South County HS Receives the 2023-2024 Purple Star Award
South County High School was recently awarded the 2023-2024 Purple Star Award by the Virginia Council on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The Purple Star designation is awarded to schools who exhibit excellence in supporting military-connected children and their families. Our school was identified as a welcoming and supportive place, especially for our military connected students. This is the first time in our school’s history that we have received this recognition; Dr. Khoshaba, South County's principal, noted that it is important to acknowledge though that SoCo has done amazing work to support military students and families in the past several years. Below is the official emblem, the purple star award, that we will proudly display on our website and social media accounts:
In the next couple of weeks, our school will receive the 2023-2024 Recognition Resolutions bestowed on those schools selected for this year’s award along with the coveted Purple Star Award challenge coin. This coin is a nod to the military community that is known for the practice of bestowing unit coins to those who have contributed to the mission. Recipients of the Purple Star Award retain the designation for three years before being required to reapply. Special recognition goes out to Ms. Kat Ohlmeyer (Military Connected Youth Staff sponsor and Math Teacher at SCHS), Ms. Lisa Beskenis (Assistant Principal at SCHS), and their committee for leading the work to qualify for this prestigious award !
This school year, we are excited to welcome Ms. Kendra Burnside who serves as our Family and Military School Counselor ! She will be a positive and supportive addition to our South County family. Please visit our Welcome to Military Connected Students page for her contact information and FCPS support resources for military families.
As Veterans Day is just "around the corner," SCHS will host our annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, Nov 10th at 7:20 by Door 1. We will have a flag raising done by our JROTC students and the always wonderful performance of the national anthem by our SoCo Singers.
Reference: Virginia Department of Education: The Virginia Purple Star Designation Program for Schools