AI, The Future Of Cheating
Our Turn
Staffer discusses the mixed feelings on Valentine’s Day as a holiday
Nate Wilkerson | Reporter
When it comes to holidays, everyone is familiar with the very popular ones such as Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day. All of them are great in their own way, but one might have some mixed feelings about it. That holiday is Valentine’s Day. While it’s still very well known and celebrated all over the world, many believe that it’s an overrated holiday.
People sometimes think it’s too cheesy and obnoxious, while some people like it because it’s a fun and enticing way to show love with different gestures. With both sides having different opinions on this holiday, this raises the real question: Is Valentine’s Day overrated?
The best way to determine this is to look at the facts on this matter. A real holiday should aim to be something that for anyone who is celebrating it, can feel happiness and warmth. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day doesn’t offer either of those all the time, because the only way you can feel both of those during Valentine’s Day is if you have someone to celebrate it with. If you don’t have anyone to celebrate this holiday with, more than likely this holiday won’t be very engaging or fun for you.
Following with the happiness and warmth that a holiday should be able to produce, most of the popular holidays that are celebrated in the U.S. offer some type of break from school. Whether that’s a half day or a full day off, most teachers and students would rather spend their time during a holiday in the comfort of their own home. Valentine’s Day doesn’t offer that in the slightest; school is only ever off on Valentine’s Day if it lands on a weekend.
good thing, especially for high schoolers. The end of the year means cramming lots of work, preparing for finals, taking the SAT or PSAT in some cases, and if you’re a senior, you might be thinking about college, which could be extremely stressful for a lot of people.
Something you might have noticed is how overhyped this holiday is when it comes to how people treat it within stores. If you’ve ever walked into a Target, Walmart, or really any convenience store around the time of Valentine’s Day, you might note how overly commercialized this holiday is. During the month of February and a little throughout January, companies and brands take Valentine’s Day as a way to promote their products in a way that appeals to people looking to celebrate this holiday. This often leads to inflated prices of different products that would usually be a lot cheaper, such as the many different types of chocolate and flowers that are sold at different stores. Around Valentine’s Day, you will see those two products more than anything else, often with a not-so-reasonable price tag put onto
Another thing to take into consideration is the time of the year Valentine’s Day falls upon, and that time of the year is in February. Even though that’s around the end of the year for most schools in America, that isn’t always a
Illustration by | Kayla Nguyen
After all of these points, it’s time to answer the main question of whether or not this holiday is really overrated or if it’s worth the money and time put into it. The conclusion is that Valentine’s Day is absolutely overrated because it lacks so many of the elements that other magical holidays carry, and unless you truly feel passionate about this holiday, you shouldn’t worry about it.
Hit or Miss
New College Prep Classes Miss What Students Need
While the school says these new college prep math and reading classes are meant to help students, they seem more tedious than helpful.
At first, the idea sounds helpful. Students who cannot pass the Texas Success Initiative test(TSI) would be placed into year-long classes that give them credit instead of the test while also helping them improve their skills.
But when you really think about it, the plan does not fix much.
One big issue is that these classes do not fully replace the TSI. Even Our Principal Mr. Grebb has said that four year colleges might still require students to pass the test during their freshman year. That means students could spend a whole year in these classes and still have to deal with the same test later. For students who already struggle with testing, this does not lower stress. It just delays it.
Another problem is how these classes might make students feel. Being placed into a college prep class because of one test score can make students feel embarrassed or behind, even if they are not. A single test does not show how smart someone is or how hard they work, but this plan puts a lot of weight on those scores. There are also concerns about teachers. These classes will be taught by the school’s current math and English teachers, not new ones. While those teachers are qualified, adding new year long classes to their schedules could put more pressure on them.
Time is another issue. Spending a full year in these classes means less room in students' schedules for electives, or other advanced courses.
In the end, while the school’s goal may be to help students, this plan does not help with what students really need. Instead of offering flexible support, it risks making students feel labeled, limiting their choices, and adding stress for both students and teachers. Therefore the New College prep math and reading classes are a miss.
School introduces new email announcement system
In early January, students received an email invitation to sign up to receive announcements on a website called SchoolStatus Connect. So far, the site has been used to host announcements that are identical to emails that are routinely sent out across the district on Gmail. Whether a student signed up or not, they will still receive the same emails.
Although the new system allows for a more organized place to check for school announcements, some technical difficulties regarding the implementation of SchoolStatus Connect have been present for at least a few weeks since the initial invitation.
For some students, the site did not receive proper implementation. Trying to log in through student portals like ClassLinks and Google shows that the site has not been approved by the district, leading to an inconsistency between students who can use the site, and those who can’t. For the faulty implementation of SchoolStatus Connect, for the time being, the site is a miss.
Your Turn Staff Editorial
“I feel like it makes us dumber, and we're not really using our heads. And, we're not using our brain when it comes to our assignments, so we're not gonna really know much.”
