The Eagle's Eye; Issue 1; Volume 23; Akins Early College High School

Austin, TX October 2, 2023

The

Issue 1 Vol 23

eagle’s Eye “Everything that concerns you”

akins copes with heat Page 11

News: Students react to shorter lunch time

A&E: ‘five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie hype

Students petition to restore lost time to lunch period | page 6

fans express excitement for long awaited film adaptation | page 17

About Us

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 2 | Oct. 10, 2023

Editors

Mark Lomas

Diego Hernandez Co-Editor In Chief

Co-Editor In Chief

Ashley Caceres

Rudy Morales

News editor

Samantha Limon Entertainment editor

Adamaris Olivares

Opinions Editor

Marcelo palacios entertainment editor

ely rodriguez

Sports editor

kairi Natal

Graphics editor

Em pelt

photo editor

copy editor

Staff Writers Andrew copeland

jp lopez

devan flores

aubrey montoya

sarah flores

janelle ponti

aaliyah koehn-james

fabi rodriguez

dean knowlton

yanitzel salazar

nadim lama michelen

ariadna vazquez

river lehnhardt

brandon wicken

alex lindao

jonathan wilson

@AkinsEaglesEye

School Events Game 12 Homecoming 7:30 at Burger Stadium Dance 13 Homecoming 7-10 at Cafeteria & Gold Night 25 Blue 5:30-8:30 at Courtyard

OCT 03 NOV 9-11

Grooming Day for Pets All day at Vet Center AJT Fall Play: Clue 7-8:30 at Theater

Honors ILPc/UIL

CSPA

TAJE

NSPA

Staff Artists Cruz Burrows Adrian Orduna

@AkinsEaglesEye

sophia davidson Maxwell pearson

Akinseagleseye.com

The Eagle’s Eye Editorial Policy

The Eagle’s Eye is the official student newspaper of Akins High School. It is published six times a year, generally once per six weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.

The Eagle’s Eye is an open forum for student expression. The Eagle’s Eye is not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the adviser will not act as a censor. Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials.

The Eagle’s Eye will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful, timely and interesting to our readers. Our articles will reflect our genuine objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of quality.

We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy.

We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph.

Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Eagle’s Eye staff or administration as a whole.

The Eagle’s Eye welcomes reader Input. Please send any letters, articles, comments, or corrections to akins.journalism@gmail.com or mail them to 10701 South First Street Austin, Texas 78748 ir drop them off in room 223 with advisor David Doerr or an editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

Sections

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 3 | Oct. 10, 2023

News

law creates stricter 04 texas punishments for vape pens new traffic lights and 05 parking barriers at school shortened lunch period 06 causes controversy

Opinions

40 minute lunch 07 editorial: needs to be restored Corporations take over city| 08 implement 4 day school-week scheduling solution | beauty 09 standards pose danger

10 Entertainment

day for 1 0 , 1 1 grooming student, teacher pets

swift sells out concerts for ‘Eras’ tour 14 taylor actors strike for better pay & conditions 1 5 writers, rapper posts music online | fiona & cake review 1 6 Akins nights’ fans express hype 1 7 ‘five for awaited film adaptation

In-Depth

Life and Style

Photo Essay

heat forces changes for athletes 1 2 , 1 3 extreme

18 teacher feature: Tijerina 19 shows dedication to students JROTC student joins pilot program, earns license

Sports

focuses on making 20 football a difference shares challenges for the season 2 1 volleyball madness, massive money making deal for apple tv 22 messi

News

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 4 | Oct. 10, 2023

New law stiffens penalties for vapes

With a new law comes new consequences for Akins students NADIM LAMA StAFF WRITER The consequences for being caught with a vape pen or e-cigarette on a school campus rose dramatically on Sept. 1, when a new state law was enacted.

House Bill 114 was passed by state lawmakers in May, requiring students to be removed to an alternative disciplinary campus if they are caught on, or within 300 feet of, a school campus with an e-cigarette. Before the law was passed, school administrators struggled with what to do with students who possessed vape pens on campus due to testing requirements. Previously, the devices had to be tested for THC content in order to decide consequences for the student.

The new law removes the guesswork for administrators, who are now required to send any and all students to an alternative disciplinary campus- known within Austin ISD as the Alternative Learning Center (ALC).. The law also covers any school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off school property. Students caught selling or under the influence also fall under the new law.

Dr. Susan Thames, assistant principal for the New Tech Academy, said she has already had to send 14 students to the ALC because of the new law.

“Sadly, New Tech (Academy) had the first one on the Photo by Ecigclick.co.uk used with a Creative Commons BY-SA license first day of school,” she said. “Even after all the slideshows and the warning being sent to ALC, many students still are campus removals vaping. I have two students that got caught with vape pens At least 20 students have been sent to the Austin ISD Alternative Learning Center because of a new today.” state law that requires students to be removed from campus if caught with an e-cigarette.

All of the Akins academy principals have had to send “fitting punishment.” students to ALC this year, and warned students about the “You don’t need to bring that to school,” they wrote. new law during academy assemblies at the beginning of the Other students said that while they agreed with the law, school year. they doubted that it would significantly reduce the amount Thames said ALC offers the Invest Program for first-time of vaping by students. According to the results of The offenders, which provides classes INVEST PROGRAm Eagle’s Eye survey, about and counseling related to mis37 percent of respondents demeanor-level drug or alcohol ◊ The INVEST program must be ofsaid they believed it would offenses. Students who successfered each time a secondary student cut down on vaping while fully complete the program can is assigned to DAEP for misdemeananother 37 percent said it return to their home campuses or level drug or alcohol offenses.

The thing that really would not. Others said they after 10 days, which is half the After successfully completing worries me, is kids were unsure. time of a typical 20-day ALC INVEST the student may return to Dr. Thames said she is don’t know what placement. the home campus following the last concerned about the health Some Akins students who INVEST class, with a minimum of ten they’re getting in effects that vaping is having responded to an online survey successful days. Parent involvement the vape pen on teenagers. She said she

by The Eagle’s Eye said they is optional. resents how the manufac-Assistant principal supported the new, stiffer penal◊ Normal time spent in the alternative turers of vape pens seem to Dr. Susan Thames ties for possessing vape pens on learning center is twenty days be catering to young people campus. with their packaging and Austin ISD “It lets kids gain some support marketing of the products. outside of their friend group “I think it’s really sad to and family, and those resources me, and it’s affecting our stu(if they care enough) can change dents, ” she said. “At the time, their outcome in their choices and hopefully stop them students think ‘Oh, well, this is something that I want to from hurting themselves further,” wrote a student on the try’ or ‘It can’t affect me.’

But, you know, research is showing survey. that there are some long-term effects.”

Another student said that being removed to ALC was a Yanitzel Salazar contributed to this story.

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News

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 5 | Oct. 10, 2023

City adds traffic features on S. First Jonathon Wilson

AUSTIN WORKERS City workers on S. First Street put up barries along a bike lane, preventing parents from parking on the side of the road to pick up their students.

ASHLEY CACERES-SANCHEZ NEWS EDITOR When the bell rings at 4:35 p.m. each school day, chaos breaks out on a regular basis in the school parking lots and the streets around Akins.

For the next 30 minutes after dismissal, students, parents, and teachers are all simultaneously struggling to leave campus through just a few exits and make it onto the busy streets surrounding the school.

According to an online survey conducted by The Eagle’s Eye, 53% of students said that they had experienced a dangerous situation in the parking lot.

“I got a concussion from someone hitting my friend’s car last year. So many kids come that don’t have insurance or a license and it is so unsafe,” senior Grace Montgomery said.

The school’s location at the very southern end of S. First Street has left it without infrastructure improvements until recently, and even those are producing mixed reactions about whether they will alleviate traffic and safety concerns.

Over the summer, crews installed a new traffic light at the intersection of an extension of Wayne Riddle Loop and S. First Street, which is located at one of the campus entrances near the Green Hall building. For years, students, teachers, and parents have wanted to see a traffic light installed at the campus entrances along S. First Street because of how dangerous it can be just turning onto the street with two lanes in both directions.

There is some doubt about whether the traffic light will be enough to solve all of the traffic congestion, but some said they are hopeful that it could be a starting point.

Another recent change along S. First Street is the installation of a long row of parking barriers meant to protect a bike lane that has existed in front of the school for years.

However, these barriers are also now blocking the many parents who used to park along S. First Street to pick up their children without entering the campus parking lot.

“The poles protecting the bike lane on South First Street have caused the parents picking up their children to all flood

Jonathon Wilson

Kairi Natal

parking barriers

New street light

To protect the bicycle lane, white traffic poles were installed to stop cars from parking along S. First Street where many parents often park.

A new traffic light was installed on S. First Street in front of the campus this summer.

into the parking lot,” an Akins senior said.

While some students/parents are upset about the bike lane barrier, others said that it is a good thing to ensure that students can safely ride their bikes there at all times without them being blocked by parents parking in the bike lane.

“Cars that were parking along South First during pick-up were creating an unsafe situation for bike riders, so I’m glad that the barriers were put up so that these lanes are usable at all times,” PTSA secretary Trudy Richards said.

Some said they are happy that the bike lane has reduced the number of cars parked along S. First Street, which created a visibility problem where drivers could not see past the line of cars parked along the street.

