Greenup County School District -

This is Mrs. Debbie, and her story is one that will turn your whole day around. While you would never know from that big smile she’s always wearing, Debbie admitted that “it’s been a rough week.” She said, “It can be overwhelming, but I’m learning to adjust.” Debbie is an elementary school custodian, but Principal Misty Tackett will tell you that she does a whole lot more than keep their building looking beautiful. “She’s more than a custodian… she’s a mentor to the kids,” Ms. Tacket said. Debbie never used to miss a day of school. Nowadays, she has to miss some. Around 2 years ago, Debbie found out that she has cancer. Despite undergoing chemo and radiation treatment, Debbie can be found all throughout the building making things look beautiful and spreading smiles to every student she sees. Here’s what Debbie had to say about how she finds that big smile day after day: “You can be having a terrible day… sick as a dog… but within 10 minutes of being at school, the kids put a smile on your face that you can’t wipe off. You forget you have cancer… you forget that you’re sick. The power of their smile overrides it all. They give you a reason and a purpose.” Debbie's “reason” has led her to pouring her heart and soul into the school she calls her own, always going above and beyond. Teachers will tell you that they see her on her hands and knees, giving every corner and edge of the building attention. The principal will tell you about the scented plugins and motivational quotes she puts throughout the building on her own accord, because she wants the environment to be wonderful. The Health Department will tell you that the building got a perfect score. As for the students – they will tell you they just love Mrs. Debbie. We love that Debbie has found her purpose here at GC, and we’re so grateful for her. Everyone who knows Debbie does their part to give her the support that she deserves. Debbie concluded by saying, “They help me get through it, and I couldn’t do it without everyone here… it’s an amazing school district.” GC is only as amazing as the people we call “Musketeers”, and Debbie is a shining example of how fortunate we are. #BelieveInGC

Please help us thank our bus drivers for all that they do!! Mr. Fletcher has coined the phrase, "The few... the elite... delivering the most precious!" We absolutely love that — the pride that the transportation department has in their invaluable role. With 44 buses traveling a combined 2,800 miles per day, they accomplish what seems impossible! We're thankful for the dedicated bus drivers and monitors who safely transport our Musketeers! #BelieveInGC

Some of our students visited the fire department today and made great memories! These Musketeers are learning about our community for a project they are working on! It is very special to see their excitement as they walk through the fire station and talk to some of our local heroes! We sincerely appreciate how close knit our community is — there is no other place like it! #BelieveInGC

This Friday's home game is supporting a great cause! We hope to see you at the Greenhouse for the Give Back Classic! #BelieveInGC

GC Athletics schedule for Feb. 19 - 24! It's a full week for basketball, with the boys playing at home on Friday! #BelieveInGC

Due to student and staff illness, Greenup County Schools will be on NTI, tomorrow, 2/16/24. This will give everyone 4 days to rest and recover while we deep clean and sanitize our schools.

Tonight is Senior Night for girls basketball!! Games start at 6:00 and 7:30 at the Greenhouse! #BelieveInGC

These two elementary students just built a working computer from scratch!! David and Braden have been working on this “Genius Hour” project for Mrs. Stout’s class, and today they finally got their computer up and running! Their mentor for this project was GC tech whiz Phillip Coffee, who has passed on some incredible knowledge to them! It’s so impressive how they can tell you anything and everything about building a computer — all on their own! Note: Mrs. Stout is overseeing 58 of these projects throughout our 4 elementary schools. Wow! Way to go, Musketeers! #BelieveInGC

We hope you’ll help us thank our school counselors as we wrap up National School Counseling Week!! Our counselors do so much, and go above and beyond every day! They truly make our schools happier places to be! They counsel students, educate about emotional and social wellness, and make a lot of magic happen with college & career readiness. Thank you GC school counselors for all you do!! #BelieveInGC

Some recent conversations have completely “filled our cups”! They comfort us, knowing that every effort is made to make sure no child in GC goes without. It’s a perfect story as we show our gratitude to the ladies of our FRYSCs (Family Resource & Youth Service Centers). Here are some snippets from those conversations: “Kids can get food and clothes and never feel ashamed… they are like godmothers.” “I’ve learned so much from them… they’ve provided us with emotional support in some tough times.” “The way they bring us together as a community is awesome.” “I’m originally from a different area, and you just don’t find the kind of support like you find here at GC.” “We’re a small community… but we’re a strong community.” “I love how they say ‘Believe In GC’… because we as a community really do believe in GC.” Many people know that our FRYSCs provide food and clothing to students, and it’s done discretely. What many don’t know is that they also connect GC families to local resources. They also put on community events to make sure every student and family have great experiences and feel included. The list goes on and on. Please help us thank our FRYSC coordinators and assistants for all that they do! Musketeers make a difference every day! #BelieveInGC

