Each year in February, the WA community is abuzz with talk over schedules for the upcoming year. Is five AP classes too many to handle? Should I take honors or CP? How much homework should I expect from this class? Can I defer gym? At WA, students are required to take four semesters of physical education...

At eighteen years old, many students have no idea what their futures will look like, especially career-wise. Although they may have an idea of what they're interested in, many students can't fully predict where they will end up professionally. Westford Academy's new guidance counselor Samantha DeMagistris went...

The guidance office is a hub of activity at WA. Students, teachers, and staff members alike are constantly visiting the offices for supplies, passes, and forms. Students can also visit guidance counselors for advice and help outside of academics. Sometimes, however, they need to go to the Head of Guidance,...

For many students and teachers, Wendy Pechacek is a familiar face, whether she's been a guidance counselor or a person to go to for advice, she has been a pillar of WA's staff for twenty-one years of leadership. Pechacek, WPS's 6-12 Coordinator of School Counseling, will be concluding her career at the...

Westford Academy is known to many for its rigorous academics, but with constant academic, social, and at-home pressures, many students struggle with mental health issues. WA provides many resources, but how commonly known they are to students varies. Westford Academy's school psychologist, Steve Cunha,...

As school is back into full swing the effects of COVID-19, Hybrid as well as Remote learning and levels of workload have affected student's mental health for better or for worse. Additionally, the accessibility to Westford Academy's resources to help manage student mental health seems to be unknown among...

With the 2020-21 school year starting off in an unusual way in several respects, teachers and administrators had to come together and adapt to our current conditions in an attempt to find the new ‘normal’. WA Guidance, a department that holds immense importance and responsibility in our school community,...

The past month has been anything but normal for the students at WA. COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus, has hit the US and has interrupted the daily lives of pretty much every citizen. Schools across the country including WA have been closed, and families are ordered to quarantine themselves. With...

As of March 1, the college search app Naviance will be completely gone from WA and the app Scoir will be taking its place. Guidance counselors started visiting advisory rooms to set the students up with Scoir and help them navigate the cite. Guidance coordinator Wendy Pechacek explained how Naviance's...

Although the faculty in the WA guidance department is more than qualified to advise students throughout the day, guidance coordinator Wendy Pechacek and counselor Leah Birnkrant have created a new class this year: Guidance Peer Assistants, or 'GPA'. The main focus of the class is to create a more comfortable...

The college application process is a hefty one. As someone who just submitted their first round of applications, I can tell you my experience was far from perfect, but I can also say that pressing the "Submit" button on my last application was one of the best feelings I've ever experienced. On an...

A welcome to WA’s staff new addition, Ms. Karin Brown. So far she likes WA and the people she has met. Q: How is it like at Westford Academy so far? A: So far it has been amazing. The people here are absolutely phenomenal. They are super friendly and super helpful, and can count on anyone. Q:...