Woodside High School graduate Aaron Lin was chosen as a 2024 Gates Scholar
Woodside High School 2024 graduate Aaron Lin was chosen as a 2024 Gates Scholar program recipient by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Lin was the Woodside valedictorian and served as Newport News School Board student representative for 2023-2024. He will attend Yale University in the fall.
The Gates Scholarship program promotes academic excellence and the cultivation of the next generation of leaders by providing academic support in the form of full college scholarships for outstanding students of color, according to the foundation.
“Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) provides a lot of opportunities for students to grow,” Lin said. “We have so many resources from free Advanced Placement exams, free resources, free counseling and so many after school extracurricular activities with counselors and teachers around us to really help us grow. And I’m really thankful for the opportunities Newport News Public Schools provided me.”
NNPS students link up with NASA’s International Space Station
A group of NNPS students watched a question-and-answer session with NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps on the International Space Station via video link in May.
Epps addressed queries ranging from scientific to practical as she answered questions students around the country pre-recorded and submitted for the event, which was simultaneously watched nationwide and co-sponsored locally by the Newport News chapter of The Links, Incorporated and NASA Langley Research Center.
NNPS Youth Development hosted the event at the Administration Building.
Heritage High school ninth-grade student Damani Gray’s question was selected and his video was played, followed by Epps’ answer. Clayton Turner, director of NASA Langley, attended along with representatives from both groups to engage students in conversations concerning their interest in space exploration and careers within it.
Woodside teacher selected for prestigious Supreme Court Summer Institute
Woodside High School social studies teacher Janet Costello was selected to attend the prestigious 2024 Supreme Court Summer Institute in Washington, D.C., this summer.
After a highly competitive application process, 60 teachers were selected to participate this year, according to co-sponsor Street Law. The Institute, which is open to teachers in the fields of law-related and civic education, is co-sponsored by Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society.
The Institute offers teachers the opportunity to study recent Supreme Court cases in detail and learn innovative teaching methods for conveying this information to students. Well known Supreme Court lawyers, reporters, scholars and educators will be among the speakers and instructors for the Institute.
