The Trojan Oracle Vol 4
Jan-March 2024
A few things...
Yearbook
- Yearbooks arrive mid May. Preorder yours Here
Student Life🥳
Unified Sports Basketball Game
Unified Sports at CPHS
Mrs. Broas, moderate/severe teacher and Trojan Buddies Club advisor has always had a passion for making all students feel welcome. She shed some insight into what exactly Unified Sports is and this is what she shared, “Unified Sports provides students with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to engage in physical activities and build positive peer relationships across the school setting. The purpose behind unified sports is to provide students with the opportunity to interact with their peers. Bringing Unified Sports to CPH was a way to bring social inclusion and whole-school engagement to our campus. Bringing Unified Sports to our campus has led to meaningful change in creating a socially inclusive school here in our district”.
On January 31st 2024, for the first time, there was a unified sports game at Castle Park High School, against Southwest High School in a basketball game. During third period, students and staff were invited to the gym to cheer on the players in this extremely successful event. Senior Adrian Gomez states, “It was very successful because we went to Montgomery High School and got a lot of tips from them since they also do events like that. It took a lot of planning with staff and ASB to make sure we had the time in the school's schedule so every class could attend. It was really successful because we were able to make lots of profit from concession stands, the cheerleaders and basketball team helped us out as well. We felt like it made the students with diverse learning needs feel included.” The spectators were intrigued and excited to know what would happen next. A lot of points were scored against Southwest and in the end it was a pretty close game but it’s not about who wins or loses, it's about enjoying the moment and cheering for all those who played. Many agree It was a memorable day. Senior Melissa Beltran said, “The best part of this event was seeing the joy on the student’s faces while they played and how involved the students and faculty got into the game and cheering for the players.”
The students of CPH are looking forward to another event like this in the future, hoping that these kinds of events occur more often to bring everyone together.
By: Aubrey Garcia & Evelyn Rodriguez
Daniela Martinez & Kyra Nellis
Emiliano Acuna & Gio Mosley
Fernando Manjarrez & Rigo Vidal
Black History Month Assembly
A CPHS First...
This year we had the opportunity to have many firsts. Culture & Climate Committee became a student ran club and for the first time in almost a decade CPHS had a Black Student Union Club. With that said, it was important to both clubs to host an event that promoted and celebrated black culture since it has a history of not being recognized. Both clubs decided to host the first Black History Month Assembly at CPHS. This was new to all of us and the student body and staff were excited to see what the assembly was going to entail. From performances by Dance Company, fun games, and beautiful ballads played by band, the event was a success. Take a look at what some of the organizers of this event had to say:
Senior Dominic Collins: “The assembly was about educating students about how black culture is tied to hip hop history. We also wanted students to gain respect for all that the black community has contributed to our culture. To show this we had different regions in the US displayed (East, West South, MidWest) and we showcased hip hop artists and tied a song they created to a historical event. For instance I assisted with the West Coast region. So I was able to show how NWA’s song was actually an anthem for the LA riots at the time due to police brutality and specifically the unjust beating of Rodney King.”
Senior Ivan Duran: “It was important because we wanted the school and students to understand the importance of BSU and black culture as a whole. A lot of people down play the impact that the black community has had and does have on our daily lives. For example, the music we listen to, the style of clothes we wear, the way we talk, the art portrayed, and many more. We wanted the student body to be aware of this and respect it.”
Senior Josiah Buggs: “I think putting together all the info for the gallery walk was challenging. We wanted to have a lot of diversity between the regions we covered. We wanted to give perspective on today's artists in how unique the hip hop community is. The easiest part was talking to the students. Music bonds us and we all have that similar connection.”
By: Abraham Olguin
Spring Sports Assembly
Rave Friday
Vamos A la Playa
Twsited Thursday
Clebrating our sports
Here at Castle Park High School we have traditional assemblies that give us the opportunity to introduce our season sports. This past March we had the spring sports assembly. Our sports this season were Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Softball, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Swim & Dive, Track & Field, and Lacrosse. Mrs. Acosta stated that “Spring Sports Assemblies are important to bring
CPH together as a unified school, this venue gives sports the opportunity to be highlighted for their talents. The Spring Sports Assembly recognizes students who dedicate their time and athletic abilities to Spring Sports.” Senior Chantal Volteada, one of our ASB members, stated “The hardest to put together for an assembly is getting people organized and getting the assembly started because sometimes people take too long to sit down and settle down, which can impact the strict schedule we are on.”
