The Western Wayne High School Band took a field trip to Walt Disney World this past January. The band and color guard had the opportunity to participate in a music clinic at a soundstage on Disney property with professional musician Mr. Allen Grey. Grey owns a music publishing company and teaches workshops at Disney among many other accomplishments in the professional music industry.
For about three hours, the students worked with Grey as professional musicians would. Grey explained to the students that as high school students they sometimes take three to four months to perfect a series of songs but as a professional musician you have to achieve the same quality of sound in very little time. He explained how as a professional he has attended rehearsals and gone over a song once and then done the final recording immediately following.
Grey challenged the students to learn Disney songs on the spot at the clinic and worked to enhance their quality through his instruction. The students also had the benefit of having a Disney sound technician at the clinic who would record their music and then play it back for them so that the students and Grey could critique their work throughout the session.
“As a professional, you have to perform your music at performance level the first time you play,” Grey said. “Time is money.”
He explained to students that if a professional rehearsal goes over time into the next hour by even a minute that everyone gets paid for the extra hour. He helped the students have confidence in themselves as musicians to be able to work through and perfect a piece of music in a short period of time by putting their best effort in.
The students also had the chance to work with Lake Ariel native Erin Yunker. Erin works as a guest talent coordinator for Disney. She was thrilled to see Western Wayne scheduled to do the music clinic and jumped at the chance to work with students from her hometown.
The Western Wayne Band students along with their teachers Mrs. Elaine Ort, band director, and Mrs. Maria Arneil, assistant band director, played their instruments for the clinic session. The students in the color guard had the unique opportunity to work with the percussion section during the experience and enjoyed it so much that they might become permanent guest players in the percussion section during our upcoming football season.
“It was so fun to learn how to play an instrument at the clinic,” Izzy O’Donnell, one of this year’s color guard captains, said. “It was great to keep the beat of the music just like I would do during the season through our choreography just in a different way.”
Fellow student leader Evan Peirce, one of this year’s drum majors, agreed.
“It was really an exceptional experience to have the opportunity to play and learn music the way professionals do.”

Earlier this January the Western Wayne High School Band and Chorus held their holiday concert that had been rescheduled three times due to weather conditions, and it was well worth the wait! To open the evening the sixth grade band under the direction of Mrs. Maria Arneil set the stage for a wonderful night of music. Next, the High School Chorus under the direction of Mr. Taber Starnes and the High School Band under the direction of Mrs. Elaine Ort entertained the audience with many holiday classics. As an added treat, the closing numbers of the show included band and chorus alumni who were invited to the stage and welcomed to join the current students in making music in honor of the Western Wayne School District’s 50th Anniversary celebration. First, band alumni joined in for a Western Wayne favorite “Sleigh Ride.” Then chorus alumni were also invited to the stage and the whole group ended the show with a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Mrs. Ort told the crowd she hopes to invite alumni to perform a song in the holiday concert as a yearly tradition. Alumni in attendance to perform included: Lisa Eldred, class of 1987, chorus alumni; Shelley Robinson, class of 1987, chorus alumni; Hope Jezorwski, class of 1997, band alumni; Kathy Schaffer, class of 1974, band alumni; Erica Arre, class of 2004, band alumni; Alana Lamberton, class of 2022, band alumni; Becca Boots, class of 2022, band alumni; Hailey Felicetta, class of 2019, band alumni; John Kear, class of 2018, band alumni; Kristin Shandor, class of 2015, band alumni; Noah Shandor, class of 2015, band alumni; Jacob Slomian, class of 2016, band alumni; Molly Nagle, class of 2017, band alumni and former drum major; B. Flannery, class of 2022, band alumni, Seth Lamberton, class of 2018, band alumni; and Jeff Wilson, class of 1969, band alumni. Chorus alumni Lisa Eldred and Shelley Robinson were thrilled to be back on the Western Wayne Stage. “I just love the new curtains,” Lisa said about the upgrades made to the curtains on stage in the last few years. Lisa and her friend Shelley remember when the stage looked very different in the 1980s when they performed in a Western Wayne production of the show Guys and Dolls in 1986. “ We got to perform in the show with Tom Lopatofsky in the role of Nicely Nicely Johnson,” Shelley reminisced about her experience with Western Wayne retiree Mr. Lopatofsky who taught music in both the middle and high school along with directing numerous Western Wayne musical productions. The band alumni also had many fond memories of their time at Western Wayne. “It’s like a family getting back together,” Noah Shandor, class of 2015, explained. “I don’t know many of the kids in the band now but a picture of me is still on one of the band lockers, so a lot of them recognized me when I met them.” Noah performed in the concert with his new bride Kristin Shandor, class of 2015. The two were married this past October. “We met in Kindergarten,” Kristin said. “It’s such an awesome experience to get to perform on the Western Wayne stage again with my husband. It’s like we never left.”

Western Wayne High School Students enjoyed a treat of activities with their classmates including a cookie decorating contest on Friday, Jan. 27, as a part of the school PBIS initiative. The PBIS initiative involves successfully creating a proactive positive school environment in which students are demonstrating their Wildcat PRIDE daily. 
PBIS is an ongoing effort of the Western Wayne School District to guide students in behaving and interacting with others in such a way as to promote an effective learning community.

By: Joey Regalbuto, WWSD Anime Club PR

The WWSD Anime Club was granted an interview with graphic designer Miles McMahon who works for FiGPiN–a company that makes collector pins based on a variety of video games, movies, comics, TV shows, and, of course, anime. During the interview, students got to ask McMahon questions about certain aspects of his job including how FiGPiNs are made, how exactly to get into a successful art career, and what it’s like working for a remote-based company.

McMahon makes the designs for the backdrop of the figures’ containers making sure that each is unique to their respective franchises. Members were given the run down of the process of how to make the backgrounds, what applications are used, and how McMahon comes up with the ideas for said backdrops.

Since many of the students in the WWSD Anime Club are skilled when it comes to art, members were especially interested in careers in the art field. McMahon explained the role of his professional Instagram and Etsy accounts. He also noted the importance of building a professional portfolio and credited Susquehanna University’s graphic design program for his success.

McMahon noted it is a delight working for FiGPiN; he enjoys what he does because he uses his passion and he can get revenue for doing what he loves.

At the end of the interview, three students in the club were randomly selected for a free FiGPiN as a token of the company’s generosity. The FiGPiNs issued were from two very popular franchises: Demon Slayer and Avatar.

Overall, the interview with McMahon was a great experience for the WWSD Anime Club, especially for students looking to pursue art careers stemming from their appreciation for anime.

Five members of Western Wayne FBLA recently attended the NEPA Student Leadership Workshop sponsored by Herff Jones at Carbondale Area High School. Speaker Eddie Slowikowski spoke about how to live your better life. In his presentation, Eddie gave a formula to use to be your best and make a body and mind connection. This interactive and informative workshop allowed the members to discover their leadership traits. Using dance, music, and stories from his life, Eddie left the attendees of the workshop with a strong message about believing in themselves and becoming effective leaders.