A message for MW Students:
Dear Green Dragons,
In an important month of AP and SOL testing, I want to take a moment to speak from the heart.
These tests are just one chapter in your journey—not the whole story. They are opportunities to show what you’ve learned, but they do not define your worth, your intelligence, or your potential. What truly defines you is the curiosity you bring each day, the resilience you show in the face of challenge, and the courage it takes to try—even when success isn’t guaranteed.
Remember: excellence doesn’t mean perfection. It means doing your best with the tools you have today. And I’ve seen your best—it’s powerful, thoughtful, and deeply inspiring.
Take care of yourselves and each other. Rest. Hydrate. Breathe. Show up not just with sharpened pencils, but with confidence in who you are and how far you’ve come.
You’ve got this. We believe in you.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Smith
Acting Director
AP Testing Starts Monday, Week #2!
If you have not already had your first AP Exam, please review these reminders below and, students, be sure to have read all announcements in Schoology. Here is the most up-to-date schedule with room assignments and major reminders (families may wish to print this): https://drive.google.com/file/d/14_pMgtxVHQ0tUuPzmnrtULIhFxitplcc/view?usp=sharing
Transportation arrangements during AP Exams: As students and parents plan for AP testing, remember that morning exams begin at 8:30 and students are advised to arrive at their testing room no later than 8:15 (or 12:15 for an afternoon exam). Students will want to be in their seats and logged into Bluebook (using their College Board login credentials) on a school computer by 8:30 (or 12:30 for an afternoon exam). We will make every effort to hold an exam for a late bus, we may need to proceed with testing without students who are running late so that the school can meet the national start time. We encourage students to use the transportation method on exam day that will allow them to be in place and ready to test by 8:30am.
Afternoon exams will almost always run past the end of the school day. For students who ride the bus, alternate transportation will need to be arranged for afternoon exams. Afternoon exams will release at varied times, but 4:30 is our generally anticipated time. It could be earlier or later depending on the varied length of the morning and afternoon exams. Students should notify their coaches or employers of their potential late arrival to practice or jobs if taking an afternoon exam. Students with extended time may be testing until 5:30 or later.
Logging into Test Day Toolkit: Because students are testing on school computers, it is critical that students have their College Board login credentials committed to memory. Students should check their settings to ensure that they have turned OFF “Multi-Factor Authentication” so they will not be prompted to access email or cell phones to log in on test day.
Unpaid Exam Fees: There are some students with unresolved AP exams payments. These fees will be applied to students’ accounts and could result in a hold on transcripts if not resolved.
AP Testing Schoology Group: A document with exact testing locations is available in the AP Testing Schoology Group under resources (in addition to being linked above). All details and important student reminders (such as what to bring and not bring) are listed there. Do bring a sweatshirt and a pencil and pen (with black or dark blue ink) to your testing room. All exams will provide scratch paper for notes and you will need a writing utensil for all exams– even fully digital ones. While many exams are fully digital, all exams with any form of math (math, science, micro and macro) will be hybrid and exams with listening (music, Spanish Lit and Lang, German, and French) are still on paper. Do not bring cell phones and any watches or devices that can take pictures or access the internet as they are not allowed in the testing room. Please be sure to bring a calculator (and perhaps extra batteries) to those that require one. You teacher can advise on approved calculators, but standard graphing calculators are fine.
Attendance for AP Exams: Please send a note with your student for late arrivals and/or early dismissals. You may also email Ms. Bowman in the attendance office [email protected].
