The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Create a perfect fantasy with ‘Honeymoon’

Create a perfect fantasy with ‘Honeymoon’

Gurleen Swaich
September 24, 2021
With the release of his new album, “Honeymoon,” Thomston combines sombre tunes with an upbeat background to intertwine the story of young love and self-reflection.
Faculty retirements add to CCSD substitute shortage

Faculty retirements add to CCSD substitute shortage

Gurleen Swaich
September 15, 2021
CCSD is dealing with a lack in substitute teachers to sub in for vacancies, which have schools scouting.
School operations closed for Summer Break

School operations closed for Summer Break

Gurleen Swaich
May 25, 2021

Summer Break begins on Wednesday, May 25 until Monday, Aug. 9. We look forward to seeing you when in-person learning resumes. Have a great break!

Upcoming and passionate artist Hope Tala makes a loud entrance into the music industry with “Girl Eats Sun.”
Rating: A- Photo Credit: EMI

Enter an ethereal frenzy with ‘Girl Eats Sun’

Gurleen Swaich
May 19, 2021
Staying true to her roots, artist Hope Tala released a new album called “Girl Eats Sun,” with a bold fusion of Latin and R&B genres and figurative-filled lyrics.
Students kicked off the new unit in COM 102 starting with a discussion on issues, such as parents controlling their child’s career choices. Gaining insight through each others responses, students learned more about careers and the pathway to success. “I think that this unit is going to be really helpful in the future. I haven’t had a job yet, so a lot of this information is really new to me,” junior Gabriella Barber said. “COVID-19 has made it a little hard to get a job, but once things get better I will definitely be using these tips in the future to get a job.”Photo Credit: Andrea Piacquadio

COM 102 students take a closer step into adulthood

Gurleen Swaich
April 30, 2021
Learning about real world topics, students in COM 102 discuss professional relationships and workplace environments.
Nursing students are completing an OSHA certification program to be introduced to policies and procedures in the medical field. “Personally, I think the certification program is a good way to continue our nursing year, especially now that we’ve finished our end of program tests and bookwork,” junior Ralph Quinto said. Photo Credit: Mufid Majnun

Nursing students start OSHA certification course

Gurleen Swaich
April 22, 2021
With Nursing students done with general lectures, students who passed the EOC are now able to do an OSHA certification course to help introduce workfield protocols.
Counselors have been scheduling Google Meets with freshmen, sophomores and juniors to decide their schedules for the 2022 school year. Counselors included videos with the Google Form to help students start making the right decision regarding picking electives with information about important courses and suggestions based on grade levels. “Read the course catalog to get the [specific class] description, talk to the teacher who teaches the courses you are interested in, talk to other students who have had the course, and ask your counselor. We want students making educated decisions; we love when students ask us questions,” Lead Counselor Elizabeth Hare said.Photo Credit: Nick Morrison

Students begin choosing electives for 2022 school year

Gurleen Swaich
March 29, 2021
Academic counselors have been working with students in order to begin the course selection process for next school year.
Using fake patient files to diagnose different cardiovascular disorders, students in Anatomy & Physiology have been studying blood cells and how they affect the human body. Through this unit, students have applied what they know in a real-life scenario to better prepare for future careers pertaining to the medical field. “Since I am in the Respiratory Program, doing these worksheets have been kind of cool because we get to actually look at a blood sample and use our knowledge to detect underlying conditions or other health associated issues,” junior Isabell Min said.  Photo Credit: Mary Breslin

Students diagnose underlying cardiovascular issues on fake patient files

Gurleen Swaich
March 19, 2021
Students in Mary Breslin’s Anatomy class diagnose patients in the cardiovascular unit worksheets.
After nearly spending the whole year online, students are finally transitioning to a learning model that will allow certain students to be back on campus. Students were sent an email the previous week specifying which cohort they were placed in and a follow up link if students would like to change. “The other schedule put me in a consistent routine by now, so I’m kind of upset that we changed it so abruptly and just for the last quarter, ” junior Isabell Min said. “However, I’m excited for the fourth quarter and hopefully things will be normal by the beginning of my senior year.” Art Credit: Monserrat Mendieta

New schedule put into place for first day of new in-person learning plan

To accommodate in-person learning there is a new school start time, revised schedule, and more.
 Over the course of four years, drastic changes occur. Whether it may be one’s style, personality, or even physical characteristics because of a growth spurt, this affects how we present ourselves and our confidence behind it all.  Art Credit: Dean

The reality of the golden years

Truths behind freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year.