Virtus Academy holds flag-raising ceremony
Officials and guests at the Virtus Academy flag-raising. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Bill Pickle raises the Virtus Academy flag. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
On Dec. 11, Virtus Academy of South Carolina held a flag-raising ceremony over their new facility. Virtus Academy moved into its new, permanent facility at 2407 Pisgah Road, Florence, in August. They were previously housed in a temporary facility for the first two years of the school’s journey. Over the summer, Virtus Academy held an online fundraiser that raised over $10,000 to purchase the flagpoles and flags at the new facility. The ceremony opened with a welcome from Brittany Hamilton, principal. Thomas Ducey, board chairman, followed her with a moving speech. He asked students to remember that facing adversity and facing it well will help shape them. The American, South Carolina and Virtus flags were each raised over the school. Fulton Wiggins was chosen to raise the American flag, and Kaden Michael Price was selected to raise the state flag for their contributions to the fundraiser. Bill Pickle raised the Virtus flag over the facility. Pickle was founding board chairman of Virtus Academy. The new facility, which opened in the fall of 2020, has a dance studio to accommodate the addition of dance to the arts program. It also has a dedicated Science Lab that all students visit weekly. Virtus Academy will begin taking applications for the 2021/22 school year in January. Virtus Academy will offer grades K-8th for 2021/22. Virtus Academy is a free, public charter school that opened in 2018.