![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)
![Students drew chalk art in honor of Veterans day. This is just one of many things the school does to show appreciation to veterans, and the art will remain in the courtyard as a reminder of all of the veterans who served their country. “On veteran’s day, I think it’s a great thing we do at school to honor people that served [who are] at our school or family members,” English teacher and cheer coach Nadira King said. “It makes me feel proud, and it makes me remember the [veterans].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Capture.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)
![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)
![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)
![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)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
Skills USA succeeds on competition day
Skills Team members that competed at State: Front: Drew Summers, Celeste Chavez, Nataniel Carrasquillo Medina, Ayah Alomari, and Mai Tran, Middle: Elizabeth Herold and Robin Davies, Back: Sagar Kansara, Nolan Bitner, Ty Marwitz, Aaron Richter, Julio Murcia, and Kristen Grimm. “We work well together because we all work hard with the same goal in mind; success,” Medina said.
April 15, 2015
Leaders emerged during the State meet on March 25-28 for the CPHS Skills USA competitors, with two competitors who placed first, two who finished second, six who finished third, and 12 who finished with a blue ribbon.
Competition students mainly focused on agriculture and engineering, broadening their understanding on both subjects along with working with fluidity in a group. According to senior Robin Davies, who placed third in the Quiz Bowl Test, going through with competition takes a lot of dedication.
“I think the hardest part is working through all the unexpected challenges and events,” Davies said. “I personally have to stay organized so I don’t lose my place.”
Junior competitor Elizabeth Herold, who finished in third place in the Quiz Bowl Test and took home a blue ribbon in Technical Drafting Projects, was ready for the State competition because of her self-preparations and previous criticism from the district judges.
“I took the judges criticism seriously,” Herold said. “I went over my project, tweaking the areas where they thought I needed improvement.”
Improving and growing helped Skills USA reach their goal: to teach students how to become leaders responsible for America’s citizens.
“Skills is giving us great preparation and practice for the real world,” Davies said. “We will be able to look back and apply what we learned at Skills to our future.”
Club preparations, such as getting organized, happen when the team meets. Junior Nataniel Carrasquillo Medina, who scored a blue ribbon in Technical Drafting Projects, believes that the team meetings are the most important because they build certain character skills that last a lifetime.
“It prepares you to work quickly under pressure and as one unit and to not give up,” Medina said.
Between each competition, the team strives for improvements with themselves and the group as a whole. Preparations for each competition happen as soon as club members step foot into the meetings. It’s encouraged for each member to be there on time every Thursday after school in order to excel during the test of knowledge.
“The sooner you walk into the classroom, the better,” Medina said. “If you are late, you’re the only one cheating yourself. You won’t be prepared enough for the competitions if you don’t make it to the meetings.”
District-10 Skills USA Championship Results-CPHS-2015 (in addition to the students mentioned above):
Kristin Grimm- 1st place Architectural Drafting Skills Test and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects
Ayah Alomari- 2nd place Architectural Drafting Skills Test, 3rd place Quiz Bowl Test and Blue Ribbon for Architectural Drafting Projects.
Celeste Chavez- 3rd place Architectural Drafting Skills Test and Blue Ribbon for Architectural Drafting Projects.
Ty Marwitz- 1st place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Mai Tran- 2nd place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Drew Summers- 3rd place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Nolan Bitner- 3rd place Quiz Bowl Test and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Julio Murcia- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Aaron Richter- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Sagar Kansara- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
![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-300x201.jpg)
