In conjunction with Special Olympics, we are hosting our annual Open Mic “Special Edition” for members of our special needs community to perform at an open mic/karaoke setting. As described in the attached flyer, the event will be held at the Wallenpaupack Brewing Company on November 10 from one to four. There is no admission charge, and all are invited (we hope you can make it!). Please circulate this information however you see fit to as many as possible as we hope to bring in a crowd of both performers and audience supporters.
Western Wayne High School students participated in the Engineering Competition at Wallenpaupack High School on Friday, October 25. The team of Lia Hartman, Colette Schmitt, Kayla Walton, Julia Wehrmann, and Robert Scramuzza earned the Innovator Award for “most ingenious use of materials” during the competition. This is the second year in a row that a team from Western Wayne has won this award. From left: Julia Wehrmann, Robert Scramuzza, Colette Schmitt, Kayla Walton, and Lia Hartman.
Members of the Hamlin Rotary Club were at EverGreen Elementary on Thursday, October 24th to participate in in Apple Crunch Day. They read Andy and Elmer’s Apple Dumpling Adventure to the second grade classes. This is a day for learning about local farms and where food comes from, and to celebrate local produce while supporting local farmers. We appreciate the individuals from the Hamlin Rotary Club for taking the time to visit our second grade classes!
Mental Health First Aid training is an 8-hour evidence-based curriculum created by the National Council for Mental Well-being. This course helps adults working with youth ages 12-18 to identify, understand, and respond to the early signs of mental health and substance use challenges using the ALGEE action plan.
We will host the PSAT tomorrow from 8:15 to 11:30. Students who registered for the test should arrive to their assigned testing room with a fully-charged laptop, a charger, and a calculator.
The following students were recognized by the Student Council as students of the month for September. Their teachers and administrators weighed in on the decisions. All of the students chosen hold a high standard of academic and personal excellence. They are true examples of the P.R.I.D.E. standards for PBIS at our school.
First, Olivia MacCollum is our selected freshman. Olivia has been on the Western Wayne Color Guard team for two years and is a member of the National Art Honor Society. Olivia enjoys making ceramic art.
“I love being able to share my personal experiences, emotions and activities through my art,” Olivia said.
In addition, Olivia enjoys being in a creative writing class at school and sharing all of her original ideas there.
Next, Kaylee Heise is our chosen sophomore this month. Kaylee loves her ELA class, because it is a calm place where she can practice her writing.
“Writing helps to calm me down,” she said. “I really like journaling.”
Her hobbies include: listening to a wide variety of music from rock to rap and going for walks. She aspires to study psychology in college and pursue a career as a psychiatrist.
In addition, Logan Pauler is this month’s featured junior. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the Robotics Team, the soccer team, and the volleyball team. His favorite class is pre-calculus, and he plans to study mechanical engineering in college with his preferred school being Penn State.
“All of my teachers at Western Wayne have been a great help in leading me to figure out my path and to learn problem-solving skills,” he explained.
Finally, Makayla Walton is our senior spotlight this month. Makayla enjoys most her advanced placement government and psychology classes this year. She aspires to be a forensic psychologist. She is involved in many activities including: band for four years, where she plays both the flute and piccolo. She also serves as a woodwind section leader and band librarian. In addition, she is Student Council secretary, a member of National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, and Envirothon. She thinks she learned the most about leadership skills from her experience in the Tomorrow’s Leaders Today program her junior year.
“I learned how to be able to better communicate with others through confidence in my leadership skills,” she explained.
The Western Wayne School District congratulates these September students of the month and wishes them the best in their future endeavors.
From left: Olivia MacCollum, Logan Pauler, Mr. Paul Gregorski, high school principal; Kaylee Heise, and Makayla Walton.
NEIU 19, Arts in Education Northeast Pennsylvania, The Ritz Theater, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts hosted a special program entitled “The Convening” on Wednesday, Oct. 16. It was a Day of Art Workshops based on Academic Standards taught by Nationally Recognized Artists. Students and teachers from a variety of local districts including Western Wayne experienced art workshops in visual arts, theater and music contingent on their respective areas of teaching/ study.
The four senior students who participated from Western Wayne included: Lillian Maros, Colette Schmitt, Stephanie Maxwell, and Robert Scramuzza. They did a variety of workshop sessions. One was with Tara Middleton, Grammy nominee vocalist, who worked with the students in a jazz vocals session. She explained to students that along with the technical aspects of learning music that they have to be present in their performance as well. “You have to be free enough to be in the moment when you are performing,” she explained to the students.
