The Western Wayne Drama Club rounded out their 2022-23 season with a field trip to The Scranton Cultural Center to see Disney’s The Little Mermaid. It was a great experience for the students because they recently put on their own production of the same show this past April. The students look forward to their next season, and the club wishes it’s seniors the best in all of their future endeavors!

Western Wayne hosted their annual spring Art Show on Saturday, May 13, for the community with a special section of pieces from Western Wayne alumni this year in honor of Western Wayne’s 50th Anniversary celebration.  The show featured art from students in grades 8 through 12 and art from graduating seniors.  The following list of nine seniors exhibited their portfolios at the art show: Eleanor Black, Emily Brophy, Alice Davis, Anjali de Leon-Bello, Eriana Figueroa, Kourtney Franklin, Lillian Morcom, Angelina Salvatore, and Alex Wallace.  Their displays represented an accumulation of up to four years of artwork. 

Senior Eleanor Black’s senior exhibit was titled “Our Past.” 

“My portfolio theme centers around the concept of childhood,” Eleanor explained.  “I wanted to convey senses of uneasiness and sadness within youthful and vibrant images.”

Eleanor plans to attend Vassar College and major in English.

Fellow senior Emily Brophy also had her display in the art show titled “Garden Party”.

She particularly likes drawing insects.

“I believe my specialty has become creating Greek and Roman statues as well as insects,” Emily said.  “I enjoy more than just drawing insects, but also pinning and displaying them.”

Emily plans to attend Delaware Valley University to major in botany.  She would like to have a future career working in environmental conservation at a local national park or for an agricultural business.

Another featured senior is Alice Davis who titled her display “Ghost Town.”  

“In truth, I’ve always thought how fun it would be to be a ghost, to be so free and to not worry about the consequences of my actions, to just be able to have fun and to enjoy life to the fullest,” Alice explained.  “I think I’ve shown my desire to be free and to be able to have that fun within my pieces.”

Alice plans to attend Lackawanna College this fall to study culinary arts.

Senior Anjali de Leon-Bello also had a featured display centered around the concept of “Change.”

Anjali doesn’t particularly like change and wanted to represent that concept in her senior collection.

“Change has always made me uneasy,” she said.  “I don’t like surprises and I don’t like not knowing things.  I’m at the part of my life where everything is a gigantic unanswered question and it drives me crazy.  I wanted to represent that hardness of letting go, but keeping the constants in my life.”

Anjali will pursue a degree in art education at Kutztown University after graduation.

Fellow senior Eriana Figueroa’s senior collection was centered around animals.

“I like to explore various subject matter forms, but my favorite art is that which enhances the beauty of animals,” she explained.  “I love all the details animals possess; therefore, I enjoy the challenge of trying to paint them, and it is why I chose this theme for my exhibit.”

Eriana believes her art is like a “form of medicine” which is fitting since she plans to attend Penn State in the fall to study nursing.

Senior Kourtney Franklin’s collection was titled “Enchanted Garden.”

“I enjoy doing mostly colored pencil, for I have always loved the outcome of it,” Kourtney explained.  “I chose to base my portfolio around flowers and plants because the colors are beautiful and it is unique.”

Kourtney currently works as a CNA and plans to achieve a nursing degree at Penn State.  

Senior Lillian Morcom also had a featured display titled “Me.”  

“I want to convey to my viewers my life through all of my pieces,” Lillian said.  “The theme I chose reflects the things I like and the things I enjoy.  I chose my room as my display because I feel it reflects me the most.  I can’t control everything in my life, but I can control how my room looks.”

Lillian plans to attend East Stroudsburg University with a major in English.

In addition, senior Angelina Salvatore had a display centered around people’s insecurities and things that people see as weird or unconventional.

Angelina has been very inspired by her family to pursue art.

“I want people to look at my art and feel it,” she said.  “I want to capture emotions in my art and immortalize them.”

She plans to attend Albright University to pursue a degree for fashion and costume design.

Finally, senior Alex Wallace had a very unique senior display titled “Mind on a Permanent Vacation.”

“I chose this theme because my thoughts are literally everywhere,” he explained.  “Throughout senior year, there were a lot of things going on and being able to mentally check out and work on my art provided me with an outlet.  I want to convey to my viewers a sense of calmness and peace.  I believe it’s okay to be busy and have a lot of things going on, but it’s important to reign it in and be proud of how far you have come.”

Alex plans to attend East Stroudsburg University in the fall with a major in integrated arts.

Many of the seniors plan to pursue art as a hobby if it is not part of their chosen career field. They are grateful for the experiences they had at Western Wayne in their art classes.

The District wishes them the best on their future endeavors and congratulates the Art Department on another successful Art Show. 

Forty members of Western Wayne FBLA attended the 72nd Annual PA FBLA State Leadership Conference in Hershey April 17-April 19.
At the Awards of Excellence Session held at the Giant Center the following members placed in the top 10: Adrian Agnello and Weston Nugent, 2nd place, Business Ethics; Raegan Palmer and Colette Schmitt, 8th place, Introduction to Business Presentation; Introduction to FBLA, Maggie Kotchessa, 4th place and Khloe Mistishin, 6th place; Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure, Maddie Vinton 4th place and Raeleigh Kromko, 10th place; Rhayni Carroll, Alex Chapman, Jenna Kwiatkowski, Taylor Maiocco, and Emily Romanowski, 1st place Parliamentary Procedure; Allie Pauler, 2nd place, Word Processing, and Alex Chapman, 7th place, Who’s Who in PA FBLA.
Alex Chapman and Jenna Kwiatkowski each received a William Selden Scholarship award. Alex placed 7th and received $750, and Jenna was an honorable mention and received $350.
Western Wayne FBLA placed 6th in Outstanding Chapter.
Ten members are eligible to compete at the FBLA National Leadership Conference this summer in Atlanta, GA.

The Western Wayne High School Band and Chorus presented their annual Spring concert this past Saturday, May 13, in the high school auditorium. The chorus entertained the crowd with a variety of beautiful songs including a special song to wish the senior members well titled “Shine Like Stars.” The crowd was also treated to selections from the newly created Acapella Choir. The band also presented a variety of music to entertain the crowd including the moving piece “Into the Raging River.” To close out the show, both the band and chorus performed highlights from the Music Man. The High School Chorus is under the direction of Mr. Taber Starnes and the High School Band is under the director of Mrs. Elaine Ort.