The West Geauga Academic Decathlon team, led by seniors Angela Volcensek and David DelaCruz, won the Novice Division State Championship this year.
State Academic Decathlon
The West Geauga Academic Decathlon team, led by seniors Angela Volcensek and David DelaCruz, won the Novice Division State Championship this year.
For the third year in a row, West Geauga participated in the decathlon and for the second year, the team competed at the state level. Over the last two years, West G has won the novice division. This year, the team also won 61 team and two individual medals.
Participating in the Academic Decathlon takes a high level of commitment from both the advisor and West Geauga faculty member Ben Speros, as well as the students.
Speros said, “The team meets every day during the high school’s advisory period for about 30 minutes. During that time, they have read through and studied curriculum materials and practice delivering their prepared and impromptu speeches.”
Though team members are celebrating their victory, they are already preparing for next year.
Speros said, “Last year, we wanted to really experience what the process was like, so this was really our first year to try a few things and to see what might work for us. We learned a lot and are looking forward to implementing some changes for next year which can help make us even better.”
Team members include seniors Angela Volcensek and David DelaCruz; juniors Antonio Linek, Alex Novitski, Mariana Valdez-Punales and Mary Fahey; sophomores Kaitlyn Magalski, Jacob Solomon and Hannah Barker; and freshmen Sofya Goncharenko and Madeline Barker.
Symphonic Band Qualifies for State Contest
The West Geauga Symphonic Band recently competed in the OMEA adjudicated event for large groups and received a superior rating. The competition included both prepared material and sight reading.
With this outstanding score, the West Geauga Symphonic Band will be competing in the state contest, which will be held in North Royalton on April 20 and 21.
It is the first time ever that West G has been to the state contest at the Class A level. It is a very unique and exciting opportunity for the students and high school program.
Start with Hello
The Sandy Hook Foundation recently shared with the West Geauga Schools their “Start with Hello” program. First- and second-graders enjoyed a skit performed by the West Geauga High School students that helped them to understand the concept of bullying and how they can help.
The goal of the program is to reduce bullying and social isolation in schools to make schools safer and provide a more proactive educational environment.
Westwood Math Team Challenge
On Feb. 14, three teams of fifth-graders from Westwood Elementary School participated in the Math Team Challenge at Chardon Middle School. The Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics sponsored the event.
During the tournament, over 30 teams competed. Westwood’s three teams participated in four events that included two rounds of four multi-step problems, 10 mental math computation problems, a team construction activity and mixed application problems.
Two of the three teams earned trophies and one earned red ribbons for their mathematical capabilities. The teams were coached by fifth-grade math teacher Dan Reich.
