Wow.
What a week it’s been.
A week ago, the Trojaneer staff worked to articulate the sentiments CG students and staff were experiencing after a difficult week of reactions to news of student protests.
Today, that same staff is excited to tell a different story. A story of a nonvocal majority in our community. A story of a community that poured out support in response to our editorial.
Thank you for commenting, sharing our posts and donating to our website. Contributors from our community (and way beyond) have paid for our news website for the next year.
Since we are totally self-funded, we are incredibly grateful and humbled. In the spirit of continuing to support our community, we wanted to highlight some additional ways to give back to CGHS.
One of the most meaningful ways to do this is by simply showing up to support students:
Girls Swim State Finals: Interested in supporting students tonight? The girls swim team qualified eight swimmers for the state meet in nine events, with five events seeded to swim in the A Finals for a chance at a medal on Saturday. They will swim on Friday starting at 6 p.m. and Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at the IUI Natatorium downtown.
Girls Basketball Regional: The undefeated girls basketball team will compete for a regional title on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Greenfield-Central, taking on Top-10 opponent Pendleton Heights. The energy from the crowd at last Saturday’s sectional championship played a crucial role in fueling the team’s fourth-quarter comeback over Franklin Central. Pendleton Heights, a tight-knit community, is expected to travel well, making a strong home presence even more important. Filling the stands with a sea of red will remind this undefeated team that their community is behind them every step of the way.
Music Groups: While most show choir concerts sell out quickly and have limited availability for community tickets, there are always open seats at band and orchestra concerts. Before spring break, there are multiple opportunities to hear these talented musicians perform. Night of Percussion is in the high school auditorium on Feb. 26, and the jazz band hosts Jazz a la Mode on March 18, which combines jazz music with dessert. March 17 is also a busy night at the high school, as both Winter Guard and Indoor Percussion host their community shows, and the orchestras will hold their spring concert.
Financial Donations
Another option for supporting the Center Grove community is to donate funds. The Daily Journal reported last year that the state is slashing funding to Johnson County schools by $19.8 million over the next three years. Donations to support our Education Foundation, clubs and teacher classrooms would have immediate impact on students.
The Ed Foundation: The Center Grove Education Foundation has provided students and teachers with monetary support for 25 years. During the 2023-24 school year, the foundation awarded 26 classroom grants for teachers, valued at $66,000. They also awarded 57 scholarships to seniors, giving out $73,000. To donate to the Center Grove Education Foundation: https://centergrovefoundation.org/donate
Best Buddies: Best Buddies is currently fundraising for the annual Best Buddies Friendship Walk, an event dedicated to advocating for individuals with disabilities and promoting inclusion within our school community.
STUCO: Student Council is hosting a Crew Carwash fundraiser in order to sponsor students’ excursions to a leadership conference in New Hampshire. Click here to support STUCO students.
Band: While not a club, the band program is hosting a mattress sale Feb. 22 at Middle School North. From 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., the MSN gym will be a mattress showroom, with 30 different brands of mattresses displayed. Many of these mattresses will be priced lower than list price, and each purchase directly benefits the band program.
Goose Gals: Social worker Ashley Jones and teacher Lisa Lage have coordinated a Goose Friday, going out on Friday mornings to share joy, promote kindness and cheer on students as they arrive at school. Each Friday they hand out candy, stickers and other goodies to help students start off the day with a bit of joy. Click here to donate to their Goose Friday goodies.
Teacher Classrooms: Teachers often buy classroom supplies from their own personal budgets. Every summer, social media is filled with teachers posting wish lists to start the school year with supplies. Parents fund many of these wish lists at the beginning of the year, but as the initial supplies run out, teachers are faced with a decision: spend their own money or not. Many of them have Amazon Wishlists of things they could use, from school necessities to project supplies to books for classroom libraries. Click here to view individual teacher wish lists.
From everyone at our publication: thank you for showing up for us and reminding us that the voices that tried to divide us on CG Chatter are not the majority. We hope you find other ways to continue showing up for students, in whatever way you choose.
