Spring is in the air on the Moravian Academy Merle-Smith campus, where the beautiful flowering magnolia tree signals that winter is officially over. Students slowly begin to venture outside during free periods to enjoy the warm weather and to avoid thinking about end-of-year exams.

With spring sports well under way, Moravian Academy sports fans now have lacrosse, tennis, softball and baseball games to enjoy after school. The boys and girls lacrosse teams have winning records and secured spots in the district tournament. The boys tennis team recently won the Colonial League Championship, and Zach Shaff '16 was crowned the District Singles AA champion just a few days later. The baseball team is in the lead to win a (completely objective) poll for the best baseball cap in the Lehigh Valley.

As usual, the MA theater department had no time to bask in the glory of the outstanding production of "Hello, Dolly!" this year, but instead starts preparing for the spring drama right away. This year's was Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" with the twist of a post-World War II setting.

To honor the arts and athletics at Moravian Academy, Student Council hosts "Sparts Night," an event packed with sports games in the afternoon and theater in the evening, giving the student body a chance to support the talent of their classmates.

But even with all that students are doing, there are still plenty of exciting happenings allow us to escape our usual routines. There are currently four students visiting from France through a global exchange program. Not too long after their arrival, the Upper School hosted International Family Fun Fest, with food and presentations from cultures around the world.

Moravian Academy's first ever Charity Fashion Show took place last week, and featured the often unrecognized designing talent of our student body. And in our weekly chapel services, sophomore class members have been sharing their favorite memories, passions and stories of their loved ones through a project called Lebenslauf, which means life story.

The end is near, especially for the seniors, who have all decided to which college they will be matriculating in the fall. It's a tradition at Moravian Academy for the seniors to decorate a sign with their name and their chosen college. The sign reads, "Congratulations to (insert college) accepted by (student's name)." The working of the sign helps us to celebrate the end of the long college process; we're highlighting the school we've accepted, rather than the schools that accepted us.

Finishing up the year is always bittersweet. We are both in the midst of the whirlwind and about to emerge from it. But I'd emerge my fellow classmates to take a moment to remember how much time has really passed, and to remember how lucky we are that that time has been spent at Moravian Academy.