With the negativity thrown around on the news and our society, the P.A.C.K, which stands for People Advocating Caring and Kindness, was founded earlier this year by seniors Mason Brooks and Trajaan Chase to promote positivity in the school.

The idea for the organization came about when they were sitting in the parking lot of Trajaan’s apartment complex. After seeing all of the negativity around them, they started chatting about what they could do to make a difference.

“From that, we went and talked to Mr. Sloan and discussed what we could, thus the P.A.C.K. was formed,” Brooks said. “We saw a divide in the CP family and decided to make a change.”

The P.A.C.K. feels that they differ from other clubs in the school, according to senior Jessica Mick, because they are solely focused on the student body and making sure everyone at Cedar Park feels welcomed. The group’s focus is to bring students together who might not ever meet each other and build a sense of community for the school.

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“It’s not a club you join to just pay dues and put on your college application. It’s a group of students who are coming together and making a CPHS stronger, more welcoming community.”

— Jessica Mick

On Sept. 22 the organization got together for four hours during school, where they were provided lunch and met with their club leader, Mr. Stu Taylor. They spent the day not only brainstorming, but also playing games that took them out of their comfort zones. In doing this they got to bond with one another and learn things about each other that they hadn’t known before.

“My favorite part was probably at the very end everyone had to hold hands with someone they hadn’t known before that day and we formed a circle,” Mick said. “Then we all took turns sharing our highlights of our day and it was incredible because we all were standing around, laughing, and had the best time with people we’d passed in the hallway for years but never met.”

The club hosted their first school wide event called “Anti-Field Day” on Oct. 11. Students came out and could do a variety of activities like, hula hooping, coloring with chalk, face painting, jump roping and much more.

“Our main goal of the Anti-Field Day was to first show people what the P.A.C.K. is and start our activities off strong,” junior Deana Trautz said. “But ultimately it was to create a fun and open environment where we could feel free to be kids and also meet people who you may not meet on a normal day.”

The P.A.C.K. is also planning events for the future to better the school and they are excited to help connect the school and make everyone feel welcomed and apart of it.

“Seeing everyone having fun and bonding over the most trivial things is so powerful,” Brooks said. “So often we get caught up in our lives and forget that at CP we are all one family.”