By: Libby Sanchez & Alex Richter

Mrs. Lasater, a name many of you have probably grown to know over the past few weeks, has been elected for this month’s student spotlight. Her charismatic personality has made many students immune to the hard subject of English, making them pick up on lessons easier than they ever have before. Though the year has just begun, it is easy to tell that her presence on our campus is nothing short of great. 

As the child of a golf pro, Mrs. Lasater moved around many times throughout her childhood before settling in Dumas, Texas, just north of Amarillo. Having lived there the longest, for 5 years, she considers this to be her hometown. In late high school, Mrs. Lasater was able to witness her mother teaching religious refugees from Burma, Thailand, and China. “They grew up in a jungle, like a literal jungle where elephants would eat their roof. So seeing my mom help them and seeing how they could flourish, that’s what encouraged me to become a teacher,” said Mrs. Lasater. After graduating from Dumas High School, Mrs. Lasater went on to attend Tarleton State University with a full academic ride.

Prior to Pleasanton, Mrs. Lasater taught in Houston for the past ten years, then before that, she taught in La Porte. Her career started off teaching 8th graders before she moved up to the high school, following her students that begged her to move up with them. After teaching high school for the first year, she knew it was where she belonged. With English being her strong suit, she wanted to help students understand a subject held so close to her. 

“The kids are really nice, the atmosphere is nice, it feels like you’re a part of a family,” stated Mrs. Lasater. PHS is very lucky to have such a passionate teacher working hard to make sure her students understand every lesson, whether that be in life, or in the subject of English.

By: Ariana Johnson and May Smith

Brooke’s senior volleyball picture.

When carefully selecting this month’s student spotlight, we wanted to highlight someone who has a great work ethic and determination. Brooke Rankin, a senior at PHS, is someone who is included in many activities while also being a good student in the classroom. She also has many extracurricular activities outside of school.

Out of curiosity, we posed the question of what is your favorite class. She eagerly responded with “Ag structure design.” When asked about her favorite aspect of Ag, Brooke responded, “I like how they’re more hands-on than other classes.” Then, she mentioned some of the activities that she participates in in the class. These activities were: “building cornhole boards, birdhouses and other things like that.” She enjoys activities that require more physical work.

Brooke is involved in extracurricular activities such as volleyball, NHS, cheerleading, student council, she shows steers and pigs for stock shows. Not only does she participate in Mesquite 4h, but she is also currently the president of the Mesquite 4h. Additionally, her most impactful thing in high school is sports. In fact, Brooke is on the varsity cheerleading team and plays varsity volleyball as a right-back or setter. Curious, we asked her how these two sports have affected her. She stated, “I really enjoy being with my friends as we crack a lot of jokes and have fun.” Many of Brooke’s friends describe her as friendly, compassionate, and sunshine on a cloudy day.

Brooke has booked her schedule with a lot of classes, always pushing to challenge herself. She made a connection with many teachers as she got to know them throughout the school year. Some of her teachers and their teaching style has taught Brooke many lessons that can be used in the classroom and in life. One of the teachers who had a positive impact is Mrs. Cook, as Brooke stated, “I really enjoy the way she teaches.”

In the end, we found that she is someone that is well-liked by everyone, pushes herself in all of her classes, and involves herself in many different activities. Recognizing her as the student spotlight was a no-brainer!

By: Noah Ramos & Savannah Valdez 

As many students were eager to meet our new principal, Mr. Portillo, the Quill Staff wished to welcome him as our first Staff Spotlight for the year. Mr. Portillo was happy to have been chosen for this momentous article. To start off, we wanted to know the main reason why Mr. Portillo wanted to work in this district, specifically here at PHS. He claimed to have been in the area before and had lived in West Texas when he happened to see an administrative position open here near the San Antonio area. Since Mr. Portillo wanted to go back to a traditional high school, he felt it was the perfect opportunity and applied here to our school PHS. He previously had already been to Devine and Cotulla but never close enough to travel into Pleasanton which encouraged him to check this town out even more. After the interview process with the school district, Mr. Portillo was hired to be the principal here at PHS.

What motivates Mr. Portillo is when people doubt him or he doubts himself. He knows that we are all human and should stand back up when we fall. Even if at the moment it may hurt, it is for the best. “Remaining positive ensures that you can overcome any obstacles you face. If those around you don’t always have the confidence, they might be too afraid to show it, and that’s okay.” This is Mr. Portillo’s mindset and he won’t stop for any obstacle that blocks his path as long as he stays positive to himself then nothing will keep him from his goal. 

Mr. Portillo didn’t plan to become a campus administrator until 10 years ago. He was a Teacher/Coach and was approached by the principal of the current school he was employed at. They suggested that Mr. Portillo would be a great administrator. They then asked if he had ever thought of becoming one himself but Mr. Portillo at the time enjoyed being a coach and declined the offer. He was then asked to think about it. Later, Mr. Portillo decided to go back to school in order to be available to become a principal and ended up getting hired as an assistant principal in Midland. After another 2-3 years the principal at Midland asked if he had thought about working on his superintendence. Like before, Mr. Portillo felt fine where he was and declined the offer once again. They wanted him to think about getting it done himself and eventually, he got his superintendence done after thinking hard about it. He had planned to get into college coaching, but after trying out being an administrator, he loved it too much to give it up. Even though he took on a new position, he still made an effort to attend games for the kids. He still pondered becoming a superintendent himself but knew he wouldn’t get to work with kids as often but liked to interact with his students and get to know them better. 

