South Stokes High School

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. We will have a four day week this week because school is out this Friday for Good Friday. Students return to school next Monday, the 21st, after Easter. This week we are having our Spring Spirit Week, with Monday being PJ Day, Tuesday is Teacher Student Swap Day, Wednesday is Tourist Day, and Thursday is Adam Sandler Day. On Thursday Seniors will have Cap and Gown pictures and we will be having a Pep Rally celebrating South Stokes and our Spring Athletes. On Monday we will be having homeroom to distribute important information to seniors about Cap and Gown pictures. With a look ahead, Prom Tickets for Juniors and Seniors will be on sale next week, April 21st - 24th. On April 25th we will be hosting the Special Olympics at South Stokes. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Aaron Ramsey. A new student joined class and Aaron jumped in to help the new student get caught up and not feel overwhelmed. Thank you Aaron, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, on Monday, golf is at New River, tennis hosts East Wilkes, soccer hosts Mt. Airy, softball travels to West Stokes, and baseball travels to Starmount for a varsity only game. On Tuesday, tennis travels to Starmount, baseball travels to North Stokes, and soccer travels to Walkertown. On Wednesday track travels to North Stokes, and golf is at Hemlock. On Thursday, tennis travels to Mount Airy, baseball hosts North Stokes, softball hosts Surry Central, soccer hosts West Stokes and golf is at Pilot Mountain. On Friday, softball travels to Starmount. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. Outside date forms for the Junior-Senior Prom are available in the main office. These are due back to Mrs. Voss in room D3 or the main office by Friday, April 11th. Prom will be on Saturday, May 3rd and Luna's Trail. On Tuesday Seniors will pick up their cap and gowns during lunch in the lower lobby. Cap and Gown pictures will be on April 17th. This Friday the SSHS Band Boosters are hosting a paint Night at the South Stokes cafeteria at 5:00pm for the first session, and 7:00 pm for the second session. This Saturday, April 12th, we will be hosting a Spring Festival celebrating the 60th year of the founding of South Stokes. There will be games, inflatables, food trucks, and local vendors. The time is from 11:00 to 2:00 pm in the front lot of the school. Congratulations to Mr. Mercer's homeroom for winning our Saura March Madness Attendance Initiative. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Izzy Lawson. Izzy dedicated many hours over the course of several weeks to updating, reorganizing, and rewriting over 60 Cadets' record folders containing all of the achievements, community service, and awards. We appreciate what she does for the JROTC program. Thank you Izzy, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, on Monday, golf is at cross creek. On Tuesday, tennis is at Alleghany, baseball hosts Starmount, soccer hosts Alleghany and softball travels to Mount Airy. On Wednesday track travels to North Stokes, golf is at Silo Run, and softball travels to East Surry. On Thursday, tennis hosts East Wilkes and golf is at Hemlock. On Friday, baseball travels to Starmount and softball travels to East Wilkes. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Little Folks Festival Saturday April 5th 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Hosted at Mount Olive Elementary School Address: 2145 Chestnut Grove Road King, NC

