GSSV Gazette

What an amazing opening week we had! Our seniors were able to catch up with their classmates from their summer of fun and our juniors were excited to meet their classmates. We spent some time on team building activities, critical thinking challenges, and worked some on planning our annual Outreach events. The highlight of the week was pairing our senior mentors with their junior mentees so each student has someone to go to with questions and challenges and to celebrate wins!

Buckingham High School junior Harmani Holman won The Edgar Allan Poe Poetry Contest student writing contest, hosted by the Poe Museum for National Month of Hope. The competition prompt was to write an original poem about hope and include literary devices throughout. Her poem, “Flicker,” focused on finding hope even when dealing with fear, doubt, and difficult moments.

Harmani stated, "I’ve been writing poetry occasionally for a while and have always loved it, so this contest gave me the opportunity to finally put my writing out there and share something I usually keep to myself. Winning the contest gave me more confidence in my writing and encouraged me to continue expressing myself through poetry."

Congratulations, Harmani! Keep writing!

Please remember to follow the GSSV calendar!

The GSSV Spirit Wear Store is now open until September 30. This is a fully online store with short and long sleeve t-shirts and crew and hooded sweatshirts. We also have an option to purchase a bookbag or a beanie hat! A small portion of the proceeds of the apparel sold will be returned to GSSV to help offset the costs of our field trips. This will only be open for September but will reopen in February. Don't miss the opportunity to purchase something and proudly support GSSV!

The Governor's School instructors will host a Senior College Night information session where we will discuss college selection, college application, FAFSA guidelines, and more. This is an optional event but is held to provide information to parents and students to aid them in planning for the next steps after high school. Please see flyers below for information for each session on each campus. Keysville seniors' meeting will be Tuesday, September 15, from 6:00-7:00 in room 108 in the Workforce Development Center. Alberta seniors' meeting will be Thursday, September 24, from 6:00-7:00 in room 220 in the Student Services Center.

The gym will also be open for parents to see the Outreach booths set-up!

Communication

GSSV is implementing a new system for contacting students and parents/guardians regarding announcements/reminders, closures, delays, etc. These messages can be sent via phone call, text message, and/or email. GSSV will primarily use text and email to send notifications. We will not send announcements daily or weekly. This will be used sparingly and only when needed.

If you did not receive notification last week, then you have not signed up to accept text messages from this program. Please text ALERT to 22300 to opt in to receiving text messages.

If a phone number and/or email needs to be changed, please email Mrs. Swain (wesley.swain@southside.edu).

Parent Advisory Committee

In an effort to continue the partnership and communication with our parents, we are hoping to grow our Parent Advisory Committee that will meet at least twice a year. We would like at least two parents from each participating high school to be on this committee. These parents will be the liaison between the community and GSSV. Of course, direct communication with Mrs. Swain is still always welcome if there is an immediate or private concern. These meetings will be a combination of in-person and virtual meetings. Please email Mrs. Swain (wesley.swain@southside.edu) if you would like to be be on this committee.

While GSSV is a small staff, we are dynamic! There are 9 certified instructors on staff along with an administrative assistant and director. We have over 180 years of teaching experience among us combined.

Our Christanna Campus in Alberta staff is as follows:

• Mrs. Kristen Beekwilder -- Research and Biology instructor
• Mrs. Mary Glenn Coleman -- Math instructor
• Mrs. Lori Moore -- English instructor
• Mrs. Tracey Nash - English instructor
• Mrs. Chelsea Thorpe -- Research and Chemistry instructor

• Mrs. Tara Beck -- Research and English instructor
• Mrs. Katherine Clatterbuck -- Research and Biology instructor
• Mrs. Sarah Fenwick -- Math instructor
• Mrs. Lori Moore -- English instructor
• Mrs. Leslie Poling -- Research and Chemistry instructor
• Ms. Connie Tucker -- Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Wesley Swain is the GSSV director, and she splits her time between the two campuses.

We also have many SVCC instructors who teach a class or two for us. We thank them for their willingness to teach our students so we can offer an Associate Degree to our students.

Remember, we are here to work together to support the high schools and the students. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns that arise throughout the year. We are looking for a memorable school year.

September 7 -- No School - Labor Day

September 10 - Alberta Seniors CBF Trip

September 15 & 16 - Keysville Outreach

September 15 - Keysville Senior Night 6pm

September 24 & 25 - Alberta Outreach

September 24 - Alberta Senior Night 6pm

September 28 - Mentor Monday Meeting

Mrs. Tara Beck -- tara.beck@southside.edu

Mrs. Kristen Beekwilder -- kristen.beekwilder@southside.edu

Mrs. Katherine Clatterbuck -- katherine.clatterbuck@southside.edu

Mrs. Mary Glenn Coleman — mary.coleman@southside.edu

Mrs. Sarah Fenwick -- sarah.fenwick@southside.edu

Mrs. Lori Moore -- lori.moore@southside.edu

Mrs. Tracey Nash -- tracey.nash@southside.edu

Mrs. Leslie Poling -- leslie.poling@southside.edu

Mrs. Chelsea Thorpe -- chelsea.taylor@southside.edu

Ms. Connie Tucker -- connie.tucker@southside.edu (Administrative Assistant)

Mrs. Wesley Swain -- wesley.swain@southside.edu (Director)