Wildcat Pride was bursting from the stands at Western Wayne’s Sharkey-Rossetti Stadium on the evening of Friday, June 10, for the graduation of the class of 2022.
Senior Alexandria Bien-Aime, president of the class of 2022, gave the welcome address. She encouraged her fellow classmates to not be afraid to fail as they venture into the next step of their journey after Western Wayne.
Later, Alexandria presented the Class Mantel to Evan Peirce, junior class president.
Following the presentation of the mantle, the class salutatorian and valedictorian gave speeches.
Senior Kaeli Romanowski, Lake Ariel, was named the salutatorian of the class of 2022.
Kaeli is the daughter of Joseph and Julie Romanowski.
Along with being an excellent academic student, Kaeli was involved in many Western Wayne clubs, sports, and activities including: Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), National Honor Society (NHS), National Business Honor Society (NBHS), Student Ambassador Program, Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Basketball, and Varsity Softball. .
Kaeli plans to attend Elizabethtown College where she will continue her basketball career and pursue a degree in finance. She really enjoyed her time at Western Wayne.
Her favorite high school memory is when she broke the record for all-time leading scorer on the girls basketball team and was met on the court by her former teacher Mrs. Box.
Kaeli notes that she learned key time management skills through her demanding athletic and academic schedules in high school.
“Through organizations, such as FBLA, I have developed the essential public speaking skills that are necessary when working in the business world,” Kaeli explained. “In addition, I have developed vital leadership skills and have learned the value of hard work, determination, and teamwork through my experiences in school sports. As I venture to college and eventually the workforce, I will take the lessons and principles learned in the classroom and on the court and apply them to my everyday life. This will give me the opportunity to be successful and an asset to the business world in the future.”
Fellow classmate Rachel Tuman, Lake Ariel, was named valedictorian. Rachel is the daughter of Michael and Ellen Tuman.
Rachel also has done numerous activities both inside and outside of the classroom at Western Wayne. Rachel served as president of the National Honor Society for the 2021-22 school year. She is also the senior class vice president, student council, for this year. In addition, she served as the senior vice-president for FBLA.
“I have learned the importance of time-management and personal organization due to my involvement in a myriad of school and community activities,” Rachel explained. “My experience at Western Wayne has taught me that it is essential to maintain a detailed schedule to truly engage in my present and future commitments.”
In the area of sports, Rachel was the captain of the Western Wayne Girls Varsity Tennis Team from August of 2020 through October of 2021.
In addition, Rachel has contributed many articles and pictures to the school newspaper and yearbook.
She has also won numerous academic and athletic awards during her high school career. Most notably, she was named in April 2022 as the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit (NEIU) Student Scholar of Western Wayne High School. In addition, for FBLA Rachel is a National Qualifier in “Entrepreneurship,” 6th Place in PA States, 1st Place in PA Region 22 for the 2021-2022 school year.
“My favorite high school memory is qualifying for the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Nationals for three consecutive years,” Rachel said. “I am especially excited to travel to Chicago at the end of June for the 2022 National Leadership Conference and compete against students from around the nation in the ‘Entrepreneurship’ event.”
Rachel plans to achieve a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree (MBA) in Business Administration with a concentration in Legal Studies at the University of Scranton, enroll into law school, and ultimately achieve her Juris Doctor (J.D) to become an attorney.
Both Kaeli and Rachel gave speeches that had a theme of being grateful for what you have, cherishing your loved ones, and having confidence to face the road ahead.
Then all graduates received their diplomas followed by the presentation of the Class of 2022 to the crowd, and the playing of the school’s alma mater.
The Western Wayne School District wishes all of the graduates the best in their bright futures.

