OLD TOWN, NEW VIBE PG. 2 FEELING FOMO? PG. 6 NEWS: Historic Coppell maintaining vintage charm while becoming retail destination.
EDITORIAL: The Sidekick staff thinks senior experiences should be individualized.
WEATHERWOMAN PG. 19
STUDENT LIFE: Cottonwood Creek teacher brings meteorology to young minds.
COPPELL HIGH SCHOOL • 185 W. PARKWAY BLVD, COPPELL, TX 75019
HALL OF FAME PG. 20
ENTERTAINMENT: CMS West theater director recognized by Texas Thespians.
RACKET AT STATE PG. 23
SPORTS: Long time doubles duo of Patel, Patton advance to Class 6A tennis semifinals.
VOLUME 33 • ISSUE 6 • MAY 2022
THE SIDEKICK NEWS
Letter from the Editor
The perfect ending
@anjalikrishna_
Old Town Coppell is a location of contrasts. While the restored Kirkland House and replicated Minyard Drug Store add histori-
cal context, the 2012 addition of the Darling Home community and the 2015 addition of George Coffee + Provisions create a sense of newness in the city while preserving the vintage style.
The Sidekick executive editor-in-chief Anjali Krishna is graduating, leaving her unsure how to perfectly wrap-up her senior year. Krishna writes about her favorite endings to books, songs and TV shows, tying them into her life as she works on finding her own ending to high school. Avani Munji
Sidekick Online
@anjalikrishna_
@CHSCampusNews
Historic district turning into enjoyable experience Executive Editor-in-Chief
Executive Editor-in-Chief
@thesidekickcoppell
Old Town, new developments Anjali Krishna
Anjali Krishna
MAY 2022
Questions, Coppell?
My favorite things are almost always endings: the last 30 pages of The Goldfinch, the outro of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Moon Song,” the reluctant closing scene of La La Land. I think it’s because of that forced poignancy in those last couple lines, the final few seconds. It puts upon my favorite endings a feeling of sensationalism, a grand sense of the extraordinary that I adore - one that I can’t help but search for in my own life. In the same way I expect, and almost pressure, a poignant ending from my favorite writers and musicians, I want one for myself before I graduate. And I’m finding it, in small ways. As I write my Sidekick awards banquet speech, I think of the closer to J. Cole’s iconic 2014 Forest Hills Drive, a 14-minute track that makes me smile every time. He thanks just about every person he’s met for their help in the album’s creation, laughing as he nears the end at the listeners that remain for staying for the “movie credits.” I have just as many people to thank - the sophomores that were ever so willing to learn, the juniors that taught me how to operate and Adobe InDesign, the seniors who were my sounding boards and grew up alongside me in this program. In the movie Someone Great, I see myself as the main character is forced to accept leaving someone out of circumstance, not for any lack of love. I will too in just three short months. But how am I supposed to accept the inevitability of the ending of relationships with the friend who insists on saying my name the right way, the one who actually wants my honest advice about their hair, the one whom I can’t imagine my life without while only knowing them for a year? Now, at least, in the last few weeks of school, I feel myself searching for poignancy more often. It makes the most sense how Emma Cline put it: “just like the world of teenagers, with our desire to catalogue and make meaning out of any sign or symbol, even the mildest of occurrences taking on great portent.” I want every piece of everything to have a meaning in these last couple of days of school: with
these friends I know I won’t keep in touch with regardless of how much I hope I will and this school I won’t set foot in by means of requirement anymore. Even understanding that this is a uniquely teenage trait makes even my melodrama something to be missed. So here I am, finding myself in all things - “Enchanted” after meeting someone at a party, Stranger in the Alps when I’m in existential crisis, but most of all, I find myself in “Perfect Places,” struggling to find this perfect conclusion, this perfect ending in the same way Lorde is - except she’s doing it in my favorite album of all time and I’m doing it on a Google Document at 4 a.m. But perhaps that’s only fitting. These 4 a.m. moments are when I do my best thinking, and most of my work. And I’m thinking about how not-nostalgic I’ve claimed to be and how inevitable I’ve said these sad and disappointing endings are, but that they affect me all the same. In men’s ice skating (something else I swore I would never lose interest in), there is always one inevitable performance to Turandot: “Nessun dorma!” It’s one of those songs that builds subtly, the backing choir joining the primary operatist until an exquisitely grand finale with a full band. I don’t know what the song is about - the literal or even interpretive meaning doesn’t matter to me as much as the path the song itself follows. So if I’m applying poignance to everything else, it would be only appropriate to take from this as well, to understand that knowing what the peak is, or knowing a meaning doesn’t mean as much as the moment it’s taken from instead. It’s only fair that I take from this that there doesn’t always have to be something so picturesque - that meaning is what you imbue into something. And knowing that, I would have to attach to these last 17 years of my life not a single label or media reference, but an appreciation for each and every moment and a knowledge that after the triumphant finale, there is a pause before the next song - but it always plays.
Old Town was once called Gibbs Station, the original Coppell development at the intersection of Bethel and South Coppell Roads. Its development has been a primary agenda item for the city since 2002, when the council adopted the Old Coppell Master Plan. The plan mapped out design and functional focuses and desires, and set in stone the intention to preserve the historic value of Old Town by adhering to certain design principles. These standards were laid out in 2005 when the original area was named an Historic District. Also, the Coppell Historical Society conducted its Historic Resource Survey in 2009, designating historic areas and outlining how to enhance or preserve their visual impact and importance. The Historical Society looked foremostly at pre-World War II buildings in styles from Folk Victorian to Craftsman. In 2007, the city recognized and began to develop the spot with retail, offices and restaurants abiding by the approved style. Today, the historic area has surpassed the Master Plan’s laid out goals with the Coppell Arts Center, stylized housing developments, Farmer’s Market and Square at Old Town creating a cultural and event hub. Amanda Vanhoozier, the owner of Bishop Hill Farm Flowers, was the creator of the Coppell Farmers Market in 2002, and has been selling her own products at the market since 2018. Working for Coppell at the Coppell Community Garden, Bambico developed the farmer’s market idea from the Master Plan into a reality. “Working at the gardens, people wanted to buy vegetables and it just became clear that people were ready to buy fresh produce,” Bambico said. “It was to increase some interest in the area, which a farmer’s market could do very quickly. Once we started the market, I’ve seen an increase in the number of farms around us just because there’s a market.” Tattered Style is a vintage and handmade home store started by Dana Pugh on Bethel Road in 2017. The building was a post office in the 1940s, and beside it is a decorative gas station. “We were hoping to see Coppell grow into more than just offices,” Dana’s husband Nate Pugh
Jacaranda Gift Shop sells locally consigned goods that showcase the local talent and culture of Coppell in Old Town Coppell. Old Town Coppell hosts a weekly farmers market and is home to a variety of cultural hubs from gift shops and vintage furniture stores to the local arts center. Shrayes Gunna said. “Have some cool retail shops to go to. We saw there was a need for a home goods store, so my wife set one up.” Yet while it progresses to include live-work units and new retail options in hopes of becoming a destination like The Shops at Legacy in Plano or Southlake Town Square, charm remains in its restored buildings. In Heritage Park, there is the 1904-built Kirkland House of John M. and Edna Jeanette Kirkland donated by the family of Wheelice Wilson. There is also a replica of the original Minyards grocery,
Tattered Style sells vintage furniture pieces from across the world in Old Town Coppell. The building was a post office in the 1940s, and beside it is a gas station, which is now Tattered Style 2, an expansion to the original building. Shrayes Gunna which was relocated to Heritage Park in 2011. Similarly there is the Ihnfeldt House, one of the oldest in Coppell as it was built in 1934, which was moved to Heritage Park in 2016 after being donated by Sarah and Rory Carrick, now owners of Jacaranda Gift Shop in Old Town. “We love old houses, so that was one of the reasons we wanted to be in this building,” Sarah Carrick said. “We didn’t want to
rent some commercial space. When we had the house, we preserved it how we could, picked it up a bit, made it pretty.” All of the historical implementations contribute to Old Town’s image as not only an historic area, but a center for commerce and days out. Its focus on being pedestrian friendly and creating an experience has attracted new businesses such as Tangerine Salon to relocate to what used to be Dodie’s in 2021 from Denton Tap Road. Tangerine also has its corporate headquarters for its five locations in Old Town. “When it came time to decide what to do with our Coppell location as the lease was ending and the Old Town opportunity arose, I knew this was the premiere place in Coppell,” Tangerine Salon owner Brandon Hensley said. “With Old Town, you can pull up to our location with our beautiful huge porch, seating across from the park, an Instagram wall, George Coffee shop and you can have a meal after your appointment. It’s more of an experience in this location, rather than pulling in off the street and that’s it.” Coppell’s Vision 2040 plan relies on Old Town as a characteristic that emphasizes a uniqueness not available in neighboring cities. While many of the identified historic buildings from the Survey have been demolished or replaced, as none of the original plans forced their permanence, new branding such as the Old Town Coppell logo creates a distinctive environment. The city, to capitalize off the rush of the arts center and new business implementations, is expanding, approving a two-story residential and retail building for Let it Shine boutique and five more live-work units in 2021. It seems that even in Old Town, there will always be
The Coppell Farmers Market hosts local businesses and the community every Saturday in Old Town Coppell. Old Town Coppell hosts a weekly farmers market and is home to a variety of cultural hubs from gift shops and vintage furniture stores to the local arts center. Shrayes Gunna
Profiling Coppell
Anjali Krishna
Executive Editor-in-Chief @anjalikrishna_
Don Carroll Aliza Abidi
Staff Photographer/Writer @CHSCampusNews
Don Carroll serves as Place 3 on the Coppell City Council. He was elected in May. Carroll is passionate about making Coppell an ideal city for his three daughters and has worked on numerous projects to achieve his goal. What responsibilities come with your position? The important thing is to be open to listening to what citizens are interested in and the things they need. To take that a step further, the next responsibility is to take in all that input,
because clearly in a city of over 41,000 people you have a number of diverse views. Is there anything you want citizens of Coppell to know about the city council? From my limited time on the council, one thing I would caution everybody to do is to make sure they are aware that there are divergent views in the community. That doesn’t always mean that I have to agree with what all those other views are, but I do have to acknowledge they exist. There are a lot of us in the community and we don’t all think alike, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all exist in the same community.
Deepti Patil Staff Writer
@CHSCampusNews
John Jun teer in Coppell, I thought I could do more by becoming a city council member and listening to the citizens and being their voice for concerns and issues. What do you want to achieve in your position? Before I was elected, I always said the number one thing we have to look at is our current spending and be more efficient about it. When I say being more efficient I’m talking about trying to look at the budget and not spending everything we have. We need to be more effective by looking at the spending and seeing how we can save taxpayers’ money.
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The Coppell ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Amanda Sweeney as principal of Pinkerton Elementary School at its April 25 meeting. The Sidekick/Coppell Student Media was named a 2022 National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Pacemaker winner on April 9. Several Sidekick staffers were also recognized in individual categories. The Sidekick/Coppell Student Media was named Best Newspaper and Best Digital by The Dallas Morning News on May 2. The Sidekick also won the Sweepstakes overall award, and several staffers won individual awards.
Anjali Vishwanath
Daily News/Assignment Editor @anjuvishwanath
@anjuvishwanath
Attention, Coppell High School: this is an evacuation drill. Evacuate the building. Evacuate the building. Evacuate the building. It has become a familiar sound to students and teachers at CHS, where drills seem to be constant. Be it a lockout, lockdown, evacuation or shelter drill, it seems to many like the drills are occurring almost weekly. “When we schedule drills, we do try to schedule them at different times,” CHS assistant principal Zane Porter said. “So that kids understand where they are in the building and how they get out of those spots.” The state requires schools to conduct a certain amount of drills, broken down by drill type: one lockout, two lockdowns, five evacuations and two shelter drills. Coppell ISD has its own requirement to follow: an additional lockout drill and one evacuation drill in every month that has at least 10 days of school. “Simply stated, the City of Coppell has City Ordinances that govern the frequency of mandated evacuation drills,” said CISD safety and security coordinator Rachael Freeman via email. “[Since] CHS has multiple buildings assigned to one location (tennis center, field house, CHS-main), to be in compliance, all buildings at CHS must participate in the drill.” Prior to this year, only the main building would be evacuated. The updated drill protocol ensures that students and staff in all parts of the CHS campus are familiar with their evacuation routes. The ordinance requiring the monthly drills can be found in chapter four, section 405.2 of the IFC. “I think that the drills do take time away from class, but our number one priority as a public education system is safety for kids,” Porter said. “Academics has to come second because you have to be safe before your academics matter.” CISD campuses utilize Navigate360 to account for students during drills; teachers can submit their attendance count of their class during a drill. While teachers are counting their students, administrators walk the halls of CHS to ensure nobody is left in the building. The Navigate data is recorded, providing Porter with data as to how effective CHS has been in its drills. He looks for all students to be accounted for and the building to be emptied quickly and efficiently. According to Porter, this count gets better with each drill. “Even our administration sometimes thinks we’re doing too many drills,” Porter said. “But sometimes you have to have a momentary inconvenience in order to prevent something in the future.”
MAY 2022
John Jun currently serves as Place 5 on the Coppell City Council. He was elected in December 2020 and started serving January 2021. Jun has a past experience in volunteering and serving the City of Coppell and hopes to make a difference in the community. What caused you to run for this position? I’ve been involved as a volunteer with a number of organizations since 2004 and my passion has always been to try to make a difference. Being in this position is part of the process to make a big impact as a city council member. Even though I volun-
Daily News/Assignment Editor
www.coppellstudentmedia.com
Kevin Nevels has served as Place 4 for the Coppell City Council since May. Nevels moved to Coppell in 1997 and graduated from Coppell High School in 2001. What previous experiences helped you in the election? I think my experience as a small business owner, owning Coppell Taekwondo Academy and my position within the Coppell Chamber of Commerce helped me achieve a spot and serve on council. My experiences with the city, having originally moved here in 1997, have also
helped. I’ve seen Coppell change and grow quite a bit. Taking my own life experiences and melding it with what I hear and see in the community and trying to do my best is how I serve. What would you like to achieve in your position? When my run on council is done, I just want to be known as a council member that cared for this community, that always tried to listen to all citizens and tried to take in as much feedback as possible. I think our city is an amazing place and I want to maintain what has been built before but also move forward with the growth and the future of the city.
