Senior, Judy Hong, works on her laptop in IB Environmental Science. Photo by Aditi Shrikant.

By Michelle Pitcher
Opinions Editor

Come June 4, Coppell High School will hand out International Baccalaureate diplomas to students for the first time. However, before any student can receive this honor, the IB seniors must survive their second year of the famously rigorous course.

This school year is Coppell’s second to host the IB program, and the students who pioneered the program as juniors are now facing the rigor of their senior year. In order to receive their IB diploma, these students must first meet extensive graduation requirements, including a 4,000 word extended essay, a course on Theory of Knowledge and 150 hours of Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) projects.

“[The second year] is basically when they actually get to do a lot of the official components they were introduced to last year,” IB coordinator Jeb Puryear said.

Even before the school year began, the seniors had begun work on their extended essays. Each student is required to have a mentor for this assignment, with topics ranging from science to history to Alice in Wonderland, and a completed draft of this assignment was due on the first day of school. Their completed essays will be sent out in November and graded externally, a system which is a trademark of the IB program.

“They’re graded by IB readers, so even if I think they’re doing [wonderful], they wouldn’t necessarily get the credit for that if the external graders don’t agree,” IB English teacher Susan Creighton said.

Despite the pressure of these assessments, the IB seniors seem optimistic about the year ahead. Their junior year was spent honing abilities needed to achieve their diploma but, along the way, the 46 IB seniors came together on a personal level as well.

“It’s really nice to be in classes with people that we’ve gotten to know,” IB senior Sarah Hillier said. “Going through this year will be a lot easier knowing we have someone to rely on.”

Not only have the students grown more accustomed to the program, but the teachers are stepping up to the task, as well. Many teachers are entering their second year in the program, and they are taking the opportunity to change their teaching style in order to adapt to the program. IB Language A1 teacher Michael Vergien is able to use his experiences from his previous year of IB teaching to improve and reflect upon while entering his second year.

“Going through it the first time, I definitely made mistakes – not huge, detrimental mistakes, just things that needed to be done differently – and, so far I’m seeing a difference,” Vergien said.

The second year of IB will consist of external assessments, extensive reading, class discussions and tireless work by both the students and the teachers.

“They kind of don’t have the ability to have as much senioritis because of all the work, but they’ll still have the sense of relief when it’s all over,” Puryear said. “I think they’re looking forward to May, but aren’t we all?”

Senior Peter Chang is heading off to Rice University in Houston, TX and plans to major in chemical engineering. Photo by Henna Khan.

Pre-Calculus teacher Paula Russell still remembers the day Peter Chang walked into her class four years ago.

“When I met Peter Chang for the first time, he walked in my door, 12 years-old, so little, I couldn’t understand why he needed my help,” Pre-Calculus teacher Paula Russell said. “So I looked at him and asked ‘Are you lost?’”

But Chang wasn’t lost. In fact, he was on his way to becoming the valedictorian of the class of 2010, and as a freshman, Pre-AP Pre-Calculus was only his first stop.

Rarely do we see an anomaly such as Chang who skipped three grades coming in as an inconspicuous 12-year-old trying to fit in and is now leaving as a 16-year-old with far more than just an astonishing GPA.

Since the day he entered Coppell High School, it was often assumed that Chang’s only goal was to be number one of his class since, but in fact, rank was far from his interests, as he was trying to get by with rigorous courses just as every other one of his fellow classmates.

“To be honest, I didn’t really care as much about maintaining my rank,” Chang said. “As long as I was satisfied with the amount of work I was doing, rank didn’t matter. Even being 16, I actually felt quite normal, and never once thought of myself as being the most ‘academically achieved’ person in my grade. I figured sometimes your best can get you far and that is exactly what happened. Of course, there was always failure, but my challenges only made me stronger.”

This four-year journey for Chang has been quite the array of challenges. With Business Professionals of America competitions, scientific research and several rigorous courses such as AP Biology, this young savant has endured quite the roller coaster to preserve his position over 735 other envious students.

