From the Principal
August is here and it is nice to see so many of our students on campus. With students involved in band and athletic, we have over half of our students utilizing the school facilities. I look forward to having all of our students in the halls on August 20th when I can hear about everyone's summer experiences.
The new school year provides opportunities for all of our students to become involved in some of the many organizations offered by our school. Whether you are a freshman entering the high school or a senior taking your last high school courses, I encourage all of you to get involved. West Geauga High School provides a wealth of opportunities in academics, athletics, clubs and community service organizations. Colleges, universities and future employers look at more than just a grade point average when deciding to bring a student into their organization. Get involved!
Along with involvement, it is important for students to set goals and learn to live outside of his/her comfort zone. Personal growth occurs when you establish what it is you want to do and continually work toward reaching the goals. Some examples of strong goals for high school students include taking increasingly rigorous course loads, getting good grades, acceptance into a certain post-secondary education program, improving your character and getting involved.
West Geauga High School utilizes an advisory period in the middle of the day to allow students to work on their individual goals and school activities. The advisory period consists of a 30-minute window each day where students have opportunities built into their class schedule to work with teachers outside of the class period, meet with clubs and organizations, allow AP science students to take an extra class during the year, and provide more time for freshman mentoring. All students will be assigned an advisory teacher who will serve as an advocate for those students.
I want to thank you for allowing us the pleasure of being a part of your child's learning day-in and day-out. Your children are your most precious gifts and we thank you for sharing them with us and allowing us to share our knowledge with them.
We look forward to an exciting 2019-2020 school year ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jay Bishop
Principal
West Geauga High School
440-729-5955
Jay.Bishop@Westg.org
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From The Assistant Principal
Dear West Geauga Community,
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and looking
forward to a great 2019-2020 school year! Personally, I’m excited about this upcoming year as I return
to the High School where I started my career 16 years ago as a mathematics
teacher. For the past 6 years, I have
been the Assistant Principal at the Middle School and look forward to
reconnecting with former students and families I have interacted with over the
years.
As we approach the new school year, here are a couple of
reminders:
Enjoy your time at
West Geauga High School – We have a wonderful school system that offers
a variety of programs and extracurricular activities, please take advantage of
these opportunities. Additionally, enjoy reuniting with old friends, as well as
forming new relationships during the school year.
Attendance – The first period starts at 7:25 am.
Regardless of your mode of transportation, please allocate enough time
in the mornings to arrive on time. Doors
open at 7 am. If a student needs to be
called in absent, the attendance line is 440-729-5951.
Social Media
– There are many social media platforms students use to communicate. However, we often see and hear about the
negative sides of social media. Please
make it a point to have family discussions that address tough topics such as harassment,
bullying, threats, etc., as well as the negative repercussions that result in
these types of posts.
Vaping –
Whether we want to admit it or not, vaping has become extremely popular among our
youth. West Geauga Local Schools have a
zero-tolerance of vapes as well as any other type of tobacco products, drugs,
and alcohol. Violators will be held
accountable according to the West Geauga High School Code of Conduct.
Code of Conduct
– Please review the Student Code of Conduct which can be found in our
Parent/Student Handbook via the High School home page.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and we will see you soon!
Sincerely,
Shawn Krippel
Assistant Principal
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I hope you all had a
wonderful summer! I look forward to seeing everyone during the first few weeks
of school.
Attendance
reminders for the 2019 -2020 School year
This year a new law,
‘Alianna Alert’ went into effect mandating schools call parents/guardians of
absent students within 2 hours of the start of the school day. We are asking you to assist us by calling our
absence line each day your child will be out of school no later than 7:25am. When
calling your student in absent please make sure to leave detailed information
about your child’s absence on the confidential absence line 440-729-5951. Thank
you for your assistance.
According to Ohio
Law, the following is a list of reasons that are considered excused absences or
tardies:
A. Personal illness
B. Illness in the family
C. Quarantine of the home
D. Death of a relative
E. Observance of religious holiday
F. Emergencies due to the absence of parent or guardian
* Please note, tardy arrivals to school are considered unexcused, even if a parent calls in for the student. If your student is
driving to school this year, please remind them of this policy. Tardy arrivals
to school will result in suspension points being issued. In addition, every
minute of missed class is reflected in each student’s school attendance record.
Early Dismissals
Notes for early dismissal
should be turned in to the attendance office the day before your child needs to
leave early whenever possible. Last-minute phone calls, other than true emergencies cannot always be delivered
immediately and create unnecessary disruption to valuable instruction time in
the classroom.
Vacations
Please check the
student handbook for our District policy regarding family vacations. Ohio Law states that all vacations are considered unexcused absences. If a vacation
during the school year is unavoidable, a Vacation Request form MUST be filled out and turned in to the
attendance office with all appropriate signatures 5 days before the absences occur. These forms can be found in the
attendance office or online under the forms link.
