RDW Kindness Club Starts New Year

Ayden Latimer, Asher Lindgren, Tanner Rush, Makayla Swendsen, Gwen Morris, Victoria Nixon, and Mrs. Germani

The Kindness Club is up and running at R.D. Wilson. After interviewing with Mrs. Germani (club advisor), six students were chosen to serve the Kindness Club for the fall season. These students got right to work planning a project that incorporated the nice weather. They wrote kind and encouraging messages on the sidewalk leading out to the recess area. For three days, students at RDW got to read things like “There’s only one you in the world” and “Spread kindness like confetti” as they walked out to recess. The group is excited to plan their next project to encourage kindness in our school.

Band Celebrates Halloween with Young and Old

From left: Jean of Julia Ribaudo Nursing Home; Izzy O’Donnell, color guard captain; and Emily Brophy, color guard captain.

The Western Wayne High School Marching Band took their show on the road for Halloween festivities on Monday, Oct. 31.

First, the students gave a performance to elementary students in the district at the R.D. Wilson School and on the same day, they performed in the community at the Wayne Woodlands and Julia Ribaudo Nursing Homes. They also included in their day a performance for the Western Wayne Middle School and Evergreen Elementary School as well.

The band students were thrilled to be able to perform live for these very special audiences this year after two years of performing via video for Halloween due to COVID. All of the students and nursing home residents who got to see the performances felt a lot of joy on the holiday.

One such resident was Jean at Julia Ribaudo Nursing Home. Jean was a member of The Rockettes years ago, and absolutely loved listening to the band play a wide variety of songs. She also danced along in her chair while the color guard danced in front of her and with her.

“I am so grateful to be able to go out and perform in the community again,” one of the color guard captains, senior Emily Brophy said. “It adds another layer to our performances, and we get to have such fun experiences with new audiences.”

Fellow color guard captain senior Izzy O’Donnell agreed.

“It was so wonderful to be able to go back out into the community for our Halloween performances this year,” Izzy said. “I was able to perform live for this type of event in my 8th grade year, and I am so glad to get this experience again in my senior year. I love to make people smile.”

RDW Celebrates Veteran’s Day 2022

The students at Robert D. Wilson Elementary marked Veteran’s Day by creating a series of beautiful, nautical themed cards, projects, and messages of thanks in art class this year. The students learned about the history of Veteran’s Day, formerly Armistice Day, and considered the many sacrifices that veterans and their families make for our country. Each student hand crafted a message in a bottle or a porthole design, that will be delivered to the veterans at Camp Freedom to express our gratitude.

Coffee & Conversation

Are you familiar with the phrase, “Community happens over coffee”?

If you are interested in learning more about our district, consider joining us for Coffee & Conversation. We hope you will stop by for a cup of coffee and engage in an informal conversation on Friday, November 18th from 9:00am – 10:00am at the District Office.

Kindly RSVP at the link below by Wednesday, November 16^th. We hope to see you.

https://forms.gle/tdPCXbohz6XPNhqCA

Award-winning Local Musician Visits Western Wayne Middle School

Award-winning local musician and music producer Carl Canedy was invited by teacher Mrs. Joyce Covaleski to speak to Western Wayne Middle School’s 7th Grade Performing Arts classes about careers in music and the music business. The students enjoyed the presentation which included concert tee shirts, albums, and CDs from Mr. Canedy’s bands.

Public Welcome to Attend Spanish Dance Performance on Thursday, Nov. 3

From left: Gavin Steinmetz and Michaela Birnkrant practice one of their dance positions.

Learning rhythms, beats, steps, and choreography isn’t just work for the Rockettes and Broadway stars, Western Wayne High School foreign language students have a yearly tradition of learning Spanish dancing as a part of their curriculum each fall.

Local dance instructor and studio owner Vince Brust works with the Western Wayne students to teach a variety of traditional Spanish dances such as tango, merengue, mambo, and salsa among others. Brust does this as a part of the Artist in Residence Program through NEIU-19.

The students have a few weeks of sessions with Mr. Brust in the fall leading up to a performance for the community this Thursday, November 3, in the Western Wayne High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium at 7 p.m. Admission is FREE for everyone.

The high school students were thrilled to learn how to dance and get to meet and work more closely with their fellow classmates in the process.

Junior Gavin Steinmetz said he had never danced before this fall, but that once he got started with the classes he really enjoyed them.

“It was something different,” Gavin said. “You get to engage with students you didn’t really get to in the classroom.”

Fellow junior Michaela Birnkrant also said she really had fun during her Spanish dance experience.

“I really loved learning all of the turns in the dances like the frisbee we would do when spinning away and then into our partner,” she recalled.