“I believe that if parents wouldn’t park along the road (South 1st) it would be safer to get out. I have almost been hit or almost hit another vehicle so many times because I can’t see past the LINE of cars parked waiting for their kids,” senior Deziray Sepeda wrote in a survey response.

Another concern Old San Antonio Road, which runs between the back of the school and the football practice field.

There are new apartment complexes being built along that side of the campus, increasing the number of students who walk along the narrow two-lane road to get home.

Because Old San Antonio Road has no sidewalks along it, some students walk near the road at times, making it dangerous for pedestrians and drivers alike.

Richards, who serves on the Akins PTSA, said solving traffic problems around the school involves a collaborative process between the city and school district officials, as well as the local developers building properties around Akins.

“I think that the district, city, and local developers need to work together to strategically plan for safe and efficient walkways and roadways in and around campus,” Richards said.

Eric Alvarado contributed to this story.

News

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 6 | Oct. 2, 2023

Akins students crowd the cafteria during B-Lunch to get food and to meet up with their friends during a lunch period that has been reducd to 35 minutes.

Kairi Natal

Shortened lunch break upsets students

FABY RODRIGUEZ

StAFF WRITER

The new lunch schedule shortened lunch periods by five minutes this school year, and students have a lot to say about it.

Many underclassmen have said that they do not have enough time to enjoy their lunch after waiting in line in the cafeteria.

Seniors, who are allowed to go off campus for lunch, also have complained about the shortened lunch periods, saying it has caused them several problems.

Akins junior Deacon Gonzalez created an online petition to press the issue of longer lunch breaks. The petition started on August 31, intending to reach 500 signatures.

Now the petition has reached its goal and now aims for 1,000 signatures.

“I think we should have longer lunches due to the fact [that] we have a small time that doesn’t really give us time to eat, especially the lines in lunch once people get their food all they have is 5 minutes or less,” a student wrote on the petition.

Many participants from the petition said they needed more time to get lunch, destress or socialize, and get to class on time.

“There’s a lot of stress at this school. We all need a break. We can’t do that if we’re just rushing to get the food and scarfing it down,” Deacon said.

The Eagle’s Eye surveyed students about the issue and about 85% of students responded that they were opposed to the reduced lunch time. Many expressed their discontent with a majority stating that they don’t have enough time to eat, wait in line, and get to class on time.

“No time to eat school lunch because of the amount of students that are in one lunch and not enough time, space or materials for all these students so taking that 5 minutes takes time off of that. Did we even think about the students and teachers? or lunch ladies for their lunch and time to prepare[?],” a responder to the survey said.

As for students who may be off campus during lunch, many seniors stated that they don’t have enough time to return to campus and eat lunch. ACC students said they have a similar struggle.

“It doesn’t allow me a lot of time to eat and so I often can’t eat until 1:30-1:40,” wrote a student on the survey. “And even when I do eat breakfast, it’s still so early and such a small amount of food that I end up starving by the end of class.”

“I have to speed out of the parking lot and it’s not safe to speed,” wrote a senior who responded to the survey. Also by the time

I come back to school ready to eat in my car, it’s time to go back to class and that’s INCLUDING ordering ahead.”

A senior from the survey also explained their frustrations with lunch lines and going off-campus. While going off-campus, it takes them about 10 minutes to reach the Southpark Meadows retail area, and by the time they arrive at school, they have only a few minutes to eat.

Associate Principal Manuel Garcia said lunchtime is still 40 minutes if students include the passing period. Excluding the passing periods, lunch is 35 minutes.

Including the passing period after lunch is over that would total 40 minutes. However, compared to last year’s bell schedule, 2nd and 6th Period classes are five minutes longer than they were last year and all of the other class periods, which are an hour and 30 minutes long.

In comparison, nearby Bowie High School

— which has a similarly-sized student population — has a 40-minute lunch period without counting the passing periods. They also have six-minute passing periods, which is a change to the bell schedule that Akins students would like to see implemented.

Garcia said the petition would be reviewed and could be taken into consideration by the Campus Leadership Team.

“We’ll look at the pros and cons. And from there, we’ll decide for the following school year,” he said.

Garcia also said that he has observed the line to receive tardy passes after lunch decreasing this year with typically 10 or fewer students getting tardy passes.

He also added that the new bell schedule provides more structured learning time for students, which is five more minutes students could use to get help from teachers.

Dean Knowlton contributed to this story.

Opinion Mark

Co-EIC

Diego Co-EIC

Ashley News

Rudy

Opinion

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 7 | Oct. 10, 2023

Marcelo

SAM

Adamaris

Co-A&E

Co-A&E

Sports

Kairi

Photo

Ely

Grapics

M copy

Editorial: restore our full lunch period A true 40-minute meal break will benefit everyone at Akins

Almost every student’s favorite time of day is undoubtedly lunch, when everyone gets a chance to socialize, eat, and relax.

Sometimes it’s also students last chance to get schoolwork done for classes later that day. Teachers also use the lunch period to eat, but they are also often use the time to grade assignments, set up lessons and meet with students.

It’s a critically important time of day for the whole campus to recharge and get things done so that’s why we were all disappointed when we discovered that the lunch period was reduced by five minutes this year compared to the 2022-2023 school year. It is especially difficult to take the cut in time because in 2021-2022 school year, the lunch period was a full 45 minutes and then there was a five minute passing period back to class.

This school year, the lunch period is 35 minutes with 5-minute passing periods after lunch ends at 11:45. We believe that this is not enough time for students to eat, relax and take care of their needs. The administration should give students more time by adding five minutes back to the lunch period and making some other tweaks that would allow for a six-minute passing period between most periods.

We believe that 35 minutes is too short of time, especially due to the long and chaotic lunch lines. Above all else, it doesn’t give students the rest time they need.

With Akins large student enrollment of more than 2,700 students, students need more time to traverse through the crowds of people to simply get lunch. It makes sense to feed that many people that you would need an adequate amount of time. However, as you go down to the cafeteria you can see

the sea of people rushing in to avoid the long lines. On top of this, after getting into line, you can see the line getting longer and longer as you wait.

Lunch should be a time to socialize with your friends and take a break from the harsh and busy school schedule. However, because of to the shortening of lunch, we don’t have that opportunity. The time that they took from us last year was bad enough, but to do it again is just too much.

It truly has become a decision for students to decide if they want to get food or not.

Even if they were to get food, some students find themselves not being able to eat without scarfing it down as fast as they can, while others are still in line when there are only 5 minutes left of lunch. The shortened lunch has caused lots of havoc among students, as well as teachers at Akins.

On the other hand, many jobs only allow

Ely Rodriguez for a 30-minute lunch and some 15 minute breaks.

These brief lunches can help students understand how the job setting works.

Administrators have said shorter periods can prevent conflicts and fights between students, and that 40 minutes is enough time to socialize and take a break.

While learning how to manage the brief time, we also get longer classes. All of our other periods are one hour and 30-minutes long, but the 6th and 2nd periods — which occur opposite the A and B lunches — are now 1 hour and 35 minutes. This can help teachers give full instructions, knowing they have an extra 5 minutes, or it can help students get another 5 minutes on quizzes or assessments. That said, we believe that the advantages of a longer lunch period outweigh the need for adding five minutes to 2nd and 6th Period classes.

If we want to fix the short lunch problem, we should make lunch longer. Last year’s schedule was fine, no one complained about taking away 5 minutes from their classes from the year before. However, the school administration has made a mistake by reducing our true lunch period to 35 minutes.

There is no true benefit to shortening our lunches all it does is increase stress among students and not allow them to truly enjoy their time off. The same can be said about teachers. When comparing schools like Bowie or Crocket bell schedules, they have 40-minute lunch periods. In addition, Bowie has 6-minute passing periods. This is the schedule that Akins deserves — what Akins students and staff deserve. This will aid in other problems around the school, giving more time for everyone to eat, work, and socialize.

And adding one additional minute to the passing periods will help students who often have to travel far distances across campus to make it from one class to the next. It should also reduce the number of students who are tardy and thus reduce the amount of tension between students, teachers and administrators.

We believe that students and teachers deserve those five minutes back. Our lunch period is meant to be used as a break or a planning period for teachers. This helps us all have enough energy to go on with our day. Students and teachers should have their own time to relax and destress from all of the school work. The Akins administration should give us our five minutes back to allow everyone to enjoy school. School is supposed to set students up for success, and having our lunch brake helps us maintain a stable school life environment.

What is an editorial?

The Eagle’s Eye editorial board decides the postions taken in the staff editorial. The editorial board consists of the paper’s top section editors for the print edition.

Editorials are not given a byline because they represent the collective opinion of the board. The topic of the editorial is discussed by the board and a position is voted on. When deciding on the position, majority rules so most opinions reflect the majority of the opinions of the board. Editorials do not purport to reprsent the official opinion of Akins Earlcy College High School administration.

Opinion

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 8 | Oct. 10, 2023

Corporations are changing Austin Austin’s local charm dies as condos and big tech rise sarah flores StAFF WRITER Residents of Austin Texas have experienced gentrification and change around them, especially in the last few years. Over the last twenty years, corporate chains have slowly eaten away Austin’s unique character and charm.

I’ve lived in Austin my whole life. I’ve seen several of my favorite places replaced with high dollar condos and office towers.

It feels like developers have been given free reign to push out local businesses, replacing the colorful and quirky with an achromatic palette of steel and glass.

