![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)
2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. Four straight state titles; six in the program’s history. Practically a decade of dominance. This is what is on the mind of marching band members as they set their sights on yet another state title in November
Since their first victory in 2001, the marching band has brought home six UIL State marching championships. Their last four have come in the last eight years, as the 5A championship is held every other year in San Antonio. The marching band has a legacy of success, and has almost single-handedly put Cedar Park on the map. Associate Director Jeremiah Armstrong, who is experiencing his first state year after joining the program in 2022, says that the key to the band’s success is how the directors plan the season beforehand.
“Our designers and Mrs. Santos are really good at [creating] shows that will take up the full season,” Armstrong said. “It helps the kids learn to really work hard and do well. It’s a large amount of content in [terms of] what people see and hear.”
To put it simply, the band plans for November, which is when the championships take place. Despite the obvious pressure to bring home another title, Armstrong says the focus is on molding the members into the best musicians they can be, not just winning awards.
“The expectation is a lot more focused on that the band improves not just as musicians, but as people,” Armstrong said. “We don’t focus as much on winning, but on being [a] better version of our program versus the year before.”
Being the best means going above and beyond. This summer, three band members, seniors Austin Waldbusser and Connor Daly, and sophomore Andrew McCarthy were chosen to participate in Drum Corps International, which gave them a unique experience to bring back to the marching band. Senior Abby Mcdanald, one of the five drum majors for the program, and who was a part of the band in 2021 when they won their fourth title, says she often feels a little nervous entering a state year, but shares the same sentiment as Armstrong.
“Members of the band feel a little more pressure to try and win state, but also do our best,” Mcdanald said. “It’s not about winning, it’s about having the best show possible.”
This analogy has proven to be a common theme among band members, regardless of their experience. Junior Blake Musfeldt said he has come to appreciate the process that has come along with marching season, with winning not being one of his first thoughts.
“A big part of band is just appreciating all of the music you get to hear, and focusing on achieving your own personal best, as opposed to striving for a certain placement or title,” Musfeldt said.
The color guard has been working alongside the band since mid-July. Senior Anabel Levinsky, who has been involved in color guard since middle school, points out that despite not playing music in the performance, they play a crucial role in the points that the band earns during competitions.
“We are the majority of the general effect score,” Levinsky said. “Since there’s a lot of [members of color guard], it would be easy to either score very high, or very low. So, we just have to keep truckin’ through.”
On Sept. 23, the band placed fourth at Bands of America Austin, or BOA, their first competition of the year. Despite this high placement, members of the band believe that they still have ways to go from being able to put on their best performance.
“I think that we just really need to dial back to the basics,” Musfeldt said. “We want to stand on an even ground with what some other bands have been putting forward this season.”
While it is agreed upon that the band does have some things to work on, Armstrong only has high praise for what the students have done so far.
“We’re all in a really good place,” Armstrong said. “The staff is very proud of where the kids are, and we are celebrating their success. All of us feel like this is the most prepared we have ever been [at] this point in the season.”
The marching band has only intensified their training regimen, as they practice everyday after school. The band advanced out of Region in UIL Competition, and will be competing in the Area round on Oct. 28 at Gupton Stadium.
“This is one of the best places in the world to be a teacher,” Armstrong said. “Cedar Park is a really special community that is supportive. Not just from the faculty and the parents, but [also from] the community [that] makes sure that the work done by the students and the teachers is recognized.”
