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Photograph by Dreamalea Auman
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By Brienna Panariso
Pueblo County High Schools’ Arts Academy has begun the production of the classic The Addams Family. Being pursued and directed by Taylor Gilman, the cast will come together to perform on several occasions, including opening night on Thursday, Mar. 9 at 7 p.m., Mar.10 and Mar. 11 at 7 p.m. and Mar.12 at 2 p.m. Cast members and tech crew have dedicated time since Nov. of 2022. They have been pursuing the production into the start of Mar. 2023 with hard work and commitment. This includes all tech, drama construction and art classes that put work, effort and ideas toward the Addams Family musical. Moss Ray, junior, said, “I'm excited to see how timeframes and elements clash within the production, and have grown intrigued to see how PCHS will come together to put on such a flawless production.” The Addams Family is seen as an American classic in both comic literature,television and movies. This is due to its large history of influence and impact on many people. The musical is comedy based, and began with simple comic panels. An anomaly and award winning piece is admirably welcomed onto the stage of PCHS. Taylor Gilman, the TAA instructor, stated, “The Addams Family musical is going to be TAA’s best production to date!” PCHS is honored to have students, volunteers, and educators within the department that make this experience possible for the entire school and are excited to conclude the development of the musical. Come out to support your school, friends, peers, and instructors by contributing and viewing the upcoming Spring Musical. By Javin Martinez
What is HOSSA? HOSSA is a student-led global organization with the intended purpose of promoting the healthcare industry and enhancing the quality of healthcare. Opportunities from this organization include amazing ones such as scholarships, competitions, and conferences. Not only does HOSSA provide college opportunities but also guidance on what healthcare professions would be more suitable for an individual, along with the means of following that path. The HOSSA club at Pueblo County Highschool that provides students with a golden opportunity to find out what they would like to do after high school. Meetings are held in purpose of spreading awareness of the organization and what good opportunities it provides for students looking to seek a healthcare career. If you seek any kind of future with a profession in healthcare HOSSA is definitely the path for you, and even if you don't plan on a healthcare career HOSSA is full of great times and opportunities that’ll be sure to leave an impression to look back on.  By Ezra Elizando
A new Pueblo County High School club has arrived, known as the Chess Club. The game of chess has been around for more than 1,000 years. It gives great opportunities to the students who have played it with their elders. When it comes to chess, people have high expectations with skill and are able to think wisely on every move, being able to win against anyone which comes in handy for newcomers in the club. For instance, junior Tyler Greenfeild stated, “Chess Club being new is great for people like me who enjoy it.” He seems to be a skilled student in the club as he has a winning streak of four games already. Days for the chess club consist of many short games for practice. Even though Chess Club is doing great for its first year, it isn’t the only successful club. For example a while ago, PCHS created a new club called ESPORTS, which was an accomplishment for it being its first season. New beginnings for clubs really connect the students who have the skills for the club. By Javin Martinez
The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) is a test that takes place at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. The reason why students take this test is to monitor their growth and progression. Teachers can identify the weaknesses in both instructions and in students by these measurements offered through NWEA testing. This test can help teachers improve their ways of instructing as well as show the district if their students are at the level of knowledge they expect them to be. It’s an assessment to improve the district and its way of teaching and managing. Although NWEA is a necessary component of school, a lot of students and teachers have mixed opinions about the test. Olivia Foster, junior stated, “I think NWEA is very time-consuming to do. I think it helps teachers and the district know things but they should try making it smaller so it doesn't take as long.” Students such as Foster view the test as time-consuming as well as an inconvenience to their education. On the other hand, teachers view the test as worthwhile and a needed progress check for them and their students. Janae Gribble, a science teacher stated, “I think it's a good way of tracking students' progress and for teachers to see how they're doing.” Clearly, students and teachers have different opinions on NWEA, but as a matter of fact, NWEA provides valuable information for both teachers and the district, and changing the process now would be negative for the district.  By Ruby Raya
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of the many major celebrations in the United States, on Jan. 16, every year, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day. We celebrate the historic things Luther did for many people in the U.S. Examples include his famous “I have a Dream” speech, organizing protests, and participating in the Mongomery Bus Boycott as well other historical events. In the year 1983, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law, thanks to President Ronald Reagan. After Luthers’ death, many calls were made to have his own national holiday. On Jan. 16 the day after his birthday, they officially made Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday. In some places, many people take the day off to celebrate this important day and to remember what historical things Luther made in his lifespan. A big thank you goes out to Luther for making life easier for many people. Students at Pueblo County High School have opinions about this day in history. A sophomore at PCHS, Nancy Flores, stated, “We should celebrate his name because his speech was significant for many people.” Along with sophomore, Andrea Sanchez, “ I think Jan. 16 is an important day for the U.S. because it celebrates a very amazing person who made a big remark in history”. By Colt Antle
