The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow
Listening to upcoming NHS events, senior Nathaniel Scherschel looks forward to participating with friends. NHS board members announced their breast cancer walk event, as well as donation opportunities. “I enjoy participating in club events with my friends,” Scherschel said. “I find that being with my friends helps me have motivation to serve my community and it’s a great way to have fun with them outside of school.”

Club Preview: A Look Into The Week Of Oct. 28

Kailie Sicolo, News Editor
October 29, 2024
Psychology Club hosts guest speaker, NHS decorates cookies, and AASA informs members on Indonesia.
Social worker Marcella Garcia and SEIF Maura Staten work together to build a jigsaw puzzle with a student. They both engaged in conversation with the student fostering a calm and supportive environment. “We don't want to add too much pressure,” Garcia said. “[Students] already have a full schedule and things that [they] have to do, and so we want to make sure that principals patio doesn't add to the pressure of having to get things done. We really do want to try to keep it as unstructured as possible in a safe way.

Social Workers Introduce Principal’s Patio for Students

Jaden Espinueva, Staff Writer
October 24, 2024
To create a relaxed space for students, social workers Jocelyn Kim and Marcella Garcia establish Principal’s Patio.
Listening to board members announce upcoming events, senior Harris Gibirila expresses excitement with his brother. Gibirla looked forward to HOSA’s Parent’s Night Out event. “Volunteering at an event that gives kids with down syndrome an opportunity for some freedom sounded really interesting to me,” Gibrila said. “As a volunteer, we would be watching them so they have some form of supervision from a person their age.”

Club Preview: A Look Into The Week Of Oct. 21

Kailie Sicolo, News Editor
October 22, 2024
HOSA prepares members for their upcoming blood drive and SLC events, Dungeons and Dragons begins playing, and Speech and Debate celebrates members’ wins at the October tournament.
Announcing future school events with interest, junior Selena Lay Hamilton is hosting the meeting for the audience. She hadn’t done this before, so she was trying her best and was very energetic. “I was very nervous,” Hamilton said. “But overall, I was excited and had a good time hosting.”

Coyote Congress Announces Upcoming Events

Rheyland Simon
October 22, 2024
The Coyote Congress meeting on October 1st announced new and upcoming events coming to Southwest, introduced clubs to newcomers, and more.
During last year’s club feud, BSU President Philipos Alebachew hosts the game show. With the game on the line, Alebachew waited for the competitor to answer. “I really enjoyed it,” senior Sydney Hester said, “I feel like it was a great way to bring all the clubs together in a competition. There were a variety of questions that a lot of people could answer, and different point-of-views were tossed around to see if they were the correct answer [shown] on the board.”

BSU Hosts Club Feud

Jon Escala, Staff Writer
October 15, 2024
Pitting clubs against each other in a game show style.
Catching the football, last year's Design Academy (DA) Senior Jayson Deguzman scores a touchdown for his team. Following homecoming tradition, the Professional Academy (PA) and Design Academy (DA) will compete in a flag football game at the assembly on Oct. 18.

Student Council Changes Requirements to Play in Annual Game

Angel White
October 14, 2024
Student Council shares the process and changes for the 2025 PA/DA game and assembly
Helping the team practice for their next match, club adviser Jose Gomez thinks about his next move on the board. The team will be playing Sierra Vista HS for their next game on Tuesday, October 22. “There are lots of kids at other schools that are at a high level, but so do we,” Gomez said. “It just comes down to how long you have played the game for. I think practicing on the daily, even for just thirty minutes, helps a lot in terms of gameplay.”

Chess Team Back On the Board After Five Years

Johnny Tao, Staff Writer
October 12, 2024
Players of the SWCTA Chess Team will compete against students from other schools.
Scanning into her AP Human Geography class, sophomore Hareyna Tecle holds her ID up to the scanner. The scanners have been introduced in most classes since last Friday. “I feel like it’s productive,” sophomore Hareyna Tecle said. “It’s a really great idea; it’ll be a nice way for us to check in and for teachers to do attendance, more easily and more accurately.”

Administration Implements Attendance Scanners In Classrooms

Jon Escala and Rheyland Simon
October 9, 2024
Teachers are now using new attendance scanners, replacing the traditional way of taking attendance.
A single entrance point gate is being built around the school, just outside of the G building entrance. The gate entrance has been up since the first day of school and has since expanded to the bus stop. “[The gate is for] safety and tracking too, so we make this place the safest that it can possibly be for everyone inside of it,” Assistant Principal Eric Gant said.

Campus Entrance To Become Single, Gated

Natalia Klonowski, Staff Writer
October 8, 2024
Admin will be able to easily monitor one entrance point, instead of two.
As students find their academic paths, Janelle Kelly discusses the importance of having perspective in planning for the future. “Sometimes you have to step away from what you're in the midst of and look at the big picture,” Kelly says. “Ask yourself, where am I going? What am I doing? Why am I doing these things?”

Students Navigate Their Future with Strategic Academic Planning

Isabella Sandoval and Natalia Klonowski
October 4, 2024
By planning with counselors, students are making choices about their education in order to stay on track for their post-secondary choices.
Outlining her shoebox project, sophomore Jaylene Motes leads her group, showing them how to cut out their future classroom. “It’s teaching me ways to make my future students feel safe around me and in my classroom. I like that our class is engaging, that everyone is friends with each other, and that I can talk to my teacher, and that's how I want my class to feel,” Motes said.

Teaching and Training Students Create Miniature Classrooms

Andrew Baier and Kevin Zhao
October 3, 2024
Freshmen, sophomores begin to design their dream classrooms.
Demonstrating the correct piping technique to his class, Chef Michael Hadobas goes into intricate detail about piping roses. Mastery of this technique made it easier for the students later on in the unit. “Knowing exactly how to hold the piping bag is important because just a couple of degrees off can totally change how the finished product looks,” junior Addison Marsh said. “From Chef, I also learned how to move the nail around so that you weren't making more work for yourself and just letting the nail do the work for you.”

Baking & Pastry Students Explore Cake Decorating Techniques

Johnny Tao and Jaden Espinueva
October 3, 2024
With the guidance of Chef Hadobas, the students learned all the skills included in the Cake Decorating unit.
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