Wyalusing Area School District
Ram eNews
May 2021
The summer food distribution is open to ALL children, ages 0-18, that reside within the Wyalusing Area School District.
Registration is required! Please submit one Google form for each child.
Questions? Please contact: Nancy Iseminger, Food Service Director,
nutrition@wyalusingrams.com or 570-746-1600 (x3015).
RE-OPENING: TAYLOR FAMILY FITNESS CENTER
The Fitness Center will re-open for public use and return to normal operating hours on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021.
Please contact Elisha Wilson in the WASD Business Office at 570-746-1600 x3002 or ewilson@wyalusingrams.com for more information.
https://www.wyalusingrams.com/school-community/taylor-family-fitness-center
Summer Counseling for Students
Parents who would like to enroll their child in summer counseling services, please contact Mr. Laboranti to set-up a screening at hlaboranti@wyalusingrams.com.
Mr. Laboranti will be on-site at the Wyalusing Valley Elementary School on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays with appointments available from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM and Thursdays 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS GRANT SUMMER PROGRAM
Wyalusing Area School District has obtained approval to offer our after school (the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant) program this summer, in person, at Wyalusing Valley Jr./Sr. High School. The program will provide an opportunity for students to engage in hands on enrichment, virtual field trips, recreational activities and academic support.
The summer program is offered to current students and any students who will be participating in the 2021-2022 school year, and is limited to 40 students. Sign ups will be treated on a first come first serve basis. Transportation will be provided to and from the program if needed and a grab and go breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Week 1: July 6 - 9
Week 2: July 12 - 15
Week 3: July 19 - 22
Week 4: July 26 - 29
Time: 8:30 am - 1:30 pm
If you and your child are interested in this summer enrichment opportunity, please contact Alicia Kirkpatrick at akirkpatrick@wyalusingrams.com. You can also call 570-746-1600 ext. 2307 and leave a voice message.
Act 158 Graduation Pathways
"Write Your Own Book" Contest Winners
Photo: Sixth grader Emily Blatt posing with her reading teacher, Mrs. Weaver.
Autism Awareness
Lunch at Ram's Head Castle
On April 22, the Nutrition Group celebrated lunch at the castle! The talented elementary staff helped make it an exciting experience for the students. Many students dressed in character and were all greeted by our brave Knights, ATS’s Bill and Dawn. All the staff dressed in character as they served Knightly Nuggets, The Princess and her Peas, the Squires Strawberries, Paupers PB&J and Court Jester Cookies for dessert!
***Content and photos provided by The Nutrition Group***
2021 Virtual Student Art Show
Music Accomplishments
The Music Department would like to recognize the Junior Chorus, District Chorus, District Vocal Jazz Group, and the cast of the spring musical for all of their hard work this year.
Special congratulations to Kadence Carey and Carina Beebe who were recipients of the Bradford-Sullivan County Music Educators Lifelong Musician Scholarship.
Students Participate in Auction Using 'Delamarter Dollars'
Ms. Delamarter stocked the auction with small items from local retail distributors, and this year, she included personal items from her classroom!
Callee Warner (pictured left) won Ms. Delamarter's coyote! Ms. Delamarter was gifted the coyote when she was a student at Wyalusing Valley Elementary School by her favorite teacher, Mr. Dibble.
Ms. Delamarter's end-of-year auction was an annual classroom activity that many of her students looked forward to and will cherish the items they received!
Shane Malinowski Graduating in 11th Grade!
Shane Malinowski, an 11th grade student, has received all necessary credits to meet the graduation requirements and will be graduating as a member of the class of 2021. Shane was accepted to Bucknell University where he intends to double major in Computer Science/Engineering and Mathematics and hopes to become a software developer.
Shane's favorite school lunch is the buffalo chicken alfredo and his advice for 6th graders entering WVHS next year is to "make sure you do all of your work on time and be nice to teachers because they can help you out a lot in the long run of things."
Congratulations, Shane!
Student Athlete Signs Letter of Intent for Marywood University
Pictured below (left to right): Jim Schools, Travis Bahl, Brent Keyes and Gary Otis.
Hailey Jayne Joins Lock Haven University!