Graffiti ParkPalace was one of the first places that I noticed change around me. It was a tradition for my family to go down to Castle Hill and grab some spray cans to draw some funny images or write some quotes with personal meaning. Now when I drive by I only see the overpriced apartments in its place.

Recently, Peter Pan’s Mini Golf has become the latest potential victim of gentrification and rising costs of property.

The owners of the beloved mini golf course located at the intersection of Barton Springs Road and the quickly gentrifiying South Lamar Boulevard just south of downtown

Adrian Orduna

Austin is worried that it will be forced to move or close because of complications with renewing its lease at an affordable rate.

Peter Pan’s Minigolf has been open since 1948 and has been a staple fun activity to do in Austin, but if it were to close, the city would lose a part of the “weirdness” that it’s been advertising for so long. The golf course’s managers are seeking support at City Hall and among many Austinites.

A petition to keep it open has more than 24,000 signatures.

One strategy the course is using is to obtain a historic landmark designation that could help it from avoiding a price hike on its lease. The Historic Landmark Commission, city council members, and Austin Mayor Mark Watson have expressed support for such a designation, but it is still

an unanswered question if this will help save Peter Pan. Natalie Fontenot, Akins Austin Corps program adviser, said in a comment submitted to an online survey conducted by The Eagle’s Eye that Austin has changed from a “big, small-town feeling” to a “large city feeling.”

Many other survey respondents expressed sadness for missing the feeling that Austin used to have, including enjoying family-owned businesses, unique street art, and local musicians busking for tips.

Even with the constant push of gentrification, Austin residents and business owners have found ways to fight back. I Luv Video, the oldest and largest video store in Austin was forced to close in 2020 because of the pandemic and the dominance of streaming

services. However, in 2022 Ryan Teel and Macy Cotton decided to reopen the store, now called “We Luv Video” in the form of a volunteer-run, non-profit organization.

This new operations model has helped the beloved video store reopen on North Loop Blvd, keeping a piece of old Austin alive.

While expereincing the hardships of trying to “Keep Austin Weird” local residents have joined together to find solutions, including the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), a local nonprofit organization that helps give low-cost health care to musicians in Austin. Many musicians have said HAAM has helped them gain access to health care. As a city once celebrated as the Capital of Live Music and a city that supports local businesses rather than corporate businesses, some longtime residents worry that the city has gone against its original ideals. Many local musicians have been pushed out of Austin and small venues have shut down. The local businesses are getting priced out. The Austin vibe is starting to feel like any other generic large Ameircan city.

The feeling of culture just like the rest of the United States has disappeared. If Austin continues to grow and change in the direction that it continues in, Austin will be nothing but a sterile city full of tech jobs.

To save Autin’s soul, it’s going to be up to all of us us to join together and learn more about the city we live in and search for creative ways to protect it.

Change school schedules to 4 days of the districts that have gone to a adriadna four-day school week do it to save and not have to struggle Vazauez money with teachers leaving.

StAFF WRITER I believe having four-day school would be much better not just Some Texas school districts have because we get an extra day off but decided to switch to four-daybecause I would be using that extra a-week schedule instead of five day to work. days to attract teachers and give A lot of high schoolers have students more flexibility in the part-time jobs and it’s such a big work and life schedules. pressure having to go to school Since the COVID-19 Pandemduring the day as soon as they get ic presented many challenges out of school, students have to go to teachers, many of them have to work and end up getting home retired or resigned, and to this day late after trying to eat, do their a lot of schools have classes with homework, and go to sleep just to substitute teachers throughout repeat the same thing the next day. the whole year. This is why many Having to repeat that every day

Maxwell Pearson

drains you physically and mentally.

Many students work to be able to pay for basic necessaties, including helping with rent, as well as car and insurance expenses. Having an extra day off would allow them to work more and be able to earn more money or even just use that extra day off to get caught up with school or even basic stuff at the

house.

When hearing about districts having the possibility of going to a four-day school week students and teachers love the idea, And as great as it seems we still have to consider whether going to a four-day school week is going to benefit us. Some districts decided to question students and teachers and see if they thought the change had been for the better or worse based on what they would say they compared it with the actual data from school districts.

Based on the data they were able to collect, they could tell that there was almost little to no difference. One of the many

reasons why they would say four-day school week would be better was because they wanted to save money but when comparing whether there was much change on how much money was being spent and saved they didn’t really see a difference.

While I understand some may be concerned that students will learn less, some schools that have successfully offered tutoring programs to help students in need of additional instruction. I think every school district in Texas should consider a four-day school week to decide if it could have benefits for students and educators alike.

Opinion

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 9 | Oct. 10, 2023

Scheduling headaches for students Overworked counslers need online solution for students Brandon wicken StAFF WRITER

Almost every student at Akins has endured the experience of being scheduled into the wrong class.

This is unfortunately an all-too-common and maddening experience. I personally had the maddening experience of being stuck in a college preparatory math class for about a month despite having passed the Texas Success Initiative test during my junior year. Now that I have been rescheduled for the pre-calculous class that I wanted to take, I have been forced to make up an entire month’s worth of lessons that I missed during this scheduling mess.

This is not meant to be a slight to our hardworking counselors, but I do have a few suggestions that I think could help alleviate these types of problems.

One of the largest issues every year is that students can spend weeks waiting for times when their counselors are available to adjust their schedules. Even without my specific circumstances, most appointments can often take over half an hour per student. This means students who go to their counselor’s offices during class often waste their own time and their teachers’ class time waiting in queues outside of the office.

Ideally, there would be time for counselors to catch these kinds of simple scheduling problems before the school year

Cruz Burrows

begins. However, we know that is not the case so there needs to be a better system to meet with counselors to quickly address these problems to avoid having students placed in the wrong classes for long periods of time.

Our counselors need all of the support and resources possible to help reduce the number of students who fall through the cracks because of the difficult systems they are forced to use to do their jobs.

That’s why, in addition to more double-checking for accuracy I believe the school should have an online appointment scheduling platform where students can see counselor’s aviailability and pick times to visit their or other available counselors, helping both the students and counsel-

ors organize rescheduling on a single online platform.

This change would help counselors across academies to organize their appointments with students on a connected platform and could reduce the number of emails from students seeking appointments, improving the counselors’ response times for students emailing about info or other concerns.

The final improvement I would like to see is more on the Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) side, updating the unresponsive and outdated user interface of the TEAMS program used for attendance and scheduling.

As I’m sure all students and teachers can attest to, TEAMS, created by Frontline Education and used by multiple Texas school districts, is an unstable and often volatile software whose servers crash during high-use periods, like when students and teachers scramble to check and update grades at the end of a grading period.

Even when it is working, the user interface of the site leaves much to be desired and can partially be blamed for the amount of class misplacements. A counselor I’ve spoken to has even told me that the site is slow and difficult to navigate, which could be responsible for the long nature of visits that could stand to be improved.

If these changes to the appointment and scheduling platforms students use — along with additional resources for counselors — students’ time spent with counselors altering schedules could stand to be greatly reduced.

Unhealthy beauty standards hurt students Highly edited social media posts lead to negative self images Janelle Ponti StAFF WRITER Throughout the years, women have always faced a problem, the beauty standards the world makes us believe will make us “beautiful.”

In the 1800s they had clear pale skin, pink rosy cheeks, and a tiny waist with wide hips. In the 50’s they had the hourglass figure and a big bust with bright red lipstick and big dresses with petticoats.

In the 2000s they had tanned bodies, shimmering makeup, and layering clothing. Now in 2023, we are open to more body types and clothing styles such as gothic, coquette, y2k and so much more.

But still, some women feel obligated to “look pretty”, they feel like they need these clothes and makeup to feel pretty. Our society has let the fashion industry and so-called influencers dictate these beauty standards — all in the name of selling products to make money.

They see a bunch of other women wearing this type of clothing and makeup and think that they need to do the same to look pretty.

Nowadays the most significant way beauty standards come about is social media. With social media people can edit their images to appear skinnier, tanner, or younger and many teens will look at these alterd pictures and compare them with their own self image. But women aren’t the only ones that

experience these beauty standards, men can too. They might feel like they need to have six-pack abs and big muscles so that women like or notice them. Again this can lead to severe mental health issues.

When you compare yourself to other people, that is a big sign of low self-esteem, but it might lead to problems such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and even

Adrian Orduna

suicidal thoughts.

Some can argue that makeup is bad for young teens. Some people think wearing too much makeup at a young age can lead them to feel insecure about themselves and feel like they can’t leave the house without a full face of makeup. But others say that makeup is a great way to express yourself. It helps

them feel more confident. I believe that makeup is a beautiful way to express yourself and it’s OK to use it if it makes you feel happy and not just make yourself “prettier” or conform to beauthy standards.

The same is true with men and bodybuilding, if you’re doing it to make yourself more ‘attractive’ you should probably stop what you doing because doing so much of something like working out can stress/wear you out and can lead to further problems such as more of a risk of injuries, muscle strain, and so much more.

I believe that if you want to make yourself look “prettier” or more attractive, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons. But if you are doing it to help your confidence, then be my guest.

Photo essay

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 10 | Oct. 10, 2023

Students enjoy dog grooming days

Vet tech students benefit from hands-on experience with staff pets kairi natal photo editor

Even though it’s exciting to see all the pets on campus on animal grooming days, inviting teachers to bring their furry friends to campus serves a bigger purpose for vet tech students.

