Myers Park Hoofprint

The Myers Park High School Newspaper

Ellie Meier

Self Care

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The summer days are long, and for most teens it is a universal experience for wake-up times to be significantly later compared to school days, leading to the consistency of having productive days becoming increasingly difficult. For most teenage kids, the long summertime days bring freedom to have days spent soaking up the sun or sitting around watching TV, and although this type of relaxation is important to have, there can be many missed opportunities for teens to get things done during the downtime. 

A to-do list can be the first step one takes in the right direction when it comes to productivity. Try writing down the tasks you would like to complete in the morning and aim to get them completed by that evening. It is important to create a routine for yourself, this is not only to keep your mind healthy and well-rested but to assure organization and structure during a time that can be spent effectively. Try having an alarm set for before 10:00 am on weekdays. Personally I struggle to roll out of bed at any remotely early time. Another step towards having a consistent morning is to start each day by making your bed, consuming a nutritious breakfast, and following that with some sort of morning activity. Soaking up the vitamin D that the sun produces is healthy for your mind, and exercising or even being outdoors for a couple of hours a day is just as important. The release of endorphins when you work out (that can even be going on a walk) produces dopamine which is a hormone that can help improve your mood. So whether it is a walk around your neighborhood, or a scenic hike through the mountains on your summer vacation, spending time outdoors is beautiful and key.

Aside from going outside to stay healthy physically, keep in mind your mental health is just as important, so try your best to leave your house to see friends and family if you can, or make plans with yourself to stay busy. Go to the park, walk your dog, get a smoothie, and do something for you! It is so important to be in touch with how you are feeling internally and externally, and not just ignore your feelings through coping with social media and technology for extensive amounts of time. Put your phone down, read a book, try a new sport, and enjoy the time you are spending outside of school.

Upcoming MP Events

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Time flies when you’re having fun! The Myers Park Hoofprint Staff can hardly believe the third quarter is coming to a close this 2022-2023 school year. This year so far has not failed to demonstrate what community looks like, as it has been full of endless, special moments of fun, learning, and accomplishments. Going into the 4th quarter, there is only more for students and staff to look forward to. It is always a good day to be a Mustang!

Just recently, there has been huge accomplishments for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The boys ended their season by bringing home the trophy from UNC’s Dean Dome in the 2023 NHSA 4A State Championship! All in the same weekend, the New Balance Indoor Track Nationals was held in Boston and members of the Myers Park Track team competed against the best high school runners in the nation. Events included the Men’s 4 x 400m, women’s 60 m Dash, Women’s 5000 M run and 1 mile, Women’s 800M run. The winter sports’ season will be hard to beat, but the start of the season for spring sports gets students, staff, and MP supporters excited for warm weather, spring flowers, and more wins to come. 

Outside of the sports scene, MP Odyssey of the Mind groups placed high at the central region tournament and won The Fusca award. The chess team won the CMSCA high school team tournament, DECA attended the North Carolina State Conference, and orchestra students have been selected to participate in Western regionals. Along with such amazing awards, Dream Team has been active at the park in many ways that included their kindness week, full of activities related to positivity. They also held a January Hygiene drive, and the organization is now planning the Prayers for Elijah Kickball tournament on Friday, March 31. 

Enough about the accomplishments of so many clubs and organizations at The Park, let’s talk about the fun that has been filling the time of some MP Seniors off campus. As some students and community members might have heard, the ‘senior assassin’ game has been full of intensity and determination from participating seniors this year! With a money award of over $800, many seniors have been dedicated to the act of sneaky water gun assassinations. In the first round, over 180 students were participating and hopeful that they would make it through the week to move on to the next round, but after just round one, there were only 69 students remaining. After week two, the reaiming students continue to try their hardest to eliminate their target via water guns, and not be eliminated by another student in the process. May the best senior mustang win!

In other senior news, there has been a busy schedule for students in the 12th grade, and it will only get more busy from here as we head into the spring. Senior ‘skip day’ was Friday, March 17th, and St. Paddy’s day was celebrated by most seniors that day. Just the week before, there was a classwide senior meeting where details about graduation and other exciting announcements were discussed as well as the distribution of senior t-shirts and graduation cap and gowns. June 12th, 2023 is the date for the graduation ceremony, where graduates will walk the stage at 7:30 in the Spectrum Center, in the heart of Charlotte. But seniors, do not forget to show up for the graduation rehearsal at 5:30 on June 5th, also held at the Spectrum Center. Along with the big graduation day, there will also be a “T-shirt Day”, as well as a senior carnival, where students get to share their future plans on a shirt and wear that to take pictures and celebrate finishing out their high school careers! Stay tuned into the Myers Park High School Instagram to follow up for specific dates and times for such events!

Cruising Around with the MP Auto Club

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Heading into the new year, let’s look into the Myers Park High School’s 2022-23 Auto Club to get an inside scoop on their regular meetings and some of the club’s recent accomplishments. The club has been active at Myers Park for over ten years, and its attendance continues to prove vital with students who share similar interests in the automotive industry. Whether it is simply a hobby where one can learn many tasks to last them a lifetime, or a possible kickstart to a career path for a stronger auto future, the club helps motivate young students to be involved in something greater than themselves. 