Anjali Vishwanath
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
Kevin Nevels
As COVID-19 dramatically impacted the United States through the last three years, so did another upheaval: a shortage in K-12 teachers. This lack predates the pandemic, created by a culture of teacher blame and low salaries. The pandemic only heightened teacher dissatisfaction with virtual schooling, which often required teachers to cover classes due to the substitute shortage and spend extra hours doing COVID-19–related documentation.. However, Coppell ISD did not feel the effects of a shortage prior to school closures in 2020. A robust applicant pool through the online application system and recruiting through Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas schools expanded CISD staff. “Before the pandemic hit, we were very actively recruiting by attending job fairs and things like that with local universities,” CISD executive director of human resources Kelly Mires said. Through the past four years, enrollment numbers to the colleges of education at University of Texas at Dallas and Texas State University have fallen consistently. Subsequently, school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are competing for the same smaller number of teachers. “We hear about the teacher shortage in the news and that’s definitely affected our district,”Mires said. “We’re very competitive in Coppell because we live in the Metroplex area. If people aren’t happy in Coppell, it’s not hard for them to go 10 miles down the road to another district that may pay more.” The pandemic moved recruiting fully to Zoom and through an online application system. Now, with instruction returning in person, in-person recruiting at local universities has resumed. But there are still more positions to fill than candidates available. As such, CISD hosted its own job fair on April 9 at Coppell Middle School West. “Now that we are back to semi-normal circumstances, we’re recruiting again face to face but that’s not enough,” Mires said. “We haven’t had one in the last five to six years because our applicant pool has been robust and we could do well with recruiting without a job fair. We’re all competing for the same teachers,
and the education programs are not producing as many teachers.” In February, CISD sent out a survey to its faculty, asking questions about compensation, work load, raises and work environment to gauge what raises the staff is looking for next year before asking the Board of Trustees for funds. “Salary and benefits play a big role in whether employees want to stay in our district,” Mires said. “But we know salary and benefits are not the only reason people stay. Job satisfaction, recognition on the job, and kids they work with and families they serve are all important too.” In addition to being mindful of staff desires, CISD regularly conducts pay study comparisons with the Texas Association of School Board (TASB) to remain competitive. CISD pays a starting teacher salary of $56,500 compared to Carroll ISD’s $56,100, Lewisville ISD’s $56,925 and Grapevine Colleyville ISD’s $55,600. Teachers were issued a $1,000 bonus in December as a retention incentive for employees who were with CISD at the end of last year and stayed for the next year. Another $500 will be paid to teachers June for employees who stayed with CISD through the 2021-22 school year. These are the first bonuses since a “Christmas Holiday” bonus 15 years ago, according to CHS science teacher Jodie Deinhammer, who has been with the district since 1997. “It’s nice to have these incentives but I do my job because I love it, not because I make tons of money,” CHS science teacher Jodie Deinhammer said. “I love teaching and I don’t plan on doing anything else until I retire.” The district is supplemented by teachers, especially in the Career & Technical Education (CTE) department, who moved from another career to teaching recently. Thus, CISD is still below the Texas average employee turnover rate, according to Mires. “We’re a district that’s innovative and has good kids, not a lot of safety issues with discipline and all,” Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer said. “So far, we’ve been able to get teachers we need and have an opportunity to have good quality teachers in the classroom. There’s teacher shortages everywhere, but knocking on wood, for right now we are fine.”
Class, Interrupted
NEWS THE SIDEKICK
Profiling Coppell is a Sidekick series in which staff writers profile influential members of the Coppell community. Photos by Ashley Qian
District banking on various selling points to retain high-quality educators
THE SIDEKICK NEWS
THE BEAT FROM CHS9
What CHS9 students think about coming to
Coppell High School
“CHS is a lot bigger than CHS9 so you don’t have to take the shuttle if you take sports or if you take classes at CHS, which does save a lot of time. There’s also a lot more class variety compared to here, so you have a lot more options when you’re choosing classes.”
“I am a little nervous about the workload because freshman year did seem pretty hard, especially in the beginning. And that was only with one AP [class] and definitely not as many challenging classes. I’m a little scared I won’t be able to manage my time well. That’s my biggest concern.”
- Sabah Uddin
- Yashitha Chunduru “It’s good because you can make more friends with people that are not just from your grade and [have] more connections with people outside your grade, unlike CHS9.”
@CHSCampusNews
Sidekick Online
- Monica Tupurani “The main difference is going to be the sheer amount of people that are going to be there because instead of just one grade, like at CHS9, there’s three different grades. You’re going to be interacting with a lot more people. It’s scary but it’s also kind of exciting to think about.”
“I’m most excited about the extracurriculars and clubs they offer at CHS like National Art Honors Society. I’m particularly looking forward to joining KCBY next year. I’m excited about my new classes, like AP U.S. History. That’s interesting to me.”
- Navya Singh
- Claire Liu
MAY 2022
@thesidekickcoppell
Chunduru’s voice takes her international Anushree De Staff Writer
@anushree_night
Public speaking is a prevalent fear for many. The exception is CHS9 student Yashitha Chunduru. Her easy going comfortability suggests that interviews are nothing new to her. Chunduru’s skill as a speaker has been perfected through her initial experience in Youth and Government (YG), which she began in sixth grade. “I was like I’ll just try [YG] out,” Chunduru said. “And by the end of sixth grade, I really liked it. So I kept on doing it in seventh and eighth grade. It wasn’t even like I had a passion to go talk, but I wanted to do everything. By sixth grade, the only overnight thing we had done was camping. So, the prospect of going all the way to Austin was really cool.” That anticipation soon became a reality for Chunduru, who went on to Austin for state as a sixth grader, eventually medaling. Chunduru proceeded to run for state officer as a seventh grader and became the junior lieutenant governor for 2021. “I saw her debate and introduce her bills and even run for
state government,” CHS9 DECA vice president of competition Navya Singh said. “It is cool to see your friend go out and achieve these things.” It was this love for YG that translated into Chunduru’s decision to join CHS9’s debate team. “I definitely learned that I like to talk, and public speaking is something I liked,” Chunduru said. As a debater, Chunduru has tried her hand in world schools, team policy and extemporaneous speaking, the latter of which she broke to finals. However, Chunduru and her team policy partner settled on team policy. “When we started out, we heard some things about policy,” said CHS9 student Ashia Agrawal, Chunduru’s team policy partner Ashia Agrawal. “Policy is really extensive, policy requires the most amount of work, things like that. So we thought ‘OK, let’s not start with that one; it seems a little too hard.’” But, eventually something just clicked. “Policy became that cross between [Lincoln-Douglas debate] and working together,” Agrawal said.
Chunduru also joined her CHS9 DECA chapter this year, and shortly after became the president. In order to run, candidates presented speeches. Six of the 12 running candidates were elected by fellow DECA members. “I just decided to run,” Chunduru said. “In our first meeting, we had speeches and slideshows prepared, and we all presented. There were 12 people running, so half of them would become officers.” After the officers were announced, DECA advisers Kim Porter and William Harrington would delegate officer positions through a series of interviews and a survey. “Just after meeting with her, we thought that Yashitha was an excellent listener, she had confidence, and she just smiled a lot,” Porter said. “We thought that she was a team player. She has a great ability to unite people.” Yashitha’s passion, in large part, has led to a successful year for the CHS9 DECA chapter. “Working with this team has been amazing,” Singh said. “She may be the president. But, when you’re working in this team, it doesn’t feel like that.
She doesn’t lord this president title over you. She treats you just like anyone else. She’s here to hear your ideas.” Along with becoming the president of DECA, Chunduru has seen other notable success, qualifying for DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Atlanta. Chunduru participated in the Principles of Business Management and Administration event. “For role plays, specifically, a big piece of advice is to do things out of the box,” Chunduru said. “Obviously, everyone can recite definitions and most people can give you examples as well. But doing something that the judge will remember is important.” Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Chunduru is her contagious attitude among all of what she does. “The thing about Yashitha I really admire is how ridiculously kind she is,” Singh said. “Everyday you see her, she is smiling. And it’s not one of those fake smiles. She is genuinely smiling. There are crinkles in her eyes. Her eyes are sparkling. And she has this positive vibe around her. And you cannot help but be a part of that.”
CHS9 student Yashitha Chunduru displays her DECA glass from the state competition in Houston during Feb. 24-26. Chunduru participated in the Principles of Business Management and Administration event. Photo courtesy Yashitha Chunduru
Imposter syndrome does not define you Staff Writer
@shrayesgunna
Imposter syndrome runs rampant in Coppell, leaving individuals with a sense of unworthiness and making it difficult for them to accept their accomplishments. The Sidekick staff writer Shrayes Gunna explores how he feels about imposter syndrome as an artist and how to cope with it. Meghna Kulkarni
Celebrities do not have any obligations
Saniya Koppikar
MAY 2022
Following a celebrity, whether for the purposes of support or disapproval, does not entitle one their attention. Thinking so is incredibly damaging to the mental health of both parties. Not only does it create discomfort and danger for celebrities, but it also leads to an unhealthy dependence on a relationship that by its very nature is With the growing use of social media by celebrities allowing fans to see into their lives, there has been an increase unsupported. While parasocial of parasocial relationships in teenagers. The Sidekick staff relationships do writer Saniya Koppikar thinks fans shouldn’t expect anything not always evolve more from celebrities than what they display to the public. into celebrity wor- Esther Kim ship syndrome, which can wreak much greater amounts them on pedestals is not only harmful, of havoc on one’s mental health, the but it also contributes to severe violatime and energy a person spends follow- tions of privacy. Celebrities do not owe ing a celebrity often lessens the amount their fans anything simply because of time spent with their real life friends they are in the limelight. While they and family. Looking at1 the usefulness of have certain moral responsibilities as the two types of relationships, it seems the holders of so much influence over obvious that placing a personal stake in large parts of the population, it is uncelebrities is not beneficial. fair to treat them like a friend or peer Even as the significance of the typical with an established relationship. large personality “influencer” declined Celebrities are not our friends. It is in favor of smaller creators during the time to stop expecting them to act like pandemic, many teenagers increased they are. the amount of time they spent following celebrities in order to cope with isolation and loneliness. As a result, many celebrities still boast a huge following and an even stronger fanbase that places their trust and affection into a person who likely does not know they exist. It is not reasonable to hold celebrities to impossible standards, and placing
www.coppellstudentmedia.com
social relationships, where only one side invests a personal stake in the other. It is a @SaniyaKoppikar phenomenon whose occurrence has only The screen lights up blue in the dark- risen as social media gives fans more acness of the room, excitement flaring as cess to celebrities’ lives, enabling fans the the notification pings red announcing a impression of mutual friendship. Danger surges, however, when expecmidnight music drop. tations begin to surpass the boundaries of Sleep doesn’t matter tonight, right? After hours upon hours of scrolling celebrities. Though it is common to not say through an influencer’s social media feeds, their favorite coffee shop and go- things online that you wouldn’t say to a to order, their interviews and their daily person’s face, somehow, celebrities are happenings supersede the knowledge removed from this rule. Once a person receives a certain amount of fame, soneeded for tomorrow’s quiz. Under their desk, a student has Tick- ciety seems to dehumanize them and etmaster pulled up as they take a test. deprive them of their basic rights to They’re not going to miss the elusive respect. Take, for example, celebrity relationchance to see their favorite artist, their ships. They are some of the most covidol, in person. A shocking moment on the Oscars ig- ered topics in popular culture simply nites online psychoanalysis, hundreds and because so much can be said on so little thousands of Twitter reactions proclaim- factual evidence, but speculation that ing disappointment and personal victim- seems harmless can be unexpectedly far-reaching. ization. Four days after the release of Taylor As social media thins the boundary between public and private lives, attach- Swift’s re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s ment to celebrities can quickly spiral out Version) last November, fans reignited of control. Despite having never met a decade-old hate towards singer John certain actor, singer or comedian, and de- Mayer. Mayer is suspected to be the spite the fact that celebrities’ online per- subject of songs on Swift’s album Speak sonas are carefully curated, the ability to Now, whose rerecording was especially view aspects of their personal lives makes anticipated after Red (Taylor’s Version) was released. people expect they are entitled to more. The writer of the message immediThese are what are referred to as paraately backtracked, apologizing that she did not think Mayer would actually see the message or reply. While Mayer seemed to brush off the situation, wishing the writer to “go forth and live happy and healthy,” it cannot be ignored how widespread the perception of the unGraphic by touchability of celebrities Noor Fatima reaches. Staff Writer
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
My favorite artwork is “Ophelia” by Sir John Everett Millais, a vivid depiction of a ginger woman sinking in all her elegance. Her hand lightly clutches deliberately painted flowers. Her flowing hair rests gently on clear waters. Her gown glitters amongst the rich green brush. But her face, her face houses vacant eyes and helpless lips: subtle indicators of her desperation. “Ophelia” was the product of several months of work, a multitude of preparatory sketches and studies and years of technical education. Most of which my artistic project lacks. My reverence for the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci subjects me to a perpetual cycle of questioning my abilities. When my peers refer to me as an artist or a competition names me as victorious, my mind returns to the pieces strategically created by the greats and a harmful line of questioning starts in my own head. Do I belong? Am I good enough? Why do I never feel content? This cycle is one that is universally understood due to the heightened competition in our lives. From school to extracurriculars, every facet of our lives puts us in comparison with someone else, and whether manifestations of our own insecurities or imposed upon us by our loved ones, it is difficult to cope with the feeling of unworthiness. A feeling of unworthiness or uncomfort is often a result of Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome is born out of the “pressure to achieve,” and labels the sense of feeling inadequate among your peers even when success emerges. However, because Imposter Syndrome plagues society, its effects are often sidelined. In a fast-paced world, people do not pay attention to the anxiety and fear of not belonging because of Imposter Syndrome, allowing it to garner a stronger influence on their lives.
It is OK to feel like you adorn a mask around your peers in a certain space. What is not OK is allowing that mask to envelop who you are and to undermine your accomplishments. Imposter Syndrome steals from who we are and where we came from, and the feeling of worthiness is empowering. Do not let yourself disappear behind a mask or fall back into the shadows. The first step in confronting the negative effects of the syndrome is societal recognition and acceptance. Many let it go as “fishing for compliments,” or just being humble, but it is not that simple. Imposter Syndrome is not black or white but instead falls somewhere in the middle. Though the line in the sand is blurry and difficult to visualize, Imposter Syndrome generates self-doubt while humbleness is rooted in feeling content and good enough. To resolve the overwhelming feelings of self doubt associated with self awareness, we must celebrate ourselves and practice self love. Let’s take off our masks. People often do not give themselves enough credit, which feeds into the idea that they are inadequate. However, when we appreciate our accomplishments and recognize our worth, we can challenge Imposter Syndrome and begin to understand ourselves and our position better. Imposter Syndrome does not have to define you, and the fact of the matter is, you are worthy. You do belong in the landscape dotted with success stories, even if it isn’t obvious to you. We spend our entire lives questioning our capacity to act and to succeed, when we should embrace it instead. For more resources on dealing with Imposter Syndrome, visit the American Psychological Association’s website.
