Selena Liu, Class of 2024, is a third year reporter and the news editor for WSPN. She is a two-time captain of the cross country team and runs for the school’s indoor track team. She is also a captain of the tennis team and is her class’s vice president. Outside of school, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her friends and writing for her column Breaking Down Breaking News.
![On Thursday, Nov. 23, Thanksgiving morning, the Wayland High School Warriors (7-3) will take on Weston High School’s Wildcats (3-6) at 10 a.m. on Wayland High School’s turf.
“Coach has been motivating us about this big rivalry game and we really want to show all the work we have been putting in during this [game],” sophomore cornerback Braylen Jenkins said. “Our whole team has been putting in a lot of work and we hope it translates to this big rivalry game so we can get a win for the seniors and our town.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Add-a-heading-3-1200x800.png)
![On Friday, Nov. 17, Wayland community members came together to rally against the recent antisemitism in town. The attendees gathered outside of Wayland Middle School, and remained there until around 8:35 a.m.. “We [are here because] we want to stand up with our Jewish neighbors who are feeling threatened,” Wayland resident Mary Ann Borkowsai said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_1308-1200x900.jpg)
![Liberty’s Pizza owners Sam (middle) and Shery (right) Maksimous are pictured behind their shop’s front desk with a customer. On Oct. 3, the auto body shop in the Cochituate Plaza caught on fire, causing significant smoke damage to Liberty’s. “We lost our lives,” owner Shery Maksimous said. “The business is like our home [since] we’re not from here. My husband and I have fought to get a good life for us and our four kids. When [the fire] started, it [hurt us because] our whole family’s [sacrifices] were in the store. My kids grew up there.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ngEzkegHrHXZzApUnQheggPYcrOqbuqZsBrMHArm.jpg)
![From left to right freshman Julianna McDonald, junior Sophia Verma, freshman Marissa Mendoza and sophomores Melody and Marissa Wong stand together, each grabbing a piece of dough to mold. After senior Eileen Kaewapresert made the pasta dough, the rest of the students got to create the shapes of their choice. “At first, this was only a small group to bond with two special needs students, Melody and Marissa [Wong], because they already had an interest in cooking,” Kaewprasert said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/18CCCDA2-968D-4E23-8DD9-E1C0F29F7BCE_1_201_a-900x600.jpeg)
![Wayland resident Neha Gandhi has been blogging and posting on her platform Love Playing Dressup for over a decade. The positive impact that social media has [is that] you could share the truth about about life and truly make somebody feel less alone, Gandhi said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1csErdYbymww3lbWF3n0WPDXFnCBX1d3epDOZRYS-1200x900.png)
![Junior Pari Sontha sang at the Sydney Opera House this past summer, an opportunity afforded to her through the Honors Performance Series.
“I think [Sydney] was absolutely amazing because that was my first time going somewhere without my parents and living off of what I had financially,” Sontha said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ICs4giFGDIKrsELyosd03w5siPwxZ5GAQKBipS6D-1200x900.jpg)
![Senior Lulu Kazlas commits to Rutgers University for rowing. Once I get faster in college, [the Lithuania National Team] is something Im keeping in the back of my mind. I want to keep training for bigger things, as I do love the sport and never want it to stop.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/t6OBejE87FTGRi2a6qsy7RuOzWwu2BEatt97lXya-scaled-e1696380997290-1200x801.jpg)
![Join reporters Tasha Janoff and Jenny Shine as they chat with WSPNs November Artist of the Month Ava Renneker. My favorite piece is a paper cut I made last year of my dog, Kiki, senior Ava Renneker said. It took so long because I had to draw and cut out each piece of fur. Each piece of fur was very small so it was time consuming. I really like how [the piece] turned out.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5rdPlGz84MVcOd9NwlTxuYplBGtffLzEmSCT5GF0-1200x800.jpg)
![Join WSPNs Selena Liu, Kally Proctor and Jenny Shine as they explore pickleball and the rise of the sports popularity in Wayland. “I think I just drove by [the high school] and saw people playing, so I started to join,” Wayland resident Bruce Greenberg said. “My friends were playing [pickleball] and I wanted to play.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pickleball-featured-image-900x600.jpeg)
![WHS French students arrive at Le Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct. I think [the students] learned a lot about the architecture and the Roman influence in the south of France, French teacher Sara Langelier said. We also visited a couple of museums and got to learn about some artists like Chagall and Matisse. I think they also learned about French customs and small cultural differences.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/hbPeT1RQ4LZSs46fKYZoeE5jdE6NSKV4o7xQ3uPA-900x796.jpg)
![Currently, the WHS girls varsity basketball team has a record seven wins and one loss, three more than the team achieved last season. “I think the team came in really wanting to redeem themselves from a really tough season [last year],” coach Amanda Rukstalis said. “There was a lot of off-season basketball happening to prepare [us for] a better season this year.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/0DokhCm6u9AuUN2xfTlY3QLfz1ofSpqA8jPiVqNJ-900x600.jpg)
![The large gap between college-preparatory classes and honors classes at Wayland High school causes many students to drop down from honors to college classes. I was hesitant to move down [because] I was already more than halfway through the year when I started to really struggle, junior Julia DeGrenier said. I felt like [the class change] would mess up my entire schedule.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm4TvSwIci7BCuVqRdJ0YXilHHh8EOPIzOljFhnc-900x600.jpg)
![The WHS debate team travels to New Haven, CT for the Yale Invitational tournament. I think all of us are pretty excited [for the tournament], senior debate president Prash Subbiah said. For most people on the team, this is their first overnight debate trip, so they dont really know what its like, but its a lot of fun and [also] not really that much pressure.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/lD8gItJarqnhR4WqCFL48q23ngrNjnQJDGASNCnD-900x600.jpeg)
![AP classes continue at Wayland High School after the AP testing period. However, for many WHS students, the class environment is different now that the exams are over. “The [AP] class environment is drastically different now that the AP test has passed,” junior Grace Marto said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screen-Shot-2022-06-09-at-10.19.59-AM-900x602.png)