District News

West Branch Area Ladies Ruritan Members Bev Yaggi and Marybell Metzgar present 25 new books to third grade students in Mrs. Stacy McInturff’s classroom.

Carols, Cookies, Cocoa & Claus

Saturday, December 10
West Branch High School
Doors Open @ 6:30 p.m.

Wear your PJs, decorate Christmas cookies, drink hot
cocoa and visit Santa!

WBHS Jazz Band and Young & Alive will perform.

Flyer

Leadership & Community Engagement Class
Collecting Clothing

November 29 - December 16

Drop off at West Branch High School

Salads Unavailable

Salads will be unavailable at all West Branch school locations
beginning on Tuesday, November 29, 2022
due to poor growing conditions, crop disease and pricing.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES

Throughout the district, students at West Branch Local Schools enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, November 17.

The district cafeteria staff made a dinner featuring turkey gravy over mashed potatoes, stuffing, and dessert. The PAC decked out the cafeteria at the Early Learning Center for the celebration, and students feasted in hats created for the holiday. At the high school, some of the office staff jumped in to help with the serving and cleanup as has become tradition for the annual holiday feast.

Last week, West Branch Intermediate and Middle School students gathered nearly 3,000 nonperishable items to help feed local families this holiday season.

Homerooms competed against each other as they contributed food items throughout the week. Each day had a theme to encourage a variety of donations covering breakfast, lunch, dessert, and holiday feast needs.

“We are happy to help students understand how important it is to give back and support those in need,” said Jayson Yeagly, West Branch Middle School principal.

West Branch Intermediate School (third and fourth grades) contributed 1,476 items to the food drive. West Branch Middle School (fifth, sixth, and seventh grades) collected 1,497 nonperishables during the week. The West Branch Middle School Student Council, who hosted the drive, will use the items collected to prepare baskets for families in the community in need during the holiday season.

Victoria Jones, a 4th grade student at West Branch Intermediate School went above and beyond the call of duty to honor her principal, Mr. Fritz Schlueter, for Veterans Day. She did this by creating  a book about veterans to present to Mr. Schlueter. Victoria said that she wrote the book because she was thinking about the upcoming Veterans Day and decided to create the book for Mr. Schlueter because she knew that Veterans Day is special to him. 

Schlueter, an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, said that he appreciated the gift that Victoria presented him, but did not realize what it was when he received it. After reading her book, titled I Respect the Veterans, he was blown away by the message of the book and the time and effort it took to create it. 

Victoria dedicated this book to her principal. In the book she writes that veterans are heroes and she hoped that Mr. Schlueter would have the best Veterans Day ever. She spent a lot of time creating the book and art work to go with it. This project has created a spark in her to write more books in order to inspire others and make their day better. 

Sergeant Major (SGM) Thomas McMillan, a veteran and grandfather of a third grade student at West Branch Intermediate School, went beyond the call of duty when he was unable to attend the school’s Veterans Day Assembly last week, making a special visit to his granddaughter’s class.

The third grade students in Mrs. Stacy McInturff’s class had the opportunity to hear about SGM McMillan’s 26-year Army career, answering many questions the students asked along the way. 

Seventh grade students at West Branch Middle School became innovators of toys and games to support the growth and development of children with Cerebral Palsy in their STEM classes this fall.

What began as a project from the Environmental Club to keep waste from landfills has become a gathering place to encourage student connectedness amongst peers.

The K-2 students at West Branch Early Learning Center celebrated the end of the first quarter with a day packed full of games and activities during the Fall Fest coordinated with the district’s Parent Activity Committee (PAC) on Friday, November 4.

The unusually warm fall day provided the perfect setting for the outdoors activities as the students rotated through game stations, competitions, and a petting zoo. Parents from the West Branch PAC coordinated activities, snacks, and games the students enjoyed throughout the day.

West Branch High School students took on new roles as organelles as they learned about various cell functions in a unique ‘speed dating’ exercise.

Students were each assigned an organelle - subcellular structures that perform a specific function or functions within a cell. As they researched their organelle, they were tasked with a creative assignment to present themselves in a speed dating environment - complete with a ‘cellfie’ and theme song, as well as information about their function and their positive and negative traits.

“Not only are they learning, but they have to be creative as well,” says biology teacher Kristen Tice.

On Friday, October 29, biology class turned into a speed-dating style event. The students - acting as organelles - exchanged information about their assigned organelles as they got to know the other organelles present in cells through the creative theme songs and discussion.

“It’s a ton of fun and they learn so many interesting things about organelles,” says Tice.

The West Branch Board of Education honored two students for their outstanding character at the October Board of Education meeting.

Sophomore Brock Boyle (left photo with Superintendent Micki Egli) and Second-grader Edie Kash (right photo with ELC Principal Bob Graham) were recognized by the West Branch Board of Education at the October board meeting.

West Branch Early Learning Center students enjoyed a fire safety lesson from Damascus Fire Department in October.

All students, kindergarten through second grade listened to lessons about fire safety, fire alarms, and 911. The groups also discussed the importance of knowing their address. The Damascus crew put on their gear so students could become familiar with what a fully clad firefighter may look and sound like in the event of a fire so the children wouldn’t be afraid if rescuers entered their homes.

Students also had the chance to get up close to one of the department’s fire engines and an ambulance, seeing the tools and equipment in and on the emergency vehicles.