Having that experience to walk through a tunnel and get those cheers from the crowd makes our team members feel special. Junior Aaron Sanchez is part of the volleyball team this season and he stated “walking out the tunnel was something very exciting for me and something I tend to feel proud about. Walking out with friends is always something that makes such things special. Things like these are memories that are created during high school and never forgotten. This high school tradition motivates me to join more sports and feel proud to go and compete against other schools. Sophomore Dirce Gutierrez is part of our girl's softball team and she is ready to get those home runs. She expressed that “when I walked through the tunnel in the spring sports assembly I felt such a beautiful emotion and I was so excited to do it because I had the opportunity to represent the Castle Park softball team. Also, since the first day I joined the team, they have become part of my family and they will always be. Sharing these moments with my teammates was something very important and an unforgettable moment.”
We would like to thank all those who help organize these assemblies for the student body to enjoy. These are the times we get to let loose a little and cheer on those student-athletes who represent us. If you are wondering about how to join a sport, please reach out to Coach A or Mrs. Acosta in the ASB. You may also visit our website- Athletics page.
By: Evonnie Velasco & Marisol Arevalo
Dance Company
Happy B-Day
Bring it On
Trojan of the Month
Senior Anabelle Ramos was nominated by Mrs. Mains for having a strong mind and often opinionated and loving her high levels of debate in her Social Issues in Film Class. Anabelle goes on to say that ever since she was younger she has always had an opinion on everything and every topic. She also goes on to say that if someone doesn't have a strong opinion on something it will not go your way or if you don't agree with something and if you don’t speak up, you will end up doing things you do not want to do. Anabelle has been here at Castle Park since her freshman year and she has been a part of the basketball team for 3 years and is now a part of the senior committee. With this being her last year her plans after high school are to attend Southwestern Community College for 2 years and transfer to another UC or CSU and be a travel veterinarian.
Freshman Gabriel Trapsi was nominated for Trojan of the day by Ms. Macias for demonstrating his excellence and being a prime example of what being a Trojan is all about with his daily effort and participation in class. When asked about what he thinks makes an ideal student he shared when someone can be responsible, balance their life with school work and someone who is able to participate in extracurricular activities like sports and clubs. He also shared that he is a part of volleyball and the Biodiesel Club. Gabriel expressed his enjoyment in Ms. Macias’s P.E class by stating that he is able to participate in different sports and help condition himself for the sports he plays. He enjoys the opportunity to try new sports in the PE class as well. With Gabriel only being a Freshman he is most looking forward to meeting new teachers, and learning new topics that will help his career.
By: Jared Perez
Staff Standouts
Ms. Betts
It is Ms. Betts's third year at CPH. She teaches band, orchestra, and oversees the color guard in her program. Despite the challenging aspect of long hours and late nights dedicated to various events and rehearsals, the most rewarding part is witnessing the growth of her incredible students. Her passion for music education originated in high school when she was profoundly impacted by joining the band, altering the course of her life. The desire to provide a similar transformative experience led her to pursue a career in education. If not teaching, she might have pursued a STEM major, as she also had a keen interest in math and science during her school days.
Mr. Moran
Moran has been teaching for the past eight years. He dedicated himself to teaching a variety of history courses, including AP World History, Bilingual World History, and Regular World History. Mr. Moran's inherent challenge lies in convincing students of the profound importance of history in our lives and the potential consequences of not comprehending the lessons from the past. However, the most rewarding aspect of his role emerges when students independently make connections between historical events and their own lives. Witnessing students achieve their personal goals after high school is truly fulfilling for Mr. Moran. The motivation behind Moran’s educational journey stems from a genuine desire to help students reach their academic aspirations and make a positive impact on their lives. Interestingly, if his path had taken a different turn, he would have found himself immersed in a career related to modifying sports cars!
