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.”

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.

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.

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.  

The Western Wayne Hot Rod Club partnered with the Drama Club hosted their 7th annual Car Show on Sunday, Oct. 2. Despite the brisk weather, the community came out to support the students. Cars filled the parking areas by the football stadium and Hot Rod Club members were able to interact with the owners of a variety of classic cars. In addition, Drama Club students dressed in 50s attire mingled with attendees as old-time music played. There was even an alumni section of cars to be seen. Prizes were awarded to the best in show and over twenty raffle baskets were given to their lucky winners.
“I was thrilled to be able to have my truck in the car show,” Rebeccah King, Class of 2020 said, “I was a part of shop classes and the Drama Club when I was in school.”
The Hot Rod and Drama Clubs look forward to hosting another car show next year and hope to hold it in September of 2023.