conroe high triumph conroe, tx 77304 3200 west...

Volume 50, Issue 4

Conroe High School

Triumph 3200 West DavisConroe, TX 77304

February 15, 2019

pg. 6

Netflix vs Hulu

the

New Year, New buildingSavannah Trice Reporter

pg. 3

FFA

pg. 4

School Safety

pg. 2

Wrestling

Throughout the last year the school has been constructing a new wing of the main building.

When students and faculty returned from winter break, several teachers relocated to the new area.

“I like the flexibility that these offer, the stand up desks, the window with natural light. I’m very happy to be over here especially for the students that had to start off in the old room, and now get to move over to the new room this semester,” Mr. Gerrit Rickwalt said. “I like the extra room, the storage, the layout - it’s all wide open instead of being shoved inside the old desks we used to have.”

The wing was funded by a government bond that was voted on a couple of years ago.

“The new wing was funded by a bond issue from about two years ago and my understanding is that out of the 850 million, Conroe was a recipient of about 54 million dollars,” math teacher Brian Johnson said.

The new section of the building was added to accommodate for the growing population of students.

“Well we have been growing, in fact the principal told us the day that we came back from break, that we’re going to continue to grow, and

in 2024 we’re projected to have over 6,000 students,” counselor Stacy Brown said. “So we are outgrowing the campus and they’re probably going to have to build another school eventually.”

After the construction for the new wing was complete, construction began on the 200 hallway of the main building, with even more plans to come.

“From what I understand we eventually want to get rid of the Rotunda, move the athletics to where the Annex is, and then what’s in the Rotunda will go where athletics currently is,” Brown said. “So athletics, Annex, and Rotunda will all swap, but then there’s also talks of eventually building out to the street and moving us further down.”

Although the new building has its perks, some teachers miss their old rooms.

“There’s only one reason

why I would have liked to stay in my old room, and that’s to get antennas up on the roof,” Rickwalt said. “We do a lot of stuff with radio astronomy this semester and what that means is basically putting a lot of this equipment on a cart and wheeling it downstairs, and setting up in the LGI instead. It takes hours to get it all set up.”

Along with the new

architecture, the school also added new technology to the new wing.

“I like the technology in the new room and I’m about to receive my apple iPad so I can walk around desk to desk and do problems on the board through the iPad,” Johnson said. “I really like the Mimio board too, I’ve been trying to get used to it. I still have some issues with using markers on the wall, so the fact that we have the Mimio really helps.”

Many decisions

were made during the construction of the new wing, such as what needed to be added, the materials used and the color scheme as well as the big picture of what the entire project would end up looking like.

“The first thing that happened is they went through a planning committee and the planning committee went through and made up what the needs for the school were,” Mr. Randall Harris said. “After that, both an architectural and engineering committee came through, designed the plans and then it was approved by the board and brought back here.

People tend to underestimate the lengthy details and processes that go into such a huge building project.

“The first thing they did was build a new power plant to take away for the air conditioning units and give more power to the school,” Harris said. “Because right where the new building is, is where the air conditioning units used to be for the old building.”

And the construction doesn’t end there. What was supposed to be a minor nine-week project on the 200 hallway, has recently turned into a full remodel with the expectation that it will look more like the new wing.

Pin and WinD’vontae HughesReporter

Road to Victory

Wrestling season is nearly over and the competitors worked hard all year on new techniques to beat their opponents.

While football is clearly the most well known high school sport, others would say wrestling could be right behind it.

“Well in Texas it’s mostly a football state so of course football would be number one for sports but I’ say wrestling would be at least number two but definitely up there in top 5 top 3,” Bryce Gordon said.

Wrestling may have one of the longest seasons out of any high school sport.

“Our seasons are

pretty long, like we go from October to the beginning of March and there are matches and stuff almost every other weekend and sometimes during the week,” Katie Pinner said. “We have a lot of matches and tournaments throughout the season too.”

Wrestling matches are normally quick with a typical match only lasting six to 10 minutes.

“Well it really depends on how you wrestle and how fast you can beat your opponent but a typical match I’d say would last around 6 minutes,” Wyatt Maturin said.

The intensity and

focus the athletes have is always high when wrestling.

