As spring rolls around, the students of Moravian Academy, to be frank, are growing quite tired. AP exams and standardized tests loom and bring a tense air; however, the spring sports season began March 7 and has undoubtedly provided a bit of school spirit to campus.

Because Moravian Academy is right down the street from Notre Dame Green Pond HS the two partner for a few sports, especially spring sports. Girls and boys lacrosse, softball and track and field are part of this partnership while baseball and tennis are still played by their respective schools.

In conjunction with the excitement brought by spring sports, the Moravian Academy Upper School campus has officially announced that masks are now optional.

Performed March 5 to 7, the Moravian Academy production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore” was a success.

“It was rewarding to be able to share a musical with our community after going so long without performing one” said senior Sebastian Holbrook. “I enjoyed being able to sing and perform with my friends, and I am grateful to have put on such a fun show during my senior year under the fantastic guidance of Mr. Yuskauskas and Deena Linn.”

Sebastian was also one of three Moravian students to have been accepted into the All-State Chorus along with Charles Bingham and Alicia Gordon. Similar to Sebastian, Charles and Alicia also starred in the musical.

“When I found out that I made State Chorus, I was shocked,” said Bingham, a junior. “It is a huge honor and I am extremely excited to participate.”

Three Moravian students were also accepted into the All-State Orchestra. Congratulations to sophomore Emma Derby and juniors Yan and Elena Capobianco. The three will be participating in the festival April 8-10.

The Robotics Team, under team name “the Dark Byte,’’ competed this past weekend in the FRC Competition and successfully qualified for the second round. Named “Brittany” by senior team member Grace Burcaw, the robot is able to pick up and shoot basketball sized balls into hoops while being controlled by the drive team.

Additionally, The Moravian DECA club sent many competitors to the State DECA conference this past weekend and brought back several awards and international competition qualifications.

“It was a wonderful experience that opened my eyes to the inner workings of the business world,” said junior Michael Alchaer. “I was so proud to have received fourth place in the Career Development category. I look forward to competing in the international competition with some of my peers this coming April.”

Lastly, David Sommers, a faculty member at Moravian Academy, will be holding his monthly open house at the Banana Factory in order to showcase his artwork among other artists. Sommers is a general Spanish teacher at Moravian, but he also teaches an advanced elective called “Spanish Art History.”

He attended Moravian University as an undergraduate and studied art as one of three majors but his passion for art started out as drawing on a black board that his dad made him while living in South America. He later began officially taking art classes in seventh grade at the York Academy of Art. Sommers considers his art to be influenced by impressionism and cubism. He sees his art as a “chance to capture fleeting moments of beauty on canvas in order to try to make them more permanent”. Save the date for his next art showcase April 1.