Ruchi Sankolli, Assistant Editor
Ruchi Sankolli is a senior, this is her third year on staff, and her first year as the Assistant Editor of the Wolfpack. She mainly enjoys writing opinion pieces about current events. In addition to the Wolfpack, she is also involved in the 4-H Youth Toastmasters Gavel Club, HOSA and NHS. She enjoys listening to music, watching anime, reading horror novels, writng stories, and playing with her dog. She plans on attending either UT Austin or Texas A&M to major in the healthcare field.
![A woodworking vendor shows off his creations at the annual Project Graduation Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 10. “We’ve been doing this since 2012, and so some of the vendors have actually reached out to us,” Project Graduation president Paula Hufford said. “A lot of them have been here year after year, [but] some of them are new. Some of them are [current] students or previous students, so theyre familiar with the event, and now they’ve started their own little businesses.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_0603-900x675.jpg)
![One of the few stick vehicles in the school parking lot, senior Alex Trebilco’s 1970 Ford Maverick is a restoration project he worked on with his dad. He and his father have worked on cars together for all of Trebilco’s life, and have several finished projects because of it. “[My favorite memory with my car is] honestly just cruising with my dad in his truck and my car,” Trebilco said. “Both of the [cars] are restored. He did the truck and we did the Maverick, so it’s cool to roll down in two cars that we made run together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ford-Maverick.png)
![Members of the Mandarin Club assemble dumplings at their Dumpling Social. The social, which occurred in October, is one of the clubs monthly special events, which all try to offer them the opportunity to engage in a special aspect of Chinese culture. “I’m interested in learning more about Chinese culture and Taiwanese culture in general, so it helps me see more into it,” senior Natalia Sanchez-Mejorado said. “[My favorite event] would definitely be the dumplings. We did it step-by-step, basically, and it turned out really good, and we also hung out, with the [club member’s mom] teaching us a few words.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_6790-900x675.png)
![Kevin Bickling, school technologist, sits for an interview with CPHS News. Bicklings main job is to make sure all technology at school is in working order. If a student drops their laptop and the screen cracks or something like that, Ill get a ticket from the librarians for that,” Bickling said. “Or if a teacher needs some software installed on their [computer] or their projector bulb burns out or something. Those are tickets that I can get any day throughout the year.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/the_bick-900x600.png)
![Under the hot sun of Arizona, social studies teacher Mark Tibbetts and his dog, Boston, pose for a picture. Tibbetts got his masters in education at the University of Arizona, where he was living when he was reunited with his dog after five years. “[Boston] taught me balance,” Tibbetts said. “It’s a test of how far you are willing to go to take care of another creature whether its a dog or a human. Learning how to take care of another living thing takes a lot of maturity because you have to put it before yourself. [Boston] brings me a lot of joy, happiness, and love. I love this dog more than the world, I’d do anything for him.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/usemedoggy.png)
![Stopping to smell the flowers, Estelle the guinea pig stands between two flower arrangements. English teacher Kim Vidrine has been bringing her guinea pig to school since the start of the last school year. [Having Estelle at school has] been a lot of fun for me, Vidrine said. I love having her here, and I like that she hears voices all day and sees people. A couple of weeks ago I posted [on Instagram] a book talk as if Estelle were doing it. I’m going to start using her Instagram page as a way to do book recommendations for followers.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Estelle-with-Flowersf.jpg)
![Leaping into the air, bending towards the water to complete his dive, sophomore Rustin Wilkinson competes in the first dive competition of the season, Mavwood invitational. Wilkinson has been diving for a year and a half and is seeded second for districts. “Diving is hard because it requires you to know where you are in the air,” Rustin said. “You have to know which rotation you are in when you are spinning. [I dive] because I want to get in the top ten at state. Last year [at state] I got second to last, but this year I want to get in the top ten so I can see all my hard work and perseverance pay off.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/PicOfRUSTIN-900x600.jpg)