Wayne County students from Honesdale High School and Western Wayne High School participated in the annual county-wide Envirothon competition during the last two weeks in April. The highest scoring team, Bonkers for Honkers of Western Wayne High School, will represent Wayne County in the state-wide Pennsylvania Envirothon event in May. While Wayne County station testing was administered in person at each school this year, PA Envirothon’s state competition will be a hybrid event consisting of a virtual oral component held between May 17th and 20th and field testing held in person at Camp Mount Luther on May 25th.
Envirothon is an educational competition designed to test the knowledge, skills, and problem solving capabilities of high school students regarding our earth’s natural resources. Each year, five-member teams work together to demonstrate their proficiency in subject areas including aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a current issue, which was “Waste to Resources” this year.
Each year, the Wayne Conservation District seeks financial contributions from local businesses and organizations to support this highly successful youth conservation program. Donations support the purchase of Envirothon T-shirts, educational materials and awards, lunch and snacks, and the registration fee for the winning team to attend the state competition. This year’s event would not be possible without the support of the following sponsors: PA Envirothon, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Camp Umpy’s Bagels and Stuff, Dirlam Brothers Lumber Company, Dyberry Sand and Gravel, Elegante’s Restaurant and Pizzeria, Himalayan Institute, Honesdale Agway, Jeff George Design and Salvage Company, New Wave Woodworking Inc., Northern Tier Hardwood Association, PA Trappers Association, Professional Forest Industry Association, the Hideout, Wayne Memorial Hospital, and the Wayne Conservation District.
For more information about PA Envirothon visit www.envirothonpa.org or contact your county conservation district.

The Wayne County Arts Alliance held the grand opening of the 2022 Edition of THE GREAT WALL OF HONESDALE on June 4.

2022 marks the 7th edition of The Great Wall of Honesdale, which called for a theme of “Illumination”. The following artists were chosen for the Great Wall, their work was chosen from over 120 entries: Trudessa Batzel, Deirdre Bishop, Jill Carletti, Barbara Carpenito, Sarah Collins (Western Wayne), Sarrah Dibble-Camburn, Erica Hart, Deborah L. Hussung, Lindsay Orlando, Paul Plumadore, Rachel Sebelist, and Sally Talaga. Their original art, which includes collage, digital drawing, hand-woven textile, paper montage, paintings, and photographs, were digitally reproduced on 11 x 17-foot panels of billboard vinyl and mounted on the side wall of Top Notch Industries at the south end of Main Street. The panels will be on display for a full year.

Details about the many area businesses and individuals who have donated to make The Great Wall of Honesdale possible are available on the website www.thegreatwallofhonesdale.com. The Wayne County Arts Alliance wants to thank their Patrons and Sponsors, including the Honesdale Area Jaycees, who have again sponsored a panel specifically for a student artist. Congratulations to our 2022 student artist Sarah Collins, a senior at Western Wayne High School.

Marguerite Fuller and Phyllis Chekenian, the new directors of The Great Wall of Honesdale, would like to thank past directors Paul Plumadore and Jim Tindell for their vision and hard work in making this beloved community project a great success. A special thank you goes to Glenn Khoury with Encore Outdoor Advertising, as well.

The Great Wall of Honesdale is a project of the Wayne County Arts Alliance and supported by local businesses who are credited on the website. It is estimated that 100,000 vehicles per week pass and view The Wall. Also on the website, view images from our previous six editions – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The Great Wall of Honesdale’s accompanying exhibit “Off the Wall” is free and open to the public, located at The Bodhi Tree Gallery & Studios, 214 6th Street, Suite B in Honesdale, PA. The exhibit opened on June 4. It runs until July 1, 2022. Open gallery hours are Tuesdays 6:30- 8:30 PM, Fridays 5-7 PM, and Saturdays 3-7 PM, or by appointment.