“During a match it is pretty tiring and very intense because you’re constantly going and battling and maneuvering out of missions, grapples and any other kind of moves for a solid six minutes or so,” Francisco Gonzalez said.

The team just competed at the District meet last week in Klein where Wyatt Maturin placed in the top five, advancing him to the Regional meet at Allen High School this weeked. The team is hoping to then advance to state.

Powerlifting isn’t just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. The team is nearing the end of the season with regionals and state on the horizon, after they competed at district last week.

Beside the competitions and weight lifting, some of the lifters’ favorite part comes from within the team itself.

“Despite getting physically stronger, my favorite part about powerlifting is how close the team’s bond is,” Micaiah Loop said. “Personally it makes a positive difference when your team is like family to you and encourages you throughout the way.”

The team has mostly grown to become a family due to the coaches. Coach Cobb and Coach Anthony regularly encourage the team with personal motivation that help each athlete grow both as a lifter and as people.

“Coach Cobb and Coach Anthony always try their best to comfort us before competitions and remind us of the previous

techniques we learned throughout the year and during practice,” Arciel Barrera said. “For example, making our lifts smoother and clearing our mindset of any type of negativity helps a lot.”

The way powerlifting is scored depends on the individual’s strength and dedication to the sport.

“Powerlifting is scored based on your best squat, bench press and deadlift,” Geraldo Moya said. “You get three attempts to get your best lift on all three, which ends up adding up for an overall score.”

Although there are some team members that lift more than others, the entire team is dedicated to powerlifting.

“I believe the MVP’s of the team can be any single one of us because we all have different degrees of excitement, motivation and persistence to keep each other going,” Jessica Espinal said. “Our bond contributes to the final outcome of how we do at

the end of the day and without everyone giving it their all, we couldn’t be successful

Powerlifting is a sport anyone can join as long as they have a physical on file. Even if they have no experience with lifting, the team encourages anyone with enough motivation to join because everyone is welcome.

“I recommend for someone trying to join powerlifting to not get discouraged when starting out because you will be facing people that are much stronger than you are, but that’s okay,” Espinal said. “Just stick with it and set goals for yourself.”

The season is wrapping up with only a few events ahead.

“We will be having a last meet on 2/16 for the boys at the Woodlands, and after that is Regionals on 2/23 for girls, 3/2 for guys, and state meets, 3/15 for girls and 3/23 for guys,” Ana Gonzalez said.

Going against a Willis competitor, Taylor Ledet competes at the ninth grade campus. Photo by Emma Kuempel

The wrestling teams competed at a tournament at home against several other schools. Photo by Emma Kuempel

With the bar ready, Blaise Ohnheiser attempts a bench press. Photo by Brianna Brown

Squatting, Yahira Campuzano waits for the referee to command her to rack her weight.Photo by Brianna Brown

Diana MartinezReporter

The boys basketball teams, led by Coach Mason and Coach Pillitere, ended their season this week with Tuesday being senior night and their last game.

Without a doubt every player contributed to the team in some way, but the coaches continue to train them to their best capabilities by intensifying their drills and training for next season.

“We do full court closeouts, basically it’s where you start on the baseline, coach blows the whistle and you start chopping your feet, he blows it again you run to the free-throw line then he’ll blow it again and you start shuffling both ways and same thing for the rest of the court,” Ian Greg said.

Although some of the players only play for school purposes and as a hobby, others hope to make it in the big

leagues later in life. “I started playing

basketball as a hobby and for a P.E. credit, but I’ve grown to love the sport itself and all the drills we do,” Alex Ball said. “Now I plan on making basketball a major part of my future, maybe even my future career. It’s a bit of a stretch, but if you believe and motivate yourself enough to do something you can do it, so hopefully I will go from a small town high school team, to college, and then hopefully pros.”

Just like any other team, the basketball teams prepared and motivated each player with their pre-game warm ups and traditions. Unlike other teams that huddled around or prayed with each other, the basketball team surrounded each other with an enormous amount of energy.

“Before every game

the whole team gathers around and plays hype motivational music and we just like to turn up in the locker room with each other,” Jacob Wohlschlaeger said. “It loosens our nerves while we change and prepare, and we chant encouraging messages.”

