I ended up in Journalism 1 because Tech Theater was full, and my counselor looked like if I took an extra second to deliberate my courses, he’d kill me. Four years later, I’m somehow a Co-Editor and primary illustrator of the paper.
In the first year of Newspaper, I was thrown headfirst into news writing. Even though I had enjoyed creative writing in the past, I never felt as though it was really my passion, just something that I happened to have a disposition to. Now, though, I can say with certainty that writing has become a part of my identity.
I want to thank my fellow CoEditors Kaitlyn and Nat for making the Hawk possible. It’s with their collective contributions that creates The Hawk itself. I also want to thank the co-editors from before — Angelyna, Seth, and Bryan — for they are the ones who mercilessly edited my stories, making my writing stronger with each edit, and I want to thank supreme leader Mrs. Riemer for inspiring me to join the newspaper in the first place.
To the reporters and editors, you are the body of our paper. Your ideas contribute to the diverse representation of The Hawk. To the upcoming Co-Editors, Lili and Kate, I wish good luck - because the most stressful part of newspaper is trying to get your own story done while reporters pile up slug sheets on your desk.
Lastly, I want to thank the readers. For every three people who walk past and ignore me passing out papers at 8:00 there one person who takes the paper.
To those people, I send my sincerest thanks.
You are the reason that we keep writing.
I’ve always been told I was good at telling stories. Whether that be by judges when participating in UIL Storytelling in 4th grade or by my parents when weaving a tale about why I was up past my bedtime. Nevertheless, I knew that when I got to high school, I was going to try to be the best writer I could be.
I was able to join The Hawk my freshman year and I remember it being so daunting. However, I definitely underestimated the magic that newspaper class has. One person who was always there to help me though, was Mrs. Riemer. No matter how much I messed up, she always supported my ideas. If you ever get the chance to be taught by her, I’m sure she’ll do the same for you. Though they can distract me sometimes, some of my biggest muses are my friends. My fellow co-editors Natalia and Yael always made sure to tell me when a headline was dumb or what stories I needed to make WAY shorter. Jasper and Kate and their determination reminded me of why journalism matters. Lili and Levi made me laugh even when I felt like all of my stories were horrible. All of my fellow truth seekers have made me understand that being a journalist is so much more than just being successful.
My parents have also never stopped supporting my journey to become a journalist, even though I will be
letting me think my work is done.
To those who actually take the newspaper from me when I attack them first thing in the morning, thank you. To those who actually read my stories, you make my work worth it.
Hopefully I’ll see you all out there in a few years, hopefully, you’ll remember our stories, our voices, and our ideas and hopefully, I’ll still be sharing them.
Natalia Zavaleta
My love for newspaper and journalistic writing began when I started writing for Denver Kids, a section published in The Denver Post.
When I moved to Texas, my freshman year, I snaked my way through learning the basics of InDesign and journalistic writing in Journalism I, earning a spot as a newbie reporter my sophomore year.
I remember getting my first story back from Brian, our co-editor in chief at the time. I have him to thank for humbling me as a newbie and softening my hard-headed personality.
Thank you Supreme Leader Seth for always writing headlines for me when I needed them and thank you Lyna for passing on the Adobe Illustrator gift down to me.
Next, I’d like to thank Yael and Kaitlyn who are both the brains behind our stories, sometimes. Lili, Kate, and Jasper, thank you for not only being great editors but also great friends. Thank you to all of our reporters and upcoming editors for putting the time and effort into writing the stories that go into our newspaper. Thank you
Recently the school Lip Dub was released, and naturally there has been an array of reactions across the student body. Overall it’s a great and exceptional video that expresses clear creativity by the editors, students, camerapeople, and artists who worked on the project. It also displays the vitality and liveliness of the school spirit by bringing back an older YouTube trend and having everyone join in on the festivities, riling students up to all come together in one big party. For these reasons combined, the school Lip Dub was a hit
With AP exam season completed, we reflect on certain factors that could have impacted to our scores, perhaps most relevantly: temperature. With summer fast approaching, the school temperature has gradually risen, and has not been brought down. Many students complained of the room being hot during their AP test. Considering the school installed new air conditioning units last year, there is no reason as to why the school should be this warm. With exams being stressful enough, students may come to school in pajamas and jackets assuming that the room will be cold and being met with crazy heat, which causes increased anxiety and does not make for a helpful testing environment. With all this considered, a warm testing environment is a miss
Recently, the district has decided to no longer require students to take health. The removal of health as a mandatory class hurts the future generations of students, who are already disadvantaged when it comes to the overall education system. Many people find that health as a class is helpful and educational as it teaches sex education, education on drugs, as well as mental health. If the class is not required, students won’t be made aware of these resources. The removal of health education can lead to drug abuse and keeps students in the dark about protection, STIs, and autonomy. It is also beneficial as students can’t always rely on parents to properly teach these subjects, so without health as a class many students would not have been properly educated on highly important topics. All of these things considered, the district’s removal of health as a required class is a miss
Mrs. Riemer for being the best mentor I could have asked for.
You’ve taught us to never be afraid to stand up for ourselves and break the rules (responsibly, of course.)
“I think that it’s good for our environment, I really wish they would keep mostly everything cleaned instead of some parts of the school.”- Andrea Villanueva, 9
“I feel like that should not be something you have to ask me [that is] something that should just be done right away because cleanliness is so important, especially the bathrooms like oh my god, it’s so gross. I feel like you shouldn’t have to ask, it should just be done.”- Iris Luna, 12
feel like I can
why they
want that
as groups there’s gonna be leaders and as leaders, they’re also representing the school. If we’re having a dirty school, it makes us feel like the clubs aren’t taking care of the school as much as the groups are.”-
“I think that asking the students to help clean parts of the school gives them a good way to make sure that the school stays clean, but it also gives them a sense of responsibility to help keep their school the way they want it. It would give [students] a way to have responsibility and come together through different groups.” Perez, 11
“I think it’s okay because there’s a lot of parts in the school that are really dirty, and lately it’s been more excessive, especially in the classrooms. There’s rats and roaches everywhere in the classrooms, which is not okay. The school is like a teacher’s home or like a second home, they’re there every single day of their life for hours, so sometimes you have to be respectful to the people and to the teachers that work here.”- Sarika Gautam, 9
For the past couple of months, it has seemed that the collective of school custodians has slowly dwindled down to a fraction of what once was. Students have witnessed this firsthand, in the typical procedures of school janitorial duties declining, along with the population of custodians themselves. Amenities and basic toiletries are often unfilled, and trash buildup is now commonplace.
A part of the problem is the small number of custodians have had to prioritize certain aspects of the sizable task of school clean up. Bathroom stall graffiti is cleaned up, but other tasks are left unfinished. It is difficult to allocate custodians to such a wide range of tasks when there simply isn’t enough janitorial staff anymore to sustain that.
To combat this, the school has decided to provide students with the opportunity to help clean up. After school Mondays and Thursdays, students are able to volunteer and
maintenance workers is a topic that rarely gets discussed when covering educational facilities. Like teachers, custodians and other school personnel are not paid adequate wages for the work they do, and like teachers, the culmination of a tenuous economy, low wages, and district budget cuts have led to a subsequent decrease in custodians at school.
