The second semester has just begun for the Liberty Hurricanes but is already off to a roaring start.

Both the girls and boys basketball teams have had amazing seasons, which include major fundraiser nights for both. The boys team raised $3,000 for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley Jan. 20, and the girls team raised $2,204 for the American Heart Association Feb. 6. The girls team dedicated their fundraiser to the late Coach Ackey, who passed away in 2021.

The rest of the girls team’s season has been very successful, beginning with their first win in 16 years against the Nazareth Blue Eagles Dec. 6. They continued their major feats by becoming the champions of the Salisbury Holiday Classic Tournament Dec. 28 and by sweeping Bethlehem Catholic HS in both regular season matches.

The girls’ wrestling team is a new sports team that has begun competing this year. On Feb. 9, they joined the boys wrestling team in beating crosstown rival Freedom HS in a decisive 25-24 victory. The boys team won with a score of 33-29. The girls inaugural season has been a resounding success.

The varsity rifle team may not have come away with a winning record, but their individuals have had an impressive run. Senior Sathiya Haribasker has qualified for the All-State Match as the seventh shooter after already cementing his status as the ninth overall shooter in the league, and sophomore Sarah Stein placed 18th in the league.

Beyond sports, the music department is preparing for several major performances. The Liberty HS Grenadier Band will have its annual Spring Concert April 14 and 15. Before that, the Corps of Drums and Bagpipes will be performing at the State Theater March 2 with the Red Hot Chili Pipers.

Additionally, 14 total musicians from the band have been representing Liberty at various PMEA district bands and orchestras, with five participating in both district band and district orchestra. For the first time in about a decade, Liberty students participated in a district jazz band, with Anna Lazewski and Ethan Hawkes on trumpet and Jack Huie on piano. Finally, senior Owen Haus took part in the Lebanon Valley College Honors Band to receive a scholarship of $10,000 on the weekend of Jan. 21.

The Liberty HS Theater Company will be presenting “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” from March 30 to April 1. The run will consist of three 7 p.m. shows and a matinee April 1. This production will be the final time that many seniors will perform at Liberty.

The administration at Liberty has begun piloting a new phone policy with the freshman class. This will mark the first major shake-up since the two-minute pause was instituted at the start of the 2021-2022 school year. All classes that are held in the freshman center (the top floor of Liberty’s main building) require students to place their phones in a zip-up pouch, where they are to remain for the entire class. Students are not permitted to remove their phones unless in an emergency or if their lunch period falls in the middle of class.

Although there has been pushback by students, the administration has high hopes for the new policy and looks to implement it across all grade levels starting next school year. The policy aims to help students who are addicted to their phones and help develop a better environment for learning.