West Liberty-Salem Local School District - Home of the Tigers

🎓 WL-S Juniors hear presentation on prestigious Buckeye Girls and Boys State!

Last week our junior class learned about the prestigious and nationally recognized Buckeye Boys & Girls State programs, a week-long, immersive leadership experiences where students learn citizenship by actually running city, county, and state government.

These programs are funded by local American Legion Posts at NO COST to students, and WL-S may send up to four boys and four girls this summer!

📍 Girls State: June 8–14 at BGSU
📍 Boys State: June 14–21 at Miami University

Interested juniors should contact Mrs. Smith in the Counseling Office.

We’re proud that many WL-S staff members are alumni of these programs—and they credit it with building confidence, leadership, and lifelong friendships.

👉 Read their full testimonials and learn more on our website: https://www.wlstigers.org/article/2586115

#TigerPride 🐯🧡🖤

📅 Tiger Athletics: Week at a Glance!

We’ve got a full week of Tiger Athletics ahead, and there are plenty of opportunities to cheer on our athletes—both at home and on the road! 🐯🧡🖤

🎟 Home event tickets can be purchased at the gate or anytime online:
https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/wlstigers/entity/schools/2

Come out, wear your orange and black, and help us make it a great week for our Tigers! 💪🐅🔥

🎁✨ Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your WL-S High School student?
Give them a gift they’ll treasure long after the holidays — the 2025–2026 WL-S High School Yearbook! 📚🧡
A yearbook is the one gift that grows more meaningful with time… and it’s a great option for parents, grandparents, and extended family who aren’t sure what to get!
📬 A quick note:
Yearbooks are delivered Fall 2026 (normal production timeline!) — but we’ve got a fun solution so your student still has something to open this Christmas. 🎄
🎁 Order by December 20th
and you’ll receive a digital image that you can print, wrap, slip into a card, or send as a surprise on Christmas morning!
It’s thoughtful, personal, affordable —
and honestly…
✨ “The best gift they forgot they received.” ✨
📌 Order here: https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A06663300
Give the gift of memories this Christmas! 🖤🧡🐯

🏀🎉 GAME DAY — BOYS BASKETBALL SEASON OPENER! 🎉🏀 It’s finally here—Opening Night for our Tiger Boys Basketball program! Come pack the gym and bring the energy as all three teams take the court tonight! 🐯🔥 📅 TONIGHT 📍 WL-S High School Gym JVB vs. Grandview Heights — 5:00 PM JVA vs. Fairbanks — 6:00 PM Varsity vs. Grandview Heights — 7:30 PM Let’s fill the stands, cheer loud, and kick off the season the Tiger way! 💪🧡🖤 Go Tigers! 🐯🏀 Purchase tickets or pay at the gate. https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/wlstigers/entity/schools/2

🎉🐯 Congratulations to Our Middle School Students of the Month! 🐯🎉

West Liberty-Salem Middle School is proud to announce our November Students of the Month! These Tigers were selected by their teachers for demonstrating outstanding character, leadership, effort, and a positive attitude. They make our building a better place each day, and we are excited to celebrate them!

🌟 8th Grade: Devyn Carter & Liam Baldwin
🌟 7th Grade: Elayna Hoover & Sam Ridgway
🌟 6th Grade: Neema Smucker & Cooper Thompson

Whether they are lending a helping hand, pushing themselves academically, showing kindness to others, or stepping up as leaders, these students truly embody what it means to be a Tiger.

Please join us in congratulating our November Students of the Month!
We are so proud of you — keep shining! 🧡✨

🧡 Thank You, WL-S Community! 🧡

A huge THANK YOU to our incredible families, friends, and supporters for your generosity during our Middle School fundraiser. Because of you, we not only reached our goal — we surpassed it!

Your donations will directly support Gold Card prizes, celebrations, and school-wide activities that make WL-S such a fun and engaging place for our students.

We are grateful for a community that always shows up for our Tigers. Thank you for making this fundraiser a success! 🐯💛

🎄🎁 Cutest Santa Shop Moment of the Week! 🎁🎄
If you heard an unusual amount of giggling coming from the elementary cafeteria this wee… don’t worry. It was just Mrs. Spring's 1st graders and Ms. Kale's 4th graders teaming up for the most adorable gift-wrapping party ever!
Our 4th graders, who are also our 1st grade reading buddies, jumped in as official Santa Shop wrapping assistants, helping tiny Tigers wrap the treasures they picked out for their families. And let’s just say:
✨ There was tape everywhere.
✨ Paper rolls were rolling.
✨ And the smiles? Off the charts.
The first graders were SO proud of their gifts, and the 4th graders took their jobs very seriously—expertly folding paper, reading gift tags, and cheering on every wiggly piece of tape that finally stuck.
It was sweet. It was silly. It was pure WL-S holiday magic.
These are the moments that make Santa Shop unforgettable. 🧡🎅🏻✨

🎷🎄 Holiday Music in the Heart of West Liberty! 🎄🎷

Last night, our WL-S High School Jazz Band had the honor of providing entertainment for the West Liberty Lions Club Holiday Party — and they did a fantastic job!