For students that can’t volunteer, help can begin with treating basic hygienic amenities with the understanding that they are for everyone. Keeping in mind that custodial staff can’t keep up with the sheer size of the student population, they should be able to direct their attention to areas that really need it – not to replacing stolen toilet paper en masse, or painting over obscenities on the stalls. While the school clean up initiative is a way to temporarily alleviate some of the custodial responsibilities that are unfulfilled, and do so in a way that benefits everyone, it is not an effective long term solution. Custodians will continue leaving, and attempting to find cyclical restaff indefinitely is becoming more and more difficult. It’s not the continued replacement of stolen toilet paper that drives janitors away, but rather, that the education system is continually neglected in legislation and budget. It is only reasonable to assume that the loss of teachers and custodial staff will follow suit.
Custodians, although often unjustly unrecognized, provide an essential service to education. The menial tasks that are overlooked function as the wheels that keep schools running. It is only with an absence of custodians that individuals are able to realize what exactly was taken for granted. Of course, without the proper legislation, both custodians and teachers alike are left without a means to have their work recognized properly. However, in spite of this, all students should try to understand the work that goes into maintaining a school, both at a base level, and at an academic level.
Opinions
May 19, 2023
3
Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100
Student Population: 2,134 Staff: 180
Adviser: Kari Riemer
Principal: Michael Grebb www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper
TheHawk , the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.
Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal. Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.
The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free before school on publication day and on newsstands throughout the building.
Editors
Co-Editors:
Yael Behar, Kaitlyn Nash, Natalia Zavaleta
Copy Editor: Lili Moran
Assistant Editors: Jasper Johst, Kate Hayes
Savannah Brewer
Rachel Calabuig
Eliana Grant
Delaney Hildebrandt
Gigi Hirsch
Sophia Johst
Damo Kouakou
Kamryn Mack
Lily Miller
Emily Rodriguez
Elise Villa
Levi Walters Artists
Yael Behar
Eliana Grant
Associations
Interscholastic Press League
Honors
Illustration
“I
see
would
because
Angelo Badua, 10
Kamryn Mack | Reporter
Coach Storm Woods was given the Rookie Teacher of the Year award this year. Woods takes on a variety of roles; he’s the P.E teacher, track coach, and football coach. This award came as a huge surprise to Woods, and he’s honored to receive it.
“This is my first year teaching, although I’ve been substituting for three years,” Woods said. “It was truly a blessing to receive this title. I didn’t expect it at all, it’s a great honor.”
Woods has enjoyed the supportive culture at the school so far. To Woods, the environment is a place where students and teachers alike can thrive.
I don’t know about other places, but that’s usually not common. I was just overwhelmed with love and support and that just helped me continue to show up. Also, the inclusiveness, basketball supports volleyball, volleyball supports basketball. All the sports support each other, and the same with the student body.”
Woods said that he is thankful for the people who supported him along the way and made his coaching journey a little easier.
Career and Technical Education teacher Pilar Gonzalez-Munoz received the Teacher of the Year award for Hendrickson on February 24, 2023.
“It’s a weird feeling for me because I have always been the type of person that doesn’t expect praise or recognition for doing my job,” Gonzalez said. “It still throws me off when people call me ‘Teacher of the Year,’ because to me every teacher is teacher of the year in some way, shape, or form to their loved ones and their students.”
Principal Michael Grebb gave some insight into why Gonzalez was chosen.
“Because she is the best … the real reason is the staff nominate teachers and then we vote on who should be the Teacher of the Year,” Grebb said. “Therefore, she earned it and many other teachers agree, too.”
Gonzalez was surprised at the announcement.
“My thoughts finding out I was teacher of the year were just [pure shock],” Gonzalez said. “I felt unworthy of this. I truly love and enjoy my job, and it’s a blessing to be able to do this every day at Hendrickson. Also, it’s not common for a CTE teacher to receive this award, as we teach a smaller population of the student body compared to the core subjects.”
For Gonzalez, it was life-changing realizing the hard work she’s done was recognized.
“It’s such an honor because it has reassured me that I made the right career choice when trying to decide between teaching agriculture or continuing with my Pre-Vet degree,” Gonzalez said.
Kaitlyn Nash | PhotographerFor this school year, Ryan Hopkins was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award. A humanitarian is a person who helps others in many different ways, shapes, and forms without thinking twice about it.
“It is about serving other people kind of like without question without fail,” Hopkins said. “You can bring joy and light into places where its possible.”
For those who may not know, Hopkins’ position in Hendrickson according to him is a “What do you need?” type of staff. Hopkins’ official job is as an instructional coach, but with his years of experience all over the world of education, he can utilize many of his skills to perform almost any task available.
“I’ve been gifted many different awards but to be given this one it means a lot. This is central to my values of why I wake up in the morning and why I come to work,” Hopkins said. “There’s so many people around here doing amazing, work that people look to me to being an exemplar of that is incredible.”
According to Hopkins, mental health is a big part of being a Humanitarian because you have to care and give to other people but also need to give to yourself at the same time.
“Continually and tirelessly working on themselves and to improve themselves and giving to others without asking for a favor in return,” Hopkins said. “We’re like a well, we can’t continue to deliver the water without being refilled.”
“The coaches [helped] me, from Mrs. Peterson to Coach Welsh,” Woods said. “Everybody wants to see you succeed.
“I want to thank Mr. Grebb for first and foremost hiring me, and secondly for being a really great principal, and thirdly for being a really great guy,” Woods said. “As well as Mrs. Alvarado. I just want to thank all my colleagues for all the support you’ve given me.”
This year, finalists and a winner were picked for the Lifetime Achievement award, an HEB award that celebrates teachers who have gained more than 20 years of experience in the field. History teacher Sarah Lucas was one of the finalists nominated for this award.
“Anyone can nominate a teacher or a principal for an HEB Excellence in Education award,” Lucas said. “After I was notified that I was nominated, there was a lengthy application for me to submit. I had to write six essays on [educational] topics.”
Being nominated was an honor, according to Lucas.
“I received a letter from HEB in the mail and told Mr. Grebb, who grinned at me and [said] he had nominated me,” Lucas said. “He was kind enough to write me a letter of recommendation to submit with my application. I have a very persistent internal voice which constantly points out what I’m doing wrong, so it was affirming to have
Mr. Grebb so excited about the award and so complimentary of my teaching practice.”
On top of the honor of being nominated, HEB added in some special events for those who were finalists.
“HEB paid for three nights at the La Cantera Resort and Spa in San Antonio and hosted a lovely Fiesta dinner and reception,” Lucas said. “This included a live band, a fabulous Mexican food buffet, and games of Loteria.”
According to Lucas, despite her not winning the biggest prize, the support she received helped her stay positive.
“The Lifetime Achievement winner received $25,000 for herself and $25,000 for her school,” Lucas said. “The best part of it all was the support of my family and Mr. Grebb. I know for sure I have the most awesome husband, daughter, and boss. It would have been easy for them to support me through a win, but they’re not shying away from supporting me through the loss.”
Kaitlyn Nash | PhotographerThe UIL One Act Play company left on April 20 to compete at Regionals on April 21 in Pasadena, Texas at San Jacinto College. With only the top two schools allowed to advance, the company placed third, making them alternates to state. Individual awards went to senior Jayden Greenwood for Honorable Mention All-Star Cast, junior Bella Monette for All Star Cast, and senior Tori Ybrra for Best Performer.