SOL Testing Information
The remaining SOLs will be held during the last week of school. Students only need to attend on the day they have a scheduled SOL. A detailed schedule will be shared shortly to students. If they are unable to attend, please complete this form: SOL Absence Notification (https://forms.gle/SEeeZDBhaU7hg9fRA)
- May 27: Reading (Juniors) & U.S. History (Sophomores)
- May 28: World History II (Sophomores)
- May 29: Biology (Freshmen)
VCU Dual Enrollment Course Placement (sent scores or purchase ALEKS Access Code ASAP):
Thank you for completing your VCU Dual Enrollment application. The next step is placement. VCU Photo (PHTO 243) and VCU Film Studies (PHTO 243) do not have a placement requirement, but the following courses do: VCU Statistics (STAT 210 and 314), VCU Calc 200 (MATH 200), VCU Calc 201 (MATH 201), VCU Biopsych (PSYC 401). Students who signed up for MATH 201 and PSYCH 401 will need to have their AP scores officially sent to VCU. If you are taking the test THIS MAY, follow these instructions to have your score sent for free:
To send AP scores to a college through MyAP, you first need to sign in to your College Board account and navigate to the My AP Profile, then select the “Score Send” tab. Here, you can search for the college you want to send your scores to and save them. You have one free score report per year, so you can send scores without a fee by the designated deadline, which is June 20, 2025. After the deadline, you can still send scores for a fee of $15 per report.
Students taking STAT 210/314 or MATH 200, may use an SAT, ACT, or AP score for placement, according THIS CHART. Students to qualify to use one of these scores for placement will need to send their scores to VCU using the collegeboard.org or act.org right away (if you didn’t do this by April 30th). Sending an SAT for a May arrival will cost a fee. Students who do not already have a qualifying score will need to take the ALEKS placement test on May 29th. Students who have determined they need to take the ALEKS placement test, must use the VCU V# they received 3-5 business days after submitting their application to purchase an ALEKS Access Code by May 22nd, 2025 and sit for the test at Maggie Walker on May 29th, 2025
Click here to access the full presentation for all students, with a specific presentation on math and a required surrey (QR code) embedded within: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1a9xmXSEN21u11m8qj6GHwpxEwKLwPs3G2U0mxEB3oAk/edit?usp=sharing
VHSL Film Festival
Congratulations to Tyler DeHaven and his film-making collaborators Thomas Short, Des Unice, and Reagan Keeton! Their commercial “Durogizer” has been selected as a finalist in its category for the VHSL Film Festival! Final results coming on June 7!
Security Corner:
To maintain the safety and security of our campus community, all students and guests are required to enter the building exclusively through the Bluestone Lobby during school hours. (Lunch exceptions apply) Please be advised that all other entrances will remain secured and monitored. Attempting to access the building or allowing others in through unauthorized doors is strictly prohibited and will be addressed as a serious security breach.
We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a safe school environment.
College Boot Camp
Attention rising seniors and parents! Dr. Loving and Ms. Forquer are pleased to offer a college application “boot camp” from August 4-6, 2025. This program is three half-days (choice of morning or afternoon) and aims to have members of the Class of 2026 enter their senior year with their Common Application complete and their primary essay in completed draft form. Spots are limited, so please reserve your place ASAP. Registration is complete when students have selected a spot on the Sign Up Genius below and paid on OSP. Registration will close May 30th. If paying for College Boot Camp is a financial hardship, please see your counselor for more information.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4FAAAD2BA6FEC16-56263009-mlwgs#
MWTech: LockDown Browser Installation on student BYOD devices.
Starting the second semester, PowerSchool communications were sent requesting installation of the LockDown browser on all student devices. As MLWGS is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school, we very much need cooperation from our families to facilitate this task. Teachers have expanded the use of the testing application through Schoology courses, and MWtech does not have loaner device capacity, especially during the May window of online AP and SOL test administration, to provide additional devices to students. If your student’s device does not have the LockDown browser installed to date, they can still accomplish the task in class through Schoology, our Learning Management System. Thank you for your continued support!