Throughout the victories and losses, every player on the varsity and junior varsity teams contributed not only as athletes, but as representatives of the school in every game they played in.

Though their season may be over, the girls varsity team is still fighting their way to the top.

After defeating Aldine Davis in Monday’s first round of the playoffs, they hope to continue to move forward in the bracket after this weekend’s matchup against Pflugerville at A&M Consolidated.

page 3

Full Court PressCaleb MannReporter

Moove Over

Up against TWHS, Michael Sneed dribbles around the opponent. Photo by Bianca Koch

Playing against College Park, Jamal Dawson and Alex Ball jump up to block the shot. Photo by Reyna Carmona

The FFA is divided into different career development activities; horse judging, veterinary medicine, dairy cattle, poultry, milk quality, wildlife and floriculture.

Many students participate in competitions and events held around Texas throughout the year.

Competing against different schools and in major shows statewide, allows FFA students to earn scholarships, recommendations for colleges and jobs and invitations for major competitions.

This year two students, Chasity Duncan and Ashlyn Real, are going to Denver, Colorado for a big show. They were nominated to this show because of how well they show pigs during

competitions.“I’m very excited

because it’s going to be great and I’m also seeing snow for the first time,” Real said.

Showing animals takes a lot of time and dedication. A lot of the students who show have a family history where they grew up in the livestock industry and have developed similar traits.

“I actually grew up in the livestock industry, so I just decided to show pigs to improve my skills,” Duncan said. “And it’s also a part of me since it runs in my family.”

Many FFA students decided to be a part of the organization because a few of their family members were also in it when they were in high

school.“My cousin was in FFA

so I decided to try it out,” Krista Dabney said.

Being a member means traveling and putting a lot of hard work to make sure everything goes as planned.

“Being part of the FFA is outstanding, I enjoy every single moment with my friends while traveling to our competitions and events,” Cartavious Goudeau said.

FFA has many competitions coming up now that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is drawing near. They have many events at HLSR during our Spring Break; the heifer show from 3 / 6 - 3/ 9, livestock judging on 3 / 11, vet med on 3/12 and dairy judging on 3 / 16.

Colton Hightower won Grand Champion with his medium weight goat and Reserve Champion with his heavy weight goat. Photo submitted

During school, Chasity Duncan assists in getting a goat out of a trailer. Photo by Rose Vazquez

Rose VazquezAssistant Editor

Safety in SchoolsSchool shootings have

been terrorizing America ever since the very first shooting in 1840, but over the last year, the number of shootings has skyrocketed and the fatalities have grown.

At least 113 people were killed on school campuses in 2018, and countless injured. According to BBC News, on average there was a school shooting once every 8 school days.

“The school shootings kind of scared me at first and made me more aware of my surroundings for a while, but it has seemed to calm down so that’s good at least,” Chasity Walker said. “I mean I can’t really imagine something happening at my school but everyone thinks it can never happen to them.”

After the most recent shooting in Atascocita, many students have been on high alert due to the proximity of the event.

“I feel like our school is

pretty unsafe,” Garrett Vival said. “The door at the end of the athletics hall is always unlocked so at any point someone could just walk in and it’s super easy to sneak in things to use as weapons. I think knives and pretty much anything can be a threat to safety, pretty much anything that’s metal or heavy or sharp, even like a pen or pencil.”

With better policies and the proper technology, we could ensure that only people that make it into any of the buildings on campus should be here.

“We could make students actually wear our ids and have to swipe them to open the doors when entering the school

outside of the passing period time, we could prevent people getting in the school that have no business being here,” Walker said. “Even if it doesn’t keep out every single person that gets in, it significantly reduces the chance of

anyone that comes in meaning to do harm to anyone here.”

Another way that incidents at the school could be prevented would be

for teachers to be trained on student behavior to better understand them and be able to pick up on threatening behvaiors.

“Teachers need to learn to pick up on behaviors and talk to students like teenagers and not

as children or adults,” Anzleigh Thomas said. “The authority figures at this school know what it’s like to be caught in the middle of adulthood and childhood so they need to treat us how they wish they were treated, that way we won’t lose the little amount of sanity we have left while we’re here.”

