By: Kristina Mertz

By: Kristina Mertz

Easter is a holdiay many choose to celebrate, egg hunts, dyeing eggs, chocolate bunnies the list goes on. Be safe during this timeless holiday!

By: Kristina Mertz and April Martinez

The PHS Tennis team has been doing outstanding as they have placed SOMETHING.

Coach Everett says, “The season is going really well. We have participated in some good tournaments and have done well.” Coach Everett later said that,“Practice has been a little interesting. Organizing drills and playing games are what I enjoy but my athletes are not used to that yet. Getting them motivated is something I strive to do.” 

Of the tennis teammates Farah also speaks on the PHS tennis team saying, “practice is going pretty good we’re getting a lot better we’re improving it … sometimes it can get a little chaotic but it’s good we’re trying to get more organized and we are definitely getting a lot better.” Farah also lets us in on how the season is going, “It’s going pretty good, we’re just trying to move up and get a platform, it’s been pretty uphill but we’ve had some wins and losses.” Farah’s favorite part about tennis is, “Just playing around and getting better everyday because tennis is a sport that’s all about playing time and if you’re out there everyday and you’re giving it your all you’ll see improvements every single day.”She also noted that,”I’ve improved a lot.

The PHS Tennis team has done exceptionally well but Coach Everett wanted to add, “Most of my players have done well this season and all deserve recognition. However, Devon Clark has done exceptionally well in boy’s singles, even winning consolation at a big 6A tournament.” For those who don’t know Coach Everett, “I play tennis competitively myself. For me, I love to grow the game and get as many people playing as possible. Tennis is a sport that you can play for a lifetime. It seems not very many understand that.

By: Kristina Mertz

Valentine’s Day is by far the best holiday in the entire world! It is the season of love and giving and everything bright and blooming. Love is in the air, so pick your favorite candy!

By: Kristina Mertz

The Pleasanton High School Men’s Soccer team has kicked off the season quite well. With their first game for this month against Eagle Pass where they won 2-0, meanwhile the JV lost with a score of 5-3.  There was a Varsity Tournament where, the JV team then went against Floresville and eventually tied with 0-0. On Friday January 14th, the team then went up against Canyon Lake High school and won again with a score of 4-1. That same day the JV team went against Poteet where they won 3-0. They then went up against Wimberly and lost 5-4. The Varsity Team then went up against Fox Tech on January 25th where they won with a score of 2-0. That same day JV lost against Fox Tech 8-0. Recently on January 21st the Varsity team then tied with San Antonio Christian High School. Then on January 22nd the Varsity team went against Burnet High School where they won with 3-2.

Coach Breiten says, “The season is off to a good start, we have collected a few wins which is always a good thing and we are learning who we are pretty quickly.” Brian Avery, a Junior, who is a right wing, says, “For Jv it’s [the season is] off to a slightly rough start. We’ve tied two games and lost one, but when we participated in the varsity tournament we won a game and we also lost the other, but nevertheless we’ve had a strong morale and were improving greatly.”  He later added that, “Well i would definitely say that we should work on our communication and just like having a personal understanding of each other cause they’re short with each other a lot.” While Coach Breiten said they could improve on, “learning about whoever’s on the field … trusting their abilities… we have some young people playing with us, so just being able to trust your teammate with their job…”

Brian said his favorite memory was, “Beating Poteet’s varsity was pretty cool. We didn’t beat them bad, but it just solidified that ‘hey! We might have a chance here.’” Coach Breiten then stated, “They seem like they’ve come as a team faster than years prior, which is always a good thing [as] we don’t have a lot of negative distractions.” The men’s soccer team will continue to persevere, so go catch a game some time. PRIDE PRIDE!

By: Kristina Mertz

Beware, spoilers ahead! Spiderman No Way Home directed by John Watts gained a score of 93% on rotten tomatoes and an 8.1/10 on IMDB. The overwhelming audience reaction sure hyped people up worldwide, as it garnered a net worth of $721 Million at the box office.

Starring heartthrob Tom Holland, along with popular Zendaya and Marisa Tomei, this movie was fully stocked with some rising modern stars. However, this film captured the audience’s attention with a whole list of people seen in your favorite childhood movies. Those included, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, William Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, and JK Simmons.

