![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)
The Holiday Rush
New Flavored Coffees Arrive at Dunkin, Summer Moon, Starbucks
This holiday season, local coffee shops have released seasonal flavors. Pictured: Apple Crisp Macchiato from Starbucks, Peppermint Mocha Moon from Summer Moon, and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew from Dunkin Donuts. The Peppermint Mocha Moon was my favorite coffee I purchased because of the strong flavor of peppermint and chocolate, which immediately reminded me of the holiday season. This drink is a perfect drink for anyone who wants to start celebrating the holidays a little early.
November 24, 2021
One cold morning, I woke up needing an energy boost. I sat in the Dunkin Donuts line wondering if any new drinks had come out. I searched the menu to see their new holiday menu had recently been released. I immediately became curious if other coffee shops had also come out with new holiday coffee flavors. The winter and holiday season has always been my favorite because of all of the notorious Christmas flavors and festivities, so when I heard seasonal coffees were coming out, I had to try the new flavors from Dunkin Donuts, Summer Moon and Starbucks.
Dunkin Donuts: Iced Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
I decided on a small Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew because of its name. Just seeing the word “pumpkin” made me want to try it. After taking my first sip, I was a little surprised because the level of sweetness was not balanced throughout the whole drink. However, I absolutely adored the pumpkin cream, and I definitely could taste the pumpkin flavor, which I was a huge fan of. This drink is an amazing energy booster for the morning. I actually drank this coffee in 30 seconds, which was a little concerning, but I enjoyed it a lot. I rate this drink a 7/10.
Dunkin Donuts: White Chocolate Mocha Latte
This second drink I chose was on Dunkin’s exclusive holiday menu, which included other items such as the Peppermint Mocha Signature Latte, White Mocha Hot Chocolate and Holiday Blend Coffee, in addition to my White Chocolate Mocha Latte. When I saw the option, my first thought was that the name alone did not remind me of the holidays. However, as I took the first sip, I prepared myself for a regular hot coffee, but was instead delighted with its warm and gentle taste. This drink specifically reminded me of being cozy in bed on a chilly day. I loved the sugary taste of the white chocolate and 100% percent would buy it again. I rate this drink an 8/10.
Summer Moon: Iced Autumn Moon (Iced)
After tasting the flavorful coffees from Dunkin, I was a little disappointed by this flavor. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the coffee, especially the wood-fired coffee from Summer Moon, but I could not taste any specific flavors in the drink. I could taste some spice and the signature smokey coffee flavor, but it didn’t remind me of autumn or the holidays. This drink would be a great pick-me-up for the day but not the best coffee to remind you of the holidays. This is one of my go-to drinks when I go to Summer Moon and I absolutely recommend this drink to anyone who is looking for a great coffee. I rate this a 6/10.
Summer Moon: Hot Peppermint Mocha Moon
Next, I chose the Peppermint Mocha Moon. After tasting this coffee, I was immediately reminded of Christmas. I took one sip and was pleasantly surprised by the strong flavor of peppermint and chocolate. This drink is perfect for a cold winter or fall morning. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and wasn’t too bitter. I did think the peppermint flavor was a tad overwhelming, but this is on track for a holiday coffee. This was by far my favorite out of all of the coffees I purchased, and I undoubtedly recommend this holiday coffee. I rate this a 9/10.
Starbucks: Iced Applecrisp Macchiato
I also visited Starbucks, a very popular coffee shop, which had a wide variety of holiday coffees on their menu. Compared to the other shops I visited, there were many more coffee flavors I had never heard of. I was pleasantly surprised to see the name Apple Crisp Macchiato on their holiday menu. I had heard of this drink before from a teacher and was immediately intrigued by its name. When I had finished ordering and the drink was handed to me, I was completely surprised by its appearance. All of the flavoring was sitting stuck at the bottom of the cup, so I mixed it for about a minute. I felt relieved that it looked like a regular iced coffee after I mixed it. After tasting it, my first thought was that it was incredibly sweet. When thinking of holiday flavors, I imagine cinnamon, pumpkin, peppermint and chocolate, and I found myself struggling to find any of these flavors, but I could taste the apple flavoring in the drink. It did not give me any holiday, autumn, or winter vibes, but it is still an interesting coffee to try. I rate this a 4/10.
Overall, I really enjoyed all of the coffees I purchased. I know that coffee is a big part of my morning routine and others, and these holiday drinks would be perfect for a festive morning.
