BY PATRINA PUN
Welcome back, Cougars! Featured here is our column highlighting important events and the inside scoop at QO, so that you can Keep Up With the Kougars!
Student Highlight Of The Month:
As young children, we were often introduced to various instrumental toys like a four-function key piano or the violin. Some may have even taken it a step further and pursued the instrument throughout their adolescent years until they realized it was just not their “thing.”
However, Joey Hsieh, a senior here at Quince Orchard High School, most certainly did not give up on his instrument and is now taking it another step further and pursuing a career in music.
For the past 13 years, Hsieh has shown the utmost dedication to the cello beyond the classroom. From 2018 to 2022, Hsieh was nominated and accepted into the Maryland All-State Orchestra. In 2019, he was accepted into the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship, a full scholarship program designed to help high school students prepare for a career in music. He has also been appointed as the principal cellist of the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra’s top orchestra, the Philharmonic, for the past two years.
Recently, he won the grand prize in the Young Musician Inspiring Change International Competition with the La Vida String Quartet, which includes a performance at Carnegie Hall. In addition, he was also a prize winner in the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, which included a solo performance. Just this past year, he has also participated in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana as a quarterfinalist.
Balancing such a rewarding yet rigorous itinerary regarding his up-and-coming instrumental career can be quite challenging with academics as a senior. Currently, Hsieh is enrolled in several AP courses including AP Environmental Science, Statistics, Economics, and English Literature.
On top of this demanding schedule, Hsieh continues to go above and beyond and applied to numerous respected colleges including Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music, New England Conservatory and Tufts Dual Degree Program, Rice University, Shepard School of Music, and University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
With a busy schedule like Hsieh’s, time management can become one of the greatest difficulties in preventing him from efficiently getting his work done. However, Hsieh claims that “creating a schedule and organizing my day” had proven to be the most efficient method to ensure an equal balance between music and academics. With much excitement and anticipation, we wish Hsieh the best of luck in his musical endeavors!
Early Action/Decision College Admission
With most early action and decision submission deadlines having just passed—the most common being October 15 and November 1— the pressure on seniors here at Quince Orchard High School has begun to weigh and the reality for many has set in. For seniors coming back to school after a thrilling summer, they were quick to make an adjustment from fun to not-so-fun.
Senior Rush Mathai, for instance, applied to a variety of colleges for early action and rolling admission including the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Virginia Commonwealth University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He claims the most time-consuming part of the process was the essay portion for Penn State University; he wrote a total of 14 pieces for their honors college and Millennium Scholars Program. To cope with this stress, Mathai recommends to always “take breaks and manage your time wisely.” Dealing with extracurricular activities along with classes on top of college applications can get quite hectic, so he advises current juniors to “start the process as early as you can.”
Additionally, senior Kelly Adams applied early decision to Brown University along with early action to Northeastern University, James Madison University, the University of Connecticut, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the University of Maryland, the University of Florida, and the University of Virginia. Adams highlighted that dealing with the essays took a lot more effort and time than expected: she started with “1400 words and had to get down to 650,” she said. She recommends starting your Common App in the summer as people begin to “burn out this time of year.”
To say the least, the college application process is strenuous and nothing like anything seniors have done before. However, we are all in this together. Best of luck to all the seniors out there participating in the college process. We got this!
Adjustments Regarding Food and Safety:
The new school year has brought new implementation of rules regarding students’ safety and order. Though this may be an adjustment for returning students, the administration has made a few more announcements and changes.
To begin, students who leave campus and return after the school day will be considered absent and will not be permitted to use MCPS transportation anymore. Also, Principal Beth Thomas reiterated that students who drive to school are not allowed to leave campus during lunch hours or any time during the school day to ensure a “secure and focused learning environment.” Thomas emphasizes that with every parking pass, there was an agreement on the rules and indication of having the privilege to park on school grounds. She announced that the administration will begin to use a progressive disciplinary action that could result in the removal of a student parking pass.
Furthermore, to maintain a ready and focused environment for children to learn, students will be prohibited from entering the school if they arrive late to Period 6 with outside food. They are permitted to bring outside food prior to school hours or during lunch, but an upward trend has been observed where students are showing up late with outside food in their hands throughout the day.
Quince Orchard New Theatrical Play:
Quince Orchard Theatre has recently presented us with a new fall play, “Peter and the Starcatcher” by Rick Elice. Featuring our very own Quince Orchard students, the play features a young orphan, Peter, along with two other orphans and a girl named Molly on a wild adventure. Together, they encounter sailors, bands of pirates, mermaids, and much more!
“This production has been incredibly challenging, but it is a beautiful piece of theatre that everyone should see,” said Jessica Vogel, English teacher and the artistic director of QO Theatre.
The first showing will take place on November 11 and the last showing on November 18 at 2 PM and 7 PM in the auditorium. Tickets are $8 for Quince Orchard students, $12 for adults, and $10 for everyone else.
The Prowler 