Evan Barber | WSPN

Macaroni and cheese is the perfect comfort food. Try it in honor of Mother’s day!

My mom is always the first to admit that cooking is not exactly her thing, but a few weeks ago she made an amazing batch of mac and cheese that deserves some recognition.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I feel that this is the perfect opportunity to share this recipe with you.

There are an endless number of recipes for mac and cheese, and honestly I find most of them to be perfectly comforting and delicious.

What makes this recipe special is the fact that it is super quick and easy to make, and it uses Velveeta cheese as opposed to cheddar or other cheeses that are more commonly used.

If you’ve never tried Velveeta, I especially encourage you to try this recipe because it is a really delicious way to use it. (It works great in scrambled eggs too!)

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3/4 lb pasta (I recommend pipette-it holds the sauce really well.)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 package Velveeta cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Boil pasta with 1 teaspoon salt until tender. Melt butter and milk over medium heat in saucepan. Whisk in flour until dissolved.
Add cheese and stir frequently over low heat until melted. Stir in garlic powder and salt. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir and serve.

Alex Erdekian | WSPN

Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media act as essential modes of communication and distractions to Wayland students as their dependence on social media increases.

A bloodshot pair of eyes are glued to a glowing blue screen where the time in the corner says 12:36 a.m. Meanwhile, a neglected textbook is spread open beside the keyboard. Sound familiar?

Many students at Wayland High School find that their use of social media easily distracts them from academics and could be causing their grades to drop.

Over the past few years, a variety of social media websites and apps have become popular, and practically every student at Wayland High School uses some form of social media. The most prevalent social media at Wayland High School is Facebook, followed by Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.

Not only do students use Facebook most often, they use it in a variety of ways. Facebook use includes stalking photos, emailing, chatting with friends and communicating with extracurricular activity groups.

Students feel obligated to have a Facebook page not just to keep in touch with friends, but also to communicate with classmates for school and extracurricular activities.

“For sports, you have to be in a Facebook group,” sophomore Sammy Karle said. “That’s where they put all their information. They don’t send out emails anymore.”

Script to Screen teacher Erin Dalbec explains that she supports students in her class using Facebook in a positive way; she finds it important for her class to communicate.

“It definitely helps with the planning and communicating. Since most students are using Facebook outside of class, that’s the only way I can get in touch with them. Students these days aren’t using email,” said Dalbec.

Students don’t use Twitter as often for schoolwork or extracurricular activities. Instead, students use Twitter to Tweet (post statuses) and read others’ Tweets. You can follow friends, celebrities, teams or anyone whose Tweets you like to read.

“I don’t really post anything on Twitter. I look at other people’s stuff,” sophomore Rex Provost said. “I don’t follow Kim Kardashian; I follow people with interesting thoughts.”

Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest all involve self-expression by posting images. Instagram is a mobile app for the iPhone, and Tumblr is a blogging site.

“Facebook has gotten boring. On Tumblr, you can express yourself. It’s fun,” said sophomore Kate Kaneiff.

School nurse Amy Schoeff and guidance counselor Jennifer Mast are concerned with the effects of social media on students’ academics. They both believe social media can become academically, emotionally and mentally harmful if used improperly.

“It almost has an addicting quality to it,” said Mast. “My sense is that a lot of students can’t ever shut it down, in which case if they’re studying or working on assignments, anytime they hear the beep of a Facebook message, it’s very, very distracting.”

Mast and Schoeff’s observations of social media’s effect on students’ schoolwork seem to ring true as students agreed that social media is distracting when trying to do work. Some students admit it can even completely prevent them from doing their schoolwork.

“It’s a means for procrastination,” said junior James Shaw. “Say you go on for five minutes; it turns into 30 minutes.”

“Sometimes when I have a reading to do for English, and I don’t feel like doing it, I go on Facebook,” senior Natalie Barone said.

Mast also believes social media can affect academics indirectly by creating mental and emotional distress, which in turn can cause students’ academics to suffer.

Cyberbullying is one way this emotional damage can be caused.

“Words can be so, so hurtful. It doesn’t matter if they’re said to somebody’s face or if they’re said online,” said Mast. “The world of bullying has gone cyber.”