Agricultural science teacher Brandon Callis, who oversees the vet tech program says the students get to gain experience with the animals and clients in the program.

“Students get to gain real-world experience,” he said. “Not only working with animals but also with the clients.”

Senior Lauren Carrol said it is challenging to remember all the steps she has to do to properly handle and provide their grooming services.

“Remembering all the steps Mr. Callis would teach (is the hardest part),” she said.”

There’s a lot of things you need to know in order to do things right.”

The vet tech program offers many different grooming opportunities for dogs including bathing, nail trimming, and haircuts for the dogs.

Callis said the experience working in the vet tech program provides, allows some students to earn paid jobs.

Kairi Natal

photo LEGEND Dan the dawg posing for the camera in front of the Akins Vetrinary Clinic in the portables.

Kairi Natal

Kairi Natal

morning check in

Friends fur-ever

Pearl the dog struts outside the Akins Vet Clinic at dawn to go get checked in.

Autumn and Rusty wait outside to get checked in at the Akins Veterinary Clinic.

Photo Essay

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 11 | Oct. 10, 2023

Kairi Natal

EAR-itating Senior Jacob Rodriguez and Lauren Carrol clean Rustys ear for his grooming appointment .

Kairi Natal

playtime Senior Emily Odom plays with a Bulldog at the Vetiranary Clinic before startng his groom.

Kairi Natal

touch up Seniors Brodie Truan and Armando Peters prepare a dog to begin an appointment.

Kairi Natal

never missing a thing Seniors Emily Odom and Sarah Thomas worth with Vet Tech teacher Brandon Callis inspect a bulldog at the clinic before starting his apponitment.

In-Depth

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 12 | Oct. 10, 2023

Akins adapts to record-setting heat Adamaris Gonzales

Warming Up in extreme heat Eagles football players wear shirts before putting on their full uniforms to stay cool ahead of their game against Hays High School in August.

Extreme temperatures challenge athletes, performers while outside Co-Editor-In-Chief Meteorologists have used many data points and terms to describe the weather this summer, but it boils down to two words: hot and dry.

When temperatures rise to 100 degrees or higher, it is a hot day in Texas. From the beginning of the year to Sept.

12, Austin experienced 78 days with such hot temperatures, according to a KVUE article.

More than half of 100-degree days this year have been classified as “extreme heat days” by meteorologists, according to an article by David Yoemans, Chief Meteorologist at Austin’s KXAN news TV station. This year, Austin has tallied 40 days with temperatures that were 105° or hotter.

By comparison, 2011, another year remembered for being extremely hot, only had 26 such days.

At Akins, marching band and football students felt the brunt of these extreme temperatures when they began training and practicing in August for their performances on the football field this Fall. Band members and football players practiced early in the morning and in the evenings to try to avoid the worst temperatures of the day, but they still had to be careful to hydrate and take breaks to cool down.

The sports trainers have been working hard to make sure that no one is affected by the heat. Varsity football player, Matthew Ybarra, said that he was “lucky to have [the trainers] out there because [he didn’t] even know how [they’d]

be able to survive without them.”

Coaches have had to put special attention on preventing Yoemans reported that although temperature records athletes from suffering heat-related illnesses like exhaustion extend back to 1897, all of Austin’s 10-hottest summers on or even heat strokes. record have come since 1998.

Head Football Coach Joey Saxe said Akins Looking back at the past coaches follow Austin ISD’s protocol for couple of months, it’s painkeeping athletes safe when experiencing Unchecked carbon pollufully obvious that we’re going excessive heat. tion is forcing the world’s to get hotter summers for “Once the temperatures get to 95, or a most vulnerable on a frog much longer than usual. heat index of 105, you have to provide at What caused this heat wave least three separate rests, which include five march to destruction-now that had 100+ weather for 40 minutes for water,” he said. “And so what you days straight? will see a lot during our practices is students One reason is that Auspretty much after every 15 to 20 minutes, -U.N. Secretary General tin had a heat dome over there is a true five-minute water break and Antonio Guiterres it for most of the summer. (where they) take helmets off to make sure Forecasters predicted that you are drinking. And we do have a shaded the heat wouldn’t stay hot for area where they sometimes will gather and too long. When making their then go from there.” predictions, they didn’t expect the heat dome to evaporate Football coaches have an immersion tank they can all the water in the ground. This caused the temperatures to use to help cool down players. On a day with a heat index stay high for the 40-plus straight days. at or above 105, practices are shortened to two hours. If Many scientists and government officials also believe there is a heat index of 115, practice cannot be longer than that humans may be one of the reasons that the weather is one hour. If it gets any hotter, the team does practice inside, getting more extreme. This has led to adverse effects on the which did not happen this season. environment and even Akins athletes and band members.

Saxe also said that since the football season began, the Multiple Akins athletes had cramps because of school has spent over $1,000 on Gatorade and other ways to the heat, many dealt with heat exhaustion and one band help athletes boost their electrolytes when they get tired. member had to get medical attention.

For tennis players, it has been tough, too. The con-

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THE eagle’s Eye

Page 13 | Oct. 10, 2023

crete courts have made the heat feel degrees Celsius. That came The IPCC report requires that developed nations cut about 10-15 degrees warmer than to be known as the Paris greenhouse emissions in half by 2030, and stop emitting the surrounding area. Tennis Coach Climate Agreement.

Carbon Dioxide by 2050. Only then will there be a 50% Christina Jenschke has proactively According to chance that the world can reach its goal of 1.5 degrees protected her athletes on the courts scientists, going past 1.5 Celsius. Guterres called on countries to shut down future We spent $2,000 on by bringing out jugs of water for the degrees will be catastrophfossil fuel plants. In response to the 2022 IPCC report, identical shirts and shorts. athletes. She also has tennis players ic. Climate disasters will Guterres said “Unchecked carbon pollution is forcing the So that they could be cool check in with her after every game to become so devastating that world’s most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction – check on their condition. people will not be able to now. The facts are undeniable. This abdication of leadership while performing at footThe band has also had to adapt to adapt to them. Heat waves, is criminal. The world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson ball games the heat. Band Director Jose Flores diseases, and famines could of our only home.” said that they have five-minute take millions of lives by Climate change means that regulations for Akins athletes -Band Director breaks every 30 minutes. Compared the time the century ends. and coaches are going to need to adapt even further if the Jose Flores to last year, the band has taken steps U.N. Secretary-General weather is getting more extreme. Increasing awareness about to allow more time for rest and António Guterres has the signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. If you’re interprotection from the sun. publicly stated that the ested as to what the symptoms are, refer to the infographic.

If a member of the band suffers U.S. and other developed According to the Ascension healthcare website, your body from heat exhaustion, Flores said countries should eliminate can overheat so quickly that it could go straight to heat they can sit inside in the Band Hall room, drink some water, carbon emissions by 2040 and that developed countries stroke and bypass heat exhaustion. If left untreated, heat intake some sodium, or eat something. should be doing it faster than developing countries. stroke could lead to irreversible damage or death.

“If it were more severe, like life-threatening, then obviousMany people believe that if carbon emissions were to While many people worry about how others will react to ly we would call the heat, we also have to take into for emergency account how the power grid is also Symptoms of help, but we being pushed to the limit. This Symptoms of Heat Stroke haven’t had that,” summer was an example of how Heat Exhaustion he said. the heat can negatively affect the The band has power grid. The Energy Reliability also decided to Council of Texas (ERCOT) asked stop wearing consumers to conserve energy at their heavy least 10 times during the summer.

Confusion Throbbing Headaches Nausea dress uniforms Texas heat also almost forced the Headaches Heavy Sweating Weakness/tiredness during halftime power grid into rolling outages performances multiple times. The power reserves since the first got so low multiple times that many football game warnings were issued to prevent Cold Clammy Skin Muscle Cramps Fast Weak Pulse Body Temperature Dizziness against Hays outages.

Hot, Red skin above 103 High School.

A professor in UT’s Austin “We stopped Department of Mechanical Enwearing the full gineering posted a message on X, uniform because formerly known as Twitter, about it can be heavy the situation.

Rapid Strong Pulse Dizziness Nausea Fainting/Loss of Consciousness Fainting and hot,” he said “This is what happens when it is SOURCE: NOAA “So we spent 97 degrees outside at ~8 pm. DeSOURCE: NOAA $2,000 on black mand at 8 pm this year is as high as shorts so we our 5 pm peaks last year,” he wrote. could all match and another $2,000 on identical shirts. So decrease, then the heat This past summer was an example that they could be cool while performing at football games would keep rising. Acof how unprepared the human race while we’re waiting for the weather to cool down.” cording to the National is for climate change. It wasn’t just Scientists and officials believe that there is still time to Oceanic and AtmoTexas where heat was an issue. In reverse climate change. To understand Climate Change, spheric Administration other states, people received third-deDemand at 8 pm this it’s important to know how it works. Greenhouse gases are (NOAA), the ocean gree burns just from falling on the year is as high as our 5 likened to a blanket that is wrapped around the earth. So, waves would release all ground. Many places in the U.S. had pm peaks last year.” the more gasses that get emitted, the thicker the blanket is, CO2 that was stuck. record-breaking heat waves. However, the hotter the planet gets.

