By Angelia Fleming’s eighth-grade class

North Rowan Middle School

SALISBURY — How is Salisbury special?

Our last trip around Rowan County was memorable from start to finish. It began with trolley driver Mark Slussler coming to our school and picking us up for a ride of discovery through downtown Salisbury.

Student Alex Hill said this part of our trip was “awesome.”

“He even picked us up at our school, which was very kind of him to do so,” Hill said.

We had no idea Salisbury had so many ghost stories and history. Even though many of us live in Salisbury, we did not know half of the information we learned that day. For example, a house that many of us call a “castle” actually has a ghost story behind it, and the window on the top floor stays open for a reason.

After our trolley tour, we got to walk around downtown Salisbury and experience its charm. Haps Grill welcomed us, and we loved the food and friendliness.

The Rowan County Museum staff was kind enough to let us eat lunch on its beautiful stairs. Sadly, we only had time for a quick peek inside — just enough to make us want to go back.

We enjoyed the beautiful flowers and trees in Salisbury. Downtown establishments, such as Stitchin’ Post Gifts, Spanky’s and the Candy Shoppe on Main, welcomed us and told us what they love about Salisbury. Our only wish is that we could have spent more time downtown.

For our next stop in the Salisbury community, we visited Knox Middle School. We learned that Knox is definitely on the road to the future as students told us all about their magnet program.

At Knox, students are taking high school classes to help prepare them for success in today’s education. High school level classes offered include Spanish, earth science, English, math and world history.

Knox offers students real-world job opportunities with partnerships with Novant Health. Knox also believes in inspiring students with its clubs. For example, the Max Club encourages students to stay fit by giving out rewards for meeting standards; the Beta Club recently went to Greensboro; and the band is going to play at an Intimidators game and at Carowinds.

At Salisbury High School, we were welcomed by Principal Luke Brown. As we walked the halls, we saw immense pride in the students and their work, with pictures of sporting events, pep rallies and community celebrations scattered about the walls.

Banners that have the names of colleges and their GPA, ACT, and SAT requirements are on display on the walls so that students can readily see what they need to accomplish to be eligible for their college of choice.

We were taken to the upstairs portion of the media center. This caters to an audience focused on the arts. The school has top-of-the-line technology available for student use, including 3D printers, a top-notch recording area and a virtual reality set. We even got to try some of it out.

“Our time at Salisbury High School made me want to enroll there ASAP, because they have so many opportunities that can help you in your college life,” student Jordan Young said.

Salisbury High offers 23 AP classes and lots of areas for students to work. The school even has a block of time each day called “W.I.N.” (What I Need) for students that need extra help in certain classes and for exploration of creative learning and discovery.

Salisbury offers hands-on robotics and manufacturing classes. We were encouraged to try out some of the robotic activities, but many of us discovered this was not as easy as it looked.

At the next stop, Isenberg Elementary, not only did we get to have lunch with students and visit some or our former teachers, but we also got to experience Anthony Johnson’s class. Johnson teaches students how to be responsible, how to manage money and how to use technology. Students take care of numerous pets in his class on a daily basis. They even take them home to care for them on weekends and breaks. Students are currently illustrating iBooks that they have written.

Overall, our trips around Rowan County has opened up new experiences and great memories.

“Living here and being able to explore the county has given us the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, people that have beliefs, cultures and stories of their own,” student Alexia Athey said in summation.

Rowan County is rich in history from historic Gold Hill to the Price of Freedom Museum to Thyatira Church to the N.C. Transportation Museum and more. Interesting and engaging activities are everywhere, like Dan Nicholas Park, Patterson Farm, Tiger World and our downtown areas.

We have discovered not only the opportunities that are offered in Rowan County but also how close and connected we are. Every place we have visited has gone out of the way to welcome us, and every place has a strong family and community connection.

Rowan County has so many opportunities and activities that contribute to making it an extraordinary place to visit and to live, but we feel the highlight is our strong and welcoming family and community feeling. We love Rowan County!

This article was written by Angelia Fleming’s eighth-grade AIG students at North Rowan Middle School. It is the final installment in a series of articles about the class visiting different regions of Rowan County.