“I was surprised they called my name,” Ybarra said. “I took a big risk during this performance and I felt really proud of myself.”
Additionally, the UIL Academics team also competed at Region on April 23 at Foster High School in Katy, Texas. The team finished second, only three points behind first. 11 students are headed to State with six competing and five as alternates. Finalists include: senior Lucas Flores as Regional Champion in both the Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Informative Speaking, junior Maya Hay as Regional Champion for Persuasive Speaking, freshman Hannah Saad
as Regional Champion for Literary Criticism, and junior Kate Hayes as Regional Champion for Headline Writing.
“Placing came as a total shock to me, and especially placing first,” Hayes said. “I never knew that I could be that good at Headline Writing and I felt very overwhelmed but also happy.”
Junior Cecilia Acosta placed third in Persuasive Extemp and will also be competing at State and junior Aidan Cheely placed fifth. Senior Kaitlyn Nash placed fourth in Informative Speaking and sixth in Ready Writing. Junior Addi Villegas placed sixth in Prose Interpreting. Freshman Neha Gandra placed sixth in Literary Criticism. Junior Lili Moran placed sixth in Headline Writing and Natalia Zavaleta placed sixth in Feature Writing. Lastly, senior Shauri Yedevalli placed sixth in Current Events.
Team awards include: Champion Speech Team, Runner-Up Lit Crit Team, Runner-Up Current Events Team, and Overall Academic Sweepstakes RunnerUp.
The Fire Academy students attended and competed at the Texas Public Safety Associations (TPSA) State Conference. There were multiple events that the EMT students competed in. The first event was to test how an EMT responds to a call of action and how they help the victim.
Senior Josie Santiago got first place as First Responder in this event. Santiago had to go through a fake shooting in a male bathroom, do CPR on a patient and control bleeding on another patient.
“I was definitely anxious because this was my first time going to this competition. I thought it was a lot of fun,” Santiago said. “ I enjoyed hanging out while I waited for my events.”
Senior Hayden Nguyen-Moore got second First Responder in the same event.
“I felt really prepared for the competition, luckily I’ve done this before,” Nguyen-Moore said. “This is to test the strength of our firefighters.”
The second event was the individual agility test for females and male. This part of the competition is to see how firefighters would help a victim in scenes. In this event for the women,
senior Jackie Newson got first in Fire Agility, and for the men junior Aiden Leake came in second and senior Aero Collins in third.
“Going into the competition I felt pretty good because we did very well last year,” Collins said. “However something went wrong during the actual competition and I thought we weren’t going to do so well. But we did good.”
Despite the downfalls of this competition, the Fire Academy did well in these events. Third event is the same but in a team effort to test how well the students work together. Collins, Leake, and seniors Gage Reyes and Isaac Huerta, all won First Fire Agility Team. Lastly is the Search and Rescue where you have to look for a lost baby in a burning house. The only student who placed in the last event was a student from Connally High school, named Anthony Vasquez, who comes to the campus to participate in the Fire Academy program. He placed second in the Search and Rescue event.
“I was comfortable in my events during the competition, this is my first competition so I really tried to take my time,” Vasquez said.
The Science Olympiad team earned multiple first, second and third place awards in Corpus Christi at the regional competition along with top five finishers in nine events on March 10-11.
“While everyone performed admirably, the following students managed to garner medals in their events [in regionals] and I wanted to share their joy with you,” science and math teacher Dr. Joseph Ortiz said in an email to staff.
First place in Detector Building went to senior Cyan Brown and junior Keira Johnson. 3rd place in Forensics went to senior Elena Alvarado and junior Allison Coleman. First place in Rocks and Minerals went to seniors Nanda Prasad and An Dang. 3rd place in Wifi Lab went to senior Dat Phan and junior Elian Garcia Gonzalez. Second place in Solar Power went to junior Smithi Balan and senior Abdullah Janabi.
“I am happy to say that we were able to secure a bid to State,” Ortiz said.
State was held on the weekend of April 21-22 at College Station where the
Science Olympiad team finished 20th.
“We did come away with some great experiences and strong performances in individual events,” Dr. Ortiz said. “This team has poured their hearts into their events and it was great to see this work pay off. Sadly, for the seniors this was their last tournament and it is difficult to say goodbye. However, as you [can] see, our seniors went into making our events as successful as [they] could.”
There were seven top ten finishes at State including one medal winner. : Trajectory – 4th place [medal finish]–Senior Nigel Norman, Cole Brennan, & Brown
Codebusters – 7th place – Norman, Senior Rudolf Bendixen, & Brown
Write It, Do It – 7th place – Senior Seher Taneja & Balan
Detector Building – 8th place – Brown, Taneja, & Johnson
Green Generation – 9th place –Junior Aamani Frias & Bridgette Kelleher
Remote Sensing – 10th place – Brown & Bendixen
Flight – 10th place – Gonzalez & Junior Zion Onwujuba
The Hawk Drama company of Urinetown won five awards at the Heller Awards for Young Artists (HAYAs) on April 19. In addition to senior Kyra Carr winning Best Supporting Female Lead, Hawk Drama also won awards for Best Costume Design, Best Scenic Design, Best Ensemble, and Best Direction.
“Winning felt absolutely amazing and validating,” Carr said. “I worked so hard on Lockstock and knowing that my hard work paid off made me feel extremely happy.”
Kaitlyn Nash | PhotographerA multitude of problems plague the school bathrooms, ranging from excessive graffiti to a lack of toilet paper. While students' abuse of the restrooms is surely a contender for contributing to these issues, an additional contributor is a lack of custodians.
“We have a little labor shortage in the custodial department,” principal Michael Grebb said. “We are about half staffed in custodians.”
Typically, large campuses have around 12 custodians. Meanwhile, there are only five custodians at the school. This shortage leads to overworked custodians, a depletion of toilet paper and paper towels in the restrooms, and an overall lack of cleanliness in the school.
“It’s been stressful for everybody,” Custodial Supervisor Sochi Gonzalez said. “We have only five to seven plus me and that’s not enough. We don’t have a lot of people so even I had to come in and help and still it’s not clean enough. I hate to see the school like this.”
The lack of custodians is not owed to the budget or being unable to pay employees, it actually is due to people not applying for janitorial related jobs.
“There’s no people applying, so we can’t even hire more people,” Grebb said. “The Austin job market is really tight, and there’s a lot of competition for different jobs.”
A notable result of this shortage is the extra work piled onto the custodians daily tasks. The custodians have even had to come in on weekends in order to complete tasks unfulfilled on weekdays. Many custodians are here until
12:30 a.m.
Yael Behar | Artist“It’s hard because they have to cover areas double the size of their normal,” Grebb said. “They really can’t pay as much attention to details because they’re just trying to keep everything clean.”
Upper administration has declined to give many of the custodians prolonged overtime on the weekends. The only overtime that is approved is four hours per person.
“The thing is that with the custodians that we have right now, if we pay overtime, they come and they don’t do anything,” Gonzalez said. “I’m trying to get somebody from the outside to come and help. When we give overtime, sometimes they get out at 1:30 or 2:30.”