The movie was spectacular, as from the very start of the film, you could notice the attention to detail was prominent, the amount of time and effort that went into this film really paid off for the audience. The plot was overall, very interesting and kept the audience hooked throughout, as well as the romance between Peter and MJ created another obstacle for Peter Parker while he tried to save the world.

There is a battle that continues throughout the film between Peter and himself determining who he needs to be, because in the end he can;t be both. There are quite a few spoilers left in the film that contribute to the wonderful marvel (pun intended) it is.

Overall this is a great film and I highly recommend it! Be sure to catch it in theaters before its too late!

By: Kristina Mertz

For the new year of 2022, you surely must have some resolutions! Choose which one most applies to you, to let the student body know.

By: Wanish Tortes-Mcginnis

Ever since Thanksgiving became a holiday, the history behind it has been tattered and torn into lies and some truths. Although know one really knows as to who killed who and who’s responsible for the outcome. Many people and historians have different opinions and attributes as to what happened on the feast of thanksgiving day. For many Americans Thanksgiving nowadays is a holiday to be thankful whether that be family, the food on the table or just to be alive and well. For many indigenous people Thanksgiving is a day of mourning remembering the people that died for their land and those who were taken by disease. Thanksgiving is based on the period of time when the pilgrims came from England to North America, nowadays called Plymouth Massachusetts. The small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the “New World.” After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth. Although the pilgrims made it to the” New World” they were not ready for the days to come. Harsh winters and small supply of food and goods almost killed the entire colony, however in march when winter had passed the pilgrims got an astonishing visit from a member of the Abenaki tribe who spoke English. Several days later the same man brought a man by the name of Squanto. Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery the last of his tribe. Squanto taught the pilgrims how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, fish in the rivers, and even formed an alliance between the pilgrims and the neighboring tribe the Wampanoag. In November of 1621 Governor William Bradford organized a feast with the Wampanoag and neighboring tribes to give thanks to their first successful harvest which is called the First Thanksgiving.           

By: Kristina Mertz

King Richard is a new film that was released to theaters on  November 19, the film managed to score a 90% according to Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 98%. Notable actors in this film include Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Will Smith, and John Bernthal, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, one of his most notable films was Monsters and Men, which was played at the Sundance Film Festival. 

The film stars Richard Williams, played by Will Smith, as he is passionately determined to get his daughters to be future tennis stars. Originally from Compton t,the now famous Serena and Venus Williams, used to practice on abandoned and run down tennis courts in their town. Through Richard’s firm determination and strong familial bond with his daughters and wife, this remarkable film demonstrates how the now best tennis players in the world persevered through the hardships and rose above all obstacles. 

This movie had a wonderful plotline, and stunned the audience with the breathtaking story of the uprising of Venus and Serena Williams. I highly recommend this movie as it had such an inspirational message to never give up and that hard work will pay off. There were plenty of sad moments that tug at the heartstrings, but the humorous scenes really make up for it. The film also stuck very  true to the original story of the sisters, as shown by the end credits scene.

Overall, the film had a strong sense of family bonds, which made the movie have that fulfilling feel. I would definitely recommend this movie to uplift the spirits of anyone around you, including yourself.

By: Kristina Mertz

This could be a controversial opinion, but there seems to be a big debate on whether or not you should put up your Christmas tree before or after Thanksgiving. Let’s settle it once and for all for the students at PHS. 

By: Kristina Mertz

The Women’s Volleyball team.

The Pleasanton Girls Volleyball team has been on a roll this year, with many wins and few losses, they are sure to be quick to rise to the top. Starting this month the lady eagles had a district game against Navarro where Pleasanton won 3-0. A few days later on October 8 an away game against Gonzales showed true eagle pride, when the girls won 3-0. The Eagles then won another game 3-0 which was their first district game to be exact, on October 12 against Cuero, which was the start of the 2nd round of District. Unfortunately, on October 15, the Eagles faced their first loss against Lavernia, the ending score was 3-0. Then on October 19 the Lady Eagles travelled to Navaro for a district match where the game was head to head, but they unfortunately lost with a score of 5-2. October 22, however proved to be increasingly successful as the Eagles won with a score of 3-0 against Peiper.

