The STARS club is a special club here at WHHS. Ten years ago WHHS teachers Cheryl O’Brien and Sarah Getzke were given a grant after taking a training course to start the STARS Club. The acronym STARS stands for Student Teaching and Reaching Students. 

“I started STARS club because I noticed my students were spending a lot of time with adults or their family members. And I wanted them to be able to go to things like football games and have a group of friends and just have the typical high school experience that everybody else has,” said Getzke.

Right now the STARS club has 23 members from Wayne Hills and when combined with Wayne Valley there are a total of 30 members. Many members through their STARS club experience have been able to join a variety of other clubs. They also have participated in many other activities together as a group.

“We just met with the girl’s soccer team to practice some drills, skills, and play some fun games together. We have had the engineering club create challenges for the students to problem-solve together, and Mrs. Kobalynski led a Zumba class!” Getzke proclaims.

Not only does the STARS club participate in school events, but they also do many things that help the community. They have participated in a community outreach where they brought items over to a nursing home. They also raised money for United by Autism, and other activities such as Relay for Life, and the color run.

“I wish the kids at WHHS knew how great our kids are and that they would just have to give them a chance by breaking down those walls of intolerance and fear. The environment here in STARS club is full of sincerity, curiosity, and fun. We really get to see some really nice relationships develop between the kids,” Getzke says. 

The STARS club is also participating with many different sports teams such as on November 13 with Competition Cheer, January 22 Girls Fencing, February 26 SDA, and  March 11 Girls Lacrosse.