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. On Monday we will be having homeroom to pass out report cards. Students that owe fees will also be receiving fee reminders, and Juniors will receive their ACT score reports. On Tuesday we are having a Saura Spirit Night at Kobe Japanese Restaurant in Walnut Cove. Please come enjoy some food and show your support from 5-9. This week our Saura March Madness attendance initiative finishes with the final match up between Mrs. Gunter's Capybara's vs. Mr. Mercer's Bulldozers. We are encouraging our students to attend school everyday that they are healthy in the month of March, and the homeroom with the highest attendance rate will receive an off campus lunch. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Ty Lawson. Ty worked on the vehicle of a staff member's family, on his own time, to ensure the task was completed after several hours of work. Thank you Ty, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, on Monday baseball hosts Providence Grove, on Tuesday tennis hosts Mount Airy, soccer hosts North Stokes, and softball travels to Elkin. On Wednesday tennis hosts East Surry, track travels to Mount Airy, soccer travels to Surry Central and golf plays at Hemlock. On Thursday, tennis hosts Elkin softball hosts North Surry. On Friday track travels to West Iredell, soccer travels to McMichael, and softball hosts Alleghany. On Saturday track travels to Dudley Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. I hope everyone had a fun and restful spring break. This week we begin the 4th quarter. On Wednesday, some our students will be going to UNC-G to attend the Opera. This Saturday the South Stokes Athletic Boosters Club will be having their annual $10,000 cash give away at 6:00 pm at South Stokes. If you are interested in getting a ticket, it is a $100 donation to the boosters and that will also get you a wonderful meal for two on the night of the event. You can call the school or reach out to our Boosters club if you are interested in a ticket. This week our Saura March Madness attendance initiative continues with the Final 4. We are encouraging our students to attend school everyday that they are healthy in the month of March, and the homeroom with the highest attendance rate will receive an off campus lunch. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Allie Burgess. Allie volunteered to be a mentor for one of Mrs. Fouche's students and helped that student make a pasta skeleton with our Health Science 1 class . Thank you Allie, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, on Tuesday baseball hosts East Wilkes, tennis travels to East Wilkes, and softball hosts Starmount. On Wednesday tennis hosts West Stokes, and softball travels to McMichael and baseball hosts East Surry. On Thursday, tennis and soccer hosts Starmount. On Friday baseball travels to East Wilkes, soccer travels to Elkin, and softball travels to North Stokes.. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. This week school is out for Spring Break. Students will return back on Monday March 24th. I hope everyone has a great Spring Break and a Happy St. Patrick's Day. This week in Saura Sports, on Tuesday baseball hosts Mt. Airy, softball hosts East Wilkes, and tennis travels to Elkin. On Wednesday tennis travels to East Surry, and golf travels to Mt. Airy. On Thursday, golf travels to Pilot Mountain, tennis hosts Alleghany and softball travels to Surry Central On Friday baseball travels to Mt. Airy. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. This week 11th grade students will be taking the ACT on Tuesday, March 11th. Remind students to have fully charged Chromebooks for the ACT and do their best. The ACT is the nationally normed test used for college admissions as well as a measure used by North Carolina to assess our school's performance. On Wednesday, on March 12th, South Stokes will be hosting our spring blood drive. Please consider donating blood to help our community and save a life. This Friday is the last day of the 3rd quarter and spring break begins. School will be out next week, March 17th-21st. Students return on Monday, March 24th. This week our Saura March Madness attendance initiative continues with the Elite 8. We are encouraging our students to attend school everyday that they are healthy in the month of March, and the homeroom with the highest attendance rate will receive an off campus lunch. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Nick and Noah Leophard. Nick and Noah Leophard were a tremendous help in the concession stand while the basketball teams were in the state tournament. Thank you Nick and Noah, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, congratulations to our boys basketball team on an incredible season, finishing in the Elite 8 of the state. On Monday we host Mount Airy in softball. On Tuesday baseball hosts Alleghany, soccer hosts East Wilkes, and softball travels to Alleghany. On Wednesday tennis hosts North Surry, and baseball travels to McMichael. On Thursday, track travels to North Stokes, and soccer travels to West Stokes. On Friday baseball hosts Alleghany. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. Congratulations to Eric Mercer, our Construction Technology Teacher for being named South Stokes 2025-2026 CTE Teacher of the Year. Mr. Mercer has done a fantastic job inspiring students and helping our school accomplish several building projects. This week we our ACT Test Review Sessions at South Stokes continues. These sessions are 1 hour long, after school and are geared towards helping our Juniors perform well on the ACT assessment next week. This Tuesday we will have a math review in F4 with Mrs. Hunter, on Wednesday Ms. Johnson will be hosting a session on Science in room C14, and on Thursday Ms. Holmes will be leading a session on English in D7. All sessions are 3:30 - 4:30 and students can choose to go to the sessions they need help with. We will have sign ups in the main office. Please bring paper, pencil, and a calculator for math and science, and snacks will be provided. This week our Saura March Madness attendance initiative begins. We are encouraging our students to attend school everyday that they are healthy in the month of March, and the homeroom with the highest attendance rate will receive an off campus lunch. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Ricky Daley. Ricky volunteered to be a mentor for one of Mrs. Fouche's students and also helps Mrs. Duggins by running errands before school. Thank you Ricky, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, congratulations to our boys basketball team on advancing to the third round of the state tournament. On Tuesday we host Eastern Randolph, the doors will open at 6:00pm, and the game begins at 7:00pm. Due to generous donations from the community, the first 100 students will get free admission to the game as well as food, drink and games at a tailgate party. Thank you to Kobe Japanese, Banner Team properties, Paul's Cycling and fitness, Moorefield's Garage, Donna Shaffer, Bam Hairston, Kings Promise, Lisa and Randy Bullins, Logan Wilson, and Clifton Plumbing for their sponsorship. Let's pack the Saura dome Tuesday night! On Monday, baseball travels to South Davidson, golf is at cross creek, and soccer travels to East Surry. On Tuesday baseball travels to Walkertown, on Wednesday golf is at Hemlock, tennis is at East Surry, soccer hosts Surry Central and softball hosts East Surry. On Thursday, golf is at Hemlock, tennis and softball are both at North Surry. On Friday tennis hosts West Stokes, baseball hosts McMichael, and soccer travels to NCLA. On Saturday, the track team will travel to North Stokes. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. This Monday February 24th, we will be administering the ASVAB to some of our students at South Stokes. This week we will begin our ACT Test Review Sessions at South Stokes. These sessions are 1 hour long, after school and are geared towards helping our Juniors perform well on the ACT assessment in March. This Tuesday we will have a math review in F4 with Mrs. Hunter, on Wednesday Ms. Johnson will be hosting a session on Science in room C14, and on Thursday Ms. Holmes will be leading a session on English in D7. All sessions are 3:30 - 4:30 and students can choose to go to the sessions they need help with. We will have sign ups in the main office. Please bring paper, pencil, and a calculator for math and science, and snacks will be provided. This Wednesday there will be an information session for students interested in Dual Enrollment with Forsyth Tech program. Students can find out more about taking community college courses while at South Stokes. THe meeting will be at 10:00 am and will be in the media center. This month is Career and Technical Education Month and on Thursday we will be celebrating our students that have received certifications and credentials through our CTE programs after third period in the gym. This week we will have visitors from the Forsyth Tech Mechatronics program and Wieland Copper to discuss different career paths that CTE classes can help students be successful after school. On Friday we will be on the Homeroom schedule as we gear up for our annual attendance initiative Saura March Madness. We are encouraging our students to attend school everyday that they are healthy in the month of March. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Lane Birchfield. Lane was a big help to our PE department by using her skills as a welder to fix the leg extension machine. This helped our school and the weightlifting program tremendously. Thank you Lane, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, congratulations to our girls basketball team in being Conference Tournament champions of our NW1A conference tournament. The last time this happened was 2002! Congratulations to the boys basketball team in being Conference Tournament Champions for the 4th year in a row. Both teams have a home game in the first round of the state tournament this week on Tuesday. We will share start times later this week through social media. Good luck to Linkin Vanriijsewik and Justin Joyce as they wrestle in the State Tournament today and Monday in Greensboro at the Coliseum. Spring sports are underway as baseball hosts Forbush on Wednesday and soccer hosts McMichael. Baseball hosts Walkertown on Thursday and will travel to Providence Grove on Saturday to play against Chatham Charter. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Weather Announcement: Friday, February 21st, 2025 Stokes County Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay.