For another session, the performance arts students worked with Conor McGuigan, an actor and writer from Scranton who performs throughout the area and off-Broadway. He helped the students tap into a variety of characters from Italian theater in his workshop with a focus on comedic timing. Also, the students got to end their day with the Kofi and Sankofa Drum & Dance Ensemble in which they were fully immersed in learning about culture, musical instruments, and dance.
In addition, there were a variety of raffle prizes given out at this event and Western Wayne was the only school to win a raffle drawing for a five-day Artist in Residence Program for their Drama Club. The prize is a 1,000 dollar value. They will have the opportunity to work with a professional artist to help them further develop their performance arts skills. The Artist in Residence Program will be scheduled in correspondence with the school’s musical director and the NEIU.
The Western Wayne Drama Club is extremely thankful to have won this experience and look forward to learning even more about their craft through it. “We were really excited for all of the classes we took at the Convening,” Lillian Maros, Drama Club president, said. “It was an added special bonus to know that we have won, through luck of the draw, five more hours of experience with a talented local artist of our choosing.” From left: Conor McGuigan, Lillian Maros, Stephanie Maxwell, Colette Schmitt, and Robert Scramuzza.
At the Western Wayne Varsity Football Game against Lakeland on Friday, October 11, the Homecoming Court was honored, and this year’s winners were announced. They are Madison Stiffler, Lake Ariel, as Queen, and Mason Rush, Waymart, as King. Madison, our Queen, has played both varsity volleyball and varsity indoor & outdoor track for four years, along with being in the National Honor Society for two years. She plans to go to Empire Beauty School upon graduation to get the remaining hours needed for her cosmetology license. Mason Rush, our King, has participated in varsity football and student council throughout his high school career. He plans to attend a 4-year college for criminal justice and criminal psychology. The District congratulates the entire Homecoming Court and looks forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future. Picture one, from left, members of the 2024 Western Wayne
Homecoming Court: Grace Lidy, Raegan Palmer, Ally Irvine, Mackenzie Adams, Mason Rush, King; Madison Stiffler, Queen; Evan Dean, Sean Owens, Lance Maiocco, and Josh Vinton.
Picture two, from left: Madison Stiffler, Queen, and Mason Rush, King at the Homecoming dance.
Fire Safety was held at EverGreen on Friday, October 11th. EverGreen Elementary hosted Hamlin Fire & Rescue, Lake Ariel Volunteer Fire Company, Maplewood Volunteer Fire Department, and Ledgedale Volunteer Fire Company where local emergency personnel presented students with life saving strategies and showed different pieces of equipment that they use. Students also were able to tour apparatus that local companies had on hand that day. The fire companies presented winter hats to all students. We would like to thank these fire companies for coming to EverGreen for the presentation and helping our students understand ways to be safe.
The October edition of Scholarships & Career Opportunities is now available. All grades should read this document to get information on college, careers, important dates, SAT/ACT exams and of course…scholarships!
High School February Students of the MonthMarch 5, 2025The following students were recognized by the Student Council as students of the month for February. Their teachers and administrators weighed in on the decisions. All of the students chosen hold a high standard of academic and personal excellence. They are true examples of the P.R.I.D.E. standards for PBIS at our school.
First, Leah Reeger is our selected freshman. Leah is an all-around excellent student who has a passion for art. In addition, she is involved in Envirothon, Student Council, and Ultimate Frisbee. One of her favorite classes is her Honors English class. She feels as though her writing is growing in strength this year, especially her poetry and literary analysis work.
She also is greatly enjoying her Introduction to Ceramics class this year.
“We are learning how to make basic items like bowls,” Leah explained. “I really like coming up with new items to create and then making them a reality through my art.”
Leah aspires to own a coffee shop with an art theme that focuses on nature.
Next, Eric McGrath is our chosen sophomore this month. Eric is an enthusiastic student who gives his best effort in all he does. His sports and activities include soccer, track, and Envirothon. His favorite class this year is English.
“I like writing best, especially fiction analysis,” he said. Eric plans to attend college after graduation with an undecided major at the moment.
In addition, Loucynthia Allen is this month’s featured junior. She is another very dedicated student who enjoys art. Her clubs and activities include Spanish Club, National Art Honor Society, and Envirothon.
Her favorite class this year is ceramics.
“I really like being in my own world when I create art,” she said.
She aspires to become a dentist or dental hygienist for her future career.
