Senior R.J. Clemens has qualified for the All-State Chorus Festival. The State Festival is in Pittsburgh, PA, from April 3 through April 6. R.J. is among the top vocalists in the state of Pennsylvania.
The Western Wayne Drama Club hosted New York based actor/singer/ dancer/ instructor Darius Jordan Lee for a Broadway Workshop held Monday, March 18, through the support and arrangement of the Western Wayne Drama Parent Board.
The students and parents have held many fundraisers throughout the school year to pay for this and other programs to support the students learning of performance arts.
This workshop was funded by our Western Wayne Drama Parents. We are excited to use our many fundraising efforts to bring more opportunities to our students in the future.
The students welcomed the opportunity to learn from a professional who most recently was seen in Clueless the Musical as the role Sean/ Murray Cover at the Signature Theatre Company. Lee’s credits include: Guthrie Theater: West Side Story (Riff), John W. Engeman Theater: In the Heights (Benny Cover), Mamma Mia! (Eddie), among many others. He has a B.F.A. in musical theater with a minor in computer science from Montclair State University.
Lee treated the students to a two and half hour session of sharing his professional experiences, leading them in acting exercises, and teaching a dance combination from the musical Clueless.
The students were very engaged with Lee and enjoyed having the chance to perform and be critiqued by a professional actor. Lee felt most grateful for being able to help students get out of their comfort zones and gain confidence in themselves.
“I’m so glad I was able to get them to try something new and not be afraid to be themselves,” Lee said.
Western Wayne and Wayne Highlands students earned the title of District Event Winner at the FIRST Robotics @ Bridgewater 2019 competition held in March. The team is called FRC 4285 Camo-Bots and is a partnership between Western Wayne School District and Wayne Highlands School District to operate a unified robotics team that resembles the blended post-secondary/workforce that students will encounter after graduation. Students develop their individual talents to be utilized as a collaborative team effort though our academic and business/industry partnerships.
Students involved in the FIRST Robotics competition produce and present business plan, design plan, machining and production, testing of components, engineering analysis, networking with students/engineers/business/industry, web page design, computer programming, advanced electronics/pneumatic/mechanics/sensor, and intense competition.
The competition has strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size 125 pound robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get.
FIRST Robotics Competition operates during the school year. Teams form and register in the fall. However, the “official season” begins early in January when the season’s Challenge is announced at a Kickoff ceremony to the world. Teams are then given six weeks to create their robot. District and Regional competition events start in late February and continue through April. Teams that qualify are invited to FIRST Championship at the end of April. There are also many off-season events in which teams can participate, strategize, hone their skills, learn new technology, meet other teams, and have fun!
FIRST FRC Competition is honored as the highest form of STEM competition on the planet. Every team is given the same competition constraints, time format, and open-ended strategy. It is up to the team then to produce a robot to compete within the 300 page rule book, present, and attain awards.
This is FRC 4285 Camo-Bots team 3rd “Blue Banner” win. Only the 1st place winner attains this and it a very highly sought after recognition and award. Many teams compete for decades and not attain this, the Camo-Bots have attained this goal in eight years. The FRC 4285 Camo-Bots are always recruiting any student interested in areas of business, marketing, webpage design, Computer Aided Drafting, CNC machining, electronics, sensors, computer programming (Java & Python), presentation, engineering analysis, mechanical, and networking with students/colleges/business/industry. The team has had five students in their eight years take advantage of the FIRST scholarship program utilizing over $500,000 in paid college tuition in engineering related STEM fields.
Western Wayne Team Mentor Mr. Brian Landry is very proud of the success of the Camo-Bots and is very thankful to Western Wayne administration, staff, students, their families, and members of the local business community who have and continue to support the efforts of the team.
Western Wayne Class of 2015 graduate Carly Swingle wants students at her alma mater to choose fulfilling career paths and not settle for work they find uninteresting.
On Tuesday, March 12, Swingle had the unique opportunity to return to Western Wayne High School as a part of the first Western Wayne Engineering Day for students in grades 8 through 12. The program included presentations by employees of Lockheed Martin, where Swingle has worked for the past three month, a video presentation about the engineering field, a female panel discussion of engineers and future engineers, and a 3-D printing activity with Johnson College.
Industrial arts teacher Mr. Brian Landry worked with high school science teacher Ms. Maria Masankay and middle school guidance counselor Mr. Joe Totsky to coordinate the event to give Western Wayne students the chance to learn about opportunities in the engineering field.
“Sometimes middle and high school students don’t realize that the engineering field is so diverse,” Landry explained. “I hope this event gives them some exposure to it.”
