Senior Service Projects Benefit Local Communities

BRVGS Seniors spend many hours giving back to localities through the community service facet of their Senior Projects. Student contributions are provided in the form of volunteer hours, item collections, fund raising, information distribution, promotion, and teaching.  This year’s Seniors are supporting such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, YMCA, public television, Chamber of Commerce, The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Help Portrait Charlottesville, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics), UVa Children’s Hospital, and Greene County Rescue Squad, among others. They are also helping local schools, public libraries, local governments, parks, and an airport.  Examples of service projects include:

• Conducting recreational therapy with hospital patients
• Presenting information regarding online safety
• Teaching Spanish to first graders
• Teaching Math and problem-solving skills to young people
• Mentoring in an ESL (English as a Second Language) program
• Teaching computer/electronics classes at a public library
• Performing music therapy with senior citizens
• Planting and maintenance of park trees
• Mentoring a robotics team
• Creating a website for a Civil War battle 150th anniversary
• Working to establish a town’s single-stream recycling program
• Building homes for low-income families
• Conducting food and toy-drive programs

Considerable time is being donated by the Seniors on projects benefitting many organizations. The contributions listed above are only a partial list, but recognition goes out to all BRVGS students working on these worthwhile endeavors.

Spring and Summer Opportunities Open to BRVGS Students

Are you interested in a stimulating experience for spring or summer? Want to connect with mentors in your areas of interest? Want to work alongside professors and research assistants in university labs? Learn Chinese? Applications to these, and other opportunities, are open to BRVGS students, and many of the programs are free. Check out the offerings below, and click on the links for more information about each one. Additional programs will be listed here as they become available.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Expanding Your Horizons
James Madison University
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a free one-day conference aimed at girls in grades 7-10. The conference is designed to stimulate interest in math and science, provide female scientist role models, and foster awareness of math and science-related career opportunities.
Expanding Your Horizons
 

The Chinese Language and Culture Immersion Program
University of Virginia
July 24 - July 3, 2013
Charlottesville-area high school students are invited to apply to a free Chinese language immersion program at the University of Virginia this summer. The program is open to rising ninth- through 12th-grade students.
The Chinese Language and Culture Immersion
 

HooS-STER
Science, Technology, and Engineering Research Program at UVA
June 24 - August 2,  2013 (tentative)
The University of Virginia is offering a six-week program intended for rising high school seniors interested in performing research in science and engineering labs.
HooS-STER: Science, Technology, and Engineering Research

BRVGS Attends Capitol Day

12 BRVGS students, staff members and parents visited the Va State Capitol this past Tuesday, for a day-long "Capitol Day" event sponsored by the Friends of Virginia Governor's Schools (FOVGS).  Students from most of Virginia's 19 Governor's Schools met with their delegates and senators, toured the State Capitol Building, and watched the House of Delegates in action.  Click on "Capitol Day Photo Album" to see more of these activities.

The purpose of FOVGS is to educate legislators about the mission, activities, accomplishments and needs of Governor's Schools across the Commonwealth.  Parents who might wish to volunteer for FOVGS activities should contact BRVGS Director Marc Carraway at mcarraway@brvgs.k12.va.us.  

BRVGS to Hold Computer Science and Biotech Kickoffs

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.