Middle school student competes in National Trumpet Competition

By Christina Burke Staff Writer Eighth grader Christopher Stubblefield is not your average member of the Coppell Middle School North Honor Winds Band. Stubblefield is an outstanding trumpet player whose skills have been recognized for the second year in a row by the National Trumpet Competition. In this year’s competition, he has been selected as a semi finalist. The next step for him in this process is to travel to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, to compete in the next level this March. During his next performance in March, Stubblefield must preform his musical piece live in front of the judges and an audience. Stubblefield’s consideration in this competition began when a video of…

Annual holiday parade, tree lighting to kick off holiday season

By Thomas Hair Online Copy Editor Dozens of dazzling floats will take to the streets and people will flock to Town Center Plaza for other festivities on Saturday Dec. 3,  as Coppell officially kicks off the holiday season! This year’s edition of the annual parade will feature 37 floats and will follow its usual route travelling west on Parkway Boulevard from its intersection with Samuel Road. The theme of the parade has been announced to be “Hometown Holiday.” Citizens have been encouraged to enter homemade floats as part of this theme. Floats begin lining up at 3:00 p.m., and the parade itself begins at 6:30, after judges have analyzed the floats. About 1,500 are anticipated to be in attendance for…

Band takes 18th at BOA Super Regionals

By Lance McCaskey Staff Writer Last Saturday, the Coppell High School Marching Band concluded their season with 18th place at the Bands of America Super Regional contest. The Cowboys and Cowgirls traveled to San Antonio on Nov 7th to take on the top 70 bands in the Southwest in the BOA Super Regional. The band performed their show, Requies, in hopes of placing in the top 14 spots for a spot in finals. Unfortunately, the band lacked visuals and props, but still overcame the odds with a solid 18th place. This coming year will be a 5A state championship year, giving the band a chance to prove they are one of the best bands in…

CHS band to compete in BOA contest

By Annie Wen Staff Writer The CHS marching band students will soon be checking in their uniforms and hanging up their shakos for the year. As the marching season comes to an end the band prepares to go out with a bang. The band’s final contest of the year is the Bands of Americas Super-regionals contest to be held in San Antonio on November 5. “This year’s show is a much different show,” director Scott Mason said. “The level of difficulty is much greater than what we’ve done in the past, so it has been somewhat harder to get it all learned to the high level we like. The BOA contest is a very highly…

Senior Night held at last home football game

By Caroline Carter Staff Writer As the football season comes to a close, the Coppell High School seniors find themselves looking ahead at their future. In order to honor the things they have done in the past four years, Senior Night will be held at the football game tonight. Seniors participating in cheerleading, Lariettes, football, band, and color guard will be recognized before the game begins. It will be a very bittersweet time for the students as many memories were made on Buddy Echols Field. The recognition of the seniors will occur before kick-off, roughly around 7:00.

Band students make their own music

By Christina Burke Staff Writer The award-winning Coppell High School Marching Band is famous among the city’s bubble. There are so many of these members roaming the halls of CHS, but without their distinct white uniforms and tall feathered hats, they seem to blend into the crowd. Within the band, there are many different talents behind the hundreds of faces that you see on the field. Some of them are aspiring artists and writers, but of course, hidden among them, are many aspiring musicians. To these students, the art of music goes way beyond marching band. Several high school band students have taken action to further develop their love of music through activities outside of…

Band to go to DMI contest this weekend

By Annie Wen Staff Writer This week the CHS band will be heading out to Duncanville for the annual Duncanville Marching Invitational. This contest is held every year and 20 area bands are chosen to compete based on their past record of success. The CHS band has had a great marching season so far, winning 7 awards at the Mesquite Marching Festival and earning a First Division at the UIL contest. The DMI contest is the second most important contest of the season, the most important being the Bands of America contest that will be taking place next weekend. The band will be competing against long-time rivals Marcus HS and LD Bell HS at both…

Local band, Seastroke, plays to a different beat

Corrina Taylor Staff Writer What makes a band famous is not flashy clothes or a “tough-guy” attitude; it is talent and will to succeed. A local Coppell band is known for its dedication to their instruments and themselves. As self-taught musicians, the members have spent their high school career practicing and working hard to establish their band. Together, 2011 Ranchview High School graduate Jeff McQuitty, senior Jett Raines, Cistercian students Stuart Leach and Matthew Lancaster make up Seastroke. Seastroke is an up and coming band introducing a new type of sound. The use of a violin in its songs adds a nice touch to the overall quality of the songs;  some may even say it…

Band to honor victims of 9/11

By Caroline Carter Staff Writer With the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 approaching this Sunday, Coppell High School’s and Jesuit’s band planned a special pre-game performance to honor those who lost their lives at tonight’s game. It is a very unique game for Coppell and Jesuit, the opposing team, as ten years ago; Coppell played Jesuit in an away game three days after the twin towers were hit.  Both bands have planned and rehearsed a performance that is set to begin about thirty minutes before the actual game begins. The two songs chosen to play are “Amazing Grace” and “The Star Spangled Banner”. Both bands will play and create a formation together. It is sure to…

Beat the Heat CHS

By Jordan Bickham Staff Writer The summer season ends with the start of school, but with temperatures soaring in the hundreds, summer seems endless, even when the vacation is over. As a freshman spending his last few weeks of summer marching under the sun, Matthew Thomas could not have anticipated how intense outdoor activities can be in Texas. “We practice four days a week, about three hours a day, and it is almost always outside,” Thomas said.  “I try to drink water outside of band.  You know, drink a cup of water instead of a can of coke, keeping your body cool and hydrated all the time.” But sometimes, water is just not enough. “During…