Friday, May 10, 2019

May/June 2019






From the Principal...

It is hard to believe that in less than one month we will be graduating our senior class. The Class of 2019 consists of a tremendous group of students and we should all be proud of their accomplishments and successes. I wish the entire class the best and look forward to congratulating their families at graduation on June 6th at Severance Hall in Cleveland. Detailed below is some parting advice for the class of 2019 to heed.

Stay Calm
Control your impulses. The most successful individuals know how to keep their emotions in check, even when they feel great anger or frustration. People will remember how you react to a stressful situation and judge you by that behavior.

Friends
You can measure your success by your ability to make and keep friends. Your jobs, houses and material things might come and go, but if you put your efforts into your friends, they will stay with you forever.

Education
Look for ways to continue your education wherever you find yourself. Don't assume that education only comes in a classroom. Learn from your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers and the people who you interact with on the street.

Learn from Mistakes
View a failure as an opportunity to learn from your mistake. Put failures behind you and move forward. If a difficult or unpleasant situation arises, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" Chances are, you'll find a good lesson there.

Benefit of the Doubt
Give people the benefit of the doubt. They might do the same for you.

Money
Start a savings account. Establish a routine that allows you to automatically save a percentage of every dollar you earn. You can increase savings later, but the habit to save will help you build a framework to secure your future.

Mentor
Find a mentor. A mentor can guide you, help you find new perspectives on issues and events, and open doors for you.

Passion
Find your passion and pursue it. Find an issue or cause that you want to advance or a hobby that relaxes you and makes you feel competent. Spend time every day, or at least every week, doing the things that matter to you.

Excelling
Push yourself to excel by surrounding yourself with people who challenge you. Put yourself in situations that force you to exert yourself to succeed.

Perseverance
Persevere in pursuing your goals. Many people give up too early and never experience the challenge of pushing through difficulties to reach the finish line. Get to the finish line.


Jay Bishop,

Principal
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From the Assistant Principal...

A few Reminders as we approach the end of the school year…
  1. As the weather warms up, I need to remind everyone of the dress requirements for school. Students who are in violation of the school’s dress code will be asked to change into more appropriate clothing.
  2. All students are expected to be in attendance each day through the end of the school year as indicated in the Final Exam Schedule included in this newsletter.
  3. All school fees/fines must be paid in full before seniors can pick up their caps and gowns. All seniors will report to the gym on June 3rd at 7:30 a.m. for cap and gown distribution. Seniors are not to be in any other part of the building on June 3rd. Underclass students must pay outstanding obligations prior to receiving their final report card. Checks are to be made payable to West Geauga Board of Education.
  4. As we near the end of the school year and all the related activities and celebrations that accompany it, you will hear this message over and over again: Alcohol and drug-related accidents are the number one cause of death of young adults in this country. Monitor your child’s whereabouts and insist that all parties are drug and alcohol-free. It’s not only prudent; it’s the law.
2019-2020 Parking Applications Available Online

2019-2020 Parking Permits will be handled in a similar manner as this year. The application will be made available online. Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores will be permitted to apply for a parking permit. The link to the application can be found online under the West Geauga High School’s forms link and will be available at the beginning of June. Parking applications will not be mailed home. Students may not drive to school the first day without purchasing a permit from the school’s main office. Once the application is completed online, permits can be picked up beginning August 12 through August 19 from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. A valid driver’s license, proof of insurance and $30 will be due when the permits are picked up. Please make checks out to West Geauga Board of Education (WGBOE) and please put the student’s graduating class in the memo (i.e. 2020)

Students will need to be logged into their West Geauga Google accounts in order to complete the application. Please contact Mr. Dahlhofer at ron.dahlhofer@westg.org or 440-729-5957 if you have any questions.

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Attendance Office Reminders as we close out the year...

This year we have really seen the full effects of House Bill 410 and the new state-mandated attendance laws. In addition, we just recently started navigating the new ‘Alianna Alert’ that has gone in to effect. As a reminder parents and guardians are responsible for calling their students in absent every day before school starts at 7:25 a.m. Notes for early dismissal should be turned in to the attendance office the day before your child needs to leave early whenever possible. We are experiencing a large number of last-minute phone calls with the warmer weather and the testing that is going on. If your student is telling you there is “nothing going on” for the rest of the day after a test I encourage you to reach out to their teachers to verify. In many cases, this simply is not true and students are missing out on important information. Last minute phone calls, other than true emergencies, cannot always be delivered immediately and create unnecessary disruption to valuable instruction time in the classroom. As the weather continues to warm and we all look forward to summer, it’s important that school policies regarding leaving early are followed. Students are not permitted to leave the building without parental permission. This includes students who are 18 years old. If you have any questions regarding attendance please give me a call at 440-729-5958. Have a fun and safe summer!