OPINIONS THE SIDEKICK
Shrayes Gunna
THE SIDEKICK EDITORIAL
Four years of high school culminate at the end of a student’s senior year. It is a time to celebrate the end of an era and usher in a new chapter. However, this coming-of-age experience is often determined by cookie-cutter expectations set by societal norms. High school students face pressure from friends and family to attend prom and football games, have a graduation party and a senior photoshoot, and spend hundreds of dollars on senior overalls. Especially in high school, peer pressure and aa fear fear of ofmissing missingout out(FOMO) (FOMO) play aa substantial substantial role role inindetermining determining what high school students engage with. The fact is, is, the the events eventsthat thatmake makeup up the stereotypical experience stereotypicalhigh highschool school experiare idea ofidea fun, of andfun, stuencenot areeveryone’s not everyone’s dents should should not be not discredited or feel and students be discredited ashamed for not for participating in them. or feel ashamed not participating High school should be should a tailored in them. High school be experia taience, not a one-size-fits-all. No one needs lored experience, not a one-size-fits-all. to to events they uncomfortable Nogo one needs to gofeel to events they feelat in order to feel their in to high school uncomfortable at intime order feel theiris complete when they graduate. time in high school is complete when Without Instagram posts in patchthey graduate. work overalls, white dresses gradWithout Instagram posts infor patchuation and prom work overalls, whiteclothes dressesannouncing for grada person’s senior trauation and participation prom clothesinannouncing ditions, students may beinmade feel a person’s participation seniortotralike theystudents are not having proper high ditions, may bethe made to feel school experience. But the to have thehigh “idelike they are not having proper al” experience, students expected school experience. But toare have the “ide-to spend hundredsstudents of dollars onexpected activities al” experience, are they mayhundreds not enjoy.of dollars on activito spend The costs an unfair burden on ties they mayplace not enjoy. students, who should be able to have The costs place an unfair burden on an individualized, inexpensive students, who should be able to prom have experience. A cheaper prom dressprom and an individualized, inexpensive graduation don’t prom take away experience. party A cheaper dressfrom and your high party schooldon’t experience, regardgraduation take away from your high school experience, regardless of what others say. This pressure is often unintentional, but it is inevitable with the characterization of high school
less what window others say. This pressure is as a of unique of opportunity that often but it isway, inevitable needs unintentional, to happen a certain where with characterization of high school boxesthe need to be checked off on a list for as unique window of opportunity that theaexperience to be fulfilling. needs happen a certainbelieve way, where Manyto high schoolers they boxes to be checked offexperiences on a list for shouldneed attend these typical the experience to be fulfilling. because of the common refrain “it’s a seMany high schoolers believething.” they nior thing” and “it’s a high school should attend typicalattending experiences An event is these not worth bebecause refrainsurround“it’s a secause of of thethe aircommon of exclusivity ing it. Just because events have the word senior in front of it - senior sunrise, senior pinning ceremony, senior overalls
We graduate with our own We graduate memories...so with our own do what makes memories... you happy.”
so do what makes you happy.”
nior thing” and “it’s a high school thing.” An event is not worth attending because of the air of exclusivity surrounding it. Just because events have the word senior in front of it - senior sunrise, senior pinning ceremony, senior overalls - does not mean you have to go to them if you’re a senior. Oftentimes, students trade enjoyment to do something - does their not mean you have to go to them because is doing it.students if you’re everyone a senior.else Oftentimes, Eventheir worse, makingto this trade-off trade enjoyment do something can tainteveryone one’s memories negatively, as because else is doing it. it’sEven difficult to look back on school worse, making thishigh trade-off fondly if the activities you participated in can taint one’s memories negatively, as it’s difficult to look back on high school
weren’t you madeyou entirely yourself. fondly ifchoices the activities participated thischoices time and not in While weren’t youenergy made may entirely seem like a large trade-off in exyourself. change seemingly whole may not Whilefor thisa time and energy high school experience, seem like a large trade-off in exchange it’s questioning. for worth a seemingly whole high school exWhy shouldit’s a student perience, worth questioning. Why be expected to parshould a student be expected to partake in in something somethingthat thatisn’t isn’t their idea their of fun when their participation of funidea when their participation doesn’t doesn’t specifically inspecifically benefitbenefit anyoneanyone including cluding themselves? themselves? While no noone oneshould shouldbebe pressured pressured to to atattend, studentsshould shouldalso also feel pride tend, students feel pride and and enjoy themselves at events enjoy themselves at events theythey take take in fun. for fun. Goprom to prom because partpart in for Go to because you you dressing up dancing and dancing the lovelove dressing up and the night night away.away. Make overalls because you’re a Make overalls you’re a creative person because or you like showcasing creative personAbove or you like school spirit. all, doshowcasit because it’s ing school spirit. Above all, do it beyour choice. cause your choice. As it’s seniors graduate and reflect on As seniors andthey reflect their time in graduate high school, may feel on theirortime in high school, they regret nostalgia at their experiences. may feel or nostalgia at be FOMO andregret peer pressure shouldn’t their experiences. FOMO andyour peerschedthe primary factors shaping pressure the primary ule, andshouldn’t no highbeschool experience factors schedule, and to be needs shaping to look your the same in order no highand school experience needs to sevalid complete. For graduating look thethese samepast in order to bedid valid niors, four years not have and complete. to be the best time of your life, so do not For graduating past out look back with seniors, regret ifthese you opted four years did not have to be the best on occasion. time your life, dotime not look backwe Atofthe end of so our at CHS, with regretwith if youour opted outmemories, on occasion. graduate own not At the end of our at CHS, we you anyone else’s. So time do what makes graduate with our own memo-homecomhappy, whether that involves ries, not anyone else’s. So on doa Saturday ing, prom or sleeping early what night.makes you happy, whether that involves homecoming, prom or sleeping early on a Saturday night.
@thesidekickcoppell
@CHSCampusNews
Sidekick Online
STAFF STAFFEDITORIAL EDITORIAL Crafting the high school experience
2021-22 STAFF Executive Leadership
Writers Writers
Chase Wofford Staff Adviser Anjali Krishna Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief* p. 1, 7, 18 Trisha Atluri Entertainment Editor Editor* p. 20 Sreeja Mudumby Editorial Page Editor Editor* p. 5
Nathan NathanCheng Cheng Anushree AnushreeDe De*p. 8 Shrayes ShrayesGunna Gunna*p. 6 Yaamini YaaminiJois Jois*p. 21 Joanne JoanneKim Kim Saniya SaniyaKoppikar Koppikar Meer Mahfuz
MAY 2022
Editorial Leadership Sri Achanta News Editor p. 10 Anjali Vishwanath Daily News/Assignment Editor Editor* p. 3 Iniya Nathan CHS9 Editor Editor* p. 4 Anette Varghese Student Life Editor Torie Peck Sports Editor
Media Team Leadership Angelina Liu Visual Media Editor Editor* p. 16-17 Nandini Muresh Photo Editor Srihari Yechangunja Design Editor Editor* p. 1, 12-13 Ayane Kobayashi Staff Cartoonist Cartoonist* p. 15
Communications & Business Team Manasa Mohan Advertising/Circulation Manager Manager* p. 24 Aliya Zakir Social Media Manager Varshitha Korrapolu Communications Manager
Photographers Photographers Aliza Abidi Sannidhi Aliza AbidiArimanda* Olivia Cooper Sannidhi Arimanda p. 11 Meghna Kulkarni* Olivia Cooper NicholasKulkarni Larry p. 23 Meghna Sruthi Lingam Nicholas Larry Sruthi Lingam
Designers Designers Josh Campbell* Rachel Chang* p. 2 Josh Campbell JaydenChang Chui p. 9 Rachel Noor Fatima Jayden Chui Noor Fatima
Maya MeerPalavali Mahfuz p. 19 Deepti Patil Maya Palavali* Havish Deepti Premkumar Patil Yasemin Ragland Havish Premkumar Tracy Tran p. 14 Yasemin Ragland Sreehitha Moravaneni Tracy Tran*
Sreehitha Moravaneni Nandini Paidesetty* Nandini Paidesetty Ashley QianQian Ashley Olivia Short* Olivia Short p. 22 Shreya RaviRavi Shreya Aarinn Vittolia Aarinn Vittolia
Minnie Gazawada Esther Gazawada Kim Minnie Avani Munji Esther Kim Avani Munji
The Sidekick is the official student newspaper for Coppell The officialisstudent newspaper for Coppell HighSidekick School.isItsthe purpose to inform, entertain and provide High School. Itsresource purpose for is toitsinform, entertain and provide an educational readers. This newspaper is an educational resource forexpression its readers.with Thisstaff newspaper is a public forum for student members a public forum for student with staff members (with assistance from theirexpression adviser) making content (with assistance from their adviser) making content decisions. The editorials and columns in this paper reflect decisions. editorials the view ofThe their writers.and columns in this paper reflect the view of their writers. The Sidekick is a member of Interscholastic League Press The Sidekick (ILPC), is a member of Interscholastic Press Conference National Scholastic PressLeague Association Conference (ILPC),Scholastic National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Press Association (CSPA) and (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA). Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA). The Sidekick welcomes all letters to the editor, but letters The welcomes all letters to the but letters mustSidekick be signed before consideration foreditor, publication. Send must be signed before consideration for publication. Send letters to letters to cwofford@coppellisd.com or bring them by D115. cwofford@coppellisd.com or bring them by D115. Advertisements are sold as full, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page Advertisements are soldor ascolor. full, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, 1/8 page sizes in black and white sizes in black and white or color.
CONTACT US CONTACT US
(214) 496-6239 / cwofford@coppellisd.com (214) cwofford@coppellisd.com 185 W.496-6239 Parkway/Blvd, Coppell, TX 75019 185 W. Parkway Blvd, Coppell, TX 75019
CONGRATS, GRADS 2021-22 Senior Pullout Pg. 7-18
aN ODE TO THE sidekick’s graduates Nicholas Larry Iniya Nathan CHS9 Editor @iniya_v
Every day, when I enter D115, I see Nick sitting at the back tables, eating a sugary breakfast. Sitting next to Nick for an entire year has taught me a lot about him. Nick is quick to critique, never first in line for an assignment and will complain loudly about completing any assignment he has. I once jokingly asked him why he rejoined The Sidekick, but the truth is Nick is not only a talented photographer, but a dependable and diligent one who cares about the program. Once, he pointed out a photo he took which was published on coppellstudentmedia.com and told me he took a better one, showed me the better one and
explained his disappointment that his best work wasn’t on display. Despite whatever complaints he makes about doing his photo of the day, he leaves the class everyday to get one done even on days he is not assigned one. He may not be the first person to volunteer to take a photo, but he is always dependable with the assignments he’s given and the first person turned to when a photo emergency arises. There is never a conversation I’ve had with Nick that hasn’t left me happily surprised, and I hope as he continues to happily surprise people
Tracy Tran
and show his consistent diligence and dependability. The Sidekick will miss him following his departure.
Trisha Atluri
Executive Entertainment Editor @trish_atluri
At the back of D115, there’s a cluster of iMacs lining the far wall. The middle four were home to myself and three other Sidekick staffers, including Tracy, during our sophomore year. I became close friends with her, allowing me the honor of getting to know one of the most persistent and determined people I’ve ever met. From the very beginning, Tracy has been an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. She was covering up
to three assignments daily, and it always seemed like she was a league ahead of everyone else, even second and third year staffers, in terms of content production. Over her three years on staff, Tracy has been known as an over-achieving, dependable staffer. Her dedicated reputation among the staff was confirmed by her winning the 2020 Sidekick Staffers’ Choice Awards for Best New Staff Member and Most Dedicated Staff Member, along with the 2020 Sidekick Adviser Award for Most Valuable Staff Member. At her core, she reminds me of a drill: focused, determined and a little stubborn at times, just enough so everyone can trust she will get the job done.
Ayane Kobayashi Maya Palavali Staff Writer
@thesidekickcoppell
@CHSCampusNews
Sidekick Online
@mvpalovalley
A labyrinth of technology covers the heads of stressed out staff members, clicking away furiously at their computers. It’s off-the-floor (OTF) day, and the tension could be cut with a knife. Stepping into this environment was disorienting, considering how calm D115 usually is. As my chest started to tighten, I looked around the
room for any sort of guidance. I tried to catch the idea of the few staffers I knew, but no luck. I’m about to give up when I make eye contact with a girl across the room. She smiles and waves her hand, beckoning me to come closer. Me? I look over my shoulder, convinced that it was not me she is looking for. She laughs as I make a beeline towards her. Instantly, I feel the most comfortable I have been in this room. I joined The Sidekick in junior year. Since I didn’t attend the
summer boot camp, I had no idea what to do. I didn’t want to admit that I knew nothing and no one noticed - except for Ayane. On an OTF day, as everyone was busy, she looked right at me. It was like she saw my struggle to fit in. Talking with her was why I came back to OTF days. Though I still don’t know everything about The Sidekick, it’s clear to see how important Ayane is to the program. As the Staff Cartoonist, she is the director of
Joanne kim Anushree De Staff Writer
@anushree_night
There are two and only two things you need to know. One, Coppell High school senior Joanne Kim has the coolest voice you will ever hear. And two, Kim has the coolest style you will ever see. Bottom line, Joanne is the absolute coolest person one will ever meet. But, I feel compelled to share more about this mythology-podcaster-reader-speaker extraordinaire. So, here it is: an ode to Joanne.
There’s not a better place to start than the beginning. My first day in debate was terrifying. Seniors stalked the room, their giant-like stature dissolving my minuscule hope of ever opening up. Joanne was the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) among those giants, quick to talk to everyone in that room and so amazingly funny while doing it. And so as the leaves change colors and summer begins to wake, I wish their life in college a good one. With all of that being said, I bid them adieu (and please become a professor).
meer mahfuz Anjali Krishna
Executive Editor-in-Chief @anjalikrishna_
And, if you ever get a chance, dear readers: have a conversation with Joanne because if nothing else, you’ll be left with a smile on your face.
