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      Williamsport Area School District 
                                                                      ::  eNews
Vol. 4, Issue  7  |  Friday, November 3, 2017
The entrance to WAHS along West Fourth Street will be closed to traffic from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10.  The closure is required to accommodate work that will be done to re-surface a section of the road during this time. Those traveling to and from the high school campus will need to do so via Fox Hollow Road.
Polar Express Ride:  The WASD Education Foundation is once again conducting its annual Holiday Essay Contest for K-6 students to earn a chance to win a free, exclusive ride on the Polar Express.
Festival of Wishes:  Looking to kick off the holiday season with some Disney?  WAHS  sophomore Zoe Wagner is directing "Festival of Wishes," co-sponsored by WASD, to benefit  Make-A-Wish Foundation  at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 at WAMS.
Congrats to our boys and girls soccer teams for winning their District Championship games on Nov. 2!
 

Take a peek inside the district with some highlights of what's been happening in the district.  This newsletter's purpose is to give you, a member of our community, an overview of school news and events, student and faculty achievements, along with the latest from our education foundation.

 

Please remember that you can share this newsletter with your friends by simply clicking "Forward Email" at the bottom of this screen.

CONSIDERED A 'LEADING EXPERT,' WAHS ENGLISH TEACHER ON NATIONAL FRONT FOR TEACHING GRAPHIC NOVELS 
About eight years ago, WAHS teacher Dr. John Weaver entered what was then considered a relatively new frontier in the English classroom: teaching with graphic novels.

But since 2009, when he introduced "Watchmen" to students for the first time, not only has the scope of his graphic novel unit expanded but Weaver also has become a veteran and leading educational expert when it comes to the genre in school.

Just last month, he served as a panelist for an educator session at the New York Public Library in partnership with New York Comic Con, the East Coast's largest pop culture convention in New York City that boasted an attendance of more than 200,000 this year.

That session, which organizers expected to have a modest 200-250 attendees, swelled to more than 1,200 fellow teachers, librarians and academics.

During the last year he also has been a juror for the Lynd Ward Prize at Penn State and is now a juror for the inaugural launch of the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. 

Already looking ahead at next summer, Weaver once again will be a panelist for educational programming, but this time at the San Diego Comic Con.

The attraction to graphic novels, Weaver believes, is the student engagement component and the added layer of complexity it brings to the world of literature that matches -  if not rivals - its standard novel counterpart (which, make no mistake, is still built into his curriculum).

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#ICYMI: See how WASD participated in the Oct. 18 #StopOnRed campaign as part of National School Bus Safety Week, thanks to WNEP's Kristina Papa, who went along for the ride as the district and city police joined forces.

[ Watch ]
COCHRAN, FIRST CHURCH PAIR UP TO SUPPORT HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS

Cochran Primary School joined forces with First Church North Campus in hurricane relief efforts.  Through October, the Cochran school community donated items and money to support the hurricane relief efforts. The donations gathered were enough to put together 25 hygiene kits, three five-gallon buckets of cleaning supplies and money toward shipping costs. 

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WAMS, WAHS STUDENTS ATTEND DRAMA WORKSHOP AT CTL

Middle and high school students participated in a Cross-Campus Dramatic Workshop at the Community Theatre League on Oct. 27.  They joined more than 150 students from eight districts and a dozen experts in improv, dance, auditioning, vocal techniques, musical theatre, puppetry and stage make-up.  WASD's own Marie Fox and Marisa Hickey were among the presenters.
Like our event photos? Now they can be yours and much more.  WASD  has joined  SmugMug ! Families can download our photos and, if you really like a picture we captured of your child, you can create and purchase mugs, pillows, greeting cards, and more, through SmugMug for keeps. 
AUSTRALIAN POP ARTIST BEGINS WORK WITH ART STUDENTS IN MURAL PRODUCTION

Australian pop artist Johnny Romeo began his artist-in-resident post this week.  Thanks to an Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) grant made available through the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania, Romeo is working with WAHS art students to create a permanent mural that will be installed and on display on the building once complete.
PENN COLLEGE PLANS FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION NIGHTS

Free financial aid information nights will be available for two local schools in November.  The sessions are scheduled for Monday Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in room A124 of Williamsport Area High School and Wednesday Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the South Williamsport Junior/Senior High School cafeteria. Students and parents from both schools can attend either event. 
 
The primary goal of the sessions is to assist individuals and families in understanding the financial aid process.
 
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