Varsity Volleyball player, Anai Gonzales, a junior states, “I’m really proud of all of our accomplishments so far, and even though District hasn’t gone exactly the way we wanted it to, we’ve still had a good season and I hope to go far in the Playoffs.” She then proceeded to add, “At the beginning, we didn’t exactly have the best connection with each other, but now that we’ve had team bondings… spent time together and have worked together throughout the season, our communication and connection as a team has gotten stronger, and I think that that’s what has taken us so far.” 

The Women’s Volleyball team has done wonderful, and they will continue into the future with District and the Playoffs. Pride! Pride!

By: Alexandra Garcia and Aaliyah Herrera

We interviewed Iliana Solrazano, a player on the PHS Tennis team and she had great answers to the questions asked, when asked “What gets the team motivated for practice?” she answered back with “When coach Everett gives them competitive games to practice with or when they play fun rounds of plays for tennis.” Iliana says her favorite part of tennis is being able to play with friends and getting to see them plus them spending time together. She  decided to play tennis this year (2021) because she feels it has come natural to her. Solrazano has  a natural passion and talent for tennis. Iliana says the tennis team tends to get  irritated by the line judge calling an out or having to call someone to check in or out for the play. An improvement Solorzano the tennis player believes could help would be the support, and to be more professional and skilled. The team is already working tirelessly with a little more motivation to achieve those improvements. 

Head Tennis Coach Everett stated, “So we ended the season.. In third place and we had a really good first season for my first year coaching.” He says that a typical day of tennis practice starts at about 4:15.. The tennis players start warming up and then they will do some games and drills and then we end with a team meeting every practice. When asked what he thinks could improve for the team he replied with “Introducing new drills and different types of games would help kind of give us more team building stuff.” Another question for Everett was “What do you expect out of your players ?” He said, “While we’re at practice I want everyone to be 100% and honestly follow what I try to lead as.” We asked the coach about the type of coaching style he uses. He replied “My coaching style is kinda pretty laid back and I like to have opinions when I’m doing stuff so I’m not authoritative. I ask for stuff in return and I expect it back.” The final question we asked was “How do you motivate your players?” He states that it again involves the way he coaches and he motivates them “by being chill and giving feedback and also asking for opinions on drills and stuff they do.”As from what we can see the tennis team is a very pulled together and motivated team of players. They have the skills and practice that HS needs.

By: Kristina Mertz

Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline and released in 2011 took the world by storm, kicking off as a New York Times Bestseller. Selling 1.7 million printed copies worldwide, it garnered an outstanding review of 4.2 out of 5 according to Good Reads.

This book combined Sci-Fi and fantasy to create a breathtaking new world that refreshes the soul with incredible originality. Reading this book was definitely a fun and invigorating experience that left me wanting more and more. This book was recommended by a friend and I must say, I highly recommend this novel. It had everything you could possibly ever want in a book, it had romance, action, comedy, and so much more. For those who don’t want too much romance in a book, there was a great balance between the various other elements presented in the book that allowed the romance to not remain the core focus. However, the romantic aspects contribute to the overall effect of the novel, making you want to follow Wade and Art3mis’s love story.

The novel truly sucked you into its interactive story, for fans of the eighties, this book is definitely for you. There were numerous references to the amazing decade from, the wide selection of John Hughes movies to The Iron Giant, all the way to Back to The Future. The novel also included the classic arcade games we all know and love, such as Pac-Man, Galaga, and Donkey Kong.

Because of the raving reviews, Ready Player One was adapted for the screen, which was directed by Steven Spielberg, a highly notable director. His most popular films include, Back to The Future, Jaws, and E.T. The movie is personally not my favorite, as I don’t believe it captures the essence of the book, however it’s a good movie to watch at least once. I highly recommend this book, it’s in the PHS Library, so be sure to get a copy!

By: Kristina Mertz

Handing out candy could be described as more reserved, although getting to see happy faces is always a treat. Trick or Treating can be boatloads of fun, just be sure not to get a tummy ache!