This would make temcities and states are adapting to the - Michael Webber Studies have shown that there are roughly 10 years left peratures rise for another heat. If climate change gets worse, professor at UT’s Austin before climate change is irreversible. Progress is being made .9 degrees Fahrenheit (.5 humans won’t be able to adapt to the Department of Mechanical with the rapid adoption of renewable energy and electric degrees Celsius), then weather because it will be too severe.

Enginerring vehicles. Many experts agree that change is too slow. In the Earth would radiate According to scientists and U.N. late March, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate all the excess heat into officials, if we want our earth to be Change (IPCC) found that it is likely that we’ll pass the tar- space. After radiating all habitable for future generations, then get warming temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius by the early the excess heat, temperawe have to take action now.

2030s. Where did the 1.5 degrees Celsius target come from? tures would then begin In 2015, almost all nations agreed to keep warming to 1.5 to drop, cooling the earth.

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THE eagle’s Eye

Page 14 | Oct. 2, 2023

Taylor Swift sells out stadiums for Eras Tour Pop star sets records, steals summer entertainment spotlight

luisa poage

AKINS SWIFTIES ANSWER:

Guest writer Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has captivated the world this spring and summer as the mega tour event of a generation.

From the moment when tickets went on sale in the fall of 2022 and fans crashed Ticketmaster’s website, the world learned how big the tour would be.

And when she appeared on stage for the first time in Glendale, Arizona on March 17, 2023, performing for three hours, it became apparent that the Eras Tour would be an epic experience. From the high quality production value, spectacular dance routines, and Swift’s own enchanting performance, everything about the Era’s tour was huge in scale.

The Eras Tour is Swift’s first all-stadium tour in four years following the Reputation Stadium Tour.

The long-awaited announcement for The Eras Tour came shortly after the release of Swift’s record-breaking album Midnights, which became the most downloaded album in a single day with 186 million streams in 24 hours.

It would be 2022’s highest-selling physical release with 1.3 million copies sold..

More than 3.5 million people registered for the Eras Tour presale, becoming the biggest registration in history. Only 1.5 million of the fans registered would receive a chance to purchase pre-sale tickets, leaving the other 2 million people with a slim chance of getting tickets. More than 15% of the fans on the site would experience issues and about 20% of the tickets sold were later posted for resale at high prices.

The Eras tour would break records all around the world. At Swift’s opening night in Glendale Arizona she broke the record for the most attended female concert in U.S history. As the sixth concert tour of Swifts, The Eras tour broke the record for highest grossing US

Nov 15, 2022 — The Eras Tour Ticketmaster presale caused it to crash

May 5 — Speak Now (Taylor’s version) announcement

July 1 — Gracie Abrams makes an appearance and plays “I miss you, I'm sorry”

August 2 — Taylor gives $100,000 bonuses to Eras Tour truck drivers

August 31 — the Eras Tour film is announced breaking theater ticket records

What was your favorite song or era she preformed?

March 17 — The Eras Tour kicked off in Glendale, Arizona

May 26 — Taylor Swift brings Ice Spice on stage to sing “Karma”

July 22/23 — in Seattle, Washington fans caused an earth quake from dancing

August 9 — 1989 (Taylor’s version) announcement

November 3 — The last updated concert in Indianapolis, Indiana

Photo Credit: @taylorswift on instagram

tour in history. With the average attendance rate at each show being over 70,000 people The Eras Tour has a projected gross of 2.2 billion dollars in North American ticket sales alone.

If you did not get to see Taylor you can see the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film coming to thaters Oct. 13 in AMC and participating theaters.

“My favorite song without a doubt was “Enchanted” — Christopher Aguilar

“This was the only song I cried to, “Marjorie” and “Champagne problems” — Brennan West

“Reputation because I loved her stage presence” — Breelyn West

Theaters to watch eras tour film Swift’s concert movie will be relased in theaters on Oct. 13. Here is where you can watch it in Austin.

◊ Alamo Drafthouse Cinema ◊ Cinemark theaters ◊ AMC Theaters ◊ EVO Entertainment ◊ Regal Theaters

“Definitely Reputation you know just like “Look what you made me do” — Heaven Cerda

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THE eagle’s Eye

Page 15 | Oct. 2, 2023

Writers, actors strike against studios Courtesy SAG-AFTRA Instagram

Actors on Strike Actor Jack Black holds a “SAG-AFTRA ON STRIKE sign with four strike captains, standing in front of a protest site on Sept. 21.

Movie, TV shows on hold until new compensation contracts signed AaliYah Koehn StAFF writer On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike after six weeks of negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, failing to make a deal for a new contract and putting the brakes on new productions.

Several problems prompted the Writers Guild of America (WGA) to go on strike. One of its primary concerns was issues related to how writers are compensated based on movies and shows available on streaming networks.

WGA President Fran Drescher said in an interview in early September on National Public Radio that movie and television production is a collaborative art form, and “ we are all in it together.”

“We are integral to the studios’ success, yet we’re being treated like we don’t count,” she said in the interview.

The writers’ union wanted a contract with a minimum wage for writers who worked on major network television, as well as for those who worked on shows available only on streaming services. Those who wrote for streaming television had to negotiate for their pay and were often paid less for doing the same amount of work.

Another issue brought up was the attempted use of artificial intelligence to replace writers and eliminate their jobs.

Writers said they believed that artificial intelligence should be used to help with research and/or script ideas, but nothing more than that.

In July, the actors’ union, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), went on strike in solidarity with the writers but also because of their ongoing disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Actors are angry that they are not being appropriately paid for re-runs of shows or films on streaming services/television. Actors are also

concerned with the use of AI in cases where it could be used to digitally replace an actor rather than paying actors for their work or the use of their likeness.

The strike has also caused TV and film production to come to a temporary halt, causing division in Hollywood over how much someone should be compensated in the streaming era.

The WGA has been on strike for more than 130 days, which is close to the longest writer’s strike in 1988. The WGA and the SAG-AFTRA have not been on strike together since the 1960s. This strike has resulted in an almost complete shutdown of Hollywood productions. Actors and writers have had to take out almost $45 million in withdrawals from the Motion Pictures Industry pension plan to help them pay their basic personal household bills while they are out of work.

Combined, the strikes have had an estimated $3 billion impact on California’s economy and a total of 37,700 jobs lost. The strikes have affected not only writers and actors but also businesses like catering companies, restaurants near studios, professional drivers, and florists. Experts estimate that entertainment-related jobs affect 20% of the Los Angeles area’s economy.

On Sept. 20, there were signs that real progress had been made to make a deal. Both sides were hopeful that they could come to an agreement to end the months-long standstill in working on film and TV production. Even if the writers sign a contract with the studio executives, the SAG-AFTRA would have to sign a separate contract before the work of producing film and TV shows could resume.

Then on September 24, 2023, striking writers reached an agreement after days of marathon negotiating, with the agreement still needing to be ratified the terms were not immediately known. Three days later on September 27, the writers’ strike officially ended after 148 days when the WGA board signed a new three-year deal. Although television and film writers have yet to ratify the contract writers are now allowed to finally go back to work.

Delayed Movies Avatar 3 and 4 Avatar 3 and 4 have been confirmed to release later in coming years however due to the strike it has pushed back the release by a year

Scream 7 Scream 7 has been confirmed to release however the writer’s strike has delayed it.

Kung Fu Panda 4 Kung Fu Panda was confirmed for March 2024, but due to the writer strike it has risen concerns about a delay.

Despicable Me 4 Despicable Me 4 has been feared to be delayed however they have been in the writing process for a while

Thunderbolts Thunderbolts a upcoming Marvel Series based around Black Widow’s is suspected to be delayed due to the writer and actor strike

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THE eagle’s Eye

Page 16 | Oct. 10, 2023

Akins rapper posts on Spotify, Apple Can his music move your ‘MYOCARDIUM’?

Marcelo Palacios Co-A&E editor Akins senior Rei Rooks, who goes by the moniker toady is impressing listeners with his smooth vocal delivery and lo-fi sound in his posts on social media and music streaming services.

Rooks has been making music on BandLab for four years. He uses his phone and computer to make beats and record his vocals. It’s not a fancy setup, but it serves his needs to record the type of music he loves.

Listeners can find Rooks music on both Spotify and Apple Music under the name toady.

The Eagle’s Eye interviewed Rooks about his experience creating and sharing his music online.

EE: When did you start to make music?

RR: “Freshmen year of high school” EE: What made you want to make music?

RR: “It was this guy my mom was talking to one time he got me into it.”

EE: Is this what you want to do for your career?

RR: “Yes, and a little bit more. But yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

EE: Do you have any plans to make your music “mainstream”?

RR: No, not exactly.

EE: If someone were to start listening to your music, like day one brand new, what song would you want them to listen to first?

RR: “‘MYOCARDIUM’ I guess, because it is the only song I have out right now.”

EE: What motivates you to make your music?

RR: “People who don’t like my music?

I love it. Like when they say it’s bad or something, or just just anything hateful.

It just makes me want to make another song. I love support too but like the hate was just it’s just what we doin’ sometimes.”

EE: What are your biggest influences when it comes to rap?

RR: I don’t know. I kind of just get a drive sometimes. Like when I hear a beat when I hear a beat after like a hot minute of not doing nothing. Then that’s what I decided to like get up and then just do just make music.

EE: I heard that you had an album release recently.

RR: I had a single release, an album is way too much work. I’ll probably do that in like a couple of months.

