After the changes in district boundaries, CP lost a couple of big rivalry schools, including Vista Ridge. No longer being able to compete with Vista through extracurricular activities, SRO Rodriguez partnered with Vista’s officer, SRO Bobo, to create one more competition to keep the schools together. Through Blue Santa, an event that the CP Police Department hosts every year, the schools will try to battle it out for the most gifts donated.

“One thing we know with students, in general, is competition thrives,” Rodriguez said. “People like to beat other schools. So I thought, let’s do a Blue Santa competition: Vista Ridge vs. Cedar Park. Since they aren’t in our district anymore, we can still at least compete with them in something.”

Blue Santa helps underprivileged children have an opportunity to receive gifts for Christmas. The CPPD gathers the donations and makes them available to the public closer toward the holidays.

“We do this every year,” Rodriguez said. “We give out hundreds and hundreds of gifts to kids based on the donations.”

The event is important for not just kids but other family members, the moms and dads, and even the community, according to Rodriguez.

“It helps give the parents a peace of mind, that ‘Hey I might not be able to make enough money, but I can still get my kids gifts,’” Rodriguez said. “This is a pretty big event. I wanted to kind of boost it up just a little bit more, so that’s why I got with Officer Bobo from Vista Ridge and basically kind of made it into a competition.”

In order to try and beat Vista, Rodriguez is trying to get the word out about the competition.

“I’ve been emailing different teachers and talking to PALs and different organizations to try and let people know what we are doing,” Rodriguez said.

The winning school will receive a trophy similar to a UFC belt trophy.

“The trophy will be passed on,” Rodriguez said. “If you win that year, then basically that school can put it wherever they want for the whole year until the next year. We are going to try and make it an every year thing and maybe even expand it to other schools.”

Students can donate now in different bins labeled “Blue Santa.” More information about the rules of the competition will be shared closer toward the holidays.