Having Thanksgiving breakfast at the Chesterland McDonald’s has become a tradition in the community over the last three decades.
WGEF Thanksgiving Fundraiser
Having Thanksgiving breakfast at the Chesterland McDonald’s has become a tradition in the community over the last three decades. Each year, West Geauga Educational Foundation members are invited behind the counter to serve a fundraiser breakfast.
Caise McHale, president of WGEF, said, “Thanksgiving was another great success serving delicious quick and easy breakfasts on Thanksgiving morning while raising funds for future educational opportunities.”
The funds raised at events like these provide grant money for teachers, students, parents, administrators and community members to bring additional resources into the district to benefit the students. Over the last 30 years, more than $500,000 in grants have been awarded.
Pep Band Season Starts
The West Geauga Pep Band has started its season by supporting the varsity basketball games against Aurora and Chardon.
The band plays at a wide variety of events during the winter months, including the Chester Township Police Toy Drive and basketball games.
Jason Branch, band director, said, “Each ‘pep band’ event ranges from 20 to 50 students, depending on student interest in the event. The students enjoy the style of music that is played and the laid back atmosphere of the rehearsal and performances.”
The pep band is made up entirely of volunteer musicians who meet and form at events, largely led by the students with the help of the West Geauga Music Department staff.
Software Keeps Students Safe
At the beginning of the school year, Chromebooks were distributed to ninth-graders at West Geauga High School. One of the concerns in using technology is keeping students safe while they learn.
Principal Jay Bishop commented, “All Chromebooks that we distributed to our ninth-grade students came with GoGuardian installed. GoGuardian allows the district to monitor students sites to ensure the device is being used properly.”
The GoGuardian program ensures that websites are being filtered, and in some cases blocked, from appearing on student screens. In addition to filtering, notifications are sent to school administrators when students search the web for harmful websites.
Bishop said, “The program allows us to help keep students safe while they surf the Internet while using the district devices.”