Check out Rei Rooks music Scan the QR codes to listen on Spotify or Apple Music

Fionna & Cake go on new ‘Adventure’ Marcelo Palacios Co-A&E editor Fionna and Cake is a new spin on the popular animated series Adventure Time, which was known for its particular mix of quirky characters and fantasy story plots.

The new series, available for streaming on Max, has garnered stupendous support with its debut in September. The series is attracting interest from both long-time fans of Adventure Time and newcomers looking for a new show to enjoy.

This show takes place in a world comparable to ours. The story follows the protagonists Fionna and “Cake the Cat” and their struggles with life until the most unforeseen occurs. Due to the events of

the story, this lands the protagonists in the Land of Ooo. Ooo Has seen some changes from where the story of Adventure Time left off.

As they traverse through Ooo they find themselves starting to like it there, feeling more at home than when they were in their own reality. This, however, isn’t supposed to happen. Fionna and Cake were always supposed to be in their reality, and this leads to the Scarab going on a hunt for them.

Fionna and Cake go on an adventure through different universes found in the original Adventure Time but traveling on a different route.

As a longtime Adventure Time fan, the new series gave me a nostalgic feeling due to the fact that it brought back some characters from the original show and features a few throwback references to

the original.

The show is a joy to watch. It really brought back some memories for me, especially watching it with my sister. I appreciate that the producers got Rebecca Sugar, who worked on the original Adventure Time, to sing a song for it.

It’s also nice that Fionna and Cake share the same sense of humor as the original, enhancing the nostalgia factor even more.

Warner Bros. Discovery

I would recommend this to any fan of the original series because of its plethora of returning characters and voice actors from the original. However, for those not familiar with Adventure Time I would say that it can still be quite enjoyable but you’ll miss out on some small things if you didn’t watch it before. Otherwise, I still believe that it is a worthy watch.

A&E

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 17 | Oct. 10, 2023

‘Five Nights’ movie builds hype for fans m Pelt copy editor What initially began as a way to retaliate against negative reviews on a previous family-friendly game release, Five Nights at Freddy’s would soon become Scott Cawthon’s magnum opus, a franchise worth at least $100,000,000 with global popularity.

For those who may be unfamiliar, Five Nights spans 11 game titles, 24 novels and short stories, eight graphic novels and comics, one animated series, and, a hot topic as of late, the upcoming film releasing on October 27th of this year.

The movie has been in tumultuous development since April 2015, having seen a long period of uncertainty, a switch in studios, and several rewrites in the last eight years.

The movie has a lot to live up to and take into consideration, with the series being renowned in particular for its complicated, convoluted ‘lore’ (or plot).

On the surface, it’s a horror game where you play as a night-shift security guard, avoiding certain death from animatronics haunted by dead children in a Chuck-E-Cheese lookalike. Beneath that, the antagonist, William Afton, and the protagonist, Michael Afton, are father and son- trapped in a cyclical back-and-forth of vengeance, touching on themes of grief, immortality, and familial estrangement.

“It’s a genius concept for a horror game in a pizzeria,” said Diego Hernandez, long-time fan of the games. “I just got so glued to it, I kept going back.”

For many high-school students, Five Nights is a series they’ve grown up with, the oldest seniors having been

10 with the release of the first two games. The nostalgia associated with the title Five Nights at Freddy’s makes this upcoming feature film a big deal for returning fans.

While the name has become much more mainstream, the movie presents as an opportunity to further streamline its popularity.

“I’m hoping the movie is good, because it can introduce way more people to it in a way they can actually understand,” Jonathon Wilson, a senior and fan-game developer, had to say about the movie’s release.

After the trailer’s leak in June of this year, hopes, fears, and predictions have been posted to all corners of the Internet. “I’m skeptical of how good it’ll be from a critical standpoint,” user explodingbomb150 commented in the fivenightsatfreddys subreddit.

The series’ complicated, gruesome, and emotionally complex plot has sparked much concern among more enthusiastic members of the community, particularly how the PG-13 rating of the movie may impact it. “I so immensely hope it is a serious, disturbing masterpiece it has the potential to be,” wrote Reddit user MichelTygrys, also in the fivenightsatfreddys subreddit.

Despite the problems the movie has experienced in its development and the uncertainty of this interpretation, the release of the film is sure to make waves in the online horror community. “I’m extremely proud of the movie we made together,” Jason Blum, executive producer and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, said in a comment to IGN in June of 2023.

The movie can be seen on Oct. 27th, in theaters or streaming on Peacock, after eight years of rocky development.

Aug. 8, 2014

Nov. 10, 2014

March 15, 2015

July 23, 2015

Oct. 7, 2016

Dec. 4, 2017

May 28, 2019

Dec. 16, 2021

The Game Theorists is a group of YouTubers who solve the mysteries behind games.

However, the main host and face of the channel, MatPat, is known for his lead in solving the FNAF mysteries having 70 plus videos over the game series.

CoryxKenshin has been known for his gameplay of horror games including FNAF. Cory’s channel grew due to the popularity FNAF brought. His influence has even landed a cameo in the movie.

Markiplier, known as the “King of FNAF,“ has influenced the games and has helped increase the popularity through memes and the online community he helped build.

The Living Tombstone, known for their fan songs for the franchise such as “It’s Been So Long” and “Die in a Fire,” have gained popularity alongside FNAF.

Oct. 27, 2023

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 18 | Oct. 10, 2023

Life & Style

Ready for takeoff

JROTC student Hector Hernandez earns pilot license over summer Alex Lindao StAFF WRITER

Alexander Luna StAFF WRITER Soon after earning his driver’s license, Akins senior Hector Hernandez worked to earn a second license that would put him behind the steering wheel of an airplane.

Hernandez spent his summer from June 1 to July 28 in Indiana as a participant in the Air Force JROTC Flight Academy. This 8-week summer aviation training program is hosted at partnering universities nationwide. Upon successful completion of the program, students are awarded a Private Pilot’s Certification and their single-engine pilot’s license.

The Flight Academy program is intended to inspire and encourage high school youth toward aviation careers. The scholarship-funded program is a collaborative effort between the aerospace industry and the Air Force to address a national pilot shortage. Currently, Boeing predicts an annual need to hire 6,000 civilian pilots a year for the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the military believes it needs to train 8,000 pilots for its operations.

“Students will need to expect an 8-10 hour work day where they will learn safety procedures, mechanics, and much more of flying a single-engine plane,” Lewis said. “So overall when you take a step back and look at the program you are tasking students with work that many adults won’t be able to complete. Not to mention the long grueling work hours that are spent on learning plane mechanics, math, and physics. Then there is the exciting yet nerve-racking process of flying a $300,000 - $500,000 single-engine airplane.”

Hernandez, who learned about the program through Akins JROTC program, said he was interested in the opportunity to earn a pilot license right away.

“I just thought it was so cool how they were going to let teenagers fly planes and get your license,” Hernandez said. “And apart from that it was a free opportunity. And it sounded really fun.”

Hernandez’s program was based at an airport in Marion, Indiana, but he also flew to a large airport in West Lafayette, Indiana in conjunction with Purdue University. Along-

side other Air Force JROTC cadets from all over the country, Hernandez received hands-on training from flight instructors, facing new challenges as a beginner pilot.

“It was pretty challenging trying to balance flight training and all the ground training they have to do,” Hernandez said. “But apart from the challenge, it was just crazy, learning all this stuff that I never knew existed before.

A few weeks into the course, Hernandez said he started to get used to flying and landing a plane. It helped him gain confidence and become comfortable behind the controls of the plane.

“Yeah, we did that a lot. Actually, that’s one of the major parts of the training,” Hernandez said. “We did a lot of touch-andgoes (landings) just going around and landing a lot of times and the first time I went by myself, it was really scary. But just with all things you just got more comfortable in your own ability and your skills got easier.”

Being able to communicate with your cadets is key in gaining experience as a pilot.

It also plays a vital role in beginning your journey as a pilot so they can help you if you need it.

“Well, there’s kind of like a pattern, where you have to relay information to who you’re talking to your tail number to identify yourself where you are and what you want to do,” Hernandez said. “And it’s just like, you just plug and play where you’re at. But when you’re talking to your co-pilot it’s more casual, you talk chat.”

Throughout the course, Hernandez flew one type of plane. The plane was a single engine one, the one that all starters use when training.

“As of right now, I’ve only flown single-engine land,”Hernandez said. “Airplanes is what I’m reading for right now. But you know, I’m going out there flying at the airport pretty often. So hopefully get ready to do some other stuff pretty soon.”

After completing his course on July 28th, Hernandez has plans to pursue his pilot training and passion even more.

“My next step for me would be to go to the Naval Academy to commission to fly for the Marine Corps,” Hernandez said. For the Navy, and that’s where I want to go. We’re actively working.”

Hernandez plans to continue to build up his pilot hours and his ratings in order to prepare himself for military aviation.

Courtesy Hector Hernandez

Above the clouds Senior Hector Hernandez pilots a single-engine plane as part of his 8-week summer training over Shelbyville Airport in Indiana.

Courtesy Hector Hernandez

pilots pose Senior Hector Hernandez, on the left, strikes a pose with his fellow cadets behind their pilot instructor with a plane.

