HONESDALE, PA — There was much to celebrate at the Wayne Highlands school board meeting Wednesday night.

The board marked the achievements of the district’s outstanding seniors and a victory by its robotics team.

Three graduating seniors from Honesdale High School were recognized for their outstanding achievements at the April 17 meeting. Claire Campen, Lucy Harrington, and Joseph Taraschuk rank in the top 15 percent of their class. All three students are exceptional members of the National Honor Society.

Claire Campen of Hawley played on the school’s field hockey team for four years, including two years as captain. She will pursue elementary education and special education at Monmouth University. 

Lucy Harrington of Honesdale is a varsity tennis captain and a cheerleader for the boys’ basketball team. She will attend Coastal Carolina University to pursue a degree in business and marketing. 

Joseph Taraschuk of Honesdale is a varsity basketball captain who also participates in varsity track and field and varsity cross-country. He will attend Marywood University with a focus on history and secondary and special education. He plans to continue running cross-country for Marywood. 

Following welcoming introductions by Honesdale High School Principal, Dr. Peter Jordan, each student spoke and thanked family members, teachers and mentors that helped them along the way.

The board vice president, Thomas Fasshauer, praised the students for their success and willingness to give back to the community. Gregory Frigoletto, the district superintendent, commended the students on their ability to do the hard work but have fun at it too.  

Real-world engineering

Camo-Bots, the high school robotics team that includes students from Honesdale and Western Wayne, won their district and regional meets and are now competing against the best student engineers in the world.

Patrick Blaskiewicz, Honesdale’s assistant principal, said the Camo-Bots are now in Austin, Texas, for the World Robotics Competition sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

FIRST gives students the opportunity to experience real-world engineering through robotics competitions. It is a worldwide organization that includes hundreds of thousands of high school students. Learn more at Camo-Bots.com.