🚨 Important Announcement: School Closure 🚨 Weather Announcement - February 20th, 2025 Due to the unexpected snow, Stokes County Schools will close today. We will not run buses today. Secondary parents: If your children were already on buses, their school will contact you to let you know at which elementary school they are located. Elementary school will start dismissal at 9:15. Please be safe traveling to pick up your child. We will supervise your child until you arrive. If you cannot pick up your child by 11:00 am, please contact your child’s school to make further arrangements. I apologize for the late notice and the inconvenience. Please be safe.

Weather Announcement: February 20th, 2025 Due to unforecasted burst of snow, some of the secondary roads are impacted. There will be a 3 hour delay for Middle and High Schools. If your student is on a bus they will continue to the school. Elementary schools o a normal schedule.

Weather Announcement: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 Stokes County Schools will be closed for students. Optional teacher workday . Staff: Option A

The Stokes All County Theatre production of Mamma Mia! will be having auditions on Wednesday, February 26th and Thursday, February 27th at South Stokes High School. All students from any high school in Stokes County are welcome to audition, work backstage, or be involved in the pit orchestra. For show information, audition information, to volunteer for the pit orchestra or to work backstage, please visit www.stokestheatre.weebly.com and follow the links to audition information and to sign up for auditions or to volunteer. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Bulla, theatre teacher, at justin.bulla@stokes.k12.nc.us. There are roles for 6 men, 6 women, plus an ensemble of 20+ men and women. It's a great opportunity to experience theatre, meet new people, and to have the "time of your life!"