Life & Style

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 19 | Oct. 10, 2023

A helping hand in mental health Lorraine Tijerina

Selfie with the services Loraraine Tijerina’s students partake in the Advisory Selfie Challenege, the Practicum in Human Services program helps students access mental health resources and create strong connections with peer mentors.

Morgan Messer StAFF WRITER Lorraine Tijerina, who oversees the Practicum in Human Services program, dedicates herself to being an advocate for mental health at Akins.

Tijerina works daily with students to make the world a more kind and understanding place through her program.

When Tijerina attended Akins as a high school student, she gained an interest in teaching when she joined the program Ready Set Teach program, which is run by Cecilia Guttierez. It inspired her to not only pursue teaching as a career, but also to return to work at Akins.

Tijerina recalled a moment from her first year of teaching in which she had to turn to her chalkboard to wipe a tear, and go back to teaching as if nothing happened. The adjustment process as she went to being a full time teacher was difficult, but she is now confident in her work and ability to ask for help — a vital skill for our Social Services Academy teachers and students.

“My internship is really special because SSA has people who want to help people,” Tijerina said. “We are trying to restart the Pre-Covid program “Best Buddies” with Akins Life Skills, as well as participate in AISD Special Olympics, work as peer mentors for Student Support Services, participate in volunteer opportunities, and teach mindfulness yoga to children over at Menchaca Elementary.”

Although this is a lot of goals Tijerina is trying to achieve, it’s not everything she has done for our school. Joining the Educators Rising conference along with Ready Set Teach for the first time last year, five students of her practicum continued on to the state-level competition and received Gold Status.

“I learned to really use the strength of my interns so we can all help each other,” Tijerina said. “I’ve realized that our CTE programs are really something special and not all schools have them, they help to grow my teacher heart.”

Tijerina shared some of her favorite moments in the pro-

gram with her students.

“One in particular that I can remember occurred during last year’s lock-in, which we do to bond our team, was our karaoke experience,” Tijerina said. “Just being able to see people let loose and sing their favorite songs helped us all to be more comfortable with each other and feel more like a community.”

Tijerina said that the program has many challenging moments, especially raising the funds needed for the program and its events.

“While we have many great opportunities and have been able to be a part of lots of good, it can be challenging to get to those events,” Tijerina said. “Having to raise those funds Morgan Messer is a lot more stressful than I thought spotlight on the teacher! it was going to be because I want us to Lorraine Tijerina, who teaches the Practicum in Human Services have rich experiences and it’s hard to internship program, poses for a portrait in her classroom. do anything without money.”

Even so, the kids and teachers’ hard work has paid off in the past and the said. “I think trying to stay motivated is sometimes chaltradition is sure to continue. lenging but when we do opportunities where we get into Tijerina said her students give her much hope for the our community I think that’s what brings me back, and of future of the program and teachers in general, recalling course my kids do, too.” hopeful moments in the internship.

Although it’s been a hard road, Tijerina has been able “We struggled a bit when we started mindfulness yoga to pick herself up time and time again, and has been a , seeing (them) all train together , I loved it, but actually great leader for the next generation of upcoming teachers. seeing y’all run the ship and seeing y’all become leaders in a Tijerina’s goal is to provide the support she wished she had real world situation made me hopeful,” Tijerina said. when becoming a teacher, and offer mental health support Tijerina opened up about her unexpected experiences as to those in need. an educator, and some of the difficulties that came with it.

“I really care about making sure everyone is comfortable , “I honestly thought it would be easier, but I make a ton even those who aren’t my students,” Tijerina said. “We have of decisions every day, most of the time I’m overstimulated, a ton of support here at the school and asking for help is and there’s a lot more paperwork than I thought,” Tijerina sometimes what you need to do.”

Sports

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 20 | Oct. 10, 2023

Changing the way athlethes succeed

Coaches and athlethes speak on the changes and how it affects them Adamaris Olivares Sports Editor “Everybody get MAD!” Those are the words heard on the field from the head coach as the Akins Football team prepares for another game that week. However, instead of demanding that The Eagles football team players get angry, MAD is an acronym for this seasons team’s slogan “Make A Difference.”

Making a difference is something that Head Football Coach Joey Saxe has always emphasized since he took over as the head coach in 2021. Besides practicing and playing hard on the field, Saxe also wants Akins players to learn to become difference-makers in their school community.

With the new acronym representing the words “Make A Difference,” the Varsity team has begun their season after multiple practices throughout the summer, and the continuous weeks.

With a new season, the football program has experienced multiple changes, including new players, a lack of players to staff a full team, and adjusting to new assistant coaches.

While they continue to improve, the athletes and coaches have to adjust to the changes to the program compared to their last season. Working through these changes, the team continues to stay motivated and adjust to the differences.

Samantha Limon The most noticed change throughout this season has been FINAL PLAY the differences in the coaching staff compared this year from last year. These changes have led to differences in numbers Head Coach Joey Saxe gives a speech at the end of their first Varsity game of the season after with the defense taking several smaller numbers, as well as their loss at Burger Stadium against Hays High School. more successes.

“When you look at the number of missed tackles last getting the most yards out there to more transformational own are definitely some achievements worth celebrating year compared to this year, we cut the deficit a lot. Same and just trying to change lives through the game of football. for us considering we have a pretty young team,” senior thing with pre-snap penalties,” Head Coach Joey Saxe said.

I think that’s success right there,” Saxe said.

Matthew Ybarra said.

“They’ve definitely gotten better, bigger, faster, stronger Student-athletes have also been able to see and participate While discussing the success he has experienced watching in the weight room. We improved almost 15,000 pounds, in these changes, helping their team by changing the ways his students succeed, the program has allowed students to within our three lifts.” they communicate and cheer for each other. improve as scholars, and are not just judged by the scoreDespite having to compete in a district that includes “We are communicating more, cheering, and helping the board. Akins coaches continue to push and support players wealthy perennial powerhouse teams like Westlake and Lake team from the sideline. We are working towards keeping a so they never consider giving up.

Travis — which often compete for state championships positive attitude towards each other and “It’s been four years of just work, work, work, and it’s just — the team works toward success while the opposing team,” senior Julio Menchalike man, People don’t see that in the stands, right? You facing unfair judgment at times. ca said. know how resilient (the players are),” Saxe said. “Through“We’re in one of the toughest districts in “Sometimes when While shifting the focus and wanting to out the entire week no matter what happens like on Fridays the whole state of Texas, you know, and gain success for their team, Saxe has conwe all just come together and we just represent our school you look at the winthen being the only you know title one stantly strived to make his student-athwe play to the best of our abilities. You put a blanket over loss column, you’re school in that district, we know there are letes better students, and goals that don’t that scoreboard sometimes and you just play for all four challenges involved with that right,” Saxe judged by that” just include football. quarters.” said. “With the low income not necessar“I think success really comes from, at Another challenge players face is sometimes being forced -Head Coach, ily having the access to programming but the end of the day, are (our players) ready to play different positions because of the team’s low number Joey Saxe we’ve seen so much growth in the short to go out into the world and become, you of players. However, new leaders are still emerging, and time that we have (our players). That, know, better students, better employees, embracing the focus on personal development and successes. man, is life-changing.” better husbands, better fathers,” Saxe said. Saxe said he strives for less judgment and more pride.

As these numbers continue to improve, Saxe has also “Once I can see that I can say “yes” to each one (the players) “We wish people respected (the team) more because (the changed the goals of the team. The search for wins and numas (they) leave here. We know we’re being successful.” players) do so much great stuff. And, you know, sometimes bers has now shifted to measuring success in different ways The football team have learned to celebrate successes in when you look at the win-loss column, you’re judged by for the team, both on and off the field. different ways, rather than just cheering for scores. They that, but that’s the furthest from the truth,” Saxe said. “You “You know, once I shifted my mindset from transactional, have learned to celebrate each other and their achievements. know, we have so much good going on here.” which is getting them wins, putting up points, you know, “Everybody doing their assignments and holding their JP Lopez and Andrew Copeland contributed to this story

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Sports

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 21 | Oct. 10, 2023

Overcoming obstacles on, off the court Kimberly Hernandez

Attention Grabber The Varsity team huddles before the start of their home game at Akins against Bowie High School on Sep. 19.

Volleyball team shares about changes, challenges they face Adamaris Olivares Sports Editor

Adamaris Olivares

FINAL PLAY Coach Thomas and the team celebrate a point recieved after a rally against the Bowie High School team at Akins.

While the Akins volleyball team has experienced its share of losses on the court this year, the team has found successes, as well.

With a different team changing the dynamic, they have changed the way they play for the different crowds they receive.

The team, led by a dedicated group of captains and Head Coach Amanda Thomas, typically plays at least two games a week — sometimes more if they are in a multi-game tournament. They have learned many lessons on and off the court this year, including how to deal with ugly behavior and disrespect from their opponent teams’ fans.

“It’s a part of playing a sport, you’re going to have student sections and they’re going to try and put me off my game,” senior Mallory Liu said. “I block them, and I know I’m good and they can’t tell me otherwise, so I just laugh at them and prove them wrong.”

The volleyball team had its first real match on Aug. 7, a full week before classes even started at Akins this year. Players began showing up for practice in July to train and prepare for the upcoming season. By the end of its season on Oct. 24, the team will play more than 25 games, including various multi-game tournaments.

With the team experiencing a major injury toward the beginning of the season. The team has adjusted well having to play new positions and new rotations.

