Week of April 14, 2015

Grandparents and Special Friends Day Reminder


MLWGS hopes your students’ grandparents and special friends will be joining us this Friday, April 17, for Grandparents and Special Friends Day! 

Students with grandparents and/or special friends attending the event are invited to join us for a reception beginning at 3:00 p.m.  Please remind your child to stop by the Foundation office, room 225, to pick up a permission slip to be excused from class.  Only students whose grandparents have RSVP’d for the event will be allowed to get a permission slip.

Lastly, please remind the grandparents and special friends that a shuttle bus will be available to travel between the James River Bus Lines parking lot and the school.

MLWGS looks forward to meeting all grandparents and special friends!




Please join the Governor's School Foundation for their last mailing of the year, Wednesday, April 29!


The Governor's School Foundation needs volunteer help in preparing the final mailing of the year on Wednesday, April 29, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the MLWGS Boardroom. This last postcard mailing usually goes pretty quickly, so if you have a couple hours to spare, please join us! It is a great time to meet up with other parents to have coffee and great conversation!

No RSVP is necessary, but for questions or to be added to the Foundation's volunteer list for future bulk mailings, please contact Laura Lewis at 354-1566 or Laura.Lewis@GovernorsSchoolFoundation.org.

Thanks!




TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK AT MLWGS – MAY 4-8

Calling All MLWGS Families
Show an Outpouring of Appreciation for our Faculty and Staff
Send in $10 Gift Cards




The MLWGS PTSA is calling all parents to send in one, two, three or more $10 gift cards so during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8, MLWGS can show its genuine appreciation to MLWGS teachers for all they do.

Please purchase $10 gift cards from Kroger, Target, Martin’s, Barnes and Noble or Starbucks, then bring (or send with your student) the gift cards to Room 100 (Mrs. Valenta Williams’ office, which is to the right through the Bluestone lobby entrance). There will be a drop box labeled TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT CARDS for the cards. 

These gifts of $10 gift cards are a terrific way to show collective appreciation and support for the amazing faculty and staff at Maggie Walker. The cards will be given to the faculty and staff at the Teacher Appreciation event on Thursday, May 7.


Deadline to send in gift cards is Friday, May 1.  The cards will be presented to the teachers and staff as a gift from all parents and students of MLWGS; no individual names of families who donated gift cards will be provided. During Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8, parents and students are also encouraged to send a personal note or email to faculty and staff expressing support and appreciation of their dedication to MLWGS students.

Please see the link below if to participate in other Teacher Appreciation Week events hosted by the PTSA.




Counseling Department Offerings!


Attention students:  The counseling department will be offering small group counseling for students interested in further exploring the following topics.  Most likely groups will meet during lunch.  Please see a counselor during the week after break to sign up!

Stress! Stress! Stress!  So much to do!  So little time!  Join other students to explore the ways you respond to the stresses of everyday life and those extra ones deadlines an active life imposes.  Using Affect Theory let’s find some ways to reduce your response to stress and increase your sense of accomplishment.

Who am I?  What are my interests?  What do I want to do with my life after college?  Ah, let’s explore the possibilities based on an inventory similar to the Myers Briggs.   Ultimately, you will decide what is best for you but some exploration will inform your process.

Worried about someone’s substance abuse?  No one ever means to become an abuser.  We won’t “fix” anyone, but you can learn about the signs, symptoms and stages in the addiction process and how to take care of yourself in the presence of someone who seems to be getting in “harm’s way.”




Attention Class of 2015!

Here are some senior events coming up in the next two weeks.

Senior Survey via Naviance –
April 14 through May 8
The senior survey will be available on Naviance starting April 14 and must be completed by May 8 as a part of the official check-out process.  This survey will give the senior counselors information about each student’s post-graduation plans.  The final college decision each senior reports will be used in the graduation program, and the scholarships accepted will be reported in the Senior Awards Assembly program.  To access the survey, go to Naviance and click the senior survey link to the left under "About Me."  When complete, select "Save and I am finished" on the survey, and also mark it "Complete" on the Naviance Checklist.  If a student changes his/her college decision or receives a scholarship after submitting the form, please notify his/her senior counselor in person or by e-mail.  A brief demonstration and question/answer session about this survey will be provided during AP “Bubblefest” on Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22.  Please contact Ms. Deck or Dr. Loving with questions.

AP Exam “Bubblefest” – Tuesday, April 21, 11:40 a.m., Auditorium
Any senior who has registered to take an AP exam in May is required to attend Bubblefest hosted by the school counselors during lunch on April 21.  Any senior absent on Tuesday may attend the underclassmen session on Wednesday. 

Caps, Gowns, and Announcements
Wednesday and Thursday, April 22 and 23, during Lunch
Caps, gowns, announcements, and other items ordered from Herff-Jones will be distributed on April 22 and 23 in the student commons during lunch.  If a student does not pick up his/her order at that time, s/he should contact Ms. Sheppard (class sponsor/graduation coordinator) in Room 330.   Questions about or problems with the order placed should go directly to Herff-Jones directl at 804-598-0971.  Additional announcements are available for purchase ($1.35 each); students who need to order extras or who forgot to place an order should contact Ms. Sheppard by email (ksheppard@gsgis.k12.va.us) or by phone (354-6800 ext. 3304). 

Senior Graduation Ticket Distribution
Wednesday and Thursday, April 22 and 23, during Lunch
Please note that these are tickets for admission to the graduation exercises and are not the announcements you would have ordered from Herff-Jones.  Anyone planning to come watch a graduate receive their diploma must have a ticket to gain entrance into the theater.  Ms. Sheppard will be at a table in the student commons (next to the Herff-Jones tables) where seniors can pick up their tickets.   Each student will receive 13 tickets, and more tickets may be available on a case-by-case basis.  If tickets are lost, they are not replaceable.  Please keep them in a safe place until June 15. 




Why read Moby Dick?

On Thursday, April 23, during lunch in the auditorium, Associate Professor Les Harrison from the VCU Department of English will answer the basic but very important question “Why read Moby Dick?”  He will also discuss author Herman Melville’s life and experiences in the whaling business.  No food is allowed in the auditorium, so students will have to eat lunch before or after the presentation.  You don’t want to miss it!

Note: Moby Dick is the only summer reading for American Literature students and is one of two selections for AP Language and Composition students




Physicals for Student Athletes

The Athletic Department will be having 2014-2015 physicals, through Virginia Commonwealth University, on June 4 2015 from 4-6 p.m. for $25 in the MLWGS clinic.  Please stop by Ms. Hawkins’ office for a physical form or download one from VHSL.org.  To schedule a physical, please stop by and sign up on the Athletic Training Room door, room 146.





PTSA PROGRAMMING ALERT!

Raising Children to be Ethical Leaders
May 5, 2015 • 5:30 p.m. in the MW Auditorium

Local author Linda Fisher Thornton will discuss ethical leadership, the morals and principles inherent to good business practices, and raising gifted children to reflect these values.  Senior Reed Canaan, student chairperson of Maggie Walker’s honor council, will discuss the role of the honor council and introduce Ms. Thornton.  
The author of “7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership,” Ms. Thornton is a leadership consultant who teaches ethics at University of Richmond, and speaks and writes about the future of ethical leadership.