WESTERN WAYNE FBLA MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN BUSINESS RETREAT

Seven members of the Western Wayne High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) recently participated in a Business Retreat sponsored by the Wayne County School-to-Work Committee. In addition to students from Western Wayne, students from Wallenpaupack, Honesdale, and Forest City were in attendance.

The day began with an opening session conducted by Thomas Shepstone, Shepstone Management, who discussed the trends and forecasts of jobs in the Wayne County area. Next, Laurie Guzda got the students involved with an exciting marketing activity.

This was followed by a field trip to Moka Origins, a coffee roastery and bean-to-bar chocolate factory. The owners have established their own farm in Cameroon, Africa, and are uniting with partner farmers around the world to strive to generate real social change. Jeff Abella, Director, Himalayan Institute and CEO of Moka Origins, spoke to the students about social entrepreneurship and small business strategies.

Representing Western Wayne were (seated) Lenny Maiocco and Derek Mason. (Standing) Kate Mattern, Darlene Black, Sydney Peet, Ezra Tetreault, and James Fryzel. Ms. Theresa Lubash, FBLA Adviser and Business Department Chairperson, accompanied the students.

Western Wayne Celebrates Veterans Day

Pictured are veterans demonstrating the proper folding of the flag with 13 folds.

As a tradition for many years, Western Wayne administration, faculty, staff, and students joined together on Wednesday, November 13, to celebrate veterans in the community with a special in-school event that featured music from the high school band and chorus, wise words from a veteran guest speaker, and this year the event had the added component of a special presentation of the meaning of the 13 folds in the American flag.

Many local veterans attended the presentation at Western Wayne. Some of which had special connections to Western Wayne students. Marty Reingold, Vietnam veteran, attended with his wife Marsha to spend the day honoring veterans with their grandson sophomore Matt Reingold.

Marty Reingold and his wife Marsha shared the Veterans Day assembly at Western Wayne High School with their grandson. From left: Marty Reingold, Vietnam veteran; Matt Reingold, sophomore at Western Wayne; and Marsha Reingold.

Marsha explained that they have taken part in the Veterans Day assembly at Western Wayne for the past four years.

“Matt is very proud of his papa,” Marsha explained. “We are so happy to be here with our grandson. It is very rewarding to see the school do things for our service men and to witness the camaraderie.”

Matt agreed with his grandmother.

“The best part about today is being able to honor the veterans,” Matt explained. “Especially my grandfather.”

Another veteran that felt proud to be at the event with his grandchildren was Roger O’Brien, a United States Navy veteran. O’Brien explained that it was his first time at the Veterans Day event at Western Wayne. However, he had heard about it from his granddaughter Rebeccah King, who is a senior this year, and performed with the chorus and band at the event.

O’Brien also had a number of other grandchildren at the event who have attended Western Wayne. His grandchildren Johnathan Robbins, 7^th grade, and Summer Schaal, granddaughter, were with O’Brien before the presentation to welcome him to the school.

Roger O’Brien shared the Veterans Day assembly at Western Wayne High School with his grandchildren. From left: Johnathan Robbins, 7th grader at Western Wayne; Roger O’Brien, United States Navy veteran; and Summer Schaal.

“I am a very proud grandfather,” O’Brien said. “I promised them I would come.”

O’Brien traveled to Western Wayne from New Jersey for the event, and he was happy to discuss his time in the service with his grandchildren.

“I practically traveled around the world as a gunner on a cargo ship,” O’Brien explained. “I was in Russia twice. I was shipped to the West Coast and was headed to Okinawa, Japan, but they surrendered before we got there. We saw plenty.”

O’Brien discussed how he received many honors for his military service.

“I have a number of medals and ribbons for my time in the service which I have shown to my grandchildren,” O’Brien explained.

Reingold, O’Brien, and many other veterans processed into the auditorium to begin the event.

