A. Linwood Holton Governor's School
Virginia's First Virtual Governor's School
One Partnership Circle - PO Box 1987 Abingdon, VA 24212
Telephone: 276-619-4326      Fax: 276-619-4309     e-mail: holton@hgs.k12.va.us


ANNOUNCEMENTS

 
 
 
 

It's time for the Governor's School Spring Semester 2025 Orientation.

If you will take a Spring 2025 semester block schedule Governor's School class you must attend a Spring Semester 2025 Student Orientation session, either in-person or on-line (please see below). During orientation you will not only be able to meet your instructor, learn of class polices, and receive class materials, you will also be introduced to the technology used in taking a Governor's School class. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to meet your classmates and the Governor's School staff.

Orientation for new students (i.e., students who did not take an HGS class during the Fall 2024 Semester) will be held in the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (map and directions) in Abingdon, Virginia. The Center is located on the campus of Virginia Highlands Community College. The room location of each orientation session will be posted daily on the entrance doors of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. You may also ask the receptionist at the Center's lobby information desk for directions to your meeting room on the day of your orientation session.

Continuing students, i.e., Spring Semester students who took a HGS Fall 2024 Semester class, can attend either a virtual session meeting with their instructor on-line in lieu of an in-person session in Abingdon, or an in-person session in Abingdon. Please see the continuing student virtual orientation session and in-person schedules below. (Students who did not take a HGS Fall Semester 2024 course do not have the option of attending an on-line/virtual orientation session. They must attend at least one in-person Spring 2025 Semester Orientation session in Abingdon.)

Class orientations will be held according to the schedules below, which are also available through the Governor's School's academic calendar.

If you have questions regarding your attendance requirement, please contact the Governor's School Office by calling Mrs. Michele Lilly at 276-619-4326 or through email: mlilly@hgs.k12.va.us.

Students are expected to attend orientation during their assigned time and date. If a student cannot attend orientation on their assigned time and date, their parent/legal guardian must contact the Governor's School Administrative Office, by calling 276-619-4326, and make an appointment for an alternative time and date.

 

 

The Spring 2025 Student Orientation Schedule for new students is shown below.
It is also available through the Governor's School's academic calendar.

 

The Spring 2025 Student Virtual Orientation Schedule for continuing students is available HERE.


Please note that regardless of orientation session type (on-line/virtual or in-person) attended, class materials will not be delivered to the student and/or student's school. All class materials must be picked up by the student either during their in-person orientation period or, if attending an on-line/virtual session, by having someone pick up materials by visiting the Governor's School Offices.
No Course Materials Will Be Delivered.

About the Sessions

We are excited to announce that the Governor's School will host SAT Prep sessions for current ALHGS students and alumni, which will be lead by Tim Anderson of satprepteacher.com. (Program PDF flyer available here.) The sessions will be available at no cost to current HGS students and alumni. Tim is a certified teacher who has helped thousands of students at over 50 schools earn the SAT score they want for college admissions and scholarships. In the prep sessions, Tim will share his SAT expertise with a sense of humor and energy. He continues to take the SAT test multiple times each year to keep his knowledge of the test current.

Schedule/Agenda

Students attending the prep sessions will be prepared for the Spring March 8th SAT Test. The prep sessions will begin with an in-person session for students on Friday, January 17, 2025 or Saturday, January 18, 2025 (students can choose the in-person opening session date that best fits their schedule). The opening session will be from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, with lunch provided for all students in attendance. (Students attending Friday's opening session will need permission from their high school to attend this in-person session on a "school day".) A PDF of the Prep Sessions Schedule/Agenda is available HERE.

After the initial in-person session, Tim will provide virtual live sessions on the following six Monday evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The evening virtual sessions dates are: January 20, January 27, February 3, February 10, February 17, and February 24, 2025. (There will be recordings of each session available if a student has a valid reason for missing a live virtual session). Students participating should commit to attend either Friday or Saturday’s opening session and the following six Monday evening sessions to gain the most benefit from this program.

Registration

To register for the SAT Prep sessions, please complete and return the SAT Prep Registration form, available HERE (PDF), by emailing the completed form to Ms. Sherrie Spiegler, HGS Student Support Specialist, at sspiegler@hgs.k12.va.us no later than the end of Friday, January 10th. Please note that to attend, the completed form must be received by Ms. Spiegler no later than the end of business Friday.

 
 
 
 

WELCOME to the home of the HGS Bulletin Board. The HGS Bulletin Board is the place where you can find student scholarship opportunities, unique educational opportunities, student competition announcements, and much more.

Women in STEM

The Radford University Artis College of Science and Technology Summer Bridge Program: WOMEN IN STEM serves rising sophomore, junior, and senior high school students by facilitating a week of exploration in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from Virginia and other states. The Summer Bridge Program is not limited to female participants and any rising sophomore, junior, and senior high school student interested in Women in STEM is invited to apply. A program flyer is available here. Additional information, including application instructions as well as fees, accommodations, and transportation information, may be obtained by visiting the program's website.
Posted 12-05-24 End 06-30-25

2025 Summer Residential Governor’s Schools and World Language Academies

The VDOE is pleased to announce that the 2025 Governor’s Summer Residential Program will include seven Summer Residential Governor’s Schools (SRGS) and five Governor’s World Language Academies (GWLA). The SRGS offer gifted and/or advanced high school students opportunities for intensive study in academics, the visual and performing arts, and mentorships. The GWLA offers full-immersion academies for French, German, and Spanish; a partial-immersion academy for Japanese; and a Latin Academy. Students do not need to be identified as gifted to be nominated for one of the GWLA.