“Most people describe this expedition as one long marathon, but I see it as a series of sprints,” Chang said. “There are moments when you have to give it your all, but there are also moments when you just come to realization with it. Looking back, more than anything, it was simply my desire to excel. I took it one day at a time.”

According to Russell, in her 36 years of teaching at CHS, she has never come across a student as gifted as Chang. His keen wit, precocious sense of humor, giving nature and kindness had a profound effect on teachers such as Russell.

“Oh, Peter Chang, God love that boy!” Russell said. “There are countless rewards in teaching, but when you get to be involved in a student like Peter’s life and play a role in their life, that may be one of the most rewarding things I have ever come across. I get addicted, which is exactly what keeps me teaching here.”

In the Chang’s past four years of high school, Russell not only taught him Pre-Calculus, but recently wrote him several college recommendation letters and continuously stayed involved in his life with the help of Chang’s family.

“Mrs. Russell was my first introduction to a rigorous class,” Chang said. “Her class was so conceptual that it became one of my first big academic challenges. If I hadn’t taken that class, my work ethic would not have been where it is now. She’s like a facilitator and is definitely the person you need to go to in order to know anything about pre-cal.”

If anyone has conversed with Chang about his academic career in depth during high school, it’s been his counselor Penny Davis who sees him three to four times a month, or perhaps even more during the past couple of months.

“Peter has always been very focused; he knows what his interests are and he is aware of the courses offered here at CHS that will help him develop his talent,” Davis said. “He is so talented that I never had to worry whether he was on the right track. For anyone that wants to follow in his footsteps I would advise that you take classes that challenge you and follow the passion for what you want to do after high school.”

Aside from his academic career, Chang maintains amazing talents that do not involve books. Little do others know, he can transpose music, combine melodies and is highly artistically inclined.

When it comes to spending time with friends, Chang might surprise some with how different he is outside his academic world.

“Peter has an introverted personality; he’s very secretive, and seldom will you find him talking about school with his friends,” senior Quinn Zhang said. “He can crack the wittiest jokes that leave me wishing I had said that. Taking into account his competitive nature, Peter is addicted to the video game, Starcraft, and I find him spending hours on the ‘team Witchwood’ forum.”

While the 4 year experience has been one to remember for Chang, there is also the future to look forward to. He went about his application process just like any other student, writing essays and stating the same information about himself repeatedly, but the outcome was unpredictable even for Chang. Chang committed to Rice University in April in hopes of pursuing chemical engineering.

“Part of my decision to go to Rice relied on the fact that I got into the Century Scholars program, which allows me to continue the scientific research I have been doing thus far,” Chang said.

The Rice University Century Scholars program matches select incoming freshmen with faculty mentors for a two year period. During that time the student and mentor collaborate on one of the mentor’s research projects. In addition to the research opportunity, select students receive a two-year merit scholarship and a research stipend.

Chang will rekindle his thanks and memories from the previous four years in a speech at graduation on June 6. So how would Chang describe the feeling of concluding high school as a valedictorian?

One response: He fist pumps the air.

At its core, the rules are simple: throw the Frisbee, catch the Frisbee, win the game. It is these rules that open up a world of intense competition and comradely known as Ultimate Frisbee – a game some Coppell High School seniors helped make the staple of intramural sports.

Ultimate Frisbee was first introduced to CHS in the fall of 2008, when the intramural program was formed. Though most students were reluctant to join the strange and unknown territory, a large group of junior students formed teams and signed up – giving Ultimate Frisbee the push it needed to get rolling.

Some of these teams still play today as nearly all-senior teams, such as the Monstars and Abusement Park. The same goes for the team headed by senior Chris Scoular, though the team’s name has fluctuated with the years – from Ewoks in Reebok, The Scrubs and, now, The Village People, this group of players has proven both its fierceness and its humor throughout its run.

“My team changed names a lot, but we basically have the same people,” Scoular said. “We have a lot of fun with it.”

