By: Brian Avery

Welcome to the second last month of the 22-23 school year! For this month’s poll, we asked you three separate questions!

For the first question, we asked about your thoughts coming towards the end of the school year on a scale of 1-5, one being not ready for the year to end and five was get me out of here!  The number most chosen was a tie between 3 and 5, with 4 coming in third, 1 in 4th, and 2 in last! I think we can all agree when we say this year has been like no other!

Next, we asked about your experiences at Prom! Here are some of the things people had to say about Prom!

• I talked to friends and danced.
• I was a chaperone where I got to see all my students dressed to the nine’s! It was super fun!
• Spent time with my friends
• Not much, danced a little
• Danced all night
• Hang out with friends
• I went with my friends, and we had a blast.
• Talked to my friends
• I danced and had fun with my senior friends before they graduate.

We here at the Quill hope everyone who went had a blast!!

Finally, we asked for questions to featured in next month’s advice column, the last one of the school year!

• How do you sign up for duel credit?
• What are some fun things to do during the summer if you have NO MONEY and you have no TRANSPORTATION?

Thank you for the questions, and see you in next month’s article!!

 By: Brian Avery

The last two months have been full of action for the Men’s Soccer Team, with two games almost every week. The Varsity team has played in two tournaments, and 12 since we left off in the last article, and the JV has played in 5 games since then. 

We pick up in the first tournament Varsity played in, which was at Ingleside. The Varsity won their first two games of the tournament, but lost the third game, which placed them in a game battling for third, which they won, securing a trophy. After that, on 11/10, both teams played Memorial High School, and unfortunately, the JV lost 1-3 and Varsity tied 3-3. Shortly after, the Varsity participated in their home tournament, but were unable to secure a top 3 ranking, as they won their first game but lost the other two. From there, the JV and Varsity went on to play Foxtech, where JV won 1-0 and Varsity tied 1-1. After that game, both teams played Eagle Pass, where JV (Missing), while Varsity lost 1-3. Next, both teams played JFK, JV winning 3-1 and Varsity tied 2-2. Next, both teams played Gonzales, with JV (missing) and Varsity won 2-1. Next, both teams played Hondo, where both teams lost 0-1. Then the Varsity played Persall in Persall’s first ever high school soccer game and the Eagles won 9-0. Both teams played Uvalde, where JV 1-0 and Varsity 2-0. Varsity lost to Floresville 0-1, won against Somerset 2-0, beat Poteet 8-0, and tied Hondo 2-2. 

The program held their Senior Night, honoring the Seniors of the program, which includes Stefon Torres, Morgan Garcia, Adriano Guitierrez, Sergio Banda, Brian Avery, Toby Bird, Timothy Klein, Donovan Alaniz and Alex Cabrerra. The Varsity team played Persall that night, winning 8-0. 

We got in contact with JV captain Louis Manzanares and Varsity captain Timothy Klein. When asked about the team’s improvements, both captains said that their respective teams were improving on communication and passing, but they still struggle with communicating. As Tim said “We struggle with communication and talking in certain games, and just showing up ready to play as well.” Tim went on to say that they struggled to clean up the little things, from passing in practice to showing up, ready to play and focused in, with Louis saying similar things. When asked what was going better than expected, Louis said communication once again, “The attitude has changed a lot, which improves the ease of communication and teamwork between them.” Tim mentioned that he was impressed with some individuals’ drive and work ethic, and how they’ve become better because of it.

Good luck to both teams!!

By: Brian Avery

We had two questions for you guys this month! The first one was about your Valentine’s Day activities, the one that seemed to be most popular was taking care of themselves. After that, we asked about your spring break plans, and it was quite an even split, with vacationing barely squeezed out on top. Now, for your questions!

What is the best thing to do when starting your summer?

What are some good ways to keep us motivated until summer? 🙂

How do you cope with a long distance relationship????

How do I become less controlling over things in my life?

What is the best thing to do to reduce stress

If friends are acting more distant than they used to, should i just let them go instead of trying so hard to keep them?

How would you know if you’re doing the wrong thing?

How to manage time at home and work

How can you have friends for so long that did nothing but be there for you and almost completely ignore them or turn them away for a whole “man”. Why does this happen? Is it worth it?

Why is working after school so stressful.

Email your answers to ajackson@pisd.us!

