![After placing second in their respective LDEs at the Capital District contest in early November, freshman Jesus Jaramillo-Gallegos and freshman Wyatt Pickett will compete at the Area XII LDE contest in Georgetown on Nov. 23. Jaramillo-Gallegos is competing in Greenhand Spanish Creed Speaking, while Pickett’s LDE is Greenhand Creed Speaking. “Honestly, [I’m excited for] just traveling around, maybe meeting more people,” Jaramillo-Gallegos said. “And [I’m] nervous about probably just not being able to define my weak areas. I feel like I did decent for my first time ever doing this. I just think it’s fun.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Navy-and-Yellow-Simple-Group-Project-Presentation-1200x675.png)
![Holding up T-wolves, the tour group poses for a picture in the Chinese classroom. Sophomore Lydia Ou, junior Phu Trung and senior Yushan Pan gave a tour to Taiwanese diplomat Andrea Yang on Nov. 8. “I was so excited when I heard I would get to give the tour because it’s a big deal,” Ou said. “She’s from the US embassy for Taiwan, so she’s really important. I’m so privileged [to get this opportunity] and I’m so excited.” Photo by Skyler King](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Main-Taiwan.jpg)
![Sitting at a desk past the rows of books laid out for the Book Fair, senior Kimberley Walters assists people in purchasing books and finding titles. The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and is an annual event during which students and faculty have the opportunity to go and purchase books and other trinkets in the library. Kimberley said she encourages all to go to the Book Fair, even if they think they don’t like to read. “If you make reading something that is fun for you and you find the things that you like to read, it will never be a chore,” Walters said. “So [the Book Fair is] a good opportunity to find something that will respark your want to read [like] when you were a child and you went to the book fair and you loved the ‘I survived’ books. Maybe you'll find your ‘I survived’ books of your high school experience, and it'll re-spark that kind of love for reading that may have died out.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Addie-L-47-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, sophomore Olivia Mahlmeister and seniors Samantha Jameson, Adhit Eswaramoorthi and Justin Khadavi celebrate completing first chamber in the Congress Meet. All four students advanced to the final chamber. “Out of the 20 kids in the final chamber, we had a seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th, and they took the top four to move on to state,” AP US History and Debate teacher Josh Marsh said. “[Even though] we didn't make state this year, all four of them moving on [and] placing is phenomenal.” Photo courtesy of Josh Marsh](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-Regional-Congress-Team.jpg)
![Standing in front of a small audience, senior Kimberley Walters shares a social criticism poem titled “Pity the Nation” by Lawrence Felinghetti. Every month, sponsored by the poetry club, the library hosts a poetry reading. “I never thought I would be interested in [poetry readings] because I’m not the biggest poetry fan,” Walters said. “I think poetry is a very succinct way to express feelings and get a story across. Whereas lots of books have a span of a whole story, but it’s put in a lot of words. The power of poetry is that you can be so succinct within, and there’s a lot of power within the words that are used.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KIM-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding the Grand Nationals trophies, drum majors Helashi Wijayawardhana, Abigail Pettey and Eddy Kim pose for a photo. The BOA Grand Nationals competition took place in Indianapolis on Nov. 14-17. “My favorite thing was just looking back at the field, and I was like, ‘Oh, crap. I know all of their names, I know who all of them are’,” Wijayawardahana said. “It's just insane to me that I was able to make so many connections. [Being a drum major] taught me how to build relationships with people who I’m not really that similar to, and how to juggle a ton of things all together.”
