and guardians should

start looking for

positive comments

home through email,

post cards home, phone

calls, and social media.

Look for the grand

totals and the winning

teams in April.

Last year, Mr. Higgins

brought the March

Gladness competition to

the West High School.

During the month of

March, teachers made

numerous positive

communications and

comments home to

parents about their sons

and daughters. Each

week teachers had to

contact parents through

a variety of methods.

This year Mrs.

Piccarreta is going to

be monitoring March

Gladness. Parents

March Gladness is back!

Wishes are more than

just a nice thing. They

find a way to make the

world better. For

children with serious

medical issues, a wish

experience can be a

“game changer.”

As we have done for

the past 14 years

during the month of

March, our school is

partnering with the

Make-A-Wish®

Foundation to help

grant the wish of one

local child.

Five year old Aubrey

from Pocono Lake

lives with the

challenges of tuberous

sclerosis. Her wish is

for a pop up camper so

she and her family can

enjoy years of fun in

the sun.

Our goal for the month

of March is to come

together as a school to

raise $4,400, the

approximate cost of

one wish. This may

seem like a goal that

could not possibly be

reached.

But if everyone in our

school donates just

$3, we will reach our

goal and be able to

help Aubrey’s wish

come true!

HOW CAN YOU

HELP?

Students can help by

donating in their

homeroom, buying $1

baked goods at lunch

on Fridays in March,

purchase a star at the

school store, and

donate to the collection

jar in lunch every

Tuesday and Thursday

in March.

Community members

can send in donations

with your son/daughter

or you can email Mrs.

Paul at

jpaul@pmsd.org about

making a personal

donation.

Panther Pride Times

Grant a Wish this March!

March 2017

Volume 1, Issue 2

Students

showing

PRIDE

Throughout the month of March, students will have the opportunity to participate in a March Gladness event with the chance to win some amazing prizes. At the beginning of the month, students will try to fill a blank bingo card with teacher signatures by showing aspects of PRIDE. This could include getting an excellent grade on a test, being prepared for class, doing something kind for another person or even getting involved. A completed signed board will be entered in a raffle for some of the following prizes: gift certificates from local businesses, wings delivered at lunch , autographed basketball from Chris Herron, autographed memorabilia from a sports great, and our grand prize - a 65 inch curved TV!!! GOOD LUCK to all those who participate! Look for a list of winners in April!

legality side of hunting as well as

the biological

implication on the local

community. Two students pictured

below are interested in studying

veterinary science and were excited

about the opportunity to assist the

rangers. Dr. Susan Thackara plans

on making this an annual trip for

her students.

On Tuesday, November 29th the

Pocono Mountain West High

School's Zoology classes traveled

to the State Game Lands 127 in

Tobyhanna. Students were given

the opportunity to watch as

members of the Game

Commission gathered data from

newly harvested black bears.

Students were able to weigh six

bears, determine their sex, and age.

A few lucky students had the op-

portunity to pull teeth and legalize

the hunt by tagging the bear. The

teeth will be sent to a lab to deter-

mine the age of the bear. Students

observed Officer Richard Briggs as

he interviewed each hunter.

Students enjoyed seeing the

The Big Panther/Little

Panther program origi-

nated during the 2016-17

school year between

students at Pocono

Mountain WHS and Clear

Run Intermediate

School. It is a mentoring

program pairing up

chosen students from the

high school level with at-

risk students at the intermediate

school level. We visit CRIS once

a month and the big panthers are

able to shadow and enjoy the day

with their little panthers. This

includes - attending classes,

eating lunch together and often

attending restorative

intervention sessions with

them. Our big panthers will be

going through a restorative inter-

vention mini-training to

assist them in responding to

challenging behaviors. Often -

our big panthers are assisting

their little panthers in improving

in the areas of academics and

behaviors. Our big panthers

have truly invested in this

program by going above and

beyond to show their little pan-

thers how much they care about

their success. Some have gotten

them special gifts, others have

gone to their athletic events

and even some have taken

the time to visit them at

school on their own. Also we

have done additional special

activities including sending

the little panthers

Valentines, working on an art

mural with the WHS

National Art Honor Society

and eventually we are hoping

that the little panthers will get to

make a trip over to the

WHS. Another highlight of our

program is when the big panthers

ride the buses at the end of the

day with their little panther. In

the few short months that this

program has been up and

running - the impact it has had

already has been very positive

and overwhelming for all those

involved.