Medical Excuses
If your child is missing school for medical
reasons, please provide a note from the doctor and turn in to the attendance office
as soon as the student returns to school. No absence can be marked as a medical
excuse without proper documentation.
Opening Day paperwork - OneView
Opening Day Paperwork
can be found online with OneView again this year. If you completed your forms online last year
all you will need to do is, verify that the information we have is correct and
make any necessary changes. An
informational letter with instructions was sent home for new students before
school started. If you have any questions or did not receive the letter in the
mail, please call the office and we will be happy to assist you. We are asking
that all accounts be updated no later than Friday, August 30, 2019.
Thank you and have a great 2019-2020 school year!
Mrs. Poelking
Sam Adkins - Athletic Trainer
Erin Gray - Math Teacher
Leah Kirkpatrick - School Psychologist
Shawn Krippel - Assistant Principal
Alyssa Lunka - Geauga Achieve Teacher
Suzie Ramos -Classroom Aide
Ben Stehura - Athletic Director
Tracy Suba - Administrative Assistant
Qian Wu - Chinese Teacher
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Class of 2020- your senior and baby pics must be submitted to the YB office by 09/20/19. Specs and submission info can be found by clicking the yearbook tab. Grad ad and "early-bird" yearbook order forms are located there also. Please email year.book@westg.org with any questions.
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West Geauga Online Forms
A couple of years ago, we introduced an
online form system called OneView. Instead of the paper forms, we sent out a
code to allow you to create your own account. The advantage of this system is
that it will save certain data to speed up the process this each year.
If you are new or returning to our district, you received a separate welcome letter accompany this with information on how to create your account for the first time. If you have any issues creating this account, please let your school building know and we will work to quickly resolve this. We are here to help.
If you filled out the forms last year, your account is the same. If you forgot your password or account information, the OneView website can guide you through recovering it. If you forgot your password, click “lost password.” If you forgot your username, click “forgot credentials” to the right. It will guide you through the process of recovering this information.
Please click here to fill out forms.
We hope this helps ease you through the
process. Please submit your forms by August 30, 2019. Your school needs this
information in place, as it makes sure we have the correct medical, contact
information, field trip, legal, and media release preferences.
Thank you,
West Geauga Local Schools
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W.G.H.S. School Counseling News August 2019
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school
year. We have a new Administrative
Assistant! Lisa Porter has moved from
the main office to the counseling office.
We are excited to begin a new year and hope to help make it your son or
daughter’s best year yet! Please follow us on Twitter @WGHSCounselors for
updates and timely information!
W.G.H.S.
Counseling Staff
Mr. David Callahan (Students A – K) (440) 729-5963 david.callahan@westg.org
Ms. Sarah Widman
(Students L – Z) (440) 729-5965 sarah.widman@westg.org
Mrs. Lisa Porter
(Assistant) (440) 729-5962 lisa.porter@westg.org
Student/Parent Notes
SENIORS
Congratulations, you made it to your
senior year! Please remember that you
are not done yet. Colleges will want to
see your first semester grades and your senior year-end grades.
Come visit your counselor if you need
help with career or college information.
Remember to focus on your strengths! Set goals for this year, put them
in writing, and do the things required to meet those goals!
College Applications:
Fall is the time for seniors to begin
filling out their college applications.
The school counseling department will be meeting with all seniors on Monday, September 16th during the school
day and their parents on Wednesday,
September 18 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 124
to review the college application process.
At this meeting the counselors will address all of the policies and
procedures for applying to college, therefore, it is recommended that students
wait to apply to colleges until after this informational session. In the meantime, use your Naviance account!
Financial Aid Night:
Parents, please take the opportunity to meet with our LEAF advisor, Tessa Dicker and learn about the Financial Aid process on Wednesday, September 25th at 7 pm in Room 124.
JUNIORS
This is your last year to work on
maintaining or bringing up your GPA. Set
some solid academic goals for yourself this year and try to stick to them. Remember that when colleges receive your
transcript next fall, your cumulative grade point average is only based on your
9th, 10th, & 11th-grade marks.
SOPHOMORES
You have one year under your belt. Congratulations! Now that you have figured out what high
school life is all about, why not make some positive changes? What can you improve on from last year to
make this year even more of a success?
Continue to build your resume by volunteering and participating in
school and community activities.
FRESHMEN
Welcome to West
Geauga High School! This is an exciting
year for you because you have the opportunity to start fresh. You have a clean slate, so stay organized and
work hard. Please remember that the
school counselors are available to help you reach your goals. You will also have Freshmen Mentoring to help
you through your transition to high school.
Do not forget that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness!
West Geauga High School uses Google for Education to integrate documents, forms, spreadsheets, presentations and even calendars. We also use Google Calendar on our website to update all of our school academic events. We think this is an easy calendar to read and can be incorporated into your own personal Google Calendar. You can find the direct link to the calendar by clicking here.
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Athletic Boosters
Please click here or on the above tab to find out any information about the West Geauga Athletic Boosters.
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