-Sarah Hill, 10
“The downsides of it is that you're not really learning from the assignment because the whole entire point of the assignment is to make sure that you know what you're doing. So if you're using chat GPT, then you aren’t doing it by yourself, which makes it not valuable to your education.”
-Nzubechukwu Nwolisa, 10
“Well, I think the downsides are that you're not thinking for yourself, and could be wrong. The truth is out there, and sometimes chat GPT doesn't know. Just a machine. Use your mind, man. Free yourself.”
-Michael Grebb, Principal
“I feel like students use it to replace their brain rather than write it all and do it themselves, and then use it to kinda enhance their own thoughts. And then reread what's different so they can learn from the transitioning of using that software.”
-Edward Curran, Teacher
“Well, I think that it makes people just a bit dumb, And they start to lose critical thinking skills and the skill to comprehend.”
- Elise Rowry, 10
“A loss of critical thinking skills, If you don't have to think and the machine does all the thinking, you'll never learn how to think.”
-Kris Carter, Teacher
The Downsides of Cheating with Artificial Intelligence
In recent years, AI technology has made a noticeable appearance in everyday school tasks. It is seen as a quicker, easier way to navigate throughout people’s daily routines, making tasks such as classwork, quizzes, and tests feel like a breeze. However, there are several other factors to consider. It may seem like chat GPT, Google AI, and countless other websites are helpful, but it’s time to dive below surface level and deliberate what’s actually taking place.
Cheating on school work is one of many examples of how artificial intelligence can pose a threat to cognitive processes. It’s important to know first that school was originally made to conform society. To teach everyone very specific topics, to draw each individual into very select longterm occupations, and to downplay individuality and new ideas. Since this is how the school system plays out, students are more likely to refuse to participate on their own. However, this is when it becomes most important to embrace their individuality through writing assignments, teamwork, and work ethics. Students resorting to AI to complete their school assignments that require using their own individuality and critical thinking skills will fall directly into this trap where over time, this reliance fosters a pattern of intellectual dependency, weakening problem-solving skills, creativity, and the ability to think autonomously. Ironically, this reinforces the very same system that education should be challenging rather than obeying.
While most students would agree using AI will help make school assignments and homework easier, it’s actually quite the opposite. Teachers develop a specific lesson plan to showcase the material in an altered and
simpler way for young students, compared to how the material is presented online by professionals that have studied the material for a significantly longer time period. Artificial intelligence gathers information from around the web and social media, making the AI response more advanced and complicated. Students need an in-person teacher to ensure a better, age-friendly, understanding of the new material, so that they’ll be prepared for future quizzes and important tests.
Another issue with cheating with AI is that people will have undermined credibility in future achievements, such as any college degrees or any academic achievements. This ruins their self confidence and stability in academics, and fosters a sense of guilt and unworthiness, instead of developing a sense of self-achievement and honor. It’s important for students to prove not only to their teachers and classmates, but to also prove to themselves that they’re capable of achieving their goals without the reliance of artificial intelligence. It is proven that selfdriven work can give you more motivation and fuel to achieve more, while using AI decreases your desire to work and creates laziness. It is a fundamental human necessity to develop strong critical thinking skills, and to embrace one’s individuality. People can accomplish this by studying whichever interests sparks them the most, taking the initiative to show independence and individuality through their schoolwork, and learning about who they are authentically without anything to rely on. There is peace in recognizing you have the capability to build critical thinking skills, develop a sense of individuality, and build stability within your academics without artificial technology.
Illustration by | Kayla Nguyen
Students walk out to protest ICE
Updated College Prep Courses Aim to Help Students Meet TSI Requirements
Marcos Hans | Editor
Students who struggle to pass the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) exam will soon have a new option to help them stay on track for college.
The district is planning on updating the current year long college prep math and reading courses to help students who struggle with the TSI.
The classes are intended to serve as both preparation and an alternative pathway.
“The classes are college prep math and college prep reading. And basically, these
are year long classes for kids that cannot pass the TSI,” principal Michael Grebb said.
By completing the updated courses, students can earn credit in place of the test while also building the skills needed to succeed academically.
“So you take this class and it basically gives you credit for that test you cannot pass,” Grebb said. “Your chances of passing the TSI are probably going to go up because you're getting all those skills.”
However, passing the TSI may still be
required for students who plan to attend a four-year university.
“Because even if you take this class and go to a four-year university, they actually might require you to pass the TSI your freshman year,” Grebb said.
The updated courses will be taught by current staff members with the appropriate certifications.
“Our plan is a certified math teacher and a certified English teacher, because those are the experts,” Grebb said. “We're gonna have to use our existing staff
because most likely they're not going to give us additional staff members for these courses.”
The new and updated system is expected to begin next school year and will affect current juniors moving forward.
“So any junior by the end of 2026 that doesn't pass the TSI will be placed in either college prep math, college prep reading, or both depending on their scores,” Grebb said. “This will happen at the end of this school year, so for the class of 2027.”