Senior Showcase is Coming:
On Wednesday, 5/21/25, we will be holding our annual Senior Showcase Event! Senior Showcase is a required Maggie Walker Activity. All students are required to attend. Showcase attendance is one of the factors that will be considered during the mentorship application process. Failure to attend the event will also cause you to forfeit your final exam exemptions for Thursday and Friday exams. At this exciting event, each Senior will give a presentation on what they have been doing in their Seminar Class or their Mentorship. Every student will be able to attend four sessions and learn a little more about this senior requirement. It is a great opportunity to learn about the Mentorship Program and what it is like to be part of a Seminar Class. Students will complete a survey to rank which presentations they want to attend. Senior Showcase is a required Maggie Walker Activity. If you have questions, please email Les Cook ([email protected]).
Senior Showcase Invitation to Parents of Seniors:
You are invited to this year’s Senior Showcase Event to watch your student give their Mentorship or Seminar Presentation. It is a wonderful event where every senior presents their work and celebrates the conclusion of this MLWGS requirement. You can view the schedule for the day using the link below. To RSVP to the event for quicker check-in when you arrive, use the link below. Once the student lot is filled, visitors can park in the Moore Street Baptist Church lot(1408 West Leigh St.) or the Virginia Union lot between the softball field and football field (on Lombardy Street on the other side of I95). If you have questions, please email Les Cook ([email protected]).
Link to View the Showcase Schedule: https://drive.google.com/file/d/106THL2cNPMZX6hDjp1fnLHzEt9QhKHmX/view?usp=sharing
Link to RSVP for Quicker Check-In when you arrive: https://forms.gle/KUBqS18xAvmtvQDSA
Update for Class of 2026 Mentorship Students:
On Wednesday, 5/21/25, we will be holding our annual Senior Showcase Event! Senior Showcase is a required Maggie Walker Activity. All students are required to attend. It is expected that next year’s mentorship students will attend this event to learn about the mentorship research and showcase process. Failure to attend the event will also cause you to forfeit your final exam exemptions for Thursday and Friday exams.
The mentorship placement process has been fully underway since March, and the process is running as expected. We are currently on pace to have all students placed by the end of June (we are ahead of where we were last year at this point). Hundreds of potential mentors have been contacted, and hundreds more will be messaged in the next month and a half. All Class of 2026 Mentorship Students should check their Schoology messages and MLWGS email regularly to check for messages regarding mentorship placement. If students or parents have questions regarding the placement process, please email Les Cook ([email protected]).
IMPORTANT INFO from the SCHOOL NURSE
ALL RISING SENIORS: It is a requirement that each student provide documentation of receiving at least 2 Meningococcal conjugate vaccine or 1 if given after the age of 16yrs PRIOR to starting 12th grade. You will not be able to start 12th grade without this information on file.
[Meningococcal Conjugate (MenACWY) Vaccine – Effective July 1, 2021, a minimum of 2 doses of MenACWY vaccine. The first dose should be administered prior to entering 7th grade. The final dose should be administered prior to entering 12th grade.
If no doses have been given, one that is given after age 16 is sufficient. ]
Please email the school nurse with a scanned copy of the vaccination record to [email protected] or send in hard copies to drop off at the clinic and it will be added to your student’s file.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call Alisa Shapiro, RN at 804-354-6800 ext 1010
Medication Pick up:
Also, If your student had medications in the clinic, please make arrangements to pick them up before the end of the year. Please bring this medication release form signed by a parent or guardian if the student plans to get the medications. The only exception is for students who ride the bus. Medications are not allowed on the buses, so in that case, a parent must come to get them.
If any meds are not picked up by the last day of school, I will dispose of them.
From Mr. White:
Attention, Class of 2026: It’s time to schedule your senior portraits! Lifetouch/Prestige will conduct a two-day senior portraits photo shoot at Maggie Walker on July 7-8. Lifetouch/Prestige offers $30 Essential Sessions (three outfits) and $20 Mini Sessions (two outfits). The link to schedule a session at school is https://prestigeportraits.com. You can search for MLWGS’s Prestige Portraits event by selecting your city and state and then putting in your first and last name.
