Eagles Express, March 10th

Hello Godwin families,

I hope that you are having a good weekend!  I returned from New York City last night after a fantastic trip with the Godwin chorus and theatre students!  Thank you to Mr. Saunders-Devol (chorus) and Mr. Solomon (theatre) for planning this trip for our students and thank you to the parents who chaperoned the trip!

Our students are doing great things with excellence, perseverance, integrity, and compassion!   

  • Congratulations to the Godwin Students of the Week for this week!  These students are nominated each week by Godwin staff for doing great things!  Please see Ms. Cipolla in the front office for your written nomination and swag!
    • 9th Grade        Ashna Sureshkumar & William Jeffrey Canfield
    • 10th Grade      Caroline Soleil Coker & Rahmah Yaseen Hasan Naas
    • 11th Grade      James Arnold, Landon Goodwyn & Kayla Mish
    • 12th Grade      Rachel Tivenan, Chloe Saad & Le’Nya Price
  • Congratulations to the Godwin Orchestra who earned the highest superior rating at the District Orchestra Assessment this past week!
  • Congratulations to the Todd Allen Phillips Center for Medical Sciences students who won awards last week at the Metro Richmond Science Fair!  Grand award winner for the International Science and Engineering Fair in May is Aryan Mhaskar!
  • Congratulations to the Godwin Robotics Team who won the Gracious & Professionalism award recently at a competition in Blacksburg, Virginia!
  • Congratulations to the Godwin winners at the Educators Rising State Conference:
    • Sarah Sharpe 1st place-Project Visualize Service Project
    • Kylee Keller and Jules Keller 2nd place-Inside Our Schools
    • Jules Keller 3rd place-Impromptu Public Speaking
    • Kelsey Madden 2nd place-Interactive bulletin Board
    • Thomas Voelkner 2nd place-Lesson planning and Delivery
    • Claire Davidson 2nd place-Exploring Non-Core Subject Teaching Careers
    • Kylee Carroll-2nd place Public Speaking
  • Thank you to the Godwin boys’ and girls’ soccer teams for volunteering for Read Across America Day last week at Pinchbeck Elementary!  Here is a video of this event!
  • Last week was School Social Worker week.  We are grateful for Ms. Smith, our school social worker, for all that she does for the Godwin community!
  • MERC Survey:  Henrico County Public Schools Strategic Plan has four overarching cornerstones for improvement: Safety and Wellness, Academic Growth, Equity and Opportunity, and Relationships.  One way we measure progress in these areas is through annual student, family, and staff surveys.  These surveys will collect input on a broad range of topics related to the Strategic Plan, such as student-parent-staff relationships, student learning opportunities, and student engagement. Henrico County Public Schools are working with the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC; https://merc.soe.vcu.edu/) in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University to conduct the surveys. Godwin High School wishes for parents/guardians to complete the survey beginning on Monday, March 13, 2023 and ending on Friday, March 24, 2023. Students will be requested to complete the survey on Wednesday, March 22nd during the common study period.  Should you wish to opt your student out of the survey, please review instructions in your preferred language.  Questions?  Please contact Mr. Arvin by e-mail @ jearvin@henrico.k12.va.us.
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -English
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -Vietnamese
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -Spanish
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -Portuguese
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -Dari
    MERC Climate Survey Student Opt-Out Form -Arabic
  • Digital Citizenship Lessons:  During the first part of March, we are spending some time discussing digital citizenship on Wednesdays during common study.  We use resources from Common Sense Media in Henrico County.
    • Devices, Social Media, and Well-Being
    • Privacy and Security
    • Cyberbullying
  • Attendance:  We monitor student attendance closely.   The state of Virginia defines a student being chronically absent as being absent from school, excused or unexcused, for 10 or more days.  Last year, Godwin had an absenteeism rate of over 17%.  State accreditation standards state that we must be at 9% or below for us to be accredited for attendance.  Please help us by monitoring the number of days that your child is absent from school.  You can check your child’s attendance on the PowerSchool parent portal. 
  • Economics and Personal Finance Longwood University Course:   Henrico County Public Schools is connecting with Longwood University to offer Henrico students the opportunity to take online Economics and Personal Finance this summer.  The cost of the course is $50, and students will register directly with Longwood.  Registration will open in late March and end June 9th, and the course will run from June 26th-July 29th.  Rising 9th and 10th grade students who have a 3.0 GPA and have successfully completed Algebra I are eligible to register.  Please look for more information about this course soon.
  • FEV Tutoring:  We have shared information with Godwin students about free FEV tutoring that Henrico County is providing for all students this year.  Here is a presentation about what the platform can offer for students.
  • Scholarships:  The Godwin Scholarship list is updated bi-weekly.  It currently includes information from 48 organizations offering scholarships, including the Michael Wassmer Foundation that will award multiple $30,000 scholarships in honor of a member of the Godwin community.  The list also includes 18 scholarships that will be awarded to Godwin seniors.
  • Upcoming Dates: Here is the school-wide calendar which includes athletic events and activities happening this week.
    Please note: Pets are not allowed on Godwin’s campus at events.