Mrs. Poelking
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West Geauga School Counseling News                                          May/June 2019

SENIORS

CONGRATULATIONS! We’ll see you at graduation!

Decision Day/West Geauga Survey 2019:
On May 1st we celebrated the future plans of our current seniors. A certificate was signed and a picture taken to document this occasion. This certificate will be given to the students at graduation practice. Most importantly, we asked each senior to log on to his/her Naviance account and complete the West Geauga Survey 2019. This information will allow us to send final transcripts to the schools they will be attending this fall.

Senior Report Cards, Medals, & Cords:
All seniors will receive a copy of their transcript along with any medals and cords they have earned at the graduation rehearsal. Students who are not “walking” and, therefore, will not be at graduation rehearsal, need to see Ms. Sargent in the school counseling office for a copy of their final report cards.

FOR ALL STUDENTS

Twitter:
Please consider following the West Geauga School Counselor on Twitter. @WGHSCounselors

Summer School:
West Geauga High School does offer summer school for students. The program is offered online. Check the West Geauga website, or contact Jim Kish, Middle School Principal, at 729-5947. There are brochures available in the counseling office, too. Area schools may have traditional classroom summer programs. If our office receives information about the programs, we will make it available. There are also other online providers that offer credit recovery programs. Information on those programs will be available in the counseling office.

A letter will be mailed to the parents of students who failed a required course immediately after grades are completed, however, this might not leave very much time to register for the summer courses. We are providing you with this information early in the hopes of giving you a head start.

Scheduling:
Schedule changes were due to the guidance department by May 1st in order for our administration to create the master schedule. Any changes requested after this date must follow the guidelines outlined in the Program of Studies. After May 1st of each year, schedule changes may be made only if there is:
  • a data entry error
  • a failure in a required course
  • an imbalance of semester courses
  • a graduation requirement omitted
Summer Counseling Hours:
End of School Year  - The counselors will be working in the counseling office through June 17th and Ms. Sargent, school counselor’s administrative assistant, will be working through June 28th.
Beginning of 2019-2020 School Year - Ms. Sargent will return to at a date TBD and the counselors will return August 9th.

College Visits:
For all students, but particularly juniors, the summer is a great time to visit college campuses. If you happen to be passing a campus on the way to your family vacation, plan to stop by and at least drive through. Time permitting, plan a stop in the admissions office to meet a college representative. It is to your advantage to visit campuses and meet college representatives! Showing interest in a school is an important part of the college application process.

Summer Writing: Junior students are encouraged to begin crafting a college application essay. If a school you have interest in uses Common Application, you can view the prompts for the 2019-2020 school year at commonapp.org. Some schools have their own applications and prompts so make sure to check into the requirements for each college. When writing an essay, be sure the reader can learn something about you that he/she could not find in an application and be creative!

West Geauga Education Foundation Programs:
Be sure to take advantage of all the programming that the West Geauga Education Foundation has to help with applications, essay writing, and test prep. App Day (an essay writing workshop) is set for Monday, August 19th in the cafeteria. 


Naviance:
The Naviance website has valuable information regarding college planning, scholarships, and many other timely topics. You can find a link to this website at www.westg.org. Click on High School, then Guidance.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the school counseling office.

David Callahan         Students with last names A-K         729-5963                   david.callahan@westg.org

Sarah Widman          Students with last names L-Z          729-5965                  sarah.widman@westg.org

Michelle Sargent        Assistant                                         729-5962                  michelle.sargent@westg.org

Career Guidance Report:
Below is a list of the career-oriented guidance that our office, along with Ann Marn, our career specialist, provided to students during the 2018-2019 school year.

Freshmen (September)
Began Naviance resume.
Completed Naviance Career Interest Profiler, browsed several suggested career fields, and completed in-depth study of one career field.
Browsed Naviance Careers tab and Colleges tab.

Sophomores (November)
Updated Naviance resume.
Revisited Naviance Career Interest Profiler.
Explored Do What You Are and Roadtrip Nation.
Discussed Naviance Colleges tab.

