GSSV Gazette

Juniors Visit Longwood

All juniors had the opportunity to explore different scientific fields including chemistry, microbiology, ecology, and anatomy and physiology on their trip to Longwood University in early September. They were able to examine a genuine human brain, view the contrast between a healthy lung and a smoker's lung, and inoculate their own petri dish with bioluminescent bacteria while working side-by-side with some of Longwood's science professors and touring the Chichester Science Center. A few of the students had the exciting opportunity to wear a special monitor that measured the force of their grip, along with their brainwaves and muscle activity, showing how our bodies and minds work together in real time! They even had the opportunity to talk with some of Longwood's current students and visit with former GSSV students while having lunch in D Hall.

Outreach Success

Our students worked hard the first six weeks of the semester planning for our annual Outreach event. For these two days, we hosted our feeder schools' gifted/advanced elementary school and middle school students to visit GSSV for the morning to participate in hands-on activities while learning a little bit about our program.

Keysville's Comic Book theme was a hit among the visiting students. The GSSV students taught lessons on fractions, rocks, light waves, word parts, functions of the cell, magnetism, parts of speech, DNA, and filtration.

Alberta's Superhero theme was a huge success, and our students loved racing The Flash or beating up Thor! Our GSSV students conducted engaging lessons on light waves, echolocation, magnetism, DNA, World War II, types of matter, photosynthesis, and circuits to name a few.

We loved spending the morning with some future GSSV students!

Parents' Corner

JUNIOR PARENTS ONLY

There will be a Zoom room open on Thursday, October 9, for Keysville and Tuesday, October 14, for Alberta junior parents to join to ask any questions they may have regarding GSSV. The Zoom rooms will open at 6:00 pm and remain open for at least 30 minutes. There will be no presentation or agenda, but this is simply an opportunity for the GSSV staff to be present for any questions that may have arisen during the first two months of GSSV. Sign-on to ask your question to any instructor or the director; you do not have to remain on for any certain length of time. We are simply making ourselves available if needed. This is not a parent conference, but a time to ask questions about the ins and outs of GSSV. This was a suggestion of our PAC from last year, so we are trying it out.

SENIOR PARENTS ONLY

Our Senior Night early in September was a success. We know that times are busy and some of you couldn't attend, so the presentation is available for you to view on our website: College Planning Presentation

Parent Email Listserv

If you have not already and would like to be added to Mrs. Swain's parent email list to receive announcements and information not appropriate for social media, please complete the GoogleForm by scanning the QR code below. If you cannot access this form, please email Mrs. Swain (wesley.swain@southside.edu) with your email address and child's name to be manually added.

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. If you are interested in serving on this committee and haven't already signed up, please complete the PAC Google Form by using the QR code below.