SHAOZHUO CUI Special to The Roanoke Times

Eastern Montgomery High School graduates listen to Principal John Wheeler during commencement Friday. The county's schools close for the summer on Thursday. For more graduation photos, see pages 10-12.

Montgomery County's school close for the summer on Thursday, but that doesn't mean all hallways will be empty.

Beginning June 17, students in high school will start work on summer school remediation programs at Christiansburg Middle School. This year's middle and elementary summer school programs were cut because of a funding crunch. The school system saved about $257,000 when it axed the programs for earlier grades.

This year's summer school leader will be Shane Scott, a math teacher at Auburn High School.

Throughout the summer, the county's enrichment classes, designed to provide different and fun classes for students, also will take place. Parents have to pay for the classes, with most costing about $35. Registration ended in May, but spaces still remain for some of the 40 programs, which include podcasting, cooking, chess, origami or a discussion about Stephanie Meyers' "Twilight" series. To sign up for a class, contact the Office of Gifted Education at 381-6142.

Diane Naff, the county's gifted supervisor, also expects a new weeklong class this year, called Camp Invention, to be a hit.

That camp, created by nonprofit Invent Now Kids, begins June 22 and will ask students to take part in five modules throughout the day. Each program has a different focus -- including recycling trash, cleaning up a polluted imaginary city, creating roller coaster prototypes -- during which students should will use science and teamwork skills.

Boad member uses part of salary to create scholarship

Last week, Montgomery County school board member Joe Ivers handed over $1,500 of the $4,800 salary as a board member to a Blacksburg High School graduate. Ivers said the money is better used serving others. Dale Davis was the first recipient of the Ivers-Cummings Educational Scholarship.

“I said when my wife and I moved here that we were amazed at the level of poverty around us,” he said about the decision to create the award. Counselors at the high school called Davis a pleasure to have in school and said the scholarship helped ensure he was able to continue his education after graduation.

Cellphone, electronics policy changes in works

Students in Floyd schools won’t be able to have their cell phones or MP3 players in school under a new student code of conduct the school board could approve June 29.

Superintendent Terry Arbogast called cell use and texting a major problem when the policy changes were discussed at a meeting earlier this month. The county’s current policy allows students to use electronic devices on school grounds as long as they’re shut down during school hours.

The policy also takes aim at the student craze of “sexting,” or sending sometimes nude electronic photos of themselves from cell phones.

“Since possession, production of, or reproduction of child pornography is subject to criminal charges, any student caught with possession of pictures that contain nudity on their cell phones or any electronic device could be subject to school suspension as well as criminal charges,” the proposed policy said.