Meet Our Foreign Exchange Students: Heloísa Torres & Akihiro Shi

By: Allison Collins

 

Left to right: Heloísa Torres, Akihrio Shi & Mrs. Williams posing for a selfie

Do you want to know more about the foreign exchange students here at PHS? Well, you found the place. The first two we have had the pleasure of interviewing are Heloisa and Akihiro, who are hosted by Mrs. Williams for their stay. 

Heloisa is a junior and from Sao Paulo, Brazil. For her, the biggest difference between schools in America versus Brazil is the fact that, here, we have the opportunity to change classrooms & choose what classes we can take. As she explained, “In Brazil, we have 16 subjects and it’s the same for everyone in the same year, so we don’t need to change classrooms”. Heloisa is a part of the jazz band & plays the keyboard. She also does UIL academics. She chose to be a foreign exchange student because,  “My country is my love, but I always wanted to meet the world to understand cultures and traditions.” Heloisa also spoke about how her geography teacher, in Brazil, is who motivated her to apply for the program.

Akihiro is also a junior, and from Kobe, Japan. He says the biggest difference between Pleasanton and Japan is, “this school is much freer, in japan we have uniforms and we are not allowed to go to the bathroom during class”. He’s interested in playing sports, already being in tennis. He decided to become an exchange student because “if I can speak English in Japan, it would be very advantageous to get a job”. 

If you see our new students around campus, be sure to give them a friendly welcome!

Monthly Cause: Don’t Be A Bully Month

By: Allison Collins 

 

“Back to School” season can be exciting for some. It brings the opportunity of meeting new friends, trying new classes, ect. For others, it can be the start of another year of bullying. Bullying affects many students, in fact, 1 in 5 students aged 12-18 are/ have been bullied in the past school year. 

Bullying comes in many different forms. One of the more common forms of bullying comes from verbal bullying. Verbal bullying can range from gossiping about the person, talking badly about them to their peers, to making up rumors. Actions like those cause students to feel uncomfortable in their school environment and can lead to them not wanting to come to school.

Not only can it affect the student’s education & school performance it can affect their mental health. People who experience bullying have a higher chance of experiencing things like depression & anxiety. Some of these symptoms can last up to 40 years after the original bullying took place.

One might pose the question: what causes someone to turn into a bully? Most of the time, the bully themselves is experiencing some type of negativity. Internally, they may struggle with issues like lack of self-esteem, wanting to have control of others, or they themselves feel outcasted. Externally, the bully is getting either bullied at home or someplace else. In fact, bullies are nearly twice as likely to experience depression and anxiety themselves. 

So, how do you stop the cycle? How can you help? Encourage healthy social skills. Teach kids to be nice to one another. Even if someone isn’t being nice to you, you never know what that person can be going through privately. This school year, the student council partnered with the “Dude. Be Nice” project. This project’s mission is to get people to treat themselves and others. You can stop by the PHS Library and order your own “Dude. Be Nice” t-shirt to support the cause!

Eagles Track!

By: Allison Collins

The Eagle track teams have been hard at work these past months preparing for the current season. Their first track meet of the season was held on March 3 in Pleasanton. The varsity girls placed 2nd with a score of 160.5. Kassiy Vickers placed 1st in the 800 M Run and the 1600 M Run. Victoria Urbanczyk placed 1st with shot put. Victoria also placed 2nd on Discus. Jillian Barcomb placed 2nd on the 100 M Hurdles and on the 300M Hurdles . Ciarah Garcia placed 2nd in the 400 M Dash, as well as second in triple jump. Libby Kemp placed second in the pole vault.  The 4×400 M relay team (Alexandria Balderas, Ciarah Garcia, Lillaian Krause and Raegan Hollis) placed 2nd. The 4×100 M relay team (Kinsley Barker, Alandria Balderas,Megan Mayse and Itez Perez) placed 3rd. The 4×200 relay team (Megan Mayse, Alexandria Balderias, Emree Adamitz and Raegan Hollis) placed 3rd as well. Megan Mayse placed 3rd in the 200 M dash. Aryanna Partida placed 3rd in the 1600 M run.  Ciarah Garcia placed 4th in long jump. Alexandria Bladeras placed 4th in High Jump as well as 4th in Triple Jump. Aryanna Partida placed 4th in the 800 M run.  Lillian Krause placed 4th in the 400 M dash. Ciarah Garcia placed 5th in the 800 M run. Syerna Clark placed 5th in the 100 M hurdles and the 300 M hurdles. Raegan Hollis placed 5th in the 400 M dash. Emree Adamitz placed 5th in the 200 M dash. Diamond Brownlee placed 6th in the 200 M dash.

 JV girls placed 1st with a score of 158. 