Yasemin Ragland Noor Fatima Staff Designer
@CHSCampusNews
My first encounter with Yasemin was on my first day in D115. She had brought up how she brought donuts for everyone during The Sidekick’s summer boot camp, which I hadn’t attended. My first impression of her was that she seemed like a caring, if not a bit eccentric, person. I moved a bit between the couch inside and my assigned computer when it came to where I sat. I can’t remember why, but Yasemin and I started to chat before and after we
all things cartoon and drawing related. She has made the program better through her calm demeanor and positive attitude. I knew nothing about designing for The Sidekick: the process, the editing, the drawing, any of it. She was the one to teach me and I’ll never forget how kind she is for that.
worked. Usually about things work more efficiently since I such as cartoons or her opinions had someone to express myself on current events. She was al- to and open up to. ways so open to listen and debate me on things, which made me feel heard. I eventually decided to sit next to her. Before then, her little table was usually empty. I think it changed my attitude towards The Sidekick. I’ve always enjoyed The Sidekick even though I joined by accident. Mr Wofford’s room is such a different experience, the course is more hands on and I’ve had a blast so far. Having a friend to talk to gave me something to look forward to and help me
Meer and I have had our arguments over the years - about just about everything: how to run a section, which sports are more important, whether it’s valid to make your bed in the morning. We’re both argumentative people, and we often can’t find that “agree to disagree” common ground. But at the end of the day, I will always respect him as the best sports journalist I’ve known. I’m writing this on the day we covered a baseball game (Coppell vs. Rockwall) together, something he found out about at the last minute and was desperate to cover. I had the ideal camera lens for sports photography, so I took photos. We bickered the entire time. He also answered every question I asked him about the sport with quick explanations, no hesitation as he live tweeted furiously, with only a few jokes about my noviceship when it came to baseball writing. He is the same
when it comes to asking him for help with my coverages or galleries. He has an unmatched dedication to our program’s sports section. Meer is knowledgeable and dedicated, fueled by an unfiltered interest in every aspect of most sports. He’s got his lesser favorites, sure, but he knows more about them than anyone else nonetheless. This is all without mentioning his excellence in writing, even when he diverges from his beloved sports section. So Meer, congratulations on three productive years on The Sidekick. You will always be my sports go-to, and I think you wouldn’t have it any other way.
SENiOR FEATURe ROUND-UP
KCBY-TV
As eighth graders in Coppell ISD fill out their ninth grade course selection form, many opt for traditional electives geared towards band, theater or art. A select few take the opportunity to join a journalism-based program and while the unknown is a risk; the benefits, experience and knowledge offer students the ability to succeed. KCBY-TV and Round-Up yearbook are Coppell High School’s television channel and yearbook, respectively. Staffers of these programs input their experience into each year they spend, and many leave with valuable insight that will shape their futures. Keep reading to learn how KCBY and the Round-Up have influenced its members’ high school experiences.
ria AKH
“I’ve alway s liked film and editin so I though g, t KCBY wo uld be reall fun to do. y KCBY has b een good sourc e of knowle a really dge for me throughou t high scho ol. I’ve learn a lot of skil ed ls that I ne ver would otherwise. have I’ve talked to a lot mo people tha re n I ever ex p e ct ed. It’s bee really imp n ortant to m e.”
WILL MANCH ESTER t. n acciden actually a s a w Y le B u C d to K sche “Getting in wrong box on my y e rted to pa th a d st e I t rk u b , I ma y e d tt ra re lly p ninth g was actua it request in t f h o g u e o rs cou and th anged the s attention pletely ch e. All of my friend m o c ’s It c n e cool. ri h e g p b throu hool ex my high sc KCBY, and I had a jo ry aspect h ve e g u d fluence are thro BC. It’s in N h it w Y KCB .” of my life
Bro tor c Dire
People’s Editor
“I rea peopl lly got to l ea es differ kills and w rn about ent ty orkin p ting n g ew ex es of peop with le, ge perie able t tnces. o wor Lik k of [th e year behind the e, I’m book] don’t scene r s b and th eally know ecause yo u what e bac kgrou g nd pr oes on ocess es.”
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HALLY RD A N O E L Program Director
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www.coppellstudentmedia.com
OE L H C ENE E GR adcast
Isha Kulka r
M HA P NA rts Spo r DA ito
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
Broadcast Manager
l oba o gl t s e them to y ey d m vering n able , e n e e o e s op e be dm ’m c Y ha cause I ram. I’v aroun ple. B C o ld g “K s, be pro d pe r wor e issu ugh the out the ally goo y olde . thro ore ab with re use of m irector e m ract d a h c e S e m e . s e BY b inte ogra ated and into KC as a pr fascin ion on m ted n n w t I go r, who ’ve bee mpress ays wa i I siste then, y good I’ve alw e l d l c “ a n n i e a S ps. ear am, tste mad e progr er foo h of th llow in o to f
Chronology Editor
“[Th eR ogni ound-Up zed, bein be natio nally ing an e g] nation ditor ally r e to h reco ec g [w e lp m lp my jo nized, th ho’s] be e und at’s b urna en lism een a sue i ersta skil nc blnd ans t ollege. B what I w ls and he eing hat y a n t to in ou of fa mily. cultivat Round-U pure p a goo meroom Everyo ds ne is lik e my that’s in ense best t frien hat d.”
MICHELLE ZHAO
Sports Director
ILESH
10
Congrats,
Dear class of 2022, Congratulations! Coppell High School wishes you the best of luck. Remember, once a cowboy, always a Harvard U #1: “You niversity cowboy! much o can get so u minute t of a single ”
niversity U n o t n i Wash is in St. Lou ss t to succe e r c e s y #2: “M g evelopin d e b ld u wo ual” n individ a s a lf e s my
Mira Jiang niversity
U Stanford
Rujula Polu
@thesidekickcoppell
@CHSCampusNews
Sidekick Online
Univer si Austin ty of Texas a t
Natasha Banga
#4: “ The es I’ve best experie ha nc someth d are from tr ying in fort zo g out of my ne, ma c king m omistakes ”
Nikhil Kabra
Texas at f o y it s r Unive Austin me to reme v a h u o Y #6: “ here’s a place for ber that t orld, even if it ew you in th xpected” e u o y t a isn’t wh
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#5: “It’s
more t workin h g hard an just , it lear nin g how ’s about t well an o lear n d l e a r n i n l ov i n g t h e a r t of g”
Kashvi Singh Manisha Sakthivelnathan
Univers ity of Te xas at Austin
#8: “It does
you’re na n’t matter if tu or not: if rally smart you put in the work, yo u will be able to succeed ”
Chandana Sirigireddy
Rudra Krishnamurthy
Texas at f o y it s r Unive Dallas e cus on th o f o t y r T “ #10: u like to do, bethings yo ight not get um m cause yo to do the y it n u t r the oppo s” afterward
elf ring yous u s s e r P “ : #3 bad et-go is a e g e h t m fro you’r because t e s d in m up some s s e m o t going where”
Sahan Yerram
at University of Texas Austin #7: “Do your best on hing everything and anyt ur that comes across yo way”
Univer si Dallas ty of Texas a t
#9: “Wo
r be free k hard, but al so a riosity nd let your cu take yo u place s”
Anshuman D as
Sincerely, The Sidekick
Sven Coll ins
Shrayes Gunna Staff Writer @shrayesgunna
fo
Coppell High School senior valedictorian Mira Jiang has been in Lariettes since junior year. Jiang is an accomplished novelist, musician and dancer as well as philanthropist. Angelina Liu
Mira Jiang
top universities released acceptance letters, Jiang conquered yet another stage. She opened the acceptance letters one by one, prompting screaming from everyone in the room. First was Harvard University. Then Brown University. And then Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University and Stanford University. “These colleges have connections and opportunities that are not necessarily available here,” Jiang said. “They can bring in visiting authors. They have world-famous professors who are top-notch in their fields. To be able to work and learn in that boundary of knowledge really expands horizons.” After visiting Harvard, Yale and Stanford, Jiang has committed to attend Harvard University, where she plans on double majoring in neuroscience and English on a premedical track. With each page you turn of Jiang’s life story, you’re met with a cascade of new stories told in her many forms, something that won’t vanish with the next stage in her life: college.
Jiang’s Fav Artists
- Sleeping At Last - Ed Sheeran - Frédéric Chopin - Taylor Swift - Hozier
Student Life Editor @AnetteVarghese
The Coppell High School senior class, much like its predecessors, will spot the United States with college commitments spanning most of the 50 states, but only a few will go abroad. Coppell senior and future IB diploma holder Sven Collins grew up in the United States but visited Germany every summer, and plans to return to the European nation for his bachelor’s degree at Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University of Applied Sciences. “Growing up in Germany, I went through a lot,” Collins said. “ I didn’t really want to lose the culture. It’s easy to just go to an American college and then live the rest of my life here. But that would really make me lose touch with something that is really important and I’d like to continue to have [that] as a part of my life.” Having a mother of German descent helped Collins realize the importance of culture, and the gravity of culture shock. Collins has remained aware of happenings in Germany and values the country’s approach to education and focus on equity. “I didn’t realize the value of cultural differences and how not everything in the U.S. is better,” Collins said. “There is a much smaller disparity between all educational institutions everywhere in Germany. Since education is government-funded, all the colleges are at a similar level, all the high schools are at a similar level. Here, there’s a huge difference. If you grow up somewhere like Coppell versus somewhere in a lower tax bracket, we get a lot more access to better resources.” He then applied to be a Congress-Bundestag youth representative while living with a host family. The program allows him to study and train in Germany for an academic year while gaining real-world work experiences and German language instruction. The program has a two percent acceptance rate. Collins missed the first application deadline because of his other commitments on Dec. 1, but the deadline was pushed back one week. This grace period gave him time to ask his IB math Standard Level (HL) 2 teacher Ian Vanderschee and AP computer science
Coppell High School senior Sven Collins committed to a three-year program at RWTH Aachen University for computer science in Germany. Collins plans on taking a gap year in which he will serve as a Congress-Bundestag youth representative, studying and working abroad due to his vocational interests. Anette Varghese teacher Michael Finnigan for recommendation letters and work on an introduction video showcasing his personality and interests. Collins reached out to his friend, Coppell High School senior Jay Vanam in his IB English class, for help on the video. He knew he wanted to stand out rather than being another video filmed inside a bedroom with a blank backdrop. Vanam and Collins spent a Saturday creating a script, filming b-roll and putting together clips to create a high-quality video. “I thought our efforts were pretty futile,” Vanam said. “I was hoping he would get in, but with a two percent acceptance rate, you never know. He kept calling me when he found out and I gave him a call right when I found out. It was just the last step and he needed an extra hand to help him, and I was happy to do it.” When the news came out Collins was in math class after finishing a test, he checked his phone and found a missed call with a strange area code. “It was a 201 area code with a Minn., and I didn’t recognize it,” Collins said. “Then I went back to the email to check the area code. I immediately stood there with my mouth open for five minutes. And then [the class] was like, “What are you doing? Call him back.” So I called him back. And then I realized I got in and I was overjoyed.”
Accelerating to medicine by choosing elite program Varshitha Korrapolu Communications Manager @varshitha1128
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Coppell High School seniors Lily Arancheril and Shravya Konatam committed to the seven-year accelerated BS/DO bachelor of science/doctor of osteopathic medicine program at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. after a rigorous application process. This program offers students flexibility to pursue any major and apply to other medical schools while having a medical school seat secured at NSU.
Lily Arancheril “My dad is a respiratory therapist, a lot of my family members are nurses, and there are a couple of doctors too. Being exposed to all of my dad’s work stories made me take an interest in the field. One that really sticks out was a baby that was born a month or so early. My dad talks about her a lot. It was just a miracle baby pretty much. She survived and she’s still alive. She had so many issues after she was born and no one really thought she was going to make it. My dad talks about how he was on the team that helped her. It was cool hearing that he was able to do something that big for someone.”
Shravya Konatam “I am doing my major in business of health, so I am excited to see how it plays out. I never really took any business classes but it appealed to me because it’s outside just science classes. It talks about an aspect of healthcare that no one really talks about like how to keep the money in the hospital. I think that’s exciting, but there are a lot of laws and policies which I am not looking forward to. Everything’s mixed. I have to go to a new place and everyone is trying to make friends there and be the best that they can be. So you don’t really know what they are. Not having my parents, I have to do everything on my own.”
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ative genre as in the academic genre. She just loves language, and she loves words, the beauty and power behind words, which is such a rare thing in M students.” arana When Jiang leaves the comfort of either of her two rooms (“only child perks” she jokes), storytelling follows her by nature through several pursuits in the fine arts. At age 5, Jiang implored her parents to enroll her in ballet lessons after watching the Barbie movie. Her classical training has since propelled her into dancing with the Coppell Lariettes, band and color guard. “Sometimes I feel butterflies before [a performance] starts,” Jiang said. “But the moment the music hits and it’s familiar, it’s an amazing feeling. I just remember that you’re never really alone. You just feel the energy from the crowd and your teammates.” Jiang not only communicates deliberately choreographed stories, but for 13 years, she has also played the piano on international stages. Though Jiang did not enjoy it at the start, she now loves playing through pieces, such as Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu, as each has its own little story. CHS English teacher Benjamin Stroud credits her success to her commitment to growth. “Mira was the only one [of my first 30 students at CHS] that did not question even when she had some low moments in writing,” Stroud said. “She took every bit of critique, and she honed in her ability, even when she was a solid writer from the beginning.” And sat at her dinner table on the day many of the nation’s
Anette Varghese
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
Immersed in her own world, Coppell High School Class of 2022 valedictorian Mira Jiang crafts her newest novel in one of her two rooms. Its blue walls dotted with Winnie the Pooh decals from her home’s previous owner house the stories that she writes at an antiqueofolding desk. Though Jiang is an only child, she is never really alone, accompanied by her imagination or the array of stuffed animals in her second room alongside a plain white desk prepared to listen to her newest ideas. Jiang’s love for storytelling was born out of the fantastical worlds of Rick Riordan and Jane Austen that captivated her at a young age and led her to publication. Jiang is now in the process of querying her second novel, a chronicle of a prince destined for evil until he is put in between his kingdom and power-hungry brother, after publishing her first in 2019. “I love exploring the idea of having had this expectation on you your whole life, how can you defy it,” Jiang said. “In a way [I see a little bit of myself in it]. I was never told I was going to go evil, but I think there is, especially with immigrant parents, an expectation they place on their children, and sometimes you have to defy that to become your own person.” Inspired by complex themes in literary classics, Jiang has written poetry, essays and short stories that can be found in various literary magazines from “The Rising Phoenix Review” to “Every Day Fiction.” Beyond writing, Jiang also founded the Bluebonnett Classroom, to amplify her tool of choice, English. “Mira is one of those rare students who has both this extreme academic focus on so many things, but then she also has this innate artistic, creative side to her,” AP English III teacher Tracy Henson said. “She is a powerhouse on both fronts. As a writer, she would pump out the most beautiful essays, hitting all of the standards. A few days later, she would [show me her pieces from outside of class], and there was just as much skill, talent and artistry to her writing in the cre-
Collins commits to the challenge
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Jiang writing her Fantaisie Impromptu
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iang
Sven Collins
M i ra J
Where are you going, Class of 2022?
Sidekick staff gathered data from 400-500 seniors and the Student The Sidekick Council senior survey to compile an estimation of where the Class of 2022 is heading after Coppell High School.