Juniors (February)
Updated Naviance resume.
Completed Strengths Explorer.
Completed Naviance SuperMatch College Search.
Added 2- and 4-year colleges to Favorites list.
Explored college tab.
Explored Brag Sheets.

Seniors (August)
Updated Naviance resume.
Worked on Brag Sheets and Senior Survey.
Completed Naviance Colleges tab activities, especially SuperMatch College Search.
Added 2- and 4-year colleges to Favorites list.
Explored college tab.

Summer Fun:Enjoy your summer. Be safe and find time to do the things you enjoy to do!

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 April -  Marcie Baker

 May -  Antonio Linek










April - Gabe Phan

May -  Lauren Ralph






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Hillcrest Insurance Student-Athletes of the Month


April 2019

Junior, Torrie Gall - Softball
Junior Torrie Gall is a 3.9 student in honors courses and takes her academics seriously. Torrie is a two-time all-CVC softball player but also a 2018 all-News Herald player. Torrie is a great teammate, team leader, and player who takes the game of softball very seriously. She plans to play softball in college and study nursing.

Senior, Jon Rash - Tennis
Jon had a successful season playing second singles for the Boys Tennis team this year. He is currently 12-2, including 6-0 in the CVC. Over the past two seasons, his overall individual record is 30-3. He earned First Team all-CVC last season and is the heavy favorite to repeat that honor this season. This will be Jon's fourth varsity letter for tennis, and he is also a member of the marching band. He plans to study Political Science at the University of Akron in the Fall.


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Graduation: June 6th, 2019

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR SENIORS – Monday, June 3rd. We will have a brief Senior Class meeting in the gym at 7:25, then caps and gowns will be distributed. Please respect classes in session and enjoy your mini-day of school. 


Graduation: June 6th, 2019, Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH

In order to participate in the evening ceremony, you MUST attend the morning rehearsal!!!

TICKETS - Inside your cap and gown bag, you will find an envelope with six graduation tickets plus any additional requested tickets. Any specialty tickets (VIP boxes) will also be in the envelope. Only seats in the VIP Loge section will be assigned, otherwise, it is open-seating. If you know that your family will not need all six tickets, please return the extras to Mrs. Talty. Thank you!

B R E A K F A S T  a n d  R E H E A R S A L - On Thursday, June 6th, all seniors will meet in the main gym at West Geauga High School at 7:45 A.M. Do Not Be Late! You will be checked in, please be patient!  We then board a bus to Mayfield Church for breakfast. When breakfast is over, we will travel by bus downtown to Severance Hall to begin rehearsal. We will return from rehearsal to West Geauga High School around 1:00 p.m.

GRADUATION CEREMONY - Be at the high school by 4:30 p.m. We will take buses once again to Severance Hall. The ceremony will start promptly at 7:00 p.m.

DRESS CODE FOR THE EVENING CEREMONY:
   Robes - press with a cool iron before the ceremony.
   Guys - dark pants, collared shirt, tie, and dress shoes (no tennis shoes).
   Girls - dress or skirt which does not hang below the robe and shoes or sandals, but NO FLIP FLOPS and NO STILETTOS!! Be sure you can walk down a set of stairs in your shoes. Please, wear comfortable, appropriate shoes.

EVENING DETAILS - Your family WILL have to pay for parking the night of graduation. Please refer to this website for parking information, pricing, and a list of garages nearby - https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/parking-at-severance-hall/. We recommend parking in the Severance Hall garage. Most parking in the area is around $10-$15 per car. Guests who need specialty handicapped seating should talk with the ushers and will be escorted to their seats accordingly. 

Students - NO FOOD OR DRINK. Do not bring anything (purse, keys, phone, camera) backstage with you - leave all personal belongings with your family. There is no secure place to leave them. Line up in the order practiced at rehearsal. Be properly dressed. Guys must have a tie. 

Friendly Reminder … Please tell your guests that the processional will begin at 7:00 sharp. Bussing will NOT be provided after the ceremony – it is expected that students go home with their parents/families.

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Looking for Upper School PTO board member for 2019-2020 school year!!





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Spring has arrived and so has the 2019 edition of the Westwind. Books may now be purchased for $80.00 with checks made payable to WGBOE. Click on the yearbook tab for an order form. 

All submitted hard copy pictures (senior, baby or grad ad) will be returned to seniors on the morning of graduation. Look in the large envelope from Guidance for them.

Class of '20 senior and baby pictures will be due mid-September next school year. Options include scheduling a summer appointment with a photographer, taking your own, or attending school picture day on September 12th.


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