Western Wayne Family Career & Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)  recently were recognized for being Silver Medal Recipients at a virtual Eastern Region FCCLA conference. These students are now part of the Star Events National Team and will compete this summer at the virtual national conference.

FCCLA President Caitlyn Burdick, senior, won the Western Wayne FCCLA Chapter Member of the Year Award. Caitlyn serves as president of the club and has worked on many projects this school year.

“I most enjoyed my work this year planning our community events such as our Breakfast with Santa Drive-through,” Caitlyn, who plans to attend Marywood University upon graduation with a major in early childhood education, said.  “We did our best to work with COVID guidelines for such programs.  It was really worth it to see the smiles on little kids faces when they saw Santa at our event.”

Another winner at the conference was junior Adelaide Treibley.  She competed in the Professional Presentation event.  She had to present a ten-minute speech on the topic of her choice which was unemployment.

Adelaide feels passionately about her topic.  She discussed how she thinks a solution to the unemployment problem is to have more funding for higher education.  Therefore, more people would be trained for specialized jobs. Adelaide became interested in this topic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She explained how she had to dress professionally for her presentation and deliver her message in a strong and academic manner.

Adelaide placed second in this STAR Event.  She will compete virtually in the National FCCLA competition.

In addition, Western Wayne juniors Kennedy Mistishin and Zoey Goldman placed second for their Community Service Project event.  The girls were co-chairs of Western Wayne’s Drive-Through Breakfast with Santa this past December.  For the competition, they had to create a display board and give a ten-minute speech about their experiences creating, preparing, and running the event.

The girls explained how they created a board with many pictures of their successful event along with how they illustrated their budget.

“I discussed how we were thrilled to get people out for our event, yet still keep them at a safe distance,” Kennedy explained.  

Zoey added, “It was such a good event during a year where our community has struggled so much.  I think we really helped the community.”

Both Kennedy and Zoey look forward to moving on to the National level of competition for their service project.  The girls also feel excited for their senior year in FCCLA where they hope to do even more good for the community.

PPL awarded Western Wayne student Amy Newman Wireless Beats Headphones as a prize for completing a survey about her usage of tools in the Innovation Kit that all Western Wayne 9th grade high school students and some students in other grades got as a part of the PPL Think! Energy program this past fall. The students were challenged to use the items in the kit such as a smart power strip and a special shower head for water conservation, among other items. Newman and many other Western Wayne students used these items and then filled in a survey about their experiences. Newman was the lucky winner drawn at random for the Western Wayne School District. “I love my Wireless Beats Headphones,” Amy said. “They are so much fun.” Pictured is Amy Newman enjoying her prize.

Twenty members of Western Wayne’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter were recognized at the Awards of Excellence program during the Virtual State Leadership Conference held recently.

During this conference, senior Lenny Maiocco, the PA FBLA Parliamentarian, and the other state officers conducted the session from their homes.  Nine officers were elected/appointed to lead the organization during the 2021-2022 school year including Morgan Coccodrilli, State Reporter; and Gabby Tetreault, State Parliamentarian.  Both students are juniors at Western Wayne.

The top ten members/teams were recognized for their performance in one of the 70+ different competitive events.  The top four winners in each event qualify for the National Leadership Conference to also be held virtually because of the Pandemic.

The members from Western Wayne included:  Intro to Parliamentary Procedure:  Jenna Kwiatkowski, first; Alex Chapman, third; and Skylar Long, fifth place.  Intro to FBLA:  Rhayni Carroll, second; and Emily Romanowski, tenth place.  Parliamentary Procedure. The team of Lenny Maiocco, Lena Piccolino, Gabby Tetreault, Rachel Hoch, and Kaeli Romanowski, third place.  Accounting II:  Alex Hineline, fifth; and Lacey Falloon, ninth place.  Management Decision Making, Rachel Tuman, fifth place.  Intro to Public Speaking:  Adrian Agnello.  Word Processing:  Laynee Nugent; Intro to Business Presentation:  Alaina Maiocco and Ella Pavlovich, ninth place.  Public Service Announcement:  the team of Julie Bryan, Cyrah Biehler, and Dustin Ferraro, ninth place.