With a megaphone in her hand, senior Natalie Mathews gives speech to hundreds of students a anti-ICE walkout. “I think a lot of people underestimate the power of walkouts,” Mathews said. “I think protests are really important for awareness.” Mathews was one of the students who helped organize the walkout. Photo by Ryleigh Mackey
Holding up a sign, senior Ashton Kopaki joins fellow students in the school walkout to protest ICE raids. “I was showing support for what I believe in,” Kopaki said. “They don’t often look at teens to be politically active.” Students left school at the beginning of Talon on February 2.. Photo by Sam Lee
Sophomores Sophia Speck and Declan Smith protests at the Pflugerville court house. “What’s going on in America is not American,” Smith said. “I think our country is being run into the ground.” Students who left school for the protest were given an unexcused absence for any classes they missed. Photo by Sam Lee
Chanting with the crowd, senior Justin Deshotel holds up protest sign. “I very strongly believe that what ICE, has been doing is sincerely inhumane,” Deshotel said. “I think the biggest impact this will have is the number of young voters who will vote for what they believe in.” The walkouts were planned by students over social media. Photo by Sam Lee
Senior Atlas Flores participates in studentled walkout. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” Flores said. “Our Governor needs to see that we won’t just stay in school.” Students walked to the Pflugerville courthouse. Photo by Ryleigh Mackey
Construction begins on new CTE campus set to open in 2027
Landon Green, Asher Parks, Nate Wilkerson | Reporters
Construction on PFISD’s new CTE center broke ground a few weeks ago. Opening in Fall of 2027, Pflugerville Independent School District will have a new center dedicated to Career Technology with recently named founding principal Daniel Garcia leading in providing the district with new opportunities.
“The CTE center will give students opportunities to focus on post readiness, and focus programs like welding, EMT, Firefighters, and other classes that are primarily outdoors will all move there to help study with more opportunities and learning materials,” Garcia said. “They will be open to more opportunities to study outside of their home campus to be able to have access to better learning materials.”
With the new center being funded by a bond in 2022 granting $76 million dollars to go to the center’s construction, the CTE center will host all high schools in the PFISD district to gather them to learn in an open learning environment.
“For me, it’s the second building, because I said that I needed a building outside that I can put hose lines in, that I can charge
full of water, and we can spray water,” Fire Academy Captain Michael Rhea said. “They won’t let me do that inside this building, you know. It gives us in the Fire Academy a lot more opportunities to practice what we need to do that we just can’t do here on campus.”
For teachers like Rhea, a place where he can take his students to practice skills benefits the experience for the classes. The same can be said for Emergency Medical Technician and Agriculture.
“I think that is going to affect a lot of kids who want to be in a CTE course because it might conflict with a sports period or a band period or whatever period, you know,” Animal Science teacher Pilar Lira said. “And then, I think what’s also going to hurt us too is our bus availability because just now, I feel like we struggle a little bit to get bus drivers for field trips. I have a lot of questions about it,”
Lira is not wrong about the time of travel. Hendrickson would take 15 minutes, Weiss would be 16 minutes, Pflugerville High School would be 6 minutes, and Connally would take 10 minutes. But if the traffic is bad that morning, it would take longer to get there.
Choir Student Chosen for All-State
Nate Wilkerson | Reporter
With over 70,000 students across the state auditioning for the TMEA All-State Tenor and Bass Choir convention, only 1,800 students are chosen to advance. One of the students chosen was junior Bryce Burwinkel.
“I just recently submitted my recordings for solo opportunities and I am working on the new music that they gave us,” Burwinkel said. “This is what we’re gonna perform for the people going to the concert.”
In order to reach this achievement, Burwinkel practiced over a long period of time both inside and outside of school
“I practice weekly with my choir instructor and with my mom who’s a choir director just to work on the music as much as I can,” Burwinkel said. “This increases my musicality and allows me to be better in all aspects of the music to compete with schools from the area and the state.”
Additionally, nine band students were also selected for All-State Band and will travel to the Texas Music Educators Association in San Antonio for training and performances.
The band students selected represent the top 1% of high school musicians in Texas. They are: Chloe Dixon, Charlie Atkinson, Zachary Edwards, James Reese, Christian Russell, Andres Sandoval, James Talavera, Ethan Tworek, and Arley Vigil.
“One of the few things that I have heard is that they’re gonna put all junior and senior level classes out there,” AG teacher Brendan Andrews said. “Which, that’s gonna be a huge change from where we are currently. Especially for people that can’t drive. Logistics are gonna be really interesting to manage. But I think honestly, I think that could be a good thing for the students because you probably get to meet a lot of people that you wouldn’t have otherwise.”
With the new CTE center there will be new schedules for those who go there that may affect the schedule of their home school. Schools will still be on an A/B block and busing will be provided for students to get to their home campuses.
“The vision is students will be able to eat lunch on their home school campus and then bused to the center and return to campus and return to school after the classes.” Garcia said. “For example, a student in welding would be bussed to the new campus on A block and stay there for third and fourth period and be bussed home afterward.”