Things like graffiti, damage to appliances, and leaving trash out are common destructive behaviors making the custodian’s jobs harder. These behaviors are easily fixable and can lessen custodians workload, providing them more time to focus on more pressing tasks.
“As long as they pick up the trash in the classrooms, throw everything in the bins and don’t make a lot of mess that would help us a lot,” Gonzalez said. “For each bathroom, at least an hour [is taken to clean it.] If we can spend that time doing something else, that will help a lot.”
Stopping detrimental behaviors to school property and cleaning up after yourself are simple, yet effective ways to also lighten the workload of the staff.
“We all need to chip in,” Grebb said. “It will make the custodial staff’s job a little easier at night.”
Due to a lack of cleanliness on campus, a new cleanup initiative developed entirely by teachers has been launched. The initiative, called Adopt-a-Hallway, is based on student organizations adopting parts of the school to clean up on a regular basis.
"Adopt-a-Hallway is based on the Adopt-a-Highway program," AP Psychology and ACC US History teacher Sara Lucas said. "That idea really came from ROTC. I saw them cleaning up a courtyard one day and I was like, 'this is a great idea.'"
Brainstorming for a solution to dirty classrooms began in the Teacher Academic Advisory Committee, a professional learning committee which Lucas is a part of.
"We were disturbed about how infrequently our rooms were being cleaned," Lucas said. "So we started asking questions and it turns out that we don't have enough custodians. We should have 12 to 14 custodians and we have five. There was some concern about if we will get custodians in the future, because right now, nobody is applying for those jobs, but the truth is,
things need to get cleaned."
The idea for students and teachers to have a role in cleaning up the school began to gain traction.
"It seems like it would be a great superordinate goal where we can all come together with keeping our campus clean," Lucas said. "So the committee started brainstorming what are some things we could do. Ms. Peterson talked to her PALS classes and brought back ideas."
Now, after the time spent by the committee planning and publicizing the initiative, student organizations have officially started cleaning up areas around the school. For example, the Auto Club has 'adopted' the parking lot.
"We're going to have [clean-ups] after school, where you can get makeup hours and volunteer hours," Lucas said. "We're having that on Monday and Thursday, although finding an adult who can be there is tricky."
The initiative involves more than just cleaning. It also wants to help make custodians’ jobs easier.
"We're just trying to ask teachers to make sure that their trash cans are outside of their doors at the end
of the day, because that's a huge chunk of time for the custodians," Lucas said. "They are so overwhelmed."
Teachers and students have also continued to devise solutions to alleviate the custodial shortage.
"We only have full time custodians, what if - and I haven't asked the district - but what if we had part time custodians?" Lucas said. "There's some students who could use a part time job after school and wouldn't mind cleaning up the school. It does sound like a really good idea."
Lucas also emphasizes the idea of campus pride.
"I love that Mr. Grebb has been posting on social media," Lucas said. “Miss Sutphen has heard different groups have signed up for hallways, so he posted a picture of them."
Lucas says she is content with how the initiative has progressed thus far.
"We're kind of kicking things off this year, but really hope to have things very well in place by next year," Lucas said. "But, I know there are a lot of students who are anxious to come and help clean so I'm super, super impressed with the enthusiasm across the board."
This issue contains topics of sexual assault. Reader's discretion is advised.
Despite precautions taken by the school against sexual assault, students should be aware of certain precautions and actions to take before or after any possible assault occurs.
“It is important to know that any sexual assault report is taken seriously here at Hendrickson,” social worker Lori Carl said. “We do not want our students harmed in any way and will take all of the necessary steps to make sure they get the support and counsel they need in the most trauma informed way possible. Our students and their safety is our highest priority and we want to know if that is threatened or violated in
any way on our campus. I want students to know that we are here for them.”
There are many places one can reach out in the case of being sexually assaulted. One particular group that Carl supports is HOPE Alliance, a Williamson County crisis center which helps spread information on sexual abuse in a person’s daily life and in the
the safety and well-being of the person assaulted. There are also hotlines that can guide the student and parent to the proper resource as well. HOPE Alliance is a great resource to help navigate the steps to take as well as provide emotional support and counseling. Their number is 1-800-460-SAFE.”
It should also be made clear that any person who experiences sexual assault should report it and seek justice against their assaulter as well as get mental and physical help for themselves. Luckily with this, the school district does support a website called Anonymous Alerts, in which you can report bullying or suspicious
behaviour, and including sexual assault. A definition should also be said as for what counts as sexual assault.
“Sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim,” Carl said. “Some forms of sexual assault include: attempted rape, fondling or unwanted sexual touching, forcing a person to perform sexual acts. It is important to
Illustrations by | Yael Behar
hundreds of various investigative protocols for dealing with different issues regarding students and staff members. One that I personally have experience with is the Title IX protocol. Title IX deals with all allegations of gender-based harm in schools, including but not limited to sexual assault and harrassment. My Title IX investigation was originally launched back in February of 2019 and focused on multiple assaults I had survived a few months prior.
The process began with a mandatory report from one of my teachers, whom I had confided in previously. I was then pulled out of class to speak to the principal of my Oregon high school, which was daunting at the time. Going
in-depth details of the event(s). In my case, it was emotionally taxing to have to not only discuss but also write out what had happened.
I also think it’s important information that I had just moved to the town a few months before the investigation was launched. This meant I didn’t know many people, but following the investigation and talk that naturally happens at every high school, everyone knew me as “the girl who had been sexually assaulted.” So, not only did the school investigation have me reliving
the debilitating experience, but my peers also had pestering questions. I understand they were curious, maybe even worried, but it was overwhelming to be the talk of the school for several weeks. Having strangers who I had never spoken to ask me for my story just to decide whether or not I was credible enough or if my assault was “severe” enough was dehumanizing.
I remember a meeting being held shortly after my statement was finalized that consisted of various school officials, the principal, and my parents. Evidence was gathered from both sides, though I am not sure how my attacker had been dealt with throughout the investigation. The meeting that discussed the general understanding of the Title IX case was the last gathering I remember before I received the results of the investigation.
teachers, my parents, and more had allowed me to continue on despite the backlash I received from my attacker. I was lucky to have such a strong support system despite the dire situation. I hope that anyone working towards opening up about their experiences or going through the process feel any slight amount of hope from my words, even if it’s just from the knowledge that someone else has been through the process and survived.
It started like normal, my hand raised, asking to go to the bathroom. My teacher was out for the day, so the one accepting my request was a substitute. The not so normal thing however, was when the substitute followed me outside. I didn’t turn around or even let her know that I knew she was looking at me; I was prepared to show no fear or hesitation. Like always, my feet led me to the girls bathroom. Everyone has similar fears of the bathrooms what if it’s dirty? Or what if people judge me? But my bathroom dilemma is a whole different issue. It’s a battle of will. I can stand alone, a zebra amongst a herd of lions, or be safe, and at least feel like a lion amongst a herd of tigers. I, more often than not, choose the latter. In this case, the acceptable answer was going into the girls bathroom. So you’ll believe my surprise when I heard a voice yell from behind me:
“The boys bathroom is the other way.”
