Author: Ivy Miller

Let’s Dance!

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Dance Company Seniors (photo courtesy of Sem Public Relations Office.)

by Lily Roberti ’24

Wyoming Seminary’s Dance Company’s hard work culminated in three exhilarating nights of ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theater, and so much more hitting the stage of the Kirby Center of Creative Arts at full force. Two acts chock-full of grand jetés, pirouettes, and smiling faces, Sem put on its forty-first annual dance show, “Let’s Dance!”, under the direction of Mrs. Vojtko. 

The Dance Company’s process to prepare for this marvelous performance started as early as October, 2021. Dance classes began to meet in early fall, a few of them starting to put together choreography for the show. Various genres of dance graced our stage in mid-May. “Higher Ground,” choreographed by Ms. Sipple, was a loud and funky jazz piece that had the audience dying to get up and dance along. “Gershwin Preludes” highlighted six of the company’s most elegant ballet dancers. Their closing piece, “Rhapsody in Blue,” a 1950s city street scene, ended the show with a bang as we saw every member of the company up on stage in various roles like sightseers, shoppers, and society ladies. This selection followed a love story between the wonderfully talented Samantha Barcia ‘22 and Robert Zaloga ‘20 while policeman Gram Doherty ‘22 tried to keep trouble off the streets.

Our very own Dance Company offers a wide range of experience. 43 dancers made up the show this year, including four alumni and four lower school students. From dancers who have been practicing for ten plus years to those who came to us brand new this year, Sem turns away no one who wants to learn a thing or two. Mrs. Vojtko’s patience and dedication can turn a fresh face show ready in mere months. Kara Perzia ‘24 says, “As a new dancer, it takes a lot to be stage ready and can be intimidating when surrounded by lots of experienced dancers. However, everyone has been extremely helpful through this experience and now I can say I am prepared to dance along with everyone else on stage.” The most experienced dancers paved the way for the newbies, offering help with choreography and inspiration whenever needed. 

Not only was “Let’s Dance!” prepared by three talented professionals, Mrs. Bernadine Vojtko, Ms. Linda Sipple, and Mr. Raphael Cooper, but a few choice upperclassmen were also given the opportunity to set four unique pieces. Seniors Samantha Barcia, Jennifer Zemetro, Alyssa Shonk, Sophia Snell, Anna Cabell, and junior Allison Luo received the honor of being chosen as the 2022 student choreographers. Samantha Barcia ‘22 says, “Choreographing was so much fun this year! I got to be on the other side of dancing, and I think it will make me an even better dancer because it will help me understand what my dance teacher needs. I also had so much fun getting to know some of the younger dancers that I don’t always get to interact with!!” From music to choreo to costumes, these six dancers worked exceptionally hard on their masterpieces.

This show took more to put together than a couple rehearsals and some pairs of tights. The Dance Company worked exceedingly hard in the months prior to prepare their material for the KCCA stage. The dedicated teamwork everyone put in was more than worth it. Mrs. Vojtko kindly shares, “We have a wonderful group of dancers who are giving their all as we prepare for the show… With all the challenges that came along with covid, it’s been three years since we’ve been able to open our spring performance to the public.” “Let’s Dance!”, Sem’s 2022 dance show, was a massive success!

Accepted Students Day Held on Campus

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Current Sem Students welcome accepted students at Upper School Campus (Photo courtesy of the Wyoming Seminary Communications Dept)

by Olivia Sekel ’24

During the weekend of April 23rd, 2022, Wyoming Seminary came together as a community to welcome newly accepted students. The Upper and Lower School campuses hosted events throughout the day by giving tours, answering questions, and showing the clubs we have to offer. A total of 72 families attended the event to see what it would be like as a student at Sem. 

The families included 8thgrade families, admitted families for next year, accepted families, and prospective families looking to attend the Open House in the fall. A total of 30 clubs represented the school by showing off the sports, extra-curriculars, and academic offerings at Sem. 

Sarah Stewart, the Interim Director of Domestic Admission at the Upper School, organized the day. She said, “After seeing our current students and faculty interacting with our new and prospective families, you realize all of the difficult decisions and long hours of planning are all worth it. We cannot wait to have everyone back together in the Fall for the 2022-2023 school year.” 

At the Upper School, the street of North Sprague was filled with tables for clubs and student  organizations. Another benefit of having students participate in the event is that it provides a sincere  welcome into the Sem community. 

Lauren Finlay ‘23 shared, ” Accepted Students Day was a great experience for everyone involved. [It] went amazing this year, and the Sem community got to see so many new faces! It was really nice to meet potential incoming students, and I think all the students really felt like it brought our community together!” 

What Lunch is Better to Munch At?

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by Charles Cox ’23 and Callista Pham ’23

Have you ever eaten lunch alone? Or, have you not been able to grab a seat because it was so packed? Lunch scheduling is an important part of the Sem community. Therefore, when Covid-19 happened to the world, it even affected little things like our lunch.

Covid-19 has brought many changes to, and one of these changes is the structure to our lunch. The lunch schedule used to be and has now returned to an hour long lunch (community lunch). But, it was changed to 40 minutes intervals with an X and Z section (old lunch). The idea of lunch has been changed for everyone: some prefer the community structure and others the old one.

No one would know that Covid-19 happened. Before the pandemic, the Sem community always had the same lunch system. Due to Covid-19, the school decided to divide lunch time into half in order to protect students. This system turned out to be very helpful to the lunch staff and lines were at an all time low.

Yet, many students were dissatisfied with the idea of not being able to have lunch with their friends. And, the shortened lunch period of 40 minutes made it hard to use lunch as time to do anything else besides eating. This quote from a student shows the positives of the community lunch system and negatives of the old lunch system,  “I like the community lunch because I get to see my friends and get to see everyone. I don’t like the old lunch because sometimes, I didn’t have lunch with my friends and I hate eating alone,” Nadia Saeed, ’23.

The community lunch system offered a great way to spend time with your friends. And, since it is an hour long you would have enough time to meet up with a teacher or do homework. This lunch was called a community lunch since everyone was able to see everyone.

However, this lunch failed to be efficient and made it difficult to find seating.  “I think it’s too much for you guys. The lines are too long and you have to wait too long. And the dining is just jammed up. You can never get seats,” Mrs. Linda Brown, a lunch staff member.

In conclusion, the old lunch helped our Sem community to stop the spread of Covid-19, and it was easier for the lunch staff to do their work. Even with all that said, most of the students still prefer the community lunch since they can meet their friends and have more time to rest.