Teacher of the Year
At Castle Park High School staff have the opportunity to nominate teachers and highlight their hard work and dedication towards their students. This school year we would like to highlight Mrs. Ariel McDaniel’s efforts to always make an impact on her students. which This is why it was easy for staff to nominate her for CPHS Teacher of the Year. Mrs. McDaniel expressed “I feel humbled to be voted as the Teacher of the Year. Castle Park is such a special place and it means the world that my colleagues see me.” We all have someone that inspires us and impacts us positively throughout life. Mrs. McDaniel recognized her 12 grade English teacher, Mr. Quintero for always giving her that support and motivation. She stated “Mr.Quientro was the first person who challenged me. He had high expectations of me and would push me to be a better student and person. (Mr. Quintero is an AP in the district and introduced me at the TOY ceremony).” Mrs. McDaniel is a very welcoming and loving person. She expressed, “I try to be myself and be open and honest with my students. Respect is the minimum in class. Setting those expectations for our class allows us to be free. We love to laugh and it’s generally a requirement to be a student of mine.”
Shoutout to Mrs. McDaniel for being the teacher of the year and for being the great person she is.
By: Moises Lopez
Boys Soccer CIF Champs
It’s been 14 years since the boys have had a chance at the CIF state title. This year they made it to the finals and Assistant Head coach Mr. Vargas explained how proud he is of the group he had. He is delighted with the fact that the whole team is a family. No matter how much playing time a player got Mr. Vargas explains how everyone supported one another when it came to improving.
Mr.Vargas always knew there was talent at Castle Park, but the big contributing factor was that everyone played as a team. Mr. Vargas explains how “This team spread it apart.” He is truly proud that everyone had a role, meaning there was not just one player doing everything, it was everyone on the team. Another big part of the success the team had this year is the fact that there was team bonding such as eating lunch together and being able to have fun at practice, but at the same time being serious when it was time to put in work. Mr.Vargas and the team are truly grateful when it comes to the support the team was getting from the school. This being staff and teachers donating money for the team to have high-quality lunches before playoff games and attending local games. This truly showed the team that the community cared about their success.
Upcoming senior Aaron Sanchez says that for the team to continue their success onto the next season they need to put in the work. This is every day with a motivated mindset and as a collective team. As a captain, Aaron tells his team to not focus on the past and just focus on playing one game at a time.
Senior Nick Lopez made a huge impact on the team this year. With this being his last year he discussed how he is going to miss those fun times he had with his teammates. He will also be thankful for the new bonds and friendships he has made. He truly enjoyed making CIF State Finals and traveling to LA as a team. Creating history with his teammates will always be a highlight of his high school career. When it comes to advising the upcoming seniors and players he suggests to “Not be selfish and work as a team.” He points out that the main focus to their success was the fact that they all bonded and worked as a team.
CPHS has always had a rich history of winning championships in the past. Although the school has seen its fair share of sports programs having off years, we are proud that the boy's soccer team won a CIF state championship. Hopefully, this is the start of other programs having amazing seasons.
By: Sebastian Lozano
Student Athlete Standouts
Jazmine Coronel
Junior Jazmine Coronel is a Castle Park varsity athlete and maintains an incredible 3.97 GPA. She is involved in Cross Country, Flag Football, Wrestling, Track, and Water Polo. She believes she has improved athletically in so many ways, specifically in gaining more confidence. She attributes her success in these sports to believing in herself first. She has seen improvement in the way she practices and performs during an actual game which leads to constant motivation and discipline by pushing herself to become better. Jazmine is an IB student so it's harder for her to maintain good grades due to her full academic rigorous schedule, but she gets through it by maintaining a good balance and time management. Those skills have helped her a lot because she has learned to give herself time and not fall back on her work.
Alejandro Palma
Junior Alejandro Palma, a current Tennis player, maintains a hard work ethic in academics and sports. He currently has an outstanding 3.77 GPA. The sports that he has participated in this school year are Soccer, Track, and Tennis. He has improved athletically by constantly practicing after school on his serves and backhands, even when practice is over Alejandro stays after for about 20 minutes to get that work in. What Alejandro does to stay on top of his school work is making sure he stays on top of tasks during class and he tries his best not to procrastinate.