According to Mast, students’ emotional and mental health is also affected by their relationships. Social media has a major impact on relationships because it is one of the most utilized forms of communication.

“If you’re communicating on Facebook, and you feel like that’s a conversation that you’re having with someone, then I think that’s a problem because it’s not,” said Schoeff. “You’re not getting facial expressions and hand gestures; you’re not getting the whole message. If people are using social media conversations instead of face to face or even over the phone conversations, then I think that’s a true problem with personal communication.”

Mast and Schoeff also had similar views regarding privacy on social media. They both warn students to be cautious when deciding what to post and to avoid posting anything personal.

“I do believe that it does more harm than good,” said Schoeff. “If you shared something personal with one other person, and all of a sudden the entire school, and world really, has access to it, it can be emotionally devastating. The whole privacy piece to me, it terrifies me.”

“If you wouldn’t say it to somebody in person, don’t put it online. It’s not a space for publicizing your entire life,” said Mast. “Recognize that while these sites may feel secure, they’re absolutely not.”

Marissa Daftary

In recent years, juniors have been pressured into having elaborate and perfect Prom proposals.

In today’s society, social media is a prominent aspect of teen life and can be used in ways that our parents would never have imagined. In their day, a prom proposal was nothing more than “Hey, do you want to go to the prom with me?” A simple yes or no.

Unfortunately, it has become tradition in recent years to put forth elaborate prom proposals. As with any tradition, people expect proposals to become more complicated.

I know of some prospective prom seekers who have said that they will only accept an elaborate proposal. If that’s the case, it forces the asker to propose elaborately or not at all.

If the he or she has to come up with something creative, just the act of putting it together has its own problems.

The most obvious problem is finding a creative proposal. Sometimes, it seems all the “creative” ideas have already been done, and many people may hesitate to do something if they know it will be repeated.

Another issue is that many unfortunate circumstances can prevent someone from pulling off his or her proposal. The reason could be due to distance, cost, confidence or a variety of other things. But whatever the issue is, it can easily force someone to ask in a simpler manner.

One quite important, but perhaps less acknowledged flaw, is that the process of asking puts whoever is being asked on the spot because if a person is the target of a well-planned proposal, even if they were hoping to go with someone else, it’s hard to be the bad guy and reject someone who clearly put a lot of time and effort into the proposal.

Also, part of the reason that there is so much emphasis on something memorable is the “That’s so sweet!” factor. Everyone wants to be the person who gets all the comments on the picture they posted to Facebook. Because social media has made it easy for things to get noticed by our friends, people really want something that other students will talk about.

Ironically, the stereotypical “lame” idea is to ask someone over Facebook or a text message.

I find it interesting that the same way people display their success has become almost taboo for garnering the success.

Sure, Facebook may seem a bit impersonal, but I don’t see what’s wrong with going up to someone and asking them straight out, to their face. It’s not fancy, and it’s not creative, but it relieves some of the stress and pressure associated with Prom proposals, and in the long run is a better method.

Sammy Keating | WSPN

Tommy Hunley, who joined Wayland High School in the middle of the 2011-2012 school year, is now a goalie on WHS’s varsity lacrosse team.

It’s not easy being the new kid in school, especially when it’s already halfway through the school year. But sophomore Tommy Hunley has come into Wayland High School with a bang as the newest goalie on the varsity lacrosse team.

Hunley began playing lacrosse in 5th grade but began playing goalie exclusively in 7th grade. He made the junior varsity team for Mount Lebanon High School his freshman year.

“When I was at my old school, we didn’t have a goalie for our grade. I liked playing goalie, and I wasn’t very good at attack, so I switched over, and it ended up working out pretty well,” Hunley said.

After moving from Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania in January, Hunley lived in Waltham before his parents bought a house in Wayland. While in Waltham, Hunley had yet to meet anyone from the Wayland lacrosse team. However, varsity captain Carson Hart soon reached out to Hunley regarding the upcoming preseason.

“I met Carson after I moved here, and he was really helpful,” Hunley said. “We played box lacrosse indoors together after I moved here, and it really helped me meet new people.”

