No Pep Rally Has Parents Crying Foul

Parents are upset that a pep rally will not be held at Wayne Valley High School on Friday before the Indians play Wayne Hills.

“It appears that tradition has gone out the window,” said one parent, who requested her name not be used. “The morale of the students is going to go down.”

Other people, who also wished to remain anonymous, said pep rallies are “special” and that it’s not fair to the students to not have one.

“I just think you’re shortchanging the students,” another parent said.

Other parents said that students should be not punished for anything that happened at pep rallies in the past.

Trouble broke out at a Wayne Hills pep rally in 2011 when police reported that former football players Andrew Monaghan and Joe Lane refused to give an air horn to a teacher. Lane then reportedly pointed the air horn at the teacher’s face and activated it, causing minor injuries to the teacher.  According to police, Lane did not intentionally try to hurt the teacher.

Wayne Valley Principal Kenneth Palczewski said that a pep rally was not scheduled for Friday and “consequently nothing could be or was cancelled.”

Wayne Hills does not hold pep rallies, Principal Maureen Weir said. The school hosts one rally during spirit week for all classes and grades in November.

The Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills football teams will play each other at Hills Friday beginning at 6 p.m.

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.