Students in both the middle and high school were given the option to attend the event, and about 40 students interested in learning more about the engineering field attended.
The attendees believe that their experience at Engineering Day has helped them to get more information about possible career paths.
Eighth grader Tarena Strasburger has always felt interested in an engineering career. She feels her time at Engineering Day has helped her want to pursue a career in this field.
“When I was younger I enjoyed building things out of wood or playing with Legos,” she explained. “I love to build and would like to develop my skills and someday work in aerospace engineering.”
Tarena’s classmate, fellow eighth grader, Kristin Hauenstein has also felt she has excelled at working with her hands from a young age.
“I like working on cars and am looking forward to taking introduction to auto-technology in high school,” Kristin said. “I most enjoyed finding out about mechanical engineering at today’s event.”
The high school students in attendance also were excited to attend a program focused on a career field they found of high interest.
Senior Josh Shelly wishes to attend Johnson College next year to study CNC Manufacturing. Josh became interested in engineering through his work with Western Wayne’s Robotics Team.
“I really want a career where I can work hands on rather than sitting in an office and was glad to learn about this from a former Western Wayne student,” Josh said.
Josh referenced Western Wayne graduate Carly Swingle who spoke to the students about her work at Lockheed Martin as an engineer.
“My job is constantly changing,” Swingle, who recently graduated from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, explained. “Each day is never the same as the last. I get to design things some days and work with power tools to do building tests the next.”
Juniors Jake Shepherd and Cody Aleckna aspire to do engineering work in the military. Both Jake and Cody wish to become mechanical engineers in the Air Force.
“I think it is easier to concentrate on hands on work,” Jake explained. He hopes to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps in joining the military.
Cody wishes to follow the path of his father and cousin who each served in the military.
“It was good to gain more knowledge on a field that I am going into to know what’s to come,” Cody explained.
Freshmen Richie Reed and Ryan Vinton both went into the experience highly interested in the engineering field and were also thrilled to gain more knowledge on their future career paths. Richie enjoys working with cars and welding in his metal shop class at school. Ryan became interested in the civil engineering field after having the opportunity, through a friend, to visit a job site where a bridge was being built across the Delaware River last year.
Students like Richie and Ryan and all of the others in attendance at the first Engineering Day at Western Wayne are why Mr. Landry hopes to make this a yearly tradition that grows with time. He wishes to get other Wayne County schools involved next year and eventually to work with schools in Lackawanna County on giving students the opportunity to explore the engineering field.
“I think it’s worthwhile for our students to learn about such a developing career field,” Landry said.
Come dine at Western Wayne High School for a fantastic time with Annie, Daddy Warbucks, and the cast of Annie!!
Be sure to bring money for a chance to win our amazing raffle baskets!
Space is limited! Reservations encouraged by emailing wwdramaparents@gmail.com
Honesdale – The fourth week’s rankings of the Wayne and Pike County Stock Market Challenge is in with Western Wayne High School, under the leadership of Thomas Lodini, leading the way. Stephen Kim from Delaware Valley School District is leading in the Middle School Division. The best student per school wins $25 in each division with all participating schools. The schools invited to participate are Canaan Christian Academy, Carbondale Area, Delaware Valley, Forest City Regional, Wallenpaupack Area, Wayne Highlands and Western Wayne High Schools. Additionally, the top-ranking students compete for $480 in a total prize package for Wayne and Pike County with additional prizes for state winners in the division and the overall program.
The Dime Bank supports local schools in the sponsorship of the Wayne and Pike County Stock Market Challenge from the Pennsylvania Council of Financial Literacy (PennCFL). This program is co-sponsored by The Wayne Independent, Carbondale News, and The News Eagle newspapers. These students represent their schools in a special local and competitive investment competition. A celebratory luncheon will be held at the Boiler Room in Hawley, PA on May 10th to honor the schools, teachers, and their students.
PennCFL’s mission is to provide Pennsylvania’s K-12 students with economic, personal finance, and entrepreneurship skills that elevate their standard of living, quality of life, and professional success. For additional information, please contact Carolyn Shirk, Vice President at carolyn.penncfl@gmail.com or call 570-975-5149.
Select Western Wayne Middle School students participated in the 2019 Middle Grades Music & Art Festival held on Friday, March 1, at the Wayne Highlands School District. Some students had art work on display and others participated by singing or playing musical instruments in a concert held that evening.
Students from a number of area schools participated. Some of the pieces performed by the band students included: music from West Side Story, “West Side Blues,” and “Jupiter”. Some of the pieces performed by the chorus included: music from The Greatest Showman, “Praise His Holy Name,” and “Stars I Shall Find.”