Hunley geared up for the season through indoor lacrosse, as well as joining the club team, Laxachusetts. After tryouts, it was simple to make varsity, Hunley was named the varsity goalie along with the other goalie, junior Jimmy Carmichael.

“I knew the varsity coach was probably going to take two goalies, and the only goalies are Jimmy and me, so I wasn’t too surprised that I made varsity,” said Hunley.

Hunley has had a successful season as a starting player in nine out of the past 12 games that the varsity team has played. However, Hunley states the key to his success is an offense mentality.

“Getting hit used to bother me. Now, I think if you think more about attacking the ball, the less chance you’ll get hit. I really like to keep that mentality,” Hunley said.

Although Hunley hopes to play more sports next year in the fall and winter seasons, he looks forward to playing with the Laxachusetts team over summer break, as well as playing on the Wayland varsity team in years to come.

“Wayland is in a slump right now, but I like to think of this season as the beginning of something great because we have a lot of great players on our team like Roby Williams and Jake Baxter,” Hunley said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a shot at states next year. I think we have a lot of leadership on the team.”

The Window Dance Ensemble took the Main Stage to perform A Beautiful Mess, a show compiled of dances choreographed by members of the ensemble. The dances ranged from hip-hop, to jazz, tap and even pointe ballet.

The Orchestra Concert and Art Exhibit brought together music and art on the evening of May 1st. The Concert Orchestra, Honors Sinfonia and Full Orchestra played selections under the direction of Susan Memoli. The concert featured a cello medley of The Beatles directed by composer Steve Laven.

CCFlickr user: gruntzooki

From May 7 to May 16, Wayland High School students will be taking Advanced Placement exams.

Starting Monday, May 7, students have been taking Advanced Placement tests for WHS’s AP courses. If students do well on these tests they can earn college credit. Students who are not enrolled in an AP class can still take the test for that course.

Students who decided to take an exam spoke with the AP Coordinator, Language and English teacher Edmund Dehoratius. After speaking to Dehoratius, the students went to a meeting during which they filled out the necessary paperwork to take their tests.

Many consider AP exams to be difficult, but Dehoratius believes that WHS teachers prepare students very well.

“I think they do a great job. Wayland students do very well on the exams; our scores are high. As someone who has taught AP, I know that when you sign up to take an AP or to teach an AP you know what you are getting into,” said Dehoratius.

Students must pay $87 for each AP exam they take.

“College board is a nonprofit organization. They are always changing the tests, and they have to fly teachers out to help with grading and have hotels full of teachers where all they do is grade. So I think the price is mostly about support,” said Dehoratius.

Many WHS students think the price of these tests is too high.

“It is pretty absurd that they make us pay so much, but I know it is worse for people who take more tests than me,” said senior Ryan Budnick. Budnick is taking 3 different AP exams this year.

Budnick agrees with Dehoratius that teachers prepare their students to succeed at the highest level.

“I have a lot of faith in our teachers. We have been taking practice tests and seeing our scores as if they were real. It’s a great way to study,” said Budnick.

The last AP exam will be on May 16th.

Evan Barber | WSPN

Take a break from studying for AP exams by baking a batch of Oreo chocolate chip cookies.

I stared at the picture longingly for a solid three minutes until I realized that I could easily put my Googling powers to use and get this recipe. I typed in something truly intelligent, “chocolate chip cookies with Oreos inside,” and was extremely excited to see that the same picture I had just been mentally indulging myself with was the first result with a recipe underneath it.

The best part was that when I clicked on the link, I found myself looking at another cooking blog. I began looking through the site and reading the comments left by the readers who had already made and tried the cookies.

I clearly didn’t need any convincing to make these cookies, but after reading the comments my hands were itching to begin.

If you know my family, you would know that having cookies in the house, let alone Oreo cookies is a rarity, so it put a minor speed bump in the process.

After obtaining the Oreos, I began the process of the cookies, which was extremely simple.

All you have to do is make chocolate chip cookie dough and then wrap it around an Oreo.