By: Alessandra Cabrales and Brandon Reyes
Join Spring Sports Now
Club Spotlight
Biodiesel
Castle Park High School offers an after-school club called Biodiesel, coordinated by Mr. Manroe. This club is all about learning the importance of helping the environment using biodiesel and the aspect of the positive impact caused by biodiesel. Mr. Manroe says his weekly routine in this club is to “teach people how to convert vegetable oil into biodiesel. This fuel can then be burned in any diesel engine or generator.” Having said this, Mr. Manroe suggests that those who are “interested in climate change and producing products that are biodegradable”, should join this club to seek more information on the effects of biodiesel. Senior Gisselle Galaviz reveals her favorite event the club has participated in to be the San Diego Science Festival. Gisselle explains this is her favorite event because “we get to see new biotech companies and see other companies explain what they do.” Furthermore, participating in this club helps you seek new opportunities shown by different companies in this annual event. Mr. Manroe adds on by saying that “it’s an opportunity for our students to share our information and participate in this student driven event.” Biodiesel meets on Thursdays from 3:45pm to 5:00pm after school in room 409. If you have any questions regarding Biodiesel, feel free to stop by Mr. Manroe’s room or ask through emailing him.
By: Camila Pineda
Mariachi
This school year, Castle Park started a fresh after school club known as Mariachi. Mariachi is a traditional musical group consisting of accordions, trumpets, guitars and other instruments.They perform a style of music that is lively and often played at celebrations and festive events. For example, during the Spring Sports Assembly lead singer Yeshua Reyes claims that performing in front of the whole school was a challenging experience because “I felt nervous before and while singing, but it slowly decreased throughout the performance until after the assembly I felt better.” His favorite song to play is Cielito Lindo because “it has really beautiful lyrics and it is a well-known song on the mariachi music genre.” Senior V Reyes says that a common goal the club wishes to accomplish this year is to “provide more opportunities for everyone to enjoy music and to establish more culture in the school. We also hope to build a stronger mariachi program to be able to perform in different schools and even compete.” For anyone interested, the meetings are “on Wednesdays and Fridays in room 708 right after school from 3:45 to 5:30 but we sometimes meet more days if we have a performance.” If you’re into music and love a good time, joining Mariachi could be an awesome experience! You’ll get to play with talented musicians and bring joy to various events and celebrations inside and outside of school. Anyone can join mariachi, no matter how experienced you are.
By: Bryanna Gomez & Romina Villavalzo
Academic Spotlight
Val and Sal
Being a valedictorian and salutatorian holds a high and great honor that showcases the recognition of students who demonstrate excellence in their studies by being ranked number one and two in the senior class according to their outstanding GPA.
Introducing valedictorian Cecely Velasquez. Her mindset on being a valedictorian struck during elementary. She mentions how she aimed to be in this position since elementary after having a year where she was able to earn 4’s on her entire report card. Since then the rest is history. Throughout her years in school, she has had many teachers who guided and supported her through all the hardships and obstacles she faced. Mr. Itani and Mrs. McDaniel positively impacted her habits. Itani helped her view concepts from a different perspective. Mrs. McDaniel guided her on how to execute priorities, be a better person, be well-rounded, and always stay grounded. Her mom has always been by her side through all the ups and downs. She has never pressured her into earning any grades, especially with holding the valedictorian spot, she's never questioned her capability in striving to be what she is right now. She shared how not having that pressure helped and took the stress off her shoulders, helping her to grow inside and out. She might not be able to help her with the limited time on her hands, but her mom has always been a strong support system. Something Cecely wants to include in her valedictorian speech is her experience being captain on the girl's volleyball team and the IB program. Many students think it’s impossible to play sports and be in such a rigorous environment, but Cecely is proof it can be done. Congratulations girl!
Next, we have our salutatorian Zachary Guragnious. He mentions that this position was never something he aimed for, but is a result of his dedication to his studies. It just happened to be that he does well academically when he puts forth his full effort. A teacher who was a very helping hand was Mrs. McDaniel. Zachary believes it is Mrs. McDaniels willingness to get to know her students on a personal level that makes them work twice as hard for her. Both his mom and dad have been supportive through his journey in high school for academics, creativity, and sports. With the positive attitude and association they empower him with, they have had a major impact on him and his potential for success. With his parents always being present, Zachary is greatly encouraged to improve his academic performance.
