A final farewell from the 2023 staff!

Mt. Hebron Students Dominate in the National Economics Challenge

On May 22. 2023, the Mt. Hebron Economics Challenge Team won the David Ricardo Division for the fourth year in a row, claiming another Maryland and National title. The competition, sponsored by the Council for Economic Education, tests students (who have taken one or no economics classes) knowledge on both Macro and Microeconomics. The competition consists of many rounds, but concludes with the national, televised, quiz bowl. 

“Being a part of the team takes a lot of dedication and self-motivation. Winning a national championship in an academic competition of this magnitude is truly life-changing for the students,” said Mr. Vann Prime, the team’s coach. 

The Mt. Hebron team beat more than 6,500 students nationwide to win the competition. The team also went on to win the international title, beating China. The team has two Mt. Hebron student advisors, Natalie Venginickal and Samuel Lieman, who helped coach the team. Winning this competition at the national and international level is a great honor for all of those involved, and brings recognition to Mt. Hebron. 

  Student Parking Lot Issues

Mt. Hebron has enough student parking spaces to allow all of the seniors who want a spot in the lot to have one, but this leaves the junior class, where some students can start driving by the beginning of the school year, out to dry.

The Junior class at Mt. Hebron this year was forced to park on Tiller Dr., a neighborhood road right behind the school. It is about a 10-minute walk to the school through people’s backyards. However, one of the issues many students face is that the neighbors that live on Tiller Dr. petitioned for no parking signs all along the street, leaving the Junior class nowhere to go. Additionally, the school, already aware that juniors cannot part in the student lot, would lock the doors to get inside the school making parking even more difficult.

Mt. Hebron junior Ellie Fiedler says, “It is ridiculous that the school can’t provide enough parking spaces for at least some of the juniors that need it.” Fielder, continuing to voice her concerns, said, “it is ridiculous that the people on Tiller Dr. would put no parking signs even though they know we have nowhere else to park.” 

After the no parking signs were put into place, the Juniors had to scatter for one week before the seniors left to find places to park. Though this also leaves future junior classes in a scramble to find parking. Students are outraged and have even come up with their own solutions, such as turning the long grass field that nobody uses into another parking lot. Even if that solution might not work, most students want to feel like the administration cares about the problem and will attempt to work something out. 

Ending the School Year on a High Note

To end this exciting year on a musical note, dancing, drama and competition raced through the halls of Mt. Hebron on May 17, 2023, as Mt. Hebron held the school’s first-ever lip sync battle. Seven groups of students and staff competed in front of a panel of judges, along with the paying audience. Admission cost was $5, and a chance to assist with judging was $6. In the weeks leading up to the competition, students and teachers began choreographing and rehearsing days before. Technical teams came to help with the finishing touches two days before the competition occurred. Ava Pollock, a Mt. Hebron, rising senior, part of the theater help group, says the battle was exciting but included a bit of drama. 

Ava states, “It was fun seeing the teachers dance around on stage during rehearsals, but when seeing everything being put together it’s exciting,” she says. “I wouldn’t expect to see drama in a lip sync battle” she adds.

Seeing your teachers dance and perform on stage is quite enticing, and even brought up a crowd. In the end, the competition was an overall success, and a moral boost to push Mt. Hebron’s energy forward to the end of the year. 

A Farewell to the Class of 2023

It is that time of year again. Mt. Hebron’s graduating Class of 2023 has now entered a new chapter of their lives. Although scary and intimidating, this is the moment they have been waiting for. The 2023 Class, along with friends and family gathered at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 3, 2023, to congratulate the new graduates and celebrate all the good to come. 

Mt. Hebron graduate and former SGA (student government association) president, Jada Brown, feeling sentimental about her graduation stated, “At first, I felt very nervous yet excited. In the weeks leading up to it, I didn’t know what to expect but I felt ready. The rehearsals are when it really started to feel real. I began to get emotional knowing I would be leaving all of my closest friends and acquaintances and maybe never see them again. Now that graduation has happened I feel complete, and ready for my future.” 

All that hard work and dedication has finally paid off. The Class of 2023 is ready to take on the world, as they walk the halls one last time. Congratulations Class of 2023!