If you are feeling especially lazy, you could also buy a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough and use that, although that’s not as fun. The recipe says that it makes 24 cookies, but I only ended up having enough to make eight the first time and 12 the second time.

While wrapping the cookies, I realized that if you don’t want the cookies to be super sized, it’s easiest to flatten a piece of cookie dough and then wrap that around the cookie. I found myself not so much wrapping, but rolling the dough around in my hand to form a ball that completely covered the cookie.

Just a small warning for when you make these cookies: they are HUGE and when I say huge, I mean like four times the size of a normal chocolate chip cookie. The cookies were a tremendous hit though. When I pulled out them out at school, I was literally bombarded with people asking for them, so I highly suggest you try out this recipe.

Enjoy!

Alex Erdekian | WSPN

More and more students at WHS are relying on coffee or other caffeinated beverages to get through the day. If this growing trend continues, it could lead to potential health risks such as anxiety or insomnia.

Your first period class is canceled! What’s the first thing you think of doing with your new free time? If Starbucks is a possibility, it’s likely you’ll be there. Just the opportunity to get your hands wrapped around a foaming White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream sends you running to the parking lot.

What students don’t consider is that one grande White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 470 calories and 18 grams of fat, containing 150 calories more than a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Most espresso-based drinks at Starbucks have 175 milligrams of caffeine, or two shots of espresso.

“They taste great, but they’re awful for you,” said school nurse Amy Schoeff. “It’s taking the place of something else; people generally don’t have that and food, they have that instead of food.”

Senior Megan Osborn’s morning routine suggests accuracy in Schoeff’s theory.

“I don’t really have time to eat breakfast, and I need energy until I eat something later,” said Osborn of why she drinks coffee before school.

Since caffeine is a stimulant, students feel it helps them stay alert through the day, but excessive intake can damage one’s health. According to TeensHealth.org, side effects of caffeine include anxiety, dizziness, headaches and insomnia.

Nine out of ten students WSPN interviewed admitted to drinking coffee at least every day before school. The same students also claim drinking coffee in the morning helps them get through the school day more easily.

This is also evident walking through the halls of WHS in the morning, when it’s nearly impossible to avoid spotting a student clutching his or her thermos or recently bought Starbucks cup. Students, in general, observe that carrying a Starbucks cup is a trend at WHS.

“They have a lot of good stuff there, I guess, but it’s kind of a fad. It’s like an accessory,” said senior Maeve Moynihan.

A local Starbucks manager says he typically sees 10-20 students between 6:30 and 7:00 am, the majority of which are girls. Of these students he recognizes several as regulars, and he knows them by name. He also has observed that teens typically order grande (medium) or venti (large) sugary drinks such as the Caramel Macchiato, the Vanilla Latte and various frappucinos.

Schoeff also notes the growing popularity of Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts at school. Schoeff explains that some students crave the social aspect of these coffee-runs nearly as much as the drinks they buy.

“Either they need the coffee, or the actual trip to the place is becoming a habit,” said Schoeff. “The more you drink caffeine, the more likely you are to become physically dependant.”

Self-proclaimed caffeine addicts, like sophomores Andrea Cincotta and Vivek Singh, confess the difficulty of going a day without drinking coffee. Despite their efforts to break their habits, Cincotta and Singh have found that the physical effects of withdrawal are too difficult to handle.

“A day without coffee is kind of like when you get two hours of sleep and you have a head cold. Everyone just seems ten times more annoying,” said Cincotta.

Schoeff’s advice for students wanting to decrease their caffeine intake is not to stop immediately, but instead to gradually drink less coffee.

“I suggest they cut back half; at the store you can order a half-caffeinated and half-decaf beverage. You can increase the amount of decaf you drink and decrease the amount of caffeine, and really painlessly you can get off the caffeine,” said Schoeff.

Lizzy Worstell | WSPN

The final stages of Prom are coming to an end with the tickets sold, tables set and flower forms in.

As springtime arrives, the halls of WHS are filled with talk of junior Prom. This event, perhaps the most famous high school tradition, generates elaborate proposals and extensive planning each year.

