BRVGS Goes To BAMUNC (Baltimore Area Model United Nations)!

15 students from 6 different BRVGS schools participated this past weekend in our first-ever Model United Nations conference.  Students were assigned to specific countries and to committees such as the Security Council and General Assembly. They prepared for the conference by creating fact sheets for their countries and writing position papers for their committee topics.  They boarded a charter bus at 5:00 AM on Saturday and spent the entire day at Mount St. Joseph¨s High School in Baltimore, working with students from a number of other schools on topics such as nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula and next steps for the Paris climate accord.  The event was fast-paced, very intense at times, and a great experience for our students, who did a wonderful job, and were troopers throughout the long day. BRVGS is very proud of these students, and we hope to participate in more Model UN events in upcoming years.

To see pictures of the events of the Model UN, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GpB1TPr5CuQxSpNE2

BRVGS Student Wins Tech Tour Scholarship

Congratulations to BRVGS/Nelson County High School Junior Chloe Hellerman for being one of only two recipients chosen to receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,500 for the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council’s 2017 Tech Tour Scholarship.  The Tech Tour is ¨a local event to introduce area middle and high school students to the dynamic high technology world that exists in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County metro region.¨ Chloe attended the Tech Tour as part of her participation in technology-centered courses in BRVGS, including UVa/BRVGS Engineering and BRVGS Advanced Placement Computer Science A.  We are very proud of Chloeś accomplishments in these courses and of her achievement of this scholarship!

Please see http://cvilleinnovation.org/tech-tour for more information about the Tech Tour.

BRVGS Students Sweep Miss Orange County Contest

On March 3rd, Miss Courtney Yancey of the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School/Orange County High School class of 2018 was crowned Miss Orange County for 2018.  Fellow BRVGS/OCHS students Caroline Richards and Autumn Dawn Rogers also finished as 1st and 2nd runners-up in the competition, which awards nearly $3000 in scholarship prizes.  This marks the third year in a row that a BRVGS student has served as Miss Orange County.  Congratulations to these talented young ladies!  

BRVGS Student Helps Others Cope with Grief

Tuyet Chuong, a senior at William Monroe High School and in the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School held a "strategies for coping with loss and grief" seminar at the high school this January, helping those who have a lost a loved one to cancer.  She has been volunteering at the Orange County Free Clinic and shadowed a pediatric oncology nurse at UVA for her 30 hour internship.  Her research question explores both new treatments in oncology and wrestles with the ethical question of WHEN (at what age) a child is ready to make their OWN decisions regarding treatment.   Tuyet states that her community service and legacy were meaningful because "it allowed me to help not only people that need help, but also make a difference in people's lives.  I wanted to help students at WMHS with issues they face struggling with coping with a death of a loved one who has cancer.  I just want to make a difference in people's lives at the end of the day."  She has done an amazing job in her research, community service, and internship and we are very proud of her!

BRVGS Student Goes to Washington!

How can a high school junior get close enough to see how the politics REALLY work at the national level?  For BRVGS/Nelson junior Sinead Nardi-White, upcoming service as a United States Senate Page for Virginia Senator Tim Kaine will be her window into the halls of power in Washington.   One of only 30 students from different states to be selected to this competitive appointment, Sinead will serve as page from January 28th June 8th of this year.

 According to Sinead, her duties will include “...delivering correspondence and legislative material throughout the US Capitol and Congressional offices, preparing the Senate Chamber for session, and working in the Senate chamber while the Senate is in session (assisting staff members and senators of my sponsoring senator's party).” Despite all these duties, school must go on - pages attend the Senate Page School from 6:00 AM to 9:45 AM each day as they live and work in Washington.

Sinead is “...excited to participate in this program because I will be directly witnessing what most people only get to read about on the news, like the government shutdown and the State of the Union, which are sure to be interesting to observe in the current political climate.”  This is an rare opportunity and tremendous achievement for Sinead, and BRVGS is proud of her appointment as a United States Senate Page!