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The Air Force Junior ROTC program at North Branch High School keeps reaching for new challenges and milestones. Later this spring the rocketry team members will be off to compete in the American Rocketry Challenge, competing against several thousand other students from middle and high schools across the nation.

The event takes place the middle of May at Great Meadow in The Plains in Virginia.  Last year nearly 5,000 competitors participated in the design, build and launch contest, open to middle and high school age students.

North Branch’s Col. Paul Johnson, USAF Ret., leads the Air Force JROTC program. He says  the group is close to the assembly stage of the preparation process and test launches could be underway within weeks.

North Branch Area Education Foundation gave the group a big boost providing funding for the national rocketry event, out of the Foundation’s charitable donations.  This year the Foundation distributed $11,000 to North Branch District classrooms and programs. (See the district website for details about the Foundation.)

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