Serving our children since Sept 21, 1921, Roanoke Rapids High School is a treasure for our community. Built by renowned New York architect Hobart Brown Upjohn, the school has served generations of families in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Roanoke Rapids Graded School District's mission, which reads; Together, we are inspiring bright and joyful futures by fostering community and building opportunities for each student to reach their full potential, is exemplified at the high school. With 101 years of graduates to its credit, generations share many great memories created in this historic structure. It is this brick-and-mortar that has kept decades of students strong, steadfast, and bonded to this school and to this community. They are the "Faithful and True Hearted." Today, the "Yellow Jacket" Rockfish stands guard at the entrance of historic Hoyle Field, home of the Mighty Yellow Jacket Football team. Thank you so much to Shelley Rideout, art teacher at Chaloner Middle School. Ms. Rideout, a dedicated and talented artist, painted the Rockfish to resemble the beloved mascot for the Jackets, who is affectionately nicknamed "Jax."
Roanoke Valley Rocks is a public relations/public art campaign designed to uplift and inspire our community and visitors. The highlight of the Roanoke Valley Rocks campaign is a collection of brightly and creatively painted 72 "fish" statues. These are installed all around the Roanoke Valley. The "fish" was chosen as our campaign mascot to pay homage to one of the world's premier sport fish that returns home to the rapids in Weldon each spring to spawn. The Halifax County Convention & Visitors Bureau is committed to making the Roanoke Valley a great place to visit. This program has been successful because of the many local businesses that "launched" fish at their locations and supported the project. A tour of all the "fish" can be found at www.visithalifax.com/rocks