Since Hendrickson already has an agriculture program as well as a building
outside of the school, some people are worried about what will happen to the agriculture building, and how the people who teach at the center will be chosen.
“I am not sure how the staffing will work,” principal Michael Grebb said. “The beginning-level courses will still be taught at HHS.”
Even though most of the details are unknown, why it’s being built and how it might help are known to the people anticipating the opening of the center.
“Students will have equal opportunities,” Grebb said. “This will give efficient ways for them to finish their program of study.”
The CTE center will also provide more social opportunities for students, staff, and help create bonds and friendships in the future. Periods will be double blocked at the CTE center and provide a program for post-graduation students to prepare for college.
“I am really excited about these opportunities we are providing to the students and all of the certifications the students will have a chance to get,” Garcia said. “I am also really excited about having an 18+ program to help with college readiness.”
Sculptors honored in art contest
Asher Parks | Reporter
The 2026 Scholastic art and Writing competition is an annual competition with art students of different schools to compete for competition prizes. Two students have won the award for honorable mention this year, senior Veronica Martinez Salas and junior Zoe Serpersu.
“So, from what I know, it’s basically a way we can all showcase our work,” Martinez Salas said. “And then, if some of the people choose that they really like what we’ve made, we can earn money for the program, like ceramics and art, for the school, and for ourselves, just to have that money to build more like art.”
The 2026 Scholastic Art and Writing competition Honorable Mention award winners’ pieces were titled ‘There Is Beauty In What Is Broken’ by Martinez Salas and ‘Memory of a Childhood Friend’ by Serpersu.
“I just really wanted it to be perfect,”
Serpersu said. “I really like to make things clean, so that was probably my mindset. I just really wanted it to keep up to my standards.”
The award winners both submitted ceramic pieces of art that are handmade. The work can be viewed online on the scholastic art and writing competition’s website.
“I didn’t think it would get any recognition, but I am very happy I did because I spent a lot of time on it and just really happy with how it turned out and very proud of myself. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve made. So, I’m really happy that it got some recognition.” Martinez Salas said, “The bust, it looks like me a lot. The hardship was that I wasn’t as comfortable with how I look like and I was like maybe if I put this like in here, I could like just see from another perspective, and it just made me more confident in like with myself.”
AI, The Future Of Cheating
Teachers, students share how crackdown on electronics have impacted academic dishonesty
Hutton Weirich | Editor
In an effort to decrease the number of students who cheat, the school has implemented an increased crackdown on electronics through GoGuardian and the state-wide phone ban.
However, opinions differ on whether or not this crackdown has actually helped prevent cheating in academics.
“I don't know if it's helped stop cheating,” English teacher Jordan Smith said. “I think it's made students get more creative about how to actually use the limited electronic access they have to cheat.”
There are multiple methods in which students are now using in order to get around the new ways to catch cheating.
“They copy and paste things either directly from the internet or from chat GPT and you can see that in their revision history in Google Docs,” Smith said. “Some of them also just wait to go home to do their work so that they can avoid GoGuardian and all of that so that they can just like cheat at home with fewer
they've seen a decrease in cheating since the increased crackdown on electronics.
“[I've seen students cheat] probably the same amount as last year, or maybe a little less,” sophomore Mia Montgomery said.
“Because the students will just find other ways to cheat. They write it down on little papers.”
The crackdown on electronics has not been very effective at stopping students from using methods from previous years to cheat.
“[There are students] putting something in the back of their IDs. You know, in Mr. Kaatz's class where he has to check the back of our IDs, stuff like that,” Montgomery said. “They still use their phones to search things up. And I guess when teachers forget to put GoGuardian on, they just search it up.”
The increased crackdown on electronics may not have done much to prevent cheating, but it has made it easier to catch students cheating.
“I think there are a lot more ways to
can see ‘oh this whole essay appeared in about 30 seconds, I know you didn't write it,’” Smith said. “With GoGuardian I can go back and watch what students were doing during the time they were working on the assignment and you can see when they change tabs or whenever they're opening up something else.”
However, teachers have found other ways to prevent cheating that are not involved in the new ban on electronics and technology use.
“I think ultimately though what has helped the most with getting my students to do more of their own work has been switching back to doing a lot of assignments on paper,” Smith said. “They're less inclined to cheat if I'm in the room watching them. Also if they're working on the assignment in class then I'm available to help them when they get stuck because when they're cheating it's usually because they either feel rushed or panicked or they don't know how to do something.”
Cheating can not only bring punishment and consequences for the student, but can also affect the teacher who catches them.
“I feel disappointed for them because really, yeah you're cheating and it makes more paperwork for me, but ultimately the person you're harming the most is yourself because you're the one who's cheating yourself of the opportunity to learn something,” Smith said. “You're focused maybe more on the grade or more on just getting things done rather than actually learning the material.”
In the end, some believe that the best way to actually prevent cheating is to understand the root cause of it.