One of his goals for PHS is to improve student outcomes and feels it should be everyone on the campus who works in education. As well as improving academics and helping students who struggle in school rather than leaving them to figure it out for themselves. Mr. Portillo wants to make sure when students leave high school they will be ready for the outside world. Even though not every person may be able to do college there are still other options available to those who take the opportunity to inquire about it. So hopefully after reading this article you got to learn more about our new principal Mr. Portillo.

By: Aaliyah Herrera

PHS has a new dress code this year and we are very excited about the new changes to our dress code. Here is some advice! 

Clothing – Clothing shall be sized to fit students. Students are expected to come to school looking clean, neat, and modest in appearance. All students are required to wear undergarments that cannot be seen through outer clothing. The physical development of the student should be a consideration in determining the appropriate time for certain undergarments.

• Pants – Pants should be fitted at the waist as well as the crotch. Pant legs should not drag on the ground. Oversized, sagging, and/or baggy pants will not be allowed. Bagginess will be determined by the campus administration. Shreds or holes in any clothing that show skin or undergarments above mid-thigh are not allowed. Shreds or holes in jeans are allowed as long as they are below mid-thigh. Leggings/yoga pants may be worn provided the overgarment/top is longer than mid-thigh. Pajama pants/bottoms are prohibited.

• Skirts/shorts/dresses – skirts, dresses, shorts, and split skirts will be permitted provided they are no longer than 2 ½ (the narrowest part of a dollar bill) above the kneecap, front, and back. Shorts are allowed provided they are appropriately fitted, no shorter than mid-thigh when standing. Bicycle shorts, from fitting shorts worn alone, are prohibited. 

• Shirts/tops – tank tops, halter tops, exposed-midriff blouses, muscle shirts, blouses/dresses with spaghetti straps, strapless and/or low cut tops, exposed backs, see-through clothing, and tanks with oversized armholes are not permitted. Undershirts cannot be worn alone. A single shirt cannot be less than two inches wide on a shoulder strap. Necklines on blouses may not be lower than an individual’s underarm. No jackets or coats longer than mid-thigh length will be allowed. 

• Footwear – appropriate footwear should be worn at all times. Because of daily PE, tennis shoes are encouraged. House shoes/slippers, cleats, steel-toed shoes, and roller / wheeled shoes are not permitted. 

• Accessories/tattoos – only the following body-piercing ornaments will be allowed on school property or at school sponsored events: up to two earrings per ear; and, up to one clear flush mounted nose piercing. No body ornaments can be covered with a bandage or any other device through the hole considered a body-piercing ornament, including gauges. Ear gauges, facial, skin, or body piercing rings or ornaments are prohibited. Tattoos will be covered at all times (the school will not provide bandages or any other coverings. It is the responsibility of the students to have their tattoos covered before arriving on campus.)

• Grooming – hair should be neat, clean, and not touch the eyebrows in front or interfere with vision. Maintained / neatly trimmed beards and mustaches are allowed. Facial hair shall be clean, groomed, and natural in color. Hair that is dyed an unnatural color, such as bright red, blue, pink, green, orange, or a similar color is not permitted. Students may not cut designs or patterns in their hair or eyebrows. 

• IDS –  students are required to wear their ID badges visibly at all times while they are on campus during the school day. Although they may be required for admissions to school events, students are not required to wear but must carry their ID badges at school events. ID badges may not be defaced, front or back, for any reason. Students should treat an ID badge like any official document. ID badges that are defaced may be confiscated and the student will be required to purchase a new badge prior to the start of school on the next school day. Replacements for lost or confiscated ID badges can be purchased in the library at specified times. 

Our dress code has a couple new changes this year. Including rips/holes in the jean below mid-thigh, one pierced stud on the outer nose area, facial hair, and a single earring in both ears is now allowed for boys.

Holes/rips in the jean below mid-thigh are allowed this year. Everybody is very excited to not have to wear leggings/tights underneath their jeans unless there are rips/holes above mid-thigh. It’s a very positive change because during the hot days we have in Texas it is very refreshing, covering them up sometimes can get uncomfortable. 

There has been a new change to our grooming section of the dress code. This year boys are allowed to have facial hair as long as it looks neat and is taken care of. A lot of the boys this year are very excited about not having to worry about shaving or wearing a mask to hide their facial hair. 

Piercings have had an update this year students are allowed to have one piercing, one stud on the outer nose area students are yet again appreciated for the new change no more having to hide behind a mask. Boys are also allowed to have one earring in each ear now. It wasn’t really fair that girls were only able to have earrings so very much appreciated for the boys with piercings and are allowed to wear their earrings to school. 

For how much we love the new changes to this year’s dress code, let’s make sure we all follow the rules and keep these new changes from now on. Make sure to check that you are in the school’s dress code before arriving on campus.