Many of the students from Western Wayne greatly enjoyed the experience of working with different students who share their same interest in the arts.
Eighth grader Evan Peirce, who participated with the band, said he had the most fun learning about a new instrument. Evan plays the tenor saxophone and met a student from Wallenpaupack who plays the baritone saxophone.
“I really want to play the baritone saxophone in the high school band,” Evan said. “The student I met showed me some ways to play and it was really fun.”
Evan’s fellow band classmate Ashley Small Bermudez said she also enjoyed learning from the students in her section at Middle Grades. Ashley plays the mallets.
“A lot of the kids in my section showed different techniques and were helping each other to play.”
The same musical camaraderie was a special part of the Middle Grades experience for students that participated in the chorus as well.
Eighth grader Kylie Merring, a soprano, said the most meaningful part of the experience was her interactions with other vocal performance students.
“It was great to be able to interact with other kids, to hear them sing, and to take notes off of how they do it.”
All of the Western Wayne students in attendance also thought one of the best parts of the festival was the positive and encouraging atmosphere that the directors created at the event.
“Even when we were corrected, we were still told we were doing well,” eighth grade trombone player Elizabeth Wasylyk said.
In the end, all of the students who participated in Middle Grades were thrilled with the outcome.
“At the start of our rehearsals everything wasn’t set to go, but by the time we got on stage for the show we could see a really big change,” tenor Adam Kellogg explained.
Many of the students from Western Wayne who participated at Middle Grades plan to continue their study of the arts in high school whether it be in visual art classes, chorus class, the musical theater program, or in band.
Eighth graders Jake Larsen, Evan Peirce, and Elizabeth Wasylyk think their experience at Middle Grades along with their experiences in middle school band classes are better preparing them to be a part of Western Wayne’s prestigious marching band.
“Experience at events like Middle Grades are better preparing me for upcoming performances at Friday night games,” Elizabeth explained.
Western Wayne Students Perform at Annual Dr. Seuss Night Western Wayne’s musical theater students performed for the community at the annual Dr. Seuss night event held at the R.D. Wilson School on Thursday, February 28. Students performed selections from their upcoming production of the classic musical Annie. The public can also look forward to the upcoming Annie Character Breakfast on Saturday, April 6, at 10 a.m. in the High School cafeteria. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids and senior citizens. In addition, you can also mark your calendar with the dates for our performances of Annie at Western Wayne High School’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Friday, April 26, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students, and Western Wayne students are free with a student ID. From left: Lily Visceglia, who plays, Lily St. Regis; John Nichols, who plays Rooster Hannigan; Amanda David, who plays Annie; R.J. Clemens, who plays Daddy Warbucks; Honour Shaffer, who plays Bert Healy; and Sydney Peet, who plays Miss Hannigan.
National School Breakfast week is March 4 – 8, 2019. We will be celebrating with a special daily menu theme. Also, on Wednesday, March 6th, we will have a “Golden Ticket Day.” A Golden Ticket will be placed randomly in 2 grab and go bags at each school. Students that receive a golden ticket can redeem their prize during lunch.
Please encourage your student to have breakfast daily, whether it be at home or a school breakfast. When students start the day with a healthy meal, they are more likely to retain what they learn in class, behave better and experience better health outcomes. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me at mliptak@westernwayne.org
The lunch menu for the week is as follows:
“Owl Pellets” lyrics from the song by MC Paul Barman will forever be remembered by Western Wayne Science students in Dr. Mark Nebzydoski’s classes. The song goes, “Owls/ Scoop prey in their jowels/ Bones and fur stay in the gullet/ Meat goes to the bowels/ Comes out like a bullet/ After six hours.”
Nebzydoski’s students spent some time in their February lessons learning about ecology through a lab in which they had to dissect owl waste pellets to then reconstruct the animals and organisms the owls had eaten.
Students first read about different types of owls and owl pellets. Then they studied pictures of what gopher, weasel, rabbit, vole, mole, bird, and rabbit skeletons would look like when they got the bones to put them together from the owl regurgitate pellets.
Overall students enjoyed learning about ecology in this very hands-on lab despite some of the dirty work they had to do to get the animal bones.
“I feel I learn better when I am doing something instead of writing it down all the time,” freshman Joanna Regalbuto said.
Fellow classmate Gavin Henwood agrees. “A lab like this is more interesting because you can get into it easier when you are dissecting the owl pellets.”
Gavin’s lab partner Nick DeCandis said once he got over the mental struggle of thinking about what he was picking apart that he really liked the lab.
“It was like putting together a dinosaur set,” Nick explained. “I thought it was surprising that once we started pulling the bones out that we seemed to find them in the order of what the owl had eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I had thought the bones would be more scattered in the pellets.”
