Pensol was chosen from a field of 14 applicants and was the only one interviewed for the position because, as board chairman Martin Vanzant put it, “no one else was even close in qualification. The transition should be seamless.”

An employee of the school system for the past 21 years, Pensol began his career in 1991 as a teacher at Roundstone Elementary and was hired as principal of the school in 1994. During his tenure there, he received many acknowledgements of achievement, including a Principal of the Year Award and recognition many times by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. In 1996, he was appointed to former Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit’s Advisory Council and has served on numerous Kentucky Department of Education committees.

In 2002, Pensol was hired as the school district’s instructional supervisor. During this time, he has worked with staff to reach instructional goals set for Rockcastle County students.

Pensol received his Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, a Master’s Degree and Rank 1 in Educational Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University.

On word of his appointment, Pensol said. “I am honored to serve as Superintendent of Rockcastle County Schools. I appreciate the confidence board members have expressed in me. I am passionate about continuing the work that is already going on and eager to work together as we strive to improve our system to help all our students become well educated and successful as adults.”

Following Pensol’s appointment, Hammond commended the board and the screening committee for the job they did in the process of selecting a new superintendent.

Calling the superintendent's position a “challenging and demanding job,” Hammond said the board had made a good choice. “Mr. Pensol has done a good job, has a good track record for 21 years and has been successful at every level.” 

On Saturday Laiken Coffey took the check and donations to West Liberty and presented it to Mr. Larrin Collins the student who started Project Restore West Liberty. Larrin lost his entire home to the tornado and knows what if feels like to be a victim.

The money will be used for Elementary school children who lost their homes. The group is working with the Elementary school to replace some of the necessary items lost by the children. Each Elementary school child who lost their home was asked to make a list of things they wish they could have replaced right this moment. Restore West Liberty took that list and replaced some of the things the children listed. You might be surprised to know the things the children wanted back were not games or electronics. Most of the kids wanted their favorite stuffed animal replaced or a doll, some wanted shoes and others wanted things like jackets or other clothing items, for some it was a baseball cap of their favorite team.

The group was very appreciative of the donation and would like to thank all who gave.

The RCHS JROTC Drill and Rifle team recently traveled to North Hardin High School to compete in the annual SGM Paul C. Gray JROTC invitational. The cadets who participated are the following: Addison Atkin, Felicia Bogss, Amethyst Chiantaretto, Josh England, Roger Garrett, Garret Hasty, Steven Hensley, Justin Houk, Jacob Houk, John David Hurley, Tiffany Howard, Shania Lawson, Josh Linville, Will Martin, Katlyn McGee, Jordan Moore, Shawn Osborne, Adam Poynter, Caleb Price, Ryan Rawlins, Tucker Rose, Victoria Smith, Dylan Stewart and David Wynn.

On March 2^nd, 25 Rockcastle ATC SkillsUSA members attended the southeast region competitions at Somerset Community College/ London campus. They participated in numerous leadership and skills competitions representing the Automotive Technology, Electricity, and Welding programs. Even though the threatening weather brought the competitions to an early end, the members were able to bring back many medals.

The following is a list of contest winners. Jon Harrison (1^st action Skills), TJ Abrams(2^nd Action Skills), Derek Clark (2^nd Automotive Technology), Rebekka Mullins (3^rd Electrical Construction), Robby Renner (2^nd Extemporaneous Speaking), Adam Reed (1^st Industrial Motor Control), Nick Keathley (2^nd Industrial Motor Control), Everett Wilson (3rd Industrial Motor Control), Dylan Stewart (1^st Job Demo Open), Brandon Bullock (2^nd Job Demo Open), Justin Barnes (2^nd Job Interview), Toby Bishop (3^rd Job Interview), Courtney Caldwell (1^st Promotional Bulletin Board), Jesse Hayes (1^st Welding), Tiffany Reynolds (1^st Welding Sculpture), Jordan Renner (2^nd Welding Sculpture), Rebekka Mullins, Everett Wilson, Zach Lunsford, Adam Reed, Waylon Mink, Adam Young, Jon Portwood (1^st Opening/ Closing Ceremony). All first place winners will attend the State SkillsUSA competitions held April 2-5 in Louisville at the Galt House. Rockcastle ATC would like to congratulate all those who competed and represented their school and county so well.

On February 6th 2012 CPT Jeffrey Thompson took four cadets from the Rockcastle County High School JROTC program to Camp Perry, Ohio to shoot against eighty-four other precision shooters in the annual JROTC Army Service Championships. The Cadets that participated were Jacob Houk, Justin Houk, Josh Linville and Jordan Moore. The cadets shot in a shoulder to shoulder match against several other schools such as: Walla Walla High school, Vilseck High School, Marmion Academy, Concordia Lutheran High School, and Madras High School. The cadets used German made Anschutz 2002 Precision air rifles and shot at electronic targets 30 feet away from where they were positioned.

