Winter Wonderland Semi Formal

Western Wayne High School students were thrilled to get to spend an evening together at this year’s Winter Wonderland Semi Formal, held at Ladore Conference Center in Waymart, PA on Saturday, December 4^th . Students enjoyed a dinner together before they danced the night away! Students also nominated their classmates, sophomores Frankie Leyshon and Rhayni Carroll, to be crowned Semi Prince and Princess!

RDW PTA receives donation

The Robert D. Wilson PTA received a donation of $400 from the weis4school rewards program. Accepting the check are students from the Advisory Council who plan special events for the student body.

Drama Club Attends Musical at The Ritz

Western Wayne Drama Club students were treated to a performance of the musical Annie at The Ritz Theater in Scranton on the evening of Friday, Dec. 3. Nearly forty students went on the field trip, some of which had never seen a live show before. The students were glad to have the opportunity to see the musical and will use what they learned from their experience as they work to prepare their spring musical Little Shop of Horrors. Pictured are Western Wayne Drama Club members in grades 8 through 12.

Chorus Performs at Hideout Tree Lighting Ceremony

Western Wayne Select Chorus students were thrilled to return to singing in the community this past Saturday, Dec. 4. The students under the direction of Western Wayne choral teachers Joyce Covaleski and Taber Starnes sang at the Hideout’s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and welcomed Santa to town. Pictured are members of Western Wayne’s Select Chorus in grades 6 through 12.

Sophomore Chosen to Attend HOBY Leadership Seminar

Western Wayne sophomore Hunter Smith has been chosen to represent Western Wayne at the 2021 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Leadership Seminar in June 2021.

Hunter is an accomplished Western Wayne honor roll student who enjoys being a part of a variety of clubs at school including: FBLA, FCCLA, and student council where he serves as president this year. Hunter, also, is a member of the track team where his main event is throwing.

In Hunter’s leadership essay for HOBY, he explained how he discussed his leading roles in the activities and sports he is involved with at Western Wayne.

“On track I use my leadership skills to help my younger teammates,” Hunter explained.

He looks 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 at the conference,” Hunter explained.

After high school, Hunter aspires to study education. He wants to work with high school students.

“I hope to become a leader for students in my classroom one day,” Hunter said. “Teachers are leaders who help their students become better members of society than they were before they entered their classroom.”

WW Hosts Johnson College and Five Star Equipment

Real world experience is still an option for students wishing to pursue a career in a variety of automotive-related fields. Western Wayne High School students were treated to a presentation in November from representatives with Johnson College and Five Star Equipment.
The college and company have teamed up to offer Johnson students the opportunity to take classes for their degree at Johnson along with working at Five Star in what they call Live Labs. Five Star Equipment is located in Dunmore and specializes in sales, rentals, parts, and service. The students get to work in real situations at Five Star and then discuss their experiences with their teachers at Johnson.
James Charney, an instructor at Johnson in technical transportation and heavy equipment, explained what he hopes the students gained from the presentation.
“There are many job opportunities for engineers and technicians,” Charney explained. “We have partnered with Five Star to make students aware of opportunities in continuing education. We have a focus on two year degrees and then placement in the workforce afterwards.”
Through the partnership with Five Star, Johnson students in the program can work two days a week there and are introduced to numerous repairs. Five Star service and safety training manager Tim Stevens, who has worked in the industry for 35 years, also, spoke with the students.
Charney explained how students’ work at Five Star with Stevens and other employees then translates into great material for classroom discussions.

“Students are then able to discuss scenarios they run into in the field in their classes and troubleshoot solutions for next time,” Charney explained.
Western Wayne junior Dawson Wargo enjoyed the presentation given to the auto students. “I have an interest in working with heavy equipment,” Dawson explained. “I could be interested in studying diesel mechanics at Johnson.”
Fellow Western Wayne junior Zach Kizer also enjoyed the presentation. “I am definitely interested in the possibility of getting some real experience in the field while I am in school,” he explained.
Charney hopes the information he shared with the students helps them see the different possibilities available to them.
“If you are interested in this field there are a lot of opportunities out there,” Charney told the students. “I was once in your shoes, and I decided to attend Johnson College.”

