departments: NEWS FROM THE HILL
4 WMA students earn state art awards
WMA ranked #1 . . . again
Yibo “Canna” Zhang ’18 has been fond of heart shapes since she was young, so when it came time to submit a project to a state art contest, she knew just which one to choose. Canna’s foam puzzle, cut in the shape of a heart and painted various red colors, earned a Gold Key for the 2016–2017 Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Contest. Canna was one of four Wilbraham & Monson Academy students recognized by the Boston Globe. Jiaming “Martin” Mao ’17 had two pieces earn awards, taking a Silver Key and Honorable Mention. Daniel Qin-Dong ’17 and Peter Labbe ’17 both made the Honorable Mention list. For earning a Gold Key, Canna’s submission automatically advanced to the national level. Martin’s Silver Key, for his digital art item, qualified for the regional competition. Canna’s submission emerged from her interest in hearts. Where her creativity was brilliantly shown came not only that the heart could be put back together again after being broken, but also in the multiple shades of red. “I wanted to show people that hearts have different phases,” said Canna, who finished the project for Mr. Paul Bloomfield’s AP 3D Art class. “One part might be very kind and another part might be selfishness. “I’m fascinated with the heart shape. Also, teenagers may have problems with a broken heart about school or love, so I wanted to do a heart piece.”
Who’s the best? Well, when it comes to private schools in Western Massachusetts, Wilbraham & Monson Academy is the best — again. For the second year in a row, the Academy was voted the Top Private School in the region in the Reader Raves Contest, which was run by The Republican and Masslive.com. “Winning it for one year was really nice and was a wonderful affirmation externally what we already feel internally: that we’re a fantastic school,” Head of School Brian Easler said. “But winning it two years in a row, that solidifies it in my mind that the external community feeling of this school is that it is a fantastic school and that it’s headed in the right direction.” WMA received its award at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke Oct. 19. The poll was conducted for a month during the summer.
▲ Photography by Peter Labbe ’17
Digital Artwork by Jiaming “Martin” Mao ’17
Mariel Picknelly ’20 releases “Epic” single
Artwork by Daniel Qin-Dong ’17
▲ A heart foam puzzle by Yibo “Canna” Zhang ’18
8
AC ADEMY WORLD SPRING 2017
Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Mariel Picknelly ’20 isn’t a national music sensation just yet, but she sure is headed in that direction. After months of performing at summer camps, Mariel released a single, “Epic,” in midOctober. The song was part of an EP (mini album), “Make It Epic.” “It’s really cool,” she said. “This was my second album that I released but there was more effort put into this one. I was eager for it to be released. I kept waiting and waiting. It was pushed back several months, but when it was released it was really exciting.” And that excitement was shown by her fans, with more than 36,000 views on the “Epic” music video in the first three months. On social media, Mariel has 98,000 followers on Musical.ly, 21,000 on Twitter and more than 5,000 on Instagram. She has more than one million likes on Live.ly.
2 students selected for Worcester Youth Symphony Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Chanling “Lily” Bai ’18 and Ashley Bradway ’18 played with some of the state’s most talented teenage musicians in mid-October when they performed with the Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra. With Ashley playing oboe and Lily on the harp, they played with approximately 60 other high school students at Mechanics Hall in Worcester Oct. 18. The audience included the mayor of Worcester. “It’s a great youth orchestra,” said Mr. Thad Wheeler of WMA’s Fine & Performing Arts Department. “They get to play with a very large group of students, which is a good opportunity. They play with a 60 or 70 piece orchestra so it’s a great experience for them to have the sonic environment they can experience on their instruments.”
▲ top
Ashley Bradway ’18 ▲ bottom
Chanling “Lily” Bai ’18
WILB R AHAM & MONSON AC ADEMY
9