“Students cheat because they're scared or because they're struggling to stay on top of things and they're looking for an easier way out instead of just doing the work,” Smith said. “So maybe just addressing some of those underlying causes of cheating is kind of the way that we move forward and make students really understand that you are the one who loses out when you choose to take a shortcut you're not ready for.”
Pfisd’s cheating regulations
In the official Pfisd 2025-2026 Code of Coduct states that students shall not “Engage in academic dishonesty, which includes cheating or copying the work of another student, unauthorized use of artificial intelligence, plagiarism, and unauthorized communication between students during an examination”. This means that any act of using Google, AI overview, and ChatGPT. Meaning that any kind of outside information used for assignments is actively breaking the rules.
Illustrations by | Karina Bon
Students reveal why they cheat
Marcelo Molina | Reporter
The development of AI in recent years has enhanced the availability of ways for students to cheat. Whether it’s scanning math problems or writing entire essays, there is plenty that can be done with even simple AI models.
“I mainly use AI in today’s day and age,” senior Marcus Garcia* said. “I don’t like copying off of other people because they could be wrong.”
This trend of people not trusting others’ work but trusting AI more was very prominent among the people polled.
Out of a survey of 100 students, 56% of students anonymously responded that they cheat in school. Out of that 56%, 19 said they only cheat sometimes. This reveals some key points: not only is cheating prevalent among students, but it is also relatively easy to do. If this many people are cheating in school, it’s important to know the effectiveness of their actions.
“I'll go from a 35 to a 90 on a test,” junior Bryce Barnes* said. “In my opinion, high school is not a big deal for me, so just getting through the day to go do something worth more of my time is worth it to me.”
Some students expressed a different sentiment, with sophomore Nelson McGuire* saying, “It’s not that big of a difference in my grades.”
Overall, the median of effectiveness was somewhere between only negligibly higher and significantly higher grades.
Junior Chance Jackson*, on how cheating influences his graduation plan, said that, “I’m gonna graduate on time, so pretty good.”
Most students feel comfortable with
using AI to cheat, as they trust that it helps with their academic success. This introduces the idea of cheating with AI beyond high school.
Some students expressed the idea that the long-term academic and intellectual ramifications of cheating aren’t as severe because they aren’t going to go to college.
“You can’t cheat in welding,” sophomore Nelson McGuire* said. However, for the students who are going to college, the views on cheating then ranged from “I’m not going to cheat in classes I pay for” to “until I can’t get away with it anymore, even if that means college.”
With the consequences for cheating in college being much more severe than in high school, it’s only a matter of time until the problem gets too out of hand to handle.
On the other hand, for the 42% of students that don’t cheat, cheating isn’t a big deal to them.
“I think it’s part of your liability and integrity. If you cheat, that looks bad on you”, freshman Blake Ivy* said.
Honesty also plays a big part, with senior Ar’maj Reed-Adams* saying “I want to be honest about my academics, and if I cheat I won’t learn anything.”
Students expressed a variety of opinions on other people cheating. Student’s opinions differed on whether or not they were friends with a person who cheats.
“I tell them not to do it, but if they keep doing it that’s on them and I don’t really care,” junior Trey Zuhn III* said. “If I don’t know them, well, it’s their life and if they choose that way it's all on them.”
*Pseudonym
Ramifications of cheating hit hard
Landon Green | Reporter
Cheating has started to become a big concern among teachers and students. With more people being able to cheat with AI or simply just being more creative, the concerns of people being able to cheat easier are at a high stake. Now t eachers have started to use AI detection software.
“I’ve cheated before. I was in Algebra 2, and I had my phone out. I never got caught. Also, another time I was in Chemistry, and I had my phone out and cheated, but that’s kind of it,” Jermaine Lammarr Cole* said.
“I had to cheat one time because I forgot to study the night before, and I didn’t really get a subject either. So I just copied off a really smart kid next to me. I feel like I have to cheat because I can’t pass otherwise, and if I don’t pass, I don’t move on.”
Looking off people and using technology to cheat are basic. But some people have to get creative when cheating on a test.
“I had the answer under my shorts, so when the teacher wasn’t looking, I would pull up my shorts to look at my answer,“Caleb Zachery Toliver* said. “Also, I was in like the 6th grade. But the teacher
noticed me, but didn’t do anything about it. I cheat because it is sometimes pretty easy to”.
While students have opinions about cheating, teachers do, too.
“I may catch like only two cheaters every year,” history teacher Marlo Saunders said. “You know, like getting their phone out, or looking at other people’s chromebooks. Most of the time, just take the phone and give them an F”.
The ramifications of cheating seem to be bad grades and the teacher knowing you’re cheating.
“I feel like this year is harder to cheat because you can’t have phones out at any time of the day,” English teacher Kat Gurganus said. “But I still catch students with their phones out, and when I catch them, it’s like really awkward because I see what they’re doing and they know they’re in trouble, so they just slowly put the phone away like I never even saw it.”
