![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)
![Students drew chalk art in honor of Veterans day. This is just one of many things the school does to show appreciation to veterans, and the art will remain in the courtyard as a reminder of all of the veterans who served their country. “On veteran’s day, I think it’s a great thing we do at school to honor people that served [who are] at our school or family members,” English teacher and cheer coach Nadira King said. “It makes me feel proud, and it makes me remember the [veterans].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Capture.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)
![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)
![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)
![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)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
![An alarm chimes out at 6 a.m on the first day of school. For some students, their least favorite part about school is how early they have to wake up. “I just was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad because I had to work this summer so I was kind of used to getting up early,” Ferguson said. “‘Maybe I’ll [get] used to it, but I’m not and I don’t want to get up.”
Photo by Julia Seiden](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FeatureStoryFImage.jpg)
As they enjoy their last week of swimming, tanning and freedom, they can’t deny the inevitable. Soon they are waking up at the crack of dawn, packing their bags and walking into the building with their friends, complaining about having to be back. They reminisce about the hours spent in the water and soaking up the sun’s rays as the first bell of the year brings them back to the reality of sitting in their first class on their first day of school. They breathe in, breathe out, focus on the present, and look forward to the upcoming school year.
With school having started just a little more than a month ago, student plans to achieve their goals and ambitions for this upcoming year are already in session. This year, students of all grades have mixed feelings about the start of school.
“I was actually feeling really good this year,” junior Brooke Ferguson said. “I have an exchange student this year from France so it was really cool getting to show her around on the first day.”
New freshmen are also feeling positive as the school year begins.
“I think it’s going pretty well,” freshman Cassie Rico said. “It’s a lot easier to find my classes and I kind of know where I’m going and what I want to do.”
The beginning of this school year brings a lot of excitement for Ferguson.
“I’m really excited for theater because we’re doing Elf the Musical,” Ferguson said. “I’m excited because I get to be Jovie [in the musical], so I get to be more involved in theater this year.”
There are also some anxieties and worries among students about the upcoming year.
“I don’t have a lot of classes with my friends,” Rico said. “And definitely having classes with upperclassmen is really scary.”
Goals and aspirations for the year are starting to be constructed and calculated.
“I’m trying to work towards [higher] SAT scores [and also] just try to enjoy my high school years,” Ferguson said. “I’m trying to go to all the football games and do everything I can [to make the most of high school] before we graduate.”
For Ferguson, being in choir has made her realize how fast time is going by.
“I sing at graduation every year [for choir],” Ferguson said. “We get to go sing for [the seniors] this year at graduation, and like, next year we won’t be doing that, it’ll be me on that stage. That’s crazy. I still feel like an eighth grader in my heart.”
With Ferguson graduating next year, she has some advice for freshmen nervous about starting high school.
“You’re going to have moments that are going to suck and you’re going to have feuds with your friends and you’re going to be so overwhelmed and stressed,” Ferguson said. “But this is the only time in your life that’s going to be like this, you’re never going to have another moment like this. Embrace the good and bad because the good, obviously, is good, and the bad makes you better.”