The West Liberty Opera House offered the perfect backdrop and beautiful acoustics for the performance, making the evening feel extra festive and memorable. Our students showcased their talent, hard work, and love of music, filling the space with holiday cheer and smooth jazz sounds.

Thank you to the Lions Club for inviting our musicians, and congratulations to our jazz band on a wonderful performance! 🧡🐯🎶

🚌 NOW HIRING: SCHOOL BUS DRIVER

The West Liberty-Salem Transportation Department is seeking a School Bus Driver for the current school year! If you enjoy working with students, supporting our district, and being part of a positive team, we’d love to hear from you.

Position Highlights:
• Must meet all state requirements & qualifications for School Bus Drivers
• Must attend an annual School Bus Driver In-Service
• 3 up to 5 hours per day plus additional trip opportunities
• Full-time benefits available (family & single options)
• Paid training reimbursement for successfully completed programs for newly hired licensed drivers—full-time or substitute

If you are interested and hold the proper credentials, please reach out to:
📩 Tyler Cordell, Transportation Director
📧 tcordell@wlstigers.org

or apply in person.

🗓️ Deadline to Apply: December 8, 2025

Join our Tiger family and help us continue to safely transport our students each and every day! 🧡🐯🚌

📜 Help Us Perfect Our Tiger History! 🧡🖤 WEEK 4!

West Liberty-Salem is in the process of updating our Top Ten Graduates wall display, which will honor the academic excellence of every graduating class from 1962-2025.

To ensure these plaques are accurate before being produced, we’re inviting the community to help us review the names and spellings for each year’s Top Ten graduates.

This week, we’re sharing the lists for Classes of 2010-2017. Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue posting additional groups of years until all classes are represented.

If you notice a correction or have documentation that could help verify a name, please contact Allison Wygal in Central Office at awygal@wlstigers.org or call 937-465-1140. Written documentation (such as a yearbook scan or transcript copy) is always appreciated to help confirm updates.

Your input will help us preserve Tiger history with the accuracy and pride it deserves. Thank you for helping us celebrate decades of academic achievement at West Liberty-Salem!

Class of 2010
Val. Caleb Zahller
Sal. Crystal King
3 Drew Hamren
4 Shelby Siegenthaler
5 Sara Naderer
6 Caitlin Purk
7 Lincoln Yoder
8 Grace Yoder
9 Hannah Hartsel
10 Abby Ledford

Class of 2011
Val. Kathleen Scott
Sal. Matthew Vogel
3 Ross Lowry
4 Janalee Glunt
5 Jacob Shank
6 Elisabeth Gresh
7 Sarah Murphy
8 Rachel Davis
9 Benjamin Rutan
10 Sarah Hunt

Class of 2012
Val. Amber Landis
Sal. Felissa King
3 Janessa Huffman
4 Ashton Peraza
5 Trevor Smoot
6 Andrea Markin
7 Ashley Speert
8 Bryce McDaniel
9 Rebecca Hager
10 Abby Blair

Class of 2013
Val. Megan Etgen
Sal. Courtney Leach
3 Matthew Kauffman
4 Addison Hartsel
5 Lindsay Hostetler
6 Riley Sims
7 Joshua Zahller
8 Rachel Evangelisti
9 Alyssa Kauffman
10 Robert Scott

Class of 2014
Val. Mollie Etgen
Sal. Rose Yoder
3 Elizabeth Hance
4 Taylor Day
5 Anna Naderer
6 Levi Spencer
7 Colby Schwaderer
8 Sarah Landis
9 Dustin Wooten
10 Lydia Evangelisti

Class of 2015
Val. Bethany Painter
Sal. Emily Peraza
3 Abigail Rabenstein
4 Rachel Leach
5 Christopher Davis
6 Alexander Steiner
7 Jocelyn Wilson
8 Lane Yoder
9 Nichole Stephen
10 Micheal Lehman

Class of 2016
Val. Leah Cole
Sal. Miranda Etgen
3 Anna Steiner
4 Kylie Gilroy
5 Anna Buck
6 Emily Schultz
7 Cole McDaniel
8 Ashley Buck
9 Caylee Karg
10 Dustin Moell

Class of 2017
Val. Connor Glock
Sal. Katie Hartsel
3 Connor Motzko
4 Claire Harr
5 Ashley Rabenstein
6 Zechariah Gluckle
7 Emily Daulton
8 Sylas Ray
9 Benjamin Hyland
10 Cassidy Stephen

🎅🏻✨ A Message from Santa’s Elves! ✨🎁

We just received a special update from the North Pole… and Santa’s elves wanted us to share the good news!