In addition, the Western Wayne chapter placed fourth in the Outstanding Chapter event and third in the Local Market Share Award.  Lenny Maiocco placed third in Who’s Who in Pennsylvania FBLA and William Selden Scholarship Award.

Ms. Theresa Lubash is the local chapter adviser.

This past winter Western Wayne FBLA students participated in the Regional Leadership Conference for the state of Pennsylvania in a virtual format.  The students performed very well, and two Western Wayne students were elected as Region 22 FBLA Officers for the 2021-2022 school year.  Junior Luciano Azzato will serve as secretary for the region and Junior Morgan Coccodrilli will serve as president for the region next year.  At present, Lou serves as the region treasurer, and Morgan serves as the region secretary.

Lou said that he has been making the most of this unique year in education and FBLA.  He explained how he has had the opportunity to meet virtually with other region office holders.  Lou also enjoyed his experience in the virtual Regional Leadership Conference.  He discussed how he participated in the Business Calculations event and that he is preparing to participate in the State Leadership Conference for this same event during March.

As of right now, Lou is interested in the business field for a possible future career.  He really enjoys math in general.  He discussed what FBLA has taught him over the years.

“It’s taught me a lot of important skills that I have not learned in my regular classes,” Lou explained.  “I learned about interest and finance, and this has helped me to use my money the right way. Also, I have learned leadership skills such as responsibility, in taking care of others, and using my communication skills in a good positive way to get things done.” 

Lou aspires to attend a four-year university after graduation and is interested in Temple University, York University, and Penn State University.

Junior Morgan Coccodrilli is also glad to have the chance to participate in FBLA this year.  He explained how he helped to organize a meeting on a regional level by securing a speaker from the Woodloch Pines Resort to meet with the regional officers virtually.  Matt Kiesendahl of Woodloch spoke to the students.

“We learned how Woodloch has handled their business during the pandemic,” Morgan explained.  “We learned that it is important to cater to the people and to make sure your customers are your main priority. We also learned about the importance of caring for employees and adhering to CDC guidelines.”

In addition, Morgan explained how he really liked his experience in the Impromptu Speaking event at the Regional Leadership Conference.  He said that students in the event were given a prompt and ten minutes to prepare to speak on it.  The prompt was about how being in FBLA is like being a superhero.

“I discussed how being in FBLA is like being a part of The Avengers,” Morgan explained.  “You are a part of a team, and you help others.”

Morgan placed first in the Impromptu Speaking event.  He aspires to attend Penn State University and major in either engineering or premed.  He is also thinking about doing an ROTC program. 

“FBLA has taught me that a good leader understands when working with others not everyone will always agree.  You need to be able to find common ground to have success when working in a group,” Morgan said.

The following Western Wayne students placed in the FBLA Regional Leadership Conference.  In the Accounting II event: Lacey Fallon, first place; Alex Hineline, second place.

 In the Banking & Financial Systems event: Delaney Valinski, first place.  In the Business Calculations event: Luciano Azzato, third place.  In the Business Communication event: Hannah Elbert, fourth place.  In the Business Ethics event: Brett Schane and Caden Slifko, first place.  In the Business Ethics event: Adeladie Treibley, third place.

 In the Economics event, Haley Estus, fourth place.  In the Entrepreneurship event, Anya Rusnak and Sydney Hutchinson, fourth place.  In the Hospitality & Event Management Event:  Morgan Heenan, Sarah Collins, Alexandra Butler, first place.  In the Impromptu Speaking event:  Morgan Coccodrilli, first place.

 In the Introduction to Business event:  Lucas Putman, second place.  In the Introduction to Business Presentation event:  Alaina Maiocco and Ella Pavolvich, first place.  In the Introduction to Business Procedures event:  Brenna McGlone, second place; and Mackenzie Kennedy, fourth place.