High School Celebrates Homecoming

Western Wayne Wayne High School Celebrated their traditional Homecoming Court Ceremony this past fall in a home game against Honesdale. Pictured are the homecoming court from left: Thomas Chernasky, Jaiden DeRosa, Ashton Fitzsimmons, Homecoming King Joshua Mahnke, Homecoming Queen Rylee Sheehan, Brooke Richardson, Rachel Tuman, Sarah Collins, and Ella Dougher. Absent from photo: Caden Brungard.

Turkey Trot Winners

front row: Juda Strocchia, Gavin Morcom, Annie Williams, Benjamin McCleland, Jake Grodack, Ava Fiorella

Second row: Landon Romanaskas, Aliyah Gregory, Eli Bilski, Frankie Leyshon (Turkey), Sadie Booths, Mia Gifford, Audrey Agnello

Middle School Hosts JLINE Dance Crew

Flashing lights, catchy songs, choreographed dances, and a powerful message were all a part of the show presented by the JLINE Dance Crew out of New York City.
The group entertained Western Wayne Middle School students in grades 6 through 8 on Thursday, Nov. 11, at a school assembly in the gym. Show creator and lead performer JLINE sang through a variety of songs for the students including some popular cover songs like “This is Me” and others that he wrote with a powerful message about anti-bullying.
JLINE had two back-up dancers in the show Darby Fulcher and Carrie Lee. The group led by JLINE performed high energy songs to engage the students.
“There was a lot of bullying in my school,” JLINE explained to the kids before starting the performance. “I got through it with song and dance. I think dance and music unite us all.”
After the musical portion of the show, JLINE told more of his story to the students. He explained that he experienced so much bullying as a boy in his school, in a small town in upstate New York, that he shut down and didn’t really speak to anyone for two years.
To get him to open up, his parents got him involved in cross country running, Taekwondo, and theater.
“I’m so lucky my parents believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” he told the students. JLINE believes that his involvement in these three activities greatly influenced his path in life and helped him to get where he is today creating shows to spread a powerful message to students.
After JLINE spoke, dancer Carrie Lee told the students about an experience she faced in school where she took a long time to stand up for another student she saw her friends repeatedly making fun of.
“It was just easier to walk away and pretend it wasn’t happening,” Carrie explained but then discussed how she finally decided to make a change and stand up for the student even if it meant losing friends. “I learned it’s not enough to just avoid bullying. You need to stand up for each other. You can be that one person to stand up for someone else.”
Fellow dancer Darby Fulcher was the last performer to speak to the students. She explained to them how she struggled greatly with her academics in school, but, in the end, graduated in the top of her class.
“If you have a roadblock in your life, push through it” Darby told the students. “Don’t give up.”
Western Wayne administration, faculty, and staff hope the messages presented to their students help them to develop as individuals who want to show kindness to others and persevere even in difficult situations.
From left: JLINE performs with dancers Darby Fulcher and Carrie Lee for Western Wayne Middle School students at an assembly on Thursday, November 11.

Middle School Hosts Visit From Author J. E. Thompson

From left: Western Wayne Middle School teacher Starlah Robbins, who worked to coordinate the visit from Thompson, and J. E. Thompson.

Western Wayne Middle School students learned about the time and effort it takes to have a career as a published author on Tuesday, Nov. 16, when award-winning author J. E. Thompson spoke to them. Thompson told the students about his latest book Buccaneer’s Spit. In the novel, two teenagers work to save a spit of land in South Carolina from a developer who wants to take it over.
Thompson explained that his books are mystery, thriller stories. He told the students about the process he goes through to write a novel. He explained that he likes to start by creating characters that readers will care about. Then he creates a large problem for those characters to overcome, and, as he writes, he discovers how his characters will overcome the obstacles they face. Thompson explained to the students the many times a writer has to edit, revise, and rewrite a story before it is finally published.
“Imagination is one of the greatest skills you’ve got,” Thompson told the students. “If you have a great imagination, you can figure things out and be a good problem solver.”
The students had the chance to purchase a signed copy of one of Thompson’s novels after the presentation. Many of them are excited to read a book from an author they have met. Thompson’s other two published novels are The Girl From Felony Bay and its sequel Disappearance at Hangman’s Bluff.
Thompson let the students know that his next book is set in the woods of rural Pennsylvania.
“There is so much beauty out here [where you live] that I am fascinated by,” Thompson told the students. “You are lucky to live here.”