While April might be the first month that Prom has crossed most students’ minds, the junior class E-Board has been planning the event, which will be held from 7-11PM on Saturday, May 19, for over a year.

According to Prom Committee member and Class of 2013 President Kruti Vora, planning for the 2012 Prom began just one week after last year’s Sophomore Semi.

By last May, E-Board had already booked the Hyatt Regency in Boston for the event. Almost every one of E-Board’s weekly meetings this year have been dedicated to either fundraising for Prom or directly planning Prom.

“I would say that Prom is the single most important event that we’ve planned for as an E-Board,” said Vora.

Despite their best efforts, E-Board admits that Prom planning hasn’t quite gone off without a hitch. This year, a controversial administrative decision was made to change the date of Prom to a Saturday, rather than a Friday as it has been in past years.

“It would be better on Friday because that way people could have Prom weekend, which is a pretty big tradition here,” said junior Caroline Ayanian. Ayanian also noted the difficulty that the date change has created for rowers, who have regionals the same weekend as Prom and will not be back in Wayland until Saturday afternoon.

“E-board tried very hard to reflect the views of the grade and tried to change Prom back to a Friday, but we reached a certain point where we decided to make the best of the situation we were given instead to ensure that we had an amazing Prom,” said Vora.

Vora feels confidently that this year’s Prom will be distinguished by its location. The Hyatt is situated in the heart of Boston and has a newly renovated balcony that will be open to students the night of the dance.

“Honestly, it’s amazing, and if everything comes out according to plan, it’s going to be unbelievable,” said Vora.

Tucker Beckett

Junior Tucker Beckett spends his summers SCUBA diving in the British Virgin Islands through SeaTrek BVI.

“Everything is quiet at first, but then as you start to adjust, you begin hearing small sounds. It starts as just a crackling in one ear, the slight sound of a motor in the distance, and then you start to get small sounds like parrot fish eating coral, crunching through coral with their big beaks,” junior Tucker Beckett said.

Beckett spends three weeks every summer in an underwater world at the British Virgin Islands where he SCUBA dives.

“The underwater world is so much more developed because if you think about it, life started underwater, and life has had so much more time to evolve. Some things underwater have been unchanged for a millenia, and some have used the time to evolve in incredible ways,” said Beckett.

Tucker began his diving career at SeaTrek BVI, a summer camp dedicated to marine science, a field he hopes to pursue as a career. After seeing all of his father’s equipment in the garage, he located the summer camp online and asked his parents if he could go.

During Beckett’s first year at SeaTrek BVI, he obtained his Basic Open Water certification. To be able to receive this certificate, Beckett had to demonstrate his ability to maneuver underwater, assemble SCUBA (which stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) gear, perform basic upkeep on his equipment and handle himself in water up to 60 feet deep.

During his second year at SeaTrek, he obtained his Advanced, Rescue and Master certifications. A Master certification is the highest recreational diving certification obtainable from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), one of a few associations that grant certification.

At SeaTrek, Beckett spends three weeks living on a yacht with the rest of his group. While the forefront of the camp revolves around diving, SeaTrek campers also go sailing and participate in some shore-based activities.

“I think the most amazing thing is seeing man made objects underwater. They seem so out of place. Everything put underwater seems so ominous, but also so exciting,” said Beckett. “There’s nothing equal to the rush of descending into the deep dark water and seeing a wreck come into focus beneath you, slowly materializing from under the depths.”

Beckett also improved his SCUBA diving skills at The Island School, a three month educational opportunity in the Bahamas.

“You learn your school subjects in a practical manner, in ways that you can apply them in real life, such as celestial navigation through trigonometry,” Beckett said.

Due to time constraints, Beckett does not get any chances to dive in Massachusetts, so all of his diving takes place during the summer. Beckett has found his summer underwater experiences to be eye opening.

“Everything is so much more diverse in color. On land, you’re limited to the brown of trees, the green of plants …. You have flowers and stuff, but underwater, everything is diverse; there’s no ‘set color’ of what everything is.”

Looking forward, Beckett plans to continue diving over the next couple summers and advance his certifications. He has a two year commitment to an internship program at SeaTrek. After that, Beckett hopes to become an official staff member.

