Priests accused of sexual assault, Vatican Summit announced. pg. 6
Deer park petrochemical fire lasting multiple days, causes air conditions to worsen. pg.12
Captain Marvel marks first female-led Marvel movie pg.17
CCISD Robotics gears toward World Championships By Kadee Loyd Around Creek Editor
The CCISD district robotics team, The Robonauts, won their tournament in Flagstaff, Arizona over Spring Break, and their victory, which is one of many this season, qualified them for the World Championship event. The group went undefeated at the competition in Arizona, winning their ten qualification matches and six elimination matches. They also won first place at their competition in El Paso a couple weeks before the Arizona tournament. These wins boosted them to the World Championships, giving them another chance at the title after winning in 2015. The team has 80 students from all over the district, including Clear Horizons and a student from Dobie High School, and seven of those students come from Creek. They meet four times a week in building nine at NASA, where they build a competitive robot to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” NASA engineers mentor the students, giving them advice and means to improving their robots. Only 50 of the members are selected for the travel time. Junior Alejandra Tijerina, junior Gustavo Casimiro Vilas Boas, sophomore Christian Goodson, senior Joshua Oh, freshman Luke Buchanan and junior Peyton Burlington are the Robonauts representatives from Creek. They appreciate the community they get to be a part of with the robotics team and are constantly working with their peers to ensure they make it to the next level of competition. They may have swept the competition in Arizona, but there is always room for the improvement of the robot. “As always, there’s always
something that needs to be worked on. Whether it’ll shorten cycle times by a half second or double the points we can get on a climb, we’re constantly looking for the small improvements we can make to raise our robot to the highest possible level it can be. For us, the extramile is just part of the race,” Boas said. A good attitude and responsibility are very important to the team. Every member
values are sportsmanship, scholastics, learning, sharing, competing and growing,” Tijerina said. The Robonauts have a true passion for what they do, and they are always ready to do whatever work necessary for the success of their robot. The team knows that it is in big part their passion and effort that fuels their victories. “This passion that is common
obeys the rules of the Photo coutesy of Alejandra Tijerina throughout the whole competitions and makes team helps everyone on sure to use their team values; their respect and the team right now to do the best they inclusivity create unity and longing success. possibly can. Our average practice week “I believe the reason for our has around 21 hours, and without the team’s success is our strict adherence constant desire for improvement and the to our core values. Some of these dedication that’s inspired on us, it’d be
easy to grow bored and just kill time, but as we’ve learned from too many close-calls, there’s always something that needs to be improved,” Boas said. Although the students work diligently on their projects, they still have time for fun. The group celebrated their wins in Arizona by playing in the snow. They enjoy the company of their teammates who share similar goals and interests. As time goes on, Creek members hope to inspire the new students in Robonauts to excel and always push past limits. “Today, our main goal is not to win competitions, it is to inspire the next generation of engineers. We aim to impact young students before stereotypes take over, and for that reason we have such a diverse team today,” Tijerina said. The CCISD Robonauts are expected to see more success at the competitions on their way to the World Championship event. With new improvements and modifications on the robot, the performance of the team is likely to outdo that of previous tournaments. There is no limit on what they can accomplish. “It’s amazing seeing the Clear Creek students perform so well at the First Robotics competition. Knowing that we will be taking place in the World Tournament this year and won it in 2015 makes it clear that Clear Creek is a school district that can compete on a world scale. This is just the beginning for Clear Creek, the world of robotics is changing as we move into space exploration and I have no doubt that our students will be some of the first to get people to Mars and may be some of the first to set foot there themselves,” Mr. Robert Morales, robotics coordinator at Creek, said.
Round up of 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
with the fun and exciting rodeo experience. “I would have to say my favorite Along with the performances, the part about rodeo season is getting to rodeo had events such as the cook-offs, wear my cowboy boots and cowboy livestock shows, bull riding, horseback hat and getting to go to all the petting zoos, agricultural concerts,” Jarin Duppstadt, senior, said. The highly valued and anticipated 2019 racing, Including fried treats like Oreos, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has presentations, camel rides, a milking set the bar higher than previous years and exceeded its attenders expectations. Since 1932, the rodeo has been a favorite tradition of Houstonians and Texans everywhere. Kicking off on February 25 and lasting until March 17, this year’s rodeo season is packed with entertainment and fun. Beginning with the annual rodeo cookoff and ending with performances from George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, this year’s rodeo will be hard to top. Although most rodeos are mainly about the livestock, most Houstonians look forward to their beloved rodeo concerts performed on the famous star-shaped rotating stage. This year’s performers include Kacey Musgraves, Prince Royce, Brooks and Dunn, Luke Bryan, Cardi B, Turnpike Troubadours, Panic! At the Disco, Old Dominion, Camilla Cabello, Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Zedd, Kane Brown, Los Tigres Del Norte, Zac Brown Band, Kings of Leon, Santana, Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen. Reeses, Pies, Snickers, Though many Southerners feel as parlor, pig races, animal Photo courtesy of Flickr foot-long corndogs, though there are too many singers that are nutrition shows, tractor not country artists, others are excited about shows, mutton bustin’ and so much turkey legs, pizza on a stick, funnel the diverse lineup. The rodeo concerts are more. There are also many shops and cake, cotton candy, popcorn and so much always extremely entertaining topped off boutiques open for browsing and shopping. more, the rodeo treats are like none other.
By Shelby Donnow Sports Editor
Located around the carnival and food vendor tents, the Stars Over Texas Stage hosts live music concerts from up and coming artists and family entertainment with no additional charges after getting onto the rodeo grounds. Another entertaining event held within the few weeks of the rodeo, “Rodeo Rockstar,” is a singing contest that began in 2012 that holds different divisions for ages between 6-21 for solo and group contestants. Though these events may not be the main events, they are fun, entertaining, and inexpensive. “My favorite part about the rodeo is definitely the food, it is the absolute best,” Sarah Hickman, junior, said. With over 34,000 volunteers, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo would not be successful without its volunteers. These volunteers fill 108 different committees and spend more than two-point-one million total hours of dedication towards the rodeo. To thank them for their hard work, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo organization gives each volunteer one free pass into almost every concert and one guest into the show. These generous volunteers help the rodeo run smoothly and efficiently. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is awaited all year by Houstonians everywhere. Each year, the rodeo wows their audience more and more with their amazing setup, entertainment and rodeo lineup. Although this entertaining time of year has ended, the community is excitedly awaiting the next rodeo season to arrive.