Highlights of the event include some beautifully performed patriotic pieces by the Western Wayne High School chorus and band. The veterans also were treated to a breakfast and lunch prepared by students in Mrs. Stephanie Zoppi’s culinary classes. In addition, during the assembly, a group of local veterans demonstrated and explained the meaning of the 13 folds in an American Flag when it is presented to a loved one at a military funeral service.

Students in Western Wayne’s FCCLA Club helped to greet Veterans for the event. From left: Paige Bell, Zoey Goldman, Kennedy Mistishin, Jaquelyn Morris, and Jaden Gregory.

The symbolism of each of the folds was explained in a very moving presentation. They represent a variety of meaningful parts of military service, faith in God, and faith in America. For example, the second fold signifies a belief in eternal life; the seventh fold is a tribute to our armed forces; and the final fold, when the stars are uppermost, is a tribute to our national motto, “In God We Trust.”

As a closing to the assembly, the students, veterans, and faculty in attendance heard from guest speaker Officer Robert Robbins. Officer Robbins served in the United States Army in the 101^st Airborne Division as a Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic at Fort Campbell Kentucky for two years. He earned the Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the Air Assault Badge.

Upon the conclusion of his active service, Officer Robbins joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and served in Alpha Co, 1^st Battalion of the 109^th Infantry Regiment. In this unit, he served as a Squad Leader, Vehicle Commander, was promoted to Sergeant and was awarded the General S. J. Stewart Medal for service and NCO Academy Graduate Ribbon.

Pictured is Guest Speaker Officer Robert Robbins. Officer Robbins serves as a School Resource Officer at Western Wayne since 2013.

In 1991, Officer Robbins joined the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and served with the Security Police Flight at Willow Grove Naval Air Station. He was responsible for base security, Flight Operations Security, and the protection of aircraft and missile weapons sites. He earned the Rank of Staff Sergeant.

He then attended the Security Police Academy at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in which he earned the title of Honor Graduate and was awarded the Pennsylvania Commendation Medal. Officer Robbins received an Honorable Discharge from all three branches he served in.

Officer Robbins is a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper, who served for 23 years and spent his entire career in the Patrol Unit. He was promoted to Corporal in 1999 and was responsible for nearly every facet of daily operations in a State Police Troop. He was stationed all over the State from Bucks County to Wayne County.

Today, Officer Robbins serves as a School Resource Officer here at the Western Wayne School District and has diligently done so since 2013. Robbins is beloved by Western Wayne students and faculty alike. He has a very meaningful presence throughout the school keeping it safe and helping to guide students.

Robbins also has the honor of being the newest voice of the Western Wayne Wildcats at their football and basketball games where he has taken over as announcer after the passing of Western Wayne’s beloved veteran teacher Mr. Jim Rebar.

As Robbins talked to the students, he discussed his upbringing in Honesdale where he was one of seven children in what he described as an average family. Robbins went on to marry his high school sweetheart and have three children. He then explained his journey through the military. Next, Robbins told the students what the military had done for him and how it shaped him as a person.

“I discovered that there were things I never thought I could be capable of doing from my time in the military,” Robbins explained. “For example, I conquered my fear of heights. I had to jump out of helicopters in my time in the service. My time in the military really shaped my life.”

Robbins quoted “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and discussed how he feels it is very meaningful to him as a veteran. He then told the students how important it is for them to be thankful for veterans and, if possible, for them to try to do service for the community to give back.

“We should live a life that we have earned from what was sacrificed for us,” he said. “It important for us to say thank you to veterans and to provide service to the community if we can.”

His closing words were very meaningful and memorable.

“God bless you,” he told all in attendance. “God bless America.”

Western Wayne Student Earns Certificate for Computer Science Work

Western Wayne Junior Lacey Falloon won second place for the Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Academy Creative Task Challenge for its first unit of study.

Lacey is working through the course as a part of her computer science class at Western Wayne High School. Lacey explained that the task that won her the second place certificate was her coding of actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s face when he played Jack in the blockbuster hit Titanic.

