SENIOR INFORMATION
Senior Graduation Ticket Distribution: Week of May 28 at 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 graduates receive their diplomas must have a ticket to gain entrance into the theater. Each student will receive 14 tickets, and more tickets may be available on a case-by-case basis. If tickets are lost, they may not be replaceable. Please keep them in a safe place until June 14. Tickets may be picked up from Ms. Sheppard in room 330.
Senior Recognition Night: Wednesday, May 29, 7:00 p.m., Auditorium
This is the night we all come together to honor the many contributions and memories of our graduating seniors. The highlight of the evening for the students is always the Senior Slide Show, and it is a great opportunity for you to get a sense of what the last four years have looked like inside our halls. Students should arrive by 6:30 p.m. for the line-up wearing professional/business attire; caps and gowns are NOT worn for this event.
Senior Showcase: Monday, June 10
Presentation sessions will be held throughout the day from 8:30 a.m.- 3:15 p.m. Each MLWGS senior will present his or her research to students, faculty, parents, and guests. Each mentorship student will give a 25-30 minute talk on his or her research and mentorship; each seminar student will participate in a group presentation of their research. All senior parents were mailed invitations to the event; an RSVP is not required to attend.
All students are encouraged to log onto their ItsLearning accounts to register for the sessions they wish to attend (registration session will be available on 5/20). This is an incredible event, and it is an expectation that all MLWGS students will attend. Attending Senior Showcase is an excellent way for undergraduate students to learn more about the Senior Seminar/Mentorship program. Showcase attendance is one of the factors that will be considered when students apply for the Seminar/Mentorship Program. If you have questions, please contact Les Cook, Senior Seminar/Mentorship Coordinator at tcook@gsgis.k12.va.us.
Baccalaureate Service: Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m.
The Baccalaureate Service will take place at Reveille United Methodist Church (4200 Cary Street Road). Sponsored by the MLWGS PTSA, the inter-faith service begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. and will last one hour. Students are not required to attend, but this traditional and memorable event celebrates finishing one chapter in their lives and beginning the next. Information regarding line-up and parking will be included in the official invitation from the PTSA, which will arrive by mail. Seniors are reminded to bring both cap and gown for the ceremony.
Graduation Rehearsal: Friday, June 14 at 9:00 a.m., Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel Street
Graduation rehearsal is held at the Altria Theater. Parking is available at the VCU parking deck for a minimal fee (entrances are on Cherry and Laurel Streets). Please adhere to posted street parking signs as ticketing and towing are strictly enforced. Seniors must arrive no later than 8:45 a.m. and report to the downstairs ballroom (enter through the Main Street entrance towards the rear of the building). Rehearsal will begin at 9:00 a.m. sharp. ANY STUDENT WHO MISSES REHEARSAL WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO WALK IN THE ACTUAL GRADUATION CEREMONY, so parents are asked to please work with your student to make sure he or she is on time. Practice is usually completed by 11:30 a.m. or so; but given that we will take as long as needed to perfect the process, please do not plan anything that requires your student to leave early or be gone by a certain time. This run-through is crucial to the success of the graduation ceremony.
Graduation: Friday, June 14 at 3:00 p.m., Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel Street
Graduates must arrive at the downstairs ballroom by 2:00 p.m. For organizational reasons, this area is off limits to parents, relatives, and friends; we appreciate your understanding. Cap, gown, and tassel are the most required items for the day, but students are asked to dress appropriately: dark dress pants, collared shirts with ties, or dresses. Students may wear cords earned as part of their membership in our Honor Societies (as has been our custom). Students may wear one piece of additional pre-approved regalia, which they have earned as a member of an enduring MLWGS organization. All pieces of regalia will be distributed by sponsors in the days leading up to graduation.
Perhaps the most important clothing decision for the day, however, is shoes. Remember, you are walking up and down steps and across a long stage. Dress shoes with socks or low-heeled dress shoes are the most appropriate; “flip-flops” and athletic shoes are not permitted.
Doors to Altria Theater will open at 2:30 p.m. Guests should enter through the front doors and must have a ticket to attend graduation. Seating is not reserved. Handicap seating is available in multiple locations; please see one of the ushers at the door upon your arrival if you need this seating. Parking for graduation is available at the VCU parking deck for a minimal fee (entrances are on Cherry and Laurel Streets.) Please adhere to posted street parking signs as ticketing and towing are strictly enforced.