The academic title of being a valedictorian and salutatorian is an achievement to be proud of and is a reflection of these Trojan’s hard work. Being the top-ranked in the graduating class of 2024 is a huge accomplishment in itself. Students should be inspired by Cecely and Zachary and their willingness to be active participants in their high school experience both academically and socially. Good luck to both of you on your next chapter.
By: Marissa Vladivia & Princess Franco
Principals Honor Roll
List of SENIOR students who are on honor roll:
ACUNA GARCIA GAEL SANTIAGO
ACUNA SOLANO EMILIANO
AGUILAR PEDRO DAMIAN
ALCAYAGA KHEILA CASSANDRA MARILAG
ALVARADO ANGEL EDUARDO
ALWAILY MUHAMMED ABBAS
ASEFA SABA B
BALINGIT JERIKA RANIA
BARCENAS VILLEGAS ANDRE PAUL
BONNET MENA VANESSA
BUSTILLOS IRENE SARAI
CALDERON JORGE ANDRES
CARRILLO TEJERO OSCAR ADRIAN
CASTILLO VELAZCO MONTSERRAT
CASTRO FERNANDA
CHOCTAW VINCENT JULIUS
CIREROL YASIR ISAAC
DELGADO PAEZ CARLO LUCIANO
DOMINGUEZ ARIANNA LUCIA
ESQUIVEL ILIANA JOANNA
ESQUIVEL KIANA
ESTRADA JIANNI JOELLE
FERGUS ELIJAH VELASCO
FLORES YOLIE MONIQUE
GALDEAN ALEXA SUSANA
GARCIA AYLIN
GARIBAY FRANCISCO ALBERTO
GOMEZ GONZALEZ ASHLEY
GOMEZ MEZA ADRIAN ROMAN
GOMEZ BRYANNA ITZEL
GONZALEZ DAVALOS DAMARIS SELENE
GONZALEZ ASON
GURGANIOUS ZACHARY ADRIAN
HERNANDEZ ALEXANDERJOAQUIN GUILAS
HERRERA SILVA JESSICA
LARSON SARAH
LOPEZ FUENTES ALEXXA DANIELLE
LOPEZ MORALES NICOHLAS SEBASTIAN
LOPEZ NUNEZ BRYAN JESUS
LOPEZ GRACE GIZELLE
LOPEZ JULIAN G
LOZANO SEBASTIAN EMILIANO
MAGNUM ADEL
MARQUEZ TANYA RENATA
MATA RODRIGUEZ DANNA DEL CARMEN
MATHEWS NOAH PAUL
MEJIA PRISCILLA ELIZABETH
MENDOZA ARIEL
MERCADO FERNANDEZ JAMIR
MORENO DANIEL
MORETTI ANGEL VICTOR EDWARDO
NUNEZ DENISE ANTONIA
NUNO DAYANARA
ORIGEL-GONZALEZ VALERIA RUBY
PEREZCHICA JAVIER
PICENO JOCELYN
RAMIREZ LAVENANT SOFIA DOLORES
RAMIREZ MARTINEZ JAIRO
RAMOS ANABELLE MARIE
RASHID DAMYSHA
REYES VIANKA SKARLETT
RODRIGUEZ LUNA JOSELINE CAROLINA
SANCHEZ GOMEZ ARLEEN NAYELY
SOLANO AGUIRRE KENIA DIARE
SOLIS DAVID SALOMON
SOTO ELIANA MAHRIALIZE
STONEHAM ALEXANDER TADEO
SUTTON RYLEE CULVER
TORRES OMAR A
URIBE COBIEYA ANGEL
VARGAS BARBA JAZLYNNE
VELASQUEZ CECELY JOSEPHINE
VILLALOBOS ALIANA A
VILLALVAZO ROMINA
VOLTEADA CONTRERAS CHANTAL
WU WU YING XI
ZUGA ANES
Senior Advice
Seniors discuss what they regret about their high school experience.