By: Kristina Mertz

Marvel’s latest released movie, Shang- Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has rocked the theaters, totalling a whopping Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% with an audience score of 98%. This film has mainly been praised for its adventurous action fight scenes and incredible choreography, as well as it being the first Marvel movie to feature an Asian lead. One of the biggest reasons this movie has been anticipated is because it’s a new and fresh direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, his most popular films include Short Term 12, Just Mercy, and The Glass Castle. Featuring Simu Liu as it’s main lead, he has a few acting credits, most notable include the CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience, Taken, and a guest appearance on Fresh Off the Boat. This movie featured more well known actors and actresses as well such as Awkwafina, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Yeoh. 

The cast gave a respectable impression that everyone worked together very well, which ultimately gave a beautiful performance that flowed together beyond adequately. The fact that Liu hasn’t been in many films adds to his uniqueness and leaves the audience wanting more of his performances in the future. 

However while there were multiple positive reviews, the film has received some negative input online. Due to the heavy reliance on CGI and special effects or graphics to tell the story, many were frustrated with the loss of the overall details of the film, more towards the plotline and story. This can also be compared to Marvel’s previous release, Black Widow, which critics also said that the graphics took away from the intimate family dynamic, which was the main focus of the movie. China has even gone as far as banning the movie from being released in their country. 

The storyline and plot of the story kept the audience hooked throughout, with numerous small and minor details to add to an overall well directed masterpiece. This is a great, one of a kind movie, that everyone should watch at least once.

By: Kristina Mertz

Winter is cold and snowy,

Spring is warm and rainy,

Summer is hot and sunny,

and Autumn is chilly and windy!

By: Kristina Mertz

Halloween is more widely known for the candy, movies and the creepy aesthetic but today costumes will be the main focus. Halloween is a chance for people to get in touch with their creative side, as making costumes can be lots of fun.

Skeleton:

Materials: Black and white face paint, White T-shirt and black tank top.

Instructions: Begin cutting horizontal holes on the left and right side into the black tank top with your scissors, make sure to cut horizontal holes left and right on the shirt, but be sure to not cut in the middle. Put the black tank top over the white shirt, and now you have the body. Next either by yourself or with assistance from a friend, paint your face white along with your lips black. Done!

“That’s none of my business” Kermit costume:

Materials: Light Green shirt, Scotch bonding strips, Sheet of green felt and finally a mini poster board

Instructions: Cut 3 wide triangles and 4 thinner and longer triangles out of the green felt. Next, use the scotch bonding tape to tape the felts onto the green shirt, after that you can write the quote “But that’s none of my business” onto the whiteboard to complete the old viral internet meme.

Happy Halloween!

By: Alexandra Garcia and Libby Sanchez

To start off this year’s student spotlight series, we’re piloting off with one of Pleasanton’s sweetest souls, Kalista Pesina. She’s shy and closed off to begin with, but once you break past that she can make your day with a simple smile and wave in the hallway. Kalista is a part of the class of 2022 and will be graduating at the end of this year, which is something she’s looking forward to. She looks to keep her options open for college, but is very strong on her path to progressing in the culinary arts field. When asked what she’s gonna miss most about highschool, Pesina answered with, “Definitely the soccer team. It’s brought me a lot of memories and friendships that I wouldn’t trade for anything.” This year, Kalista looks forward to another and final season on the Pleasanton Women’s Soccer team. “We have all gotten really close as a team with our inside jokes and seeing each other everyday, as a senior that’s gonna be something I definitely miss.” Kalista has taken up the position of a true leader and friend the past two years. “From the very start she’s always given her best effort with full consistency, she’s made significant improvements in skill and fitness and she’s truly dedicated to bettering herself and her teammates. I truly look forward to what she will accomplish in this off-season and upcoming season,” states Coach Joseph. Kalista would like to thank Mr. Hurley (a former teacher) for making her freshman year memorable, and she’d also like to thank Mrs. Minnear for her time as a teacher. “She cared about all her students and taught with such enthusiasm, she refused to let us be confused on a topic,” Pesina says. If Kalista had to describe her past 4 years at the highschool in one word, it would be “exciting”. When she first started as a freshman she had no idea what to expect, but a lot of surprises pop out of nowhere throughout the years and keep it interesting. With that being said, her advice to the freshman now is to not skip out, everyday counts and if you don’t want to miss the good stuff, best be here most of the time. Kalista is looking forward to enjoying her last year here at Pleasanton High School, but she’s also looking forward to seeing where the world takes her. Good luck on this upcoming season and enjoy your senior year!