Fun Facts
5,000
miles is the farthest someone will be studying from Coppell
4
students will be studying internationally
RWTH Aachen University University of British Columbia University of Chester University of Toronto Scarborough
Legend
1
Abilene Christian University - 1 Arizona State University - 2 Auburn University - 1 Austin College - 2 Babson College - 1 Baylor University - 13 Bellhaven University - 1 Belmont University - 1 Boston College - 1 Boston University - 1 Campbell University - 1 Case Western Reserve University - 1 Collin College - 1 Colorado School of Mines - 2 Colorado State University - 1
1
student is taking a gap year
student will be a Texas Real Estate Agent
64% students are studying in Texas
1
student is joining the workforce
Cornell University - 1 Creighton University - 1 Dallas Baptist University - 1 Dallas College - 14 DePaul University - 1 Emory University - 1 Fashion Institute of Technology - 2 Florida Atlantic University - 1 Friends University - 1 Gannon University - 1 George Washington University - 1 Georgetown University - 1 Georgia Institute of Technology - 2 Hardin Simmons University - 1 Harvard University - 1
Indiana University - 12 Johns Hopkins University - 1 Kansas State University - 1 Louisiana State University - 2 Marquette University - 1 McKendree University - 1 New York University - 1 Northeastern University - 1 Northern Oklahoma College - 1 Northwest Florida State College - 1 Nova Southeastern University - 2 Oberlin College and Conservatory - 1 Ohio State University - 11 Oklahoma State University - 8 Pratt Institute - 1 Purdue University - 7
Rice University - 3 San Diego State University - 1 Southeast Missouri State University - 1 Southern Methodist University - 7 Stanford University - 3 Stephen F. Austin State University - 3 Stony Brook University - 3 Texas A&M University - 72 Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi - 1 Texas A&M University at Galveston - 2 Texas Christian University - 2 Texas State University - 3
Texas Tech University - 13 Texas Wesleyan University - 1 Texas Woman’s University - 2 University of Arkansas - 23 University of Arkansas at Monticello - 1 University of California San Diego - 1 University of Chicago - 1 University of Colorado at Boulder - 1 University of Georgia - 2 University of Houston - 6 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - 1 University of Michigan - 1 University of Mississippi - 3 University of North Texas - 13 University of Notre Dame - 1
University of Oklahoma - 21 University of Pennsylvania - 1 University of Southern California - 2 University of South Florida - 1 University of Texas at Arlington - 16 University of Texas at Austin - 62 University of Texas at Dallas - 61 University of Texas at San Antonio - 4 University of Tulsa - 1 University of Washington - 1 University of Wisconsin—Madison - 2 Vanderbilt University - 1 Washington University in St. Louis - 1 Wellesley College - 1
Zaidi scaling to great heights with trumpet
However, he entered uncharted waters when the finals took Design Editor place. Zaidi felt even more ner@_fgmx vous because he would be performing in front of other high Though Coppell High School school division trumpet players, senior Zain Zaidi considers himin addition to the judges. self optimistic, he didn’t expect “If you play the same instrumuch when he joined the Copment, [the students are] going to pell Middle School North band in judge how you sound and awksixth grade, considering he had wardly make faces from that,” no prior experience with music. Zaidi said. “I never really thought that I But he pushed through the was going to do nerves and won second place very well,” in the competition. In addition, Zaidi said. “I Zaidi and senior band president didn’t have Hamza Hussain, as part of the any expecGreater Dallas Youth Orchestations for tra, won first place in the high myself.” school ensemble division. But what Zaidi is also a trumpet section Zaidi’s middle leader in the CHS Band, where school self his responsibilities range from teaching the section to being a role model. His goal to be a section leader stemmed from his desire to change the persona of the trumpet section to be one less raucous. “I wanted to move that away, because I knew that I didn’t have those qualities in me. I wanted to change the dynamic of the trumpet section,” Zaidi said. CHS senior band vice president Sahan Yerram, who works Coppell High School senior trumpet section leader Zain Zaidi frequently with Zaidi to plan practices in the CHS Band Hall on May 9. Zaidi placed second focused and efficient band rein the high school division at the National Trumpet Competition, hearsals, thinks he has great which took place on March 30-April 2. Olivia Cooper qualities as a leader. “[Zaidi] really sticks up for would especially not expect is how far he would get in the next few years. In seventh grade, Zaidi auditioned for the middle school All-City band and was surprised when he was accepted. “It was like, ‘oh, I may be actually good at this instrument,” Zaidi said. “In eighth grade and high school, I think that’s when the shift occurred.” On Dec. 10, Zaidi entered into the high school division of the National Trumpet Competition with a recording of him playing eight minutes of the Pakhmutova Trumpet Concerto. After the entry phase of the competition, the remaining rounds took place in person at the University of Delaware from March 30 to April 2, and Zaidi, up till the semifinals, had been familiar with the competition from his previous experience.
Zain Zaidi
Favorite candy: Toblerone Favorite movie: Tenet Favorite video game: Skyrim Summer travel plans: New York for college Personality: Reser ved and optimistic
what he believes in,” Yerram said. “But he also has an open mind, which is a good thing. So it’s been nice working with him because of how responsible he is as a leader and how much integrity he has.” CHS Band director Kimberly Shuttlesworth, who has known Zaidi since the band leadership camp in July, describes Zaidi as extremely hardworking. “He spends countless hours making sure he’s the best version of himself when it comes to being human, but also when it comes to being a musician,” Shuttlesworth said. “He works long, hard hours to be able to do what he does and it pays off for him.” But the trumpet isn’t Zaidi’s
only passion. “Before doing trumpet, I was really interested in just science,” Zaidi said. “And I was like a big nerd basically.” In fact, as he explained his first place chemistry section Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair project from his freshman year, Zaidi chuckled, “This has become a chemistry lesson.” As his hands energetically gesture to invisible periodic tables and equations, it is not hard to see the enthusiasm Zaidi shows for chemistry. Zaidi has committed to Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY, where he wishes to major in either physical chemistry or chemical physics.
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Following a dream: theater journey of Priest Maya Palavali Staff Writer @mvpalovalley
A tiny fourth grader looks at the stage she helped build. In the warm glow, she stands entranced as she watches her brother, Coppell High School 2018 graduate Wyatt Priest, transform into another person in front of her eyes, the musical instrument she was assigned to play temporarily forgotten. That’s when she knew: she wanted to be in the spotlight. Excited to follow her brother’s footsteps, Coppell High School senior Sage Priest dove right into the theater culture at Coppell Middle School North. “I just wanted to be so cool and be like my brother, so I started to get into it from there,” Priest said. “I have not slowed down since then.” Priest grew, both with her technical skills and her love for theater. In eighth grade, Priest began to pursue other theater opportunities outside of school to further her passion and talents in the Performing Arts Center located in Grapevine.
Priest entered high school with confidence, joining the CHS theater program as a freshman. “I could see from the first day that I met her that Sage was talented,” Coppell High School head theater director Karen Ruth said. “She has really figured out who she is over the course of these last four years.” The road to success has not always been easy for Priest. In freshman year, she was not cast in the school musical, “All Shook Up.” However, that didn’t discourage her from pursuing other opportunities the program offered her. “I got past the musical,” Priest said. “I needed to make that year count in every other way, shape or form.” As the years progressed, Priest began to get more involved with the program, dedicating out of school time and efforts to perfecting her craft. Through this extra time, she made close bonds with people in the program. “Any chance she had, she was at a build day or a workshop,” junior Grace Hennessy said. “Her work ethic is an example to all
of us. She’s a role model when it comes down to it.” Priest was able to shift from her single ability in musical acting to other aspects of theater: costume designing, costume construction and choreography. “She has broadened her spectrum of what she is interested in and what she’s able to do,” Ruth said. “She has embraced her unique qualities.” Priest uses her current connections to build her experience in theater both at CHS and beyond. She currently works with North Texas Performing Arts. As her time in high school ends, Priest has begun to plan for her future in the arts. Deciding what exactly she wanted to do was difficult, but she has been able to establish a concrete path with a primary focus on performing arts for her future career. Priest will attend DePaul University to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and double major in psychology. “Whatever Sage puts her heart and soul into next is her future,” Hennessy said. “Anything that she does is always spectacular to see.”
Sage Priest
Favorite pastime: writing poetry Favorite musical: Next to Normal Favorite song: Glide - Cover by Mitski Dream vacation: Italian countryside Favorite celebrity: Florence Pugh
Coppell High School senior Sage Priest performs a scene from “Into the Woods” during the Senior Showcase on April 9 in the CHS Black Box. Priest participated in the show to mark the end of her high school experience. Olivia Cooper
Graphic by Minnie Gazawada
Beat to go on for drum major at UT music school Yaamini Jois Staff Writer @yjois12
The night before the Coppell High School marching band was meant to perform its program “Carousel” at the Bands of America competition, a truck carrying all their equipment bottomed out on a freeway in San Antonio. Months of hard work seemed to be at stake. The band was set to perform that same night, but due to the unexpected delay, the band performed the night after. In this time of panic and urgency leading up to a show the band had spent months perfecting, Coppell High School senior band head drum major Wes Booker guided a band of sophomores, juniors and seniors. “He announced to us that everything was going to be okay, and he kept our calm,” Coppell junior drum major Trey Bass said. “That’s his personality: he’s always there for you and he always makes you feel welcome regardless of the circumstances.” The band performed “Carousel” the next night and scored a 88.75, the highest score that the Coppell band has ever achieved in a Bands of America competition. This major success was in no small part due to Booker’s personality. In addition to the success of “Carousel,” the Coppell band placed fifth at marching band
Shuttlesworth, and associate director, Riaz Mohammed, and did not initially feel confident about working under new instructional staff immediately after a year
“It’s going to be tough for me to leave CHS and band behind, since us seniors are all going to different schools. We’ve become very close from our shared hardships, experiences and joy. Leaving high school is a bittersweet milestone for me.”
Wes Booker CHS Senior band head drum major
Coppell senior band vice president Sahan Yerram said. “But instead of backing away from the challenge, he was up for it.” This summer, Booker will be a part of the Cadets, a Drum Corps International group. While most are offered a position as a drum major after they spend a minimum of a year marching with the drum corps, Booker was offered a position as a drum major fresh out of high school. “It’s remarkable where he started and where he’s going,” Bass said. “With all of his accomplishments and getting into UT, he makes it look like a walk in the park.” Booker will attend the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall, majoring in music education.
In addition to going through the regular college application process, Booker faced a rigorous audition process while applying, starting off with a pre-screening video which qualified him for a live online audition. Booker’s goals include being named the highest chair in ensembles at UT, including the nationally recognized Wind Ensemble and pursuing more experience in music education and conductor roles. “It’s going to be tough for me to leave CHS and band behind, since us seniors are all going to different schools,” Booker said. “We’ve become very close from our shared hardships, experiences and joy. Leaving high school is a bittersweet milestone for me.”
of online schooling and disorganization within the band. “Adjusting to a new staff was a challenge, especially for Wes, who sometimes had to take responsibility for the mistakes that we faced,”
Booker’s Fun Facts
Coppell High School senior and band head drum major Wes Booker plays the bassoon during band rehearsal on April 19. Booker has recently been honored as a Texas Music Educators Association musician and will be attending University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music in the fall. Olivia Cooper
Favorite band trip: San Antonio 2021 Greatest inspirations: Leonard Bernstein and Sergio Azzolini Favorite restaurant on band trip: Hard Rock Cafe Favorite movie series: Harry Potter movie series Dream job: Principal Bassoon of the New York Philharmonic Favorite solo/ensemble piece: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
University Interscholastic League in mid-November, the highest that the school has placed in Class 6A. Booker’s journey started in sixth grade when he joined the Frisco Robert Cobb Middle School band as a , playing the bassoonist. After moving to Coppell Middle School East, Booker joined the honor winds band and continued to play in the top freshman band at CHS9. In his junior year, Booker joined the second chair of the first band, moving up to the first chair in his senior year. “He is one of a kind and he loves what he does,” Coppell head band director Kim Shuttlesworth said. “His impact is through example.” Booker became a drum major in his junior year alongside seniors Avery Owens and Wyatt Andrews. This year, Booker is the head drum major alongside his fellow drum majors: sophomore Lindsey Won and juniors Trey Bass and Troy Angulo. “Wes has an amazing sense of musicality,” Won said. “His way of playing and conducting connects with the audience. It’s amazing that we could have him as our head drum major this year.” This year, the band went through a full staff change, leading to a major adjustment for the whole band. The band worked with a new h e a d director,
Seniors leave audience star-struck with self-selected scenes www.coppellstudentmedia.com The “Starring: Seniors” show on April 9-10 in the Black Box Theatre celebrated Coppell High School theater seniors through solo and group performances. These seniors put together a selection of scenes and songs to showcase growth throughout their time with the Cowboy Theatre Company. The show was also a tribute to the time the seniors lost during the pandemic. “Several of our pieces are pieces we are bringing back that we were supposed to do during the pandemic,” CHS head theater director Karen Ruth said. “They’re even better now after two years of maturing.” Olivia Cooper
defining games for 21-22 athletics
COWBOY FIGHT Meer Mahfuz Staff Writer @mahfuz_meer
Baseball
baseball vs flower mound marcus Of the state-ranked opponents the Coppell baseball team has faced so far, none of them quite compared to the caliber of Flower Mound Marcus. Marcus has consistently been a top five team in state rankings while Coppell is slowly climbing its way into the conversation of state-ranked teams. Marcus and Coppell split their series last year with each team winning at home, but Marcus would go on to narrowly win the district championship. Additionally, Coppell and Marcus ended the 2021 season as regional semifinalists, losing out to District 4-6A’s Keller and Southlake Carroll, respectively. That is why the Marcus-Coppell series this year was one of the most hyped-up rivalry series across the state, with both teams undefeated in district play. Marcus went up early at home and saw off a late Coppell rally to take game one of the series. Coppell returned home and once again, Marcus went up early. Coppell’s rally didn’t fail this time as senior designated hitter Landry Fee lined a walk-off single to center field to down the Marauders, 3-2, in the 12th inning. Coppell avenged its lone district Coppell senior designated hitter Landry Fee bats against Flower Mound loss and rejoined Marcus atop the district standings to create a title race that will run Marcus at the Coppell ISD Baseball/Softball field on April 1. The Cowboys right down to the wire. defeated the Marauders, 3-2, in 12 innings. Nick Larry
Girls Soccer
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girls soccer vs flower mound marcus Heading into the last match of district play against state-ranked Flower Mound Marcus, the Coppell girls soccer team and the Mauraduers, tied at 30 points, were sitting atop District 6-6A despite Coppell losing its last match against Flower Mound. There could not have been greater stakes for the clash of two state-ranked teams. If either left Marauder Stadium with a win, it would secure the district championship. If the match ended in a tie, Hebron would secure the district championship, as they went on to defeat Plano 4-1. Marcus was out for revenge as Coppell had handed the Marauders their sole loss of the season thus far. In the 51st minute of the match, Marcus scored the go-ahead goal on a corner kick and the Marauders saw out the rest of the match to defeat the Cowgirls, 1-0, and claim the district championship. The Cowgirls, however, suffered their second consecutive loss and slumped to third place in district standings. The Cowgirls would go onto lose a third consecutive match, this time in the Class 6A Region I bi-district playoffs against Allen. Marcus, however, went all the way to the regional championship before bowing out to eventual Class 6A state champion Southlake Carroll.
