![Gap years are an uncommon alternative for high school graduates, in which graduates take a year or more off from schooling and pursue something separate from college until they are ready to return to their education or something else. Wayland High School psychology teacher David Schmirer believes that college is a good route for many high school graduates, however, he also says that its best to keep an open mind when thinking about gap years. “I think the vast majority of our students are going to be fine with [going to college] and [are] ready to go, but for those students who are having [gap years] be a more visible choice I think [it] is a good thing both for physical and mental health,” Schmirer said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/xZ9lq7i7NbhVXpa2kT21s3Wz8PHl5Df0bATRSq6x-1200x800.png)
![After the Raider's first goal of the game, scored by senior captain Luke Galizio, the players pile onto the glass by the student section to celebrate, igniting the crowd into a roar. "The atmosphere was incredible, having two towns that both come to support us is amazing," Galizio said. "When [the crowd] started chanting 'Raider nation' it made [the game] feel like it wasn't just one team against another, we had a whole building of fans supporting us."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/06FBB04E-4C03-408A-B554-FE6C06CE8C08_1_105_c.jpeg)
On Saturday, March 1, the 95th annual Massachusetts High School Drama Festival (MHSDF) was held at Wayland High School for the seventh time since 2019. The event took place from 9 a.m. and ended at 5:15 p.m. with 8 schools who visited WHS for their performances. These schools were Dexter Southfield, Reading Memorial, St. Mary’s, Wakefield Memorial, Burncoat, Franklin and Holliston.
The event is run by the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) and continues all throughout the month. On March 2, the schools performed at 11 different sites, before the semi-final round, which will take place on March 15. With these competition days in mind, each school puts in their best effort to move towards the State Finals in Boston on March 27 to March 29.
“We are preparing [for semi-finals] by having rehearsals everyday and marking [the stage] with spike tables to limit us to the space we will have at semi-finals,” freshman Eloise Coppola said.
For Wayland High School Theater Ensemble’s (WHSTE) performance, students put on “Ugly Lies the Bone,” a play written by Lindsey Ferrentino. It is based on a newly discharged soldier returning to her hometown and was performed as the fifth act during the event.
“Wayland did an amazing job,” sophomore Callie Zedower said. “Our energy was high and [our] performance was on point.”
When watching all of the performances, Franklin High School’s “The Yellow Boat” stood out the most to freshman John Brevard.
“The whole theater was sniffling because of how moving the performance was,” Brevard said. “It was a production about a boy with hemophilia that got aids from a blood injection, and Franklin [High School] performed it so well.”
The play directors and students have worked hard since auditions in December to prepare their own unique 40 minute act in order to impress the judges.
“It was amazing to see each other’s plays, and support one another,” WHSTE Director Aiden O’Hara said. “It is very affirming to see other high schoolers with the same passion for theatre and the community it can bring.”