I turn to see the substitute, staring at me and motioning me to the right. Had I somehow slipped past her radar? Could she have not known a thing about me, or what was in my pants? I would be a fool if I let this slide, I thought, so I puffed out my chest and entered what should have been a place to just do your business, a place where you leave people alone. But as soon as I entered I realized that this was nothing of the sort. Three pairs of
eyes snapped at me and I immediately felt my pulse quicken and my body got cold, but the battle must go on. So I commanded my body to walk into the stall and close it behind me, over the sound of my pounding heart I heard the boys snickering amongst Then, a pair
shoes poked out from in front of the stall, then two more, and two more.
I was too scared to sit down, let alone collect myself in any manner. The boys were saying something to me, the zebra in the stall, and I just stood there, cowered in fear. I thought I could wait them out, when their shoes disappeared from my line of sight and
I heard the door open, I thought that this was my chance. I slowly made my way out of the stall but the duel was far from over, I was met with the red shoes that once stood in front of the stall moments before. I didn’t even I stared at the red shoes and to be over. I made my way to the sink and he was quick to follow me, rubbing up against my leg saying things I have heard all my life, but in this moment they brought chills down my spine like never before.
“Are you really a girl?” He questioned. “What’s a girl like you doing in the boys bathroom?”
He commented like it was nothing,
still touching me. When it was clear I wasn’t giving him any sort of reaction he simply scoffed and walked away, running down the hallway repeatedly screaming, “There’s a girl in the boys bathroom.” Somebody came by to make sure everything was okay, some staff member. They offered a quick greeting and, not noticing my shaky breath, went on their way.
I have never left quicker in my life. I didn’t fully realize what had just happened to me, I just knew that before I even could think, I was shaking and crying and a friend was comforting me in the hallway. I went from a burning rage at my substitute for making me go to that bathroom. But the rage quickly turned to self guilt. I felt dirty and wrong. Like it was my fault for going in when I knew I shouldn’t have. I felt disgusting and out of place in my own skin, because of someone else. My friends were there and listened to it all and relinquished my bad thoughts. They had assured me that it was not my fault and that it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I didn’t listen or believe them at first, but I came around to realize that they were right. In the moment they helped me more than anybody else could have and they didn’t even know it. At least I had someone to talk to. Had I not, and many victims don’t, the outcome would have looked so much different. I might have never stopped believing that it was my fault.
Illustration by | Yael Behar
Remember: you are not alone.
Start with a report - Any person who experiences sexual misconduct should immediately report to a trusted teacher, school counselor, principal, or other District employee. (However, if you are a teacher reporting, you should contact the Title IX District Coordinator). 1 2
Who will be notified? - Both sets of parents of the perpetrator and the victim will be notified if a report is made.
How should the Title IX Coordinator respond? - They will “discuss the availability of supportive measures” with the victim, even if they have not filed a formal complaint, and “explain to the complainant the option and process for filing a formal complaint.” The Coordinator will guide you through to filing a formal complaint. 3
Emergency removal - You can request that the school remove the alleged perpetrator from “the district’s education program or activity on an emergency basis” as long as they identify that the victim is in danger and they allow the perpetrator to challenge the removal. 4 5 6
Investigation of a formal complaint - The district will then follow the steps of investigating the complaint by gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, allow both parties to provide evidence they find, provide attorneys, give notice of hearing times and dates, access to all evidence that will be brought up electronically, and create an investigative report and share it 10 days prior to the hearing.
Afterwards - If they do not rule in favor of your case, you may file for an appeal if new evidence surfaces, procedure is broken, or there was a conflict of interest for any of the Title IX Coordinator, investigator(s), or decision-maker(s).
In places where eyes don’t think to look, student-on-student sexual assault and harassment is rampant. When students are young, it is often stressed to “protect your personal bubble,” but many find themselves without that power to protect.
According to a 2000 study done by the American Association of University Women, 81% of students in 8th through 11th grade experience sexual harassment in school. Hendrickson is no exception.
“My freshman year in my biology class I was friends with a guy that sat behind me in class and we talked quite a bit in class,” sophomore Syeda Johnson* said. “He asked me about my hobbies one time and I proceeded to show him some of my dance performances to show him what I enjoyed doing. He told me that my dancing gave him boners and made him think things, even though they were simply videos of me dancing at family friendly events. I was grossed out and uncomfortable, but I decided to turn around and ignore the comment and do my school work.”
Like Johnson, many incidents of sexual harassment by peers are not isolated to one instance.
“Later during this class he said he wanted to compare hand sizes, so I did, and right afterwards he slid his hand down to my thigh and squeezed it,” Johnson said. “He squeezed it several times before taking it off my thigh. I sat there not knowing how to respond or what to do with my anxiety at this point through the roof. I turned back around thinking about what he had just done, trying not to cry. After I turned around once again to try and ignore him he pulled down my jacket and put his mouth on my shoulder.
without being noticed by a teacher or classmate.”
Even in places that are supposed to be private, sexual assault can persist. Senior Devin Nguyen was kissed and groped in the restrooms near A Hall, causing them to be wary of any bathroom they enter.
“The school couldn’t really do anything because it was his word against mine, and he just denied it happened,” Nguyen said. “It definitely could’ve been handled better. The entire ordeal made me feel really irrelevant. I think it creates an environment that ignores and discredits even minor incidents
schools? I think some students are impacted by this because it just shows if you speak up about it, nothing will really get done.”
For Johnson, though there was support, they also found that not much was done to discipline the student that sexually assaulted them.
“I was referred to Miss Carl [when] I told her what happened,” Johnson said. “She offered me support. I wrote a report and got no updates or response until my parents had to call the school to get things dealt with. After that they told me they would remove him from my class and tell him to avoid me. But when I came to class, he was still there and [I] couldn’t go to class for a few days because he was still there. I told my parents once again and they finally removed him from my class. While my teacher offered me great support, it felt like the school wasn’t taking my situation seriously. I felt like it wasn’t prioritized, and the school was simply trying to sweep it under the rug rather than offer me help and deal with it properly.”
Nguyen believes that education needs to be at the forefront of the conversations surrounding sexual assault and harrassment in schools.
The estimated lifetime cost of rape is approximately $122,461 per victim in medical bills, lost productivity, and legal fees.
of assault and harassment that occur even in the day-to-day and just overall contributes to the underlying issues surrounding rape culture.”
After senior Sara Barker* told the school about her experience, there was
“I think the discussion surrounding sexual assault is a very difficult one but it’s one this school needs to have to help students like me who experience even like minor incidents of harassment or assault and how so they’re better equipped to address these issues,” Nguyen said. Barker says things need to change before school is considered a safe space
“Honestly, I feel there are certain people here at campus that are willing to make this a safe space for you but for the most part, I don’t consider this school a safe place,” Barker said. “I feel that we really have to hold these people accountable for their actions and then this would be a safer place.”
Only around 25 out of 1,000 perpetrators are charged with sexual assault and imprisoned. Less than 20% of rapes are reported by victims.
It is okay to lie - If you have a feeling that someone should not know specific facts about you, it’s okay to not tell them or tell them something that isn’t quite the truth, like where you live or what classes you have.
Find you friends - In a new class, it can be hard to find a support system that you trust. If they are available, try to sit next to your friends or make signals to let your friends know when you are uncomfortable. This could help if you are not able to be verbal about something that happens.
1 2 3 4
Keep a healthy distance - Make sure to put space between you and others in your class if possible. This limits other people’s chance of being too close for comfort.
