As this year draws to a close, the Harriton Banner is here to reflect on the ups, downs, and main events of 2013-2014 at Harriton. Remembering every high-spirited event was difficult because of the incredible mass of things taking place! There are sure to be disagreements about what was most significant, but we settled on these particular highlights to provide a look back at your school year.

September

September 3 – School begins: The buzz and chatter of 1,200 new and returning students filled Harriton’s halls once again as everyone shook off the summer sand and prepared to reenter the school year. Students compared schedules, searched for their classrooms, and met the teachers and classmates they would work with for the next nine months.

September 24 – College fair informs community:  The college fair allowed juniors and seniors in the application process to inquire more about the college experience and specific institutions from a sea of college representatives. Upperclassmen felt much more secure after this fair, which also sparked the interest of sophomores who would soon be in the same situation.

October

September 30-October 4 – Spirit Week is better than ever: Harriton’s spirit was given its first test of the school year with the five-day Spirit Week and pep rally. Pajama Day, USA Day, Way Back Wednesday, Twin Day, and Red and White Day were finished off with a victory for Harriton in the Harriton-Lower Merion football game and an all-school tailgate afterwards. The outstanding spirit of the school encouraged the team and made a great start to October.

October 5 and October 16 – Standardized testing season begins with SATs and PSATs: The SATs and PSATs prepared seniors for college applications and qualified some high-scoring juniors for possible future recognition with a National Merit Scholarship. Bubbling in answers with their trusty #2 pencils and forgetting to bring something to read afterward, students had more testing to look forward to with Keystones in December and May, AP/IB testing in May, and, of course, midterms and finals.

November  

November 13 – First SpeakUp! event starts conversations:  The program allowed youth and adults to communicate and better understand one another (which can be hard at times) about issues like pressure, relationships, self-acceptance, depression and drug and alcohol use. Harriton students took the role of facilitators to keep the conversation going between students, staff and families of the Lower Merion community.

November 11-21 – NHS Thanksgiving food drive helps a hundred: The National Honor Society led a successful school wide drive to provide Thanksgiving dinners for 100 Montgomery County families. Advisories were asked to collect canned goods, money, and everything else needed for a bountiful Thanksgiving for their assigned family. Wegmans, Whole Foods, Acme, and Giant also generously donated hundreds of items to the drive.

December

December 15 and 17 – Music department presents choral and instrumental concerts:  Mr. Bizich, Ms. Villante, and Mr. Joseph had plenty to be proud about after the students of the music department played two excellent concerts for the LMSD community. The six vocal ensembles and three instrumental groups had been preparing for those few hours since the beginning of the school year. Highlights included the Chorale’s collaboration with a symphony orchestra on the “Vivaldi Gloria” and the combined band-orchestra rendition of “Skyfall”, the James Bond theme.

December 26: Welsh Valley art teacher Mr. Marrone dies: Grief and sorrow filled Harriton with the death of one of the LMSD community’s most beloved teachers and prominent artists. Charismatic, compassionate, and a role model to many, Mr. Todd Marrone was deeply loved by his previous students across the district, whether they had been in his class or just shared one conversation. Hundreds came to his memorial service on December 30, and Harriton held a special advisory about his death returning from winter break.

January

Most of January – Record-breaking winter weather disrupts schools: Multiple snowstorms plus widespread power outages that attacked LMSD schools and caused many to take refuge outside of their homes resulted in an insane amount of school cancellations and altered the schedule for the rest of the year. Although worrisome to administrators, the never-ending snow days did not seem to bother most Harriton students, who were delighted to receive what was essentially an extended winter break, with more opportunities to sleep and relax.

January 21-24 – All grades take midterms: The snowy weather could not prevent midterms, which composed 9% of every class’s final grade and tested on all material from the first semester, from arriving at Harriton. For most students, weekend plans were a thing of the past as life revolved around studying, and when the tests were finally over, everyone breathed easier with the thought that finals, the next ordeal, were many months away.