Cowgirls embrace before making their way off the field after an emotional loss to Allen on March 21. The Cowgirls season ended with a 3-2 loss in the Class 6A Region I bi-district playoffs. Nandini Muresh
Football Coppell senior linebacker Jack McAdams attempts to intercept a pass at Marauder Stadium on Oct. 8. The Cowboys fell to the Marauders, 3937, in double overtime. Angelina Liu
All was well for the Coppell football team after two district games. With two wins, the Cowboys were in first place of District 6-6A and headed into a rivalry game against Flower Mound Marcus with high hopes and confidence. When the week of Oct. 8 ended, however, the Cowboys had suffered their first district loss in heartbreaking fashion as junior quarterback Jack Fishpaw’s pass was intercepted on a two-point conversion attempt in double overtime. Despite conceding the opening points of the game on a 28-yard field goal from Marcus, Coppell responded with an astute defense and a touchdown-hungry offense to take the lead 14-10 lead into halftime. The Marauders and Cowboys combined for four scores, including 70-yard touchdown passes from both teams, a five-minute span at the end of the fourth quarter to force the game into overtime. Marcus defeated Coppell, 39-37, in a double overtime thriller. The loss is what many consider to be a turning point in the district campaign for both Marcus and Coppell. Coppell would go on to lose two consecutive games and go 1-3 in its final four games, missing out on the playoffs for the second time in three years. Marcus, however, would go to win its third consecutive district championship.
boys basketball vs john paul ii
Boys Basketball
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football vs flower mound marcus
Despite winning three consecutive district championships, this season’s District 6-6A campaign was one to forget for a Coppell basketball team that scraped into the playoffs due to senior four-star guard Ryan Agarwal missing the majority of the campaign with a sports hernia injury. With victories over several state-ranked opponents in the preseason, including a 74-71 win against No. 4 Friendswood Clear Brook and No.16 Houston Strake Jesuit to win the 88th annual Carlisle-Krueger Classic in Houston, the fully-healthy Cowboys showed its ability to play with the best in the state and its flair on the court. The Cowboys’ potential was illustrated greatest in Coppell’s clash against eventual TAPPS state champions John Paull II in the Coppell Tip-Off Classic. John Paul II is laced with top level talent, including sophomore five-star power forward Liam McNeely and junior four-star combo guard RJ Jones. Despite trailing the Cardinals by six at halftime, the Cowboys led by two after the third quarter and defeated John Paul II, 85-81. Agarwal, a Stanford signee, led all scoring with 32 points while senior guard Naz Brown scored 25 points. Jones led the Cardinals with Coppell senior Noel Berhe shoots a layup against John Paul II in the Coppell 25 points while McNeely scored 23 points. The win showcased the “Cowboy Fight Tip-Off Classic at CHS Arena on Nov 19. Coppell beat John Paul, 85-81. Olivia Short
NEVER DIES Anjali Krishna Editor-in-Chief @anjalikrishna_
Softball
softball vs flower mound marcus It came down to the sixth inning against Flower Mound to determine the Coppell softball team’s final District 6-6A standing. Although a playoff spot was confirmed for the first time since 2019, depending on the outcomes of all the ball games that night, this exceptional team of Cowgirls could place anywhere from first to fourth in District 6-6A seedings. But after fouling off eight pitches at the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded, her team down two runs, Coppell sophomore right fielder Mallory Moore remained confident with no outs. The next pitch hit her left arm, allowing a walk to first and the first of the Cowgirls’ three runs in that inning. The Cowgirls went on to claim the win against the Jaguars, 3-2, and as results poured in from the rest of the night’s games, discovered their No. 2 seeding. Stellar pitching from Coppell senior Kat Miller and Flower Mound junior Landrie Harris held both teams scoreless until the climactic sixth, in which the Jaguars scored two pressure-fueling runs. The Cowgirls’ rally at the bottom of the sixth Coppell senior pitcher Kat Miller catches a line drive from Flower Mound junior set into history what their fans already knew - this exceptional Coppell team is designated player Abigail Jennings at the Coppell ISD Baseball/Softball Complex one of the best in years, and its potential will not go to waste. on April 22. After a scoreless five innings, the Cowgirls beat the Jaguars, 3-2, to clinch the No. 2 seed in District 6-6A. Angelina Liu
Without a single win in District 6-6A play, eight matches into the district campaign, the Coppell boys soccer team felt the heat leading up to its match against Plano West. The issue wasn’t that the Cowboys weren’t talented, or that there was an extraordinary batch of competitors. The issue was exceptionally bad luck: an execution issue, sending none of the hundred opportunities they were creating into the back of the net. After losing, 6-2, to Plano on Feb. 18, Coppell knew it wouldn’t go to playoffs playing as it was. The Cowboys needed a win against the Wolves. And luck seemed to finally fall on the Cowboy side, as an early goal from Plano West was disallowed for an offsides call and Coppell senior goalkeeper Arath Valdez saved a shot from just outside the penalty box. Then, in the magic Coppell knew it could create, Coppell senior forward Walker Stone’s first goal set the team up for its following dominance. Though the Wolves would score once off a penalty awarded for an unfair challenge, Stone put the ball in the net twice more that night, turning the tide for the rest of the season with a 3-1 win. The Cowboys went on to win six consecutive matches, Coppell senior defender Bryson Chen dribbles on Feb. 22 at Buddy and qualify for the playoff matchup against Allen in a comeback for the ages. Echols Field against Plano West. The Cowboys beat the Wolves, 3-1. Photo courtesy Macy Jarrel
Entering its season with a new coaching staff, the Coppell volleyball team knew its District 6-6A playoff contention was in doubt. Yet the situation leading up to the end of its season was nothing that could have been predicted. Coppell’s loss against Plano West was meant to take the Cowgirls out of playoff contention, but Hebron’s unexpected loss to Flower Mound and Plano’s to Marcus on Oct. 26 created a unique situation. Coppell, Hebron and Plano were in a logjam for fourth place, the final playoff qualifying spot. Coaches met, and decided on a play-in tournament to decide the qualifier: the winner of a match between Hebron and Plano would play Coppell the next day. With Hebron beating the Wildcats, the Cowgirls prepared its defense for the Lady Hawks’ strong hitters. Despite a strong showing from Coppell junior setter Taylor Young, Coppell fell, 3-0, to end its season. The threeway tie illustrated just how worthy Coppell was, and how close they were to Coppell senior libero Rebeca Centeno serves against Hebron at CHS Arena contention. It turned into a game of who played better on any given night on Oct. 15. The Cowgirls defeated Hebron on Oct. 29, but lost to the Hawks that the Cowgirls did not put up their best against Hebron in no way undercuts on Oct. 29 in the Class 6A Region I bi-district play-in tournament to end its the strength of this year’s team. season. Aliza Abidi
Girls Basketball
girls basketball vs plano east
Coppell senior forward India Howard passes against Plano East at CHS Arena on Feb 4. The Cowgirls won against the Panthers, 46-40. Olivia Cooper
In this momentous season for the Coppell girls basketball team, there had been only one blip on its record: a 42-37 loss to Plano East, the only blemish on an otherwise clean schedule. It irked the Cowgirls to no end. When it was time to play the Panthers again, this time at home on Feb. 4, Coppell roared back on the court, avenging its earlier loss, 46-40. Coppell junior guard Jules LaMendola set the pace for the first half, leading Coppell to a 22-15 lead. Returning from halftime, however, the Panthers pushed and took over, gaining a one-point lead. Then senior forward India Howard showed both Panthers and Cowgirls the merit of her captain title, reclaiming the lead for her team with a few smart plays, supplemented by a technical foul on Plano East as well as Coppell junior guard Allyssa Potter and LaMendola. On the defensive end, sophomore guards Saiya Patel and Ella Spiller kept Plano East senior forward and SMU commit Donavia Hall down to only six points, her season low according to Coppell assistant Willis Tran.
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Volleyball
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Boys Soccer
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Varshitha Korrapolu Communications Manager @varshitha1128
Executive Editorial Page Editor @sreejamudumby
The first thing that Coppell High School senior Om Agrawal noticed in his physics classroom was the swinging pendulum. When Agrawal initially joined AP Physics I, he felt curiousity than fear. “I was intimidated by the subject,” Agrawal said. “But when I walked into the class, I was intrigued. There was a bicycle tire to study angular momentum. I found that physics was the hidden science behind the motion of everything.” Taking AP Physics I in his sophomore year, Agrawal noticed his love for the subject did not match that of his peers. After scoring
a 5, the highest score, on the AP exam, Agrawal decided to use his knowledge to help others. “I compiled notes from multiple resources and eventually got a 5 on the exam,” Agrawal said. “I knew what I did was working. My physics journey would’ve been a lot easier if I just had one resource I could use which could guide me throughout the year and help me study for the AP exam. With this in mind, Agrawal began the creation of his textbook, AP Physics 1 Mechanics Crash Course, using his notes and drawing the illustrations himself. The book is divided by unit and has a “cram packet” at the end for cumulative review. This process took Agrawal a little over two months following his sophomore year. “There were two goals with the textbook,” Agrawal said. “One was to make it as compact as possible, because physics materials are too long. The second was that language is sometimes a barrier for understanding. If a beginner student comes across words like moment of inertia or angular torque, they’re just driven away. So I tried to limit that, too.” After publishing his textbook, Agrawal expanded his personal tutoring to both AP Physics I and AP Chemistry. Agrawal also had many lead-
ership roles in his high school career, including being a section leader in the CHS Drumline, president of Creative Problem Solving Club and illustrator for Language Beyond Borders Club. With all of this leadership under his belt, Agrawal thinks empathy is a key factor in leading others. “My peers in leadership positions push their students harder than they should,” Agrawal said. “The most important thing is the ability to look at their perspective.” CHS AP world history teacher Shawn Hudson thinks that Agarwal is a quiet leader. “He was a quiet leader who demonstrated by doing, not telling people,” Hudson said. “He did quality work. When working in groups, he was not slacking. He had this calm demeanor. When he was carrying stress, it didn’t affect how he approached things.” Om continues to persist in pursuing opportunities that come his way. “He always had this leadership and to do the best” Mr. Agrawal said. “We support him in what he does in a number of ways. Anything that he needs we would always be there. At 6 a.m. if he says he needs something, we would be there. ”
Coppell High School senior Om Agarwal wrote a physics textbook, AP Physics I Mechanics: Crash Course, to aid struggling classmates. Agarwal balances a tutoring business at his house while being the president of the Creative Problem Solvers Club in India. Aliza Abidi
TEACHER OF THE ISSUE
WOO! CHAMBERLAIN CHAMPIONING BUSINESS-MINDED CURRICULUM Anette Varghese Student Life Editor @AnetteVarghese
What would you want each one of your students to learn once they leave your classroom? Time is undefeated, time will pass, don’t grow up too fast. Enjoy the journey. Life’s not about the destination. I have this quote in the back of my class that says, ‘In your journey through life you wear many different hats. Take pride in all of them.’ The thought was that when I stayed an extra year working at McDonald’s, I thought it was a waste of a year. But I ended up needing that managerial experience to teach the career prep class that helped me get the job at Bryan Adams. I would want kids to understand that no matter where you’re heading in life, take priden each step of the way. You never get to a point in your life where it’s stuck. The line never stops. It’s not a segment; it’s a line. It goes on forever.
Chamberlain’s Bucket List
- To see Texas A&M football play at Notre Dame in 2025
- To visit both Carolinas and Dakotas, Hawaii and Alaska - See 4-year-old daughter graduate
Coppell High School CTE teacher and DECA adviser Richard Chamberlain teaches marketing strategies during his seventh period class on April 12. Chamberlain was selected as The Sidekick’s Volume 33 Issue 6 Teacher of the Issue. Aliya Zakir
MAY 2022
As passing period winds down, a teacher stands taller than the rest, The Sidekick selected CTE teacher and DECA adviser Richard Chamberlain as its Issue 6 Teacher of the Issue. Chamberlain came to Coppell in 2015 from Bryan Adams High School in Dallas. What does success mean as a business teacher? Success looks different to different people. I love being a teacher, and it’s OK that my students come from a much better wealth distribution than I ever had. At first, that came off as very intimidating. For me moving from low-income students at Bryan Adams to here, it was an adjustment to understand that those students have more opportunities. That students didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t as successful as I should be. It gave me a different perspective on my job and the motivating factors behind people’s thoughts of success. How do you run your classroom with the retail knowledge you have gained? Everything’s very customer service driven. Understanding that soft skills and communication skills are just as important as any kind of technical skill you might have when you move into the world. We talk a lot about reciprocal relationships in here, both with people you work with, with customers and personal relationships. Both people should benefit. You’re going to work with people that you may fundamentally disagree with your entire life perspective. You have to find a bridge, and let those things go.
How has being a DECA adviser added to your teaching journey? It’s been such a journey because you see kids that are so driven to perfection and academia that are so focused on academics open up. I try to make DECA something that everybody can be a part of. I love how DECA allows the same kid who wouldn’t speak for three-quarters of the year to begin talking, meeting people, hanging out and talking to me. If you’re on a bus, and you’re hearing those kids laugh and joke around, that’s the reason we do our job. That’s the reason why I’m in this business. I’d like to believe you remember your DECA adviser or a field trip that you went on, and that’s what drives me to stay. And that’s what really should drive all of us that are especially in our elective classes. Our career technical education classes should be more about creating the stuff outside of class. It’s the communication, it’s the social experiences, the meeting people and all those items. This is an outlet that they got to choose, they got to do, they got to have fun, they got to meet new people and experience things. Priceless.