 In the Introduction to Event Planning event:  Eleanor Black, fifth place.  In the Introduction to FBLA event:  Emily Romanowski, first place; Rhayni Carroll, second place; Taylor Maiocco, fourth place.  In the Introduction to Financial Math event:   Allie Pauler, third place; Weston Nugent, fifth place.  In the Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure event:  Skylar Long, first place; Alex Chapman, second place; Jenna Kwiatkowski, third place.

 In the Introduction to Public Speaking event:  Adrian Agnello, second place.  In the Management Decision Making event:  Rachel Tuman, first place.  In the Marketing event:  Aly McCarthy and Emilie McAllister, second place.  In the Parliamentary Procedure event:  Leonard Maiocco, Kaeli Romanowski, Lena Piccolino, Gabby Tetreault, and Rachel Hoch, first place. In the Personal Finance event: Thomas Gogolski, fifth place.

 In the Public Speaking event:  Kelton Slifko, second place; Lily Visceglia, third place.  In the Sports & Entertainment Management event:  Jake Kopcza, Alex Iovacchini, and Ashton Fitzsimmons, third place; and Caleb Hoch and Matthew Henneforth, fourth place.  In the Word Processing event:  Laynee Nugent, second place.

 In the Public Service Announcement event:  Julie Bryan, Cyrah Biehler, and Dustin Ferraro, all are Top 10 State Qualifiers.

Western Wayne Chorus students attended the virtual PMEA District 9 Chorus Festival. 

Rebecca Boots, Rhonda Fenkner, Bridgette Flannery, and Joanna Regalbuto had a successful and fun musical experience.

Senior Rhonda Fenkner and junior Joanna Regalbuto placed in their auditions and are now eligible to audition for the PMEA All State Chorus Festival which will also take place virtually in March.

            Rhonda and Joanna explained how even though their experience with district chorus was very different this year that it was also extremely enjoyable and rewarding.

            The students sent in their auditions virtually. Then for the festival they were able to practice with students from other districts and a guest conductor on Zoom.  The students worked to record their songs and editors compiled the songs together into finished pieces.

            “I really liked how one of our instructors did improv vocal exercises with us,” Joanna explained.  “He would have us hit a sour note and then fix it.”

            Rhonda explained after having done music festivals for years in-person that this year’s festival still had many of the great qualities that ones in the past have had for her as a musician.

            “I learned that it’s possible online to have a music festival experience,” Rhonda, who will attend Marywood University next year and study music therapy, explained.  “People were talking in the chat box and practicing together on the call.  All of us had a really good time.  We were all boosting each other’s confidence throughout the process.  It was very challenging and rewarding to sing out loud in front of about 90 of my peers on a Zoom call.”

            Rhonda and Joanna look forward to auditioning for the PMEA All-State Chorus Festival which will also take place virtually in March.  From left:  Joanna Regalbuto and Rhonda Fenkner.

            Western Wayne FCCLA students wrote letters to residents at the Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Center for Valentine’s Day.  The students were paired with a resident earlier this school year, and, for their first correspondence, the club decided to send their letter with mugs and sweet treats for their new pen pals.

            FCCLA Vice President Amelia Bosshard explained how she introduced herself in the letter and talked about how much she loves to read since her new pen pal also enjoys this activity.

            “I like knowing that they will get a smile from what we have sent,” Amelia explained.  

            FCCLA President Caitlyn Burdick also tried to make a personal connection with her resident through her letter.

            “My pen pal is a woman who likes music, so I told her about how I used to play ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the Western Wayne Marching Band,” Caitlyn explained.

            Both Amelia and Caitlyn plan to work with children in their future careers.  Amelia aspires to be an elementary school teacher.

            “A lot of what we do in the club is helping others, and I think in education I will be teaching kids compassion and teamwork,” Amelia explained.

            Caitlyn will study early childhood education and psychology after graduation.

            “As president of the club, I have worked to plan many events.  This will relate to working in a classroom because I will have to plan lessons, activities, and projects.”

            FCCLA plans to send more correspondence to the nursing home residents as the year continues.