This week’s schedule features GC’s youth wrestlers who had a BIG week at state championships!! Congrats to all of our wrestlers — you make us all proud!! Special shout out to: 🏆State Champ Gunner Salsbury 🏆 2nd place Elijah Crabtree 3rd place Hawk Kennard 3rd place Tysen Easterling 4th place Alex Webster 5th place Hunter Crabtree 5th place Carter Crabtree Mason Cooley Bentley Brown Brantley Caudill Tucker Stephenson Gunner Kennard Haven Easterling Ryker Carver

We love to tell our community about the amazing things that happen here at GC every day, and our students are learning to tell our story, too! We were invited to Mr. Smith’s Journalism class, and it turns out we were actually needed as their guinea pigs! These students are now learning how to conduct a podcast! 1st year teacher Jacob Smith has great insight from his previous career in journalism that he’s teaching his students. “We’re learning written journalism, reporting, and opinion pieces… but I also want students to learn about podcasting… it’s such a popular format for relaying information,” Mr. Smith said. This is just one more way our Musketeers are being prepared to lead the way! #BelieveInGC

As we officially conclude our gratitudes for School Board Appreciation Month, we ask you to help us thank Lance Warnock! Lance is not only a lifelong Greenup Countian, he is an “Original Musketeer”! He was a 1974 graduate of GC – the first class to graduate from the newly formed Greenup County School District. Lance isn’t alone in his pride for GC, though. His wife, 2 children, and a grandchild are all GC alumni with 3 more grandchildren currently at the high school. No wonder we see him around here so much! Lance describes his career as focusing on, “facilities, environmental services, and those sorts of things.” Working in that capacity at hospitals for years, Lance is now Assistant Director of Code Enforcement for Greenup County. He has done a great job at putting that knowledge to use for the benefit of GC students! Lance joined our board 7 years ago with the desire to give back. “I just wanted to give kids the best chance to succeed in life… the best we can offer them… and we’ve done that,” he said. Lance is proud of the facilities upgrades that have been completed throughout GC. What many people forget is that our district has 8 schools that span 326 square miles. Lance explained: “Upgrades to facilities are important, and we’ve done so much of that. Logistics and finances make it tricky… we have 8 buildings spread throughout the county and you're dealing with taxpayer money… so you want to make sure you give our community the best bang for the buck.” Lance understands that the importance of our facilities is what they allow students to achieve. “The things that we’ve brought to GC… there are opportunities for our students that didn’t exist just a few years ago… from our dual credit courses to all of the vocational certifications students are getting,” he said. Lance concluded with kind words to say about his fellow board members as well as Superintendent Moresea. “Mrs. Moresea has done a great job as our Superintendent… between her and our board, we’ve gotten so much accomplished for the kids.” We agree, Lance, and we thank you for all you do for Musketeers! Please help us extend our gratitude to Lance! Thank you, GC community, for helping us acknowledge our school board members this month! #BelieveInGC

You'll be blown away by what a group of 1st graders here at GC are up to! Mrs. Hale's students are writing their own book, and a children's book author paid them an exciting visit this morning! Jonathon Joy teaches English and writing at ACTC, has authored over 200 children's stories, and is also a columnist for the Ashland Beacon. We appreciate Jonathan taking the time to talk with our students! Stay tuned, because each student is currently writing one page for their upcoming book! It will be sent off for print, and very soon, these young authors will be holding their very own hardback book! #BelieveInGC

Help us congratulate Ally Waugh! This Musketeer has been nominated for the Award of Excellence by the Congress of Future Medical Leaders! Students who plan on pursuing careers in the medical field are selected based on academics and leadership potential. This honor is accompanied by an invitation to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, which will take place in Boston during the summer. Ally, a junior here at GC, is a great student who is in the Health Science program at our ATC. We are so proud of you, Ally! #BelieveInGC

