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.

        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.