There will be about 30 students participating in the Spanish Dance Performance for the local community at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, in the High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Again, admission is FREE for all.

The students and staff involved hope to see you there for what will be about an hour of performance fun.

Alumni in Need of Votes for Baking Contest

Shannon Croney, Western Wayne Class of 2013 alumni.

Our very own Western Wayne Alumni Shannon Croney, class of 2013, is up to be “The Greatest Baker” in an online contest hosted by thegreatestbaker.com. The public can vote for her through Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. when the first cuts are made. Then if Shannon moves on there will be additional voting for future rounds. Vote for Shannon now at the following website https://greatestbaker.com/2022/shannon-croney?fbclid=IwAR3vNOqHjsaWwMtM3EOp2Dgyefl1OuRJAEWQ3F4MMT-UdHGg8k_lQzXReDs

The winner of the contest will be featured in Bake from Scratch Magazine and will win a 10,000 dollar prize!

Shannon is a proud Western Wayne graduate who played tuba in the marching band all throughout high school and was one of the drum majors for her junior and senior years.

Of course, in addition to her musical interests in high school, Shannon also took a number of cooking classes to foster a love of the culinary arts. She took foundation of food preparation, baking and pastry, and gourmet food with Mrs. Zoppi in high school.

“There was a lot I had learned in all three of those classes that have been helpful to me- such as whisking your lemon curd quickly to avoid scrambling the eggs or using a small bit of water on top of your cream puffs to get rid of the point,” Shannon explained. “I would say that the pastry class was definitely my favorite.”

Throughout her life, Shannon has always loved cooking in general.

“ I always watched my family in the kitchen on holidays and wanted to do anything I could to help, even if it was just putting together the vegetables,” Shannon said. “I never really found my love for baking until high school. I always make cookies and cupcakes for after school activities and for my friends. Some people would even call me the ‘cookie girl’. I decided I might want to do this as a career choice and wanted to take the pastry class offered as an elective. The only issue was, I never took the foundations class and I was already a junior- most people take it as a freshman or sophomore. I’m still so grateful that Mrs. Zoppi fit me in! “

After graduating Western Wayne in 2013, Shannon went on to

attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport and earned her associates degree in Baking and Pastry.

“These early labs got me ready for what it was like out in the professional world,” Shannon explained. “I took a lot of practical classes from restaurant desserts- where you create a menu and actually serve it to the public in a restaurant setting, to bake shop production, where we got up early in the morning and opened a bakery style shop and sold that to the public as well. I got to take a lot of fun classes in between like cake design, menu and facilities planning, chocolate work and sugar work as well. Most of the skills I have learned here have set me up for success in a professional setting.”

Since graduating college, Shannon has gotten to do a variety of interesting things with her degree.

“One opportunity I had in school was to work at the Kentucky Derby for the week, which was an amazing experience,” Shannon said. “After school I tried a bunch of different things to see what type of environment I liked best. It’s okay to move around- not everything is for everybody. I soon realized I don’t care for bakery work. But I do really love the restaurant travel and leisure industry. I was the pastry chef at the Lodge at Woodloch, an award winning destination spa resort right here in the Poconos for about four years. I received an opportunity to work in Wyoming at Brush Creek Ranch- another award winning resort, where I was the pastry chef and a sous chef for 6 months. That was only seasonal, but it was an absolutely amazing opportunity that I will never forget.”

Through all of her experiences in the kitchen as a professional, Shannon’s passion for her job has remained strong.

“My favorite part about baking is the creativity and the specificity of it,” Shannon explained. “Things have to be precise and rules have to be followed- or it won’t work out. Sometimes you have to try it a few times before you figure out what the rules are or what keeps going wrong. Once you figure out what those rules are though- you can do so many things, and then start figuring out ways to bend them a bit. As for the creativity aspect- I love the surprise you get from a combination of flavors sometimes. Pairings such as, passionfruit and dark chocolate, or strawberry, black pepper, and white chocolate, are things you wouldn’t normally think go together.”

As Shannon’s career progressed, she started to learn about other avenues that could help enhance her career.

“After coming home from my seasonal place in Wyoming- I came back to the Lodge at Woodloch and started learning the hospitality side of business,” Shannon explained. “I’ve learned how to properly wait tables as well as bartend now. I love working behind the bar with my pastry knowledge because it helps me put together cocktails in a fun way with new flavors with a good balance. I still get to do my pastry as well, and I also have two classes I do with our guest sommelier- crepes & grapes, and s’mores & more- which are sweets and wine/cocktail pairings.”

Shannon is so excited to be a part of “The Greatest Baker” contest and hopes to get the votes of as many members of the Western Wayne community as she can. She hopes to make her alma mater proud if she wins, and she aspires to use the prize money to help further her career.