Because of their experience, the senior teams have proven to be rather intimidating for other Ultimate Frisbee teams, as proven by Abusement Park’s two-season sweep of the championships.

“I think they [the seniors] are extremely fierce competition – they’re dangerous,” junior Weapons of Mass Seduction player Evan Hawman said. “When you’re playing man to man, you tag them, you watch them like hawks because they’ll eat you.”

But, competition aside, the true reason why intramurals is implemented is to allow people to bond in a place they would not otherwise. This sentiment has been upheld by these seniors, despite being prone to win.

“My favorite part is playing,” Scoular said. “I don’t really care if we win or lose, I just have a lot of fun playing. That’s the greatest, for me.”

To ensure Ultimate Frisbee’s survival after their departure from CHS, the seniors of Ultimate Frisbee have been reaching out to friends and family in order to gain involvement in the program. Based on the fact 12 teams are currently active in the program, their efforts can be counted as a huge success.

“We really spread awareness and involvement,” Scoular said. “We’ve got a lot of our little brothers and sisters and underclassmen friends in to it, which helps.”

On top of recruiting, these seniors have brought forth an awareness of Ultimate Frisbee through their pronounced love of the sport – from designing and wearing team shirts around the school to talking it up as if it was professional football, they have made sure everyone at CHS knows what Ultimate Frisbee is all about.

“I think they’ve definitely nurtured it [the intramural Ultimate Frisbee program] along,” Hawman said. “They’ve brought the interest, they’ve brought the passion, and they’ve just sort of encouraged everyone else to follow along.”

However, with senior year coming to its close, these senior players must leave CHS as well as their Frisbees behind – for now, at least.

“It’s going to be weird not playing Ultimate here [at CHS],” senior Monstars player Kevin Rutledge said. “I’m going to miss it a lot. I think I’ll try to play it in college, but it’s not going to be the same.”

As the infamous May 1 deadline rapidly approaches it seems most seniors have made their final decisions as to what they will be doing next year.

While some have opted for the work force, others have decided to take a year off and some have already graduated, seniors attending school next fall have also made significant decisions regarding their future.

With Facebook groups being made for seniors to display their college choices, it seems that almost everyone is in the final stages of preparing for next year.

The Coppell Cowboys Tuesday will be primarily looking for a big district 6-5A victory but also will be concerned with sending their seniors off with one final home game.  Senior’s Zane Feemster, Will Abbott, Parker Hutchins, Quinn Hernandez, and Josh Montgomery will all be honored before the Hebron game.

The Cowboys so far have swept Hebron going 2-0 against the Hawks this year, and to get a season sweep would solidify their positioning in the second seeding of district.  The team wasn’t predicted to be this high in the district standings, but the young Cowboys have played beyond expectations and have the chemistry to go far in the state playoffs.

The Cowboys only returning starter that is a senior is Zane Feemster, so expect Feemster to have a great game in his last game at the baseball Complex at West middle school.  The rest of the seniors should see significant playing time at one point or another in the game, so they can all be expected to have one final moment at the stadium.

The Cowboys will hope to win their game tonight to improve upon the already surprising successful season they have enjoyed.  The Cowboys will be led by junior Adam Toth, the premiere hitting junior for the Cowboys, who has been a mainstay in the lineup ever since his freshman year.  Toth can rely on  junior Sam Swinton who is also a hard hitting player who has been on varsity since his sophomore year.

Swinton will need to pitch better later in the year so that he may lead to Cowboys to a district title or playoff run that Coppell has been missing.  Last years disappointment was incredibly difficult on the entire Cowboy baseball program, putting a dark mark on a season where the Cowboys had every senior but one commit to play baseball in college.

The Cowboys have put to rest the fact that they could not get it done last season, and have started playing more like a team this year.

“I know after last year losing in the first round I didn’t cry like most teams at the end of the season,” Hutchins said. “That doesn’t mean I wasn’t involved in the team, it just shows that I wasn’t emotionally involved like I am for the guys on the team this year.