Finally, David Elias is our senior spotlight this month. David is an exceptional academic student and talented student athlete. His sports and activities include basketball, track and FBLA.
His favorite class is calculus.
“I enjoy problem solving and working with numbers,” he said.
David plans to attend a four-year university upon graduation with an undecided major.
The Western Wayne School District congratulates these February students of the month and wishes them the best in their future endeavors.
From left: Leah Reeger, Eric McGrath, Mr. Robert Black, high school assistant principal; Loucynthia Allen, and David Elias. [...]
PA State Grant UpdateMarch 5, 2025PA State Grant Information:
PHEAA has informed us that they will be not be using GrantUS to process the PA State Grant. They will be using their legacy system and expect to have initial emails to students to apply for the 2025-26 PA State Grant in April. Please be on the lookout for an email from PHEAA if you filled out your FAFSA regarding the state grant [...]
Students Win Big With Energy Efficiency!March 4, 2025A group of ninth grade students at Western Wayne High School received the Honorable Mention award in a special PPL contest.
Aidyn Graci and Mitchell Ferraro General Science, students from the high school were the Honorable Mention winners in the PPL Electric THINK! ENERGY Innovation Challenge. The contest required students to develop an interactive and hands-on presentation on energy, natural resources and environmental issues.
Science teacher Dr. Mark Nebzydoski led the challenge for Western Wayne by registering all Western Wayne High School students for free energy conservation kits, which consisted of three compact fluorescent light bulbs, a smart energy power strip, a shower timer, a faucet aerator and water-saving shower head. Each student was then asked to take the kits home, install the energy-saving equipment and survey how much energy was saved due to the use of the equipment.
“The students projects submitted were very creative and entertaining.” Nebzydoski said. “Seeing students learning about energy efficiency and applying it to the real world is the perfect model of how education should work.” “High school students are tomorrow’s homeowners, so reinforcing energy efficiency messages is important.”
The winning students’ project included a video on energy efficiency. They can be found from a link on the Western Wayne Website. https://youtu.be/EDmCGFHw4Lk Winning students each received Beats wireless earbuds. Dr. Nebzydoski received $250 for classroom supplies.
“I am proud of the student’s hard work and achievement,” Dr. Nebzydoski said.
The students really had a lot of fun making the video with the ongoing theme of “Come on, Mr. Nebz!” Throughout the clip, they kept telling their favorite teacher to be more careful about energy usage in his classroom.
Mitchell Ferraro, who of the winning students who aspires to be a social studies teacher, really liked how fun it was to make the video and tell Mr. Nebz what to do throughout it.
Fellow video creator Aidyn Graci, who aspires to study business one day be very successful, was relieved when they finished the project. “I was glad to get to the end and see our hard work pay off,” he said.
PPL Electric Utilities, in conjunction with National Energy Foundation (NEF) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), is proud to sponsor the THINK! ENERGY with E-power educational program. There are three program offerings for various grade levels and each is designed to provide teachers and students with energy education. All program offerings are free and are correlated to Pennsylvania learning standards.
Please see contest link https://thinkenergy.org/ppl-innovation/teachers/
From left: Dr. Mark Nebzydoski, Mitchell Ferraro, and Aidyn Graci. [...]
PPL Awards Gift Certificate to Western Wayne SophomoreMarch 4, 2025PPL awarded Western Wayne sophomore student Liam O’Brien an amazon gift card as a prize for completing a survey about his usage of tools in the Innovation Kit that all Western Wayne 9th grade high school students got as a part of the PPL Think! Energy program this past fall. The students were challenged to use the items in the kit such as a smart power strip, LED bulbs, and a special shower head for water conservation, among other items. Liam, who aspires to study culinary arts or sports broadcasting in the future, and many other Western Wayne students used these items and then filled in a survey about their experiences. Liam was the lucky winner drawn at random for the Western Wayne School District. Liam said he got the most use out of the power strip from the PPL kit. He likes his science class and prioritizes helping the environment. “I think it is important to be environmentally conscientious so that plants in nature can thrive and people in general have better health,” Liam said.From left: Dr. Mark Nebzydoski and Liam O’Brien. [...]
Scholarships & Career Opportunities – March EditionMarch 3, 2025The March edition of Scholarships & Career Opportunities is now available. All grades should read this document to get information on college, careers, important dates, SAT/ACT exams and of course…scholarships!
Click here: https://ww3.westernwayne.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Scholarships-and-Career-Opportunities-March-2025-2.pdf [...]
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.