“ I’m hoping to do a lot of traveling in my future,” Shannon said. “I’d like to travel around and work at a lot more of those seasonal resorts around the country! “

Don’t forget to vote for Western Wayne’s very own Shannon Croney by Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at the following website https://greatestbaker.com/2022/shannon-croney?fbclid=IwAR3vNOqHjsaWwMtM3EOp2Dgyefl1OuRJAEWQ3F4MMT-UdHGg8k_lQzXReDs

Western Wayne Sophomores Chosen to Attend HOBY Leadership Seminar

Western Wayne sophomores Grace Lidy and Cassidy Zeiler have been chosen to represent Western Wayne at the 2023 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Leadership Seminar to be held this spring.

The girls submitted essays on the topic of what leadership means to them and were chosen to represent Western Wayne at HOBY.

Grace and Cassidy are accomplished Western Wayne students who enjoy being a part of a variety of clubs and activities at school along with taking challenging courses.

In Grace’s essay, she discussed her views on leadership.

“Leadership isn’t about having control,” she explained. “Instead it is about letting others do what they excel at while keeping control as a leader.”

Grace is a member of FBLA, Cats Club, football cheerleading and basketball cheerleading. Her favorite classes are history and math.

“I feel my experiences at Western Wayne have taught me to always be open to others’ ideas and to not get discouraged by my mistakes but learn from them,” Grace explained.

Grace’s future plans are to attend a four-year college for psychology.

Both girls feel extremely grateful to have been recognized for their leadership essays.

Fellow classmate Cassidy Zeiler also believes that leadership isn’t about taking control.

“I think the most important part of leadership is including others’ ideas and making sure everyone is included,” Cassidy explained.

Cassidy is a member of the tennis team, CATS Club, student council, school newspaper, and NAHS. She enjoys her American Literature Honors Class this year the most.

Cassidy’s future plans are to attend nursing school. She aspires to be a traveling nurse and would like to specialize in labor and delivery.

Both Grace and Cassidy are looking forward to attending the Leadership Seminar for HOBY this spring. Everyone in the Western Wayne community wishes them well.

“I feel like I have learned a lot about leadership through my experiences at Western Wayne so far,” Cassidy said. “I have been included in a lot of activities and been allowed to contribute my ideas to make them better.”

From left: Grace Lidy and Cassidy Zeiler.

World Renowned Folk Band Performs at High School

On Saturday October 10th 2022, Shane Cook and the Woodchippers performed for a large crowd in the Western Wayne High School Auditorium. The group performed music from the folk genre known as Old Time Fiddle music and was hosted by Wayne County’s Old Time Fiddlers who joined them for a number. Some pieces also featured a step dancer whose tap shoes would echo through the auditorium as he danced on a wooden board. Shane Cook, a Canadian and U.S. National Fiddle Champion, led the band. The group is also nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards. Western Wayne Stage Crew students had a great learning experience setting up sound equipment and working with the band.

SHINE After-School Program Returns on Thursday, Oct. 20 Celebration of Lights-On!

Wayne and Pike County, PA
October 2022
WP Workforce Alliance SHINE After School Program is celebrating Lights-On Afterschool on October 20th. The WP SHINE afterschool program will sponsor its annual Lights On Afterschool rally on October 20th at the Hamlin Fire Depart. The event will be one of thousands across America as part of Lights On Afterschool, the annual nationwide rally for afterschool programs organized by the Afterschool Alliance. This year, Lights On Afterschool will highlight the vital importance of community collaboration in small, rural areas. While helping students recover academically and socially from the pandemic, our communities have worked hard to fill in the gaps. Hundreds of students, parents, business, and community leaders from around Wayne and Pike counties joined together for Lights On Afterschool, a rally to celebrate the achievements of afterschool students and draw attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised and at risk each weekday afternoon. WP SHINE started in 2019 with a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It now serves 334 children, providing homework assistance, mentoring, and STEAM enrichment. The program focuses on hands-on, project-based learning that emphasizes technological literacy. Entering the 4th year of operations, SHINE is celebrating the importance of afterschool programs by teaming up with local emergency services. As part of the service-learning curriculum, all SHINE centers will visit the Hamlin Fire Department to learn about the importance of emergency services, particularly in rural areas. Our students have spent the month learning about emergency services technologies and careers and the importance of volunteer programs. SHINE is excited to share this event with the Hamlin Fire Department and highlight the important work they are doing to keep our communities safe. Please contact your local fire departments to find out more about the work they are doing and how to get involved. Workforce Alliance SHINE encourages everyone in Wayne and Pike County to celebrate this event with us by turning their porch lights on at 4pm.

Lights-On will take place on Thursday, October 20th at 4pm.