RDW Club Models Kindness

The Kindness Club at RDW recently performed a play for students in grades K-2. The play was called A Day in the Life of an RDW Student and included five different scenarios that a typical student might encounter. In each scene, one or more of the characters chose to demonstrate kindness in a challenging situation. The club members had questions for students to discuss between acts. At the conclusion of the play, Kindness Club members encouraged students to practice acts of kindness throughout their day and to consider joining the Kindness Club when they are in fifth grade.

Members, left to right from first photo: Ryan Nixon, Paxton Shiner-Lewis, Caden Reeger, Saga Bryden, Lillian Sorrentino, and Kelly Talarico

Guiding Good Choices for 4th-6th grade parents and caregivers.

Guiding Good Choices for 4th-6th grade parents and caregivers. Attend this
FREE VIRTUAL five-session program to help your youth navigate the
pressures and expectations of life during their teen years to succeed and
achieve a brighter future.
Parents and caregivers can enhance their parenting skills by learning how to:

Promote health and well-being during the teen years.
Develop health beliefs and clear standards for behavior.
Deal with anger in a positive way and manage family conflict to strengthen
bonds with youth.
Protect their children from substance abuse and other problematic behaviors.
Strengthen family bonds and increase youth’s involvement in the family through
the teen years.

Youth attend session 4 with their parents and caregivers.
The program will be held on five Tuesdays: February 6, 13, 20, 27 and March 6
from 6 to 8 PM via Zoom.
For more information or to register, e-mail or call Karen Thomas at kat1@psu.edu
or 570-878-2385

Universal Technical Institute Guest Speaker

On January 12^th, Jay Amore from the Universal Technical Institute met with fourth and fifth grade students at RDW. Mr. Amore shared the different training programs that are offered at UTI and why many of these are in high-demand. He discussed the cost of technical school versus a traditional college and explained the difference between these two endeavors. He also shared his personal career journey to demonstrate the potential for success and happiness when pursuing a career in the trades.

Mr. Amore’s engaging presentation helped to expand students’ understanding of their post-secondary options, which is an important goal of the K-12 College and Career Readiness program here at Western Wayne.

High School CATS Club Spreads Holiday Cheer at Wayne Woodlands

Top row, from left: Allyson Irvine, Mackenzie Adams, and Angelina Correa.

The Western Wayne High School CATS club visited Wayne Woodlands Manor in Waymart on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, to spread Christmas cheer. They visited with all the residents and gave out a gift to each person. The residents and the students had a wonderful time talking to each other, singing, and spreading holiday spirit. Bottom row: Lizzie Washine. Middle row, from left: Lillian Bronson, Grace Lidy, and MaKennah Holbert.

EverGreen Elementary Ornament Donation

The PTA at EverGreen Elementary purchased ornaments for the 5th grade students so they can decorate the Christmas tree at EverGreen. Students had the opportunity to decorate the pawprint during their art classes. The fifth grade classes enjoyed the opportunity to display their artistic and creative abilities to kick off the holiday season while having their ornaments on display in the school. Fifth grade students are pictured with PTA Representatives around the decorated tree; from left to right: Bryleigh Sickler, Francine Harkins (PTA President), Isabella Conroy, Aubrianna Yannone, Erica Musgrave (PTA Treasurer), and Lyla Price.

Such a joyful time at the RDW Elementary School! Thank you to the RDW PTA

“ Such a joyful time at the RDW Elementary School! Thank you to the RDW PTA for putting on a week long Santa shop and gifting books and the love of reading to all of our RDW students! We even had a very special visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause! “ All of the students LOVED the Christmas Fun and Spirit!”

Thank You EverGreen PTA

The EverGreen Elementary School PTA purchased a holiday gift for all students. Students received their Western Wayne Wildcat blankets from PTA members on Wednesday, just in time for the holiday break. All students at EverGreen were very appreciative of the gift. Thank you to the PTA for this year’s gift!

Middle School Students Attend Presentation on Bullying

Officer Urban giving the presentation to the entire Western Wayne Middle School grades six through eight.

Western Wayne Middle School students attended a school-wide presentation on the dangers of bullying, specifically cyberbullying, on Wednesday, December 13, in the Middle School Gym, given by TFC. Robert M. Urban, Community Services Officer, Public Information Officer, at Troop R. Dunmore. Officer Urban gave the students a lot of important information on how not to be a bystander in a bullying situation along with explaining the importance of being kind to others, and a discussion of the legal repercussions that a person could face if the bullying they partake in leads to another person hurting themselves. The district is thankful to Officer Urban for taking the time to discuss these important issues with their students.

High School Creative Writing Students Help Santa

Juniors MaKennah Holbert (left) and Elizabeth Washine (right) proudly display Santa letters.

Western Wayne High School students in the Creative Writing elective classes served as Santa’s helpers by composing official North Pole responses and crafting gifts for some RDW students who wrote to Santa about their wish lists. Students were excited for the opportunity to use their talents to do a good deed this holiday season.

High School Students Participate in WAHS Engineering Competition

From left: Makayla Walton, Julia Wehrmann, Colette Schmitt, Kallie Wehrmann, and Lia Hartman.

This past October Western Wayne High School science students participated in the WAHS Engineering Competition held at Wallenpaupack Area High School and hosted by the WAHS Technology Club Kiley and Associates.

It was a one-day engineering and design contest for local high schools. Teams were presented with a challenge at the start of the event. This year’s challenge was to make a marble move from one end of a board to the other in a certain timeframe. The marble had to move from one corner of the space to the other and couldn’t go off of it.

Students were given specific materials to use for the challenge which included: pipe cleaners, tape, uncooked pasta, rope, chain, silly puddy, wood blocks, etc.

Two groups of Western Wayne High Schoolers participated and competed against groups of students from other local schools. One of the Western Wayne groups won the award for the Most Ingenious Use of Materials. This winning group included: Makayla Walton, Julia Wehrmann, Colette Schmitt, Kallie Wehrmann, and Lia Hartman. A second group of Western Wayne students also participated and had a great learning experience: Anita Vanyo, Stephanie Mildner, Sean Owens, Jacob Dietrich, and Jacob Schott.

Lia Hartman, Western Wayne junior, who plans to attend medical school and study pathology in the future, explained how her group used their materials “ingeniously” for the challenge.

“Instead of having it all one dimension, we created a wall and along the wall funnels to slow down the marble,” she explained. ‘We also included a maze at the bottom of our project.”

All of Lia’s teammates were excited to be recognized for their work in the competition.

“I thought I was going to feel a lot more pressure,” Makayla Walton, a Western Wayne junior who wishes to attend a four-year college after graduation to study psychology and also wants to pursue a doctorate in the same field, said. “But I realized that everyone had the same task to accomplish and that we needed to have confidence in ourselves and each other.”

Another one of their teammates, Julia Wehrmann, a Western Wayne junior, who would like to study science and medicine after graduation, explained how she learned a lot about adapting to unexpected situations from the competition.

“When we practiced ahead of time for the event, we didn’t know exactly how difficult it would be,” she explained. “At the actual competition, the scenario was harder than we anticipated, and we had to work together to meet the challenge.”

All of the Western Wayne students who attended the event felt like they learned a lot and those who are not seniors look forward to participating in the competition again next year.