“We had a major injury early on in the season, and lots of kids have shifted to different positions and have stepped up and played roles that they weren’t expecting to play this year,” Thomas said.

Adjusting to new positions, attendance also becomes an issue. Attendance is typically only a fraction of what the football team receives at their games, making it difficult for volleyball players to maintain their team morale, especially when the team is dealing with disrespect from other schools.

“At the Akins vs. Johnson game their student section is always negative,” senior librero Alexis Renteria said. “They came to our school with their own brooms so they can sweep the bench after the game.”

While being one of the most disrespectful times they have played another team, this was not the only time they have been mistreated, this happens more commonly than not. At the same time, while enduring the disrespect they also have to deal with less support coming from our school.

“During most games, even home games, the away team will have a louder student section than we will, which can be really disheartening. Especially because I feel like in our district, there are many schools who I guess look down on us, so when their students come to our games, they’re very derogatory, I guess, and we don’t have that kind of support,” senior M Pelt said.

The volleyball team has learned to ignore a lot of the disrespect coming from the stands during the games. While it can be discouraging and distracting at times, coaches have encouraged their players to focus on the game and act like they’re not there.

“They block them out as they tell us to do, just don’t pay attention to them because they are doing it on purpose, so just block

them out and you’ll be fine. Just keep your head up and don’t let them get into your head,” Liu said.

Despite the distractions that can occur at these games, Thomas takes pride in the fact that their team continues to play against some of the best schools in Texas.

“As long as they’re competing, I feel like they’ve been successful,” Thomas said.

“We’re in the toughest district in the state of Texas. We have three teams in the top 20 in the state. So as long as we’re competing and playing at a higher level than what we do here at practice, then we do well.”

Playing through the disrespect and lack of support, the volleyball team has learned to adjust as they try to ignore the distraction, although they do wish they would have more support at their games.

“When there is a crowd, it is a lot more encouraging and fun,” Liu said. “I always play my best, whether a crowd or not, but it would be fun to have students cheering us on and supporting us.”

The volleyball team continues to practice and play encouraging students to support them. Inviting more people to their games and hoping to fill up the stands, they continue to play with their full efforts.

“Some ways students can support me is by making the stands packed and being loud for me and my team to fight harder,” Renteria said. “I feel I do better in the game when there’s a loud crowd cheering me and my team on.”

Aubrey Montoya contributed to this story

Sports

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 20 | Oct. 10, 2023

Messi Madness in the USA

Soccer star debuts in the MLS changing the dynamic in the US Adamaris Olivares Sports Editor Four minutes after the end of regular time, Messi scored his first goal in his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut with Inter Miami FC in July.

Millions watched from their couches at home with a newly purchased membership to Apple TVs MLS Season Pass service. And other lucky ones saw it in person in Miami, watching the legendary Argentinian soccer star play for an American team for the first time.

Messi’s current contract with Inter Miami FC stands at $60 million a year. Not only does his contract guarantee him that money, but he has a part-time deal with the MLS. Every time someone signs up for Apple TV after his signing with Inter Miami FC, the money goes partially into Messi’s contract as well as an option for part-ownership of Inter Miami FC. So over time, Messi is expected to make over $1.6 billion during his time at Inter Miami, according to Sportico.

Already, he has set records for TV viewership. According to Apple, its three most-watched matches ever on MLS Season Pass happened between the week of July 19-26, with his debut happening on July 21. His debut day, according to Axios, caused the biggest single-day subscription to Apple TV. Not only is he setting records and creating history with streaming services, but he’s also raised ticket prices to watch games in person. The home ticket games for Inter Miami FC are now listed for an average of $935, which is a 515% difference according to TicketiQ. A single ticket before Messi at Inter Miami FC was around $30-50, but now there are about $80-100, doubling the original price. Not only has it affected Inter Miami FC, but MLS tickets in general are more expensive this season compared to last year.

While Messi isn’t expected to come to Austin until 2024, many students at Akins are excited for his debut in the MLS. While some have been preparing to purchase their ticket, and some are just excited to see him play in the US. Brandon Llanos and JD Henry contributed to this story

Image Courtesy of Apple

Mess of Money Messi is predicted to make over $1.5 billion because of the cut of revenue he recives from new subsribers to MLS’ Season Pass streaming service after signing with Inter Miami FC.

Akins Messi fans react to his MLS debut “I hope he brings more publicity to the sport, as of now I know there are more people watching the sport purely over the fact that Messi made his move here to the States. Hopefully, he will bring more attention and opportunities to the MLS.”

Maximo RamireZ SENIOR (12th)

“I’m excited to see Messi play Austin FC, I don’t care about the price. Just getting to see a once and a lifetime opportunity to see him play in person is a must.”

Valentin Loredo Junior (11th)

“Both of the goats (Messi and Ronaldo) have made drastic changes in their new leagues, as to what I hope Messi brings or can make grow here. I want it to be money especially since World Cup 2026 will be here in the U.S.”

Moises Velasquez Senior (12th)

Humor & DIY Athletic Heat

Its been really hot recently

THE eagle’s Eye

Page 23 | Oct. 10, 2023

Students in mascot costume catch on fire, vaporized

cruz burrows StAFF ARTIST

But it doesn’t affect me NEARLY as much as say the athletes

Diego Hernandez professional arsonist

Like those guys over there

Since August, eight students who volunteered to serve as the school mascot, have met their demise because of various heat-related issues, including spontaneous combustion.

“I think I can handle the heat,” junior Ambur Flemez said.

“Being inside the mascot costume isn’t as bad as it looks,” he said 10 minutes before the ambulance was called due to him catching on fire.

In order to fill the role of the Akins Eagle mascot, the school has considered implementing a draft system, in which students are randomly chosen to fulfill the duty of being the mascot until they graduate or cannot endure the pain and suffering any longer.

“It’s so hot in this suit. I’m sweating puddles. I think I might pass out,” senior Sunny Days said. “This seems like a great opportunity to me,” said the new mascot student, after having to replace the last student who vaporized in the middle of the last quote. This is, of course, satire.

I can’t imagine how they deal with that, being so active

DIY: Halloween Treat Bead Charm Devan flores StAFF WRITER October is here once again, and you know what that means! Time for tricks, and treats!

Here is a step by step guide on how to creat a candy bead charm for the season.

This may look intimidating but all you need is time to create this charm. You will need patience, attention to detail, and good lighting.

This charm can be added to your backpack, purse, or a lanyard as a fun decoration. It can also be given as a gift or treat to friends and family.

The materials required for this DIY are inexpensive and easy to get, so almost anyone can make it. Have fun making this spooky charm!

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Grab your thread (ribbon) hold one end stretch it out to the other hand and do that again then cut it off.

After that, thread and center six black beads in the string.

Thread a black bead, then 4 orange beads, and another black bead, in that order on one end of the string.

Overlap the two ends of the string by putting them inside the beads. Only put the string inside the 4 orange beads and the 2 black beads, not the 6 black beads

Step 4:

Step 5:

Pull the tips of the end on each string to bring all the beads together.

Repeat the process over, using different colored and amount of beads to create the pattern shown. Cut off the excess string and ta-da!

Materials needed: ◊ Thread or Ribbon ◊ Scissors ◊ 68 black beads ◊ 52 orange beads ◊ 24 red beads

Community 10701 S. First St. Autin, TX 78748

Page 24 Oct. 10, 2023 The Eagle’s Eye

Advertising Page 24 contains paid advertising provided by the administration and not content created by The Eagle’s Eye staff.

Contact faculty adviser David Doerr if you are interested in advertising in The Eagle’s Eye. Send email inquries to david.doerr@austinisd.org.

Principal’s Letter Eagle Family!

I am extremely happy and excited to welcome everyone back for another great year at Akins!

It’s great to see our hallways and classrooms come to life with energy and enthusiasm after a long hot summer. I really hope you school year has been off to a great start! We have lots of exciting events coming up including our multilingual showcase, homecoming game, spirit week, homecoming dance, parent conference day, and Blue and Gold Night just to name a few. As always, it is our continued mission to help every student feel welcome, feel connected, and to feel they are an important part of the Akins EHCS family. We strive to challenge our students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally as we continue to prepare all students to be college and career ready upon graduation.

I’m happy to report that we had amazing success last year and we are excited to see it carry into 23-24. Last year’s senior class earned a school record $10 million dollars in scholarships and acceptance to over 100 colleges and universities! On top of that, hundreds of these students earned college credit hours with 40 ECHS students earning their associates degree before they had

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Proud to support Ph. 512-282-2255 Akins Eagles Slaughter at Manchaca

Michael Herbin their high school diploma. Additionally, 217 seniors graduated with some form of industry-based or industy-driven certification, ready to enter the work force immediately if they choose. We know the class of 2024 is just as talented and we can’t wait to see the amazing things they accomplish this year.

I continue to be honored and humbled to serve this community as principal. I look forward to all of the great things we can accomplish together and I am excited at what the future holds at Akins ECHS! I truly hope you have a great 2023-24 school year! Wings up!

Sincerely, Principal Michael Herbin

Mini-Pitch opened at Akins With support from 4ATX, the non-profit organization of the Austin FC soccer team, and its funding partners , a Mini-Pitch soccer court was opened on the Akins tennis courts.

The court, which is open to the public, is designed to provide a fast-paced soccer experirence with small teams of three or five players.

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