*Pseudonym
1. Bambi (Melody Cano, 11) pouts at her mother’s pessimistic and harsh beliefs about theatre in It’s a Business. ”It’s a Business was such a funny number,” Cano said. “I liked being pouty and a little bratty, it was really cute.”Photo by Itzel Muniz
2.) Stage manager Johnny (Addison Curtis, 12) stands over actress Jessica Cranshaw’s unconscious body. “My experience in Curtains was very positive,” Curtis said. “It was nice to see how everyone’s hard work accumulated into a really great show.”
Photo by Marcelo Molina
3.) The dancers (Zoe Jackson, 10) in Robbin’ Hood dance to “Thataway!” “I loved seeing choreography I made,” Jackson said. “And seeing everybody on stage just come to life during the show.”
Photo by Itzel Muniz
4.) Bobby (Gio Morrison, 10) plays his role as Robin hood in the musical inside of the musical during Wide Open Spaces. “My experience in Curtains was full of growth and an abundance of joy,” Morrison said. “Each day in rehearsals spending time with my friends and castmates and just working on my craft as an artist was just the best experience of my life.”
Made for Murder
Musical combines song, dance with suspense
Photo by Itzel Muniz
5.) Aaron Fox (Jackson McCutchin, 10) sings I Miss the Music, a touching song about missing his ex-wife. “We got to put a great underappreciated show together in just a couple of months,” McCutchin said. “I really enjoyed the community and teamwork that we put in it.”
Photo by Itzel Muniz
6.) Detective Frank Cioffi (Gavin Johst, 12) holds up a gun to the murderer, defending himself and the cast of Robbin’ Hood. “I like that you don’t have to over play some of Cioffi’s big moments in the show, because he’s kinda just an average dude in the beginning,” Johst said. “I like the change into him being this huge, outlandish character.”
Photo by Itzel Muniz
A Peak Behind The Curtain
Technical crew gives insight on working on musical
From a schoolhouse, saloon, and backstage fly rail, Curtains, the musical, has it all. Curtains is a murder mystery comedy set during the 1950s.
“Most of the time, the set is supposed to be the backstage area of a theater,” senior Milo McMurtie said. “We had to create a bunch of accurate pieces.”
The concept of the set was inspired by a 2019 production of Curtains and the musical Funny Girl. Both had large structures that the technical crew of the musical aimed to re-create. One of them is a big brick wall.
“The wall took us the most time because of how many sheets of foam we had to cut out,” McMurtie said. “We also had to think about the actual design of it, and paint it, and put it up.”
The crew had to hang the wall using the batons above the stage. The baton holding up the wall is one out of twenty-seven batons being used.
Above all those batons, there is another essential mechanic for the show. In the musical, one of the characters gets a rope stuck around their neck and is hanged from the ceiling.
“During the part where we hang someone, there are a lot of things that have to fly in at the same time, a lot of people have to help to safely do the mechanism, and a lot of lighting elements are happening,” McMurtie said. “So it definitely makes things very complicated.”
Along with the hanging and the scenic challenges with the backstage look, the crew also had to make various scenic
elements for the show within the show, Robbin Hood. Such as a boat, a bar, a fence, a schoolhouse, a piano, and a saloon.
“I do think one of the more detailed elements that was really hard for the students to build was the boat,” senior Anastasia Benavides said. “I think the boat was very detailed and well thought out, which made it harder for the tech students.”
All the technical theater students helped in a variety of ways with the musical, each picking a different element to focus on. Benavides, along with being the stage manager, was tasked with helping design the lights for the show.
“I love specialized looks, so after creating a base look, we were able to have a lot of control over things,” Benavides said. “I
felt like I was able to do a lot of fun things within different numbers, showing how the world of the musical breaks into their regular world.”
With all of the costumes, the play within a play element, many set pieces, and the complicated technical execution, Curtains is unlike any other musical the theater department has done.
“A lot of responsibility had to be taken up from technicians to design stuff, to get things going, and a lot of responsibility had to be taken by actors to stay on track. It was very student-driven,” Benavides said. “I don't think we’ve seen that in other shows, so I think that's what makes Curtains special, and I think we did very well.”
and monitors the tech. “It was s the most student hands-on and student-led experience I think I’ve ever done on a production here,” Benevidas said. “Which was a great opportunity for many tech students to learn new aspects and stage magic moments.”
2.) Director and theatre teacher Michael Fisher talks through headset. “Curtains was a lot of fun in that it presented a lot of challenging puzzles to solve,” Fisher said. “There were a lot of elements that were needed for each chain in the story.”
3.) Senior Noah Iordanov assists with sound crew and the rise and fall of the curtain. “There’s a lot of fly, which is kinda unusual for a musical, so that was a ton of fun,” Iordanov said. “I think that was probably one of the most surprising tech aspects, was the flyrail and the just a bunch of little things like coordinating falls, different smoke effects, just things like that.”