![Looking to the side, senior Sydney Poulsen extends her leg while en pointe at the Celebrities holiday show on Dec. 13. This performance was the first time Poulsen had performed while en pointe in two years. It was fun to be able to perform en pointe again,” Poulsen said. “I also loved getting to wear my old tutu because they are super pretty. It was definitely difficult to perform because I had a tiny piece of marley and I [couldnt] travel as far as I normally would. Overall though, the variation went super well and I felt strong on pointe.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1_Sydney-Poulsen_by-Piper-Hernandez.jpg)
![With a look of concentration, senior Max Villarreal tests out his tattoo needle with a stencil. Villarreal has had a passion for art for a while, and has decided to pursue tattoo art as a future activity. “I like art in general, [but] I don’t think I would just do [art] as a career,” Villarreal said. “It’s not enough fun for me, and I feel like I need to constantly come up with new ideas and hoping people are paying attention to me. From a young age, I had been exposed to the art of tattooing, and it’s just something that has stuck with me. That’s something my mom wanted too, she wanted me to be a tattoo artist.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IMG_2225.jpg)
![The winner of the Library March Madness is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Due to its popularity, the book was able to stay strong throughout the multiple rounds of the competition, according to Assistant Librarian Jennifer Baskin, who applauded the book for its years of success and relevance. “I pretty much knew that was going to be the winner from the get,” Baskin said. “I was kind of hoping that I would be surprised that [‘Hunger Games’] wasn’t the winner, but I understand why. It’s pretty popular, and a lot of people read that book, and it was their introduction to reading. That’s something that got them excited about reading, so it makes sense that they would still be excited about it. I think that book has held up, just sort of like ‘Harry Potter’, or ‘The Lightening Thief’. It holds up even when I read it as an adult, but I was still surprised that it was still going so strong.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IMG-0766-900x616.jpg)
![Senior Madelyn Roberts smiles in the snow as she holds her Colorado State memorabilia. Roberts chose to go out of state because of her interest in fashion and her admiration for the university. “I really wanted somewhere that was picturesque, [some place] that fits with my vintage style,” Roberts said. “I wanted somewhere where I could walk down to mainstreet and have a bunch at a cafe. Or go shopping. I’ll be a fashion major, and I have my own fashion Instagram [account] and I could just see myself pursuing these interests in Fort Collins.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_0351.jpg)
![Showing off his gold medal, senior Riley Pritzlaff poses for a picture alongside fellow UIL competitors and seniors Vyacheslav Adrianov and Aiden Seibel. Pritzlaff placed second in the UIL Congress Meet and will be advancing to the next round at the Texas State Capitol in January. “The first kind of debate that I got into when I first joined the Speech and Debate team was Congress,” Pritzlaff said. “So, making it to state my senior year is kind of a full circle for me, and owning my speech skills, learning this kind of thing, and having the opportunity and experience to debate all of these different ideas [with] these different people has been really cool.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/UIL-Congress-Winners-900x599.jpg)
![Actively engaging in a conversation with her students, AP English IV teacher Michelle Iskra teaches her students about the importance of reading multiple stories to get proper context. Iskra is one of the teachers who implemented an approach designed to prevent academic dishonesty, and said she believes everyone should work together to ensure an honest academic policy for students. “I think everyone [plays] a role in minimizing academic dishonesty,” Iskra said. “I’m very straightforward about it. But, I also give students many opportunities to show me what they can do, to be successful in their own way, and to work with other students collaboratively in terms of thinking and ideas, and then to prepare their own work.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_9078-900x675.jpg)
![Jasmine Cooper sits on the steps of her house, dressed up for the ACDA After Party. Cooper was one of the students who participated in the ACDA and was proud of the effort that the team put in. “For the people who wanted to view our recorded concert in-person, [which had] limited seating, just choir students and their families and friends [were allowed],” Cooper said. “We had an ACDA watch party in the PAC ,because us seniors, who were juniors last year, didn’t have a prom, and we had a great idea to make the event formal. Our recording and video, our concert, was amazing. To see our hard work and our choir directors’ efforts pay off was truly a sight.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Jasmine-Cooper-second-update-779x900.jpg)
![Junior MJ Kelly and Freshman Aidan Cox launched the On Your Left podcast on Jan. 15. This podcast covers political topics and aims to educate the public on political and social theories, topics, and issues through a leftist perspective and hopes to help people gain a better understanding and use it to their benefit.