Graduation activities should conclude by 6:00 p.m.
As a special year-end privilege, juniors will be able to use the student parking lot June 3-14, on a first come first served basis with the exception of Monday, June 10, the day of Senior Showcase, Juniors are reminded not to park in faculty or visitor spots. We have approximately 150 student parking spaces. STUDENTS WHO PARK IN THE LOT BEFORE JUNE 3 MAY BE TOWED!
MAGGIE WALKER SENIOR ART EXHIBITION: "RENAISSANCE"
Please join us for our opening from 6-9 pm the night of May 31 at Artworks Gallery- 320 Hull Street, Richmond, VA 23224. The exhibition runs through June 9, 2019.
For months, and in some cases, over a year, the seniors at Maggie Walker Governor’s School have been preparing for their capstone art presentation:
the Maggie Walker Senior Art Exhibition.
In the Maggie Walker art program, Art 4 and 5 students focus on building a body of work through the development of a personal theme. These classes involve multiple group and individual critiques, gallery visits, and individual studio time spent producing art. These students have worked tirelessly to prepare their work for a professional exhibition and to share their hard work with family, friends, and the Richmond community.
The show is named Renaissance to exemplify the work of these four female artists. Historically, the work created during the Renaissance and by the old masters highly sexualized women. It was not made by or for women. The work of these four artists challenges that and brings with it a new, modern renaissance. With the work of the four artists being presented, there will be a wide range of topics explored and expressed.
In the Maggie Walker art program, Art 4 and 5 students focus on building a body of work through the development of a personal theme. These classes involve multiple group and individual critiques, gallery visits, and individual studio time spent producing art. These students have worked tirelessly to prepare their work for a professional exhibition and to share their hard work with family, friends, and the Richmond community.
The show is named Renaissance to exemplify the work of these four female artists. Historically, the work created during the Renaissance and by the old masters highly sexualized women. It was not made by or for women. The work of these four artists challenges that and brings with it a new, modern renaissance. With the work of the four artists being presented, there will be a wide range of topics explored and expressed.
Emily Dai (Art 4- Henrico) uses a diverse array of mediums to create works that explore people and their relationships with each other through portraiture. She wants to celebrate the human by exploring the emotions within inarticulable experiences and how these experiences are actually universal.
Molly Goodman (Art 5- Henrico) uses acrylic and mixed media to bring attention to the suffering women face under patriarchal societies and to empower those who are oppressed. Her content includes themes of sexual violence, oppression, and feminism.
Lilly May (Art 5- Powhatan) uses pen and ink to draw a link from the complex relationship between how women and other outsiders have been treated historically, to how pariahs are treated now. Her content revolves around feminism, perception, and sensuality.
Julia Park (Art 4- Richmond) uses a variety of media including painting, sculpture, and video to investigate how we as people relate to nature, history, and culture. Her work touches on the topics of feminism and queerness.
This show is a testament to the hard work of these high school seniors and their commitment to the visual arts program at Maggie Walker. We hope that you will join us for our opening from 6-9 p.m. on May 31 at Artworks Gallery located at 320 Hull Street, Richmond, VA 23224. The exhibition runs through June 9, 2019.
Contact: Julia Park 804-921-2282 or Jeff Hall art2know@gmail.com 804-873-2123
College: University of Pennsylvania
Memorable Accomplishment: Alex said, “I am most proud of my work as a research analyst at Mangum Economics, an economic consulting firm. In that capacity, I conducted a research report on school choice in Virginia that will be presented to the General Assembly in their next legislative cycle. This report seeks to promote educational opportunity for low-income students across the Commonwealth and I truly hope it will have a positive outcome.”
Recipients of the Presidential Scholars award are one young man and one young woman chosen from each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and from families of U.S. citizens living abroad by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. From the nationwide class of 2019, Alexander Nikolov was chosen to represent Virginia and is one of the 161 total scholars chosen from a field of millions of high school seniors to earn this honor. Alexander was recently notified of the Scholars status by a letter from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Application for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is by invitation only. Students may not apply individually to the program or be nominated. These Scholars have all demonstrated leadership, scholarship, contribution to school and community, and outstanding accomplishments in the arts, sciences humanities, and other fields of interest. A complete list of the 2019 Scholars may be found at http://www.ed.gov/psp.