While there are some concerns among the students, the school does have some good safety measures in place, such as keeping many doors locked and making people check in so that their driver’s license is on file in case of an incident.

School safety is important because feeling secure at school is vital to getting an education because students can be focused on learning instead of being worried about if you they are going to make it back home to their families that night.

Kaytee JarvisEditor-in-Chief

National Love Your Pet Day is Feb. 20David FaulReporter

Aubrey Storm

Colin Hicks

Xavier Espinosa

Billy Michon

Rose Vazquez

Annaliesse Hernandez

Chasity Duncan

Allie CannonName: Leonard

Species: miniature donkey Unique trait: He tries to come in the

house and thinks he’s a lap animal.

Name: BarbosaSpecies: pig

Unique trait: He’s a show pig and has won every show he’s been in for the past

two months.

Name: ChesterSpecies: domestic short hair cat

Unique trait: He loves playing fetch

Name: MollySpecies: orange fronted parrot

Unique trait: He likes to mimics noises. I named him Molly because I thought he

was a girl for the first 7 years.

Name: ApolloSpecies: American bulldog

Unique trait: He can jump a six-foot fence.

Name: OsirisSpecies: ball python

Unique trait: It has no venom and is a constrictor.

Name: ScrapetteSpecies: aquatic frog

Unique trait: It is 10-years-old, I thought it was a boy for 9 years

Name: GizmoSpecies: hedgehog

Unique trait: He’s an albino hedgehog and is three-years-old.

What is New(s)?

A Cajun TraditionMardi Gras is

Tuesday, March 5 and people across America are preparing for the many ways to celebrate.

Although mostly celebrated in Louisiana, the tradition still carries across the border since there are many Louisiana transplants in the area, and they bring their many traditions and celebrations here with them.

Some people celebrate Mardi Gras by spending time with their family, either by watching the big parade, participating in it, or just spending time with them at home cooking and eating food.

“All my family gathers up and we

go out to watch the parade or stay home and cook or barbeque and just eat food and have a fun time with family,” Christian Llorente said.

Cooking food is a big part of Mardi Gras, no matter how you decide to celebrate there is always some type of cooking whether it’s cooking a full course meal or a novelty dessert such as King’s Cake.

“There are many types of food to cook but my family likes to cook this type of cake called a ‘King’s Cake,’” Richard Warren said. “I don’t know if that’s the official name, but in my family that’s what we call it and it’s probably the most popular cake.”

If you go to the parade, make sure you come prepared.

“ If you go to the parade, you have to get there early enough so you can get a spot in the parade line, because the closer you get to the parade the more people there is and the harder it is to park,” Mr. Keith Dupre said. “So you get your spot, sit on the tailgate and just watch the floats as they come by and get some beads when they throw them out and just relax.”

Even if you don’t go to the parade you can still celebrate and have fun during Mardi Gras by spending time with your family and enjoying delicious home cooked food and desserts.

Kendra MitchellReporter

D’Vontae HughesReporter

Atascocita Shooting Oscar NomineesSuper Bowl LIII Government ShutdownQ: What do you most look forward to when watching the Oscars?

A: Mianza Nguyen: “I mainly looking at all of the dresses and seeing my favorite celebrities. I also want to root them on as a nominee.”

Q: Who are you hoping to win big this year? And why?

A: Nicholas Montalvo: “I’m hoping that ‘Black Panther’ steals the show. It has so many nominations and I think that it deserves all of them! That film means so much to so many people, especially the people of color, POC, living in America today. It’s a marvel film that takes the token POC character and flips the script; it’s predominantly POC with only a few white actors. And it’s not just the representation, I feel like it was actually a good movie. It tackled some tough themes expertly and was still entertaining. So, this Oscars, I’m praying that ‘Black Panther’ sweeps the categories.”

Q: How do you feel knowing that there was school shooting at Atascocita High School?

A: Kyle Mrosko : “I thinks it makes me realize that it’s very real and could happen to us, because it happens far away so we think that it can’t happen to us. So it’s awakening.”

Q: Do you think that there is enough being done to protect our school from being the next target?