Our Santa Shop will be OPEN on Wednesday for all K–5 shoppers, and Thursday will be a extra shopping day for our Pre-K Tigers!

We are so excited to keep the magic going and extend the most wonderful time of the year here at WL-S. 🎄❤️

Get ready for more smiles, more surprises, and more holiday cheer at Santa Shop!

🧡🐯✨

🌮 Almost-Taco-Tuesday… on Wednesday! 🌮

Due to some of the products needed for Tuesday’s lunch menu, we will be serving Tuesday’s menu when we return on Wednesday. So while it won’t be officially Taco Tuesday… we all know tacos taste great any day of the week! 😉

Here’s what’s on the menu for Wednesday:

🍽️ Elementary Menu

1. Taco Day:
• Beef Taco Meat
• Hard Taco Shell
• Cheese & Lettuce

or

2. Mini Cheese Quesadilla

Sides:
• Refried Beans
• Salsa
• Carrots
• Applesauce Variety or Peaches

🍽️ Middle School / High School Menu

Taco Day:
• Taco Meat or Chicken Meat
• Corn Salsa & Rice
• Cheese
• Refried Beans
• Shredded Lettuce

Additional Option:
• Chicken Pattie on Bun

Thank you for your flexibility, Tigers! 🌮🐯

❄️⛄ SNOW DAY ALERT, TIGER NATION! ⛄❄️ Winter decided to show off… and because of the snow and ice moving through our area, West Liberty-Salem Schools will be CLOSED on Tuesday, December 2nd! So enjoy the slow morning, sip some hot cocoa, build a snowman, or just stay cozy inside—whatever makes your snow day magical! All HS extracurricular activities will be addressed by noon tomorrow. As always, middle school activities are cancelled with a school cancellation. Stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy the unexpected break! 🐾❄️✨

🚨 Weather Alert from the North Pole! 🚨 If school is delayed or canceled tomorrow, Santa Shop will be postponed until Wednesday! ✨ If we have a delay ONLY → Pre-K will be the only grade shopping tomorrow 🎁 Grades K–5 will shop on Wednesday Thanks for your flexibility! We can't wait to see our little shoppers spread holiday cheer! ❤️ 🎅

🏀Arianna Weaver, varsity girls basketball, is nominated for the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week after her standout performance against the Lady Riders on Friday evening! You can vote and help her win by visiting: https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/whos-your-pick-vote-for-the-dayton-daily-news-athlete-of-the-week/TROCXFSASREIJPUKJE2HSERSOI/ Way to go, Arianna!🧡🖤

🖥️🩺 Telehealth is available during school cancellations🖥️🩺

The West Liberty-Salem School-Based Health Center continues to see patients via telehealth whenever school is closed.
In the event of inclement weather, and a school cancellation, you can still schedule by calling Community Health & Wellness Partners at 937-599-1411 and ask to be added to Jenn Douthwaite’s schedule.

Stay warm, stay well, Tigers! 🧡🖤

🌟 CONNECT. SHARE. GROW. 🌟

West Liberty-Salem Local Schools is excited to partner with the West Liberty-Salem Health-Based Center to offer Group Therapy Visits for students and parents—providing a supportive space to manage stress, share experiences, and grow together.

🧡 These small group sessions will take place after school hours, and are led by a caring, licensed therapist right here at school.

💬 Topics include:
• Emotions – Elementary students
• Anxiety – Middle School students
• Depression – High School students

✅ Benefits for Students & Parents:
✔ Helps manage stress and emotions
✔ Builds confidence and coping skills
✔ Supports overall well-being and school success

📅 Sessions begin: January 19, 2026
⏳ Scheduled once a week for 6-8 weeks after school

📞 Register by calling: 937-599-1411, Options 6, 1
(Then select Option 6 and 1 to reach the Care Team Case Manager)

📝 Parent/Guardian consent is required!

✨ Services are open to ALL students with flexible payment options and additional support available from the Our Team Care Case Manager.

Let’s continue working together to support our students—in class, engaged, and healthy. 🐾💪

#WLSStrong #ConnectShareGrow #StudentSupport #TigerPride 🧡