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. This Tuesday, February 18th, we will be administering the ACT Workkeys assessment to Seniors that qualify. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Samantha Bridges. Samantha is one of the leaders of the Beta Club and has helped with several service projects, including providing lunches to some Saura families for Thanksgiving, and donating gifts for children under the care of social services.. Thank you Samantha, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, congratulations to our girls basketball team in being co-champions of our NW1A conference. The last time this happened was 37 years ago! Congratulations to the boys basketball team in being Conference Champions for the 4th year in a row. Due to possible winter weather this week, the conference tournament will begin on Monday, and both of our teams will play Tuesday at Elkin High School for the second round of the tournament. Congratulations to our wrestling team, with regional qualifiers Sawyer Scott, Levi Nelson, Linkin Vanrijsewik, Michael Brown, Noah Mitchell, and Justin Joyce all performing well this past weekend. Good luck to Linkin Vanriijsewik and Justin Joyce as they move forward to the State Tournament this week. Be sure to follow our social media pages so you can be up to date on athletic updates such as when our basketball teams and wrestling state qualifiers will compete, as well as if there are changes to the schedule due to winter weather. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!

Winter Weather Update: Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 Due to power outages and trees falling across the county, Stokes County Schools will be closed for students and operate on an optional teacher workday. Staff will report on a 3 hour delay.

Weather Announcement: Due to the latest forecast, Stokes County Schools will have a remote learning day on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

PowerSchool Cybersecurity Update: We are writing to update you regarding the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the software vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS). PowerSchool initiated the process of notifying individuals whose information was determined to be involved. As previously mentioned, PowerSchool has engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to provide complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to current and former students and educators that had information exfiltrated from PowerSchool SIS. PowerSchool is doing this regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number was exfiltrated. In the coming weeks, Experian (on behalf of PowerSchool) will be distributing direct email notifications to involved individuals (or their parent/guardian, as applicable) for whom PowerSchool has sufficient contact information. Additionally, PowerSchool has worked with Experian to set up a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer any questions associated with these offerings and the incident. All the information regarding the activation of and access to these services will be included in the email sent to you by Experian. Whether or not you receive an email, you may also visit PowerSchool’s website to learn how to activate the offering from Experian, linked here: http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/. Protecting our students and teachers remains our top priority. Thank you again for all of your support and understanding during this time.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) informed the Stokes County Schools of unauthorized access to student and staff data contained in PowerSchool, the student information system (SIS) used by most school districts in North Carolina. This incident impacts school systems across North Carolina, the nation, and the world. We are working closely with NCDPI and PowerSchool to determine the specific nature of the data involved. If PowerSchool determines that personal data has been compromised, it will contact the affected individuals directly and provide specific details and guidance. PowerSchool reports that the incident is contained, that they have taken steps to secure the data, and that there is no indication potentially compromised information has been shared or made public to additional parties. Federal law enforcement, NCDPI, and PowerSchool are monitoring the situation closely. PowerSchool has assured us that its systems are operational and that it has implemented additional security measures to prevent future incidents. It is important to note that this incident occurred at the PowerSchool company level, and neither the Stokes County Schools nor NCDPI data systems are involved. NCDPI has stated publicly that neither it nor any North Carolina school district could have prevented this incident. Protecting personally identifiable information of our students, families, and staff is critically important, and we take this matter very seriously. We will share updates as additional information becomes available from NCDPI and PowerSchool. We are committed to providing clear information about the steps being taken to address and mitigate any potential impact. Our priority is to keep our community informed and supported throughout this process. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate through this situation alongside other North Carolina school districts and school districts worldwide.

Hello Sauras! This is Chris Bottoms with your Saura Weekly Update. Thank you to all of our community members that joined us on Saturday Night for our 60th Anniversary Bingo Night at South Stokes. This week is Sweetheart Spirit Week at South Stokes. Monday is What's Your Status Day, Tuesday is Show your team love day, Wednesday is We Wear Pink Day, Thursday is What's Your Type Day, and Friday is Dress in Red Day. On Friday we will be having a pep rally and the Sweetheart Court Presentation will be at Friday Night's game against Starmount during halftime of the the Varsity Girls game. Progress reports will go home on Tuesday. This week's Saura Shout Out goes to Krystal Cox and Sydney Zuchick. Mrs. Cox organized the donation baskets and our Bingo Night with the assistance of Senior Sydney Zuchick. Thank you ladies, for your kindness and leadership. This week in Saura Sports, on Tuesday basketball travels to East Surry, and on Wednesday basketball travels to Reagan High School. On Friday basketball hosts Starmount. Thank you for your support of South Stokes High School, and as always, GO SAURAS!