GSSV Gazette

On Valentine's Day, we had our annual One School, One Book event. All our students and staff read John Steinbeck's The Pearl and students chose one Humanities-themed session and one STEM-themed session to explore. Sessions included dissecting crabs and oysters, taking scenes from the book to the stage, learning about ocean acidification on shells, discussing the ethics of self-improvement, and painting a scene from the novel, plus many many more. Following the student-selected sessions, the students worked in groups to create a PSA skit for a worst-case scenario handed to them. The day was wrapped up with lunch and laughs and Valentine's Day treats.

While the weather prevented all schools from attending, we really enjoyed this joint site event with all who could be here.

Humanities juniors had the opportunity to create balloons out of tissue paper and fly them to wrap up their study on gas laws. The students had to take measurements of their balloon and calculated whether they thought their balloon would fly. While the weather has been an obstacle, we made the most of it and got some in the air.

See pictures and captions below for some of the good things our students are doing at their home high schools.

The general assembly provided funding for PBA Appalachia Virginia to produce short videos promoting each of the 19 Academic Year Governor's Schools in Virginia. These videos will be used in promoting student recruitment, parent education, and public awareness of our programs. We had the opportunity this past Tuesday to have our program filmed. We cannot wait to see this video edited together to highlight the amazing opportunities our program provides our students.

Graduation

The SVCC Graduation page is gradually being updated. Please note that graduation will be Saturday, May 10, at 9:30 a.m. at the Joan Perry Brock Center at Longwood University. Bookmark this page and refer to it as information is updated. Tickets will be needed for graduation. Information regarding that will be forthcoming.

Information about caps and gowns will hopefully be available soon. This will be available for ordering from the webpage listed above. As soon as we have more information, it will be posted on Facebook and emailed to the seniors.

Washington, D.C. Trip

The final $125 payment for the Washington, D.C. trip is due next week, March 3 - 7. Please bring cash or check (made out to GSSV) by Friday, March 7, so we can make our final payment on all we have booked for the trip.

Parent Email Listserv

If you would like to be added to these emails to receive announcements and information not appropriate for social media, please complete this Google Form. 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.

Attendance Matters

Your child's attendance is paramount to their success in GSSV. We can't control the days that we missed for the winter weather, but if we are in session, it is important for your child to be present. Our classes are college-level classes, and we must cover a lot of material in a class setting. While our instructors may post videos and allow the students to make-up any missed work, there is no substitute for being present in class. As a reminder, GSSV follows the attendance policy of SVCC and excessive absences may cause your child to lose credit in a course no matter his/her grade.

Junior Parents ONLY

Your child is not required to attend GSSV on Thursday, March 6, due to the annual Renaissance Faire for our seniors. The juniors will have a letter explaining this and the expectations of them on this day.

March 6 - Renaissance Faire in Alberta (all seniors)

March 12 - Alberta Seniors Field Trip to VMFA

March 26 - Keysville Senior Symposium

March 27 - Alberta Senior Symposium

March 28 - The Gatsby Gala at Estes Center in Chase City (all juniors)

March 31-April 4 - Spring Break

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

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

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

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

Mrs. Ann Moore -- ann.moore@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)