Saturday, April 20, 2024
A new volunteer group has received the blessing of Granbury ISD Superintendent Jeremy Glenn and Granbury High School principal Jeremy Ross.
Members of the GHS Pirate Crew plan to be on hand for the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 16, greeting students and faculty and opening doors for them.
As with all GISD volunteers, they were required to pass background checks.
Would-be members of the Pirates Crew who have not yet undergone a background check are invited to stand on the other side of Pearl Street from the campus and wave and hold up handmade signs as students arrive to start the new school year.
Rene Chehardy and his wife Cindy are helping to organize the new group, but Chehardy insists that they do not consider themselves the organization’s leaders. He said they are merely helping to mobilize like-minded adults who want to encourage high school students and show them that they care about them.
“It’s a grassroots effort,” he said.
Chehardy is retired from the corporate side of the oil and gas industry. He and Cindy moved to Granbury five years ago.
He said that he and his wife became engaged with GHS when their niece lived with them during her junior and senior year.
Last April, they began going to the campus with a friend to talk with students in the cafeteria and hallways.
During that time, youth ministers from the community were doing the same, Chehardy stated.
Chehardy said that he, his wife, and their friend played games with the teens, giving candy to the winners.
“The kids really responded to us, and they were very respectful. They were polite,” said Chehardy.
More information about the GHS Pirate Crew, including how to sign up, can be found at www.granburyisd.org/piratecrew.
There is also a GHS Pirate Crew Facebook page.
“I believe Pirate Crew is a positive way to connect with other community members and make a significant impact on the lives of GHS students and staff,” Glenn said.