The game will start at 7 PM but to make sure and see the festivities, fans should arrive sometime around 6:30.

To see more about the Cowboys current standings click here

Video Credit Aleya Noor

By: Renee Rohani

Business Manager

With senior year nearing its end, some senior friends decided they didn’t want to leave Coppell High School without leaving their mark.

Seniors Suwetha Amsavelu, Satvika Ananth, Daphne Chen, Jessie King and Chris Nguyen came up with the idea of designing and selling T-shirts as a fundraiser, named “Poets on Shirts.”

In association with Junior World Affairs Council (JWAC), the group is selling the T-shirts and sending all of the proceeds collected to earthquake relief in Chile through American Red Cross. Up to now, the group has earned a little over $800 for the Chile effort.

“We just thought it’s our senior year and we wanted to do something before we left,” said King, the JWAC secretary. “We decided that T-shirts would be the most profitable thing because pretty much everyone likes to buy them.”

Aside from coming up with the idea themselves, the group also designed and created the T-shirts.

“The drawings were a collaborative effort,” King said. “We picked the poems we wanted to use on the shirts together and everyone added their own element of design.”

The three different T-shirt designs each display excerpts from three famous poems, all selected by the group of seniors. The poems are “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas and “If I Could Stop One Heart from Breaking” by Emily Dickinson.

“We specifically chose poems that have to do with rising up from adversity and fighting struggles,” said Amsavelu, JWAC treasurer.

The themes of the poems certainly reflect the motive of the group.

“It’s later in the year now, so unfortunately most people have forgotten the grief that is going on around the world,” King said. “We wanted to be sure the people at Coppell were still remembering that there are people in need.”

The fundraiser’s T-shirt designs have created quite a buzz around campus. Students and teachers alike are eager to participate.

“I heard what they were for and thought it was a pretty good idea,” junior Hayden Weaver said. “I liked the design of the shirt so I thought, ‘Why not?’”

English teacher Zack Sherman has vowed to wear his ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” shirt every Friday of the year. English teacher Nannette McMurtry also had praises for the shirts.

“What a great idea for the students to come up with, and it’s also great that it is going towards a good cause,” McMurtry said.

The most surprising success the group has had is coming from outside of the Coppell community. The group of seniors was shocked to discover the number of people requesting shirts who do not even attend CHS.

“Everything has been done through our Facebook group, and because of that people from all over have been calling and asking for shirts, even people we don’t know,” King said. “We didn’t really make any efforts to reach out to people outside of Coppell; it just happened.”

Because of the power of the Internet, “Poets on Shirts” is attracting the attention of buyers from Virginia, California, Massachusetts and New York to name a few locations.

Columbia University freshman Annie Liu was one such buyer.

“I was invited to the [Facebook] group and was really interested in what I saw,” Liu said. “I came to the high school to buy the shirts because the design really appealed to me and I knew it was for Chile.”

The success of the T-shirts has surpassed the anticipation of the group. Pre-orders for the red v-neck shirts were taken weeks ago, yet when orders finally came in, the shirts sold out in less than a day. The second order for the shirts has already been put in place.

“We hoped people would want to buy the shirts, but we never imagined we would have this much success,” King said. “I think people like the appeal of giving to charity and getting something out of it.”

The seniors plan to continue to raise money for Chile with the shirt designs they have and are grateful for the achievement the shirts have made.

“I don’t really think any of us ever imagined it would get this big,” Amsavelu said. “It’s just amazing.”

Shirts are still available for purchase. For more information, contact Satvika Ananth at satvika@gmail.com or visit the Facebook group, “Poets on Shirts: A T-shirt Fundraiser.”

Senior Nathan Reck models one of the shirt designs from the "Poets on Shirts" fundraiser. Photo by Viviana Trevino.

Seniors Courntey Schneider and Allison Ramm look through the dresses available at the Whatchamacllit Fashions store site in Addison. Photo Courtesy of Renee Rohani.

