Students attend Governor’s Honors Academy

Five Brooke County students took time during their summer breaks from school to hit the classrooms again, but they had the opportunity to learn about a particular subject that interested them through a variety of hands-on activities and field trips.

Brooke High School seniors Derek Burns, Jacob Davis and Jacob Harrick attended the Governor's Honors Academy, a three-week program in which 179 of West Virginia's top students are invited to learn about such diverse topics as Shakespeare, digital photography, Japanese culture and the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The free program is held by the West Virginia Department of Education and Arts on a rotating basis at various West Virginia colleges and universities, It's in its second year at Bethany College, which also hosted a 25th anniversary reunion of more than 340 former Governor's Honors Academy participants in July.

This year's program offered students a chance to create their own magazines while learning about self-publishing, create their own small robots and stage their own production of "MacBeth."

Saralyn Dague, Bethany College director of business affairs, served as dean for the program.

The event is one of three three residential summer programs of the Governor's Schools of West Virginia. The other two, the Governor's School for Math and Science and Governor's School for the Arts, are geared toward middle school students and also were attended by Brooke County pupils.

Cassidy Bland, an eighth-grader at Wellsburg Middle School, was one of 42 West Virginia pupils chosen to participate in one of two sessions of the Governor's School for Math and Science held at West Virginia University.

Connor McClain, a freshman at Brooke High School, was invited to participate in the school's second session, held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W.Va., but was unable to attend.

The first session was inspired by amusement parks, with students learning the principles of physics behind rollercoasters and other attractions, chemistry involved in fireworks and mathematics required when developing a budget for such a business.

In addition to visiting Kennywood Park to get a firsthand appreciation of such concepts, the pupils were challenged to work together to design their own amusement park.

Keith Garbutt, dean of students for the program, said, "We are trying to identify talented young people who are already interested in mathematics and science and are doing well, and encourage them to continue and go on in these careers (in related fields). Research suggests that many will move away from these careers because they are not 'cool,' and we want them to understand they are great careers."

In its second year at West Liberty University, the Governor's School for the Arts is designed for students who enjoy writing, drawing, singing, dancing and other aspects of the arts from professionals in the respective fields.

Sidney Weiler, a junior at Brooke High School, was one of 100 West Virginia students who participated and chose visual arts as her focus.

Depending on their interests, teens participating in the program learned about ballet and modern dance, digital photography and graphic design, delivering monologues and participating in improvisational scenes and aspects of vocal and instrumental music ranging from creative expression to dealing with performance anxiety.

Sherry Keffer, director of the Governor's Schools, said, "The Governor's School for the Arts provides our students with a much-needed supplement to the arts education they receive during the regular school year, and in some cases, it's their primary exposure."

WLU music professor Alfred deJaager served as the school's dean.

Students at the three schools also participated in various social activities and field trips.

The Governor's Honors Academy is offered to outstanding high school juniors, the School for the Arts is for high school sophomores, and the School for Science and Math is for seventh- and eighth-graders.

For information about the schools, visit their Web site at www.wvgovschools.org.