More than 12,000 participants from across the country convened online for the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) 2021 National Leadership Conference (NLC). The event, which connected middle school, high school, and collegiate level students through competitive events, leadership sessions, and networking, provided students with the collective opportunity to win more than $110,000 in cash awards.

Western Wayne High School in Lake Ariel received national recognition during FBLA-PBL’s Awards of Excellence ceremonies for the FBLA high school division July 1 and 2.

During the Awards of Excellence program, the team of Lenny Maiocco, Lena Piccolino, Rachel Hoch, Kaeli Romanowski, and Gabby Tetreault placed eighth in the nation in the Parliamentary Procedure event.  To achieve this success, each of the students took an objective test covering the rules of parliamentary procedure.  

“My experience with this event taught me a lot about cooperation in team work and how much time and effort it takes to be successful as a team,” team member Gabby Tetreault explained.

Their scores were averaged which qualified them for the final round of competition in which they had to conduct a simulated chapter meeting incorporating specific challenges prepared by the national office into their performance.

“I really learned about how to work professionally with others through this experience,” team member Rachel Hoch said.

The award is part of the National Awards Program, better known as competitive events, FBLA-PBL’s program that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers.

The NLC featured 74 events at the high school level, 60 events at the collegiate level, and 9 events at the middle school level. Events were modified to accommodate the online experience.

Both Lenny Maiocco and Lena Piccolino are recent Western Wayne graduates and will be heading off to college in the fall.  Meanwhile, Hoch, Romanowski, and Tetreault will be seniors.

Other Western Wayne students who competed at this VNLC included Rhayni Carroll, Introduction to FBLA, Jenna Kwiatkowski and Alex Chapman, Intro to Parliamentary Procedure.  Ms. Theresa Lubash, Business Department Chairperson, is also the FBLA local chapter adviser.

Wayne/Pike Suicide Prevention & Remembrance Walk

Wallenpaupack Area High School Route 6 – Hawley, PA

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Registration begins at 10AM

Program starts at 11AM –walk directly following the program

$10 donation includes tote bags

Refreshments and give-a-ways

Basket raffle

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide please contact: Center Community Resource (CCR) 1-833-55REACH (Wayne County) New Perspective Crisis 1-570-992-0879 (Pike County) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 National Suicide Prevention Textline 741-741

Please direct any questions to John Nebzydoski 570-253-9200 or jnebzydoski@waynecountypa.gov

The Western Wayne High School administration was informed today of multiple positive cases of COVID-19 throughout the school district resulting in the quarantine of several students including multiple varsity football players.  As a result, Western Wayne is canceling the varsity football game at Moore Catholic which was scheduled for 2 PM on Saturday, September 11^th 2021.  Concerns regarding the health and safety of our students will continue to be our top priority.  

Members of the class of 2022 gathered on the football field on the first day of school to reminisce while the sun rose on the start of their senior year.
Seniors Rachel Tuman and Alexandria Bien-Aime worked to plan the event with senior class advisors Maria Masankay and Kasey Gribble.
Rachel and Alexandria first were inspired by videos they saw of events of this nature on TikTok. The girls then did some further research and reached out to their advisors to see if this could be an event their entire class could enjoy.
“The idea of the event is to symbolize a good start to the school year with us all together at the start of the first day,” Rachel, who is interested in studying pre-law, explained. “Our class as a whole has always been very close our entire lives. It was so great to be there on the football field seeing groups of friends gathered in circles. It is such a fitting start to our senior year.”
The students were invited to gather on the football field for the event, and then were welcome to enjoy a breakfast at the school before beginning their first day of classes. About sixty students were in attendance.
Alexandria explained how she took time especially to reflect on her friendship with Rachel at the Senior Sunrise.
“We even recreated an old picture that we have from our elementary school days,” Alexandria, who has been friends with Rachel since the girls were four, explained. “We reminisced about when our friendship first began. It feels like time has gone by like a breeze.”
Throughout their high school years the girls have worked to plan a variety of events for their classmates through student council and other school groups.
Alexandria likes to do graphic design and has designed a variety of shirts for events over the years. A memorable shirt that she liked was the one she designed for the freshman class to wear to the school’s annual spirit games. She explained that it had Kermit the Frog on it.
In more recent years, the girls worked on the prom committee to plan last year’s outdoor prom with an Under the Stars theme. It was a challenge with COVID, but the girls wanted to do what they could to help their class have some traditional events with proper safety protocols.
Rachel and Alexandria also fondly remember decorating the halls for their sophomore spirit week. They planned an Egyptian theme that year. Even though they did not get to have the games due to COVID that year, they are still glad for the memories they have of working together with their classmates as a team to decorate.
“I think our class has a very strong bond,” Alexandria, who aspires to be an Orthopedic surgeon, said. “After our Senior Sunrise event, fellow Western Wayne alumni sent us messages commenting on how close our class is and wishing us the best in our senior year.”
Both Rachel and Alexandria plan to run for office in student council this year. Alexandria is a member of the soccer team, cheerleading for football and basketball, student government, track, and National Honor Society. Rachel is the first seat on the school’s tennis team. In addition, she is National Honor Society president along with being in basketball cheerleading. In the past, she has been on the softball team, FBLA, and Mock Trial. Both Alexandria and Rachel also were writers for the school’s newspaper Planet Wildcat and the school’s literary magazine.

Of course, Alexandria also designed the t-shirt for the Senior Sunrise event. She worked with her class to choose a quote for the back of the shirt from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The money raised from the purchase of their Senior Sunrise shirt will go towards funding other events for the students throughout the year.
“The whole Sunrise Event and the theme of our senior year is about living in the moment and taking advantage of special times in high school while we experience them,” Alexandria explained.
The girls hope to plan a Senior Sundown event at the end of the year for their class to symbolically celebrate the end of their time together at Western Wayne. In the meantime, the class of 2022 plans to enjoy each moment of their much-anticipated senior year.

Picture One: Western Wayne seniors gather on the football field for the Senior Sunrise event on the morning of Monday, Aug. 30.

Picture Two: From left, Alexandria Bien-Aime and Rachel Tuman present the t-shirt that Alexandria designed for the Senior Sunrise event that the girls worked to coordinate.

The Western Wayne School District welcomed back all faculty and staff on Wednesday, Aug. 25.  The Wildcat school community started off the year with a celebratory meeting at the football stadium.  The high school cheerleaders entertained the crowd.  In addition, the high school marching band did a preview performance of their field show “A Full Course Meal” featuring the songs “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “The Chicken Dance” to name a few.  Administration then welcomed back all faculty and staff after the performance for their in-service days.  

The Western Wayne School District later opened for students in all grades on Monday, Aug. 30.  Everyone is looking forward to a great new school year and is committed to showing their Wildcat Pride on a daily basis.

In photo:  The Western Wayne Wayne High School Marching Band takes the field to preview their field show at a recent welcome back event for faculty and staff.