Coming in as a freshman we all have wonderings about how high school is going to be. Our expectations may come from iCarly, Victorious, Drake and Josh, and even High School Musical. Once we realize that it’s not like that at all, we are left with “what do we do?” Like many of you, we have all asked ourselves, how do we make our time here in high school one that can be full of enjoyment? So, we decided to ask four seniors what they regret and what they would tell their freshman self now that graduation is right around the corner. Here is what they said:
Senior Kassandra Alejandre says that she regrets not joining cheer throughout high school. “It would have been a good opportunity for me to be physically active, and unfortunately, I lost my chance because I was so indecisive about joining. My nervousness got the best of me, and if I could go back in time, I would definitely join.” She also shares that, now that she is near graduation, she would advise her younger self to “surround yourself with positive people who bring the best version of yourself out.”
Senior Edwin Calderon regrets not joining sports such as soccer, baseball, and basketball. He mentions that his regret gradually grew as he got older because he realized that he has potential and is capable of trying and playing sports. “It would have been a good way to maintain my fitness goals and experience how being part of a team would be in high school.” Advice Edwin would tell his younger self is to “focus more on putting effort into every aspect of my life and to strive for greatness. Not only with my personal growth but also academically. Doing that would have made me more content with myself, but I'm still very proud of where I stand.”
Senior Alejandro Sanchez is disappointed by his regret of not buying his grad night ticket on time. He says that he was very hesitant about wanting to go or not, but once he made up his mind, he was waitlisted on the third bus, which was unfortunate for him because he could have spent a great time creating memories with his friends at Disneyland. “If I could go back in time and give advice to my younger self, I would tell him to pick myself up and not be lazy because procrastinating got the best of me, and now I have to face the consequences.”
Senior Dominic Collins shares his regret for missing out on many school activities these past years, such as participating in clubs when he was a freshman and sophomore. “Seeing all the benefits and opportunities I dodged by not joining leaves me questioning my decisions.” The one thing that Domomic would tell his younger self is to “not mess around as much and stay on task because it catches up later on.”
There you have it underclassmen. If there is anything you can learn from these seniors it’s get out there! Join clubs, sports, and put yourself out there in general. You only have a high school experience once in your life and you are going to be here anyway so do well in school and ultimately have fun.
By: Natalia Orozco & Giselle Romo
College Acceptances & Future Plans
Senior year starts off ready to have a fun time and live every day to the fullest because let’s be honest, you only have one senior year. As soon as the dust settles and we get into the groove of completing assignments for Economics with Mr. Sallans or completing those daunting essays for Ms. Nelson’s AP Literature class, we are then bombarded with college applications, FAFSA, and deciding what we want to do for the rest of our lives. We put in the work and get it done, then come March and April where we start to finalize our plans post-high school. We decided to see what some of our fellow senior Trojans who applied to a 4 year college plan to do as intent to enroll day (signing day) creeps closer and closer. Here is what are what some students had to say:
Elijah Fergus:
“Since I got a fee waiver for UCs and CSUs, I got to apply to 4 each (8 total). I applied to UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCSB. All the UCs said no, though… I also applied to CSU San Marcos, SDSU, San Francisco State, and CS East Bay! They all said yes! I’m going to attend Southwestern for two years, because I'm eligible for the Cal Promise program, which lets you go to community college for 2 years FREE with the PROMISE of a transfer to a 4 year college! I’m also getting a good amount from FAFSA this year so that’s good news as well. I just decided to do SWC first to 1: Get my general education classes over with while I figure out what I really want to do (I have different interests like teaching, computer science, and art that I need to narrow down. Who knows, I could even pick a different one once I am there lol), and 2: to save money baby… we poor out here. Honestly one of my biggest worries about the college transition is not the workload, not the different schedule, but friends moving away and losing contact. I’m going try to keep contact with everyone, I love.”
