![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)
![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)
![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)
Better Safe Than Sorry
Students, Faculty Discuss New, Updated Safety Measures
Head of School Safety and Assistant Principal Vernon Rogers sits down for an interview discussing updated school safety measures across the school following concerns across the nation. “I’m excited that we are getting a little more attention to those security measures to keep students and staff safe, especially here on campus,” Rogers said. “I have a lot of personal opinions, but I think my biggest thing that I will always go back to is if students and staff are safe here.”
October 6, 2022
There’s been a recurring problem for students like sophomore Ryan Rios. Every morning, band students like him pull into the parking lot after months of sleep deprivation and lug their instruments into the building, with Rios in particular bringing a large baritone saxophone that just barely fits through the door. There’s only one problem: with the addition of new school safety measures, doors are to remain locked at all times.
In the wake of recent events, faculty have made sure to keep students as safe as possible this school year, in accordance with district and state-wide policies. The school has revamped some of its previous school safety in order to prevent any potential dangers to the school. This includes requiring doors to remain locked at all times, making improvements on the mass alert systems and implementing drills and emergency response training for staff, and ensuring that hallways are monitored by Student Resource Officers. The school is also occasionally audited by state employees who try to bypass the school’s security system to spot weaknesses.
“The gate nearest the band hall in the science building closes at 7:45 a.m., and every morning I have to drop off my instrument in the band hall, so I have to go the furthest way around,” Rios said. “So if I’m late, then that will definitely be a hindrance and could make me late to class.”
After recent school tragedies including the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Assistant Principal and Head of School Safety, Vernon Rogers, said he is determined to make sure the school is a safe environment for everyone. According to Rogers, even though the locked door policy can be an inconvenience, safety is the biggest priority.
“I have a lot of personal opinions, but I think my biggest thing that I will always go back to is if students and staff are safe here,” Rogers said. “We need to make sure that we are all accountable.”
With the addition of safety measures, the school has also hired different student resource officers for this school year, and they provide much more to the school than standard police officers. Ricky Pando, one of the new SRO officers, not only serves as a monitor for the campus but also helps out with community service hour opportunities and makes sure students are doing alright.
“I would like to see the kids get comfortable with not only the SRO but with any officers that come in, and just know that we’re here for your safety and the safety of the teachers,” Pando said.
The new safety changes may be an inconvenience for some students, according to Rios, but ultimately, it’s a way to keep students and faculty safe for the betterment of the school.
“We have a lot of trust in people and that’s great, but we have to make sure that we’re just going to get to the end of this,” Rogers said. “We’ll do whatever we need to do, convenient or not.”
![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)