By: Brian Avery

Right after we posted our last Issue, the Men’s soccer team played their first scrimmage against Sam Houston High School on December 9th, 2022 at home. The JV lost 3-6 and the Varsity won 4-0. The following week, the Varsity team played in their alumni scrimmage, winning 3-0. They broke for the Christmas break, and came back in 2023. On January 3rd, both teams played against Beeville at home, with JV winning 2-1, and Varsity tying 1-1. Two days later, the varsity team traveled to Ingleside for a tournament which lasted from the 5th to the 7th. They placed 3rd, having a tournament record of 2-1. On the 10th, both teams traveled to the Veterans Memorial Stadium in San Antonio where they played Memorial High School. The JV team lost 1-3, and the Varsity team tied 3-3. Later that week, the Varsity team started their home tournament which lasted three days. They played on the first day to start off the Tournament, and again later that day. They won their first game, lost their second and their third unfortunately, not placing in the top three. Both teams played Fox Tech on the 17th,  with JV winning 1-0, and Varsity tying 1-1. Both teams played Eagle Pass on the 20th, with JV and Varsity both losing 1-3. Finally, on the 24th, both teams played JFK, and JV won 3-1, but Varsity tied 2-2. 

We got the opportunity to interview 4 people for this article. We spoke to Head and Varsity Coach Breiten, JV Coach Pacheco, JV member Isiah Cruz, and Varsity Captain Sergio Banda. 

Coach Breiten, who has been coaching for 10 years, originally had no interest in soccer. However, when he started as an assistant coach for Soccer, he fell in love with the sport and stuck with it, valuing the physicality and the teamwork needed for the sport. He noted that the varsity team had good chemistry and played great defense, but said that Varsity struggled to score. He felt good coming into district season, saying “We’re going to grow a lot in the next few weeks, and then we’re going to prosper.” He mentioned that he wants to see personal growth on and off the field before the season concluded. 

Coach Pacheco, who started his first year coaching high school out of 7 years coaching, fell in love with soccer at a young age, valuing the control players have in the game. He loves the effort and the heart that the JV brings, but they lack much communication, trying to prove themselves for Varsity. “I think we’re doing good, as far as communicating. The goals will come in time, and I feel like we can do more as the season progresses and everyone falls into their roles.” He had high hopes for the rest of the season, saying they’re at a pivotal point. “Once we get the monkey off our back, the sky’s the limit.” Isaiah Cruz is new to the high school program, and he feels confident in his passing and teamwork abilities. However, he feels like he needs to work on his shooting and moving the ball up the field. Issiah believes that the JV’s defense is their strongsuit, and similar to Coach Pacheco, he believes they need to work on their communication, wanting it to be improved on more than anything. When asked about his motivation to keep going, he stated, “My love for this team and my school spirit, my Eagle Pride.” 

Sergio Banda is one of the three captains on the Varsity team, along with Timothy Klein and Stefon Torres. He is a senior, looking forward to his last year in the high school program. Sergio’s strong suit is giving it his all, working hard to improve every day in every way, but struggles to get everything done before it needs to be done. He saw the Varsity’s strength as “working hard together, pushing each other to our limits, and each day we try to exceed our expectations, but some struggle with matching the effort others give.” He wished that the team would improve their overall mentality, stating it is the reason why he manages to keep going when things aren’t going the way he’s hoped.

Good luck on the rest of your season boys! We believe in you!

For the first poll of 2023, we asked you what you did to celebrate the last day of 2022. Over half of you guys said that you spent it with your family, and the second most popular celebration was hanging out with your friends! Here’s to a new year!

We also asked you what New Year Resolutions you made, and here were some of the answers!

–to practice as much as I can to prepare myself for college!

-To keep staying motivated no matter what trials i may face

-Achieve my goals

-Work on myself

-Learn how to drive

-To get more into shape and practice archery more so I can do well at nationals.

-Try to lose weight and try to get a glow up

-To make my health a priority

-If I can’t say anything nice, keep it to myself

_To eat more protein and less sugar

-I want to read more!

-To choose healthier food options and cut out sugar

-To finish my Master’s Degree!

-Try not to nap as much

-To be more positive and open minded

-Give up soda, lasted 3 weeks

-To improve as a person overall.

-Be physically active everyday.

-To try and get home before dark. (I broke it the first week)

-Start a DOT Journal and use it for the whole year.

-To read my Bible Daily

-Read 50 books

-To have a healthier year

-Make better habits and save money

-Be a better version of myself

-To speak up and to not be afraid of others words

-Take better care of my mental state 🙂

-To eat more healthily and have a positive mindset

-To work out at least 3x a week

-Live for myself

-Have good year and try to keep my grades up

-To pass all my classes

-To pass so I can graduate next year

-To be better, more open, and honest.

-Expand my music taste.

Finally, we asked for questions to be answered by you in next month’s advice column! 

-What is the best way to handle a student with Senioritis?

-What are some creative ways to ask someone to be my valentine?

-Should I feed feral cats?

-Do you feel that mental health gets addressed appropriately?