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Cottonwood Creek Elementary School fourth grader Noah Mathew reports the weather based on data gathered from the weather station on April 21. The weather station was installed in Feb. and students use it before getting ready for the Cottonwood Creek News Network show where the daily weather, lunch and announcements are reported on. Varshitha Korrapolu
Sreeja Mudumby
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A morning of sunshine, an afternoon of wind and an evening of rain. The weather in Texas can be crazy sometimes. A strong love for weather motivated Cottonwood Creek Elementary School dyslexia therapist Leslie Helwig to install a weather station on campus. “I saw a need for more than what we had,” Helwig said. “When I taught first grade, we would go onto the TV and make predictions. “ “Having students that want to be meteorologists that report the weather at Cottonwood Creek News Network (CCNN) is super cool. I hope to tap into other childrens passion about the weather and see where it takes them.” The weather station is user friendly so that elementary school students can utilize it. The station is connected to an app called WeatherLink which displays weather conditions every five minutes. “Our station is anchored up high on that pole and the main unit is my classroom, but the data can be accessed by anyone,” Helwig said. “Last night when it was so windy, I was on my phone seeing the wind gusts. It engaged a lot of kids and got them excited about the weather.” In order to have the weather station installed, Helwig worked with other individuals like the Coppell ISD director of science Evan Whitfield and WFAA meteorologist Jesse Hawila to gain information about the logistics. “Her passion and interest in science is huge,” Whitfield said. “She was a good science teacher, she was really passionate and good at science. She loves kids and wants to give them real experiences, something they can connect to. The Cottonwood Creek weather station is a good way to do that.” In addition to using the weather station to analyze the weather, Helwig suggested CCE fourth-grader Noah Mathew to report the weather because of his interest on the subject. “She doesn’t force me to do anything,” Mathew said. “Sometimes in the CCNN studio, she would encourage me.” Helwig does not focus on just the syllabus that students need to learn. She supports students with a smile on her face. “I learned about the weather when Ms. Helwig showed me a website called Wunderground,” Mathew said. “It told me all about the weather.” A ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted on Feb. 1 to draw attention to the weather station
teachers could learn about it. “I’m big on publicizing and giving credit to people who really have that heart and passion for science and for kids getting real experiences,” Whitfield said. “It really was important for me to share with the whole district. The ribbon cutting ceremony was a great way to publicize it. The communications team came and filmed the ceremony and took pictures to publicize the ceremony. Getting people to learn about science is hugely important to me.” From the conception to the ribbon cutting ceremony, Helwig was satisfying her inner meteorologist. The name of the grant she wrote for the weather station is “mini meteorologist minds at work.” “In college, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher but I also thought about getting into radio/TV/film and meteorology,” Helwig said. “I had to pick between and my heart has always said teaching. Now family members are saying, ‘you are getting the best of both worlds. You are teaching your kids about reporting the weather.’” Helwig thinks that when students are able to have tangible experiences with what they are learning, they are able to comprehend the information better. “Anything hands on, someone’s going to grasp and it’s going to stick with them, whether you are 5 or 55,” Helwig said. “It’s more of an experience when you are going out to the rain gauge after a storm and seeing how much precipitation has been measured. It would be useful at middle and high school levels and you can take that data and compare it year by year and predict that.” Helwig’s journey reflects the idea of people making their dream a reality. “The weather station serves as an example of what can happen when people work together,” Whitfield said. “Once people have that, they know they can come to me and say ‘I have this idea, how can I do it?’ Some people don’t know where to start and now I can share how.” Helwig hopes that more and more students will utilize the weather station and have memorable, beneficial experiences from the weather station and tools. “I would love to have all the anonmeters checked out and a waiting list because everyone is using them,” Helwig said. “Making sure that they are in the hands of learners and that they are making connections from year to year. It would just be cool one day to see a Cottonwood Creek Colt reporting the weather on TV. It would make me so proud.”
STUDENT LIFE THE SIDEKICK
Helwig helps budding Establishing a momentum of leadership roles meterologists at CCE Agrawal writing novel, leading students abroad so that parents, students and
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Prakash pushes music to new limits Anushree De Staff Writer
Band spring concert // May 1314 // CHS Auditorium
“In Good Time” Coppell Community Chorale concert // May 14-15 // Coppell Arts Center
Coppell Community Orchestra Broadway concert // May 21 // Coppell Arts Center
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Three…two….one…and then the art unravels. Slowly at first, but getting louder with each drum beat and guitar pluck and violin string. All in a matter of seven minutes and 46 seconds. Somewhere the percussionist was lost in his instrument, each tap to the tabla taking him further. The guitarist strummed the strings like each new chord brought with it a new world. Their eyes were closed, as if they knew the piece by heart. This was the magic that unfolded at the Coppell Arts Center Friday night. The effect of music also applied for the audience. “I loved the whole vibe,” attendee Santosh Tiwari of Coppell said. “I was able to immerse myself in the music. I would close my eyes and imagine the beats of the music. And, the kids sat down through the whole concert.” The most interesting part of this piece was that it was improvised. “During the pandemic, I had a lot of time to get my practice regimen back in order,” singer Aditya Prakash said. “I would give myself tasks to complete, like little challenges. One thing I did was sing a really fast improvised scale or raga without stopping.” Upon this progressive practice, the nature of the song became something else entirely. “I would time myself for two minutes, and then go for three minutes, four minutes,” Prakash said. “And then in May 2020, that number became seven minutes 46 seconds. Soon, it wasn’t a task anymore. It was an immersive experience.” Prakash, who gained his fame upon a tour with world-famous sitarist Ravi
Shankar, grew up in Los Angeles as a ditional instruments used to a white child of first generation immigrants. couple. Clothes were an eclectic blend Prakash’s cross-cultural identity reflects of cultures. at the concert Friday night. “I’m finding my personal connection to One composition,“Flamencico”, took Carnatic music,” Prakash said. “I’m not traditional Spanish Flamenco music thinking about it as Carnatic music, fuand fused it with Prakash’s Indian roots. sion music, or jazz music. I’m not thinking Prakash was inspired to create the song about music separately. I’m fusing everyupon his tours with legendary dancer thing into my sound. It’s something that Imran Khan as he watched Flamenco I’m exploring, and I think that’s a journey.” singers. “There was this vocal percussion that this Latin artist was doing, it was his own kind of style,” Prakash said. “All these different words caught my ear. I put this composition together from these different sounds.” It was this cross-cultural interaction of music that attracted the Coppell Arts Center to Prakash. “One of the most important things about the Coppell Arts Center is to provide high quality, world-class art,” Coppell Arts Center marketing/ticketing supervisor Trevor Meagher said. “This is capturing the mission of putting in world-class art for everyone. Everyone can find something cool, whether you want to hear Carnatic music or local talent. Aditya is such a great encapsulation of that.” Prakash’s objective as a musician had been to push the boundaries of music, but that wasn’t just achieved in the concert hall. Women came to the concert wearing salwar kameez and dupatta scarfs, a homage to their Indian heritage. The concert brought with it a social cohesion. Singer Aditya Prakash performs at the Coppell Arts Center An Indian family on April 29. Prakash crafts his sound by experimenting with explained the tra- blending Carnatic music and other genres. Anushree De
Hazleton inducted into Thespian Hall of Fame Minnie Gazawada Staff Writer
@mridinigazawada
R
eceiving an award, most look at it as an accomplishment to reward one effort; however, one experiences recognition for all of their efforts On Jan. 29, the Texas Thespians, a sub-chapter of the International Thespian Society which nurtures talent in middle and high school theater students, educators, programs and schools, held a luncheon at the 2022 Educator Conference to honor those who were inaugurated into the Texas Thespian Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on theater individuals for 20 years or more of their service contributing to educational theater, by restating their history. Coppell Middle School West theater director Franci Hazleton was one of two theater educators inducted this year. “I am one who likes to sit on the sidelines,” Hazleton said. “I don’t like the limelight. I stand back and let my kids shine. It was almost embarrassing, but it felt good. I have put many years in, and it’s nice to have it recognized.” Hazleton has been in the Texas Thespians organization for 46 years. During her time at the organization, Hazleton was a program chair and festival director. After learning of Hazleton’s experience with the Thespians, raising theater productions funds and ordering costumes, Coppell High School theater parent Tally Leonard nominated Hazleton for the Hall of Fame award. “She was very instrumental in building the program for them to have a junior level,” Leonard
said. “The Thespians really relied on her and her years of experience in theater education and background. Knowing all of her involvement with state festivals, being a sponsor and advocating for them, I just knew that she was the person for the award.” Hazleton has shaped the program by installing Junior Thespians, a program of the International Thespian Society designated to reward and provide educational opportunities to sixth to eight grade theater students, in Texas along with the Junior Thespian Festival. Through the programs, abundant opportunities for middle school theater students to expand their skills through competition and educational events became available. “The [international] junior thespians came in the early nineties when they realized there was a lot of junior theater; at that point, I was teaching high school, but I still thought it was important to bring the juniors in,” Hazleton said. “I started in the mid-1990s saying we’ve got to do something for the junior thespians. Now in my career teaching juniors, I have found it’s even more important that these students be recognized as well.” Twenty years later, the Texas Junior Thespian Festival now has three regional festivals supporting over 3,000 students. Due to her efforts, her students have competed in state level acting and technical events, earning Superiors at the national level and performing at state and national festivals. “I think her passion is contagious. When you’re around her, it’s hard to not be excited about
what she’s excited about,” CMS West Principal Dr. Sarah Thornton said. Hazleton’s career began at an early age when she found her calling for theater after stepping onto the stage for a school play and traveling abroad through Europe, witnessing theater throughout the world. “My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Barbara Myer, put me in my very first play and that was when I first thought, ‘I love this,’” Hazleton said. “As a teacher I wanted to give that opportunity to my students because it was a positive experience for me.” Hazleton had a smooth transition to high school theater at Anderson High School in Austin after returning to the United States. At the end of her sophomore year, she was inducted into the Thespian Society by her high school
teacher Robert Singleton, a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee. After graduating 1978, Hazleton started her professional career in theater in the early 1980s working at the Seattle Repertory Theater and the Seattle Public Theater Bathhouse as a costume designer and stage manager. “The thing about theater is everything ties to work as one piece and it gives everybody a chance to express themselves,“ Hazleton said. “My shyest kids are often the ones who do best on stage because they can be somebody else for a day. That is why I have a passion for theater, it opens kids up to who they really are.” Teaching has been a part of her family with her great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and father following the career pathway. Hazleton received a degree in curriculum and instruc-
tion at Texas A&M University. She has been in educational theater for 32 years since then, including 20 years of directing at Coppell. “We’re incredibly proud of her,” Dr. Thornton said. “She’s had a long career teaching theater for middle school students and had a lot of success in keeping this program growing. I’m always impressed by what she can do with middle school students.” Theater is not just a passion, but a lifestyle for Hazleton. She plans on finishing her chapter at CMSW, retiring from teaching in three or four years. However, she sees herself working with the Thespians and UIL, both as a mentor and judge. “I’m getting to the end of my career, [but] I’m not there yet,” Hazleton said. “I will never stop working in theater in some way or another if I can help others.”
More about Hazleton: • • • • •
Favorite Actor: Anna Kendrick Current favorite play: Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” Worked at a Girl Scouts camp for 16 years Danced with President Richard Nixon at age 13 Went to Sea Pines Abroad, a board school in Fastenau, Austria for seventh until ninth grade
Coppell Middle School West theater director Franci Hazleton was inducted to the Texas Thespian Hall of Fame after contributing to more than 20 years of service endorsing and contributing to educational theater. Shreya Ravi
Cool down with
Sannidhi Arimanda Staff Photographer
Ingredients
@ArimandaSanni
With the heat of Texas summer approaching, enjoy a cool, refreshing mango pie to cool down. Rather than a traditional oven-baked pie, this recipe differs by chilling the pie in the refrigerator for a no-heat method. This mango pie has a smooth texture and melts in your mouth with a little crunch from the crust. Watch The Sidekick photographer Sannidhi Aramanda’s video to learn how to make this light dessert.
Crust 20 graham crackers ½ cup unsalted butter 1 ½ cups sugar Filling (2 pies) 30 ounces mango pulp 8 ounces plain cream cheese 1 cup heavy cream ¾ ounce unflavored gelatin 1 cup boiled water
Watch the full video here
Make your pie amazing! 1. Tap the pie on a surface before refrigerating to remove any bubbles in the pie! 2. Do not undermix the gelatin. 3. Add whipped cream, fresh berries, meringue or graham cracker crumbs.
Recipe 1. In a glass container, boil one cup of water. Add gelatin and mix thoroughly until there are no lumps. Place aside to rest for around 30 minutes. 2. In a large bowl, add cream cheese and gradually add heavy cream while mixing to form a dense mixture. 3. Add mango pulp and stir until fully combined. Add sugar and mix until fully incorporated. Then add in the gelatin mixture and continue mixing. 4. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and refrigerate overnight. Optional: add toppings, such as whipped cream or strawberries.