“It will be a good thing to have through college,” he said. “Most of the staff there are college students.”

Beckett hopes to achieve the Dive Master certification during a leadership course at SeaTrek. Dive Master is the first of a series of professional ranks, and it will allow Beckett to lead dives and be responsible for another person’s life underwater.

The highest rank Beckett is aiming to get is Instructor, which means that he can certify anyone who he teaches to be an official, licensed NAUI SCUBA diver.

For Beckett, obtaining these ranks is more of a source of personal pride than for a practical purpose.

“It’s a way of proving myself. It’s a way of showing what I can do.”

See spring season results and schedules»

Evan Barber | WSPN

Spring sports teams are gearing up for their final month of the regular season.

May means that for most of us, there are less than two months left in school, and for seniors, only one. It also means that the regular season for spring sports is in its final month. The seasons are starting to shape up for teams as they prepare for the month ahead.

Girls tennis has hit a little bit of a funk right now, losing their last four, but with half the season left, there is plenty of time to turn it around. The girls tennis team also hosted a successful round-robin tournament with donations going to the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund, showing that Wayland athletes have a positive impact both on and off the court.

Boys tennis sits at 6-2, winning their last three. The boys have yet to drop a match to any DCL Small opponents. They hope to keep that up as they face C-C and Weston this week.

Boys lacrosse is having a tough first half of the season. They are 2-6, with a recent 10-9 loss to Waltham. They are in the middle five straight road games. They have split the first two.

Let me just say there have been some funky things going on the with schedules this year as far as home or away games. Check Warrior Scores to see for yourself.

Girls lacrosse continued to stay hot, winning all three games last week by a combined score of 49-11. This team is legit, and if they keep it up, who knows where they’ll end up.

Boys volleyball is quietly an impressive 5-4. As I’ve said before, this team has no seniors, so it’s a kind of trial by fire, but the team as a whole is gaining invaluable experience.

Softball got their first win of the year against Weston yesterday, 9-8. It was their first game of the year in the DCL small, they have two more games this week against fellow small opponents.

The baseball team got two wins last week, and we notched our third yesterday. We are currently 3-6 overall and 2-0 in the DCL Small. Our game on Wednesday will be for first place in the DCL small, and has huge implications for the league title.

As always, check Warrior Scores for the latest. Enjoy the last month of the regular season and the waning days of school. Hopefully with May some nice warm spring weather will come.

Elizabeth Karpacz | WSPN

Eva Urban, a history teacher at WHS, immigrated to the United States from communist Czechoslovakia with her family when she was only a few years old.

“The number one priority that my father had for us to leave was so that his kids could get educated,” said history teacher Eva Urban.

Urban, born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1975, immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia when she was only a few years old.

Although she only has a few scattered memories of leaving her native country, Urban remembers emigrating with several family members including her father, mother, brother, aunt and cousin.

At the time, Czechoslovakia was under a reign of communism. The government could not reward workers with pay raises, so they rewarded them with vacations.

“My father was an engineer, and he was a very hard worker, so he would get these vacations all of the time,” Urban said.

The day that Urban’s family was planning to flee the country, Urban’s father told their other family members that they were going on a vacation.

“He told everyone we were going on vacation to Yugoslavia, and even my mother’s parents thought that we were going to vacation to Yugoslavia. Absolutely nobody knew,” said Urban.

At first, Urban’s mother did not want to go because if she left during the communist regime, she risked never seeing her parents again. Urban’s mother had to choose between being separated from her children or her parents. She chose to flee with her children and husband, but decided to take her younger sister with her.

“Literally two days before we left, my mother told her sister that we were going to escape,” said Urban.

Urban’s aunt also brought Urban’s cousin, Patrick. Her aunt was fleeing an abusive husband.

“My aunt had a much harder time, however, because she was fleeing her husband, who she was not divorced from, and she was taking her child,” said Urban.

Urban’s family looked to black market to get the papers necessary to cross the border. Urban recalled that when she and her family went to cross the border, it was pouring rain, and the man in charge of checking the papers did not want to stand outside in the rain, so he let them go easily.