A: Samantha Ramey: “I think that it is stupid that someone can carry a gun and no one would know. So no there is not enough being done to protect the school.”

Q: Why do you think people, specifically teenagers, resort to violence?

A: Kyndall Shupak: “ I think teenagers resort to violence due to frustration to their environment and a lack of any other’s opinion.”

Q: How do you feel about the government shutdown?

A: Calvin Neal: “Sometimes arguing over the budget is a good thing if it will save lives or cut unnecessary spending. The last shutdown, in my opinion, was not worth the risk. They argued over an insignificant amount of money and basing their opinions on what is good for their party, not what is good for the country.

Q: How does the government shutdown affect the economy?

A: Katherine Bryant: “The effect on the economy comes from the government employees and contractors who are working and not getting paid during the shutdown. Even though federal employees make up a small percentage of workers in the U.S., the impact of them not having a paycheck shows up in a larger way. When workers aren’t out spending money due to not getting paid, companies like Target and Chick-Fil-A aren’t making money so they don’t need as many workers. It is a ripple effect in the economy.”

Q: What is your favorite part of the super bowl?

A: AiKorah Enriquez:”My favorite part of the super bowl is the halftime show because I think it’s funny to see how much effort they put into making it excessively more over-the-top each year.”

Q: Do you think that the New England Patriots deserved to win another Super Bowl championship?

A: Xavier Espinosa: “ I believe the Patriots did deserve the win because they did earn it, they fought hard, they played rough and beat the Rams fair and square.”

Q: What was your favorite Super Bowl commercial and why?

A: Dinesh Malik: “My favorite Super Bowl commercial was the Pepsi one with Steve Carrell, Lil Jon and Cardi B.

The traditional King’s Cake hides a trinket baby in it, so whoever finds it, is believed to have a year of good luck and has to buy the cake the next year.

Mardi Gras parades have been traced all the way back to 1699.

Spring BreakBlanca FuentesReporter

Mr. Gerrit Rickwalt

Leslie Gonzalez

Jeveon Fitzgerald

James Blackshear & James McFadden

Emily Barrera

Bryce Gordon

Cartavius Goudeau

Sebastian Perez

Kayla Spencer

Esteban Guerra

Danny Malik

Cesar Nunez“If I could do anything for spring break I would go back to New York to visit my family that I

haven’t seen in a long time.”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would fly to Mexico and party on the beach with my

friends.”

“I would go to Hawaii and go skydiving with my girlfriend.”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would go to Bora Bora, stay in one of the huts on the beach. I

would go jet skiing and swimming by myself.”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would make more money and hang out with friends and

have a good time.”

“ I would practice tennis so I can get ready for my matches.”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would work out and get money.”

“If we could do anything for spring break we would go to the beach in Australia and have a

good time and party with our friends.”

“I would definitely take a road trip to Cali with all my close friends.”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would fly to Orlando Florida, and have a hotel party”

“If I could do anything for spring break I would go to the Museum of Science and History in

Corpus Christi.”

“I would go to Disney world and have a good time with my friends and family.”

Entering the new year Netflix has decided to increase their membership prices on all their family plans. After they announced their increase Hulu decided to lower their membership catching people’s attentions, their price lowered to $5.99 per month.

“I bought Hulu during their black friday sale for 99 cents A month. In my opinion I like them both Hulu, is the one that I like more because they have current tv shows that I enjoy, but

I like Netflix because they have more originals movies and shows you won’t be available to find anywhere else,” David Faul said.

Many students around the campus have given their opinions to why they stay loyal to their choice of watching shows and movies.

“I think it doesn’t matter if Netflix rises their prices as long they

add new movies and keep up with all the shows then I’ll pay,” Erika Guzman said.

While people stay loyal to Netflix they still have things about the app they might like to change.

“I’ll stay with Netflix it’s a cool app and I like how it’s very well organize but they need to add more movies and keep up with the shows,” Ana Nunez

said.Having the Hulu

app consist of having commercials in between the movies and shows interrupting the moment.

“I been using Hulu for a while to keep up with my shows but the only thing I hate about it is when the commercials pop up in the middle of my movies,” Felipe Jimenez said.