Separate from other clubs at Myers Park, , many activities made possible by The MP Auto Club are planned monthly for attendees. Along with the extensive activities, there are also weekly meetings held by the club to learn more about fixing and the basic necessities of automobiles. Some responsibilities taught through experience involve oil changes, rotation of tires, pulling nails out of tires, paint fixes, and more. There are constant learning experiences from teachers who bring their automobiles into the shop that need little fixes on their cars free of charge, so it is a win/win situation for both students and educators at Myers Park. Students at MP know the famous green gator driven around by administrators; well, there was a recent fix to one of them made by the club. They keep the park up to date and automobiles all around town in good shape. The club’s supervisor, Ms.Carlevatti, who has been a teacher at MP for many years, has always been beloved by members for her strong, loving attitude toward cars, her mentorship with the students, and her welcoming demeanor. 

From the start of the 2022 school year, the auto club has had many successful movements toward raising money for basic necessities within the club. One of the most recent was the December car show, held in the Myers Park back senior parking lot. People all over Queen City registered their cars to be shown at the show, and the people from all over Charlotte did not disappoint and showed up to show their strong support of the auto club. Just to name a few car brands that showed up, there were cars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mclaren, G-Wagon, and many more. The round-up had a huge turnout of viewers to spectate the amazing cars. During the roundup, an associate working for O’Reilly Auto Parts came to show their support and donated buckets with general car maintenance materials that will definitely be crucial for the club and put to great use. The company had heard about the car show on local radio just the day before. There was said to be over $2,700 raised in profit through registrations of cars, spectator support, and donations. The expensive and beautiful exhibited cars were said to be worth more than half a million dollars when added up to just under 90 cars registered. Members of the Charlotte community, MP students and faculty members, club leaders, and more were all part of the over 200 spectators total during that show. 

After speaking with Junior club member Harris Jones, and Junior social media manager Hadley Smith, both had spectacular things to say about their experience in the club over the past couple of years.

When asked about what they enjoy most about the club, members said “…we are a family, we are the only automotive club in Myers park, and we have a racing team.” and Harris also said “The people, the teacher, Ms.Carlevatti, her daughter, and the atmosphere.” When describing their favorite aspects of the club.

It is always important to find a close community of people you can connect with that has similar interests to yourself.

 I also had the chance to ask members if there are strong relationships that have been formed through the club; to which they said “Yes we have all created a big group of friends, getting along is not hard considering we have the same interests.”

The auto club is now planning a similar event to their December car show since they had such a successful turnout and a great time. The date has yet to be determined, but it will be around mid-May. Show your support, and be sure to check out the club’s Instagram page @MP_autoclub to find out more information. 

MP Basketball Season

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As the football season comes to a close, the school sports scene only has more excitement to come. The upcoming Myers Park Men’s basketball season will bring thrill and competition this year.With Myers Park’s new number-one ranked student section in Charlotte, according to The Charlotte Observer, the atmosphere will be just as thrilling as the games. With themes, chants, and passionate supporters, our student section will be the leading encouragement for the teams’ success this season. The team currently stands at 29th in the nation, as well as number 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, where the title read “‘How good we can be is crazy.’ Myers Park, chasing history, starts No. 1 in The Sweet 16”, MP will undoubtedly be bringing competition to the court.

The 2022-2023 season is said to be the best our school has seen with top performers, including but not limited to, Elijah Strong, Sir Mohammed, Santana Lynch, Sadiq White, Jr, Sam Walters, and Bishop Boswell. The team has 3 top 100 ranked players in the country, and the team as a whole has a total of 5 D1 offers, 1 D2, and 3 D3 offers, along with visits from the top-ranked college basketball teams in the country. However, that is only the start. There is one commit, senior back Elijah Strong, who was SoMECK player of the week last year and plans to play at Wofford College. 

When asked about what he looks forward to most this season, Elijah says, “Just playing and competing with my guys, and just having fun during my senior year.” 

As we spoke about the difference in last year’s season to this year, Elijah exclaims that “We just got better, it’s that simple. We got better and closer as a team and as a program.”

The team’s hard work in the off season will be proven on the court this year. As we spoke more about top competitors and goals of this season, it was clear there is one goal this team hopes to accomplish: making it to states with high hopes of claiming the school’s first state title.

“State championship or bust, and I’m confident in the group we have today, we’re really talented across the board.” Elijah exclaims.

With this talented team, the crowds it draws in is fascinating. The MP fanbase is said to be the best in Charlotte, and it is certain we are prepared to carry on the same energy into the basketball gym. Myers Park’s highlighted article in The Charlotte Observer was nowhere short of exciting for students, faculty, administration, and alumni as its title read “A Myers Park tradition: What makes the Mustangs’ fan base Charlotte area’s best?” In the Observer’s article, they say that “Myers Park High annually draws hundreds of alumni to games and it doesn’t matter if the Mustangs are winning.” The energy exhibited from the stands of any games held at home, or even away, has never failed to show the opposing teams the spirit our school holds. 

When speaking with senior Elijah, he was asked if the MP student section makes a difference in the game’s energy on the court, and to that he says:

“Yea, absolutely, it makes everyones adrenaline go crazy.”

Students and athletes have proven that the energy exhibited is part of something deeper than just a game. 

As the season is kicking off, be sure to check out the team’s Instagram page @myerspark_hoops, where you can find some of their incredible promotion videos and photos of the team and crowd. Tickets to the games can be found on the Hometown Fan app, and every fan matters! Whether the season concludes with the state title as hoped, or wins with an exhilarating crowd, this Myers Park basketball team’s talent will not be something you want to miss seeing.