-What should you do when you don’t want to do something but you have to?

-What are some positive ways to react to unpleasant people you have to work with in a class?

-What would you do if you were constantly involved in drama?

Make sure to email your answers to aljackson@pisd.us!

By: Brian Avery

The week following Thanksgiving break, men’s soccer held their team tryouts. Under the guidance of new Head Coach Breiten, the tryouts lasted from Monday, November 29th to Thursday, December 1st. Three teams were compiled from the tryouts which are the Developmental, Junior Varsity, and Varsity. The Developmental team is also known as the reserve team. The roster practices with the other teams during the period but not after school. 

The players that made the Varsity team are Donovan Alaniz, Brian Avery, Sergio Banda, Toby Bird, Alex Cabrera, Keeton Diaz, Jorge Garcia, Morgan Garcia, Nick Garza, Adrianno Guitierez,  Humberto Hernandez, Andrew Leal, Mason Little, Micah Klein, Timothy Klein, Mason Little, Joaquin Olvera, Jario Ortiz,  Wylee Tom, Stefon Torres, and William Trapp. Congratulations to all! 

Keep an eye out for the next men’s soccer article, where we will be bringing you the latest from the start of their season!

October Poll

By: Brian Avery

This month, the popular choice was to go trick or treating with friends! We have a new addition to the poll this month, where you ask us your personal or thoughtful questions! The questions you asked are:

Best way to say goodbye to your friends when you graduate?

What came first; the color orange or an orange?

Do you ever get too old for Halloween?

If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Who is your Secret Crush?

Would you cheat on your s/o with Ryan Reynolds?

We would love to hear your answers to these questions! Email your answers to Mrs. Minniear at aljackson@pisd.us! 

To start off the new school year, we wanted to see how everyone felt about their break! The majority of people felt like their summer was good overall with 38.7%, with amazing summers coming in close second at 34%!  Alright had 19.8%, and kinda boring was last with 7.5%. Fortunately, no one had a bad summer! We here at the Quill are so glad to hear it, and we hope this school year is amazing as well!

Anonymous 9th grade, 8/25/22

Should social media companies be doing more to make social media safer for children?

The question “How young is too young for social media?” has been heavily debated by parents and children alike ever since social media’s rise. It is clear now that social media is here to stay, and kids under 13 all over the world have access to it. There is little way of preventing kids under an appropriate age from accessing social media, so should companies do more to make social media a safer place for kids?

It has been made apparent that an alarming amount of young kids are on social media. Parenting tactics are subjective, and everyone has different opinions, so what can be done about the next generation’s well-being concerning social media? I believe that because some children will find a way to social media no matter the age restrictions, the responsibility lies in social media companies’ hands to make social media safer for children. There are many things that these companies are doing to ensure their users get hooked, and a social media addiction is incredibly harmful to a child that is still developing mentally. To help limit the likelihood of social media dependence, social media companies should stop targeting children with addicting algorithms. Senator Markey of Massachusetts has proposed a bill to solve the said issue, but thus far, nothing has been passed.

This issue applies to every generation, but especially ours. We can all most likely agree that we have, at some point, felt we spent too much on social media. If you want to make a difference on a large scale, email your representatives and advocate publicly for the cause by showing support for movements such as Log Off and Reboot and Recover. To help this issue on a smaller scale, have conversations on this matter with your friends and family. Nothing will change if we do not discuss these issues with the people around us. Everyone has the power to cause change, even if it be informing others about your views on trending topics, so use your voice.

By: Brian Avery

One of the reasons PHS runs so smoothly is because we have so many people working behind the scenes to make sure it runs smoothly. One of them includes Mrs. Downs, our academic dean, who assists teachers in making sure their instruction is smooth.

Mrs. Downs went to CT High School, just north of Austin. She was very active within her school, as she was a cheerleader,  and in academic clubs such as Spanish and Science. After high school, she went to Angella State University, where she got a degree in Elementary Education.  She later got her masters in Curriculum and Instruction, which brought her to PISD.

Mrs. Downs started working at the Middle School campus, back when it was known as the PIC. She worked as an Instructional Coach-which is the same as an academic dean-and assisted teachers with their instructional process and lessons. She moved up to the Central Office, where she continued the same job for five years, before she joined us at PHS. She has been working on our campus for 10 years, and 20 years overall at PISD.

Mrs. Downs stated that her favorite part of working at PHS was being around so many people, and seeing how everything is changing everyday, adding that she was remorseful that she couldn’t see the change happening faster and being able to see the end result quicker.

Our campus would not be the same without Mrs. Downs working behind the scenes to make sure we have the best education possible. Thank you Mrs. Downs!