She explained that he is one of her favorite actors, and she thought it was a unique idea for a coding task. Lacey loves the challenge of coding and has been spending time both in the classroom and outside of school on perfecting her coding skills.

“I like beating others to get a task complete,” Lacey explained. “I’m always trying to finish first.”

Along with trying to work on her coding speed, Lacey also constantly tries to come up with new creative ideas for coding.

“For my second unit task for the Carnegie Mellon course, I made stick figures climbing a ladder,” Lacey said. “For this project, my picture has to keep changing to different things. It takes time to create projects like this.”

When Lacey isn’t working on her programming skills, she enjoys doing projects for Future Business Leaders of America where her primary focus is accounting. Lacey likes to set goals to challenge herself in all of the work that she does.

“I like a challenge,” Lacey said. “When I finally figure out something with coding, I sit there and wonder why I didn’t figure it out from the start.”

Lacey looks forward to working on more coding projects in her course at Western Wayne. Western Wayne faculty, administration, and staff are proud of her accomplishments and can’t wait to see what she does next.

Western Wayne High School Students Attend FCCLA Regional Leadership Meeting

Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) from Western Wayne High School learned leadership skills, organizational skills, and project ideas while attending the FCCLA Regional Leadership Meeting on October 25^th at Reading Area Community College.

Members attended workshops on Leadership, Statewide Initiatives, Publicizing your Chapter, Safety, Family Consumer Sciences related topics, and State Officer Candidacy. During the meeting, local chapter members also learned about the PA FCCLA outreach project and the membership campaign.

Club advisor Lori Lucchesi, FCS Teacher, Western Wayne High School, explained how this is an exciting year for her students.

“We have built our club membership up this year,” Lucchesi explained. “The students felt excited to start the year off at the Regional Leadership Meeting and are now working on projects for the FCCLA State Leadership Conference in the spring.”

Western Wayne members expressed enthusiasm toward returning to their chapter with great ideas and lots of motivation for a successful year.

Freshman, Ashley Small Bermudez learned about FCCLA programs and competitions and stated, “The workshop taught me about a useful planning process that will help me organize community events and achieve my future career plans.”

Sophomore Katarina Wood explained, “I attended an FCCLA work session that gave me key strategies to balance my extracurricular and academic skills.”

Another sophomore Mackenzie Sheatler found it very interesting to learn about the safety of children at the conference.

“I like learning about how kids interact and child development,” MacKenzie, who aspires to be a social worker, explained.

Sinclaire Ogof, a senior and vice president of membership for Western Wayne, reported that “Twenty seven students attended the FCCLA Regional Leadership Meeting and our Western Wayne Chapter’s membership has tripled this year, totaling 52 students!”

All of Western Wayne’s FCCLA members are excited to work with this club throughout the year and some have already begun their projects for the State Leadership Conference to be held in the spring at Penn State Main Campus.

Sinaea Buford, FCCLA president who aspires to major in forensic science and minor in criminal justice, is working with fellow FCCLA member Sadie Nahman on a project for the category of event management for the State Leadership Conference.

The girls are working to plan a senior citizen prom for the local community. They wish to work with Wayne Woodlands Manor and Laurel Place on the event.

“I really like to work with the elderly,” Sinaea, who has volunteered at Golden Way Personal Care Home in Waymart, explained. “I like to make them happy by listening to them and making them feel like they are at home when they talk to me.”

Fellow FCCLA member Shailyn Pugh said she also hopes to do a service-based project for FCCLA this year.

“I like helping in the community and doing service projects,” Shailyn, who aspires to be a pharmaceutical technician, said.

Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and addresses important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family & Consumer Sciences Education and Related Occupations. FCCLA is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members. It is the only national in-school organization with the family as its central focus. Participation in national programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in their families, careers, and communities.

Congratulations Coach Collins!