Get involved on campus - Join clubs where you can fight for other people’s right to safety and push to make spaces safe for you and your peers. Help educate others about what is not okay when interacting with others at school.
I hated the person he made me turn into and no one should ever have to feel that way.”
Sara Barker*, 12
“Illustrations by | Natalia Zavaleta
Sitting backstage, huddled up and holding hands with the other support cast members, senior Kyra Carr could not believe her ears. Fellow crew mates eagerly motioned her to the stage, and still shocked, she delivered her acceptance speech to the crowd. Carr was destined for New York.
Andrea Foster | Photographerthis award students are given the opportunity to perform in a production on Broadway along with the other winners, Carr is one of those individuals.
“Honestly, it still hasn’t fully kicked in yet,” Carr said. “I can’t believe I’m going. Every now and then, I’ll snap out of it and realize, ‘oh my god, I’m
stressed over not learning my lines, not being able to sing the songs correctly. Even though I’ve been doing it a while and I have my own techniques that I like to use to prepare myself, it’s still very overwhelming.”
Late last semester and throughout the start of this semester, this stress was at its climax for Carr.
“For the longest time, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Carr said. “It was very stressful. I remember Christmas break, I was trying to practice my lines and I just couldn’t seem to memorize them and we had a rehearsal the next day. I remember just crying and calling one of my other cast mates. It just felt like such a short period of time, and if I’m being honest, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it at all. It was very rough, but all my stress and tears really paid off.”
Despite these mental obstacles, Carr argues the crowd is what made the struggle worth it.
“The crowd really helped fuel my energy and kept me going throughout the whole show,” Carr said. “I performed ‘Cop Song,’ my solo number. Afterwards, I asked people what their favorite song was, and almost every single person said it was the 'Cop Song.' That made me so happy. It was just one time I really felt satisfied
with the performance that I gave.”
Carr has been a member of the school’s theater program throughout her high school career. However, it wasn’t until her junior year that her passion for the performing arts truly took flight.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” Carr said. “It started off well my freshman year. But, by the COVID year, [my success in theater] kind of took a hit. Even though I was still able to get good opportunities, it was just a mentally tough year for me. It was last year that I felt like I was really starting to find myself in theater. And, of course, this year has been amazing.”
Her extensive time spent as a part of the theater program and her success this year has motivated Carr to continue acting in the future.
“I think winning the Hellers and winning the Jimmy nomination really just gave me a level of confidence and reassurance that I actually should pursue theater,” Carr said. “At first, I was planning on just doing communications at ACC. But, I think after doing this, I realized that there’s another plan for me in my life. And, as much as I try to run away from it, it’s going to catch up to me eventually.”
Kate Hayes | Asst. Editor After several years in hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Pflugerville's Teen Court spring session has ended. The spring session was held from Jan. to May, with the last meeting on May 11. The program is planned to resume in the fall.
Teen Court is an alternative to traditional court punishment that defendants can voluntarily participate in. To be eligible for participation, defendants must be in high school and plead no contest or guilty to a Class C misdemeanor, where they will then answer to a jury of their peers. Under this category of misdemeanors are offenses such as driving without
a license, disorderly conduct, and, most prevalently, underaged smoking.
After hearing their case, instead of ordering them to pay a fine, the jury determines how much community service and future participation in Teen Court the defendants will need to complete to have their charge dismissed. Once the charge is dismissed, it will not appear on any future criminal records.
"When you're a defendant in Teen Court, you get the opportunity to walk away with a clean record," junior and Teen Court juror Nia Pinkney said. "That will be very helpful for kids who might want to pursue different things and need a clean slate to do so."
The initial cohort of jurors were selected from a pool of applicants,
who may sign up for various reasons.
"I did not want to join Teen Court," Pinkney said. "My dad signed me up so I can get some volunteer hours on my college resume."
It can also be an opportunity for teenagers interested in gaining experience with the court system.
"You get a peek into the court system," Pinkney said. "It's nice for people who are considering a career in a field that handles the law."
Junior and Teen Court juror Isaiah Duvvuri joined in order to become a better advocate later in his life.
"I can learn about the court system, but also how to show compassion and form my own opinions on the law," Duvvuri said. "I thought it was
a cool concept and could actually benefit kids whose environment and home life was messed up."
There are reasons for defendants to participate in the program as well.
"It can offer more rehabilitative and educational courses than other court options while avoiding harsh punishments," Duvvuri said. "It can also help jurors and defendants understand the law for the better."
Pinkney says the program can help those who made a mistake that shouldn't affect their adult life.
"I think Teen Court is important for kids who were caught at the wrong place at the wrong time," Pinkney said. "It helps kids make a better future for themselves."
With summer right around the corner, students all across campus are scrambling to ‘tame the beast’ – a summer job. Many students depend on summer work to save money for college, or to spend during the school year, when studies and extracurricular activities keep them from being able to work a regular schedule. This influx of available workers for the same jobs makes the summer job hunt a competitive one, and students are anxious to solidify their employment opportunities. Sophomore Aaron Pomerantz has already checked that worry off of his list. Indeed is an app or website that shows places around you that are hiring. It just so happened that Chipotle posted new job opportunities on Indeed in search of new workers.
“The interview was pretty informal because they had just gotten new management,” Pomerantz said. “I applied through Indeed, and they had me fill out a few questions about stuff I was able to do and how quickly I could learn.” Though closing shifts can be tiring, Pomerantz enjoys his job.
“I wanted a job because I was sick and tired of not having money, and now I’m able to buy stuff for people I care about,” Pomerantz said “I also needed something to fill the endless void left by the marching season.”
Pomerantz balances a hefty schedule between marching season and working as a minor, but he still manages to complete his studies. Pomerantz works anywhere from short hours to closing shifts, and still enjoys every minute.
“I probably would tell [my past self] not to stress too much, because despite all the awful stories you hear about the customers, most are really nice,” Pomerantz said. “My coworkers are also really nice and patient, despite my complete incompetence when it comes to burrito folding.”
While others may spend the summer working on their tans or catching up on their sleep, those who are able to find a summer job, will be one step ahead of the game come fall. Despite this being his first job other than occasional dog sitting, Pomerantz plans to carry on with his job at Chipotle through the summer season.
“I honestly feel a lot better knowing that I’m actually doing something productive with my time,” Pomerantz said. “And I’m sure my friends are pretty relieved too.”
Kate Hayes | Asst. Editor
Illustrations by | Natalia Zavaleta
40.7%
said food said clothes
11.6%
14.0%
said car expenses said cosmetics
8.1% 7.0%
17.4% said 'other'
said college savings said concerts
1.2%
Despite double and triple checking the hours of the store, FrostBites was never open when I had actually arrived. On their Facebook, they posted that they were understaffed which is understandable but unfortunate given that so many people have praised their store, and I had been eager to try out their selection.
It would’ve been nice if their hours were updated online to reflect the new staffing situation as to avoid any miscommunication.
Even though I didn’t receive any service, I thought that the establishment looked like it was very quaint and it would be a perfect location for a summer treat. Here’s to hoping I can return in the future when they’re actually open.
