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

 
 
THE APPALACHIAN DISCORSE Volume IX
Coming Soon
 
 

About the Sessions

We are excited to continue the Governor's School Monday evening SAT Prep sessions lead by Tim Anderson of satprepteacher.com. 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 fall SAT Test by completing the prep sessions prior to the March 11th SAT test. A PDF of the Prep Sessions Schedule/Agenda is available HERE.

After the initial in-person session, Tim will provide virtual live sessions on Monday evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The remaining virtual sessions dates are: February 6, February 13, February 20, and February 27, 2023. (There will be recordings of each session available if a student has a valid reason for missing a live virtual session).

 
 

After a one year plus absence from the ALHGS course schedule, Physics returns to the Governor's School as an asynchronous (i.e., "on demand") course beginning with the spring 2023 semester. The one semester class will be an Honors Physics course offering high school credit.

HGS Honors Physics is a must have for anyone planning on attending college. Enrollment for the spring semester offering is now open. Talk to your school guidance counselor today to determine your enrollment eligibility.

 
 

INAUGURAL OFFERING SPRING 2023: The Governor's School will offer Introductory Chemistry (CHM 101) beginning with the Spring 2023 Semester. This four college credit hour offering, spanning one semester, explores the experimental and theoretical concepts of general chemistry while emphasizing scientific reasoning, critical and analytical thinking.

The course content and presentation is directed towards students who will not major in science and/or engineering in college. Thus, in addition to offering knowledge of basic chemistry, the general purpose of this course is to provide the student skills in problem solving and in critical thinking, and an understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry, which may be used in non-technical fields far removed from chemistry.

This Governor's School course is a Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS) offering, meaning that the credit is transferable and satisfies lower-division general education requirements at any Virginia public institution of higher education.

Interested? Talk to your guidance counselor about ALHGS admission requirements and enrollment during the 2023 spring semester.
 
 
 
 

WELCOME to the [temporary] 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.

Summer Study Programs

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has opened applications for two summer study opportunities: the Appalachian Entrepreneurship Academy (AEA) and the Appalachian STEM Academy at Oak Ridge. Both programs, planned for summer 2023, are free intensive learning experiences specifically for the Appalachian Region’s high school students. Additional information, applications, etc. can be found at the program's web site HERE. Applications are due no later than February 10, 2023.
Posted 01-03-23 End 02-10-23

2023 Governor's Residential Program

Applications for the Governor's Summer Residential Program are now being accepted. The Residential Governor's School opportunity offers students opportunities for intensive study in academics, mentorships, and visual and performing arts. The World Language Academies offers full-immersion academies for French, German, and Spanish; a partial-immersion academy for Japanese; and a Latin Academy. Residential Program details are available here and World Language Academy details are available here.
Posted 11-09-22 End 02-24-23

2023 BBB Student of Integrity Scholarship

The deadlines for the Better Business Bureau Serving Western VA's 20th 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 $1000 award, is January 31st, 2023. The video-based entry, which provides a $500 scholarship, has an entry deadline of February 28th . Details here.
Posted 10-04-22 End 02-28-23

Focusing on the Future

Focusing on the Future is a career and academic planning conference for gifted Middle and High School Students as well as Counselors and Parents. The conference will be held on the William & Mary campus on September 24, 2022. An optional campus tour will be offered after the conference. Details HERE.
Posted 6-23-22 End 9-24-22

Pamplin Leadership Award

The Pamplin Leadership Award is a one year merit-based $5000 Virginia Tech tuition scholarship presented to up to forty qualified students chosen from the Commonwealth of Virginia's public high schools. Details HERE.
Posted 10-15-21 End 1-31-22

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 our three online programs begin closing October 17, 2021

  • 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. Flyer (PDF) here.
  • 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. Flyer (PDF) here.
Posted 08-31-21 End 10-27-21

Pathways Flight Academies

Virginia Space Grant Consortium, in partnership with Averett University, Aviation Adventures, and the Virginia Department of Aviation, is providing high school students the opportunity to experience a free, intensive, flight academy program. Students will undertake ground school and 10 hours of flight training that can potentially culminate in their first solo flight. Program flyer is available here, and additional details are available at the program web site here.
Posted 01-27-21 End 02-28-21

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. One of these resources is the 1-2-3 GO! Program, Virginia's Three Steps to College, which helps with preparation, the application process, and paying for higher education in Virginia: Three Steps to College Events.
Posted 02-21-20 End 05-31-20

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.
 
 


Tour Your [Future] College Campus

Ready to begin your college planning? If so, check out eCampusTours for a virtual tour of hundreds of different colleges.  This web site offers virtual tours of buildings and grounds for over a thousand different college campuses.