Several of Alex’s teachers reacted to this announcement with pride and gladness. AP Comparative Government teacher, Mr. Matt McGuire, said “Alex is an excellent choice, he’s an exceptionally gifted student. It’s hard to imagine a student who is more bright and curious.” Harold Houghton, AP Physics, observed that Alex “is rather unique among my current students at asking questions that take the class deeper into the material. Questions that demonstrate that he has already thought about the question at length before expressing the question. Questions that demonstrate a sophistication of thought that is more profound than anyone else is demonstrating.”
Dr. Bob Lowerre, MLWGS Director, added “Alexander is simply an outstanding young scholar. He exemplifies everything that this program seeks to recognize and he is well-deserving of this honor. I will be excited to hear from him in the future to see where his path has taken him.”
The Scholars have been invited to the National Recognition Program (NRP) in Washington, D.C., in June along with a teacher of their choice. Alexander has chosen Mrs. Lynn Reed, Mathematics. Mrs. Reed said, “I’ve had the privilege of teaching Alex for three years, and I am impressed with his positive outlook, strong work ethic, and intellectual curiosity. He is not only highly intelligent, but also friendly and considerate. In short, Alex is an extraordinary student!”
A high point of NRP will be the presentation of the U.S. President Scholar medallion to each Scholar.
MLWGS Senior David Winters Wins 2019 Lexus of Richmond Leadership Award Scholarship
The Lexus of Richmond Leadership program celebrates RVA’s most talented scholar-athletes who have been nominated by school officials from the high school they attend. Through their collaboration with Entercom, 1140 WRVA, Sports Radio 910, and Fox Richmond WRLH, Lexus of Richmond is able to present to the community 30 gifted nominees. At the end of the school year, all of the students, along with their parents and coaches, come together for an exciting banquet where the Lexus of Richmond Leadership Award Winner is named. That title comes with a $10,000 stipend.
Lexus of Richmond chose David Winters of Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, its 22nd weekly nominee, as the 2019 Leadership Award Scholarship recipient. With a current 4.69 GPA David is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and the German Honor Society. He scored 1560 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT exam with a perfect score on the Math portion. Additionally, David scored a perfect 800 on both the Physics SAT II and the Math SAT II. Having earned 6 perfect scores on his AP exams, David is an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is a National Merit Scholarship Commended student, and he has received a Rensselaer Medal for his efforts in math and science. He has co-authored two scientific papers on spintronics. David is a team member for the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and they were finalists in 2018. David is one of four Maggie Walker students to compete at the Society for American Baseball Research Diamond Dollars Case Competition. This involved a research project on the physics and statistics of baseball. In 2018 the team competed and won against college undergrads and graduate teams around the nation.
Source: Lexus of Richmond Blog
Congratulations David!
Pictured: Emily Callahan (Hanover-Week 16), David Winters (Hanover-Week 22) and Lisa Qin (Henrico-Week 1)
Perisa Ashar’s research at Intel ISEF in Phoenix earns her a trip to the Taiwan International Science Fair
Congratulations Perisa Ashar (Henrico '21) for your excellent research and presentation at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix May 16 and 17. Perisa was recognized with a Special Award from the National Taiwan Science Education Center that includes a sponsored trip to participate in the Taiwan International Science Fair in February 2020. Additional information about the Fair can be viewed on the ISEF website.
Perisa had a hectic week presenting to national and international judges at a public presentation day, and attending required seminars. She competed with approximately 1,800 students and 1,600 presentations by Science Fair winners representing 80 countries, regions, and territories to showcase independent research and compete for more than $5 million in prizes. Persia’s winning entry was titled ‘An In-Depth Patch-Clamp Study of HCN2 Channel (Year II); Identification of Novel Biomarkers and Therapy for Ih Current Suppressions in Autism Spectrum Disorders.’
Today, millions of students worldwide compete each year in local and school-sponsored science fairs; the winners of these events go on to participate in Society-affiliated regional and state fairs from which the best win the opportunity to attend Intel ISEF. Intel ISEF unites these top young scientific minds, showcasing their talents on an international stage, where doctoral level scientists review and judge their work.