    • March 16th:  International Dinner 6 p.m. and Kultural Kickback 7 p.m.
    • March 20th:  PTSO Program-Silent No More (Substance Use Prevention)
    • March 31st:  End of Quarter 3/Student Half Day
    • April 3rd-7th:  Spring Break
    • April 19th:  W!SE Testing for Economics and Personal Finance Students
    • April 21st:  School Holiday: Eid-Al-Fitr
    • April 26th:  9th, 10th, and 11th Grade English Performance Task Testing
    • April 29th:  Prom
  • Godwin PTSO:
  • Godwin Athletic Association:
    • GAA Membership:  Membership drive for the 2022-2023 school year is still open.  We raise money to benefit athletes and the facilities on which they practice and play.  Our goals are to promote positive community relations with parents, administration, students, alumni, and the greater Godwin community to make sure our athletic programs are the best they can be.  By joining the GAA, you are supporting all our athletes and coaches:  fall, winter, and spring sports.  You can click here to join online or to purchase a punch card.
    • 3rd Annual Casino Night:  The GAA invites you to take a chance and join us for an evening of fun at our 3rd Annual Casino Night Fundraiser on Saturday, March 18th at the Dominion Club.  To purchase your tickets or sponsorship, visit https://form.jotform.com/230107551588153.
  • Godwin Choral Boosters Spirit Night:  Treat yourself to some yummy cookies and join us for a spirit night at Crumble Cookies on Wednesday, March 15th from 4pm-7pm located at 9621 West Broad Street… no need to show a flyer. A percentage of all in-store sales during this time will go to support our amazing chorus students.
  • The Pocahontas Middle School PTA Proudly Presents:  “Beginning the Conversation: Learning More About Mental Health” On March 15th, 6:00-8:00PM, the Pocahontas PTA will host a program centered on many of the important mental health issues families face today. Perhaps now, more than ever, it is necessary to learn as much as we can about the above mental health topics. It is our belief that through listening and learning about suicide prevention and eating disorders we can better guide our own children if (or when) they are confronted with these mental health concerns. To learn about mindfulness and to have healthy coping strategies when life gets stressful is very important and we are excited to add this component to our program too.  Please note: this program is geared toward adults. It is not recommended for our students. For convenience, we will be providing an option for participants to pre-purchase a meal for this evening. More details and a sign-up link will be available soon. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the following topics:
    • Suicide Prevention- Presented by Anne Moss Rogers (author and Ted Talk participant).
    • Eating Disorders- Julie Guild & Elizabeth Betz (Richmond Center of Eating Disorders)
    • Mindfulness- Collin McConaghy- Peavey Project/Summit Emotional Health
  • We are grateful for Godwin’s community partners!

Have a great Sunday!

Mrs. Leigh Dunavant
Principal