In contrast to the standstill of mid-winter, the past two months have been quite eventful for Liberty HS.

On Feb. 15, seniors Abigael Omwega and Irampaye Clarrise were selected to be two of eight “Teens of the Year” by the Bethlehem chapter of the YWCA.

Omwega received the Educational Empowerment Award, while Clarrise received the Mission Award. Both received scholarships as part of their recognition.

A week later on Feb. 22, Liberty welcomed the arrival of the 100th class gift: a Steinway Piano for the music department. Liberty’s Grenadier Band’s First Company and Liberty Cheerleaders formed a path toward the choir room, where the Liberty Alma Mater was sung to commemorate the occasion.

The piano is a combined effort of several fundraisers and donations, including the walk-a-thon held in October 2021. The piano it replaces had been with the school since 1938, an astounding 84 years.

Spring sports officially began March 7. Girls and boys lacrosse, boy tennis, softball, boys volleyball, and track and field all started but rain caused many practices to take place inside in modified formats.

All sports teams practice daily, with scrimmages taking place as early as March 17. Teams such as track and volleyball have been training throughout the winter and participating in meets and tournaments in some capacity, even if they didn’t have any truly competitive intentions.

Other sports have been putting in hours in the weight room in order to start their seasons in peak physical shape. It looks to be another great spring season for the Liberty Hurricanes.

On March 10, the band’s Bagpipes, Highland Dancers, and the Corps of Drums gave a taste of what to expect in the upcoming band concert. The students performed with the Red Hot Chili Pipers, a bagpipe-based rock band that plays both original tunes and different versions of popular songs such as “All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers and “Fat-Bottomed Girls” by Queen.

Liberty performers spent weeks preparing for the exciting opportunity by working closely with members of the Chili Pipers. Highland performed selections such as “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon, pipers and drummers played along with the original song, “Leave a Light On,” and the Corps of Drums performed this year’s drum static titled “Drum Colosseum.”

The concert featuring the three groups, in addition to the entire LHSGB will take place on April 8 and 9.

Part of the annual concert will be dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Ruth Zettlemoyer, the band’s seamstress for almost 30 years, who passed away Jan. 26. In honor of her service, members of the band lined the driveways of Grand View Cemetery Feb. 5.

Science Olympiad scored major victories at the Kutztown University competition March 17. The team placed second for both the Chemistry Lab and Disease Detectives and got fourth for the bridge event. In the words of junior Erineah Quan, “Not bad for it being most people’s first year competing.”

The first few months of 2022 have proven to be more than a little hectic, but they are only a taste of what is yet to come. Liberty’s production of the “Sound of Music” opens March 24, with sports official first games starting the week after. Come out and support the Liberty High School Hurricanes.