Back To School Video and Handbook Form

BRVGS is happy to welcome parents and student back for the 2018-19 school year! We hope that the start of the year is going well for everyone.  With the new year getting under way, we have a couple of important things to share:

The first is that BRVGS will not hold an "in-person" Back to School Night meeting this year.  Issues of scheduling and distance have always made this a difficult event for many of our parents. Instead of a face-to-face meeting, therefore, we have produced an informational Back To School Video that provides important information for the upcoming year.  You can view the BRVGS Back to School video by clicking here. You can also find the link in a news article on our website at www.BRVGS.k12.va.us

Second, parents and students need to review the BRVGS Student/Parent Handbook (click here) for the 2018-19 school year.  After reviewing the Handbook, parents AND students will need to complete and submit the BRVGS Handbook Signature Form (click here) and by September 7th.  Please make sure to click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form once it has been completed.  Parents will be able to provide input on future course planning for BRVGS On the Handbook Signature Form and can also update their contact information.  

Please feel free to contact us with any questions by using the “contact us” button on our website.  Again, best wishes for a great new school year to all of our parents and students!

Applications Open for Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) Program

Over the past several years, a number of BRVGS students have participated an amazing program of study in space-related topics offered through five Virginia colleges and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This opportunity is now available for application by this year's juniors and seniors.

To quote from the VASTS website, "The Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) program is an interactive on-line science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning experience highlighted by a seven-day residential summer academy at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Va. Students selected to participate in the program are immersed in NASA-related research through interaction with scientists, engineers and technologists."

To see a video about VASTS produced by Choe Hellerman, a BRVGS/Nelson student who recently participated in the program, click on: VASTS Informational Video.  This video will tell you about the program and the application process.  You can see more info regarding the application at: http://vsgc.odu.edu/VASTS/studentsapplicationinstructions.html

Applications to the VASTS program are due by November 11th.

Welcome To The New School Year!

Once again, it seems like summer has flown by, and we find ourselves at the start of a new school year in BRVGS.  We will have a record number of students again, and will be the largest part-day Governor's School program in Virginia for the first time.  We are looking forward to meeting our new students and to working again with our returning 10th, 11th and 12th graders.  Please keep an eye out here for more info soon on upcoming events and for BRVGS's first-ever virtual "Back to School Night", and best wishes to everyone for a great start to the school year!  

BRVGS AP Biology Bootcamp Videos

We have posted videos for all the sessions from the BRVGS AP Bio Bootcamp.  It will be helpful for students to watch and review the concepts.  You can find them all here as well as all our videos on the BRVGS Youtube channel.

BRVGS Students Journey to Galapagos!

A group of ten BRVGS students and several adults had an amazing experience in late June, traveling to Quito, Ecuador, and then on to the Galapagos Islands.  The group toured Quito for a day, seeing the changing of the Guard at the Ecuadorean Presidental Palace in the city center, and also visiting the Mitad Del Mundo ("Middle of the World") at the Equator.

After touring Quito, the group boarded a plane for the Galapagos Islands, landing first on Baltra Island, then taking boats to Santa Cruz Island and then to Isabella, the largest island in the archipelago.  The group toured several islands over the week (Isabella, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal) and saw amazing landscapes and wildlife that included giant tortoises, marine iguanas, warm-water penguins, blue footed boobies, sea lions and sea turtles, as well as many of the birds first made famous by Charles Darwin.  Students also snorkeled with sea turtles and tropical fish and toured the Charles Darwin Research Station. 

After returning to Quito from the Galapagos, the group ventured into the Andes Mountains, where they visited local markets, met indigenous peoples and saw a local religious festival.  The group was able to experience a wide variety of culture, food, scenery and language throughout the 9-day journey, and many characterized this as a "life-changing" trip.

To see pictures from this amazing journey, click on BRVGS Galapagos Photos.