. From left: Mr. Matthew Barr, high school vice principal; David Stinson, district manager; and Mr. Paul Gregorski, high school principal.
The Western Wayne High School received a 500 dollar 2022 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Grant to support STEM education. ExxonMobil and Onvo present these grants to various area schools each year. The check was awarded to Western Wayne recently. Western Wayne Administration and staff are excited to use these funds to better the educational experiences of their students. The District intends to use these funds to enhance students’ experiences in STEM related studies. The following picture was taken during the 2019 school year.
Mrs. Thorpe, secretary at RDW, recently opened her own floral shop called “For the Birds: Floral and Gifts.” She spoke to second and fifth grade students about her experience of starting a business from scratch. She shared her exciting progress as well as the difficulties of being an entrepreneur (e.g. you don’t make much money in the beginning, you have no “sick” days, if there’s any problems you have to solve them on your own). Students also watched how a floral arrangement is created from start (flowers in boxes) to finish. They even got to take some flowers home!
Thank you Mrs. Thorpe for sharing your experience with our students!
Attention all Wildcats: Western Wayne High School CATS Club will be hosting a fundraiser to help the Children of Ukraine. We will be selling t-shirts and all proceeds will be donated to UNICEF targeted for the Children of Ukraine. You can order your t-shirts online by going to the Western Wayne website and click on the site or go to https://catsclub.itemorder.com/shop/sale/ . The t-shirts will be delivered to your school, or you can have them mailed directly to your home at an additional cost. The cost of the t-shirt will be $17.50. They will be available in either youth or adult sizes. Thank you.
The Art students at RDW celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by learning about ancient Celtic symbols. Kindergartners studied flags as symbols, then made their own Irish flag. 1st graders practiced the ancient craft of weaving and used ROY G BIV order to weave festive rainbows. 2nd Graders studied and created their own Irish Claddagh designs & 3rd graders painted Celtic Spiral Knots.
Western Wayne freshman Rebekah Palko recently placed second in the walk/ jog intermediate competition that was part of a regional competition hosted by the Interscholastic Equestrian Association that took place in Skippack, Pennsylvania, the weekend of March 12. Rebekah now will move on to the National Competition to be held in Harrisburg from April 28 through April 31. She will compete in her event on April 30.
Rebekah has been horseback riding since she was a young girl. She has always loved being around horses and riding them. She has been involved in the IEA program for the past three years. This is the furthest she has gotten in a competition of this nature.
“Competing has really helped me to grow,” Rebekah explained. “It has helped me to build confidence in myself as both a rider and person. I have more skills in riding and in life about opening up and not being afraid to take on new challenges.”
Rebekah works with local trainer Charlotte Walsh. Walsh helped to get Rebekah involved in the IEA competitions. Rebekah discussed how she really enjoys learning from Walsh, because each week they work on new skills to help her develop as a rider.
“Learning new skills helps me be prepared for what I could face when I ride in competition on any given day,” Rebekah explained. “I always feel prepared but am never totally sure what’ll happen in the moment due to the nature of riding an animal.” Rebekah is looking forward to the upcoming IEA National Competition. She aspires to work hard at her riding for the duration of her high school career in the hopes of earning a college scholarship for her equestrian work. Any other local middle and high school riders can join IEA. Students do not need to own a horse in order to be a part of a team. The link for more information is https://www.rideiea.org/
The week of March 14th is designated as AG Literacy Week in the state of Pennsylvania. The program focuses on connecting volunteers from the agricultural community to local classrooms to share the story of agriculture. Volunteer readers will have the opportunity to talk about farming and agriculture through the book they read as well as their own experiences with farming. Volunteers visited all kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms at EverGreen Elementary on March 15th where they read My Family’s Soybean Farm to the students. Students pictured are from Ms. Hemmler’s first grade class.
March is nationally recognized as Music in Our Schools Month: a month where schools around the country celebrate the importance of music programs in children’s lives. Please enjoy a performance by the Western Wayne High School Chorus celebrating the value of music in our community!
From left, Row 1: Theresa Lubash, Gabby Tetreault, PA FBLA State Parliamentarian; and Morgan Coccodrilli, PA FBLA State Reporter. From left, Row 2: Jocelyn Cramer, Wayne County Commissioner; Brian Field, Wayne County Treasurer; Brian Smith, Wayne County Commissioner; and Joe Adams, Wayne County Commissioner.
Western Wayne FBLA members recently attended a recent Wayne County Commissioners meeting. At the meeting, Western Wayne FBLA officers Gabby Tetreault and Morgan Coccodrilli spoke about FBLA and accepted a proclamation declaring the week of February 13-19, 2022, FBLA Week in Wayne County.
Pictured from left to right: Ella Sepelyak, Lucas Musgrave, Mrs. Davis (School Nurse), Taylor Brown, and Juliana DeCandis.
