![After placing second in their respective LDEs at the Capital District contest in early November, freshman Jesus Jaramillo-Gallegos and freshman Wyatt Pickett will compete at the Area XII LDE contest in Georgetown on Nov. 23. Jaramillo-Gallegos is competing in Greenhand Spanish Creed Speaking, while Pickett’s LDE is Greenhand Creed Speaking. “Honestly, [I’m excited for] just traveling around, maybe meeting more people,” Jaramillo-Gallegos said. “And [I’m] nervous about probably just not being able to define my weak areas. I feel like I did decent for my first time ever doing this. I just think it’s fun.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Navy-and-Yellow-Simple-Group-Project-Presentation-1200x675.png)
![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)
![Sitting at a desk past the rows of books laid out for the Book Fair, senior Kimberley Walters assists people in purchasing books and finding titles. The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and is an annual event during which students and faculty have the opportunity to go and purchase books and other trinkets in the library. Kimberley said she encourages all to go to the Book Fair, even if they think they don’t like to read. “If you make reading something that is fun for you and you find the things that you like to read, it will never be a chore,” Walters said. “So [the Book Fair is] a good opportunity to find something that will respark your want to read [like] when you were a child and you went to the book fair and you loved the ‘I survived’ books. Maybe you'll find your ‘I survived’ books of your high school experience, and it'll re-spark that kind of love for reading that may have died out.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Addie-L-47-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, sophomore Olivia Mahlmeister and seniors Samantha Jameson, Adhit Eswaramoorthi and Justin Khadavi celebrate completing first chamber in the Congress Meet. All four students advanced to the final chamber. “Out of the 20 kids in the final chamber, we had a seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th, and they took the top four to move on to state,” AP US History and Debate teacher Josh Marsh said. “[Even though] we didn't make state this year, all four of them moving on [and] placing is phenomenal.” Photo courtesy of Josh Marsh](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-Regional-Congress-Team.jpg)
![Standing in front of a small audience, senior Kimberley Walters shares a social criticism poem titled “Pity the Nation” by Lawrence Felinghetti. Every month, sponsored by the poetry club, the library hosts a poetry reading. “I never thought I would be interested in [poetry readings] because I’m not the biggest poetry fan,” Walters said. “I think poetry is a very succinct way to express feelings and get a story across. Whereas lots of books have a span of a whole story, but it’s put in a lot of words. The power of poetry is that you can be so succinct within, and there’s a lot of power within the words that are used.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KIM-1200x800.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)
![Holding the Grand Nationals trophies, drum majors Helashi Wijayawardhana, Abigail Pettey and Eddy Kim pose for a photo. The BOA Grand Nationals competition took place in Indianapolis on Nov. 14-17. “My favorite thing was just looking back at the field, and I was like, ‘Oh, crap. I know all of their names, I know who all of them are’,” Wijayawardahana said. “It's just insane to me that I was able to make so many connections. [Being a drum major] taught me how to build relationships with people who I’m not really that similar to, and how to juggle a ton of things all together.”
Photo courtesy of CPHS Band SmugMug](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AJC.GrandNatsFinals-169-1200x801.jpg)
![Delicately placing the string to form the shape of a cornucopia, seniors Haley Burton and Avery Nelson create the November arrangement for the Flower of the Month Club. This club is led by Advanced Floral Design Students and provides a monthly arrangement to community members who subscribe to receive them. “I think flower of the month club is a really impactful way to show your loved ones ‘hey I really care about you,’ or even if they’re just for yourself, they’re a little pick-me-up throughout the month that [say] ‘I’m doing ok, and these flowers make my day a little bit brighter,” Nelson said. “I like giving people flowers because people value the flowers more and they value themselves more.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ava-Holmes-3-edit.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)
![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)
![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)
They’ve Got Spirit, How ‘Bout You?
Tips for Getting Involved at CPHS
Metal Shop. The T-Wolf Rumble. Pinkies intertwined as the crowd sings “Forever Cedar Park High.”
These traditions are what hold together the student body during Friday Night Lights. They unite 250 band students marching on the field, the 27 cheerleaders standing in the sidelines and the 42 celebrities dancing to “Hooray for Hollywood.” Countless organizations go into what makes Friday nights the best they can be.
“Cheering on the sidelines is a good way to get involved with the school, and also make sure our students get involved, too, to make our school seem very close-knit,” senior cheer captain Rylee Elam said.
While cheer can rely on students to bring their spirit during wins, Elam said that it’s harder for cheer to keep up their positive attitude throughout losses.
“It’s definitely very difficult because we’re all very emotionally involved in the game,” Elam said. “We just know that when other people are cheering for [the team], [they] automatically play better and feel better, so we try to support the football team in that way and try to get the students to do the same.”
In addition to the cheer team pumping up the student section, seniors Kole Krieg, Karson Cater and Alessandro Mauries are this year’s student section leaders.
For updates on games and spirit wear, follow their twitter: Follow @cpfbstudent2019
Student section member, senior Kaitlyn Orr, can be seen every Friday cheering for the Timberwolves. But for her, Orr said that school spirit is much more than just showing up.
“School spirit isn’t just cheering at football games,” Orr said. “But a truly amazing support system that inspires all the students here to be the best they can be.”
How to Get Involved
For students who want to get involved, both Elam and Orr’s advice is to put yourself out there.
Step 1: Attend Home Games at Gupton
- Show up around 6:00 p.m. to get a good seat
- Find a spot:
- Don’t be limited to football. Find other sports and attend their games, too!
- Don’t be afraid to cheer
- Stay standing throughout games, sitting is only allowed during halftime
- Look at the student section leaders and the senior section for guidance during chants, because most cheers are only repeated three times
Step 2: Learn the Classic CP Cheers
- T-Wolf Rumble, Metal Shop, and Where Ya From? are performed every game, so be sure to know the words:
Where Ya From?
“Where ya from?”
-Cedar Park!
“Where ya from?”
-Cedar Park!
“Do you love it?”
-Oh yeah!
“Do you love it?”
-Oh yeah!
“Gimme one!”
-Uh!
“Two!”
-Uh-uh!
Everyone-“Oh-oh!”
Step 3: Join Clubs and Participate in Activities
- Going to club fairs, open houses and events like Trunk or Treat can help students get familiar with the many clubs offered
- Talk to teachers and see what clubs they recommend
- Click here to find the various clubs and organizations offered to students
Orr said that apart from meeting new people and gaining experiences, joining clubs is the perfect way to get immersed in school spirit.
“We may all just be teenagers, but there’s a multitude of amazing things accomplished in the many diverse organizations here,” Orr said. “Everyone deserves to be recognized for the accomplishments they make, and school spirit allows [us] to do that even if it’s just in small ways.”
These are just some of the ways to get involved. By following these steps, underclassmen and new students can find ways to maximize their school spirit.
Callie is a senior here at Cedar Park High School and this is her first year on staff. She's involved in multiple honor societies, including being the President of NEHS, she plays on the varsity basketball team, and she is the President of Ping Pong Club! She enjoys writing human interest stories and keeping people updated with the goings-ons of the school. In her free time, she watches countless hours of The Office and plays with her two miniature poodles. She plans on going to college but is currently undecided on what she will major in and what she will do with her life.
Jordan Deyo is a senior that has been in the journalism department for her entire high school career. She currently is the Multimedia Manager of The Wolfpack, and a staff member of the Tracks Yearbook. Jordan loves her eight animals! She has four cats, two dogs, a lovely hedgehog and a chinchilla. Jordan is going into the Air Force after high school to pursue her dream of working in law enforcement, just like many others in her family.
