Students enrolled in the BRVGS Computer Science and Biotechnology courses this semester will participate in Kickoffs this week. The events bring together students from multiple counties served by BRVGS who are taking the same course, working on curriculum projects, and giving project presentations later in the semester.
Computer Science students from Madison, Nelson, and Orange counties will meet on Tuesday, February 5, and Biotech students from Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange counties will meet on Thursday, February 7. Both Kickoffs will be held during regular school hours in the conference facilities at Best Western Inn, Zion Crossroads, just off Interstate 64.
Group Headed to Virginia Capitol to Meet with Legislators
BRVGS students from Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa and Orange counties will visit state legislators in Richmond on February 19 as part of Friends of Virginia Governor’s Schools (FOVGS) Capitol Day program. The purpose of the visit is to provide legislators with information on the role and importance of Governor’s Schools across the state, and to give students a first-hand look at their state government in action.
FOVGS is a parent organization whose mission is to support Virginia Governor’s Schools, particularly in the area of funding. Parents who are interested in representing Blue Ridge Virtual Governor’s School in FOVGS should contact Marc Carraway at mcarr1@brvgs.k12.va.us or 434-989-3972. Those interested in supporting Governor’s Schools in Virginia should contact their state legislators.
Taylor Utz Returns from Ugandan Mission
Taylor Utz, a BRVGS 9th grader from Madison, just returned from a two-week African mission trip. She is pictured here with Joy, a young girl Taylor sponsors at an orphanage in Uganda. Reflecting on her experience, she said, “I had such a great time...The trip has given me a whole new mindset.” For more about Taylor’s trip, see the article below titled, Student Begins 2013 with Service in Africa.
Engineering Students Solve Real-World Problems in UVA Class
If buildings in Louisa County were designed by BRVGS students, damage from earthquakes could be minimized. Alleviating earthquake damage was just one of several projects tackled in an engineering design-and-build challenge requiring students to solve real-world problems.
Other projects included water-filtration solutions, light-
sensitive blinds, ergonomic student desks, and aerodynamically-improved buses. Fourteen students from Goochland, Orange, Louisa, and William Monroe high schools participated in the challenge through their fall-semester University of Virginia online engineering class. Students presented their project results on January 10, then toured the 3-D printer lab and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
For more photos, click here.
Literary Magazine Publishes Madison Student's Poetry
Poetry by BRVGS student Summer Davis is featured this month in Zenith: An Online Literary Magazine. Three poems were contributed by the Madison County High School 10th grader, and were accepted for publication in the online magazine’s January 2013 issue. To read Summer’s poems titled, “Mistletoe,” “Simon,” and “The Parlor Piano,” go to http://zenithlitmag.weebly.com/january-issue.html Congratulations, Summer!
Zenith was created and is now run by two students attending the Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology. Their mission is to provide opportunities for 9th-12th graders to publish their original work in the literary field.
Other students interested in submitting work can check out Zenith’s submission page at http://zenithlitmag.weebly.com/submissions.html