In light of dental health month, Dr. Joyce Perih donated dental hygiene bags to the 3rd graders at EverGreen Elementary during the month of February. Dental examinations are important for oral hygiene
In conjunction with Read Across America and Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2, the EverGreen Elementary PTA held a book distribution to celebrate reading! Each student at EverGreen had the opportunity to choose from a plethora of books to enjoy. Thank you EverGreen Elementary PTA!
ALL NEWS
Special OlympicsApril 23, 2025Thank you to everyone who participated in the Special Olympics. [...]
Dr. Mark Nebzydoski Receives Prestigious Charlie Bright Award from Wayne Pike Trout UnlimitedApril 15, 2025On Saturday, April 12, 2025, during the annual Wayne Pike Trout Unlimited Banquet and Fundraiser, Dr. Mark Nebzydoski—a science teacher at Western Wayne High School and passionate participant in the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program—was honored with the 2025 Charlie Bright Award.Presented by the members of the Wayne Pike Trout Unlimited Chapter, the Charlie Bright Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership, dedicated service, and meaningful contributions to cold-water conservation. The award is named in honor of Charlie Bright, a beloved long-time Trout Unlimited member and owner of the Charlie Bright Fly Fishing Shop in Rowland, located on the banks of the Lackawaxen River, which he operated for more than 40 years.“It was truly a humbling experience to be recognized for my work in watershed education and cold-water conservation,” Dr. Nebzydoski said. “I am deeply grateful for this kind gesture.”Dr. Nebzydoski leads the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program at Western Wayne High School, where students raise rainbow trout from eggs provided by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Throughout the school year, students care for the trout and learn about aquatic ecosystems, biology, and the importance of clean, cold water for trout survival. The program culminates in a spring field trip to the Varden Conservation Area, where the trout—now fingerlings—are released into the wild. Wayne Pike Trout Unlimited proudly partners in this annual release, helping to connect students directly with conservation in action.This recognition highlights Dr. Nebzydoski’s commitment not only to science education but also to fostering environmental stewardship in the next generation.
Picture Caption: (Left to Right: Vice President Wayne Pike TU – Tony Capitano; President Wayne Pike TU- Paul Ranello; Western Wayne Science Teacher, Dr. Mark Nebzydoski; Wayne Pike TU Youth Advisor – Don Strathy) [...]
Independent Order of Odd Fellows Freedom Lodge #88 Donates Bench to WWHSApril 15, 2025Western Wayne junior Connor Buchinski is in The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Freedom Lodge #88 in Honesdale. Connor has been a part of this organization for about a year now. Membership in The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is somewhat of a legacy in his family with his grandfather Dennis Buchinski being a member along with his father Doug Buchinski and other family members.
One of the community outreach efforts of Freedom Lodge #88 is collecting soft plastic. There is even a collection bin in the office of the Western Wayne High School. Once 1,000 lbs. of plastic is gathered the organization recycles with the Trex Bench program and donates a Bench to a non-profit organization. It was Connor’s idea to donate one of the benches this year to Western Wayne High School.
“I thought students would enjoy it during their lunch periods,” Connor said. “I really like working with this organization because of the new people I get to meet and the members of the community that I get to help.”
On Monday April 14th Freedom Lodge #88 members donated the Trex Bench to Western Wayne High School.
Freedom Lodge #88 also donated a history book to the Western Wayne High School Library on the Pennsylvania history of The Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Connor plans to work to collect more plastic and donate another bench to the Western Wayne High School before his senior year is over.
From left, standing: Sarah Rickert, high school teacher; Dennis Hiller, Lodge #88; Mr. Paul B. Gregorski, high school principal; Dennis Buchinski, Lodge #88 member; Maria Phillips, high school teacher; and Forrest Goodenough, Lodge #88 member. From left, seated: Doug Buchinski, Lodge #88 member; and Connor Buchinski, Lodge #88 member and Western Wayne junior. [...]
High School’s Student Council attends Student Council ConferenceApril 4, 2025Western Wayne High School’s Student Council was invited to attend the annual Pennsylvania Association of Student Council’s Region H Conference, hosted by Lakeland Jr./Sr. High School, on Friday, March 28th. Several of our students joined the 535 delegates, presenters, and advisors for a day of networking and learning more about what it means to be an effective leader in school and how to become one! Our students were thrilled with the opportunity to attend and left energized to put much of what they learned into practice here at Western Wayne! Pictured from left to right are Autumn Sawicki, Leah Reeger, Sadie Booths, Dakota Douglas, Madison Forgione, Raegan Fox, Makenzie Chearney, and Madie Kizer. [...]
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention
program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize
warning signs and signals, especially within social media,
from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others
and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late.