Big Panther/Little Panther Builds Connections

Zoology Students Observe Bear Harvesting

Panther Pride Times Page 2

Sabrina Lorenzo (Junior) is

getting her first look at a

harvested bear.

Adrianna Fatylak (Senior) is exam-

ining the teeth of a bear.

2016-2017 WHS Zoology Students

Last month, officers from the

Navy came and conducted a

workout in Mrs. Cournan’s games

and adventures class. The

students took part in Navy team

building physical activities.

Maurice Whittle won the plank

challenge lasting 3:58 minutes.

Students had a great time and

represented WHS very well. Petty

Officers Carlos and Petty Officer

LaScala also spoke to the health

classes as well on the importance

of nutrition and fitness.

Last Session of Credit Recovery

will be March 8-April 28th. Sign

up in the guidance office ASAP.

Deadline for WHS scholarship

booklet “Comprehensive

application: is due Friday, March 3

ACT: April 8 in the WHS cafe

ASVAB (Armed Services

Vocational Aptitude Battery):

Tuesday, April 20 @ 8:00 AM in

the café.

How to Choose a College Pro-

gram: Thursday, April 20th @

7:00 pm at the EAST High School

For the first time this February,

the PRIDE Student Leadership

Committee ran the Secret Word

of the Day Announcement Game

in an effort to improve student

attention to the afternoon

announcements. Senior and

PRIDE Student Leadership

Committee president, Sage

Brigham, ran the afternoon

announcements and would call

out letters to spell a PRIDE

related word everyday for a

week. The students who were able

to correctly identify the words and

submit their game cards were

placed into a drawing for a prize.

Congratulations to Alyssa

Byrd! She won a doughnut party

for her homeroom. The homeroom

enjoyed their party so much, they

sent the PRIDE committee a thank

you note!

Navy Infiltrates Games and Adventures

Guidance Corner

Secret Word of the Day

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 2

Students listen to the directions for the next workout that they needed to complete

The West Baseball team is selling

Iron Pig tickets for the Sunday,

April 23rd game! Tickets are

$13.00 which will also give you

access to the West versus

Stroudsburg game on May 6th at

5:30 at Coca Cola Park. Please

email Coach Olizarowicz by April

1st at solizarowicz@pmsd.org if

you are interested in purchasing

tickets.

Iron Pigs Anyone?

Speech and Debate

Once again, the Panther Speech and

Debate Team qualified 6 for States

and 1 in radio and 1 in

impromptu! Our team this year

includes: Pat LaBella, Nick

Opromollo, Abigale Brown, Chris

Brazezicke, Phillip Niewiarowski,

Faith DeJesus, Jondi Harley, and

Jamise Sealey. They continue the

tradition of excellence at WHS.

Thank you to Melissa Beehler, our

judges Rose-Marie Brophy, and

Maryann Harrington.

Students work out to a Navy team building activity.

Pride Premiere Incentive

The first Pride Incentive reward

was held on February 14th. 348

students met the criteria for the

PRIDE PREMIERE! Students

must've met honor roll or

distinguished honor roll status

for MP1 and MP2, have no

Upcoming Events:

3/3 WHS Music Showcase: 7 pm

Auditorium

3/8 Act 80 Day—3 hour early dismissal

3/6-3/31 Student Council Make-A-Wish

Fundraiser

3/24 WHS Jazz Festival 5-9 pm

Auditorium

3/31 Show choir’s Dinner Theater

4/1 Show choir’s Dinner Theater

4/28-4/29 Beauty and the Beast Musical

7:00 pm Auditorium

4/30 Beauty and the Beast Musical

2:00 pm Auditorium

Page 4 Panther Pride Times

Students were treated to the red

carpet experience before the

event.

Students had a photo shoot hosted

by NAHS before the movie.

Students check in to the Pride

Premiere event.

discipline, and have no more than

2 unexcused absences. The

students had the "red carpet"

treatment! The NAHS

volunteered their time taking

photos as the students entered.

Each student received freshly

popped popcorn and water.

They were able to relax and

enjoy the movie, Zootopia as a

reward for all their hard work.

The halls were filled with the

delicious smell of buttery

popcorn.

Pride Statistics So Far:

Honor Roll Marking Period 1

Distinguished: 132 students

Regular: 401 students

Honor Roll Marking Period 2

Distinguished: 139 students

Regular: 313 students

West Best Awards

September: 201 students

October: 207 students

November: 155 students

December: 124 students

January: 159 students

Don’t forget to check out our new Facebook

page: Facebook.com/PMWestHighSchool