4.) Senior Eden Bui is backstage after helping with costumes. “This was probably my most intensive show that I’ve done,” Bui said. “It was definitely a very good learning experience.”
1.) Stage manager Anastasia Benevidas (grade 12)watches the show
Photos by Angela Ngo
Wrestling Wrap Up Team trains for regional & state tournaments
Antonio Garcia | Editor
The wrestling team pushes on towards the end of the season, as the regional and state tournaments approach. Practicing since November last year, the members have been preparing for the final tournaments of the season.
With the tournaments in mind, the members continue their routine practice throughout the school week, under the guidance of wrestling coach Jaymes Castillo.
“We practice three or four times a week, and we start at 6:30 in the morning, so it
takes some serious sleep management to be here,” Castillo said. “But the practice is essential, because it’s about getting as much experience as possible, and taking on as many matches as you can.”
Alongside training their skills during practice, the members work to grow together as a team, and to support one another in their time spent in the season.
“Although wrestling is more of an individual sport, you spend a lot of time getting to know the other members, and we grow pretty close as a team,” Castillo said. “Growing with your team is one of
the most important parts of wrestling, and it has been that way even for me when I was wrestling in high school.”
The members of the wrestling team also train their mental fortitude, in order to make the most out of the time spent training their skills.
“Waking up so early to wrestle for most of the school week is one thing, but they’ve been up for it,” Castillo said. “It’s really more about having the will to keep going and trying your hardest, even when you lose. Wins and losses happen to everyone, so it’s important to not let losses
discourage you.”
The wrestling team met for regionals on Feb 5, and will continue training in the following weeks as they aim for state, and for continued improvement of their skills.
“I hope to continue to coach many students for this sport, and to build better teams with them all,” Castillo said. “The most important thing I want them to all realize is that they are strong, and they will get stronger as long as they keep going.”
Boys, Girls soccer teams push through season
Marcelo Molina | Reporter
With the soccer season in full swing, Girls’ Soccer has won the majority of its games. However, they still have a lengthy road ahead of them, especially if they make the playoffs.
With all of these games, an intensive workload is necessary to keep up.
aa The workload between JV and Varsity is the same. The Girls’ soccer coaches have both teams running specialized
programs designed to work out flaws.
“It is a lot, and sometimes you feel like you just don't wanna do it because sometimes it feels excessive,” senior Varsity Defensive
Midfielder Sofia Lopez said. “But in the games there's a lot of times where you gotta go body to body, and that’s where the weight room pays off, sprints pay off, and no breaks pay off, and I think that’s what makes it better.”
On the other side, Boys’ soccer finds themselves in a tricky situation. With two new coach additions and a departure of a coach, the workload looks a little different this year.
“The work we do in soccer, like weight room and drills, doesn’t really pay off in games,” sophomore JV Striker Jude Heath said. “We don’t usually practice against a defense, and the drills target
only a specific part of the team.”
These work struggles are likely due to shifts in teams, assignments, and again, the coaching staff. Regardless, preseason has proven overall successful, and the Boys’ soccer team is ready for the road ahead of them.
Senior Sophia Willis About to shoot the ball
Photo By Riley Mackey
Girls Soccer Varsity Team celebrating
Photo By Hailey Gomez
Senior Mateo Palma Passing the Ball
Photo By Miles Lehmann
Senior Sam Parrott being declared the winner
Photo By Sophia Storm Mendez
Senior Ethan Hollon on top of his opponent
Photo By Itzel Muniz
Faris Hamad | Reporter
Powerlifting team talk about goals, experience
“I want to focus on mainly my mental side because powerlifting is a bunch of mental stuff so i want my mentality to improve.”
“My favorite part about powerlifting is that everyone’s so nice and they cheer you on no matter if they know you or not and everyone’s on your side no matter what.”
-Katie Gaylord, 10
“I love the family aspect of it. it feels like I’ve grown so close to our coaches and all the people around me.”
-Evelynn Parrish, 12
“My main goal is to get stronger and to grow with the people around me and also watch other people succeed as well as trying to get one percent better each day just get better and keep growing keep lifting. Don’t quit or anything cause you’re always gonna get better.”
“My favorite part is the lifting itself, but my other favorite part would probably be to be with like friends and people that like act like family and just have fun with them.”
-Logan Reil 12
“The first step to improving myself is to make sure I can get into the same mindset routine for each meeting and then just work on my weakness lifts like bench and then work on my and then work on my deadlift.”
“I have to focus on my mindset going into this season while ending a meet because like I’m playful, but I really need to find a time when to lock in.”
“My favorite part of powerlifting is probably that I get to prove to myself that I am improving on things that I didn’t think I was able to, it gives me confidence because I used to be weaker back then.”
-Artis Duncan 12
“I’d say my goals for this season since unequipped lifting for guys was just implemented so my goals are to pretty much be the best in the region division for unequipped powerlifting.”