Natalia
Rollie Rolls Ice Cream, located on West Pecan Street, is a rolled ice cream shop that sells a variety of other treats like boba and slushies. Additionally they have “waffle puffs,” better known as egg waffles, a treat that originated from Hong Kong in the 50s. The shop is a small business started in 2019 by Asian owners from Pflugerville.
Upon entering the shop, I noticed that it is a relatively big area. There are a variety of places to sit at and enjoy your treats. The menu is incredibly diverse as they have something for everyone. It was hard to decide on one thing as they all looked incredibly appetizing. I ended up ordering the “Lucky-Kat” which is vanilla ice cream mixed with vanilla wafers and Kit-Kat pieces, drizzled with chocolate. My total was around $8.00 after tax.
After paying, you can move to a separate part of the shop where you can observe the workers roll ice cream on
the cold plates, browse their abundant Japanese and Mexican candy selection, or sit down in another sitting area. The wait was relatively short as the shop was empty when I went on a Sunday afternoon. After the ice cream is rolled, additional toppings are offered at no cost. I chose rainbow sprinkles but there were other options available such as peanuts, chocolate chips, or marshmallows.
The ice cream itself was delicious. There was just the right amount of everything in it and for the price you get a good amount of it. This was the perfect treat to have after working in the backyard all day long. Next time I would really like to try one of their waffle puffs, as I’ve never had one, with banana and strawberries.
Supporting a local shop while eating ice cream never felt so good. I would recommend coming in and sitting down with friends and family to enjoy the treats with a side of good conversation. Overall 10/10.
Recently, I took a trip to BonBons Rolled Ice Cream in Stone Hill. When I first approached the location, I was surprised to see the building’s interior actually opened to the public. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, BonBons had been closed and delivered through a window due to the threat of illness. It was refreshingly nice to see the beloved ice cream joint open for customers to go inside. The interior was decorated colorfully and tastefully, making me interested in staying inside to eat. However, I noticed there was no music playing overhead. Music would have definitely had a positive effect on customers’ experiences.
The menu was limited but specific, offering combinations of flavors like basic vanilla and chocolate, and many toppings including fresh fruit, gummies,
and more. I ordered a Strawberry and Nutella mix with gummy bears and I was quite excited to receive the food. The pricing was as expected for rolled ice cream, as demand is high and the product is unique. The total cost fell around $7. The employees were sweet and friendly, handing me my order with a bright smile.
When it was time to try my rolled ice cream, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the taste and combination of flavors. Overall, this summer ice cream experience was perfect. I enjoyed the environment the employees had created and the ice cream was incredibly delicious. I would definitely return to BonBons and hopefully I do so soon.
Bahama Bucks, a shaved ice and snow cone company, is a tropical themed dessert shop. A variety of flavors and combinations of those flavors are offered for a reasonable price. The regular sized snow cone costs $3.49. The island-themed interior pairs well with the sweet, fruit flavored ice. Bahama Bucks encompasses the feel of summer through vibrant colors and
music playing throughout the shop. It’s a quintessential treat for the upcoming heat of summer. Their various shaved ice flavors make for a delicious treat and a quick way to cool down. The setting and dessert provide a perfect place to hang out during hot days. Overall, Bahama Bucks is an affordable shop that provides a much needed relief for the upcoming summer heat.
Eliana Grant | Reporter
Photo provided by |
Eliana GrantJust off of East Whitestone Boulevard in Cedar Park in a small strip mall is an Italian ice shop which consistently serves sweet summer delicacies. For the past 10 months or so, I have been frequenting Jeremiah’s Italian Ice. On my most recent journey here, I ordered the Oreo Mud Pie, which has cookies and cream Italian ice and a vanilla and chocolate soft serve
swirl with oreo cookie crumbles on top. This is called a Gelati, and is constructed with smooth and rich soft serve in between layers of their amazing Italian ice. As for their prices, a medium gelati, such as the size I got, costs $5.99. The only real negative to Jeremiah’s is that their soft serve often melts much quicker than their Italian ice, making it almost soupy at the end of eating, but this can be easily overlooked when considering the delicious options of their menu.
It all started when I was a kid and I’d hear the ice cream truck go by my neighborhood and run after it to have a cool treat on a hot day. Yet, a frozen treat with the light, fluffy texture of thinly shaved ice comes in a close second to ice cream. The Hawaiian shaved ice food truck, Kona Ice, is attempting to bring frozen foods this summer. The ice-and-syrup dessert that Kona Ice sells is the best. The main disadvantage of the traditional crushed ice snow
cone or snowball is that the ice is so coarse that the majority of the syrup just goes through it and ends up at the bottom of the cup. However, their shaved ice retains the flavoring syrup incredibly well, offering a constant flavor throughout. Even better, when sweetened condensed milk is added, it transforms into a substance that is strikingly similar to ice cream. For my personal review, Kona Ice gets a four star rating.
Photo provided by |
Yael Behar
I pretty much go to Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt as often as I can stand it. It’s a nice alternative to the traditional frozen treat of ice cream or popsicles. The selfserve machines allow for complete freedom of the creation of your dessert. Couple this with the self-serve topping bar, with basically every topping you can
think of, and your frozen yogurt is a reflection of your heart. You can have as much or as little frozen yogurt as you’d like. There is a catch though, and it comes in the price. The frozen yogurt’s price is calculated by the weight, at .12 cents per ounce. The price can really rack up with heavy toppings. Besides this, Menchie’s makes an excellent summer treat, with its colorful interior, cute mascots, and ever-changing selection of flavors.
Kaitlyn
Photo provided by | Kaitlyn Nash
I dashed to the school with chocolate dripping from my hands. Of course Nat wanted a cone of ALL THINGS you could get from Andy’s Frozen Custard (which is a lot of things by the way.) My chocolate covered hands were worth it, though. The first bite I took out of my seasonal Blackberry Waffle Jack was heaven. The crunchy waffle bits mixed with a tangy blackberry made me feel like I was on the beaches of Florida again for
the summer. For the low price of $6.49, I was relieved of my senioritis…for an hour.
I always find Andy’s to be a comforting treat on my worst day, or on the days that require celebration. Their service is fast and friendly, and their outdoor seating gives a sense of community where you can chill and play some cornhole with friends. If you ever need a treat that is affordable and delicious, Andy’s is the way to go my friend.
Elise Villa | Reporter
Yael Behar | Co-Editor
Even finishing the season with a 3-7 record, the rebuilding process is still in progress with next year’s standouts, Spencer Distefano, Jacob Donnelly, Maddox Quiller, and Brayden Durocher who all stepped up during this offseason, and starting of spring ball. For their goal to make the playoffs next season the addition of spring ball has players wear pads and helmets and practice on the weaknesses from last season.
“Our strength was definitely in the fight and the hard work that the team put in, so we want to keep building on that,” coach Doug Pearce said. “They never give up, fighting through the adversities that our season had.”
One of many stand out players would be Sajal Chauhan, who is a returning singles player. He placed in District this year, so next year he has a great chance of getting into Regionals. Zach Yap will be a senior next year and he’ll be playing singles and has shown improvement to make a good run. Alyssa Bara and Brooke Rahn on the JV side of things placed first in District Four girls doubles.
“We have to be ready to get out of our comfort zones and take risks,” coach Derek Bertsch said. “We tend to get kind of just in our own style of play and not get out of it. Sometimes you gotta step up to the competition level.”
