As the 2024-2025 MBS school year begins, there are several important changes on campus. Many of these changes to school events and structure bring back pre-covid traditions, though some are brand new.
According to the Head of the Upper School, Mr. Ryan Liese, one of the most important changes to campus that actually began in the middle of last year, is having more student voice during all school meetings. This year, both the upper school and middle school SGA presidents play a very important role in running all-school meetings. This gives students more ownership over these meetings, which is important as they are the target audience.
Another important change was the greater emphasis placed on homecoming, which was designed to maximize student turnout and school spirit. Spirit week this year was placed on the week directly leading up to Homecoming, which according to Liese was done to build up the energy for the day of the homecoming football game. Additionally, all of the fall sports teams had their senior day prior to the football game with the goal being to ensure that no student would have any excuse not to come. The homecoming football game this year also brought back the “under the lights” tradition of playing the game at night.
This year also marks the first time since the pandemic that SGA induction was held on Senior Circle. The plan is to have the yearbook dedication in the spring also occur on Senior Circle where it has been traditionally held.
In addition to new and revived traditions, there are also new and revived clubs at MBS this year. The Society for Women Engineers is a new club this year run by Clare Patchett ‘26 through the Society of Women Engineers program. Patchett brought the club to MBS because of the organization’s mission to “empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.” According to Patchett only 15% of working engineers are female and she is looking to increase that number starting in the MBS community. The club will cover many branches of engineering. No previous experience in STEM is required.
One returning club is the Spanish Club, which has existed at MBS in the past but had since become defunct. According to club co-leader Katherine Chandler ‘26, it was revived in order to allow students to engage with Spanish culture with their friends while doing so beyond the classroom. Chandler also emphasized that, “you don’t need to know Spanish to join. It’s a low commitment club with a focus on the culture of Spanish-speaking countries.” More information on both new and revived clubs can be found in the article “New and Returning Clubs to Look Out For: Something for Everyone.”
Change and tradition a normal part of any high school campus. If there are any students that would like to add something else new to MBS, there is a path for them to do so. Liese said, “everyday we have a student coming to us saying ‘Hey, I have this idea,’ and what we try to do is try to find a way to get to yes… If someone is interested in something, it may not look exactly how they thought in the beginning, but [we] try to make sure that they have some avenue to explore that.”
