![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)
![Standing with their hands raised to the sky, show choir finishes their performance of “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen performed in the winter concert. This year, the show choir participated in the Capital City Showcase where they sang and danced to “Crocodile Rock” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” “My favorite memory in show choir is the showcase,” freshman Eshita Agrawal said. “We were the first to perform, and we got the chance to watch all the other amazing contestants. [We] were amazed. It was an amazing experience, I think we bonded very well.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Show-Choir.png)
They can sing, they can dance, but this is not France after all—it’s show choir.
The difference between show choir and regular choir is that in show choir students not only sing, but they dance too. The class counts as a physical education credit and is a more physically-demanding class than regular choir. This year, the show choir participated in the Capital City Showcase in what town, where they performed against 13 other schools. Their set of songs included “Crocodile Rock” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
“I joined show choir because I found the choir in middle school to be slightly boring,” freshman Anjali Carl said. “There was too much standing and singing. Performing [in show choir] is super fun. I really enjoy dancing and sing[ing].”
Choir director Varsha Nathan directs the show choir, who leads classes that are a lot more free and self-paced than a regular choir class, according to Carl.
“The class isn’t very structured, and we usually just go with the flow,” Carl said. “We normally start off with singing if we haven’t learned our songs, then transition into dance practice. The only thing that stays the same most days is warm-ups before class.”
To prepare for the showcase, the choir had after-school rehearsals every day to practice. The choir improved from last year and ended up in 10th place.
“My favorite memory in show choir is the showcase,” freshman EshitaAgrawal said. “We were the first to perform, and we got the chance to watch all the other amazing contestants. [We] were amazed. It was an amazing experience, and I think we bonded very well.”
Show choir is full of student leaders including the two student dance instructors, sophomores Jayden Anderson and Natalia Saban.
“I joined show choir because I was in theater for two years but never made a role in a play,” freshman James Morris-Hodges said. “I got mad then decided theater wasn’t my thing so I moved on to choir and then when I saw that high school had a show choir, I joined because I figured it was like theater but everyone gets a part.”
The dance moves performed are not too difficult, according to Anderson. Any beginner who wants to join show choir but has no experience in dancing could easily learn and follow the steps, she said.
“My favorite memory is probably the winter concert,” Carl said. “All the other choirs had to do a 20 minute song, but show choir didn’t. I remember that it was so fun to sit backstage and just talk with everyone and enjoy the music. I think it brought us closer together as a choir.”
Morris-Hodges was the crocodile when show choir sang their version of “Crocodile Rock” in the fall concert.
“In show choir it’s kind of scary when we have to get up on stage and just sing and dance,” Morris-Hodges said. “You’re always worried you [will] mess up, but I would totally recommend it because it’s a really good learning experience.”