Photo courtesy of CPHS Band SmugMug](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AJC.GrandNatsFinals-169-1200x801.jpg)
![Delicately placing the string to form the shape of a cornucopia, seniors Haley Burton and Avery Nelson create the November arrangement for the Flower of the Month Club. This club is led by Advanced Floral Design Students and provides a monthly arrangement to community members who subscribe to receive them. “I think flower of the month club is a really impactful way to show your loved ones ‘hey I really care about you,’ or even if they’re just for yourself, they’re a little pick-me-up throughout the month that [say] ‘I’m doing ok, and these flowers make my day a little bit brighter,” Nelson said. “I like giving people flowers because people value the flowers more and they value themselves more.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ava-Holmes-3-edit.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
As the breeze becomes colder with every passing day, dressing for warmth becomes a necessity. The holiday season is getting closer and closer, and the thought of Christmas is on everyone’s mind. However, those who are less fortunate begin to prepare for the next few months of freezing temperatures and difficult times. But, we can do something to help. Volunteering time, money, food, or gifts can change lives. There are many places in Austin that aid those in need during the holiday season, and below is a compiled list of volunteer opportunities in the greater Austin area. The following provides brief information regarding these service organizations, but to learn more or find where to volunteer, each link will take you to their website with further descriptions.
Holiday Wishes is a program founded by Partnerships for Children, with its purpose being to give children connected to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Central Texas happy memories surrounding the holidays. Volunteers are able to donate, send gifts, or sponsor a child to help turn their wishes into smiles. Although Holiday Wishes is explicitly a Christmas time program, Partnerships for Children is open to volunteers year round, with many opportunities to help children, youth, and families that are connected to CPS make long-lasting memories.
Coats for Kids is a community project hosted in Austin annually, where The Junior League of Austin, Jack Brown Cleaners, iHeartRadio and KVUE all partner to give warmth to those during the holiday season. More than 30,000 coats are distributed to children and youth each year, and the help of volunteers is vital. Whether community members donate coats, volunteer to sort the clothes, or help distribute, large amounts of volunteers are necessary in order to make this project successful.
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program is intended to collect and distribute toys to America’s youth during the holidays. Children who are less fortunate deserve to have a happy Christmas and look forward to the excitement of gifts. The holiday season is a time for joy, and Toys for Tots actively works to put smiles on the faces of children all around Austin. Spanning over eight counties in the Central Texas area, Toys for Tots has already distributed 42,831 toys providing 36,172 children with support during the past two months.
Mission Accomplished is another great nonprofit organization that serves Austin and its surrounding areas, focusing on giving those in need a helping hand. Their goal is to aid in getting people off the streets by giving them temporary housing, food, and care-packages. As of right now, Mission Accomplished is hosting Operation Clean Clothes (OCC) in which volunteers are able to help wash, dry, and fold clothes for those who aren’t able to do so themselves. Various places including churches and libraries around the Austin area have come together with Mission Accomplished to host days where volunteers are able to help out and learn more about the laundry services provided to those in need.
Being the largest prepared feeding program in the Central Texas area, Mobile Loaves & Fishes food trucks take to the street every night to give food to those in need. During Christmas time, they are asking for larger amounts of donations and volunteers to provide those with a sufficient holiday meal. Additionally, through their Community First! Village, Mobile Loaves & Fishes provides housing for the homeless.
Austin Humane Society, the longest-standing no-kill, non-profit animal shelter and adoption center, has been working this holiday season to provide abandoned animals with a warm home for Christmas. Many animals around the Austin area have never experienced a holiday season full of love, but this could change with the help of volunteers. By socializing with both cats and dogs, volunteers are able to share a meaningful experience with animals while also serving their community.
Stop Abuse For Everyone Alliance (SAFE) is dedicated to helping out those who have experienced domestic abuse in their lives. They are now accepting holiday gift donations for those affiliated with the program which will be doubled thanks to Dell Foundation to further help survivors of abuse through their healing journey. One of the great things about SAFE is that those who will receive the donation are all of age, not just children. While most holiday volunteer programs focus on Austin’s youth, SAFE aids those of all ages, making it a great option for volunteering or donating.
This holiday season, Caritas of Austin is pairing with South Congress Hotel to help end homelessness in the Austin area. $15 hotel rooms will be available to book, giving those in Austin who are struggling through the cold a warm place to stay. Caritas of Austin also has many other donation and volunteer opportunities throughout the year, and are constantly pairing with other foundations and organizations to provide homes and shelter to the homeless around the Austin area.