The Pueblo County High School Esports (Electronic Sports) team had a banquet to celebrate their first season, to hand out varsity letters, and their team as a whole in the Commons area, on December 13.. Esports is an activity taking place all over the world that started back in 1972, and then began growing significantly in popularity around the 2010s. Esports teams usually consist of three to six people, but this varies from game to game. These teams then play video games, usually multiplayer games, like league of legends and rocket league, or fighting games , like tekken and smash bros. Teams then play these games competitively with the goal of winning a tournament and obtaining a cash prize to brand deals with companies. This will range from millions of dollars, to brands with companies like Coca Cola or Mountain Dew . This also just so happens to be PCHS’ first Esports team, so overall the first season went well. The party started off with the Coach, Henry Grossen, giving a speech about the season and how the first year went and what to expect for the future. When asked what they thought of the event, freshman Jaiden Cosatto said, “It was amazing.” In total the whole team received letters for their outstanding achievements, and great support when it came to games. After Receiving their letter, freshman Jackson Dilka remarked “Wow I didn't think I would get one, I sat on my butt and played video games and got a reward for it.” The banquet continued on for about an hour with parents meeting the team and the whole team enjoying the party. Eventually the party started to die down and people started to exit the school. Soon the coach had to leave too ,along with plenty of leftover sweets and food from the party. After the banquet was finished freshman Ezra Ellazando was asked what his favorite part of the season was. He responded by saying, “My favorite part was playing games I was good at with players that were also good at, and being part of a team.” That last part sums up the whole experience very well, being part of a team. Photos by Michael Applegate By Michael Applegate
WinterFest is a musical performance by the Arts Academy of Pueblo County High School and Vineland Middle School. It was held and hosted by Black Hills energy, who acted as the sponser. The schools performed Thursday night, Dec. 15, 2022, at Pueblo Memorial Hall. It started at 7 pm with admission for students tickets being $5, seniors and military tickets being $8, and $10 for general admission tickets. Taylor Gilman, Drama Teacher at PCHS, said, “I love Winterfest because it is a fun collaboration between all of the arts programs in the high school and middle school.” Everyone from TAA and Vineland really showed talent inside the show from the dances to the musical instruments they performed for their family and friends to enjoy. Photos by Brienna Panariso By Brienna Panariso
Pueblo County High School is very well known for their admirable and exciting engagement within spirit weeks and celebrating many things every year. This week marks the last week before Christmas break so to express our excitement as a school, the PCHS Student Council has organized a compelling spirit week! Jayden Dodge, junior, stated “Spirit week gives kids a chance to show their festive spirits and have fun expressing themselves!” Kicking off strong, Monday's assigned theme was to wear socks and sweaters, reminding us of cold winter weather that brings our mind to Christmas. Knitted sweaters and long fuzzy socks are easily concluded with the winter weathers that come along with Christmas time. Moss Ray, junior, quoted “Monday's theme showed a lot of different styles and aspects of people's experiences with Christmas!” Tuesday was channel your flannel, so students wore a cute plaid flannel! Plaid is a pattern often associated with Christmas, so it's easy for the two to correlate and bring some Christmas spirit to PCHS. Ashley Watson, junior, specified “Tuesday’s theme is super exciting because I definitely love wearing flannels during the holiday season!” On Wednesday, wear an outfit using red and white! Red and white resemble candy canes, a common candy used to celebrate Christmas. Noah Weckx, sophomore, stated “I love the spirit days we have, they're fun to participate in! They bring the school together and seem to make the school have a more positive spirit! I'm really looking forward to showing how much I love the holidays in our upcoming spirit week!” Lastly, Thursday, was dress up or dress down for the holiday season! Students dressed up classy and fancy as if it were time for Christmas dinner. The other option was to dress down the holiday season, wear your cozy and comfy clothes. By: Arianna Barela
Active Minds is a recent club that has risen within Pueblo County High School. Their focus is to inform the community on mental health awareness. The club has ten members right now, including Amanda Alfonso, president and Jessie Christie, secretary. Alfonso stated, “Active Minds is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting mental health awareness. Our goal is to provide more mental health resources to students at PCHS, and give everyone a place to be open, honest, and just hang out!” As of now the club is working on fundraising activities. They meet around every Monday in Ms. Baker's room to discuss details and fundraising opportunities they can commit to. In their last meeting they discussed different ways to spread awareness through posters and social media posts. As well as electing a new treasure for the club, junior, Katelynn Neal. On Saturday Dec. 10, a bake sale was held and they had raised about 164 dollars. HOSSA (Future Health Professionals) gave this money to the Active Minds Foundation. They are currently working to raise money for the Rye FFA, in honor of Stetson Brunick, junior soccer player for PCHS, who passed away this year. They are working to donate the money raised to this foundation and hope to include many other foundations in the future. Active Minds is still looking for official sponsors and are constantly working to spread awareness in many ways. By Ruby Raya
Finals week at Pueblo County High School is one of the most stressful weeks of the school year. It starts on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, and ends on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Many students find finals very stressful, exciting, and challenging. Depending on the assignment the finals could be very challenging and very complicated. Multiple students have strong opinions about finals, such as junior, Roberto Castillo, who stated, “I am very stressed about finals, especially math”. Freshman, Emily Adame noted, “I'm very scared of failing, especially, because it is my first final ever, and some of the work I have no understanding of”. This is very understandable for many freshmen since it is their first year of high school and it is a new thing for many of them. Along with the students, teachers also have very strong opinions about finals some are definitely more positive than others. Science teacher, Celeste Carrera, stated, “For my first finals, I am interested to see how effective I am as a teacher, by seeing all of the great scores that my students will have.” Dustin Timmins, a Spanish teacher also has similar views, such as, “Personally do not like finals, and I prefer to do project-based finals. Students are stressed enough as it is and I feel like doing a project final is a great way to do something that is more ‘real life’ and not just a bunch of paper tests. I know teachers stress about it because they have to grade all of the finals before leaving for break and students struggle to focus on finish strong.” Finals are the most stressful and last thing many have to worry about before Christmas and summer break. The most interesting part of finals is the people's view of it. It gives a person many different perspectives about some more positive than others, but eventually, everyone has their own view of it. |