09/29/24
School will be closed on Thursday October 3rd in observance of Rosh Hashanah. We will reopen on Friday October 4th. Shana Tovah!
Graduation for the Class of 2025
The commencement ceremony for the Class of 2025 will take place on Tuesday May 27th, 2025, in the Carpenter Theater at the Dominion Energy Center. It will likely be at 6:00 PM. We anticipate that each graduating student will be able to receive 7-8 tickets. We will share much more information as it becomes available.
Civility on Campus
As we move from summer to fall and closer to the November 5th elections, we stand firmly in our commitment to examining civics, socio-political issues, and dialogue through academic and cultural lenses as a Governor’s School for Government and International Studies.
We also acknowledge that this season is marked by a surge in communication and content that can, at times, be unproductive and even harmful.
As always, our first priority is to ensure the physical and psychological safety of our students. This is also necessary to foster the community of inquiry, civil discourse, and intellectual diversity for which we strive.
We are here to support students and families, through this election year and beyond, in the following ways:
- Highlighting our shared responsibility to maintain a safe community and make decisions in alignment with our school mission and civility statement
- Encouraging care and consideration for self and fellow community members, being mindful of the potential impact of speech/expression choices on relationships at school
- Asking students and teachers to lean in on classroom norms and structures to guide complex discussions
- Empowering and equipping students to address issues as they arise through the student advocacy flowchart
- Reminding the community that tropes, slurs, stereotypes, and other harmful language are unacceptable
- Increasing visibility around the availability of our in-school resource staff and systems, including School Counseling, Social Workers, Strategic Engagement Coordinator, and Anonymous Alerts
We sincerely thank you for your cooperation and support from your homes. Your partnership fortifies our continuation of care at school.
English
Scholastics is open for art and writing submissions! The deadline is December 5, 2024 at 11:59pm. They had technical difficulties last year, so submit your content early. https://www.artandwriting.org/
National English Honour Society applications are open for 11th and 12th graders with a 3.75+ GPA in English. Applications close 30 September 2024 at 3:30. We will not accept late submissions!
You can apply here: https://forms.gle/aasB5Qi7uivQdAPC9
National Honor Society Induction Ceremony
NHS is pleased to induct students from both the Spring 2024 application cycle and the Fall 2024 application cycle on Monday, September 30th at 6:30pm in the Auditorium. Over 150 juniors and seniors will be inducted at Monday evening’s event. A reception will follow in the Student Commons. The students who were just recently admitted received a notification letter on September 20th. Families of students who were offered pre-admission last spring are reminded that they must also attend Monday’s induction ceremony to receive their official certificate and take the pledge. All inductees (both fall and spring) must pay dues on Monday if they have not already done so (Note: The payment window in OSP had closed, but will re-open on Monday for students who still need to pay). Thank you and we look forward to celebrating with our new members on Monday!
PSAT Day Information
PSAT Day will take place on Friday, October 18th. Sophomores and juniors will test from approximately 8:40-11:15. Students and parents are encouraged to visit PSAT Family Guide for additional information about the digital test.
Students are allowed to use their personal device for testing. Personal devices can include a Mac or Windows device or an iPAD. Students are not allowed to use a personal Chromebook. Your device must also be able to connect to Wi-Fi and be charged enough to stay on for roughly 3 hours. We recommend you bring a power cord or portable charger, but we can’t guarantee you’ll have access to an outlet. You’re permitted to bring an external mouse for your device and an external keyboard if your device is a tablet. You can’t use detachable device privacy screens. All other applications and programs must be closed during the test. Students can complete this form if they will need to borrow a device on test day.
Ms. Cobb will be visiting English classrooms at the end of September to help students prepare for the day. Please feel free to contact Ms. Cobb at [email protected] if you have additional questions.
Need community service hours?
Enjoy history or deciphering old handwriting? Join the 100+ Dragons on the library’s 2024-2025 Transcribe Team! Sign up to attend the annual kickoff Transcribe-a-thon from 3:30-5pm on Wednesday, Oct. 2nd in the library. If you’re new, this will alert Ms. DeGroat to add you to the Transcribe Team’s Schoology group. If you’re a returning member of the team, please make sure you fill it out too, so she knows how many treats to get!
Last Call for Seniors to Order Class Merch!
If you want to order a class t-shirt or hoodie, please visit this link:
After you have ordered, you can pay via OSP by 11:59 PM on 9/29 (tonight!) or by bringing cash to Chanan or Martina by 9/30 (tomorrow!).
Cultural Opportunity
If you are interested in seeing the Virginia Opera’s production of Carmen for a special student price of $25, click here!
Counseling
This fall, over 80 colleges and universities will be sending admissions representatives (either in-person or virtually) to meet with MLWGS students in grades 10, 11, and 12 during lunch (Monday-Thursday). Sign-ups and passes are not required—students simply may travel to the location of the presentation of their choice after the dismissal of their 3rd or 4th block class. An updated calendar of college visit rep visits (as of September 27th) can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g0lyV3MXzJZzWxBjW0xONjVT_IfyqdROI3czy6WT9IM/edit?usp=sharing Locations of each presentation are included in the daily announcements (which also are posted in Schoology) and can be found on the dry-erase board hanging outside the Counseling Suite each morning.
Italy Trip
Mr. Ross and Ms. Hefty will be taking students on a tip to Italy in 2025. If you are interested, please attend a Zoom meeting for information on a non-school Italy experience offered by Mr. Ross and Ms. Hefty at 6:00 P.M. on Monday, September 30, 2024.
Zoom information:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 745 0510 9544
Passcode: 4qGJ5b
Let me sign off tonight with some more words from the great American statesman Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln said, “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
Have a great evening and GO DRAGONS!
