In the month of October, students in the inaugural Creative Writing elective at Western Wayne High School were challenged with the task of composing a 100-word or less mini saga with the purpose of evoking suspense and intrigue. While students had the option to submit their sagas to a national level competition via the Young Writers 2023 “SOS Saga: Hunted” contest, their pieces were entered in to the class contest evaluated by a variety staff and students.

Runners up were Olivia Ford’s “Inner Demons” and Laylah Epstein’s “The Wake.”

The first place “boo-basket” prize was awarded to Melinda Kopcza for her thrilling saga, “Mama’s Boy.”

Western Wayne sophomores Cassidy Levens and Laylah Epstein have been chosen to represent Western Wayne at the 2024 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Leadership Seminar this June 2024.

       Cassidy is an accomplished Western Wayne honor roll sophomore student who enjoys being a part of a variety of clubs at school including:  football cheerleading, basketball cheerleading, political science club, softball, and drama club.

In Cassidy’s leadership essay for HOBY, she explained what leadership meant to her by discussing strong leadership role models she has worked with.

“I think that a good leader influences people around them in a positive way,” Cassidy said.  “Leaders I have worked with have not tried to boss me around, instead they have made me want to become a leader as well.  These leaders have truly cared about me and other members of my teams and have inspired me.”

After high school, Cassidy aspires to study political science in college and go on to pursue a career as a lawyer and/ or a legislator.

Cassidy’s classmate Laylah Epstein, a sophomore honor roll student, also is a Hoby winner for Western Wayne and shares a similar view on leadership as Cassidy.

“I think a good leader leads by example,” Laylah explained.  “Good leaders I have worked with want to see others succeed.”

Laylah is a member of both football and basketball cheerleading.

After high school, Laylah plans to major in nursing and become an ER nurse.

Both girls look forward to attending the conference in the spring and meeting other student leaders from various districts.

“I hope to learn about their different outlooks on life and leadership at the conference,” Cassidy explained.

Elaine Ort, band director for Western Wayne High School, will join band directors from across the country to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, November 23.

    The Saluting America’s Band Directors™ project has assembled over 400 band directors confirmed to march in the Band Directors Marching Band’s Macy’s appearance.  This group was first seen performing together in the Rose Parade in January of 2022.  This time the organization has planned an exciting five-day New York City experience for the Band Directors Marching Band culminating with a performance in the world-famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®. The trip will run from Sunday, November 19, through Thursday, November 23. The Band Directors will have a variety of experiences in New York City leading up to the parade.  They will be a part of the first division of the parade and are set to perform at the famous Macy’s star on the live NBC television broadcast at about 8:30 a.m. on parade day.

     “I am so incredibly excited for this experience, and so grateful to have had such wonderful colleagues and friends who have helped prepare me for this adventure,” Ort said. “ I hope that I will make all of you proud in New York City.  Go Wildcats, and Go Band!”

    Elaine Ort has devoted much of her life to the study and performance of music.  A native of New England and graduate of Marywood University, Elaine is a member of the Scranton Brass Orchestra, the Providence Brass, the Schützengiggles Oompah Band, the Marywood University Wind Symphony, and performs often in musical pit orchestras throughout the region.  As an educator, Elaine serves as the director of instrumental activities in the Western Wayne School District since 2014.  At Western Wayne, her teaching responsibilities include sixth grade brass instruction, eighth grade band instruction, and the Pride of Western Wayne, the Wildcat High School Band.  Under her direction and guidance the school continues to invest heavily in its music program, and was recently named a KHS America Academic Alliance Platinum school for its investment in instrumental education.  It is the only school in Pennsylvania, and one of only 39 in the United States to have received that honor.