“Mainly the steps I wanna take to improve is being very rigid on making sure that I stick to my program and not missing practice at all which I don’t really do that a lot but I would say I missed a lot of practices last year for being sick so I guess I’m trying to be more on it about that and always asking for advice and always asking for tips on how to have a better form when lifting.”
-Marcelo Molina, 10
“My goals are definitely increasing in my total and in each individual weight and winning state again and going undefeated in regular season probably just increasing my weight.”
“I want to improve my protein intake and train harder and still keeping in mind that I need rest days instead of just going every day.”
“My favorite part is the environment of each meet because even if you’re watching someone live from a different school or they’re watching you it’s always a supportive environment and it’s very encouraging.”
-Ryan Doggett 12
Senior Artis Duncan during Deadlift
Photo By Sophia Storm Mendez
Senior Ryan Doggett in the middle of a deadlift attempt
Photo By Sophia Storm Mend ez
Junior Hunter Hicks About to start a Squad Attempt
Photo By Sophia Storm Mendez
Rating Rom-Coms
Editor ranks top 5 romcoms according to Vanity Fair
Addison Curtis | Editor
When Harry Met Sally is a 1989 RomCom that follows Harry and Sally through their 12-year-long journey together. This movie was ranked in the number one spot in Vanity Fair, and I actually agree with that ranking. This movie is the OG slow burn! And I am a sucker for enemies to friends to lovers slow burn. And that is exactly what this movie is. Rob Reiner made me root for a douche-bag man, which is truly impressive. Anytime they got even a little closer to getting together, I was so giddy. Also, I thought this movie was actually funny. Some of these other movies felt more like just a straight romance rather than a rom-com, but with this movie I found myself actually laughing! I’d give this 10/10, worth the watch.
Clueless is a 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Emma.” It follows teen Cher through her journey of matchmaking in her Beverly Hill high school, eventually realizing she is in love with her ex-step-brother. In the Vanity Fair ranking, it was fourth on the list. I’ve seen Clueless before, but re-watching it made me remember how much I loved this movie. I’m sorry, I know it’s weird she ends up with the guy who used to be her step-brother. But I think Alicia Silverstone’s and Brittnay Murphy’s acting make up for the weird ending. Also, I think Paul Rudd is so cute in this movie, therefore I give it the number two spot in my ranking.
You’ve Got Mail was released in 1998 and stars Meg Ryan as the sweet small children’s bookstore owner, Kathleen, alongside Tom Hanks as Joe, the founder of a new big bookstore that runs Kathleen’s out of business. Then the two realize that they have been chatting with each other online, and they fall madly in love. This movie was cute. I don’t like Joe, but I loved Kathleen, so it made up for that. I don’t know why it was necessary for them to have partners, they could have just been single instead of making them cheaters. Vanity Fair put this movie in the number two spot. Overall, I liked it, so I’ll put it in the third spot.
Notting Hill is a 1999 film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. It follows a small bookstore owner (common theme), William, and famous actress Anna, who run into each other when William spills his drink on her while in his shop. Then they share a kiss, she leaves, they meet back up, secretly date, he finds out she has a boyfriend. He leaves. She explains that that guy is her ex, then publicly confesses her love for him. Vanity Fair put this in their fifth spot. I didn’t like this movie. It wasn’t very funny, and I didn’t like Anna or William all too much. I thought Anna was wrong for basically lying to William for most of their secret relationship, and I didn’t find myself rooting for them. So, I’d put this in my fourth spot.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is a 2001 film which stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget and follows her love triangle between Mark (Colin Firth) and Daniel (Hugh Grant). It is based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” (also a common theme), and was given the number four spot for Vanity Fair. I actually hated this movie. I find Bridget annoying and cringey, I wasn’t rooting for her at all. She just did dumb weird things that gave me so much second-hand embarrassment. I liked Daniel, who literally cheats on her, more than Bridget. Therefore, it gets last place, and if I could rank it lower I would.
10 Things I Hate About You
“I liked how he fell in love with her towards the end, however I don’t like how he was playing her at the beginning for money,” senior Julian Edwards said. “I wish they had more time to slow burn, I think she forgave him too fast at the very end, so I give it an 8/10.”
Clueless
“I like how it shows how being yourself in the end always works out, I’d rate it an 8/10,” junior Chahrazad Benmbarek said. “I also liked how they portrayed the idea that sometimes the answer is right in front of you.”
27 Dresses
“I give it a 10/10. I like it because it has an enemies to lovers trope with a well developed slowburn,” senior Kiara Evens said. “Another thing is that it shows how dedicated someone can be towards a relationship to where they forget what they really want,”
13 Going on 30
“I like the movie because it’s interesting to see the two different sides between childhood and adulthood,” senior Alondra Vega said. “I also enjoyed the women empowerment shown throughout the woman’s job and how her ideas became successful and because of that I’d give it a 7/10.”
The Princess Bride
“I really enjoyed the fighting scenes, I give it a 10/10,”junior Zoë Isaacson said. “It’s also just super nostalgic for me, partly because it feels like a fairy tale.
