NOVEMBER WARRIORS ANNOUNCED

December 5, 2017

By The Scribbler Staff and the Warrior Wake-Up News Crew

In the month of November, an additional 6 students were nominated for Warrior of the month. Each nominee made positive contributions to the building. The winners, who have been chosen from a total of 47 total nominations, are Nikita M., Noah W., Jared C., and Amanda N.

Nikita M. is your fifth grade Warrior of the Month. He was nominated by Mrs. Reider, who says, “Nikita displays all the qualities of a warrior. He is responsible and reliable. He is always following rules and directions. Nikita does the right thing! He is inspiring and respectful because he is always kind, positive, and willing to help others out. He is very conscientious with his work uses the skills and strategies taught without being asked. He is having an awesome start to the year.”

In sixth grade, our Warrior of the Month is Noah W. He was nominated by Mrs. Partridge, who writes, “Noah demonstrates many qualities of a warrior. He is very caring and compassionate for his classmates. It is apparent that he thinks of others before he thinks of himself.” Noah has a positive impact on those around him.

The seventh grade Warrior of the Month for November is Jared C. He was nominated by Mrs. Gagner. Jared immediately jumped in to help a student in homeroom who became very upset and agitated when several of his items fell and were scattered on the floor. Jared tried to calm the student down and help him find and put together all of his missing items.

And finally, in eighth grade, our Warrior of the Month is Amanda N. Ms. Dungan nominated Amanda. She explained that Amanda provides significant help to students who are just learning the English language. In addition to being very welcoming and willing to help, Amanda is respectful and very encouraging. Amanda displays much patience while working with other students.

We are very proud of our November nominees and Warriors of the Month. Each Warrior will receive a certificate and token of appreciation.

WAIS DONATES TOYS FOR TOTS

December 12, 2017

By Jacob P. and Noah P.

The annual Toys for Tots drive ended on December 8, 2017 at the intermediate school. Students had been bringing in donations since October.

The purpose of this organization is to serve underprivileged kids toys for the holidays.The Toys for Tots foundation was started by Diane Hendrick. Since 2004, the Toys for Tots foundation has made $48 million and collected 4 million toys. Our local Toys for Tots charity organization was both started and funded by the Northampton County Detachment 298 and the Marine Corps League in 1947. The Marine Corps adopted the charity program in 1948. Bill Hendricks was the first person to donate a toy to the program. It was a handmade doll.

Our school started the program 4 years ago. Joe Pokojni introduced the program to our school. Ms. David says, “the act of giving without expectation of something in return is the definition of kindness”.

Ms. Richards added, “It is a fabulous opportunity for families”.

This year, many donations of arts and crafts supplies were made to the toy bin. The students and teachers of WAIS were able to help children have a happier holiday. As Ms. Pietrouchi states, “It's a great program.”

BASKETBALL SEASON REUNITES UNDEFEATED U-10 TEAM

December 12, 2017

By Sam M. and Brielle H.

The U-10 Williams Township girls basketball just started practicing for the 17-18 season.

The team has 8 players this year: Halle W, Samantha M, Adriana H, Sophia B, Carlie S, Riley S, Avery E, and Brielle H. The girls enjoy playing on the team together, and they are like a big family. Their coaches are helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. Last year, the team was undefeated in the regular season. The players all worked hard learning new skills. As the season went on, the team also learned more and more about each other. They even made up special code words for their plays, which helped them make a play without the other team knowing what their next moves would be.

Most of the players agreed that they would like to play in college some day. The team's favorite professional players are Michael Jordan and Steph Curry, but several were inspired to start basketball by players closer to home - their older brothers and sisters!

Team practices are at night and on weekends in the WAIS gym. At practice, players do drills and learn new skills to prepare for games. The team’s first practice was on November 16. It was an open gym because the girls on the team needed to shoot some basketballs to get the feeling of it again. All of the girls at the practice did a great job, and they hope that they can have an undefeated season again.

BAND AND CHORUS PREPARE AN EVENING OF HOLIDAY MUSIC

December 12, 2017

By Aubree L., Sarina G., and Aiden H.