Help us thank our newest board member, Sandy Mosser! Sandy is a lifelong GC resident with a spirit for adventure. Appropriately, many of you may know her from owning Dragonfly Outdoor Adventures! Previously, Sandy retired from a career in food service and nutrition. She worked her way through the ranks from washing dishes to becoming a food service director at a hospital. When asked what drew her to wanting to run for GC’s school board, Sandy said that she just wanted to help. “I like giving back to my community,” she said. It’s worth noting that Musketeers are all throughout her family, including 2 grandchildren who are students and one who will be soon. Sandy approached this new adventure with the question, “What can I do to make things better for children?” Sandy says that school environment is a top priority for her. “A lot of kids don’t have the resources that others have… GC provides so many resources that allow our students to graduate and land on their feet,” she said. Sandy went on to say, “I was happy to find that there were so many great things happening that I didn’t even know about.” Sandy spoke at length about the importance of college, and how GC’s extensive dual credit offerings give our students a big jumpstart. She also dug in deep talking about how GC provides students the ability to hit the ground running with vocational training and certifications. We’ll conclude with Sandy’s thoughts on the variety GC students are offered. “At GC, we’re opening their eyes to the possibilities of what’s out there. There are so many opportunities, but students have to know about them. Our students are given opportunities that you don’t find everywhere. They leave GC on paths to making a good living, serving the community, and loving what they do.” Sandy has done just that in her own life, and now plays a part in our efforts to help GC students do the same. Thank you, Sandy, for your service to GC! #BelieveInGC

It’s a big weekend for GC and the archery community! We are thrilled to be hosting the 3rd annual “Musketeer Shootout” at GCHS! 510 archers from across the region will be competing, including elementary, middle, and high school teams! Friday (1/26) from 6pm - 9pm and Saturday (1/27) from 8am - 8pm! Our archery program is one of the many wonderful after-school activities that provides diverse experiences for our students, and they LOVE it! Thank you Captain Rice, coaches, and everyone involved for all of your hard work! #BelieveInGC

Mark your calendars!! GC is excited to bring back the 1974 team that took the first “Musketeers” team to the Final Four! This will take place at our home game vs. Russell on Feb. 9!! On this 50 year anniversary celebration, we invite all of the players from the ‘74 team as well as the entire community to join us! The ‘74 team will be recognized and celebrated at halftime! If you were on this team and have not been contacted, or you are a community member with any questions, please reach Nathan Sutton at (606) 473-9848. #BelieveInGC

Greenup County Schools will be open and students will return to school on Wednesday, Jan. 24. There will be no or limited bus services for some roads. If your student’s bus route will be affected, you will receive a notification from GC transportation. Our goal is to get as many students as possible to school in a safe and secure way. We appreciate your understanding. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Musketeers! #BelieveInGC

Please help us thank Linda Wellman for her service to GC! She’s a retired GC teacher who has served on our School Board since 1998! Linda is a lifelong GC resident, graduating from Wurtland High School before the 3 different schools combined into the “Musketeers” in ‘74. After graduating from Morehead she began teaching in Greenup County. She would spend her entire career in GC, teaching at Oldtown Elementary, Argillite Elementary, and Wurtland Middle. Later in her career, she began to get more deeply involved in the space between classrooms and policy. She began to attend school board meetings to understand decision making and to be a voice for teachers and their classrooms. Linda said, “I wanted to better understand what was going on at board meetings, and what I found was positive… very much so.” Once retired, Linda knew that she wanted to serve on GC’s school board and contribute on the other side of the table. “One reason for getting on the board… I always wanted a preschool program. I felt that we needed an emphasis on preschool,” Linda said. Linda was an early advocate for GC’s preschool program, pushing for it for many years. It can be quite a challenging puzzle piece to get in place, but Linda is thrilled at our thriving preschool program that gives Musketeers an incredible jumpstart to their education. We’ll conclude with Linda’s thoughts on what’s going on today in GC. “Everything is moving forward with such positivity… we’re going in the right direction. The greatest thing is having a student from day one to graduating, and seeing them achieve to the best of their ability. Our students get to choose their future… if we’re supporting them and making them feel important, then we’re doing a great job. We want students to know that we’re here for them.” Thank you for your service to Musketeers, Mrs. Wellman! After 27 years of teaching in GC and 26 of serving on our school board, we owe you a great deal! It is worth noting that she has also served on the board of the Northeast Community Action Agency as well as the policy council for Head Start. #BelieveInGC