Eagle Scout Project Takes Shape at Henricus
Boy Scouts from Troop 837 and others gathered on a chilly morning to help Mason Foster (pictured with shovel) complete his Eagle Scout project. Foster, a 17-year-old senior at Thomas Dale High School, decided to build a palisade wall in the English section of the park.
Thomas Dale gym named for basketball coach
After a School Board vote, Thomas Dale High School’s gymnasium began bearing the name Thomas J. Davies, who began teaching English and coaching basketball at the school in 1959. He was named All-Metro and Regional Coach of the Year in 1975.
Davies led the Knights to:
- The Group A fall championship during the 1961-62 season.
- Three Central District Championships.
- One regular-season district championship.
- Tournament runner-up finishes in 1973, 1976 and 1978.
Goss gets 500th win
In January, veteran Thomas Dale High School basketball coach Eddie Goss got his 500th win. Goss, who’s been at Dale since 1988 and coached for more than 40 years, led squads to the state quarterfinals in 2001 and 2002.
“The biggest thing to me is all of the kids I’ve coached have gone on to be successful people,” said Goss. “That’s the biggest thrill of them all.”
Chester Middle School will house Thomas Dale’s freshmen next year
When the School Board unanimously adopted the school system’s five-year, roughly $183 million capital improvement program on Jan. 12, it approved plans to use Chester Middle School to house Thomas Dale High School’s ninth graders starting in fall 2010.
At that point, Chester Middle’s rising eighth graders were to remain in the building during the current school year, and its rising sixth and seventh grade students were to be redistricted to Elizabeth Davis and Carver middle schools.
A variety of options to address the overcrowding at Thomas Dale were discussed after the CIP was initially presented on Dec. 8, 2009. On Jan. 12, speakers shared concerns and encouraged the board to slow the decision-making process. Heather Hart said a five- to six-week timeframe was not long enough to make such decisions.
Bermuda School Board Member Marshall Trammell said, when Thomas Dale was renovated, he reminded the community that overcrowding would return and the school couldn’t be expanded anymore, he said. The overcrowding has returned “with a vengeance,” he said.
“Whatever the decision of the board is, in my mind it is a temporary decision to get where we need to be to build a new high school,” he said.