Second annual PSA expo to be held tomorrow

By Christina Burke Staff Writer Tomorrow, the Public Services Academy (PSA) at Coppell High School will be hosting their second annual health and education expo open to the public. In this expo, the freshman and sophomores of PSA will be presenting some of their work and service projects from this school year. Guest speakers include Tracey Yukich, Season 8 winner of the television show The Biggest Loser and Todd Whitthorne from the Cooper Aerobics Center. Speakers will be covering topics for the lecture series: “A New Year, A Better You”. Topics will include tips for healthier eating and college planning. Other activities include free adult health screening provided by Baylor Medical Center of Irving, a petting zoo,…

Seniors share wisdom with upcoming students

By Kara Adkins Online Copy Editor All of the academic options Coppell high school offers can be a bit overwhelming to upcoming and current high school students. To give first hand knowledge and experience when it comes to programs such as IB, AP, New Tech, and Academies, Coppell has gathered seniors with first hand experience to discuss these many options. On Thursday Feb. 2 at 7pm at the CGS winter symposium, underclassmen will have an opportunity to hear the reality of each of these programs to see what suits them best. This event is ideal for seventh to tenth grade students and their parents. If you have questions regarding scheduling and which classes to take,…

EMAC gains insight from Katie Couric

By Christina Burke Staff Writer One of the many advantages of being in the academies at Coppell High School is being able to take part in extraordinary opportunities that are not available to other students at the school. In my time with the Emerging Media and Communications (EMAC) Academy, I have had many experiences that are great for a developing journalism student such as myself. My most recent experience was a question and answer session with the experienced journalist, Katie Couric. Couric’s well-known television career began in 1979 as a ‘low-level’ assistant for ABC news. She has made it all the way from brewing coffee and answering phones to being the first woman to regularly…

Academy students portray the plague

By Christina Burke Staff Writer If you are roaming around the main hallways during class today, there is a good chance that you will find yourself in the midst of the thirteenth century.Academy english teacher Clara Caussey has come up with yet another Project Based Learning (PBL) assignment to challenge the minds of her students. Sophomores from the EMAC, PSA and STEM Academies are required to participate in an improvisational reenactment of the Bubonic Plague from thirteenth century England. To earn their grade they must accurately portray their part, either victim, doctor or watchman including costumes and make-up. The Academies at CHS are famous for their adapted learning environment and this assignment is no exception….

New year brings changes to Academies

By Jay Carroll Staff Writer The three smaller learning environments at CHS are now one big learning environment. The academies changed things up a bit during the summer. This year the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics academy (STEM), the Public Service Academy (PSA) and the Emerging Media and Communication academy (EMAC) now share the same core classes; there are kids from each academy in every core class like English and Math. Last year each academy was separate from each other and they did not share any classes at all, whether it was an elective or a core class.  While this change is making some students happy, others aren’t as thrilled. “It’s all mixed between STEM,…

The academies go to Six Flags for well deserved vacation

Abby Drake Staff Writer The select group of freshman students who are a part of the different academies have worked very hard this year and finally got a day to relax and have fun. There are three academies the PSA one which focuses on students who want a career in public service, like medical assistance or teaching. EMAC is another academy that focuses more on media careers and STEM is the academy that gears towards engineering. The students in the academies work hard and have a more focused schedule than many of the other students in their grade; with all of this work they deserve a day of fun in the sun. Today all students…

CHS welcomes PSA academy

Jane Kim Staff Writer It can be an overwhelming experience to be one of 2,700 students at CHS and to feel like a small speck in a large crowd. But the establishment of the three new academies at CHS—essentially small schools within a school—is designed to further provide opportunities and experiences for the students enrolled in them. The idea first emerged in October 2006 and then grew into a plan of action in the spring of 2007.  Starting in 2010, incoming freshman and select groups of sophomores would serve as the ‘guinea pigs’ to this brand-new education plan. “I think every new program has got its growing pains,” said Public Service Academy (PSA) team lead…

STEM Academy launches at CHS

Zeb White Assistant Business Manager, Staff Writer Engineering, simply put, is using math and science to turn ideas into reality. That’s the foundation for Coppell High School’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy, which aims to teach students about engineering with hands-on learning and relevant projects. “I joined STEM because I wanted to see how engineering works,” freshman Clayton Howeth said. “I wanted to get a feel of what real engineering is like and how I could use it in high school and college and in future careers.” Being in an Academy like STEM gives students the opportunity to form relationships with students who have common interests—in this case, engineering. “Since I’m in STEM,…

EMAC visits Cowboys Stadium

Story by Rebecca Neumann Entertainment Editor Video by Davis DeLoach and Chris Reagan Cowboys Stadium offers many things: great entertainment, great food, great facilities, and, for the students of the Coppell High School EMAC academy, a great opportunity to learn about media and technology. On Tuesday, around 60 students, excited about the trip and the prospect of missing a school day, piled into two buses and visited one of the NFL’s newest stadiums. Upon arrival, they all split up into different groups of four, each including one advertising student, one photographer, one reporter and one videographer. For the first part of their visit, they filmed video introductions, took pictures of the massive structure and scribbled…

CHS to introduce Career Academies for incoming freshmen

By Daphne Chen Starting with the Class of 2015, CHS will be introducing Career Academies in order to encourage freshmen who already have an interest in a certain career. The three academies are the Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy headed by science teacher Mike Yakubovsky, the Public Services Academy headed by science teacher Brenda Brinkman and the Emerging Media and Communications Academy (EMAC) headed by KCBY-TV director Irma Kennedy. This new model is part of the Strategic Planning process that began in October 2006 as part of an effort to create smaller learning communities within CHS. “We realized that you can’t just motivate kids,” CISD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Turner said at a Jan….