Senior Hailey Jayne signed her letter of intent to continue her softball career at Lock Haven University. She plans to major in Forensic Science. Congratulations, Hailey!
Pictured below is Hailey with her parents, Lisa and Brett Jayne, and in the back row (left to right): Gary Otis, Brent Keyes, John Loomis, and Tim Moss.
Mrs. Renee Broschart
Mrs. Renee Broschart is a 1999 WVHS graduate. In 2003, she earned a degree in elementary education from Mansfield University. Mrs. Broschart also earned a master’s degree in Elementary Education as well as a K-12 Reading Specialist Certificate. Mrs. Broschart has been teaching for 17 years. She spent three years as a Head Start teacher/home visitor in both Sullivan and Columbia Counties. For the past 14 years she has been teaching in the Troy Area School District. Mrs. Broschart has been a Title I , a fourth grade, and a fifth grade teacher. Her passion is reading and teaching students to be life-long learners.
Mrs. Broschart and her husband, Rob live outside of New Albany on his family’s farm in Overton. They have three daughters: Maddy, 12, Morgan 10, and Korie, 5. She enjoys reading, camping, NASCAR, and watching her daughters participate in various sports. Mrs. Broschart’s even been known to compete in the Sullivan County Demolition Derby. She is very excited to be back home and to be a Wyalusing RAM once again.
Mrs. Emily Delp, Elementary Teacher
Emily Delp (Mosher) grew up in Sugar Run, PA. She graduated from Mansfield University in December 2019 with her degree in Elementary and Special Education. After graduation, she returned to Wyalusing, accepting a long-term sub position. Over the past year she has covered various capacities in the elementary school, including K-2 Learning Support, Emotional/Behavior Support, Second Grade, and will be teaching Fourth Grade for the rest of the school year.
Mrs. Delp lives with her husband Evan in Dushore, PA. She loves spending time with family and friends and enjoys hiking around Worlds End and Ricketts Glen State Parks.
Teaching throughout the school has given her the opportunity of connecting with many students and staff. The relationships she has made has been her favorite part of working at Wyalusing. She looks forward to continuing her career in the district!
Mr. Tracey LaFrance, Physics Teacher
Hello! I am Tracey LaFrance and I will be teaching Physics and Principles of Technology courses this upcoming school year at Wyalusing Valley Jr/Sr High School. I have spent the last two years teaching biology, physics, and environmental science at Towanda Area School District, and several year before that I was a substitute teacher at Wyalusing Area School District. I grew up in the Wyalusing area and attended both the elementary and high school. I then received my Bachelor’s in Environmental Biology at Mansfield University. After undergrad, I traveled to Miami to work on my Masters degree in Tropical Ecosystem Management, then journeyed home to Pennsylvania again to receive a Masters in Instruction and Curriculum Management. I hope to give back to the school district and community that raised me and am looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence that the Wyalusing school district is known for!
Ms. Amanda McLinko, Secretary to the Business Manager
Amanda is a graduate of Wyalusing Area School District. After graduating she attended Mansfield University, where she received a major in Business Management and Minor is Psychology.
During the last twelve years Amanda worked at Bradford County Children and Youth Services as a caseworker, paralegal (Family Design Resources – SWAN Network), and also a supervisor.
Amanda currently resides in Stevensville with her fiancé John, daughter Aubrey, and soon to be step daughters Bella and Maddy.
Amanda is grateful and excited to be back at Wyalusing Area School District!
Mr. Damien Wickizer, Music Teacher
Mr. Wickizer is a WVHS Graduate, Class of 2014. He is a graduate of Mansfield University, Class of 2018, where he obtained his B.M. Music Education with an emphasis on Choral Studies. After graduation, he began teaching General Music at Yough Glades Elementary School in Oakland, MD, where he served as the primary elementary music teacher, instructing grades PK-5 in General Music, Chorus, Band, and Ukulele Ensemble. In 2019, he moved back to Pennsylvania and taught at Towanda Area High School as Vocal Music Director from 2019-2021.