FBLA MEMBERS ATTEND STATE WORKSHOP

Twenty-nine members of the Western Wayne chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America recently attended the organization’s annual State Leadership Workshop at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in the Poconos. This was the largest workshop in FBLA history bringing together more than 1,500 members and advisers from across the state for leadership development.
Senior Ezra Tetreault, PA FBLA’s First Vice President, together with the other eight state officers, conducted the opening and closing sessions.
Students were then able to choose from a variety of workshops to attend covering such topics as Entrepreneurship, Leadership Lessons, Communication, Characteristics of Leaders, Business Innovation, FBLA Competition Boot Camp, Officership, and Marketing and Digital Branding.
This workshop was also the kickoff of the PA FBLA State Project, which benefits the American Heart Association. With a goal of $67,000, the state chapter has already raised more than $14,000 by holding a charity walk, a charity basket auction of nearly 100 baskets, a t-shirt sale, and several meals at the Great Karoo restaurant with a portion of the profits going to the state project.
Attending the workshop were Cassidy Asinski, Jamie Bryan, Julie Bryan, Haley Estus, Rachel Hoch, Sydney Hutchinson, Abby Kapschull, Skylar Long, Emilie McAllister, Madison McGlone, Laynee Nugent, Ella Pavlovich, Sydney Peet, Lena Piccolino, Anya Rusnak, Gabby Tetreault, Lou Azzato, Tommy Gogolski, Parker Howell, Zane Janiszewski, Matt Leslie, Lenny Maiocco, Derek Mason, Jack McAllister, Kiel Rizzi, Carson Rush, Kelton Slifko, Tim Smith, and Ezra Tetreault.

Row 1 (l to r): Jamie Bryan, Cassidy Asinski, Lena Piccolino, Haley Estus, Madison McGlone.
Row 2 (l to r): Emilie McAllister, Gabby Tetreault, Sydney Hutchinson, Anya Rusnak, Derek Mason.
Row 3 (l to r): Rachel Hoch, Sydney Peet, Abby Kapschull, Tommy Gogolski, Kelton Slifko, Kiel Rizzi, Lou Azzato.
Row 4 (l to r): Laynee Nugent, Ella Pavlovich, Skylar Long, Julie Bryan, Matt Leslie, Jack McAllister.
Row 5 (l to r): Lenny Maiocco, Carson Rush, Zane Janiszewski, Tim Smith, Parker Howell.

Western Wayne High School Student Wins Poetry Contest By Jessica McLaughlin

Western Wayne junior Cassidy Asinski is the 2019 ACS Susquehanna Valley Section National Chemistry Week Poetry Contest 9th-12th Grade Winner. Cassidy’s poem was judged as being the best out of all 9th-12th grade entries received by our section.

The poem has successfully been submitted to the national competition for a chance to win up to $300. In addition, Cassidy, her parents, and her science teacher Maria Masankay are invited to the annual Susquehanna Valley ACS Awards Banquet in May. Cassidy will receive a $50 check and a certificate at the banquet.

Cassidy’s poem is titled “Rust.” She explained that she chose this topic after doing some research. Cassidy, who enjoys both science and English classes at Western Wayne, said she really wanted to make her poem stand out by personifying rust throughout it. The poem is told in the first person point of view of rust itself.

“I wanted to make it really unique,” Cassidy explained.

Cassidy is highly involved at Western Wayne High School. She is a triple-sport athlete who is a member of the soccer, basketball, and track teams. She just made the first team all-stars for soccer. Cassidy, also, participates in FBLA and is a member of NHS. She is keeping her options open for the future, and says she is interested in the study of forensic science.

She feels excited to have won the poetry contest and looks forward to representing Western Wayne at the awards banquet for it in May.

Western Wayne faculty, administration, and staff, are proud of Cassidy’s accomplishments and wish her the best in her future endeavors.

E-cigarettes and Youth: What Parents Need to Know

Western Wayne Students Attend FBLA Region 22 Leadership Workshop

Western Wayne FBLA members joined with students from several area schools at the Woodloch Resort for the annual Region 22 Leadership Workshop. Region 22 President and Western Wayne senior Ezra Tetreault presided at the opening and business sessions.

