Starting last Monday, March 23, 2020, VIA Public Media changed its afternoon television schedule from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to air programs that provide learn-at-home opportunities for students and families.

Each program airing during this block will have curriculum and additional resources that parents and educators can use for students in grades 4-12. Prior to 1pm will continue to air PBS kids programming, which is educationally minded for children pre-kindergarten through grade 3. All resources can be found free of charge at wvia.org. 

This schedule is  designed to help school districts bridge the digital divide and provide access to learning for all students at home regardless of access to computers or the internet.

As an example, last Monday’s programming included the programs NOVA: Look Who’s Driving at 1 p.m., which investigates the self-driving car and its impact on society. Life from Above: Changing Planet at 2 p.m., which views the changing landscape of Earth from space. At 3 p.m. VIA will air Nature: Yosemite, which takes a deep look into how climate change is affecting the national park. The upcoming schedule and curriculum can be found at wvia.org with future weeks’ schedules and resources being posted to the website within the coming days.

“VIA aims to educate and inspire through quality programming and services; we hope that this change can better serve the families and school districts throughout Northeast Pennsylvania and the Central Susquehanna Valley,” said Chris Norton, Senior Vice President of VIA Public Media.

“We want families to know that they are not alone during this time and that time at home can be spent learning together,” said Kirsten Smith, Grants & Education Officer at VIA Public Media. “From Nature and NOVA to insightful documentaries, VIA and PBS have hundreds of hours of learning opportunities for
students at all grade levels”.

WVIA-TV can be found on over-the-air antenna on channel 44 and on all major network providers in Northeast Pennsylvania and the Central Susquehanna Valley. WVIA carries PBS Kids programming all day on its second channel 44.2, corresponding educational resources for PBS Kids programming can also be found at wvia.org.

Representatives for twenty-four colleges and universities in Pennsylvania were available to Western Wayne High School students in grades nine through twelve on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the high school gym.

          High School guidance counselor Mrs. Rachael Palko coordinated this second annual event that so many high school students benefited from.

          “The event has grown from last year,” Palko explained.  “We have schools from further out like Villanova University and Slippery Rock University.  We tried to expand our reach.”

          Palko believes that students in different grades took away information they needed from the event that is appropriate for their grade level.

          “I want the ninth and 10th graders to have exposure to different schools and understand the variety of options they have for after high school such as going to a four-year college, a trade school, or even entering the military,” Palko explained.  “The upperclassmen have an opportunity to talk to representatives about specific majors they have an interest in and can also make inquiries about the size of campuses and class sizes.”

          Some upperclassmen who are members of the National Honor Society not only had the opportunity to attend the event but also volunteered to help Palko facilitate the event. 

          Celeste Orchard and Courtney Petrilak were two of the NHS volunteers at the event.  Celeste, a junior who aspires to study actuarial science, explained how the NHS members were helping to hand out and collect scavenger hunt papers to the students in attendance at the fair.  These papers were meant to help students gather information about the colleges in attendance.  Both Celeste and Courtney discussed how they felt happy to help out at the event, and they also used their time to find out information about a variety of colleges.

          “It was good to find out about different opportunities,” Courtney, a junior who wishes to become a physician’s assistant, said.

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Good Afternoon,

This message is to inform you that there was a situation between two middle school students today in which an inappropriate statement was made. The situation was immediately addressed by school personnel. I am sharing this information with you to prevent any miscommunication. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on Monday.

Have a great weekend,