![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)
![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)
![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)
![As her hair blows in the wind, senior Brianna Grandow runs the varsity girls 5K at the cross country district meet last Thursday. Grandow finished fourth in the event and led the varsity girls to regionals with a third place placement as a team. “I’m very excited [to go to regionals],” Grandow said. “I’m excited to race in Corpus Christi, and we get to go to the beach, so that’s really awesome.” Photo by Addison Bruce](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/brianna.jpg)
![On Jan. 30, CP Night will be held to aid incoming freshmen with course selection. “While we focus a lot on incoming 9th graders, we encourage all of our grade levels to come out because we’ll highlight ACC, advanced programs, [and] all of our extracurricular options,” Colman said. “Anyone who is still struggling with a decision about what to do [or] how to progress [have the option] to pick and choose.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CP-NIGHT.png)
Taking the next step and transitioning from middle to high school can be stressful, but with the aid of Cedar Park High School’s counselors, assistant principals and staff, students as well as parents are able to understand what high school looks like and become accustomed with the programs within Cedar Park.
CP Night will be hosted this year on Jan. 30 from 6-8 p.m. in the library, lecture hall, cafeteria and PAC. Geared towards incoming freshmen, the event is an opportunity for students to learn about all that Cedar Park has to offer and what is available to them.
“CP Night is a way for our incoming families to get a chance to be on campus, meet the staff, hear about our programs, get to visit the CTE classroom,” lead counselor Sarah Cable said. “[That] is a big thing especially when they’re trying to decide what pathways and elective classes that they want to take, and ask questions about athletics and band so that they know what to prepare for and what to expect. It helps that transition from middle school to high school because they’re not just showing up here the first time on the first day of school. They have multiple opportunities to be on campus and have exposure, and start feeling like a Timberwolf.”
While CP Night stands for Cedar Park Night, there is also a double meaning of Course Planning Night. The entire focus of the event is for students to learn about all the courses available to them and the programs that CPHS contains.
“I think the most important [thing] is getting to learn about all the stuff,” Dean of Instruction Jennifer Colman said. “There’s so much that goes with choosing your classes but also preparing for college or postsecondary options. Getting the information available is always [useful for the future].”
Going into the 2024-2025 school year, Cedar Park will experience a lot of zoning changes. Many students that went to middle schools such as Henry Middle School and Running Brushy Middle School will now be attending Cedar Park High School. This transition is likely to feel worrisome for many, however, with CP Night, these students have the opportunity to get a first glance at what their high school will be like.
“With our transfer kids it’s important for them to feel familiar with the campus and start to feel a little more at home,” College and Career Transition Coordinator Chriss Hexter said. “For some of our parents this will be the first opportunity they have to see the inside of Cedar Park High School. That’ll help them feel a little more [in] the Cedar Park community.”
All students have the opportunity to learn about advanced courses and what college credit looks like in high school. With college courses taken through Austin Community College or Advanced Placement programs that offer college credit, students have a plethora of options available when it comes to getting a head start on their future.
“While we focus a lot on incoming ninth graders, we encourage all of our grade levels to come out because we’ll highlight ACC, advanced programs, [and] all of our extracurricular options,” Colman said. “Anyone who is still struggling with a decision about what to do [or] how to progress [have the option] to pick and choose.”
Career and technical education programs are highlighted throughout the night. What programs such as ROTC, culinary arts, health science and more have to offer are explained to students. For many students, this will be the first time they get to hear about these programs in high school and start thinking about what extracurriculars they want to partake in as well as what programs peak their interest.
“I think it’s important to come on campus and see staff and see the building because when all you do is have a paper choice sheet, that’s just words, but when you meet the people and you see the classrooms and you see what they accomplish in those programs it’s a very different feeling, you can know if it feels right or [if] it doesn’t,” Cable said. “When they get to see what’s going on in the room they’re like ‘yeah, that’s really what I want to do’ and it gives them an opportunity to do that before they pick out the classes.”
