Bank donation supports Westlake school programs

Claire Brewer, Melissa Barth and Henyah Dardir hold a check for $5,000 presented by First National Bank employees.

First National Bank presented a $5,000 check to the Westlake City School District on Nov. 30 to support a college and career readiness software program, as well as the expansion of the high school Beekeeping Club project.

FNB opened a new Westlake branch in the Promenade this summer and approached the school district about giving back to the community. Discussions with school administrators led to a $5,000 donation to expand the Naviance program to include middle school students, and the creation of a pollination garden to compliment the Westlake High School apiary.

FNB committed $2,000 to expand the Naviance program, which is now used with high school students. Naviance for Middle School is a college and career readiness program that helps students discover their strengths and interests, and what they need to do to reach their goals. It also enables individual learning plans to be aligned to students’ goals.

At the high school, the Beekeeping Club will install a pollination-friendly learning garden. The $3,000 from the donation will be used to purchase gardening materials including soil, native plants and signage for the garden, which will be a resource for science classes and elementary students.

The Beekeeping Club was started by junior Henyah Dardir last school year. WHS science teacher Melissa Barth oversees the club and uses the bee hive as an environmental studies learning tool for students. Henyah and fellow club officer Claire Brewer accepted the check from FNB, along with Barth and WHS Principal Paul Wilson. Representing FNB was Regional President Boyd Pethel, Retail Banking Executive Todd Hays and Westlake branch manager Johnny Sikora.

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Volume 9, Issue 23, Posted 10:32 AM, 12.05.2017