Interest Survey for Curious Dragons Workshop Series in 2019-2020
Genealogy, health research, balanced news searching, research resources for writers, accessing magazines and literary journals without subscriptions or clutter. If you’re a student, parent, or faculty member at MLWGS and would like to learn more about one of these topics or another research topic at in library workshops either before or after school next year, please answer this brief interest survey:http://bit.ly/curiousdragons
Best regards,
Wendy DeGroat, Librarian
The Foundation Parent May Campaign is close to wrapping up! By now you have hopefully heard from parent representatives from your child's class about the ways that you can support the Governor's School Foundation Annual Fund! This special campaign has raised nearly $50,000 from parents and alumni to date, but we still need your support!
Parent participation is key, not only in helping us to raise the funds needed to support our students, but also to assist our efforts as we go into the community to seek funding. In past years we have been fortunate to have as high as 60% of parents contribute to the annual fund so this year we are still way behind. Through your support, the Foundation is able to impact all students during their time here at MLWGS. The Foundation coordinates closely with the administrative team to fund academic enhancements that are essential to the MLWGS experience.
To date, the competition is neck and neck with the Senior parents ahead. Help your child's class land on top! Current parent participation is as follows:
Senior parents (2019) 46%
Junior Parents (2020) 36%
Sophomore parents (2021) 41%
Freshman Parents (2022) 43%
We look forward to all that we can accomplish together for MLWGS!
Source: Lexus of Richmond Blog
Congratulations David!
Pictured: Emily Callahan (Hanover-Week 16), David Winters (Hanover-Week 22) and Lisa Qin (Henrico-Week 1)
Perisa Ashar’s research at Intel ISEF in Phoenix earns her a trip to the Taiwan International Science Fair
Congratulations Perisa Ashar (Henrico '21) for your excellent research and presentation at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix May 16 and 17. Perisa was recognized with a Special Award from the National Taiwan Science Education Center that includes a sponsored trip to participate in the Taiwan International Science Fair in February 2020. Additional information about the Fair can be viewed on the ISEF website.
Perisa had a hectic week presenting to national and international judges at a public presentation day, and attending required seminars. She competed with approximately 1,800 students and 1,600 presentations by Science Fair winners representing 80 countries, regions, and territories to showcase independent research and compete for more than $5 million in prizes. Persia’s winning entry was titled ‘An In-Depth Patch-Clamp Study of HCN2 Channel (Year II); Identification of Novel Biomarkers and Therapy for Ih Current Suppressions in Autism Spectrum Disorders.’
Today, millions of students worldwide compete each year in local and school-sponsored science fairs; the winners of these events go on to participate in Society-affiliated regional and state fairs from which the best win the opportunity to attend Intel ISEF. Intel ISEF unites these top young scientific minds, showcasing their talents on an international stage, where doctoral level scientists review and judge their work.
Interest Survey for Curious Dragons Workshop Series in 2019-2020
Genealogy, health research, balanced news searching, research resources for writers, accessing magazines and literary journals without subscriptions or clutter. If you’re a student, parent, or faculty member at MLWGS and would like to learn more about one of these topics or another research topic at in library workshops either before or after school next year, please answer this brief interest survey:http://bit.ly/curiousdragons
Best regards,
Wendy DeGroat, Librarian
The Foundation Parent May Campaign is close to wrapping up! By now you have hopefully heard from parent representatives from your child's class about the ways that you can support the Governor's School Foundation Annual Fund! This special campaign has raised nearly $50,000 from parents and alumni to date, but we still need your support!
Parent participation is key, not only in helping us to raise the funds needed to support our students, but also to assist our efforts as we go into the community to seek funding. In past years we have been fortunate to have as high as 60% of parents contribute to the annual fund so this year we are still way behind. Through your support, the Foundation is able to impact all students during their time here at MLWGS. The Foundation coordinates closely with the administrative team to fund academic enhancements that are essential to the MLWGS experience.
To date, the competition is neck and neck with the Senior parents ahead. Help your child's class land on top! Current parent participation is as follows:
Senior parents (2019) 46%
Junior Parents (2020) 36%
Sophomore parents (2021) 41%
Freshman Parents (2022) 43%
We look forward to all that we can accomplish together for MLWGS!
