Introduced earlier this year, the Black & Brown Student Union (BBSU) has hosted a variety of events embracing black culture. Founded by President Zharia Clausell and Vice President Andrea Avena, the club has organized a number of events during Black History Month including a potluck, spirit week, and pep rally. The goal of their club is to “provide a safe and supportive space for Black & Brown students of all ethnic backgrounds on campus…” and to “promote cultural awareness and education.”
On Campus
On the morning of Monday, March 18th, the seniors of Ms. Phillips’s AP English Literature class returned to the WISH Academy library. A quiet murmur filled the space as students spent the last half-hour of a shortened class conversing, studying, and perusing the expanding collection of about 2,500 titles laid out on WISH’s solitary, room-spanning book wall. It was this class’s second visit to the library in the school year, and perhaps the seniors’ third class visit at WISH Academy overall, despite hopes at the beginning of this year for English classes to access the library at least once a month. WISH staff librarian Allison Grover-Khoury was there to welcome the students and reflect on the library’s challenges and successes as it has striven to better serve high-schoolers in recent months.
Walking into T2, one is immediately hit with the sight of bloody limbs and clothing. People are hanging from the walls, and the music resembles blood-curdling screams. This is the room where Media Madness, one of the latest additions to WISH Academy’s wide array of lunch clubs, conducts their business, enticing students to purchase their variety of snacks and lunch items. Under the guidance of Ms. KB, WISH Academy’s media arts teacher, and led by club president Mareon Mott, the group aims to foster a space where students from diverse backgrounds can come together to discuss the impact of art and entertainment on society.
The past year has been very eventful for the WISH Academy music department, and for the music teacher, Mr. Markus Illko. On March 15th, The Aviary’s Nicholas Steinman sat down with him to discuss the recording and release of the department’s first vinyl album, 2023 (also available on streaming), the department’s successful biannual concerts, and Mr. Illko’s personal success, which saw him winning a Grammy Award as part of instrumental group The String Revolution and embark on a press tour earlier this year, and more.