![Wayland Historical Society Executive Director Scarlett Hoey explains the history of the Cochituate Gatehouse.
"The exterior is still a nice monument to remember buildings [involved in] water history," Hoey said. "We all drink lots of water, and it's such an important resource that we kind of take for granted nowadays."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2024-1200x800.jpg)
Wayland hosted the annual Underclassmen Awards Assembly on Monday, June 8 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.. The event highlighted and recognized students’ academic performance in various school activities, as well as strong character.
To start the assembly, Principal Allyson Mizoguchi spoke on the importance of these awards.
“These certificates are a small but significant signal of our gratitude and our admiration,” Mizoguchi said. “[We hope they can] provide you with some inspiration as you begin the new school year in the fall.”
The ceremony also celebrated students from the junior class who received College Book Awards. These awards came from colleges across the country including Yale, Harvard and Brandeis to recognize exceptional high school juniors. Each book award recipient was presented with a either a certificate or a book that represents something about the mission of that college and how it encouraged students to make a difference in their community.
After that, the assembly moved onto three school-wide awards: Principal’s Award for Leadership, Principal’s Award for Service and the Robert Steel Tenacity Award. Each of these awards had six winners from various grades.
The most extensive section of the afternoon was the Underclassmen Department Awards which were handed out to students who demonstrated leadership and excellence in their classes. Teachers of grades 9-11 pick students within their classes who they see as showing these desirable qualities.
Underclassmen Department Awards are given in the five core subjects, as well as English electives, fine and applied arts electives and business classes.
Certain members of all grades were also inducted into the National Latin Honors Society.
Stamp awards were also given to students who passed both the English Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and an intermediate test in a second language, proving they are on the way to biliteracy. On top of the four languages taught at WHS, there were awards for languages spoken at home including Czech, Albanian and Japanese.
Sophomore Cyriaque Schaff was given awards for both French and Spanish, indicating he is on the path to triliteracy.
“I’ve been speaking French since I was born, and Spanish is really similar to French, so I decided to go for it too, and it was really cool when I got it,” Schaff said. “Hopefully I can get Mandarin next year.”
The event concluded with the induction of the newest members of the WHS chapter of the National Honor Society, which is based on scholarship, GPA, leadership, service and character.
This year, 48 juniors joined the honor society.
“Membership is more than an honor,” Mizoguchi said. “It incurs the responsibility and obligation to demonstrate these outstanding qualities that [have] resulted in your selection as you continue your journey at Wayland High School.”