Aliana Villalobos:
“I originally was only going to apply to UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley, but I was urged to also apply to SDSU and SJSU. To my surprise, I was accepted to all the colleges I applied to! I decided to accept my admission at UCSD! Originally, my top school was Berkeley (because who wouldn't want to go to Berkeley?) but having 3 younger siblings I want to watch grow, I decided to stay in San Diego. Also, being a biology major, having hospitals and medical programs/internships available to me at UCSD seemed like the best choice. What I am a little worried about is paying for college, but also just adapting to college life in general is my biggest worry. Being in a new school environment is going to take some getting used to but I'm excited to challenge myself.”
Bryan Lopez:
“I applied to Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State LA, SDSU, and Long Beach, and got accepted to all. I’m thinking about attending SDSU because of its affordability and closeness to home. I’m most worried about going from a 3-month break of doing no school work into doing college-level work.”
Kiana Esquivel:
I applied to UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego, and Stanford. Out of these colleges, I got accepted into UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego. UC Davis is probably my top choice right now. It offers a great political science program, and with Davis only being twenty-five minutes away from our capital, Sacramento, I think I could get into some great law-based internships. I would say my biggest worry is how vast the environmental change from Chula Vista to Davis will be. It'll for sure be a big culture shock but I think it will be a good experience for me to undergo.”
By: Dayanara Nuno & Alyxandra Navarro
Colorguard
Color guard is one of the most expressive yet underrated forms of performance art that one can participate in on campus. It's an art form that combines the excitement of dance, music and cheer. We interviewed two members of the color guard to get a better understanding of the activity as well as their personal experience as a part of the team. For starters here is how Ricardo Hurtado Millan, a junior, would explain color guard to an 8 year old for some extra clarification “Just imagine a bunch of ballerinas, but they either have a flag or wooden rifle spinning around in their hands.” Color guard also holds competitions with other schools and this is what Brenda Bravo, a senior here at Castle, had to say on which performance was her favorite, “I think it would be our marching band show that was held here at the Swift Stadium, because it's really cool getting to work with the band and color guard all together.” Ricardo also shared with us the best part of being involved with the art, “My favorite part would be getting to learn new choreography because once you get it down it's really fun and you feel proud with all the work you put in to get it down right.” Lastly, was Brenda’s advice on why incoming students should join color guard, “For the experience, you get to meet new people that help you out and make new friends, plus the people in color guard are super nice and funny to work with.” So there you have it Trojans, join the team and be ready for loads of fun. Want to join color guard, please see Ms. Betts in the band room 1204.
By: Ixchel Montellano & Natalia Paramo
Junior Andres Rosas performing at the HOCO Pep Assembly.
Color guard also performs at local competitions against other schools around the county.
2024 Team picture of color guard.
Course "Wish" List
Here at CPHS, we offer many electives that help most be prepared for their future careers. Although not all students feel like we are offering a variety of electives that are more outside the box. Here are a few classes many students would pick if they were asked, what elective would you like to see here at CPH?
Junior Mariah Banda shares how she wished the students had more of an opportunity to unleash their inner artist, “As beauty being one of my biggest passions, I would love to see in the future a cosmetology class for those who would like to take their creativity to another level and take what they’ve learned and put it into a future career in this field.”
Sophomore Christopher Jaquez expresses how he would like to take more of a challenge in the field of manufacturing when wanting to incorporate this into his future career, “I would like to see a welding class take place here in CPH because if given the opportunity it would be super helpful and beneficial for my future to know more of the basics when welding.”
Junior Julien Contreras shares another recommendation of electives he’d enjoy seeing, “I think bringing a Driver's Ed class to the CPHS school day (not after school) would make a huge difference in helping students with behind-the-wheel training. Students and parents can feel safer knowing that students are gaining this knowledge that will be used every day in their life as an adult.”
Junior Isabel Ibara shares that she would love to see a cooking class take place here at CPHS to unleash the skills she already has and to be able to grow her cooking skills further, “Although there's a cooking club after school, I feel that if students had it as an elective many would join simply because teens only know basics, making a Maruchan. We can always expand our skills to learn how to cook low-cost healthy meals. And I enjoy making delicious home-cooked meals as they are cheaper and from a nutritional standpoint, you know exactly what you’re eating.”
We greatly appreciate what’s offered here at CPHS, but if given the opportunity maybe we can expand our course offerings to the needs of the community a little more.
By: Xochitl Ruiz & Lesly De Leon