![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)
![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)
![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)
![As her hair blows in the wind, senior Brianna Grandow runs the varsity girls 5K at the cross country district meet last Thursday. Grandow finished fourth in the event and led the varsity girls to regionals with a third place placement as a team. “I’m very excited [to go to regionals],” Grandow said. “I’m excited to race in Corpus Christi, and we get to go to the beach, so that’s really awesome.” Photo by Addison Bruce](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/brianna.jpg)
As a Broadway musical girl, “Wicked” was one of my most anticipated movies of 2024. After having seen it twice on Broadway, I knew that this was something that I was going to want to be the first to see. On Friday, Nov. 22, I found myself sitting in a reclining chair and sipping on an ice cold Dr Pepper, ready to get my life changed. I ended up watching it another two times. I feel like after watching it three times, I have the expertise to fully dive into this movie.
I would like to start off by saying that I supported this movie as soon as it was announced. I know that a lot of people, especially huge Broadway fans like me, were scared with how this movie was going to turn out. With all of the promotion and the cast, everyone was scared that it was not going to amount to the actual musical. I will say that I was a little nervous, but mostly curious as to how this movie was going to turn out, and I was not disappointed.
For those that don’t know the plot of “Wicked,” it’s basically a villain origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” It goes through her time in magic school, the relationships that she built and overall how she became hated throughout Oz. I think another reason that “Wicked” is one of my favorites is because I love a good prequel.
Going into the movie, I knew the plot which allowed me to get to focus on other aspects of it. I think that the most obvious part that stood out to me was the music. It’s so difficult to even approach Broadway powerhouses like Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. I think that the casting of this movie was what made it so phenomenal. Casting Cynthia Erivo, who has won an Emmy, Grammy and a Tony could not have made this movie more perfect. In addition to that, casting Ariana Grande (who literally started out on Broadway, was in Victorious and has one of the most successful music careers in the world) made this movie so extraordinary. Both of their voices are so powerful and I think that they did the original so much justice. Their voices blend together while hitting notes that don’t even seem humanly possible, all while taking on the roles of these complex and nuanced characters. I just can’t get over it. The soundtrack to this movie has literally been on repeat for weeks.
Another thing about this movie that I love is the attention to detail. Not only with the sets, but also just with how the actors portray the emotions of the characters. I feel like this attention to detail was really emphasized by the directors and it paid off. I feel like a lot of people were not the happiest about the length of the movie, especially because it’s only the first part of “Wicked.” The movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long which is definitely pretty lengthy for a musical. I actually really like how long the movie is, not just because it’s entertaining and goes by quickly. It really allowed for a better understanding and a representation of the complexities of this movie because it really is a lot more layered than it seems. Overall, I think that the length is necessary to the movie.
One thing that people didn’t really know about until after the movie is that the story is split into two parts. Just like at the actual Broadway theater, there will be an “intermission” of one year. The second part of “Wicked” will be coming out around Thanksgiving next year. While it sucks that we have to wait a full year for the second part, I already know that they are going to give us the best performance possible. Splitting the movie into two parts really lets them focus on every detail that could be missed in the actual theater production. It also lets the dialogues and funny bits last longer and it even lets them add fun little cameos (if you know, you know).
Overall, I think that the “Wicked” movie not only exceeded my expectations, but it literally changed me for the better. If you’re looking for a movie that will make you rethink everything and be more positive, then this movie is for you. If you can hold space for the powerful meaning of this movie, then I can promise that you will be “dancing through life” after watching this.
I give this movie 10/10 stars!
