The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow
Gathering for their board meeting, the CCSD Board of Trustees discusses the future of the school district’s leadership following Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara’s resignation. Jara has served in CCSD as the superintendent since 2018. “We have four new trustees that were appointed to the board that were non-voting members,” Computer Science teacher Dana Cuni said. “Most trustees are voted in by a public who may not know what's best for education, but these four professionals know the process. They've been in education, they have PhDs, and they know what we need, so I'm hoping they do their work to find the research, to hear what parents want, what students want, what teachers want, and use a hiring process to find a person who's a better fit than Jara was.” Screenshot from CCSD School Board Meeting

Jara’s Legacy: Impact on CCSD

Jianna Aganon and Yaritzza Montenegro
March 4, 2024
Former Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara left a dent in the history of CCSD.
After an approximately seven-hour drive to Reno, Nevada, Speech and Debate students anticipated to compete. The sudden news was revealed on March 1 in the afternoon. “The next plan of action is to have a snow day,” senior Ellie Lakatos said. “We are probably going to enjoy the weather a bit. However, as for the tournament I know that the Debate kids are disappointed as it will have to be rescheduled for another day or online. The debate students worked really hard and I hope they will have a chance to show all they know.”

BREAKING NEWS: Debate Portion of Speech, Debate State Competition Postponed

Yaritzza Montenegro, Copy Editor
March 2, 2024
Students competing in speech participated on March 1.
Always preparing for their tournaments, Speech and Debate members Victor Pedzik and Ethan Bull learn about what will happen at their competition. Speech and Debate has had a successful season. “As I went on in my past two tournaments, I’ve been very prepared,” Pedzik said. “I’ve been memorizing, but I’m still working on it.”

Speech and Debate prepares for state championship

Hayden Hunt, Staff writer
February 29, 2024
In the days leading up to the tournament on March 2-3, the Speech and Debate team is working hard in order to be ready.
SCHOOL OPERATIONS CLOSED FOR PRESIDENT'S DAY

SCHOOL OPERATIONS CLOSED FOR PRESIDENT’S DAY

Ayma Malik, Editor in Chief
February 16, 2024
Classes will resume Feb. 20.
Using the new sign out system, junior Venice Jingco types in her student ID number to indicate that she has left for the restroom. Upon signing out, students have six minutes to use the bathroom and return to class to sign back in. “For now, we're just kind of testing it with about 20 or 30 teachers throughout the school to kind of see how the flow works,” Assistant Principal Cameron Roehm said. “When we eventually implement the system school-wide, we will know how it works, and it will help it [the program] run smoother at our school.”

School Implements Classroom Sign Out System

Zelina Panissidi, Staff Writer
February 15, 2024
The system is currently being tested and used as a bathroom pass.
At the AASA’s recent club meeting, members engaged in many activities to introduce each other. Sophomore Devin Uclaray attended the club's meeting for the first time. “This is such a promising club, we made origami and introduced each other,” Uclaray said. “I will definitely be going to the next meeting to see what other fun activities we do.”

AASA starts meeting officially

Amelia Castellanos, Staff Writer
February 13, 2024
Meetings are from 1:45 to 3:00.
Placing the final decoration down onto the table, senior Kai Parker finishes her tablescape. Last year, Hospitality students had the opportunity to employ practical skills that they would use in the industry, but due to the usage of substitutes to teach the class, that option was taken away from them this year. “I didn’t even know that they were getting rid of the program, I thought that they were phasing it out,” senior Kai Parker said. “I do think that it’s a good thing, though. The course load, it didn’t feel like it was at a high school level, it felt like it was at a middle school level. Culinary by itself was great, but Hospitality alongside it just wasn’t that good.”

HOSPITALITY PROGRAM ELIMINATED FROM COURSE OFFERINGS

Adrienne Vera-Perez, Staff Writer
February 12, 2024
Hospitality classes removed in 2024-2025 school year among other course catalog changes.
Squinting in the sun, sophomore Hunter Rhee shields his eyes from the bright UV rays. July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded in Las Vegas. “The summer is the time when people travel, and if the heat’s here they’re not going to enjoy their time,” sophomore Leonardo Chavez said. “It’s been getting really bad to the point where you get scared to sit down on leather.”

Las Vegas’ Extreme Weather Raises Economic Concerns

Ava Torres, Staff Writer
February 9, 2024
The economic future of Las Vegas is uncertain.
Displaying the implementation of the new salary on a table, CCSD is working to honor the agreements made in the December 2023 contract. The contract fulfills most of the demands made by CCEA. “We have never seen anything like this. I really think it's thanks to CCEA and all the work they did up in the legislature for education,” Computer Science teacher Dana Cuni said. “The underserved populations in the district are suffering the most so hopefully this is a big enough package to say “Maybe I wasn’t going to be a teacher but maybe I would like to try it.” because the pay will be big enough.”

CCEA, CCSD Reach Historic Contract Agreement

Jianna Aganon
February 7, 2024
The contract will be fully effective within the next two years with an increase of 10 percent this year and an increase of eight percent in 2025.
Preparing for King and Queen of Hearts, the Student Council (StuCo) invites different clubs and encourages them all to participate. The King and Queen of Hearts fundraiser held in February is an annual fundraiser to raise money for the American Heart Association. “It’s for a good cause and since it’s like a competition type thing, I think it raises spirits and gets people more active in school and to participate more,” Vice President of Design Academy Emilio Garcia said. “Some of the challenges were figuring out the logistics and getting smaller clubs to participate and once we get to week two and three getting donations gets challenging.”

STUCO TO HOST ‘KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS’ FUNDRAISER

Joy Ryan, Staff Writer
February 5, 2024
During the week of Feb. 5, anyone can donate money to representatives wearing a sash and holding a bucket.
After postponing the form for three months, the FAFSA has now become available during periods of time as they monitor site performance. Changes have been made to allow its users to seamlessly apply financial aid for higher education. “I’ve known about FAFSA since last year because my sister was applying to college,” senior Shantell Hunt said. “Honestly, I thought the application was weird because your parents had to set up their own account. When my sister did hers last year, she had to ask my dad a lot of questions about his finances but this year there weren’t too many questions about it.”

New FAFSA Available Periodically

Yaritzza Montenegro, Copy Editor
January 22, 2024
FAFSA is only available for periods of time as the company “monitors site performance."
While walking across campus on the new sidewalks, students make their way to class. For several years, students walked along the dirt and stones, causing them to violate an institutional rule. “[The] rule is for everyone to use the sidewalks because they are level and provide better footing when compared to the stones,” Assistant Principal Cameron Roehm. “The rule is there for safety reasons and I would hope students would want to keep their shoes cleaner by not tracking through the stones.”

NEW CROSSWALKS ON CAMPUS

Joy Ryan, Staff Writer
January 19, 2024
Students are greeted with new crosswalks when entering campus.
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