Happy St. Patrick's Day Wayne Community! 

 I hope this letter finds you well and healthy. It has been quite the illness season, but hopefully, the worst of it is over. 

The district has had another busy month filled with amazing things. As I reflect on everything that has taken place, I think grouping it by school seems most appropriate. 

In WP, students have participated in the Kids Heart Challenge, helping to raise money for the American Heart Association while trying to complete "Finn's Mission," which teaches our students and families how to recognize the signs of a stroke and the lifesaving skills of performing CPR. We are one of the top schools in the state for our fundraising efforts. Students have also dove headfirst into their reading challenge with a goal of reading 10,000 combined minutes.  

WE had their Daytona 500 in their PE class, a favorite ongoing tradition for our students and families. WE also had an author visit, Kevin Kurtz, who came into the school and spent time with our students.  

At the middle school, we celebrated the seventh graders with two days of the Commended Breakfast and a Fun Night sponsored by the PTO!  

High school saw many achievements inside and outside of the classroom. Senior project day took place on March 14th, giving our seniors the opportunity to shine with the presentations they put so much work into in front of faculty and staff. Later that night, our Wayne CARES basketball game commenced. Congratulations to the "White" team on an exciting win of 54-52. It was great to see so much of the community supporting this great charity event.  

The art show is coming up, and you can already see the amazingly talented students show off their artwork in the clock tower in the high school. The boys basketball team advanced to regionals where they were victorious 69-61 against Willy South and will advance to the State Semifinals championship on 3/22. We had four students advance to states from our wrestling team, the girls relay track team went to states, and several of our high school athletes signed their letter of intent to play their respective sports at the college level. On March 28-30, you can watch our talented students perform the musical production of Les Miserables.  

District wide we celebrated Music In Our Schools Month with chorus and band performances from the middle and high schools. What an incredibly talented group of musicians! During our most recent Board of Education meeting, we had an update from our Director of Safety and Security, Travis Andrews. One of the most important takeaways from that presentation is the Safe School Helpline, where you can call and leave an anonymous tip to keep our schools safe. That phone number is 1-800-4-1-VOICE or text TIPS to 614-426-0240.  

Lastly, I encourage you all to look at the budget proposal, who is running for the Board of Education seats, and get out and vote on May 20th. 

Enjoy the rest of spring, stay healthy, and most importantly, be kind!