On Sunday, December 4, the 47th Festival of Lessons and Carols service once again blessed the Wayland and Beaver Dam community with beautiful and inspiring music alongside a solemn set of biblical reflections for the Christmas season.

Click here to see more photos of the 47th Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Seniors Geoffrey Clark, Michelle Krueger, Selena Erdman and Emma Petersen.

After a couple years of not having class trips, the trips resumed for the 2011-2012 school year.

The seniors took an overnight camping trip, which included activities such as dodge ball, board games, a bon fire and s'mores, and they did some improv skits.

A few quotes from seniors about their overnight experience:

• "It was exciting, invigorating, environmental, enunciating, energetic, euphoric, enigmatic, episodic." - Luke Brandl
• "It was a fun bonding experience." - Edgar Garcia
• "It was very interesting and bonding with people in my cabin was fun. Mr. Borneman is hilarious!" - Mihai Schnell-Harrison

The juniors headed to Milwaukee where their first stop was Discovery World, a hands-on educational center and museum focused on science. Juniors did everything from petting sharks to simulating internal combustion engines to producing consumer goods from recycled materials. "I made a wallet out of duct tape," said Nick Ostermann. Discovery Zone also featured a professional audio/visual broadcast studio where students worked together to produce a television show and radio broadcast. Will Gill said, "It was fun to experience and learn how a professional commercial production is produced." The final stop was at Comedy Sportz and Improv Group, where the juniors watched a show that included audience participation. "Mr. Borrud's performance at Comedy Sportz was hilarious and made the junior trip the most entertaining and amusing," said Kremena Mestanova.

Many felt the sophomore's trip was the envy of all the others. On a cold, snowy morning in November, they piled into a bus that took them to the Kalahari Water Park and Theme Park in the Wisconsin Dells. There they shed their school attire for tennis shoes and bathing suits and enjoyed a day of fun - riding the water slides, playing laser tag, mini golf and enjoying the warmth of the park as it snowed outside. "A waterpark in November? I thought I died and went to heaven!" said Graham Blehart.

The freshmen also went to Wisconsin Dells, but instead of a water park, they first went to Wizard's Quest. There they had to use clues to solve riddles and physical challenges to reach the end of their "quest." Then they headed to the Ripley's Believe it or not Museum where odd exhibits, ancient artifacts, Aztec coins, and, among other things, shrunken heads were on display. Their final stop was a 4-D Theater where they experienced segments from the "Wizard of Oz" and "Speed Racer." The day was, "packed with fun and adventure," said Galen Cotting. Chaperone Mr. James Cleary said, "The curator at the Ripley's Museum mentioned that he had never had a more well-behaved, polite group. That says a lot about our students."

With a small pool of football players to choose from, Wayland has decided to change from an eleven-man football team to an eight-man football team. Eight-man football teams are becoming more and more common among smaller high schools, although not every state has them. We believe this is the right choice for Wayland Academy and its athletic department. When discussing this change, head coach Craig Hill H`06 said "Football is football, no matter how many kids are on the field. The players still need to block and tackle and it is still a great way to develop character in our players. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with the kids again in this endeavor."

Additional information on eight-man football:

Nineteen states play eight-man football

Twenty-six states or more play "reduced player" football (nine- man)

Former UW Madison player - Brooks Bollinger, QB drafted by NY Jets - played eight-man football in high school in South Dakota. 1994 Heisman trophy winner Rashaad Salaam also played eight-man football. Mr. Mitch Disch H`93, Wayland physics teacher and former football coach, played eight-man football in high school.

Other Wisconsin teams that will likely be on the schedule include: Madison Abundant Life, Stockbridge, Valley Christian, Elkhart Lake, among others.

Family Information: My children are William IV, Genevieve, Trevor, and Evan and to date I have nine grandchildren. I live in Seattle and travel to Boston, Key West, San Jose and Oak Harbor to see my kids and grandkids.

Other family members who have attended Wayland Academy: Donald L. Sprague 1923 (father), William L. Sprague 1925 (uncle), Hulbert Sprague 1927 (uncle).

Current Occupation: I am semi-retired. At one time, I was a boat builder (R&D) for the #1 company in the marine industry. I was also a Port Engineer and Site Engineer for remote areas that were fishing industry ports or places that needed fresh water. A lot of remote spots would flourish when salt water is turned into fresh water. It is fun to go down to the Marina anytime I like to and work on a boat, and be paid for it! No matter how well you plan, the good and the bad stuff can sneak up on you. I must say that all things being equal, I had no idea that I would be enjoying being 68 years old this much!

Currently: My youngest child is a Pastor in a church in San Jose and I have been racking up the air miles from Seattle to San Jose doing church work and rediscovering California. Being a "Biker," last year I did 20 mountain passes, eight national parks, 10 states, and 20,000 road miles! I may be old and slow, but like the "turtle," if you keep at it, stuff happens."