The winter concert is fast approaching, and the musically talented students at WAIS have been working hard to prepare. The concert will be held on December 14, 2017 at 7PM at the Wilson Area High School, and will include performances from both the band and chorus.

The band and Mr. Friedhoff are ready for Thursday's concert. They have been rehearsing for many weeks to entertain the kids and adults who attend the concert. Some of the band songs include "Christmas Kings" and "Chanukah Festival", which is Aiden R.'s favorite song. He says,“I play clarinet and enjoy it.” Aiden is not nervous, and adds, “I like working with the other kids.”

Lillian W. also plays clarinet, but she confesses to a few nerves. She stated, “I enjoy band. My favorite song is 'Christmas Kings'. I am a little nervous, but I like working with Mr.Alercia and Mr. Friedhoff.”

The chorus is also well prepared for the show. The chorus will sing the songs "Follow That Wondrous Star", "Going to Grandma's", and "Always Believe". They have been practicing since October. Eliza P. said that her favorite song is "Always Believe" because she said, “I like the rhythm and it is soothing.”

Samantha M. agrees with Eliza, adding that she likes “how it goes slow then fast then slow again.” Tessa F. also said her favorite song is Always Believe because she like the words and how the scale changes.

Be sure to set aside the evening to come to the concert. You won't want to miss this show!

SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS RAISE AMAZING AMOUNT FOR NEEDY FAMILY

December 19, 2017

By Conner A., Trinity C., Deanna E., Holly E., Robbie M., and Alexis S.

Penny Wars, the seventh grade event to raise money for a family in need, was held from December 4th through December 8th. In just one week, seventh grade students raised over $1000!

A group of students took a trip with their teachers to Wal-Mart and used the money to buy gifts for the family, who they "adopted" through the Third Street Alliance for Women and Children in Easton. They provided the family with clothing, toys, household items, and a gift card to help pay for food. They even got each child a tablet to do school work, read books, or play games. The students who got to do the shopping were the winners of an essay contest about helping others.

Trinity, one of the essay contest winners, says, "I think that less fortunate people shouldn't be looked down on or treated like they are less of a human being. They deserve some attention and someone to show that they care about them."

Holly, another shopper, agrees, but thinks there are also benefits for the person who helps, too. She says, "Helping others can make people feel like they are making a difference in the world."

Penny Wars is also a competition between all the seventh grade homerooms. The goal is to have the most positive money like quarters and dollars. Pennies, nickels, and dimes count against your homeroom, so students like to "bomb" other homerooms with these coins to sabotage their score. That didn't work this year, though. Even though students put over $150 in change into Mrs. Cunningham's jar, her homeroom students countered with over $300 in quarters and dollar bills, securing the first place victory. Mrs. Korin's homeroom came in second, and Mrs. Gagner's homeroom was in third place. The real winners, though, are the needy family who will have a much happier holiday thanks to the generosity of WAIS students. "My most important memories are meaningful to me because I spent time with my family," says Robbie, another student who helped with the shopping. The seventh grade hopes that these gifts will help our adopted family make good memories together.

FIELD TRIP ENTERTAINS FIFTH GRADERS

December 19, 2017

By Sarina G.

On Wednesday, December 13th the fifth grade went to the Bethlehem Ice House to watch A Christmas Story: The Musical, performed by the Pennsylvania Youth Theater. The students spent the morning at the production, so they had to buy a packed lunch or bring a lunch on the trip.

A Christmas Story is the classic story of a kid named Ralphie who only wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Everyone tells him that he will shoot his eye out. He spends most of the play trying to convince his parents to give him the gun.

Savannah P. says, "The play was very funny." She especially liked when Flick got his tongue stuck to a pole on a cold playground.

Sabrena E. agrees that it was funny. "I enjoyed the part where the family went to a restaurant and they got duck instead of turkey," she explained.

One hundred percent of fifth graders polled agreed that going to see the play was great. Most of them hoped that the teachers would take next year's fifth graders to see it next year.