West Geauga Schools will host a Dyslexia Information Night at the West Geauga Board of Education Office for parents on March 14 from 7-8 p.m.
Dyslexia Information Event
West Geauga Schools will host a Dyslexia Information Night at the West Geauga Board of Education Office for parents on March 14 from 7-8 p.m. Jackie Hersh, middle school special education department chair and an expert in assistive technology; Meagan Bellan, school psychologist at West Geauga High School and Westwood Elementary School; and Amy Davis, director of pupil personnel, will present and lead discussions.
The evening will include general information about dyslexia and a simulation of how dyslexia feels to the person affected. The meeting will also present an overview of updated resources and supports that the West Geauga School District is making available to students with dyslexia.
West G and Kiwanis Partner to Offer STEM Fair
Each year, the West Geauga Schools and the Chesterland Kiwanis partner together to help elementary, middle school and high school students develop an appreciation for STEM projects.
During the full day event, Kiwanis members and West Geauga students, teachers and parents take the time to present individual research, participate in Junk Box Wars and take advantage of exhibits.
One of the most enjoyable challenges during the day is the Junk Box Wars event.
Kristin Gregory, science department chair, commented, “Teams were challenged to build a device that would rotate a weight (hex nut) the most times around a minimum six inch radius in a clockwise direction. The device had to be powered by a mousetrap and work on its own once triggered.”
Kiwanis members work with students to assist them with using tools and safety procedures.
Jeff Kershaw, Kiwanis president-elect, stated, “The goal of STEM Fair is to help students use some of what they are learning in the classroom to investigate, compete and hopefully have some fun in the areas of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. We are proud to say that West Geauga Schools has always been our best partner in this service and we look forward to that partnership moving forward.”
Also at the STEM Fair were representatives from Kent State Geauga to provide information on STEM curriculum options and MikeSustin, of the science department, who set up the Star Lab with presentations for the exhibitors and families.
Kiwanis STEM Fair
By Anna Laubscher
Fifteen students from Westwood and Lindsey elementary schools participated in the Kiwanis Science Fair this year in the individual science fair experiments event.
The topics ranged from “How Does Air Pressure Affect the Distance a Soccer Ball Goes” by Emily Fousek to “Does the Surface Area of a Pot Affect the Time it Takes for Water to Boil?” by Wolfi Mueller to “Does Classical Music Affect Accuracy on Timed Math Tests?” by Conor McHale.
The students learned and put into practice the steps of the scientific method, including asking a question, forming a hypothesis, planning and conducting an experiment, analysis of data, making tables and graphs, drawing conclusions and checking for experimental errors.
Many students who participated learned so much more. Maveric Milnar worked with a local woman who makes maple syrup and maple candy to complete his project, “How Does Boiling Temperature Affect the Viscosity of Maple Syrup?”
While meeting with the judges, Matthew Furst, who did a project on which type of salt melts ice faster, found out that one of the judges was working on his own experiment which dealt with melting ice faster using beet juice. He’s already designed his own experiment to see if he can replicate their results at home.
Baylan Semplak, Anna Byrum and Nolan Long worked with family members and friends who are professors or work in labs to study about their projects including the effects of SPF on yeast cells placed in ultraviolet lights, or how washing hands with soap or hand sanitizer affects the amount of bacteria that grow. The connections that the students made with their family members, friends and people who work in the science fields did much to enhance the lessons learned.
Innovative Projects Presented
This year’s STEM Fair gave West Geauga students of all ages an opportunity to delve deeper into projects that interested them.
Kristin Gregory, science department chair at West Geauga High School, said, “Individual projects allow students to pursue an area of interest regardless of which science course they are currently taking.”
The individual projects of note this year included Rich Kirk’s “Using AI to Analyze and Predict Crop Yields,” Antonio Linek’s “Vacuum Propulsion,” Emma Clark’s “Stress in Teens,” Lucia Carpinelli’s “The Science of Spherification,” Benjamin Bellett’s “Gauss Rifle,” Grant Congdon and Bryn Morgan’s “Engineering to Make GPS Cheaper and More Reliable” and Alyssa Mobley’s “3D Printed Prosthetic Arm.”
