AP Biology Forest Ecology Trip to Lacawac Sanctuary

On October 16, 2017 the Western Wayne High School AP Biology students visited Lacawac Sanctuary and Biological Field Station. Students had the opportunity to engage in field research in the area of Forest Ecology and Population Studies. During the course of the visit students collected and analyzed data from the Lacawac Forest including a comparison of biodiversity inside of Deer Exclosures as compared to the rest of the forest, population studies of earthworms and salamanders, tree identification, invasive species discussions and predatory/prey relationships. These rich field experiences allowed students to really understand the characteristics of a stable forest ecosystem. Students learned about research that is happening at the collegiate level at Lacawac Field Station and about partnerships between Lacawac and various Universities. Following our visit students were able to collect data from a wooded area on our WW campus and plan to relate this data to their research data fromm Lacawac.

Please take a minute to view the attached PDF file with pictures and descriptions from our trip. We would like to thank Mrs. Jamie Reeger and Mrs. Sarah Corcoran for organizing, coordinating and creating such rich learning opportunities at Lacawac for our students and the Western Wayne Education Foundation for their generous grant that funded our experiences. We would also like to thank our administration for their support of this trip. We look forward to working with Lacawac Sanctuary and Field Station in the future as we continue to promote scientific research and career pathways in our community.

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Western Wayne Fashion Students Redesign Wedding

Spending hours working to create the perfect wedding dress sounds like the kind of challenge famous designers featured at Kleinfeld Bridal take on to please their brides. Students in Western Wayne’s Fashion II Class worked for about three weeks on a Wedding Gown Remake Project in which they took gowns donated to the school and redesigned them based on the style of professional wedding dress designers.

Seniors Kayla Fitzpatrick and Cailin Brown worked on this very challenging project.

Kayla’s original dress had a lot of length to it in both the front and back. She decided to turn her dress into what she described as a “Modern Victorian” style. She kept much of the train length but shortened the front of the dress to about knee length.

“The biggest challenge I faced in my redesign was working with the beading on the dress,” she explained. “You have to be careful to not pull a string or it could be ruined.”

Kayla also redesigned a veil for the dress. She took it off the headband it was originally on and put it on a choker necklace so that way it would be like a cape to go with the wedding dress.

“When I saw the veil I thought it was just too pretty to get rid of,” she said. “So I decided to turn it into a cape-like veil because I just love the cape trend and thought it would make the ensemble look more modern.”

Fellow classmate Cailin explained that she wanted her dress to be the type of gown a bride could wear on the beach in the summertime but still be somewhat formal.

The dress she started out with had many layers of fabric. Cailin decided to shorten the gown to about tea length and kept some of the back train. She also added a pink ribbon around the waist.

“If there weren’t so many layers it would have been easier to work with,” she explained. “I still plan to work on the dress more before showing it in our spring show.”

Both of the girls will have students model these wedding dresses along with a variety of other pieces that will be a part of their respective senior collections.

From left: Cailin Brown and Kayla Fitzpatrick pose with the wedding dresses they redesigned.

Kayla Fitzpatrick’s dress before and after her redesign. She calls this style “Modern Victorian.”

Cailin’s dress after and after her redesign. She envisions a bride wearing this dress to a summer wedding on a beach.

Holiday Food and Toy Drive – National Honor Society

The National Honor Society is collecting non-perishable food and toys for the holiday season. All donations will be given to the Wayne County Food Pantry, Ronald McDonald House, and the Wayne County Christmas Bureau. Drop off locations are the offices in each school building.

AP Biology Students Learn from Alumnus Danielle Swingle

Recently the AP Biology classes had the opportunity to learn from guest speaker Miss Danielle Swingle. Danielle is a 2014 graduate of Western Wayne and currently at senior at East Stroudsburg University. Danielle majors in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemical Biotechnology. Danielle researches through the ESU Wildlife DNA Lab as well as holding an internship at a local chemical company and maintaining academic excellence.

During her visit Danielle shared her research on the Characterization of the Microbiome of American Dog Tick Mouthparts. Her study used first generation sequencing technology to analyze American Dog tick samples collected in East Stroudsburg, PA, in order to characterize the bacteria residing on or in parts of the tick capitulum. Danielle also shared her career pathway, information about her major and opportunities in the field of Biochemistry at local Universities. Danielle also described how she manages her life as a student athlete at the collegiate level. Students were excited to hear about current research in the field of Biochemistry from a fellow Wildcat.

We are very thankful to have an alumnus of the AP program take time out of her schedule to share research with our students as they study the field of Biology and plan their futures.