In addition to the July 7-8 event, seniors can schedule to have their images done at one of Lifetouch/Prestige’s senior portrait studios by going to the same link above. Studios will open for the GY26 Senior Season in June/July. Also, there will be makeup portraits shot at MLWGS on Sept. 4 (signups will available in the summer). Questions? Contact Lifetouch/Prestige or Mr. White.
Upcoming Senior Events 2025
Senior Graduation Ticket Distribution: Week of May 12th, at lunch
Anyone planning to attend graduation must have a ticket to gain entrance to Dominion Energy Center (These are tickets for admission to the graduation exercises and are not the announcements students may have ordered from Herff Jones). Each graduate will receive 8 tickets for the ceremony (the graduate does not need a ticket). All additional tickets were offered through a lottery system back in December. Don’t forget that we will be streaming the ceremony and more information will be shared closer to the date. Tickets may be picked up from Ms. Sheppard in room 330.
Graduation – Streaming live this year
Due to the limited tickets available for graduation, we have secured the services of Seagram AV to stream our ceremony. Click here to watch the ceremony live.
MLWGS Prom: Saturday, May 17th from 7-10 PM, the Hippodrome Theater
The Junior/Senior Prom will be held on Saturday, May 17, from 7:00- 10:00 p.m. at the Hippodrome Theater, located at 528 N 2nd St., Richmond, VA 23219.
Athletic Signing Day: Monday, May 19th at 3:45 pm, Forum
Maggie Walker will recognize all students participating in varsity athletics at their selected college on Monday, May 19th.
Senior Exams: Monday, May 19th – Friday, May 23rd
Senior Recognition Night: Monday, May 19th
Students need to report to the gym by 6:30 PM for the line-up (the event starts at 7:00 PM), where they will also receive the letters they wrote themselves as freshmen. Students should wear professional/business attire; caps and gowns are NOT worn for this event.
Direct any questions regarding Senior Recognition Night to Kara Love.
Senior Letter 2025
Every year, MLWGS publishes a letter with information about senior-related events taking place for the remainder of the year. As it is only April, we want to remind you that some details may change. We hope that you will bookmark this letter and refer back to it as we near each activity and opportunity. If you have any questions, please contact the individual(s) responsible for the event.
You can access the letter here.
We look forward to celebrating all of our seniors as we get closer to the end of the year!
Scholarship Opportunities for MLWGS Seniors
For last minute scholarship opportunities, check out the MLWGS Class of 2025 Scholarship List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1t1CNmRcjxs9SSXjTh1g5Z-oDDQ8XLlZJN57s9cAWrvs/edit?usp=sharing
Athletics-IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Here are the new physical forms for 2025-26. VHSL-Forms-25.pdf Please use these forms for any physicals starting May 1,2025. Maggie Walker will still require physicals every year after May 1 of the current school year. The forms from the VHSL and doctor offices do not have the added forms from VCU. I have added them to our document. All families need to use THESE forms and to continue sending to me, [email protected] as a one page PDF and to send them ASAP.
April Highlight: The MLWGS Science Department—Research, Problem-Solving, and Rigor
The Science Department enthusiastically welcomed three new colleagues this year: Will Cottrell, William Ryba, and Dave Smail.
Will Cottrell teaches both Molecular Biology and Anatomy & Physiology. He brings energy and enthusiasm for learning and teaching in both the classroom and the workroom. Being a dedicated triathlete, he helped coach Cross Country and also helps to sponsor the Red Cross Club.
William Ryba teaches both Analytical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry Plus, in addition to coaching Cross Country and Indoor & Outdoor Track. He is enjoying the opportunity to use a variety of exploratory lab activities and summative lab projects to improve learning experiences in the classroom.
Dave Smail teaches Molecular Biology, Analytical Chemistry, and AP Biology. He is enjoying the new adventure of teaching AP Biology and using case studies to provide students with enriching learning experiences. He next looks forward to integrating more inquiry-based labs in the classroom.