Assuming the role of sales lead for Whatchamacallit Fashions, senior Sharon Mathai planned and materialized a get-together for senior girls in need of a prom dress. 

What may have started out as an interest in lowering the mounting and overwhelming costs of prom, however, soon became an innovative and resourceful way for Mathai to not only help others with their search, but to create new memories and experiences along the way. 

Taking place on March 7, the social event was held from 5-7 p.m. at the Whatchamacallit store in Addison. Within the two hour time period, senior girls looked through racks and racks of colorful dresses boasting every type of style and design, and tried on outfits which suited them best. 

Through buying a dress, pair of shoes or accessory item, senior girls would not only have their attire for prom planned, but the amount spent would be deducted from the total cost of Mathai’s dress previously purchased from Whatchamacallit Fashions.

Senior Courtney Schneider, friend of Mathai and participant of the shopping event, feels as though the gathering offered new opportunities to girls throughout the senior class.

“Shopping for a prom dress was something I had to do, but going to help a friend and looking at a new store really broadened my horizons,” Schneider said.

Having searched for a dress at Whatchamacallit Fashions in weeks prior, Mathai grew familiar with the store’s employees and the discounts offered. When a unique, flowing dress of rich colors caught her eye, she expressed great interest in finding out what opportunities for price reduction were available to store customers.  

Through several discussions with the store manager, Mathai learned Whatchamacallit Fashions is willing to reduce the price of her dress for every purchase made by a friend.

“Once I had found the dress I wanted, I started thinking about how the cost could be lowered and made more affordable by the retailer,” Mathai said. “Inviting other girls to the store and showing them the great dresses that are available meant that we could have fun while saving money.”

By starting the Coppell Prom Dress Party Facebook group, Mathai was able to reach out and connect with other girls that were still looking for an outfit to complete the night. To involve a variety of seniors who participate in all types of school activities, Mathai designated peers, such as Kara McFarlane and Alyssa Diggs, as administrators of the group.

As an active member of Vivace! and KCBY, senior Kara McFarlane thinks the group is a great way to get all types of students involved in the event.

“The Facebook group will not only keep everyone up to date on what’s going, but will really help grab the attention of other girls that [Mathai] may not know,” McFarlane said.

Although no items were purchased that evening, the ongoing event created and coordinated by Mathai enables a new source of interaction amongst classmates in addition to great exposure for Whatchamacallit Fashions.

By making individual trips with seniors that express interest and keeping an ear out for last minute shoppers, Mathai intends to carry on her price reducing efforts throughout the upcoming month and final weeks leading up to prom.

College is a big step.  It takes maturity and confidence to leave behind one’s childhood and enter a new school surrounded by strangers, crazy professors and a very different environment. 

For students moving out of state next year, the transition from Coppell will be even more drastic than for those heading just a few hours away.

Senior Spayne Avant will be traveling to Central Florida next year, and because the school is so far from Coppell, she will be away from her friends and family for the majority of the year.

“I will have to fly to and from school and probably won’t even be able to come home on holidays,” Avant said.  “I’m not really nervous because my sister lives there, but I really don’t know anyone at the college.”

For students like Avant, not only is the drive—or even flight—long and tiring, but the move is also more permanent.  Out-of-state college students cannot simply pop back home on weekends.  Once they are settled in their dorms, it is oftentimes where they will remain until Thanksgiving break.

Attending universities far from home also prevents college students from seeing their friends and family in Texas on a regular basis.  Goodbyes become more serious and reunions more sweet.

“I’m going to Belmont University in Nashville because it’s one of the few schools I found that offers audio engineering,” senior Grayson Akerly said.  “It’s definitely going to be different being so far from my family and friends, but I think I’ll be OK with it.  I’ll probably just come home on holidays.”

Though traveling across the country for college is scary in many ways, the prospect is very exciting for some.  Senior Chip Zurita will attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. next year, and though he has some reservations about being so far away from Texas, he is looking forward to facing a completely new world on his own.