CLIP 1 -The Making of the Clothes

CLIP 2 – Full Fashion Show

Western Wayne Fashion students were thrilled to return to the Western Wayne stage this year for their annual Catwalk Fashion Show. They were unable to host their show in 2020 and produced a successful fashion show video in 2021. This year the students held their annual show titled “Rhythm is Fashion” for an audience of their peers by hosting the high school student body along with some select family and friends of senior fashion students on May 20.
Students in grades 9 through 12 had their pieces featured in the show. The students also worked in two teams led by senior fashion students Rylee Sheehan and Kathy Shepherd. The feature fashions of the Catwalk came from an inspiration of “A few of my favorite things,” flowers, diamonds, mansions, and fine dining.
The students worked on a set timeline to design a series of pieces for the competition portion of the show. Their ensembles were judged by members of the Western Wayne District Office, former Western Wayne Fashion Student Alumni, and a few select members of the student body. Both teams did an amazing job. The FABilicious team led by senior Kathy Shepherd ended up as this year’s winner.
Colleen Carmody, show director and fashion teacher, was so proud of both of her senior students who had their collections featured in the show.
Senior Rylee Sheehan’s collection had the theme street wear in New York City. The name of her collection is She.
“I felt inspired to name my collection in reference to New York City, because I will be attending PACE University in New York City this fall to study business management,” she explained.
“I have always dreamed of managing my own boutique one day.”
One of Rylee’s favorite pieces in the show is an accordion pleated skirt she made.
“It was a process,” Rylee said. “I had to figure out its dimensions mathematically.”
Fellow senior Kathy Shepherd also enjoyed the challenge of creating her collection for the fashion show.
Her collection had the theme Swooshion. Kathy wanted to incorporate her love of basketball and fashion together in her designs.
“I designed pieces that could capture the kind of fashion that WNBA players would wear before a game,” she explained.
Kathy also designed an accordion skirt that she was proud of for her collection that incorporated a variety of dressy, yet casual, pieces perfect for athletes to wear.
Kathy plans to attend King’s College in the fall to become a physician’s assistant.
“I love wearing fashionable things and being comfortable at the same time,” she explained.
Carmody and her students felt so grateful to be able to have their show for a live audience again this year and look forward to creating more designs to share with the Western Wayne community in the future.

Western Wayne High School Students Participate in CTTC Entrepreneurship Academy

Western Wayne High School students recently participated in the Entrepreneurship Academy which is a program of the CTTC (Carbondale Technology Transfer Center) that strives to develop the next generation of tenants to the incubator.  The program consists of two major components: Entrepreneurial Education and Entrepreneurial Experiences.

In the Entrepreneurial Education series, local business leaders teach sessions on core business topics that are valuable to Entrepreneurs. In past sessions students have learned about a variety of topics, including start-up funding, marketing, and philanthropy. 

At the end of the educational sessions, students are given a project to complete.  This year students were tasked with creating a new product using all or part of other products and then create a sales pitch for their new product.  Students from Carbondale Area, Forest City Regional, and Western Wayne took part in the Entrepreneurship Academy.

Western Wayne students Rachel Tuman, Laynee Nugent, and Ava Compton won best presentation for their efforts.

Senior Rachel Tuman felt she learned a lot from her experience from the Entrepreneurship Academy.

“I learned the importance of trial and error and persistence and belief in your product,” Rachel explained.  “This experience helped with our communication and presentation skills as we progress toward our future.”

Fellow classmate Matthew Velez also had an enjoyable experience.

 “It was fun taking various products and crafting them into a potential product,” Matthew said.

This past May Western Wayne eighth graders Azalea Joglar and Hailey Wasman had their original poetry published on the website Teen Ink. The girls wrote autobiographical poems as an ELA assignment and afterwards submitted them to the publication and were selected to appear on the Teen Ink website.

Teen Ink is a website and national teen magazine devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos, and forums. For over 33 years, Teen Ink has offered teens the opportunity to publish their creative work and opinions on issues that affect their lives – everything from love and family to school, current events, and self-esteem. Hundreds of thousands of students, aged 13-19, have submitted their work to us, and Teen Ink has published more than 55,000 teens since 1989.

Teen Ink offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens today. The organization has no staff writers or artists; they depend completely on submissions from teenagers around the world for our content. Teenink.com has over 480,000 registered users and continues to grow every day.

Azalea’s poem titled “Define Me” can be found at the following link http://teenink.com/poetry/all/article/1157847/Define-Me or read below. She won the status of Editor’s Choice from Teen Ink.

The team of editors at Teen Ink reads and reviews everything that’s submitted to the publication – and when they see something that really stands out, they mark it as Editor’s Choice.

Azalea explained that her poem is about how society puts labels on people, and how she doesn’t want to be labeled and how she doesn’t think others should be labeled either.

“My poetry helps me to express the ways I view things in life,” Azalea explained.

She continues to work on her poetry in her spare time, most recently writing a piece that personifies paper and how its existence plays so many different roles in people’s lives. Azalea looks forward to continuing to develop her writing in high school. She is an honor roll student who enjoys studying all subjects.

Fellow classmate Hailey Wasman’s poem titled “Embrace the Shot” also has been published on Teen Ink. It can be found at the following link https://www.teenink.com/poetry/free_verse/article/1158723/Embrace-The-Shot or read below.