The biology team is led by Dave Barnes. In addition to teaching Molecular Biology, Dave also teaches AP Environmental Science. In both courses, he maximizes student-centered learning opportunities that are hands-on, incorporate innovative use of technology, or make use of relevant current events. Dave also provides learning opportunities outside of the classroom and has traveled abroad with students to both Costa Rica and Panama. He is currently planning an interdisciplinary experience for students in Belize during the spring break of 2026.
Adam Rotche is an integral member of the biology team. His passion lies in ecology and environmental interdisciplinary studies. In addition to teaching a seminar, Wilderness and the American Mind, Adam also developed and is teaching a brand-new course, Becoming a Naturalist, a Virginia ecology course. Adam is an integral member of our school community serving as the head coach of our Quiz Bowl team.
Jennifer Todd teaches AP Chemistry and is the Science Department Chair. In her 3rd year of being department chair, she has worked to provide experienced teachers and new teachers opportunities to collaborate to align curriculum and to share instructional tools. She has also actively supported teachers in their efforts to create new science electives in multiple disciplines and of a variety of challenge levels to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners.
In addition to teaching both Analytical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry Plus, Hillary Gawne developed a post-AP Chemistry course based on her areas of interest and expertise. She is now in her second year of providing a robust learning experience for advanced STEM students in Introduction to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. Hillary is also the sponsor of the National Honor Society.
Mark Sailer has been part of the science team for 10 years. This year he is teaching primarily Honors Physics and has enjoyed teaching AP Physics 1 for the first time. Mark is a valuable member of the school community and is the lead sponsor of the MLWGS Robotics team. Outside of his school commitments, Mark is a dedicated musician and a member of a handbell choir, a vocal choir, and a brass group.
In addition to teaching AP Physics 1, Brandon Gooss developed and is teaching a brand-new course, Automotive Concepts and Engineering, familiarly known as ACE. Through that course, Brandon has developed a relationship with Midas of Richmond, who has provided learning opportunities for students outside of the classroom and has donated car parts for the students to work on and learn from in the classroom. Brandon also sponsors TSA, the Technology Student Association. No matter where you see Brandon, he is excited to tinker and learn with the students while working on solutions to real-world problems.
In addition to teaching math, Heather Kemmerly continues to engage students in project-based learning in Engineering. On any given day, her students may be building and testing bridges or designing their own inventions using CAD (computer-aided design) software.
VCU Physiological Psychology is taught by Dr. Tim Donahue. In this course, Tim teaches students how the brain and neurological system work from a biological perspective. Not only does Tim share his enthusiasm for learning and psychology through his exciting lectures, but he also leads them through hands-on activities such as dissecting sheep brains.
As a department, we continue to cherish our work experiences with Drew Austen, who passed away earlier this year. Drew was an invaluable member of the team, always excited and enthusiastic about learning and growing with both colleagues and students. His love of learning and teaching was infectious to all. Despite having only been a part of MLWGS Science for three school years, he will have a lasting impact on us all.
We were excited to welcome Olga Plotnikov to the team for the rest of this year. Olga is no stranger to MLWGS as an alumni parent. Additionally, Olga has immense expertise in physics and valuable experience teaching young scientists. We are more than grateful that Olga was willing to join our team at a time of great need.
Check Out the New and Improved Foundation Website and Newsletter
The MLWGS Foundation has added some great new features to its website. The new Stories tab at the top provides links to the Foundation Blog–lots of great stories about MLWGS happenings–and a News page with local and national media stories highlighting alumni and current students and teachers. On the News page you’ll also find an archive of the latest Foundation newsletters. Check it out today to see some of the great things going on at MLWGS and how your support of the Foundation makes it all possible. If you did not receive the newsletter via email last week, you can read it on the News page and sign up for it there as well.
GO DRAGONS!!!
“Change is made of choices, and choices are made of character.” – Amanda Gorman
