PCPS News

1) Eighteen more PHS students join National Honor Society 2) PHS athlete headed for All-American Bowl 3) Petersburg student honored by Style Weekly 1) Eighteen more PHS students join National Honor Society On April 23, Petersburg High School (PHS) had its annual National Honor Society (NHS) Induction Ceremony. Mrs. Hallie Powers is the NHS advisor at PHS, and […]

May 31, 2009; 2:10 PM • by brenda p

1) Eighteen more PHS students join National Honor Society
2) PHS athlete headed for All-American Bowl
3) Petersburg student honored by Style Weekly

1) Eighteen more PHS students join National Honor Society

On April 23, Petersburg High School (PHS) had its annual National Honor Society (NHS) Induction Ceremony. Mrs. Hallie Powers is the NHS advisor at PHS, and Mrs. Bernetta Thornton assists as the co-advisor. The PHS chapter of the NHS currently has 53 active members, which include the 18 new members “tapped” for membership in April. Each new member received a certificate of membership.

The guest speaker was Ms. Candace S. Parham, an instructor of Athletic Training at George Mason University. Ms. Parham was the PHS Valedictorian, Class of 1999. Following the program, Ms. Parham joined the new inductees and their parents for a reception.

According to the NHS website, NHS began in 1921, and quickly developed into one of the country’s leading educational groups. More than one million students now participate in activities of the NHS and NJHS. Chapter membership not only recognizes students for their accomplishments, but challenges them to develop further through active involvement in school activities and community service.

Four main purposes guide NHS chapters: “To create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools.” (from the NHS Constitution) These purposes also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter.

2) PHS athlete headed for All-American Bowl

Quinton Spain has just wrapped up a spectacular season with the Petersburg Crimson Wave Boy’s Varsity Basketball Team. Now the Petersburg High School (PHS) junior is making huge news with his other love, football.

The powerful offensive lineman has already attended two national football combines this year, the VTO Elite 100 and the ESPN Rise Nike Football Training Camp, where he earned Most Valuable Player rankings at both, playing against some of the best players on the East Coast. And that has led to this: Quinton Spain will go to San Antonio, Texas, in January 2010, to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game.

“It is one of the biggest bowls in high school,” said PHS Head Football Coach Mike Scott.

Quinton is the first player from Virginia this year to earn this honor, Scott said. And if it has ever happened before at PHS, “it has been a very long time,” he added.

He goes into the Bowl with four stars out of a possible five.

3) Petersburg student honored by Style Weekly

Timothy Brown, an eighth grade student at Vernon Johns Jr. High School (VJJHS) in Petersburg, was recently honored by Style Weekly’s 16 Under 16 Youth Program, which reveals the Greater Richmond’s area most talented students whose devotion to academics, community service, and leadership puts them in a league apart from their peers. But behind Timothy’s outstanding achievements is a team of adults helping him reach his full potential … parents, teachers, counselor or other role models who inspires him to reach new heights and overcome obstacles, to achieve success.

Timothy and his parents were honored guests at a ceremony on April 14th at Movieland on the Boulevard. This is what was stated about Timothy at the ceremony:

“Some kids can have their cake and eat it too. Chosen to represent the ‘Cool To Be Smart’ campaign for VJJHS, Timothy Brown, is the embodiment of brains and brawn, easy-going and popular. ‘You don’t have to be a nerd to get the good grades,’ he says. And although, like most teenagers, he likes to play video games and listen to music, his academic career is already impressive.”

“’My grades are my main focus. I feel if I have the proper grades, everything else will fall into place,” says Timothy. An honor roll student since elementary school and a recipient of the President’s Award for academics, Timothy has been the spokesperson for the “Teen Summit” radio program, a volunteer at Pathways YouthBuild Center, a member of the National Junior Honor Society, a participant in an ETC Center at Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and a participant in the GATE Summer Enrichment Program.

Timothy has spent four summers at Math Camp at Virginia State University and is the captain of Digerspired, the Longwood University Robotics Program. A member of the chess club at the Petersburg Public Library, he would like to start his own chapter at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, where he has been accepted in the fall with a concentration in technology.

Inspired by his parents who recently opened the new restaurant Liason, Timothy imagines himself in the future as a young entrepreneur, or as a pioneer in nano-technology.

“I think it’s going to revolutionize the world,” he said.

With Pres. Obama as his inspiration, he believes not even the job of U.S. president is out of his reach.