The workshop is a wonderful opportunity for students to get together and meet students from neighboring schools in a social setting rather than a competitive one. Also attending were members from Carbondale Area, Delaware Valley, Honesdale, Mid-Valley, and Wallenpaupack Area,

Ice skating was available before the sessions and a haunted hayride concluded the evening’s activities.

Representing Western Wayne were Ezra Tetreault, Kate Mattern, Darlene Black, Lenny Maiocco, Landon Firmstone, Jacob McCormack, and James Fryzel. Theresa Lubash, chapter adviser, accompanied the students.

Western Wayne Students Benefit from HOBY Leadership Seminar

Western Wayne juniors Brett Schane and Madison McGlone represented Western Wayne at the 2019 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Leadership Seminar at Shippensburg University held last May.
The students greatly enjoyed their experience. Brett and Madison were glad to learn leadership skills along with making lasting friendships with other students from across the state.
“This was a good experience not only to build leadership and character, but also to meet a lot of different people that I never would have had the opportunity to be friends with otherwise,” Brett explained.
Madison agreed stating that she still keeps in touch with many of the students she met at the seminar.
“I made a lot of life-long friends,” Madison, who aspires to study psychology after graduation, said.
Brett and Madison explained that they did many getting-to-know-you activities when they first arrived at the seminar. Then they also had the chance to do community service projects.
Madison’s group went to a local Boy Scout camp and worked on setting up tents and building other needed items for the camp. She explained how all of the students at the seminar were broken into different groups to work on various service projects.
Brett said along with the service aspect of the seminar he also enjoyed the time the students got to spend in Harrisburg in the capital building.
“We got to do a mock legislature and work to get a bill passed among our peers,” Brett, who aspires to major in journalism and write about political science, explained. “It was really great to get to sit in the room where real bills are passed in the state.”
Brett and Madison thought they benefitted so much from their experience at HOBY last year that they wish to apply to be student leaders at the upcoming HOBY Leadership Seminar this spring. Brett and Madison explained how as a part of the process they individually have to complete 100 hours of community service along with the application process. If chosen, they will help to set up and facilitate this year’s event, which would mean they would be working alongside this year’s chosen Western Wayne sophomores Bridget Oppelt and Rachel Tuman.
Oppelt and Tuman will represent Western Wayne at the 2020 Central Pennsylvania HOBY Leadership Seminar at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, from May 14 through May 17.
Both young ladies are very accomplished at Western Wayne. Bridget is an honor roll student who enjoys being a part of the Western Wayne Marching Band where she plays the alto saxophone. She also does baton with the Double R Twirlettes and likes to ride horses in her spare time.
Like her classmate, Rachel also is highly involved in academics and activities. Rachel is a member of the Mock Trial Team, PJAS, Science Olympiad, FBLA, Spanish Club, and is the vice president of the sophomore class.
The girls were chosen for HOBY through essays they submitted about what leadership means to them.
“I wrote about how leadership is a role that you can use to guide and help others,” Bridget said.
Rachel agreed that helping others is a large part of leadership.
“I wrote about how there are two types of leaders: positive and negative ones,” Rachel explained. “Positive leaders help to develop tomorrow’s leaders.”
Both girls are very excited to attend the HOBY Leadership Seminar.
“I look forward to hearing what is said about leadership and meeting other students and hearing their experiences,” Rachel said.
Hoby will soon celebrate 50 years as the country’s top youth leadership development organization. Founded in 1958 by veteran actor Hugh O’Brian, HOBY’s mission is to provide lifelong leadership development opportunities that empower individuals to achieve their highest potential. O’Brian set out to help young people make a difference and become positive catalysts for change—in the home, school, workplace, and community. Now, with more than 355,000 alumni leading the way, HOBY is respected worldwide for its youth leadership programs.