bring, but Tom's voice soon answered that question. Come on, Trump. Time to hunt. Hunt. The voice scent thrilled through me. I had never been hunting before, but I knew it was important. The woods were alive with the scent with the sounds of autumn. Leaves crunching under foot. This the distant of crows. I darted ahead, my nose to the ground, determined to make dawn proud. But as the hours passed, I felt nothing. My tail drew
006with an empty trail. Then I heard it. I wrestling in the bushes. My ears perked up and I froze. Slowly I crept forward, my heart racing. When I pounced, my teeth lovely. "Good boy, Trump!" Tom shouted. His voice was full of pride. "I wiped my toe so hard, I thought it might fall off. "Did I do good?" "You did great," he said, ruffled with my fur. "When we drove home, I felt like I belonged." "Tom smiled the whole way, and I knew I had made him happy." "Seasons changed on Ronley Ridge. The snow bent into spring, and spring bloomed into summer. Tom and I were inseparable. We hunted together, explored the woods together, and sat on the horse together, watching the sun dip below below the horizon. But then things started to change. Tom didn't
007come outside as much. He stayed in bed longer, and his voice grew louder. The hunts stopped all together. Some people came to feed me, Jonathan, Andre, and the three kids, but it wasn't the same. I didn't understand what was happening, but I could feel it. Something was wrong. One day, I saw Shirley helping to the guard. His face was pale and his and his hands trembled as he leaned on her arm. My heart achd as I watched them jump away. They were gone for weeks. When they finally came back, Tom looked even worse. His wand once strong frame was thin and his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Then that was when I overheard the word cancer. Charlene whispered to us to a neighborhood, her voice breaking. The the word hung in the air like
008a storm cloud. I didn't understand it completely, but I knew it been something bad. Something that couldn't be fixed. March came with a heaviness I couldn't shake. The house was busier than ever. Cars lie in the driveway and people came and went all day. I watched it from the yard uneasy. That night, as a sun behind Bley Ridge, it happened. The songs was interrupted by the sound of Shirley's voice. We're all with grief echoing through the house. I stood frozen. My ears pinned back. the weight of the moment pressing down me. Tom was gone. Two men from the funeral home arrived not not long after carrying something that looked like a bed with him on it. Seeing them bring him out, my heart broke. He wasn't moving, nor was he smiling. Hit the vehicle disappeared
009down the hill, leaving me in a feeling of any other emotion but happiness. There was a feeling that I have never felt in my entire life. A piece in my soul was missing. Why him? Out of everyone. Why him? I whimpered softly, my legs trembling beneath me. I wanted to run to him to know to nuzzle his hand and make him wake up, but I couldn't breathe. The pain was almost too unbearable for me to think straight as I watched the vehicle leave. I holl the sign of my grief fell in the empty sky. The days after Tom's death felt hollow. The house of quiet and the porch where we used to sit together felt cold and empty. Charlene sold the truck in the side by side and I watched as they disappeared down the
010road just like Tom had. I spend most my days lying on the porch and now staring at the rising. Sometimes when the wind rustles the leaves, I think I hear his voice. Good boy, Trump, he says as clear as if you're standing beside me. The world keeps moving, but a part of me is still stuck in that moment, watching the truck disappear over the hill. Though he's gone, his memory lives in the wind, in the trees, and in the quiet moments we share. There will never be another man. Congratulations. [Applause] All right. I just want to take a second and just inform you, I guess, because we have some folks here, some that aren't here, but who um makes up our LSIC. I'm Trevor Little. I'm the principal. We've got Robera Holland, our assistant principal.
011Our service personnel representative is TJ Chapen. Um Sherry Markham is our math department chair. Uh Tara Crabtree, she'll be back. Um is our ProStart um instructor. Uh Wade Cyrus um is the agriculture instructor. Um our parent representative and liaison person is Karen Tony. Um our uh school social worker is Miss Angela Vincent and then our student representative is off playing baseball is is Gage Dawson. Um so um just a little bit about us, we are currently our current enrollment is right at 340 students. We have 35 professional staff. um that is um including um three in the English department, three in the math department, three um currently in science, social studies has has um three as well. We have option pathways, five special ed teachers, three in the arts, nine CTE instructors, health and PE.
012We have one person, we have two, two admins, um, one counselor, a community and schools position. Um, we did then have our tech technology integration specialist who helps keep everything up and running appropriately. Um we have uh three aids and then um two secretaries. Um I did note at the bottom that our science department is has has been re reduced to two positions for the upcoming school year, but we're going to tell you what we're going to do with that here in a little bit. That's going to you know actually I think want to increase our number of uh potential offerings for students. So, our courses are study. We have our standard um English. We've got um AP literature. Um we have dual credit that is offered through through Mount West and the um the
013Herd Academy. Um creative writing which uh Miss Foley takes part in clearly. Um, and then we have our theater and we're going to see a nice little little thing that Miss Gilkerson and and Miss Muny put