Freshman Alyssa Lee is one who led the team in scoring this year, which in every tournament she carried the team in points and went to District and Regional. Junior Andrew Cordova also qualified for Regionals and took the first individual medalist spot. Always working on mental games and practicing staying consistent has been their struggle, but with more seasons to come the better they will get.
“Taking the game one shot at a time so that whether it’s good or bad, they move on from it and get ready for the next shot that comes up,” coach Brian Westerfield said.
Some of the lifters have potential to be standout performers next season for powerlifting, with high expectations for freshman Ryan Doggett to repeat as a Regional qualifier. Look for Kinsey Colstad to repeat his Regional qualifiers and possibly State qualifiers. Expect Jordan January to push for another higher seed, and Erin Garcia for Regional qualification. Expect Juniors JoJo Brown, Reggie, Ward, Asher Kemnick t0 return for Regionals and possibly contend for a State qualification with one more year to compete.
“We’re not going to settle, we’re going to continue to push to get better and I’m excited to see what the future holds,” coach Peter Noonan said.
Being ranked first in district again with a record of 36-12 with the help of senior Kyra Dove, who put the ball down when she was out and in the back. Unfortunately the team lost in the second round. Players that will stand out next season are junior Kamea Uitenham, who is very powerful versatile when it comes to the front row. Junior Morgan Warren, the setter, runs offensive efficiently. Mia McCurley, who is the middle, is very dominant when it comes to running a really quick tempo offense. As a team they are really good at reading the plays and picking up balls and putting the ball away for points.
“Something we need to improve on is just finishing once we have a lead we need to be able to finish the game and not have those let downs,” coach Latraica Spencer said.
Unfortunately, the team has not made the playoffs and is ending the season with a record of 19-10-1. First year head coach David Neally, given by last head coach Pearce, kept the motivation the same, but kept everybody accountable for their actions. With the team being led by seniors DJ Pinkerton, Jaden Bahl, Cameron Williams, and Jaden Rodriguez, the team was kept tight knit by teaching what not to do and keeping the returning varsity players confident. The rising stars are sophomore Jake McGuire, who pitched most games and was really handy for the team and also the new addition of sophomore Kevin Haslim being versatile.
“We’re going to create a blue collar work ethic, much like we did this year,” Neelley said. “And you know, be a bunch of firing. Something that we’re preaching is ‘we don’t care how big the opponent is. We’re going to attack them like fire ants attack their enemy.’”
This year the boys track team reached Regionals with the help of senior Trace Dalton, Trevor Morgan, and Sebastian De Lara Serna. Each individual will tie together their strengths and make use of it when reaching regionals for the best of our overall team. Young talent Trevor Morgan and Sebastian de Lara Serna are the top two performers which might challenge the records for their races. Students sophomore Alicia Duncan, who led off all of the relays this year as well as freshmen Asia Price and Avery Pullin. This year’s star is state qualifier Jasmine Hayward in the 200 meter dash and almost qualified in the 400 meter dash.
“If they’ll work through some of the transition time before the season starts, they can put us in a great position to push towards a district championship and also build on it for area and Regionals and State activities,” coach Patrick Forester said.
Ending the season 10-10-4 placing 4th in district this season, a tough fought lose was played at the Pfield against Northestern raiders losing in 1st round in playoffs. Being led by 1st Team All-Region Erick Rios next year many pieces will be gone. With the team being heavily senior based more than half the team will be gone next season which will start a rebuild. With many young talents on the team the standouts juniors Jaxson White and Jacob Youngkin will make a big difference to the team.
“We want as a program to build character and build young men that know what they want to do and how to do it,” coach Jacob Stern said. “And we have too many people looking for someone else to guide them instead of being able to guide themselves.”
Going to playoffs and ending on a tough loss, their season ended with a 11-13-1 record being led by senior and District MVP Amanda Thai and her support of the young team they have. With many of the players being named in the all-district team next year they will lose a lot of speed at the top with the greatest strength being defense.
“Our defense will continue to get better. I think our midfield will continue to improve,” coach Kevin McKinley said. “We’re gonna have some new people in the midfield probably but I think as long as they are here throughout the summer and continue to play in the fall we’ll be good to go.”
This year, junior Jojo Brown has been named District Champ, 3x Regional Qualifier, and State Qualifier. Junior Jacob Donnelly is a Regional Qualifier with mostly wrestlers being Multisport Athletes. The team shows their dedication to staying in their weight class and competing to win. With wrestling you are going to get to know your teammates and opponents because of always being in close combat.
“Our captains JoJo and Jacob Donnelly very much led by example right there. They never miss practice. Even if they were hurt, they were at practice,” coach Jaymes Castillo said. “They’re constantly cheering on their teammates. They relied upon them a lot with teaching the young kids on what to do and how we do things as a program.”
Ending the season with a 6-22 record, injuries have really affected their season. With the group being heavily freshman and junior students, their potential will keep on rising the more mature they get. Sophomore pitcher Tabitha Via had a great season with another pitcher freshman Peyton Shroyer, which with the help of a pretty solid defense next year will be even better. They have worked very hard this year, and have improved monumentally compared to where they were in the fall.
“It wasn’t showing in the win column how much they’ve improved, which can get frustrating at times, but we are reminding ourselves all year from where we were to where we came,” coach Lindsay Eaton said.
Going into next season is a good group of girls runners. We have a senior class coming up with the juniors this year that are going to get better for their senior year, and they’re very capable of doing big things that haven’t been done at school before. But it takes work. It doesn’t come easy. Junior Cassie Rivera made it to State on her own for the girls, and rising runner junior Sebastian De Lara Serna is for sure to do great things their senior season.
“If you want to be a mediocre athlete, you know you can run whenever you feel like it -- but if you want to get to the next level you have to do your running 24/7 365 days a year,” coach Felipe Castro said.
Sophomore Stephanie Oiesen, who has set school records, has been at State the past two years. The expectations keep increasing her to be at State next year, and then her senior year as well. With the help of captain Angelina Alvarado, they both brought the team together and were excellent role models for the underclassmen.
“Some of the goals for next season like I said this year we had a lot of success with sending kids to Regionals,” coach Ashley Campbell said. “I want to repeat that next season,”
After finishing the season 27-10 placing second in district this season, the seniors played their last game in a Hawk uniform losing to Ellison in round two. With senior Davion Allen averaging 17.8 ppg and being named offensive player of the year, and with help from junior Amir Thompson winning defensive players of the year, Spencer Distefano and Clint Smith. To achieve better outcomes coach Kennon Dvorak has goals to reach those outcomes by perfecting what they are good at for next season.
“We’re gonna show some improvement. We’ve got some younger guys who are kind of hungry and ready to play and we’ve got some guys who have some experience who will help with the leadership,” Dvorak said. “So I believe putting all those things together is going to help us get to where we want to be next year.”
Ending the season losing in the fifth round with a record of 34-6, the team relied on seniors Aliyah Carter, Maci Quiller, and Makayla Buckley. Having most of the team being all district team, sophomore Niyah Waters has improved to named all Cen-Tex team and was an all state performer with the help of Amaya Edwards shooting ability -- they are the players to watch for next season.
“I think that part of the reason we were so successful is that [the team] all believed in each other, and they all had each other’s backs,” coach Norma Sierra said.
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