Sventlana Martinez finished 1st in the 100 M dash. Jauslyn Ramirez placed 1st in the 800 M run. Katelyn Garza placed 1st in the 3200 M run & the 1600 M run, Harmony Young placed 1st in the 300 M hurdles and 2nd in 100 hurdles.. Kennedy Miller placed 1st in long jump, Kennedy also placed 3nd in the 100 M Dash. Kaylie Rodriguez placed 2nd 300 M hurdles. The 4×100/4x200relay team (Svetlana Martinez, Kennedy Miller, Yasmeen Diop & Alexandra Alvarez) both placed 2nd. Alexandra Alverez placed 3rd in the 300 M dash. Aleza Robedo placed 3rd in the 1600 M run. Desire Gonzales placed 3rd with both shot put and discus. Genavieve Alvarado placed 4th in  shot put and 5th in discus. Kaylie Rodriguez placed 5th in the 100 M hurdles. Ariana Johnson placed 6th in discus. 

Boys varsity came in 1st with a score of 218. 

The boys 4×100 relay team (Rudy Franco, Bryan Jones, Esete’van Jackson and Sean Ramos) placed 1st. Jayden Palacios placed 1st on high jump and the 400 M dash. Juan Lopez placed first on Long Jump. Peyton Eichmen placed 1st on discus. Jaythan Martinez placed 1st for shot put. Esete’van Jackson got first place in triple jump, setting a PR and tie for school record. Preston Pilgrim placed 1st for pole vault. Justin Veale placed 1st in both 110 & 300 M hurdles. Nathan Din placed 2nd on shot put. Evan Guardiola placed 2nd on discus. Este’van Jackson placed 2nd in long jump. Bryan Jones placed 2nd in the 400 M dash.The boys 4×200 ran an impressive 1:32.16. The 4×400 ran an outstanding 3:32.75. Joseph Cuellar placed 3rd in the 3200 M run. Bryan Jones placed 3rd in the 200 M dash..Adrian Garcia placed 3rd in high jump. Sean Ramos placed 3rd in triple jump, he also participated in the long jump where he jumped 19′-9″. Juan Lopez placed 4th in the 100 M dash. Austin Rich placed 5th in the 400 M dash. Nathan Din places 5th in discus. Austin Rich placed 6th in the 200 M dash. 

The Boys JV team placed 1st at the meet with a score of 249.
Demetrius Jimenez placed 1st in the 400 M dash. Alvaro Sanchez placed 1st in the 800 M run. Ian Rodriguez placed 1st in the 3200 M run. Jayden Ogg placed 1st in the 1600 M run. MAson Little placed 1st in the 110 M hurdles. Paul Bernal placed 1st in the 300 M hurdles. The 4×400 relay team (Keagan Holes, Joe Turley, Damon Morales and Daniel Coronado) placed 1st.  Demetrius Jimenez placed 1st in high jump. Stephen West placed 1st in discus. Ezekial Gonzalez placed 1st in shot put. Joe Turley placed 1st in long jump. Iam Rodriguez placed 2nd in the 1600 M run, Jayden Ogg placed 2nd in the 3200 M run. Mason Little placed 2nd in the 300 M hurdles. Paul Bernal placed 2nd in the 100 M hurdles. The 4×200 & 4×100 relay team (Keagan Holes, Joe Turley, Damon Morales and Daniel Coronado) placed 2nd in both. Damon Morales placed 2nd in long jump. Alvaro Sanchez placed 2nd in pole vault.  Damon Morales placed 3rd in high jump. Mark Sorola placed 3rd in dusus. Kalib Hernandez placed 3rd in the 300 M hurdles. Evan Dove placed 3rd in the 400 M dash. Demetrius Jimenez placed 4th in the 200 M dash. Alvaro Sanchez placed 4th in the 400 M dash. Jorge Garcia placed 4th in the 800 M run, he also placed 4th in the 1600 M run. Kalib Hernandez placed 4th in the 110 M hurdles. Daniel Coronado placed 4th in long jump. Stephen West placed 6th on shot put. 

The eagles track team is hard at work and we are excited to see what they accomplish going forward. 

 

Mighty Eagle Band

By: Allison Collins

Towards the end of 2021, select members of Pleasanton High School’s Mighty Eagle Band auditioned at Lytle High School for region band. They spent many months working on their own free time practicing. Their hard work paid off, many of the band members competed and made the region band as members and alternates.

After more traveling and auditioning, Michaela Anguiano, a junior here at PHS made the ATSSB All-State Band on alto clarinet! On February 12, she will be traveling to San Antonio to perform with many students from all over Texas. “I’m really proud of myself and I think it’s a really big accomplishment.” Michaela states. She’s not the only one excited about her success though, Mr. Solis, the head band director states “I’m very happy for her, she works very hard in everything she does.”

With region band slowly finishing, UIL Solo & Ensemble is starting. “It’s a big contest for us because almost the entire band does it.” Mr Solis states. More people getting involved brings more possibilities! We’re excited to see what happens with Michaela and UIL, we wish you luck. Pride! Pride!