GSSV Gazette

October 2023

Extending Classroom Learning

Virginia Fine Arts Museum

Keysville seniors spent a day at the VMFA to expand on the concepts they were learning about in the classroom. They had a scavenger hunt around the museum to identify different types of art media, styles, features, and techniques. They also were to select a piece of art and articulate personal connections with that work. Lastly, they analyzed the relationships of art to various cultures, historical events, religions, and time periods as they toured the different areas of the museum. At the conclusion of the day, the students enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park outside the VMFA.

Longwood University Book Festival

Creative Writing seniors from the Alberta campus attended Longwood's Virginia Children's Book Festival earlier this month. While there, they listened to authors and artists who shared their works, their writing process and routines, as well as their experiences with book publishers and with film and TV producers. Students who will be writing and creating original children's stories or graphic novel structures appreciate the advice and recommendations for their own works.

Edgar Allan Poe Museum and St. John's Church

Alberta and Keysville juniors participated in their first joint site trip this month when they visited Richmond's Edgar Allan Poe Museum and St. John's Church as a review of historical speakers such as Patrick Henry and a preview of the classes' study of Romanticism, Gothic literature, and especially Poe and his works. Following these two tours, the students enjoyed hanging out together and getting to know each other while having a picnic lunch at Patrick Henry Park.

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Outreach in October

"The treehouse spun faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely still."

Keysville Outreach in October was last week, and our students turned the gym into Frog Creek Woods with our Magic Treehouse-themed event. The students were in charge of planning and organizing the engaging activities and decorating the gym and their booths for our feeder elementary and middle school gifted/high achieving students. Each senior group chose a book from the series and created hands-on experiences for our guest students while aligning the activities with the state SOLs. We had ninjas, mummies, knights, ancient Greeks and Romans, and dinosaurs teaching about math, science, history, and language arts.

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Never Too Old to Dress Up

Our faculty and students enjoyed a little Halloween fun on October 31. The Alberta students participated in a costume contest hosted by SVCC. The Keysville students hosted their own costume contest as well as a pumpkin painting competition inspired by an artist or work of art the students are studying in their Art class.

Our winners are as follows:

Alberta

First Place: Cameron Shriver as the Alien from Toy Story

Second Place: Abby Moseley as The Lorax, Kai Coronas as Once-ler, and Blair Dickens as Aloysius O'Hare

Keysville

First Place: Charlotte Richmond as Wednesday Addams

Second Place: Kayne Wooten as Napoleon Dynamite

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Fall Community Service Project Reminder

As a full school, both Alberta and Keysville students will fill shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. We have a goal of filling a minimum of 20 boxes total, which means 10 at each campus. Over the next month, please collect and bring in items for our boxes. Please bring items for both boys and girls. Suggested items are small stuffed animals or toys, personal care items individually wrapped, school supplies, flip flops, socks, hair accessories, hats, small puzzles, dry watercolor kits, and small books. There can be no food, liquids (including lotions), breakable items, or used items. We already have a spiral notebook, toothbrush, soap, washcloth, and a jump rope for each box thanks to a donation by Jamieson Memorial Methodist Church. We will be packing these boxes on November 9, so all donations need to be in by November 6.

More information can be found at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/.

Senior Trip Information

The Washington, D.C., senior trip has been approved for April 22-23, 2024. Information will be going home next week regarding this opportunity and the payment plans. This trip is optional for all seniors, but it is such a great time for an end-of-program experience. We will spend two days touring the National Mall and visiting museums. We will race the clock in an Escape room for bragging rights to see who can get out the fastest.

Parent Advisory Committee

In an effort to continue the partnership and communication with our parents, we will be reinstating a Parent Advisory Committee that will meet at least twice a year. We would like two parents from each participating high school (one junior parent and one senior parent) to be on this committee. These parents will be the liaisons between the community and GSSV. Of course, direct communication with Mrs. Swain is still always welcome if there is an immediate or private concern.

Our first meetings have been scheduled.

-- Alberta Campus - Monday, November 13, 2023, 5:00, campus location TBD

-- Keysville Campus - Thursday, November 16, 2023, 5:00, campus location TBD

These meetings will be in-person meetings. We will also hold one joint PAC meeting where parents from both campuses will meet together to discuss the growth of the program as a whole. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please complete the PAC Google Form or email Mrs. Swain (wesley.swain@southside.edu).

Parent Emails

If you would like to be added to the parent email distribution list from Mrs. Swain and have not already completed the Google Form, please take a moment to do so. If you cannot access this form, please email Mrs. Swain with your email address and child's name to be manually added.