Hailey explained the meaning of her poem.
“This piece of poetry is about a person’s mind through the years,” she explained. “The poem is meant to show feelings from anger and frustration to joy and happiness.”
Hailey mostly enjoys writing to express her thoughts and feelings. Her favorite subjects in school are math and history. She is an honor roll student and member of the Western Wayne softball team and does a lot with her local 4 H Club.
From left: Azalea Joglar and Hailey Wasman.
“Define Me”

By Azalea Joglar
From a young age society puts a label on us.
If we break their label they cause a fuss.
But I will not let society define me anymore,
Brave people must stand up and fight this war.
Then again when you stand up society points out your flaws,
They start to tear you down with their words using their claws.
So rise above and tell them a few scratches won’t hurt.
I stand up, because I am not dirt.
I am not defined by the color of my skin,
I am not defined by the music I listen to,
I am not defined by my grin,
I am not defined by the songs on queue,
I am not defined by the college I want to go to,
I am not defined by my number of friends,
I am not defined by the color blue,
I am not defined by my writing pens,
I am not defined by how much I weigh,
I am not defined by my height,
I am not defined by if I am gay,
I am not defined by my favorite soda sprite,
I am not defined by my grades,
I am not defined by my past.
I am not defined by how my talkativeness fades,
I am not defined by my fears,
I am not defined by my skill of writing,
I am not defined by my flood of tears,
I am not defined by my hate for the suns lighting,
I am not defined by track and cheer,
I am not defined by my drawings,
I am not defined by my seat in class,
I am not defined by my collected things,
I am not defined by who in the hallways I say hi to when we pass,
I am not defined by how much I study,
I am not defined by the books I read on the shelf,
I am not defined by who I find funny,
I am defined by how I treat others and myself,
Society tries to define us and rate us on our appearance.
They try to rate our lives and our looks on a scale from 1-10.
And the “ugly and unsuccessful” ones get treated like items on clearance.
None of us are perfect, never will be, never have been.
So society go ahead and rate me on your number scale,
Because I will hold my head up high and proudly fail.
“Embrace the Shot”
By Hailey Wasman
Lightning and thunder
Rain and clouds
Wind whips across the cold hard ground.
Screaming through the pain
But relishing in the gain.
Praying on my knees
Give me salvation, please.
Hours and hours
Shall reap rewards.
Time, ole’ time, the time you put in
Will come back to reward you in the very end.
When the broke is the dam
Barn doors slam
But inside, you wouldn’t’ know, is a lamb
They yell,
They scream
Advice that seems so obscene
Most say “live life base by base”
Other say “sometimes that is not the case”
“Miss the throw
But make the catch”.
Head in my hands
Heart in my chest
Believe me
I’m trying my best
Oh, give me something to take the edge off
Something to take my mind off
This so-called life.
The horrors
The pain
What is there for me to gain?
Family and friends
Lord and faith
For what are my dreams made?
Acres and acres
Blood, sweat, and tears
But, my pride, it is all for you my dear.
The skillful eye
Critiques from head to toe
But I will let you know
It is your friend not your foe.
Skin and bone
Flesh and blood
Will not help you survive the great flood.
Faith and strength
Will help survive what is to come.
Medals and trophies
Ribbons and banners
All lead to a playful banter.
The choir sings a glorious tune
While the preacher makes his evening commune.
Through the swamps
Through the hollows
An old hound dog
On the tail of a wily coon.
Whitetail doe,
Whitetail buck
It is all in your luck.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Embrace the shot
And let it ring out

Students in Mrs. Jenkins’s Honors American Literature class planned, designed, created, and presented professional Food Truck Companies based on characters of Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. Students competed in the 2nd Annual Food Truck Wars for ‘Best Food Truck’ based on originality, creativity, novel connection, and professionalism. Juniors and fellow sophomores who studied the book previously served as judges.

Congratulations to ‘Beatty’s Bussin Bytes’ created by Nathan Conway and Gabe Treibley based on the character of Captain Beatty. Honorable mention goes to runners-up Lila Rusin and Kiersten McDonald for their company “Are You Happy” and Taylor Maiocco and Rhayni Carroll for their company “Sips of Serenity.”