After Netflix increasing their prices and Hulu lowering, people still stand by their favorite movie and show streaming app.

You can get with this, or thatRose VazquezReporter

The Fun PageHave a safe Spring B

reakl!

Choir Madrigal Festival - San Antonio

Baseball @ La Porte tournament

JV Baseball @ Spring tournament

Softball @ Stony Point tournament

4:30 PM Boys soccer @ College Park

6:30 AM FCA Meeting-CCC




3:00 PM JV track meet

Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

AdvisorKara Gold

Editor-in-ChiefKaytee Jarvis

PhotographersAll Staff

Copy EditorKaytee Jarvis

ReportersDiana Martinez

D’Vontae HughesKendra Mitchell

David FaulBlanca FuentesCaleb Mann

Savannah TriceRose Vazquez

Volume 50Conroe High School 3200 West Davis St

2018-2019Conroe, TX 77304

The Triumph, an official publication of Conroe High School, 3200 West Davis, Conroe, Texas 77304; (936)709-5700; e-mail: [email protected], is printed throughout the year by the Advanced Journalism Newspaper classes. It is designed to serve the students and staff in a responsible, journalistic manner and is distributed free of charge. The Triumph is normally not censored by administration. Established staff guidelines serve as restraints. The Triumph is a member of the Interscholastic Press Conference, The University Interscholastic League, and Journalism Education Association. The Triumph gladly accepts advertisements, but they are subject to review, and it will not sell political advertisements.

Conroe ISD does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, handicap, or national origin in providing the education of access to benefits of education, services, activities, programs, or employment as required by the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1954 as amended: Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended: and title II of the Americans with Disabilities.

The Triumph

Debate @ TFA State

11:00 AM Softball vs TWHS

12:00 PM JV Baseball vs. Klein

5:00 PM Baseball @ Klein

Monthly Events16

17 18 19 20 21 22

10 11 12 1413 15

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Softball @ BCS tournament

4:30 PM Boys soccer vs. Klein Forest

5:00 PM Girls soccer @ Klein Forest

5:00 PM JV Baseball @ Bryan HS

President’s Day - *No School*

Staff Development Day

4:00 PM Girls soccer vs. Oak Ridge

5:00 PM Baseball Scrimmage @ Elmore Field

Baseball @ Texas City

4:30 PM Boys soccer @ Oak Ridge

4:30 PM Softball @ Klein Oak

6:30 PM FFA Meeting in Rotunda

6:30 AM FCS Meeting in CCC

7:00 AM Senior Blood Drive in Porter Gym

Letter Jacket Sizing during lunches

Choir Madrigal Festival - San Antonio




10:00 PM Girls soccer vs. College Park

2:30 PM Student Council meeting in LGI

5:00 PM JV Baseball @ College Park

4:30 PM Softball vs. Klein Cain

5:00 PM Boys soccer vs. Klein Oak

5:00 PM Girls soccer @ Klein

7:00 PM Baseball vs. College Park

Future Teacher State Competition

Softball @ Aldine tournament

Pep Rally Schedule - Faculty vs. Students

basketball game

11:00 AM Ferrell Classic



2:35 Interact Meeting in Cafeteria

3:00 PM Leo Club Meeting in LGI




5:00 PM Girls soccer vs. Klein Cain



Orchestra @ Woodlands Marathon


4:30 PM Cheer tryout clinic in Pit gym

3:00 PM Debate scrimmmage

3:00 PM Boys Basketball Banquet in Rotunda

4:30 Softball @ Klein

5:00 PM Boys soccer vs. Klein

5:00 PM Girls soccer @ Klein


AM & PM Faculty Meetings

Life Skills @ Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Debate @ TFA State

6:30 AM FCA Meeting-CCC

Poetry Slam in LGI

2:00 PM Cheer tryouts

2:35 Spanish Club Mtg

7:00 PM Band pre-UIL concert in Aud.

7:00 Baseball @ Klein Oak

*Early Release*

Debate @ TFA State

4:30 PM JV baseball @ Klein Cain

7:00 PM Baseball vs. Klein Cain

Softball @ BCS tournament

Debate @ MUN Region

State Swim Meet @ Austin

Winter Guard Contest

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