February 9, 2024

West Geauga Middle School sent our top six contenders to our District Bee on January 30, along with the top 3 spellers from Lindsey Elementary; 8th grader, Darren Prince-Wright came out on top. Darren then went on the County Spelling Bee the next day to take top honors there! He will next be competing in the Tri-county Spelling Bee at the end of the month. Good Luck Darren!

WGMS families, please be aware that starting on April 2nd, upon our return from spring break, we will be issuing consequences for unexcused tardiness to school. Each morning, we will track that students are in their first period class ready to learn by the bell. If a student were to earn 3 unexcused tardies, a lunch detention will be issued. Lunch detentions will continue to be issued if a student hits 6 unexcused tardies and at 9 unexcused tardies in the quarter. If a student accumulates 12 or more unexcused tardies to school, an In-School Restriction will be issued. At WGMS, we are aligning our student tardy policy with the student tardy policy at WGHS to establish consistency.  Please reach out to Mrs. Dorko should you have any questions.

Attention 7th and 8th grade students interested in CCP: CCP is an opportunity to take college courses at West Geauga. To be able to participate, you must turn in an intent form by the state mandated deadline of April 1st. If you have any questions about CCP or want to learn more, please see our counselor, Mrs. Weisbarth, or email at lindsey.weisbarth@westg.org. 

The time for scheduling is approaching and we want to share details about the process with students and families.  The new 24-25 Program of Studies will be posted on the WGMS website under the academics tab and will provide families a comprehensive outline of the courses offered to our students for the upcoming school year by the end of February.  Current 6th and 7th graders will be recommended by their current teachers for their courses for next year.  Students in an accelerated track will be recommended to continue if they are achieving 80% or higher on unit assessments.  

In regards to electives, students in 6th and 7th grade will decide between taking Choir or Band.  

In 8th grade, World Language is also offered. This course counts as a high school credit and is not required for 8th graders to select a language, but offered if interested. 

In the upcoming weeks, students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade will complete a Google Form to indicate their choice in music and 8th graders will have a Google form to complete for World Language options. These Google Forms will be posted for students to access on Google Classrooms and monitored by Mrs. Weisbarth for completion.

It is our goal, by the year’s end, to provide a drafted schedule for your child for the upcoming year ahead.  This will allow parents time to ensure they are comfortable with the selections and course work.  We will work closely together to ensure that schedules will be built based on academic strengths, needs, and student preferences. 

Our current 8th grade students are inching much closer to leaving WGMS and entering the high school as freshmen. Along with this, scheduling is a priority. 8th graders will meet our high school counseling team on February 21st in their Social Studies classes. At this time, the counselors will present key information about the high school, go over their courses and work on building their schedules for the next school year. 

There will be an informational night for the families of our rising 9th graders on February 21st at 7 PM in room 124 (WGHS). At this presentation, the high school counselors will walk families through the scheduling process, key details of the high school and field any questions. We are excited for this time and can’t wait to see the 8th graders take this next step!