Estefani Rios, Editor-in-Chief
Estefani or Stef is a senior and third-year reporter. This year marks her second year as Editor-In-Chief and she is very excited to continue producing articles the community is interested in. In addition to being a staff member of The Wolfpack, she is also part of the yearbook staff. She enjoys learning and writing about peoples’ stories and passions. Estefani hopes to attend UT next fall to major in Social Work. Some facts about her include; her love for tea (the beverage not drama), socks, funky earrings and artists Ashe and Harry Styles. She is still prone to tripping over her own feet, losing socks and laughing at bad puns.
![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)
![After running the 3200m event with a time of 10:26.49 at the track State Competition on May 7, freshman Isabel Conde De Frankenberg shows off her first medal of the day. Conde De Frankenberg also earned silver for her time of 2:09.21 in the 800m event. “It felt amazing to earn a gold medal at state,” Conde de Frankenberg said. “It was very exciting to know that my training over the season paid off. This state competition was very memorable to me because it was my first [state] competition, so it was just really exciting being able to go out there as a freshman and accomplishing what I did.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_1518.jpg)
![Paying attention to the computer screen, sophomore Gautham Saravanan and senior Charlie Alpert prepare for the UIL academic district meet. Saravanan, Alpert and sophomores Alex Thummalapalli and Eshan Bharadwaj placed first as a team at the meet and will compete at the regional competition later this month. "I'm pretty proud," Saravanan said. "[I like] that I can be with my friends, collaborate with them and go over questions."](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/comp-sci-uil-2-900x664.jpg)
![Preparing to hit the incoming ball, sophomore Mary Lawler looks forward on Feb. 6. As Lawler prepares for another season, she said she hopes the team is able to play their whole season with minimal interruptions. "I'm looking most forward to the games this season since last year's were canceled by [COVID-19]," Lawler said. "I like the individuality of the sport and how I can put my focus into one position."](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_1638-900x600.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 [couldn't] 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)
![Being eligible to vote this year, many seniors took the 2020 election as a way to have their voices heard. Some voted early from Oct.13 to Oct. 30 and others voted on general election day on Nov. 3. “I felt excited [to cast my vote] and I was hoping everyone who had not yet previously voted would go out and vote,” senior Maddy Helm said. “Every election is important, but [because of] the times our country is facing right now, I felt it was very important to cast my vote and to have my voice heard.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20_Biden-Trump_002.jpg)
![Making the choice to come back or stay home took a lot of consideration; from the learning environment to extracurriculars and to the protection of family members. “Extracurriculars had a huge impact on my decision, ” senior color guard captain Zoe Courtade said. “I feel an obligation to my team, directors and younger members to help them through these times and be there anyway I can. I want to be back on campus so I can teach my freshmen in person, and get to know all my members more personally. I would be missing out if I chose to do virtual [learning].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fixedback1-0901.jpg)
![The 2019-2020 Celebrities line up on the football sidelines after their halftime performance on Sept. 27. First year auditionee, freshman Emerald Charity Cox was able to earn a spot on the 2020-2021 Celebrities team. She said that throughout the four days of the process, her feelings varied.
“My feelings definitely changed as each day came and went,” Cox said. “I was feeling excited on Monday, but on Thursday I was feeling a lot more nervous, [but] I was still feeling confident.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/sarah-j743-900x600.jpg)
![Sitting on the Gupton stadium football field on Sept.27, junior Celebrities captain Rylee Tonacao performs at halftime with fellow team members. When Tonacao received the news that she was chosen as the 2019-2020 Celebrities dance captain, she was shocked. "It's not that dance teams or drill team in general have like a set [grade]," Tonacao said. "But typically captains are seniors and I just had that mindset going in. So, obviously I was shocked."](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ryleefeat9-900x600.jpg)
![On Oct. 23, No Place For Hate will host Unity Day. Participants are encouraged to wear orange and sign the resolution of respect in the counseling office. “We are really focusing on promoting kindness throughout the community,” NPFH president, senior Nasreen Marikar said. “[We] want to create an accessible way for students to participate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_954574-900x600.jpg)
![Alumna Eunice Lee stands on stage during the first Meridiem Music Marathon in 2018. This year, Meridiem was able to raise over $15,000 for Variety- Children's Charity of Texas. “It was incredibly overwhelming to receive the news that our funds were going towards building a playground at Variety’s Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children,” Lee said. “I just wanted to do something that would further our society toward building a bridge between communities...and I wanted to do that through music. I think that we’ve accomplished [our mission] with our partnership with Variety and the Meridiem Instrument Petting Zoo.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_158oioo4-e1568309057684.jpg)
![Senior co-captain Jamie Bailey performs "Endohedral" with the color guard at the Cedar Park Classic competition on Feb.23. According to Bailey, "Endohedral" is darker than past routines the color guard has performed. “For all of winter season we work on perfecting our show which is around four and a half minutes long,” Bailey said. “[The routine] is about being trapped so we use our props almost like the cage [is] trapping us.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/try-900x600.jpg)
![On Jan. 2, Gauny joined the Twitch affiliate program. This program allows streamers to earn money via Twitch subscriptions, bits (a type of virtual cheer), game sales and it provides subscribers with emotes (Twitch emojis). “When I became an affiliate on Twitch, I felt excited to be able to interact with my stream in new, fun ways,” Gauny said. “For example, I [can] now make emotes for my channel, which allows my audience to have more fun and be for interactive.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/feff-900x600.jpg)
![Freshman Carlton Marcom poses with fellow Rising Star Ava Caldwell. Marcom auditioned on Nov. 29 after attending multiple clinics leading up to audition day. "The first day, it went super fast, we learned a really [difficult] routine [at a] really fast pace," Marcom said. "But at the end of tryouts and clinics I [felt] more confident because of practice."](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/final-900x600.jpg)