    Complete details on the project are available on the Saluting America’s Band Directors website, https://banddirectorsalute.org/2023-macys-parade%C2%AE

Learning rhythms, beats, steps, and choreography isn’t just work for the Rockettes and Broadway stars, Western Wayne High School foreign language students have a yearly tradition of learning Spanish dancing as a part of their curriculum each fall.
Local dance instructor and studio owner Vince Brust works with the Western Wayne students to teach a variety of traditional Spanish dances such as tango, merengue, mambo, and salsa among others. Brust does this as a part of the Artist in Residence Program through NEIU-19.
The students have a few weeks of sessions with Mr. Brust in the fall leading up to a performance for the community this Thursday, November 9, in the Western Wayne High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Admission is FREE for everyone.
The high school students were thrilled to learn how to dance and get to meet and work more closely with their fellow classmates in the process.
Freshman Jennifer Stump said she had never danced before this fall, but that once she got started with the classes she really enjoyed them and realized how dance is directly connected to her color guard performances. Jennifer has been on color guard for two years being inspired to join by her aunt who was a part of a team in her youth.
“Once we started counting out the steps in the Spanish dance lessons, I realized that this is just like color guard,” Jennifer said. “I am always counting to be in time for my guard performances and the same skill helps me stay on time for all of the dances we are learning in class.”
Fellow freshman Kendall Murray said she is happy to expand her growing knowledge of dance through the classes offered through the school and taught by local professional dancer Mr. Brust.
“I really have been enjoying learning Spanish dance from an experienced teacher,” Kendall said. “I got to do a lot of different dance styles in our school’s musical last year and really think that my experience with Spanish dance is helping me to learn more styles and gain knowledge about a different culture at the same time.”
There will be about 30 students participating in the Spanish Dance Performance for the local community at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, in the High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Again, admission is FREE for all.
The students and staff involved hope to see you there for what will be about an hour of performance fun.

Students from a variety of local schools have the opportunity to participate in an educational forum in which they can learn about the environment and collaborate with each other throughout the 2023-24 school year. Students from Western Wayne, Carbondale Area, Forest City, Lackawanna Trail, Lakeland, Mountain View, Old Forge, Riverside, and Wayne Highlands have already started their journey in this exciting, educational experience.
Each school will have a team of five students and a teacher-advisor. The forum will engage students through place-based educational field experiences and hands-on investigations.
Earlier this month the students involved in the Watershed Program explored the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed as a part of their adventures in environmental studies. The five Western Wayne students who participated in this and will continue to learn from it throughout the school year include: Audrey Agnello, sophomore; Abigail Bell, freshman; Ryleigh Mahon, senior; Madelyn McClure; freshman; and Sofia Ochlan, freshman.
The girls enjoyed their opening experience with the program. Abigail explained how the students had the opportunity to learn about mushroom fungi, caught fish and identified them, and also learned about trees in the surrounding area during their trip to Tunkhannock Creek.
“I thought it was really interesting how we learned how to put a frog to sleep by rubbing its belly,” Abigail, who is an honor roll student, said when discussing the students’ experiences in the creek learning about the different amphibians that make it their home.
The students’ teacher who is moderating their participation in the program Dr. Mark Nebzydoski explained how the students will use the knowledge they gain from their excursions with the Watershed Program to develop a presentation about environmental issues on their school campus or in their community and this project will then help them serve as stewards of natural resources.
“The students have already started to work on developing notes from their experiences with the program to guide them towards their culmination project,” he explained.
Nebzydoski explained how Western Wayne had participated in this program in the distant past and are now very eager this year to be able to have this experience again with a new generation of students. The students will continue their learning experiences in November, January, March, April, and May, with their culminating project presentations scheduled for the end of May. The projects are called MWEE stewardship projects and they address the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and PA Science and Environmental Standards.
“I’m looking forward to more unique experiences in the outdoors to help my understanding of science and the environment,” Abigail Bell, freshman Western Wayne program participant, said.

The Western Wayne High School Spanish Club will sell handmade bracelets and bags as a part of the Pulsera Project, a non-profit organization that benefits artisans in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Each bracelet, or pulsera, comes tagged with the name of the artist who created it. Students enjoyed participating in the sale last year in both the middle and high school. This year, the club had the opportunity to interview Chris Howell, the co-founder of the Pulsera Project, and hear more about how these sales improve the lives of those artisans. The Pulsera Project will take place in the high school from Monday, October 23, to Friday, November 3. Items will also be on sale during the club’s annual Dance Showcase, which is open to the public, on Thursday, November 2 at 7pm in the high school auditorium. Pictured are the beautiful bracelets the club will sell.