Winter Concert at West Boca High

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On December 9th, the West Boca Raton High School Vanguard performed another outstanding concert, proving that their Superior rating isn’t just for show. For the whole performance, around an hour and a half, most of the seats in the auditorium were filled with students, families, parents, and staff. The concert was full of festive, seasonal music and powerful, contemporary songs, helping kick off this holiday season.
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The performing groups were West Boca’s Percussion Ensemble, directed by James Davis, (playing Troika and Carol of the Bells), West Boca’s Symphonic Band, directed by Larry Shane, (playing Air from County Derry, Hanukkah Highlights, Chand a Jubilo, and Deck the Halls with Old Composers), and West Boca’s Wind Ensemble, also directed by Larry Shane, (playing Carmina Burana, A Chanukah Celebration, Chester Overture, and A Christmas Festival).
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One of the most remarkable songs was the Wind Ensemble’s finale, A Christmas Festival. This recognizable song was composed by Leroy Anderson and can be seen in countless Christmas themed movies and performances. This song serves as a symbol for the coming of the holiday season, and, as director Larry Shane said, “You know it’s good because it’s played in Publix.”

School Bus Crash on SW 18th

WPTV is reporting a school bus crash on SW 18th at Promenade, which is between the Turnpike and Powerline Road going through Boca Pointe.

From Google Maps it looks like there is some traffic impact, but not much. We saw the report on the TV news this morning but have not heard anything from readers. WPTV reports that two people were taken to the hospital as a result of this crash.
The Palm Beach Post reports that seven students were on the bus and that the crash happened around 6:30 this morning.

Almost Maine at West Boca High

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Students and faculty alike are all talking about how West Boca High School’s production of Almost, Maine is the perfect romantic play to help welcome in the holiday season. The play is directed by Lance Blank and by two students, Noelle Hoffman and Marisa Cioffi. Every cast and stage member is a student at West Boca High School, making this professional-level performance even more stunning.
The story takes place in Almost, Maine, a small town that doesn’t even exist on the map. The plot follows the lives of several characters as they fall in and out of love on one winter Friday night. It is divided into two acts with 10 hysterical, heart-warming, and sometimes even heart-breaking scenes. Also, this comedy is full of ironies and hidden truths that slowly get revealed to the audience as the play progresses, leaving many scenes with shocking endings.
One of this author’s favorite scenes was ‘Seeing the Thing,’ the ninth scene. It is about two very different people, a ‘tough’ girl, Rhonda, and a ‘not-so-tough’ guy, Dave. In this scene, Dave tries to confess his feelings to Rhonda through a painting he painted. However, Rhonda can’t see ‘the thing’ in the painting he is trying to show her. With a few over-dramatized reactions and sexual references, this stood out among the rest of the amazing scenes.
If you weren’t able to see the West Boca High’s performance of Almost, Maine, the same drama department will also be performing the Addams Family starting on March 6 until March 18th at select times.
Tickets for the Addams Family can be purchased for only $15 (pdf order form) and you can reach their box office at (561)-672-2066.

Obituary: Debra Corona of West Boca High

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We sadly report the passing of the well-liked Debra “Debbie” Corona, a teacher at West Boca High School. Ms. Corona was 47 years old. She helped develop one of the school’s choice programs, the Information Technology Academy. She also helped out with the school store.
One person associated with the school says she ran an “on the job” training program at the school and the kids loved her.
Ms. Corona is survived by three childen, Sam, Annie and Kyle, all of whom attended Boca High.

More details:
Age 47, she passed away suddenly on Sunday. Born Butler PA in October of 1967. Also survived by brother Vince and sister Rene of Milwaukee, sister Joyce of New York, sister Jenny and their mother Agnes both of Butler PA. Mass and memorial Saturday, December 6, 2014 at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 11 AM. It’s at 370 SW 3rd in East Boca, south of Palmetto Park Road. Rather than sending flowers, the family asks donations be made in Debra’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project, perhaps because her son Sam is in the Marines.

West Boca Bulls Lose to Atlantic: Video and Analysis

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The West Boca High School football team, the Bulls, had a disappointing loss Friday night to the Atlantic High Eagles. It had been a strong season for the Bulls up to this point, but the Eagles came in and held the Bulls scoreless while putting up 13 points of their own.
The game started with a good performance from the Vanguard marching band and the team looked good at the beginning.

The game started on a sour note for the Bulls as they lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Perhaps that was foreshadowing. Despite that they held the Eagles to a 3 and out on their first drive and then the Bulls moved the ball well at first.
Here’s an example, a pass play where they got about 7 yards.

That drive stalled at the Atlantic 40 yard line. For the rest of the first quarter both offenses struggled and the score was tied at 0-0.
In the second quarter Atlantic made some big plays and scored a field goal and then a touchdown. West Boca’s offense struggled for the rest of the game. We kept hearing Jerrod Ferguson’s name and he made a big interception in toward the end of the 2nd quarter, but the Bulls offense was unable to convert that into points.
On 4th and 9 their field goal attempt fell short. This reporter thought they had a better shot of getting a first down and should’ve gone for it, but it’s easy to say that from the stands.
In the second half neither offense did much though the Eagles did score on a late field goal to push the final score to 13-0.
For the Bulls it seemed like Bulls QB Matt Gross and his receivers were out of sync. On one play he threw what looked like a good pass but the receiver had given up on the play. On others Gross overthrew open men.
Despite the frustrations of a tough game, the players maintained their composure throughout the game. We’re hopeful they’ll learn from this and play better in their next game.
On the bright side, the band seemed to have fun. They were joined by students from the Loggers’ Run Middle School band for performance in the stands.

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