The SRGS and GWLA are available to students enrolled in public schools, accredited private schools, as well as homeschooled students. The availability of these programs is contingent upon the provision of state funds by the 2025 General Assembly.

Applications, information, and administrative handbooks for the 2025 SRGS and GWLA will be available digitally on the VDOE website October 11, 2024. For details, visit the Summer Residential Governor's Schools web page and Governor's World Language Academies web page.
Posted 10-15-24 End 06-10-25

Virginia Space Grant Consortium Opportunities

Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) provides several FREE and highly engaging Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning opportunities for Virginia students. The applications for three online programs begin closing October 26, 2024

  • Virginia Space Coast Scholars (VSCS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 10th grade students highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Wallops Flight Facility focusing on the current missions at Wallops.
  • Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 11th and 12th grade students, highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Langley Research Center focusing on human spaceflight. Students can earn up to five free dual enrollment college credits. Flyer (PDF) here.
  • The Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 11th and 12th grade students, highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Langley Research Center, focusing on the Earth’s responses to climate changes, weather, and natural hazards. Students can earn up to five free dual enrollment college credits.
Posted 10-02-24 End 10-27-24

2025 BBB Student of Integrity Scholarship

The deadlines for the Better Business Bureau Serving Western VA's 22nd Annual BBB Student of Integrity Scholarship Program are quickly approaching. The application deadline for the essay-based BBB Student of Integrity Essay Scholarship, which offers a $1500 award for college costs, is January 31st, 2025. Details are available here.
Posted 10-02-23 End 01-31-24

UVA Lingletes Program Challenge

The UVA Lingletes Program, which is underway, is a student engaged linguistics program allowing high school students in grades 11-12 to learn linguistics concepts with the help of UVA undergraduate students through virtual, after-school activities. Started by Professor Janay Crabtree in 2022, the program aims to introduce high school students to linguistics concepts in an understandable way, using problem sets based on many languages across the world. At the end of the program, students will have the opportunity to compete in the Lingletes' Linguistic challenge, working together and independently for the champion title.

The Lingletes program has started, however they are accepting students up through next week. Interested students should complete the registration form (PDF) and email the completed form to Professor Janay Crabtree at jc9ne@virginia.edu as soon as possible. General program information is available HERE


Posted 09-17-24 End 10-17-24

William & Mary K-12 Learner Programs

William & Mary offers several programs throughout the year for high-ability students: Saturday/Sunday Enrichment Programs, Focusing on the Future, and many others. A brochure listing programs and dates for fall 2024 and all of 2025 is available HERE (PDF). Additional information can be found at the programs' web site HERE.
Posted 09-06-24 End 08-31-25

Summer Enrichment Experience

The Summer Enrichment Experience (SEE) program is designed to promote science and medicine to area high school students. Rising high school sophomores through rising high school seniors (10th – 12th grade) who have a strong interest in healthcare fields are encouraged to participate in the SEE program. A flyer is available HERE (PDF). Additional information, applications, etc. can be found at the program's web site HERE.
Posted 04-12-23 End 05-31-23

SVAM 2024 Scholarship

The Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing (SVAM), Inc. is offering scholarship funding to eligible graduating high school students who wish to pursue post-secondary education for a career in a manufacturing-related field. Students will be eligible for up to $2,000 in scholarship funds. Additional information, applications, etc. can be found at the program's web site HERE. Applications are due no later than March 29, 2024.
Posted 09-05-24 End 03-29-24

Prepare for College In Virginia

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia provides resources for parents and students to help them with preparing for higher education: Student Resources.
Posted 09-05-24 End 05-31-25

MIT Beaver Works Institute

MIT Beaver Works Institute is a four-week program at MIT that challenges high school students to tackle high-tech projects. Watch for future offerings and course announcements here.
Posted 02-12-20
 
 
 
 

HGS Virtual School Browser Requirements

The software used by the Governor's School makes use of the latest web standards supported by the major browsers: Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Thus, the HGS Virtual School (Canvas) and the HGS Virtual Classroom (Jigsaw) no longer support the Internet Explorer web browser. Students should not use the Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge browser to access the HSG web site, HGS Virtual School, and/or HGS Virtual Classroom.

Soon students may not be able to access the HGS Virtual School/Classroom unless they are using the latest version of Chrome and/or Firefox. As new versions of Firefox and Chrome are released, students are obligated to keep their browsers up-to-date to have access to the school's sites.

You do not know what browser version you are using? Instructions on how to check and update Firefox are available here. Instructions on how to check and update Chrome are available here.

The above noted browser requirements are currently enforced.
 
 
Governor's School Introduces A New Video Series


Considering a Governor's School class but would like to know more before you take the leap? To provide more information about classes for prospective Governor's School students, the first series of information videos are now available. The videos are interviews with class instructors as well as current and former students. By viewing the videos, prospective students will learn about the class format, course content, and students' experiences. Series videos will continue to be posted throughout the year. Follow the links below to the web pages on which the currently available videos are posted.

Advanced Multimedia Applications
Engineering Methods & Computer Programming
All History Department Courses:
Appalachian History, Western Civilization, and World Civilization

So grab a Governor's School admission application, a box of popcorn, and prepare to learn about a great opportunity.
 
 


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