“I remember my mom being so relieved that we made it through,” said Urban. “The repercussions of trying to escape were incredible.”

Once they crossed the border, Urban’s father declared them to be political refugees under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The family lived in a refugee camp for about six months before applying to immigrate to the United States, Canada and another country in western Europe.

“Because we were fleeing a communist country, which the United States was opposed to at the time, they took us in with open arms,” said Urban.

Upon entering the United States, Urban’s family was adopted by a Slovak family in Colorado. Today, Urban’s parents host other immigrants in their house.

Although Urban’s family was able to make it out of Czechoslovakia and help others do so, her family was persecuted by communists because they left.

“Now I don’t think my family is resentful as much for the fact that they were persecuted by the communists for us leaving, but for the fact that my father had the guts to do it, and they didn’t,” said Urban. “I think my father sets a good example for going out and taking some risks.”

Allison Wei | WSPN

Girls tennis captains (from left to right) Katrina Gaddis, Emma Barton and Dina Berdichevsky.

“We’re there for Lauren,” senior captain Katrina Gaddis said. “We’re there to celebrate her and remember her through something that’s fun and something that she would have enjoyed.”

Gaddis and fellow senior captains Emma Barton and Dina Berdichevsky have been marketing the tournament throughout the community. They hope that people of all skill levels and even those who didn’t know Astley attend.

“It’s a gathering of the community as opposed to it being restricted to our tennis team,” said Gaddis.

38 teams of doubles are currently signed up to play from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The players include Astley’s father, Wayland high school students, parents and students from other schools. In the round robin, the teams will engage in friendly matches against each other.

“I think that an event like this will definitely put smiles on people’s faces,” Athletic Director Justice Smith said.

When the tennis team played Westford Academy on April 24, the opposing team gave a $100 donation to the Lauren Astley Memorial Fund. The Westford Academy coach told the team that she remembered Astley’s laughter.

“It’s interesting to see how people remember her in their own way and how they are reaching out and contributing to this,” said Gaddis.

“She was a great teammate and a great competitor,” Wayland’s tennis coach Erin Reeves said. “She brought a lot of spunk to this team, and everyone got along with her, and she’s sorely missed.”

Anyone is welcome to join the tournament. Those who wish to sign up as a pair or receive a partner for the tournament should contact keeponsparklingtennis@gmail.com.

Elizabeth Karpacz | WSPN

Iliana Smalanskas sings Maybell's Prayer during Thursday night's performance. Performances will continue through Saturday April 28.

I’ve always watched the Wayland High School Theater Ensemble’s productions, and Fame the Musical was by far the best production I have seen. The story was great and all of the performers did an amazing job.

All of the musical numbers were well done, and there was a variety of different songs, which made the musical interesting. The musical had everything from upbeat and energetic songs like Hard Work to a rap song called Jack’s rap. The variety of songs kept the musical interesting and entertaining.

One of my favorite songs was Let’s Play a Love Scene Reprise. This song included the characters Nick Piazza (Jonathan von Mering) and Serena Katz (Julia Lopriore). They both have amazing voices, and the duet was charming.

Caitlin O’Keeffe was another performer with a great voice. In her solo, In L.A., her voice was powerful. There were many other strong voices, especially the characters of Greta Bell (Carly McKee) and Jack Escovero (Greg Seage).

Besides the singing, the musical also had a lot of great dance numbers. The ballet dances were excellent, and for the most part, the group dances were in sync.

Erika Moran, who plays Iris Kelly, was in many dances and did an excellent job. She was very graceful in the ballet dances and was perfect for her part. The other dancers also did a good job and the choreography was nice.

Fame is a perfect musical for a high school to perform because it addresses many of the problems that high schoolers deal with. It was also very funny. Gabe Sehringer, as Mr. Sheinkopf, had a hilarious accent.

Fame was definitely a success because it was funny, entertaining, the musical numbers were good, and high school students can relate. Fame was the first musical in the new theater, and it was a great start to the many musicals that will be performed. If you haven’t seen Fame yet, I highly suggest you do.