The main challenge the students said they faced from the lab was not breaking the bones when pulling apart the pellets to find them.
“Everything was very compacted inside the pellets,” Carleigh Galliford explained. “You had to be gentle.”
Fellow student Gabby Velez explained how she took on the challenge of handling the delicate animal bones.
“We used tweezers to take the different bones out and to get the fur and other hair off of them.”
Freshman Sarah McAndrew thought the best part of the lab was learning about all of the animal bones.
“It was interesting to see what all of the different bones look like,” she said.
Nebzydoski is pleased that his students did well accepting the challenge of dissecting the not physically appealing pellets for the greater benefit of furthering their knowledge of ecology.
“I think the students appreciate getting to do hands on work that is a change of pace from some of their other studies.”
Band Performs at GDS Fair and Meets Kurt AaronAugust 29, 2024Kurt Aaron and Michael Olivo
Band and Color Guard perform at the GDS Fair.
The annual Western Wayne Marching Band and Color Guard performance at the GDS Fair was especially eventful this year because on the day of their performance Wednesday, August 28, WNEP’s Kurt Aaron and his infamous dog Ranger were also there doing live spots. Aaron briefly interviewed Western Wayne band member Michael Olivo, a senior. Michael proudly told the viewing audience about Western Wayne’s upcoming performance at the fair.
“It was really exciting to get to promote our band to a TV audience,” Michael said.
The students were thrilled to perform their 2024-25 Boy Bands themed field show for the audience along with playing some fan favorite stand tunes.
Drum majors this year are seniors Lia Hartman and Kalob Franko. This is Lia’s second season as drum major.
“We are all so grateful to be able to perform for the local community who is so supportive of us,” Lia said.
The Western Wayne Band is under the direction of Mrs. Elaine Ort who is now in her 11th season with the district.
The entire Western Wayne Band and Color Guard invite the local community to attend the first home game of the season for varsity football against Lackawanna Trail on Friday, August, 30, at the Sharkey-Rosetti stadium. Western Wayne will have the pregame show starting at about 6:45 p.m.; kick-off is at 7 p.m. [...]
RDW – PTA WEBSITE INFORMATIONAugust 28, 2024VOLUNTEER TODAY!
For more information, visithttps://sites.google.com/view/rdw-pta [...]
Western Wayne to Host Annual Car Show Saturday, Sept. 7—NEW RAIN DATE! August 27, 2024The Western Wayne Hot Rod Club and Drama Club will host their 2024 Annual Car Show on Saturday, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the high school parking lot, 1970A Easton Turnpike, Lake Ariel, PA, near the football stadium. Please note our NEW RAIN DATE is Sunday, September 15.Food to be sold at the concession stand. Registration fee is $10. Spectators are free. The Hot Rod Club will give prizes for best car, truck, tractor, motorcycle, and best in show.In addition, the Drama group will sell a variety of concessions. There will also be a raffle of baskets and gift certificates generously donated by businesses and families in the local community.Drama Club student Robert Scramuzza is excited to partner with the Hot Rod Club for the for the Car Show. He explained how the Drama Club students will be dressed in 50s attire for the event.“We wanted our presence at the event to go along with the variety of cars from the past that surely will be there,” Bobby said. “We hope that the public comes out to enjoy the cars and to have some good food and purchase some chances to win baskets and gift certificates.”Members of the Drama Parents Club are working to obtain a variety of items for the raffle at the Car Show from many very generous businesses and families in our Wildcat community. The students involved in the Hot Rod Club and Drama Club can use the funds raised from this event for their club activities.The Hot Rod Club meets on a regular basis to work on a variety of automotive projects after school and can use the funds for their projects among other activities.The Drama Club meets on a regular basis after school to work on a variety of projects and activities.“Drama Club gives students a place where they can express themselves,” club president Lillian Maros explained. “We are like one big family in our club and really enjoy coming together to work as a team on events such as the Car Show.”All of the members of the Hot Rod Club, Drama Club, and Drama Parents Club cordially invite the public to attend this fun-filled event on Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the High School parking lot near the stadium. Come out and see some great vehicles, take some chances on our basket raffle, enjoy some food, and enjoy some time socializing. Rain date is Sunday, September 15. [...]
Freshman Orientation – Save the Date!August 8, 2024August 22, 2024 – 6:00-7:30pm – Veterans Memorial Auditorium, WWHS
Western Wayne High School welcomes the Class of 2028!
Information on the high school/ 9th Grade Transition
High School Survival Guide
Student’s class schedule
Tours
Refreshments [...]
