HONORING MLK: On Friday evening, January 12, the student body enjoyed a viewing of The Butler, a 2013 historical film about the life of a long-time White House butler and the Civil Rights Movement. The following morning, the students enjoyed the music of the Robert Jospé Trio .  This talented group of musicians demonstrated American music genres with roots in African music.  Mr. Robert Hermanson (father of Hans Hermanson '97) gave the homily at Monday's morning chapel service, which was also dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

KUDOS: Congratulations to Jack Cline who was named Prefect on Lower East. Headmaster Trip Darrin made the announcement during a morning assembly earlier this week. Jack is a four-year senior who has been a leader in the Outdoor Program.  The School thanks Jack for filling this leadership role.

 

TEN-YEARS AT BRS: During this past Wednesday's assembly, Headmaster Trip Darrin honored Assistant Headmaster Vinton Bruton for his ten years of service to the School. Mr. Bruton began as a History teacher in 2007 and was promoted to Assistant Headmaster for Co-curricular Programs in 2012. Mr. Bruton oversees all extra-curricular programs, including athletics, spiritual life and character education. For more on this story, click here. 

 

ROBOTICS: The Robotics Team competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) First Team Robotics competition in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Saturday, January 13. Team members are Paul Du '19, Mike Han '20, William Huang '21, Jingkai Liang '21, Aaron McDonnell '18, Luis Jimenez Mejia '21, Harry Xue '18 and Harry Yu '20.  The team, coached by Mr. Wayne Peterson, came in second place. Several of the boys served as referees for the competition. FIRST Tech Challenge teams consist of up to ten members in grades 7-12. The teams are challenged to design, build, program and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format.

 

ACADEMICS: Mr. Matt Bennett's history students have been researching child labor issues around the world. There were several very impressive final presentations from which to choose, but ultimately the panel of judges picked the presentation on Child Labor by Cruz Mike '20, Tramell Thompson '20 and Joseph Whelan '20. The presentations on child labor were judged on content and visual interest.

 

COLLEGE COUNSELING: Parents of juniors should look for an email from College Counselor Mrs. Amber Wilkins about upcoming SAT/ACT Prep Classes that we will be hosting on campus this year. BRS is continuing our partnership with Kaplan Test Prep to help our students better prepare and score higher on the SAT and ACT. Click here to learn more about SAT prep classes.  Click here for ACT prep classes.

 

Congratulations to Juan Mareco and Spencer Cadieux! Juan was accepted to Rutgers University and Spencer to Appalachian State University.

 

SENIOR TRIP TO DC: For the past four decades, Blue Ridge School seniors have participated in the traditional class trip to Washington, DC. This year's trip will be February 7 and 8 and is required of all seniors. The trip includes visits to landmark sites in the nation's capital including the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress and local museums. The class will also enjoy a performance of The Great Society at the Arena Theater on Wednesday evening.

 

HOST AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: Please consider hosting an international student over our upcoming Spring Break. Please contact Mrs. Krystle Gee at  kgee@blueridgeschool.com or Dr. Chrisantha Hermanson at chermanson@blueridgeschool.com if you have any questions or would like to host a student.

 

ATHLETICS: On Friday, January 12, the varsity basketball team beat Voyager Academy 84-64.

 

On Tuesday, January 16, the JV basketball squad beat Miller School at Miller 52-32 while the varsity team lost an exciting contest to Miller 81-72.

Click here for the latest video produced by the Sports Broadcasting class.

 

On Saturday, the wrestling team did very well at the Randolph Macon Academy Tournament. BRS entered six wrestlers in five weight classes and won ten matches overall.  Miguel Serrano '21 took first in the 120-pound weight class, Nathan Santos '20 took fourth in the 170-pound class, Aden Britton '20 took second in the 220-pound class and Amon Johnson '20 took second in the 285-pound class. Miguel, Aden and Amon received medals for their efforts.  Wednesday's wrestling match was rescheduled to a future date due to weather.

Indoor soccer lost a close match with soccer powerhouse St. Christopher's on Thursday at Collegiate in Richmond.