EverGreen Elementary hosted this year’s Title I Awards Night for our students from Robert D. Wilson Elementary and EverGreen Elementary who completed the Title 1 program. Dinner was served while our amazing speaker, Betty Lawson read a book aloud. “Ms. Betty” is the librarian at the Honesdale Library in Honesdale and became famous for her bedtime stories she read, virtually, during Covid. She also gave our families tips and tricks to get our children to talk about their day in a meaningful way that builds connections in our brains. We also learned when a child is born, they have as many brain cells as stars in the Milky Way. We had a great turnout, and the night ran smoothly thanks to our energetic, caring, and motivated Title I teachers who organized the entire event. Thank you to Mrs. Malec, Mrs. Daniels, and Mrs. Vinton for a very special evening.
Let’s TACO ‘bout the amazing teachers at Robert D. Wilson Elementary School! The RDW PTA treated the teachers to breakfast and lunch for Teacher Appreciation Week. Monday was a continental breakfast of bagels, muffins, danish, and a make your own yogurt parfait bar. Thursday’s lunch was a fiesta with an assorted taco bar with all the trimmings. Thank you for all you do for our children everyday!
Students at Robert D. Wilson welcomed Spring by learning all about pollinators and the important role that honey bees play in growing our food ! Students made core curricular connections as they learned about the parts of a flower, and the parts of a bee! Additionally, students used printmaking techniques to mimic the unique honeycomb patterns bees create organically, while learning about shapes that tesselate, like hexagons!
R.D. Wilson’s Kindness Club started a neat project and introduced some new members this week. Our winter group did some research and chose to do a “Kindness Tree” to display in our cafeteria. When students or staff are observed doing exceptional acts of kindness, their name gets put on a leaf or flower which is then hung up on the tree. Our hope is that the tree is in full bloom by the end of the year!
Mrs. Germani also inducted four students to serve as new Kindness Club members for the remainder of the year: Keira Sic, Robert Bronson, Kenzie Gregory, and Evan Davitt. We are excited to see all of the ways that these students can promote kindness in our school!
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!
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.
Robert “Marty” Robbins didn’t spend a lot of time playing sports as a kid. However, he was definitely a fan and really enjoyed listening to the announcers on TV and radio.
As a result, Marty began dabbling in a bit of PA work whenever the opportunity arose. Mostly though, he was just having a bit of fun amusing himself and those around him.
“I started fooling around calling the games from the stands when my children played,” Marty said. “Eventually, I began announcing Little League Baseball and then became the voice of Stingers Football.”
Marty’s efforts were well-received. His sense of humor, unique style and dedication to the job made him a fan favorite all over Wayne County.
Then, just a few years ago, Marty landed a job at Western Wayne as a member of the district’s very first School Police Force.
One day he was asked to act as emcee at a pep rally, a gig that led to an invitation to call boys varsity basketball games. Before long, Marty was behind the mike for girls basketball and football too.
“Besides working with the kids in the classrooms and hallways I get my most joy from announcing,” Marty said. “I try to make it fun for all the spectators.”
And while Marty is undoubtedly one of the most popular public address announcers in the Lackawanna League, he’s more than that … so much more.
Setting the Stage
Marty is the son of Alberta and the late Robert Robbins, Honesdale.
He attended Wayne Highlands schools, graduating from HHS in the spring of 1985. Marty was very active in extracurricular activities during his high school years, participating in everything from rifle club and cheerleading to chorus and theatre.
After graduation, Marty enlisted in the US Army where he became a light wheel vehicle mechanic, serving with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
When Marty’s hitch was up, he returned to Honesdale and pondered his next move. He worked as an orderly at Wayne Memorial Hospital and seriously considered a career in nursing. However, he eventually decided to become a Pennsylvania State Trooper, entering the Academy in January 1990.
Six months later, Marty graduated and was assigned to the Bethlehem area where he served the citizens of at Dublin and Trevose.
In 1993, he was transferred to Dunmore. After that, there were stints in Susquehanna, Pike and Wayne counties.
Marty was promoted to corporal in 1999 and retired in 2013 after serving a total of 23 years. It’s at this point in the story that Marty arrives on the scene at Western Wayne.
“I joined the newly-formed school district police working with three fellow retired troopers: Paul Semler, Danny Martin, and Wayne Thomas,” he said.
“We all take the safety of our students, faculty and staff very seriously. Each of us brings a different aspect to the table, so to speak, connecting with different students.”
On a typical day, Marty and his fellow officers patrol the parking lot, bus drop and cafeteria. They’re also a constant presence in the hallways and all over the the grounds, working hard to ensure that students, faculty and staff all remain safe.
“The Western Wayne school district is truly a second family,” he said. “Everyone here is involved and invested in the students’ lives. I enjoy being proactive and helping kids in their career development and avoiding trouble.”
Marty and his colleagues are frequently invited into the classroom to speak on a wide range of topics.
Last week, Officer Robbins accepted just such an invitation. This one was extended by RD Wilson Elementary School Counselor Erica Germani, who asked him to come and talk to a large group of students.
Marty happily complied, drawing from his experience as a sports announcer to win over a gym filled with first and fourth graders.
“Officer Robbins had a meaningful discussion with students about his career journey,” Erica said. “He surprised many by saying he got into the profession because he wanted to help people.
“Overall, I feel like he transformed students’ perception of the law enforcement field. He even spoke one-on-one with a student who was upset.”
Marty has a genuine way with children. It’s nothing less than a gift. When he speaks, he’s able to gain their trust, make them relax, and also communicate truly important information.
These traits proved crucial in helping students deal with the disruption caused by COVID.
“Kids in general are very resilient,” he said. “Especially our younger students seem to have adapted well to all the challenging circumstances of the past two years.
“They’re happy just to be back to in-person learning. Judging from the excitement I see, I don’t believe that events of the past two years have slowed them down any.”
Rave Reviews
Matt Fitzsimmons has been a fixture at Western Wayne for 23 years now.
He grew up in Forest City, but has played many roles during his tenure at Western Wayne including teacher, coach and guidance counselor. It’s in his capacity as a counselor that he helped arrange Officer Robbins’ visit with the RD Wilson students.
“Marty is fully part of the Western Wayne community,” Matt said. “He identifies with the students and they know he truly cares about them. Plus, his announcing at sporting events is the best!”
Paul Gregorski concurs.
Western Wayne’s High School Principal has nothing but praise for Marty’s role in the district.
“Officer Marty Robbins is an integral member of our school community,” Paul said. “He is caring and compassionate individual who truly cares about students.
“He’s also the best PA announcer in the area. We appreciate Officer Robbins everyday, and we thank him for his ongoing service to the students and staff at Western Wayne.”
Germani agrees whole-heartedly.
Continue reading the full article here.
RDW is excited to welcome a new group of students to the winter Kindness Club (KC). McKennah Edwards, Liam Hess, Amerlynn Nixon, Charlie Vinton and Eric Yhlen were initiated into the club in January and got straight to work on their first project. To show their gratitude for our hard-working cafeteria staff, the KC designed a poster and heart-warming messages to display in the cafeteria. “Our cafeteria staff work so hard every day to feed all of us, and we appreciate that,” notes Charlie Vinton. “This has been a great start to the beginning of our KC, and we look forward to continuing spreading kindness in our school.” – Liam Hess.