Governor Commends Western Wayne Business Student

Allison Mattern, a junior at Western Wayne High School, has been recognized by Governor Tom Wolf for placing second in the nation in the Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure event at the FBLA National Leadership Conference held this past summer in Anaheim, CA. Mattern recently received a certificate from Governor Wolf commending her for this accomplishment. From left: Theresa Lubash, business department chair and FBLA advisor at Western Wayne and Region 22 FBLA co-advisor; Mattern; and Paul Gregorski, high school principal.

Western Wayne to Host Cavalcade of Bands on Wednesday, October 11

The Western Wayne School District will host a Cavalcade of Bands event on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at their football stadium starting at 6:30 p.m. Many local schools will present their field shows with Western Wayne set to perform their disco-themed show as the final performance. There will be food and other merchandise available for sale at the event. The public is invited to come out and support local marching bands. Pictured are members of the Western Wayne Color Guard wearing their YMCA costumes. From left, sitting: Ellen Dwyer, Gabby Velez, Kate Hirsch, Bri Trutt, Rachael Harsch, Hudson Malinowski, and Logan Smith. From left, standing: Sydney Ely, Carleigh Galliford, Addie Treibley, Becca Boots, April Bresee, and Kayla Peirce.

Students Attend Women in Science Symposium

The third annual Women in Science Symposium was held on September 19 at the Heritage Night Club at Woodloch Resort. It was hosted by the Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance and the Lacawac Sanctuary& Biological Field Station.

The purpose of the event was to give students, like women, minorities and other underdeveloped groups, information on STEM career paths, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. Students met with representatives from local colleges to discuss career options, hear presentations from female, working professionals and had the opportunity to speak with these professionals after the presentations finished.

Female students in grades 8 through 10 at Western Wayne along with other students from various local districts attended the event. From left, Western Wayne Middle School students who attendend the third annual Women in Science Symposium: Ally Bien-Aime; Miss Elizabeth Watson, assistant middle school principal; Jenny Guadagno; Rachel Hoch; and Sarah Collins.

Public Asked to Donate for Hurricane Victims at Homecoming Game Friday, Sept. 29

Along with the usual traditions of crowning a homecoming king and queen, students at Western Wayne are focussing on giving back to others this week as a part of their homecoming celebration. The Wildcats are asking students, staff, and the community to bring items to aide hurricane victims to the Friday, September 29, Homecoming Game. Mike Biondi; owner of Team Biondi LLC, Lake Ariel; has donated a truck to be used to hold all of the goods and will then transport it to where it needs to go to help those in need at the conclusion of the drive. Please help our students to “Stuff the Truck!” Suggested items are cleaning supplies, school supplies, paper products, nonperishable food, and baby supplies. Also, items can be delivered to the High School Office, Middle School Office or EverGreen Elementary School Office through October 13. Finally, there is a Homecoming Tailgate for all High School students from 3 p.m. until the start of the football game this Friday night in the High School parking lot area. There will be music, food and drinks provided for students, including chili from the chili cook-off made by faculty and staff. From left, members of the homecoming court: Dominic Corma; Abigail Zeiler; Kaitlyn Juhasz; Marty Spewak; Jennifer Bradley, assistant high school principal; Paul Gregorski, high school principal; Cole Fuller; Lilli Millon; Ryan Cavage; Kirstin Metschulat; Nick Koch; and Katelin Dennis.

WW National Merit Commended Student

Spencer Smith, Western Wayne senior, has been named a Commended Student in the 2018 National Merit Schloarship Program. Paul Gregorski, high school principal, has presented Spencer with a Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2018 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Western Wayne Administration is proud of Spencer’s achievements. Along with being a three year National Honor Society member, Spencer is lead programmer and vice president of the Robotics Club and runs the Computer Club. He wishes to attend Lehigh University with a dual major in electrical and mechanical engineering. From left, Jennifer Bradley, assistant high school principal; Spencer Smith, Commended Student in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program; and Paul Gregorski, high school principal.

Masankay Receives Outstanding Chemistry Teacher Award

Mrs. Maria Masankay, chemistry teacher at Western Wayne High School has been unanimously selected by the executive council of the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society as the recipient of the 2017 Ronald C. Blatchley Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher Award.

This award recognizes a high school chemistry teacher in the section who is passionate about chemistry as a science and works diligently to pass that passion on to their students. The award winner is also someone who consistently supports and encourages student participation in annual ACS events such as ACS high school exams and National Chemistry Week programming. The award consists of a plaque, a $100 check and the offer of reimbursement for up to $500 for registration and travel to a national conference related to chemistry education.

The plaque is usually presented during National Chemistry Week in October. The $100 check is presented at the section’s annual awards banquet in May of the following year.

Mr. Bill Dougherty, chair of the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, will visit Mrs. Masankay’s chemistry class in late October and present her with the award plaque. From left: Jennifer Bradley, assistant high school principal; Masankay; and Paul Gregorski, high school principal.