In the last few weeks Liberty HS has seen many large changes heading into the end of the school year, chief among them regarding the school’s new leader, Rick Amato.

LHS welcomed new interim principal Amato Feb. 14, bringing a plethora of experience to Liberty’s ever fluctuating environments.

Amato has spent his entire career within the Bethlehem Area School District, most notably with his contributions to the Nitschmann MS Science Department. He pioneered what was known as the “Sequoia program” which took 56 kids from all different academic and social backgrounds and put them together in a program that was slightly unorthodox.

According to Amato, “Our students backpacked and hiked the Appalachian Trail. [With] environmental science [being] intertwined through everything.”

Following the 2024-25 school year, Amato will return to his position at the supervisor of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) for the BASD’s Education Center as moving forward Liberty has hired Brandon Horlick (current Broughal MS principal) to lead the Hurricanes. We wish them both the best.

In other local and even national high school news, April began many schools’ annual “senior assassin” games.

If you’ve seen teens with goggles on and water guns in their hands in many public places, you may be an eye witness to the start of a brand-new and thrilling tradition.

For any who may not know, Senior Assassin is a challenge in which any senior can team up with other senior friends in groups of three or four (this varies by school), using water guns and immunity items to epilate other teams, protect themselves, and be the last group standing. To enter, everyone must give a certain amount of money, in LHS it was $10 per person.

What’s this money for? At the end of the game, the moderator (usually a junior) and the person with the most eliminations will receive a small chunk of this money, while the rest will go to the winning team, with each member walking away with a couple hundred dollars, and a lot of great memories.

Liberty Senior Abby Schessler commented on how enjoyable the game has made the end of her time at LHS feel.

“I love Senior Assassin, as it gives us seniors one last hurrah before the school year comes to a close. It gives us the opportunity to spend time with our friends, venture outside our comfort zone and explore new places in our community which we may not have known about before.”

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