Hope you have had a wonderful summer! This is the first of many weekly parent newsletters we'll be publishing throughout the year. We welcome hearing from you about your son's accomplishments this summer. Please also let us know if you'd like any other family members to receive this newsletter.
PARENT ASSOCIATION:
President Robin Cline and other parent volunteers have been busy this summer. They're working on a new online store full of great BRS merchandise such as this tote. They're also planning a special PA fundraiser on Thursday, October 20, at the historic Lafayette Inn near Blue Ridge. For more information on the Fall Parent Weekend, please click here.
SPENCER'S BIKE TOUR: Spencer Cook '17 completed his New Hampshire-to-Michigan ride on Wednesday, August 3. He rode for twenty-four days through four states and two countries as he covered 1,152 miles.
This picture was taken right after the celebratory plunge into Lake Michigan. More news to follow as soon as we learn more about this amazing trip.
LACROSSE SHOWCASE:
Blue Ridge School hosted a lacrosse showcase July 29-August 1. A dozen club teams participated from around Virginia as well as from Michigan and Minnesota. These included seven Charlottesville-area high schools. Summer Camp Director Cade Lemcke organized the event to provide platforms for exposure of lacrosse athletes.
To learn more and view Channel 19's interviews, click
here
.
US JUNIOR OLYMPICS: Congratulations to Elijah Gordon '19, who competed in the USA Junior Olympics in California last month.
He made it to the semi-finals where he ran his best time of 11:24 in the 100-meter dash. This ranks him as 24th in the nation among 15-16 year olds! Elijah anchored Blue Ridge's state-qualifying 4x1 relay team this past spring. He also ran the 100-meter dash in the state track meet after placing first in that event during the VIC Conference meet held at the School on May 7. He has already accomplished much, and his future is bright!
EAGLE SCOUT:
Tanay Pandey '17 has been working on his Eagle Scout Project this summer. He built wreath stands for Wreath Across America to be placed at a Cheltenham Veteran Cemetery in Maryland.
TRIP TO CHINA: Aamir Simms '17 and Coach Tladi Conway are in Bejing this week. They traveled with five other high school basketball players and are playing with athletes from around the world as well as several Chinese teams. On social media, Aamir has been seen in hundreds of selfies taken by friends he's made on this trip. Aamir
will be writing about his experiences in a daily journal while he's there. Coach Cade Lemcke says, "I hope he looks at this experience as a relaxing and fun trip with no pressure to perform well and win." We heard Aamir had dinner with Harry Wang '17 while there. Watch his interview with Channel 19 here.
In addition to Aamir, many more of our student-athletes have been busy this summer honing their skills in football, lacrosse, basketball and baseball camps around the country. They include:
Elliot Appelman '17,
Justin Armwood '17, Jarad Chouai '17,
Connor Coleman '17, Josh Colon '17, Ty Ewen
'18, Jaden Frazier '18,
Huntley Hacker
'17, Naz Hopson '17,
Xavier Kane '19,
Myles Jones '17,
Juan Mareco '18,
Darius McGhee '18, Connor Modd
'18, Oscar Palin '17, Jahlil Puryear '17 and Marcus Valeiras '17.
SUMMER CAMPUS PROJECTS: The Blue Ridge community will benefit from several campus projects this summer. A landscaped memorial garden between Gibson Chapel and Battle House is nearly completed. A new Technology Lab with new equipment and an expanded technology curriculum will also be ready when the boys return. For more on the technology upgrades, click
here.
The Board of Trustees made a significant commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency at its June meeting. The Board voted to move forward on the initial planning of a multi-year capital improvement project that will provide huge savings in energy costs while reducing the School's carbon footprint. Read more here.
Work to further enhance our WiFi bandwidth has been completed. Several residence halls have received a fresh coat of paint, too!
HABITAT DINNER: During the October 15 Spaghetti Dinner on campus, you can win this beautiful 4' by 8' playhouse built by students in the Greene County Technical Education Center. Raffle tickets are $5 each or five for $20. Proceeds will go to the Greene County Habitat for Humanity. Click
here for more info.
REGISTRATION: There are three registration days (see below) as well as the Prefect and Proctor retreat. You're all welcome to come early on August 23 and 31 for lunch in our dining hall. The schedule for the football and soccer camp registration days may be viewed
here.
August 23
Football and ELL Camp Registration - 1-3PM
August 31
Soccer Camp Registration - 1-3PM
September 4
Prefects/Proctors arrive before 2PM
September 7
All-student Registration - 11AM-3PM
September 8
Classes Begin
September 9-11
Closed Weekend
September 11
Convocation in Gibson Memorial Chapel - 10:30AM
September 16-18
Closed Weekend
September 23-25
Closed Weekend
September 21
Leave forms for Fall Long Weekend due
September 30
Fall Long Weekend begins at noon