“I’m excited about the whole environment there,” Zurita said.  “I love the mountains and woods in Colorado, but I am a little nervous about the unfamiliar location.  I won’t know the roads or the city very well.”

A drawback to attending out-of-state universities, however, is the tuition.  Public schools’ out-of-state tuition is generally much higher than the in-state cost, and students (and especially their parents) must decide if the expense is worth it.

For example, Texas A&M’s tuition is roughly $5,000 (not including room & board and fees), but for out-of-state students, it is $19,500, according to cgi.money.cnn.com.  A student wishing to attend a public university in Texas could pay around $9,000 (University of Texas in Austin), versus $36,000 at an out-of-state one (University of Michigan).  Coppell students traveling out of Texas can pay thousands of dollars more to attend their desired universities.

“Belmont is a private school, so it doesn’t have a different out-of-state tuition, but we had to think about the cost of all the flights,” Akerly said.  “After visiting, though, it didn’t matter as much.  We’re trying not to make it an issue.”

CHS students have encountered the pros and cons of moving far away after senior year, and many have grasped at the opportunity to gain responsibility, grow up and see what the world is like beyond the gates of Texas.

“Even though I will be unfamiliar with the location, all the other kids there will be in the same situation as me,” Zurita said.  “The school is known for its camaraderie, so hopefully we can all bond.”

Staff Writer

As the many preparations for college begin to approach, CHS seniors find themselves searching and in many cases settling for rooming with a friend in college.

While their is a common misconception that rooming together with friends is bad luck in college, seniors Nicole Lyon and Caitlin VanRiper disagree.

“Despite [the fact] that people think that rooming with a friend in college is a bad idea, I think it will be a good idea because it we don’t know each other really, really well yet,” Lyon said.

Lyon and Van Riper are just one of the many seniors who have decided to room with a friend, myself being a part of one of these pairs.

In August I will be moving in with Katherine “Kit” Howeth, a girl I’ve been friends with since freshman year when me met in our French 1 class. Since then, we’ve remained friendly, and when we discovered each other at our university’s Honor’s Day program, we decided it would be a great idea to room together.

One of the many reasons people decide to room with their friends in college is for the comfort factor.

“It will be a more comfortable going through the whole new experience [of college] with a friend,” Van Riper said.

I have to say that I agree. For most CHS graduates, going to college means being introduced to a whole new group of people, which can be incredibly intimidating. Having a friend not only on campus, but in your room can be a reassuring experience.

Another reason to have a friend for a roommate is the trust aspect.

Last year, I had a friend go off to college with the greatest of expectations, only to have them dashed upon being delivered an awful roommate. The roommate was very rude and callous towards my friend in addtion to being very messy and eventually the school decided to separate them at the end of the semester. The worst part of the situation was that the drama and stress from the situation made my friend rethink her first choice college.

Having a friend as a roomate means that you will be able to experience your first year in college without having to worry if those are your socks they’re wearing or wondering why they forgot to put their toothbrush away in the morning. The level of respect that friends offer each other will be sure to come in handy when you embark on one of your most important life journeys and make your first step to becoming an independent adult.

While rooming togther as friends does not always mean that your first year of college will go as smoothly as you would like, for Lyon, VanRiper and myself, it’s a good feeling to have a friend along for the ride.

Original Video – More videos at TinyPic
Video by Emily Denton

On Wednesday March 3, freshman, sophomores and juniors will take the Reading/ELA TAKS test. Seniors do not have to come to school until noon, which is when fourth period will begin.

Testing starts at 8:20 a.m. and will go until fourth period, but if students have not finished, they will be given the chance to complete the test in an overflow room.

The schedule for the rest of the afternoon will be fourth through seventh period, each period lasting approximately 40 minutes. Lunches will follow the regular schedule, just at different times.

Good luck underclassmen on the first TAKS test of this year. Seniors enjoy sleeping in!

For the March 3 bell schedule, click here.