Trisha Atluri
Executive Entertainment Editor @trish_atluri
ory, light purple represents imagination and introspection, which is fitting in the context of this film. Meanwhile, butterflies symbolize metamorphosis and perfectly illustrate the growth Rodrigo has experienced since the album’s release one year ago. The butterfly’s flight represents freedom, beauty and vulnerability. As Rodrigo travels from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, the act of driving transforms from one of painful reflection and a symbol of missed opportunities to a liberating experience highlighting her growth since the release of “drivers license.” For “1 step forward, 3 steps back,” Rodrigo sings in the car, mirroring her creation of the song when it was written the day before her breakup on a drive to Salt Lake City. Her performance reflects the authenticity of the film; it feels like she is taking our hands and diving back into her memories to show us how the
album was created. She discusses the perceived but untrue love triangle drama that was amplified through fan theories and how she was nervous about releasing music after that in case her audience misconstrued it as her playing into or approving it. While Rodrigo takes liberties in the live version of each song, by far the most jarring difference is seen in “good 4 u,” which she sings accompanied by a full orchestra in Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. The difference in production, from the sound of teenage rebellion to that of young adulthood and acceptance, highlights Rodrigo’s growth since the moment she recorded her music video. This version feels more sophisticated and mature, taking the viewer through a gentle transition from her teen drama queen era to her future projects. Another highlight is “brutal,” which Rodrigo wrote five days before the tracklist was posted. The energy behind its spontaneous creation and her
“I want it to be like, messy,” dialogue at the beginning of the track are intensely magnified in an exhilarating rush as Rodrigo yells the lyrics with abandon in a shack with artists Blu DeTiger and Towa Bird. After a hyper couple minutes of jumping and hair-flipping, the song concludes with the artists passionately shredding on their instruments. Rodrigo performs “happier,” “enough for you” and “traitor” in one take. As the camera swoops around her as she sings in a bedroom, while playing a glittery piano in the woods and at a California gas station respectively, her music is reimagined in a new setting. In both her candidness and her performances, Rodrigo brings her most intimate thoughts and feelings to the light. Singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo released driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) on March 25 on Disney+. The film encapsulates the creation process behind Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR. Ashley Qian
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Catapulted into fame after her hit single “drivers license,” singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo went from being the intimately recognizable star of Nickelodeon’s Bizaardvark to an international pop sensation selling out tours within hours. Turning heartbreak into an unfathomably successful music career isn’t unheard of, but it’s one Rodrigo tells authentically in her debut album SOUR and supplements with narration in her film driving home 2 u. The film seamlessly integrates Rodrigo’s recount of the process and ideation behind each track into live performanc-
es. Her story is rightfully freeing, crafted around themes of heartbreak and recovery, anxiety and abandon, and anger and acceptance. Throughout the road trip, three tangible motifs follow the viewer: the color purple, butterflies and driving. Appearing overwhelmingly in the SOUR album cover and promotional art, purple returns subtly in driving home 2 u through filters and fonts. In color the-
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Rodrigo bares heart and soul in driving home 2 u
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‘They have to face me’
Aggressive mentality driving Cowboys’ quartet pitching to next level Meer Mahfuz Staff Writer
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‘Offense wins games… Defense wins championships.’ Legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant created a slogan that not only reverberated in his Crimson Tide locker room but across the world of sports. Bryant’s famous quote echoes the locker rooms, benches, dugouts and playing fields of every sport and serves as chief motivation in practice for what all athletes desire most: championships. “Pitching and defense is what it takes to win ball games at this level and if you don’t know that then it’s going to be a struggle,” Coppell coach Ryan Howard said. “We’ve proved it with the way we have struggled offensively and still be able to walk away with wins.” After graduating a plethora of talent last season, especially on the mound, the Coppell baseball team had two true returning pitchers: senior Will Boylan and junior TJ Pompey. Senior Landry Fee was just coming off of reconstructive surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament and his arm status was questionable for the beginning of this year Howard turned to his best player on the roster, Pompey. Pompey ranks as the best shortstop and the sixth overall recruit in his class in Texas. After recording several standout games in the preseason, Pompey etched his name into Coppell’s roster as its leadoff hitter and its ace on the mound. Coppell’s second starter is senior left fielder Andrew Nester, a player who didn’t make a spotlight-stealing name for himself like Pompey, but rather was the most consistently good player on the mound through all the games for the Cowboys. For Coppell, its quartet of pitchers have not only allowed it to scrape through offensively tough games but also allowed the state-ranked Cowboys to record five shoutouts through 25 games, conceding just one district contest, putting them on pace for a District 6-6A championship as well as a deep playoff run. “I like our guys feeling aggressive,” Howard said. “I like them feeling like they are the best players on the field, and if they don’t have that attitude then I find it hard for them to be successful at this level. I like them to be aggressive, I like them to work with a fast tempo, I like them to throw a lot of strikes early in counts to get ahead of guys and force what we do
Coppell senior pitchers Andrew Nester, Landry Fee, TJ Pompey and Will Boylan make up the Coppell baseball team’s quartet pitching. The Cowboys’ clutch pitching has led Coppell to a Co-District 6-6A championship. Anjali Krishna and Sruthi Lingam
onto the other team as opposed to sitting back and getting into deep counts.” Of all the pitches he throws, Pompey’s favorite is his four-seam fastball, which is up to 94 mph, according to him. “I command it really well; I throw my slider in there sometimes but I like to go in-and-outside with my fastball,” Pompey said. “Even if I’m down in a count, I’ll still go fastball because if they hit it then they hit it but I’ll let them compete and see what they can do with it.” For Nester, it’s his two-seam fastball, but he has a general rotation of fastball, breaking ball and changeup. Nester uses the breaking ball (curveball) and changeup if he gets up in the count but will switch to fastballs if he’s down in a count. “My two-seamer has some sink and some run; I like to get it into people’s hands and make them compete,” Nester said. “When I’m down, I go four-seam if I’m trying to locate the strike zone, or I go two-seam if I’m trying to spread and get the batter to make a mistake.” For Fee, it’s his slider, which is slightly slower than Nester and Pompey’s fastballs. Fee will turn to it as long as he is up in a count, and if he’s down in a count,
then he’ll go to the fastball because he has more control over it. “The slider is my favorite because it’s nasty,” Fee said. “I have a good feel for it and it moves a lot in the air which hurts the batter.” For Boylan, it’s his changeup, which is similar in velocity to Fee’s slider; though, Boylan’s two-seam fastball is also strong as he used it to strikeout several batters in relief throughout the Class 6A playoffs last year. Depending on where Boylan is in the pitch count, his variation is similar to Nester’s. “I like throwing the changeup to the lefties, watching them swing-and-miss and take a big hack,” Boylan said. “Then I get a fastball to just drop them off the table. I like to break off a curveball when I get up in the count to freeze them a little bit and then maybe go back to the changeup. I’m going to try to locate a four-seamer when I get down in a count to get back ahead.” Pitching is different from the other positions on the field as it requires greater mental strength than physical capabilities. The best pitchers across the sport in all levels maintain similar characteristics:
Castillo as catcher in his first year with the team. “We knew we needed him immediately,” Howard said. “When he came in and jumped in behind the plate, everybody saw how talented he was, how hard he works and how much he wanted to be part of our community. Bradley’s not going to be an outgoing guy off the field but he’s got fire when he plays.” While bridging the language gap is necessary off the field, baseball was a universal language with no translations necessary for Castillo. For everything else, Howard, after seeing Castillo play, pulled Coppell senior outfielder Alejandro Lopez out of class to ask him to act as translator, as he also speaks Spanish. Being able to talk to Castillo in his native tongue, where his personality is more easily visible, Lopez sees a different side of the catcher. “While he’s more quiet in English, in Spanish he’s funny; he likes to try to make jokes,” Lopez said. “But he’s mostly focused on baseball. He’s pretty shy when it comes to English, but in Spanish, he’s a lot more outgoing. ” While his English is mostly yeses, nos and thank yous currently, Castillo is trying to speak more as he understands it. He’ll need it to pursue his future plans of playing in American college and beyond.
“I want to play in college, see what happens and what opportunities come and then hopefully go from there in my career,” Castillo said. Part of his quietness is because of the language barrier. But even with Lopez, Castillo is one of the more reserved players on the team. He even speaks quietly, preferring to speak with his hand signals at the plate instead of his voice. He considers his biggest influence to be New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, for his preaching about respect and discipline in baseball; both qualities which Castillo represents on the field. Having lived in America for two years, Castillo no longer wears his Venezuelan flag sleeve as he plays. It was when the Cowboys defeated Prosper at the Coppell ISD Baseball/Softball Complex in the third round of the playoffs last year, and the team chanted “send them home,” that he realized he felt that Coppell was home after all. “I’m starting to feel comfortable here,” Castillo said. “There’s a lot more opportunity over here in baseball, so I’m trying to take advantage of that. Speaking only Spanish was a big problem at first but it’s not as much now. I can understand a little more and get what people are saying. I feel safe here and I’m getting more comfortable as I move in.”
Baseball is Castillo’s first language
Anjali Krishna
Executive Editor-in-Chief @anjalikrishna_
While speaking English, Coppell senior catcher Bradley Castillo is as quiet as they come. He smiles a faint smile as his teammates congratulate him on a run at a playoff game, and only a brief, comparatively restrained roar as the Cowboys advance to the fourth round against Keller. Yet a jangly South American tune, Castillo’s walk-up music, is one of several hints of humor in his personality. The rest are hidden behind his linguistic gap with the Coppell baseball team - his Spanish to their English. Castillo began to play baseball at age 3, catcher at age 6 and moved from Venezuela to Coppell two years ago to play baseball, joining the Cowboys as a junior. “The first time I met Bradley, he was a small fish in a big sea,” Coppell coach Ryan Howard said. “Big eyes, he was brand new to Coppell. He was very surprised about the surroundings and trying to find his way to fit in.” Speaking only the necessary baseball terms to play as catcher and communicate with the Cowboy pitchers, Castillo’s transition to Coppell was difficult off-the-field at the start. But on the field was a different story. Howard started
calmness through adversity, the ability to think ahead in situations, anticipation and outstanding knowledge of how to induce outs, whether it be a strikeout, pop out, ground out, fly out or line out. The pitcher doesn’t work alone, however. While several teams in the high school level rely on coaches to call pitches, the Cowboys’ quartet relies solely on senior catcher Bradley Castillo, Coppell’s man behind the plate for the past two years. “Bradley is smart and knows the game; what he does is he allows our pitchers to throw what they feel confident in,” Howard said. “To me, the most important thing is that our pitchers are throwing what they are confident in and that they’re throwing it with the belief that they can get the hitter out everytime they throw. Bradley does a great job handling our pitchers and our pitchers do a great job at being smart and throwing the right pitches at the right count.” Ultimately, the pitch is up to the pitcher, especially if there’s a disconnect in the two-way street between them and Castillo. According to Fee, ‘the best pitch to throw is the one you believe in.’
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Patton and Patel qualified for the first time to the Class 6A State Tennis tournament on April 26 at the Northside Tennis Center in San Antonio. “I was excited,” Patton said. “Us doing well in the playoffs, it extended [Foster’s] time coaching us and made the season longer.” Patel and Patton finished third in Class 6A mixed doubles after advancing to the semifinals, where they lost [score and opponent]. Both players had always dreamed of reaching state as partners, finally achieving that in Patel’s last year. “We balance each other out,” Patton said. “Because of our dynamic, we work together really well together bouncing ideas out on how we can win the next play and really get tactical and strategize. We can really talk to each other.” Patel also thinks their bond over time was a key advantage in their achievements. By playing the game together for a long time, both players have developed a close friendship
that helped them understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It was this advantage that helped them “Lindsay and I have been playing together for a long time and since [Coppell Middle School East] we’ve known each other,” Patel said. “We got really close last year and we just decided that my senior year we would play together and we went undefeated for six tournaments, and that’s when we knew that we had a real shot of making it to the playoffs and we worked hard and I’m glad it all paid off.” Foster thinks the advance to state was expected as Patton and Patel were more than prepared. “I knew they deserved it, I wanted them to have it,” Foster said. “They wanted to have it. That being said we were in in my opinion the toughest district in sixth a tennis just to get past Plano West is an amazing feat. And so it was an amazing feat and I could say all day long that they deserved it but for them to get past all those teams was amazing.”
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Patel, Patton duo aced to state tournament Sreeja Mudumby
Executive Editorial Page Editor @sreejamudumby
The racket makes a firm thump as the ball smashes against it and flies to the other side of the court. Back and forth, the ball continues to bypass these strong forces, until one misses and gravity takes charge. The satisfaction of these hard shots are familiar to the hands of Coppell senior Vinay Patel and junior Lindsay Patton. Patton and Patel have been playing tennis together for three years. As a mixed-doubles team, they feel very satisfied to have reached their goal of playing state together. “It was surreal at the same time, we always had [Coppell coach] coach Rich Foster there,” Patel said. “We could always talk to him if we needed something, he was always there for us. It was nice to be able to return the favor by going to state and finishing out the season strong, especially for his last year.”
Coppell senior Vinay Patel serves during his singles match against Hebron on Tuesday at the CHS Tennis Center. Patel and junior Lindsay Patton earned their way to Class 6A State Tennis tournament on April 26 at the Northside Tennis Center in San Antonio. Sruthi Lingam
Coppell High School junior varsity tennis player Lindsay Patton hits a forehand her singles match against Hebron on Sept. 14. Patel and Patton earned their way to Class 6A State Tennis tournament on April 26 at the Northside Tennis Center in San Antonio. Olivia Cooper
After a 29-year coaching career, Coppell tennis coach Rich Foster is retiring. His final competition was the Class 6A State Tennis tournament on April 26-27 in San Antonio, where junior Lindsay Patton and senior Vinay Patel placed third in mixed doubles. “Keep working hard and whoever comes in to replace me, give them your all,” said Foster, as an outgoing message to his team. “Don’t look backwards, always look forward to embrace change and whoever comes in here, and work hard for Coppell ISD and Coppell High School.”
For more about Foster’s last tournament and retirement, visit Coppell Student Media.
MAY 2022
Last ride for long-time tennis coach
www.coppellstudentmedia.com
involved as they are with the students here. I really liked [Red Jackets] because we welcome new students. That’s what I like, I like how I know how it feels right.” Her hardworking attitude goes beyond her academic and extracurricular life. “She takes everything we say and runs with it,” Hendrick said. “She is someone who has grown into an incredible athlete in the time that she’s been with us.” Bonetto has committed to Texas State University with a major in international relations. “I like to be involved in international relationships,” Bonetto said. “It gives me an opportunity to travel and work in other countries.” Bonetto has changed her mind about her original thoughts of moving to Coppell. Bonetto has changed her mind about her original thoughts of moving to Coppell. “Now I can see it was a good decision and I’m happy with it,” Bonetto said. “I feel like a part Coppell senior Mia Bonneto plays as a midfielder for the Coppell of the community of varsity lacrosse team. She moved from Argentina in the middle Coppell.” of highschool and has been able to make friends through her lacrosse team. Nandini Paidesetty
YouTube: Coppell Student Media
Walking into the halls of a new high school is hard enough. Coming from another country, the act is life changing. “As soon as I got here, I was so confused, I didn’t even know English,” Coppell senior midfielder Mia Bonetto said. “It was a change for me.” Bonetto came from Rosario, Santa Fe her sophomore year when her father got transferred for his job at AT&T. “I was living in the same house all my life,” Bonetto said. “I didn’t want to move.” But Bonetto quickly grew accustomed to the new language and culture. She absorbed information from her daily life as well as her lessons. When Bonetto decided to play lacrosse, she had a friendly face on the team. “We met in ESL class in our sophomore year,” Coppell senior midfielder Aoi Suzuki said. “When she came to practice, I had never played lacrosse, so we got into it together.” Bonetto came into the year with some similar athletic experience, making her transition on the team smoother. She played field hockey back in Argentina which is why she started to play lacrosse.She adjusted to life in America both socially and academically, notably her English speaking abilities. “Being in school every single day, you have to learn somehow,” Bonetto said. “You’re listening and trying to talk with people. So, you learn.” Bonetto soon impressed the people around her with how
perceptive she was to the new customs around her. “Coming from Argentina at the age that she did and becoming accustomed to American sports culture is so amazing,” Coppell coach Logan Hendrick said. “She dove into lacrosse from the first moment that she stepped on the field.” Bonetto is grateful for the support system she has gained from her team. “As soon as I started playing lacrosse, I didn’t know English at all,” Bonetto said. “My team was patient with me, which I really appreciate; they are always for me in case I need them.” Bonetto was pleasantly surprised by the environment that Coppell High School fostered with their staff and students. Over the past year, Bonetto became a part of the National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors society and Red Jackets program. The activities were different from what she was used to, but she took it in stride. “I love how there’s a feeling of community, because we might not all be friends, but we all know each other,” Bonetto said. “I wasn’t used to it; in Argentina the teachers weren’t as
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