February

February 8 – TSA sweeps Regionals: Harriton’s own TSA attended the 2014 Pennsylvania TSA Regional Conference at Strayer Middle School in Springfield, PA. Students competed in on-site events and met new people, and Harriton placed first overall at the conference! Their hard work would pay off yet again at States on April 9-12 with another first place for Harriton and a number of trophies. TSA will be heading to the National Conference in Maryland June 27 – July 1.

February 28- Mr. Harriton continues to astound: Student Council took the Lower Merion community back and forward in time during Harriton’s favorite event, which was won by senior Chris Lasprogata. The seventh year of the competition attracted 900 people and raised $17,377 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, the Mr. Marrone Scholarship Fund, and the Cookie Grant.

March

March 5 – Science Olympiad competes at Regionals: At Neumann University, Science Olympiad left with the second place trophy and medals in 18 out of 23 events, impressive but disappointing to the team, who had placed first for the past four years. They viewed the loss as motivation for improving themselves in the future for states and nationals. Later in the year, Science Olympiad won second place and broke their 16-year first place streak at States on May 2 but secured third place in the United States at Nationals May 16-17.

March 6-10 – Music department ensembles perform in Washington, D.C.: Chorale, Pitch Please, Quartet, Vocal Jazz, and the jazz band took a bus to Washington, D.C., College Park, MD, and the Baltimore Harbor area. Each ensemble brought something different to the performances before an elementary school and a church. The students also enjoyed sightseeing around the capital area from the Lincoln Memorial to the Kennedy Center to the Smithsonian.

April

April 3-5 – HTC performs Godspell: In just a few months, these HTC members put together a memorable musical under the direction of Mr. Joseph and Olivia Sun. Later receiving thirteen Cappies nominations and one win for creative directing, the show exhibited Christian parables and dramatized the death of Jesus through a core cast of ten colorfully dressed actors.

April 22 – Gems Not Genocide holds ‘Witness. Inspire. Act.’ conference: In Harriton’s own auditorium, six esteemed activists and genocide survivors spoke to support Darfur and impart wisdom from their experiences to the audience. Abri Bernstein, the senior who founded the club, and Mr. Imaizumi, their faculty advisor, led the three-hour conference, whose message was that listeners should find their passion and wield it to make a difference in the world.

May

May 16 – Day of Service continues school tradition: All of Harriton participated in the 18^th annual Day of Service, a program unique to the school. After listening to a speech by Mr. Cohn from Alex’s Lemonade Stand, hundreds of black-shirted students divided into groups based on their clubs or teams and participated in community service both on and off campus despite unexpected rain. Upon their return, a student-teacher band led by Mr. Imaizumi played a rocking concert for the whole school.

May 27 – Harriton votes for next year’s Student Council officers: After weeks of walking past pun-filled posters, listening to primary videos and election speeches, and wondering when the winning candidates would be announced, the school finally cast their votes for president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and sergeant-at-arms. The Student Council representatives for those positions will be Ben Hewitt, Jeff Solomon, Jane Cook, Will Marks, and Pranav Pillai.

June:

June 10 – Class of 2014 graduates: In the culmination to their twelve years of primary and secondary education, the senior class will don caps and gowns to walk across the stage at 7 PM at St. Joseph’s University. Though the ceremony happens every year, each graduating class will be missed for different reasons when they enter life after high school. Teachers, parents, siblings, and friends will watch in pride as the Class of 2014 fulfills the second part of the district’s motto – enter to learn, go forth to serve.

June 13-19 – Final exams send us off to summer: As the end of the year approaches, one thing still lingers that every Harriton student must prepare for: finals, counting for 11% of each class’s final grade. Aside from the set 5 exam in the middle of a full instructional day, there will be two exams per 3.5-hour day. Additionally, due to the snow days of January, administration has scheduled a half-day on June 20 after the last exams. Study ahead and sleep well before the tests! Good luck, Harriton, and thanks for a great year.