![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)
![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)
Wash Your Hands, It’s Senioritis Season
Seniors Express Feelings About Last Semester of High School
Seniors struggle to find the will to make it through their last semester of their high school career. Almost done with all school work, the seniors show up for attendance purposes and to have their last experiences with their peers. “I’m doing the best I can in all aspects, trying to spend time with my family, friends, and make the most of this last year on campus,” senior Brynne Wardell said. “I think this is why seniors are always tired or never show up, we have so much to show up for.”
January 24, 2020
The last semester of any year is exciting for students and the anticipation of summertime can be felt in the hallways, especially for the 516 seniors who are set to graduate in less than five months. No matter where a student is in their process of decision-making for the future, the inevitable burden of senioritis could have an affect on their motivation to finish the year strong. Many seniors have reported having had a bad case of senioritis beginning their junior year, a year many students struggle to overcome AP coursework and extensive club requirements. Despite the feelings of boredom, uninterest and lack of motivation, seniors find their will to push through the next grading periods and onto the stage for a diploma.
“I’m doing the best I can in all aspects, trying to spend time with my family, friends and make the most of this last year on campus,” senior Brynne Wardell said. “I think this is why seniors are always tired or never show up, we have so much to show up for.”
According to seniors, the roots of senioritis stem from three main circumstances that most of the students are faced with in the last semester. First, the student’s lack of motivation could be a result of a fear of the unknown future that rests mincingly in front of them while they struggle to choose the right path for themselves and still meet expectations of others.
“The change of next year will be different, and I’m happy doing the bare minimum right now because it’s comfortable,” senior Ella Rae said. “I’m scared to go to college, but I’m hopeful that the experience will be worth the commitment.”
Second, the student could be experiencing boredom in school because they already have a concrete plan set for the upcoming year, maybe by way of scholarship or acceptance into their dream school, so that their excitement for the next chapter makes the present seem obsolete.
“I don’t like giving as much effort in school because I’ve already been accepted into the college I want to go to,” senior Ayush Bilakhia said. “It’s time now to not pay as much attention to school and start paying attention to the people you won’t ever see again.”
The last cause of senioritis may be due to an attitude of wrap-up, seeing as though many students have been at this campus for all four years, and view their senior year as an unnecessary time of attendance and busy work. For those who don’t plan on college as a next step, this last year stands as a task to complete on the road to the future.
“I think senioritis has made me a little bit lazy, but I think it’s because I know that this is all temporary and that there are so many great things happening in only a few months,” senior Kieren Garner said. “I’m so excited to go and live my life that high school feels a little bit irrelevant because I know I’m about to be doing what I’ve always dreamed of.”
Despite the feelings of boredom or lack of energy to complete the year, the seniors are making the most of their time with each other before life takes them in different directions.
“I’m finally becoming comfortable with myself, and that’s allowed me to find really amazing friends,” said Garner. “I go on adventures with them that brings me out of my comfort zone, helping me realize that being out of that comfort zone is good for me.”