“I think the most important aspect to me is the social rights aspect,” Kelly said. “Yes, reading foundational literature by [people] like Marx and Engels is important, but I’d rather have people take other things away from this. I hope somebody listens and starts to make a difference in their life when it comes to being a better ally for others.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/On-your-left.jpg)
![Madison Cherry has taken her first step towards the world of business. The junior student has become an influencer for American Eagle and has started her own jewelry business, and has gained a lot of advice from her experience. “Being an influencer teaches me how to run Instagram, and see what my audience likes the most, when they are most active, etc,” Cherry said. “When I do get more serious with my jewelry business, I can see what my audience likes and what they don’t like, so that I can promote my product more and sell what [is] more popular. Definitely, being an influencer has given me a lot of advice, whether that be from business partners or my own experience.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/MadisonC2ndUpdate.jpg)
![Key Club Sponsor Amy Durden shows off some avocado pits that have been donated to her as a part of Harvest for Healing. Durden and the clubs goal for Harvest for Healing is to spread positivity throughout the senior community. “[Our goal] is to try and bring joy and hope in watching the seeds grow into seedlings and then plants,” Durden said. “With so much depression, despair, isolation and sickness, [we figured that] its a way to have a small [amount of positivity].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_7697-900x600.jpg)
![Giving A Ray of Hope is a newly founded organization that strives to help children in hospitals, and are responsible for, not only participating in service projects, but also educating the community on diseases that infect children. The organization provides many opportunities for members to explore the medical field and contribute to their community. “I would say that this organization really helps you have that role in your community and trying to help others,” junior member Jillian Lach said. “Not only does it help build responsibility, but it [has also] helped me meet new people and research and educate myself on a lot of things that I didn’t know about before.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_4559.jpg)
![Wrestling Booster Club President Jason Malmquist directs cars to the paper shredder and supervises the event. Malmquist considers the paper shredding fundraiser to be beneficial to both the wrestlers and the team, as personal connections are strengthened. “Other sports tend to do things a lot as a team,” Malmquist said. “In wrestling, we do have a team, such as team scoring. But this gives them a chance to bond, spend some time together, and it’s always fun to do something like this together. We think it’s important that the wrestlers are the ones raising the money. When they are here themselves, they actually have to come out and do something, and we think that [it’s] great that they put in [effort]for their own team.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_9088-900x600.jpg)
![Senior Alison Dye smiles for the camera. Dye has been a member of many organizations in school, from playing the role of Mary Poppins in Princess Tea, to being a member of PALS and the Spanish Club, and reflects on her experience in these activities. “All of these activities have helped me come out of the shell,” Dye said. “I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve been blessed with, [and the chance] to meet so many awesome people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AlisonDye-2.jpg)
![With changes due to COVID-19, students are now expected to complete a series of virtual assignments and attend meetings as needed. Given the status quo, academic learning has been modified to better fit the variety of situations students are in. “For the most part, and for the majority of the students I would say [that they are meeting expectations],” AP Human Geography and AP Seminar teacher Cassandra Gray said. “I teach both AP Human Geography and AP Seminar and AP Exams are still happening, so there is a lot of review and prep work going into the next few weeks. For the most part, [the] majority of the students are completing the assignments as they are intended and are trying their best on them in order to get accurate feedback.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/allie-KzUsqBRU0T4-unsplash-900x621.jpg)
![Junior Celebrities captain Rylee Tonacao (last from left to right), poses and smiles with fellow participants at the Colon Cancer Walk. Tonacao and her teammates wish to continue giving back to the community and helping to resolve community issues. I think this event has definitely inspired myself as well as [the] celebrities organization to keep continuing to serve our community,” Tonacao said. “This event, particularly, has such a special meaning for us as a team as it relates to our late director, Stacy Danielson. The important thing about this event is it taught us, not only to give back, but to raise awareness for different issues, and different things that we need to solve. So, I think, as well as helping out the community, participating in events like this has showed us that we need to raise awareness for certain things, as that is an important factor to solving problems.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Colon-Cancer-Walk-900x450.jpg)
![A few birds nests that Debby Barnes Crochet group had made. Barnes had started a crochet group in order to help the displaced wildlife in Australia. It just breaks my heart to see these poor, little animals [suffering] Barnes said. Some of them are being burned. I saw a video last month on Facebook of this poor, little koala that was just crying because he was being burned.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Crochet-e1579568289393-900x651.jpg)
![Anatomy and Physiology teacher, Nancy Matthias supervises a kidney dissection. Matthias believes that dissecting real organs and specimens enhances the learning abilities of the students. Live dissection gives [the students] an opportunity to actually feel the tissue, Matthias said. When the live specimen is 3D, they can see it, manipulate it, and [this makes it] a much better way to dissect and learn about the different organs and the body.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ashley-42-900x600.jpg)
