![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
While some children go door to door collecting tasty treats, others go door to door collecting loose change for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). UNICEF is an association dedicated to saving the lives of impoverished children around the world by providing them with clean water, food and shelter.
Key Club, a student community service organization, is once again joining forces with UNICEF; holding their annual fall collection during the Halloween season. UNICEF is an important organization for Key Club as money is collected by the club every year and donated. Megan Buck, senior and member of Key Club since 9th grade, was introduced to UNICEF through Key Club.
“We are given little orange boxes to collect change” said Buck.” An easy way to collect a bunch of money is to ask all of your friends and classmates, and if you have any spare change at home, throw it in the orange box! It adds up fast!”
Every cent counts when it comes to saving the life of a child. Buck collected $8 in change last year for UNICEF. If every student at Cedar Park High School were to collect, at the very least, $5, nearly $10,000 could be gathered and donated.
Another Halloween-themed charity is Trunk-or-Treat, an organized trick-or-treating event that charges canned food for admission that is collected for a local food pantry. Games are played and candy is collected; through this fun activity, the entire community is enriched and helped. Fun is not limited to the children who participate in the event. The students who facilitate the activities join in the revelry as well.
“I loved it!” Lyndsey Teets, junior, said “I enjoyed it probably as much as the kids did. I’m doing it again this year and I can’t wait! It is so much fun!”
Teets was introduced to Trunk-or-Treat through the Invisible Children club, which is a club that raises money for war torn areas in Uganda. The club also spreads awareness about the problems underprivileged children in other countries are facing and any money collected by the club goes to building schools for those children. Invisible Children and Key Club are not the only student organizations to help. Student volunteers from the National Honor Society also lend a hand decorated cars and setting up games. Trunk-or-Treat allows the entire student body to get involved in the community and create some unforgettable Halloween memories.
Trunk-or-Treat will be held in the student parking lot October 24. All are welcome to come and support the community with donations of canned goods, time and Halloween fun.