The first two days were competitive shooting, each Cadet shot three positions; prone, kneeling, and standing. Schools were invited to shoot at either Camp Perry or Anniston, Alabama. The scores were added up after each day and on the last day the scores from both locations were compared to decide the top shooters.

Cadets also had the opportunity to participate in some fun events outside of shooting such as: going to see the movie star wars in 3D, the World’s Largest Cheese Store, and sightseeing around Lake Erie. Cadets traveled back to the barracks at the end of each day where they stayed. This is one of several events that our cadets are invited to each year, and hope we shoot well enough to get invited back next year.

Congratulations to the Student YMCA on the great job they did at the Kentucky United Nations Assembly. They are pictured here with their Delegation of Excellence Award.

Front: James Clay Ballinger who received an Outstanding Ambassador award, David Gabbard, Michaela Hurt, and Rikki Lay. Middle: Caleb Ballinger, Caroline Coguer, Jackson Cromer, Laney Poynter, Samarah Lovins, Lindsey King, and Cassie Poynter. Back: Makenzie King, Brad Taylor, Callie Carpenter, Hannah Howard, and Emily Childress.
A proposal to protect indigenous people groups was presented by Cassie, James Clay, Caleb, and Jackson and was passed in the UN Summit.

Good work by Brad as a member of the Leadership Team, Emily on her campaign for Secretary General, Laney as a security council member, Lindsey as a parliamentarian and Michaela as a member of the Media Corp at KUNA. Caroline, Makenzie, Michaela, and Lindsey also did excellent representing their country in dance on the International Stage.

RCHS student Megan Martin recently competed in Language Arts in State Governor's Cup Competition after finishing 3rd in Region 12 Governor's Cup.

On February 11th, Rockcastle ATC Welding student Raymond Morgan participated in a welding contest hosted by Tulsa School of Welding in Jacksonville Florida. He competed against 117 seniors from Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. Raymond received a $500 scholarship and plans to attend the post secondary welding school in August.

The RCHS girls' track and field team won the Mason-Dixon Games Class 2A Indoor State Championship title this past Saturday in Louisville with a great team performance. The Lady Rockets defeated runner-up Louisville Central 76-60 for their 5th state title in the past six years.

RCHS was led by Michaela Hunter who led all scorers in the meet with 38 total points. Michaela won state titles in long jump, triple jump, and high jump while finishing as state runner-up in the 55-meter dash. In triple jump, Michaela broke the Class 2A indoor state record and just missed the all-time Mason-Dixon record by 1.5". Amy Johnson finished as state runner-up in shot put. Bryonna Cromer placed 3rd in the 800-meter run with a career best time. Alyssa Allen also recorded a career best in the 55-meter hurdles and placed 4th. Lacey Gastineau finished 4th in the 400-meter dash with a career best race. Rakhi Patel finished 10th in the 3000-meter run with a career best time. Rachel Cain placed 15th in the 1500-meter run with a season's best time. The 3200-meter relay team of 7th grader Sierra Mercer, Rachel Cain, Alyssa Cox, and Bryonna Cromer placed 6th with a season's best effort. The 800-meter relay team of 7th grader Jennifer Mercer, Kayla Cromer, Alyssa Allen, and Lacey Gastineau placed 4th. The 1600-meter relay team of Sierra Mercer, Alyssa Cox, Bryonna Cromer, and Lacey Gastineau sealed the state title win with a 3rd place finish and a season's best time. For the boys', RCHS shot put record-holder Ben Lake finished 3rd in the event winning a bronze medal for his great performance.

The RCMS girls' track team won the Mason-Dixon Games Indoor State Championship title this past Friday in Louisville defeating runner-up St. Gabriel 77-36. This made their 4th straight indoor state title and their 6th overall. Several girls won events and many placed in the top 5.

Sierra Mercer won the 400-meter dash state title and Ashley McKinney finished as state runner-up. Jennifer Mercer won the 55-meter dash state title and Nikki McGuire finished as state runner-up. Tori Phillips placed 3rd, Shelby Convery 4th, and Michaela Barron 5th. Katelynn Hensley won the long jump state championship and Mikaela Sadler finished as state runner-up. Nikki McGuire placed 3rd, Ashley McKinney 4th, and Taylor Bullock 5th. Hailey Harper finished as state runner-up in shot put and Taylar Bartlett placed 4th. Lanna Prewitt had personal best performances in the 1500 and 800-meter runs. Jordyn Powell, Alysa Goodman, Michelle Mink, and Chelsea Helton also ran very well for RCMS. The girls' 800-meter relay team of Jennifer Mercer, Arie-anna Lawson, Katelynn Hensley, and Mikaela Sadler won the relay state title and sealed the state championship team title for RCMS.