He has been able to travel overseas with the Mansfield University Concert Choir and perform with them twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was involved with several musical theatre productions at both university and community levels, including Young Frankenstein, Shrek the Musical, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Finnian’s Rainbow. Outside of music, he enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Mr. Wickizer is very excited to return to the "Ram Family" and is grateful for the opportunity to work for such a wonderful school district.
Lorna Snyder, Retiring Secretary to the Business Manager
When the assistant business manager took a leave of absence I was moved into her position for several months, then back to Payroll briefly before taking on a newly created position as secretary to the business manager. During my tenure in the business office I have worked under five superintendents and four business managers, which adds up to many different leadership styles, some requiring more adjustment and flexibility than others.
Overall, I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be challenged, to learn the complexities of the public education system and, most of all, to work with some truly wonderful people. I anticipate that it will take a while for me to adjust to being retired, but I think I’m up to the challenge! My husband and I are looking forward to doing some travelling, and spending more time with our six grandchildren is definitely on the agenda.
We wish Lorna a happy retirement!
Dave Holdredge Scholarship Fundraiser
Option 1: Laugh at Yourself Way
Option 2: Help Other People Road
Option 3: Make It Epic Lane
Option 4: Don't Eat Yellow Snow Drive
Each vote is $5.00.
Huffman Memorial Golf Classic
Natural Gas Groundbreaking Ceremony
In a groundbreaking ceremony on May 5, 2021, Leatherstocking Gas Company and WASD marked the start of a natural gas distribution system. The ceremony was joined by students, administrators, staff, board members, legislators, and representatives from partnering gas companies.
The pipeline infrastructure will offer economic benefits that will ensure sustainability and provide cost savings to our district that benefits our taxpayers and our students. While our primary responsibility lies with student achievement, our school works hard to serve our community by fulfilling the need as the hub to the very important community wheel.
Phase one of the project will be to provide natural gas to the Wyalusing School District and to Homer's winery, right across the street. The second phase will look to continue the gas system out onto Route 6, and finally, in phase three, gas lines will connect to homes and businesses in the borough.
Work will begin late spring/early summer with the hope that construction will be completed by fall 2021.
***Photos provided by Phoenix Rising Photography***
Update on WVHS Next Generation Learning Library Project
In cooperation with the Wyalusing Area Education Foundation, we have received $226,000 in donations towards the WVHS Next Generation Learning Library Project! Thank you to all of our donors who helped to make this possible for our district:
- Tuscarora-Wayne Insurance Group
- Kenneth & Caroline Taylor Family Foundation
- PS Bank
- The Milnes Corporation
- GTP Group Services Corp.
- Claverack REC
- Ms. Brenda Abbott
At the Special Board Meeting on May 24, 2021, bids were awarded for the library construction and HVAC. Construction is scheduled to begin in June.
If you wish to support this project, donations are being accepted in care of the Next Generation Learning Library to P.O. Box 204, Wyalusing, PA 18853.
Parking Lot Repairs
The repairs may cause periods of delay to visitor and staff traffic and may impact parking. We appreciate your patience and caution during this brief period of interruption.
On May 27th, 2021, we were proud to celebrate our graduating seniors. The ceremony was held outdoors and included inspiring remarks from student leaders and administration, as well as musical performances by the Early Morning Jazz, Senior Choir Ensemble, and the High School Band.
Dr. Bottiglieri paid tribute to Mr. Dave Holdrege and announced the ingress road would be re-named as Holdrege Lane for the 2021-2022 school year.
Collectively, the class of 2021 was awarded 80 scholarships, totaling $765,410!
We would also like to recognize the 29 students that graduated from the Northern Tier Career Center (NTCC).
We are extremely proud of our seniors' accomplishments and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors! Thank you to all of the faculty and staff the volunteered to help with this event!
A link to watch the video recording of the 2021 graduation ceremony will be posted to our website in the coming weeks!
CLICK HERE to view the Senior Choir Ensemble performance of "Lean On Me."
***Video credit: Matt Hicks/ The Daily Review***
***Photo credit: Elaina Goodwin (9th grade student)***
9th Annual Sixth Grade Graduation Ceremony
A link to watch the video recording of the sixth grade graduation ceremony will be posted to our website in the coming weeks!