![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)
![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)
Taking Their Shot
Girls’ Basketball Wins BeYOUtiful Tournament
Photo Courtesy of @CPGBB Twitter
As winners of the BeYOUtiful Tournament on Nov. 13, the varsity team smiles with their medals. After earning a state title last year for the first time in school and district history, the team has their sights on winning again this year. “The two main goals this season is another district championship and another run at state with high hopes to repeat,” junior Molly Ly said. “I think our team’s strongest attribute is our ability to play selflessly and our ability to play hard. We do an awesome job of sharing the ball, and we always go one hundred percent even if we are up by 20.”
November 18, 2021
Going 5-0 and beating 6A powerhouse, Duncanville, varsity girls basketball took home a tournament win at the BeYOUtiful championship tournament on Nov. 13.
Sponsored by Kendra Scott, this championship hosted a total of 32 high school teams. The teams faced off over two days for the championship title, as well as a three thousand dollar cash donation to the Jed Foundation, an organization that aims to protect emotional and mental health among teens.
“I think what really allowed us to win this tournament was our chemistry,” center and senior Shelby Hayes said. “We played really well together and our team has really gotten better at understanding our plays really well even when there’s a lot of pressure.”
The girl’s are on their toes this season defending their reigning state championship title. This means even harder training, including offensive and defensive polishing to ensure they can stay on top.
“Since last season I’ve gotten a lot stronger and I’ve improved a lot conditioning wise,” varsity point guard and junior Molly Ly said. “As for the team, we’ve improved on staying composed when things don’t go our way and just our sense of urgency. After winning state last year, we know what’s expected of us and we know what it takes. So we just have to bring it every day in order to succeed.”
Drilling and training have really come into fruition, according to wing and senior Alissa Flaniken. She said she believes that the way they have been training is what drove them to win the tournament.
“Recently, more situational drills have been implemented into our practices,” Flaniken said. “Such as imitating situations in which we are down by two with twenty seconds left. Or shooting free throws to win an imaginary game. I believe this has been extremely helpful in how we handle pressure. There’s more of an emphasis on doing our best not only for ourselves, but for each other.”
More importantly, the girls have maintained a strong and unbroken bond, according to varsity forward and senior Elaine King. The team gets together frequently outside of practice, which helps them get to know each other. The annual event, Hoopfest, which was held in late October was another way to increase the team’s bond and get their parents and the community involved in the season. She feels that without good team synergy, none of this would be possible.
“One of our team’s biggest strengths is our chemistry,” King said. “We have so much trust in each other and this allows our game to flow so smoothly. To keep us motivated, we as a team have adopted the motto ‘Never Satisfied.’ This reminds us to continue pushing ourselves to be even more successful and never become complacent with one another.”
After winning five games in the tournament, varsity forward and senior Angelena Sacco studied the differences between how their team played against the other teams.
“The difference between our team and our opponents is that we have discipline,” Sacco said. “We believe in each other’s ability to win the game. My mindset is to focus on what I can control and what I can do to help the team win in a game. Whether it’s talking to my teammates on the court, or making sure there are ways for others to succeed in that moment and moments later.”
Moving forward, maintaining their performance level is the team’s biggest goal as of late, and for Hayes they have a lot more in store for this season.
“My goal this season is to win another state championship,” Hayes said. “I believe it’s possible since our team has really gotten better at understanding plays. No matter who we play or what teams we beat, we will always have a target on our back. So we have to step on the court and play our hearts out.”
The team heads to Pasadena for the McDonald’s Texas Invitational this weekend and hopes to continue their undefeated streak. District games will start Dec. 14 in Marble Falls.
![Smiling during the annual Decals with Dads, varsity starting quarterback and sophomore David Cooper and his dad Jim Cooper pose for a picture. During this varsity event, players and their dads get together to put new decals on their helmets. This year, in addition to being announced QB 1, David was also voted as one of six captains on the varsity team, a role that he had difficulty adjusting to as a younger player on varsity. “It was a struggle for me, being younger than everyone else and being a leader,” David said. “I wondered if [the team] would respect me, or if they would just see me as a younger person from a younger class. I think I've become a leader, [though] and let people know that even though I'm younger, I'm still going to lead them well.” Photo courtesy of Cedar Park Football SmugMug.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_8493-1-300x200.jpg)
