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The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Working solo, Jessica Kelly teaches a lesson covering racial injustices. Kelly has been keeping her students engaged through slideshows and weekly discussions. “I'm really into teaching this class. And I just want to make it a culture at this school,” Kelly said. “Everybody should want to take this class, regardless of what they look like, or their ethnic background. I feel like everybody needs to hear this important information.”

Teacher’s Goal of Offering Ethnic Studies Course Materializes

Daphney Garcia-Hatton, Staff Writer
September 25, 2023
New Nevada State University Ethnic Studies 101 course makes its first appearance to our curriculum, here at SWCTA.
Attempting to cool down an Engineering classroom, senior Brandon Pecayo adjusts a small portable fan. Over the past month, the F building has been one of the places on campus that has been the most affected by the AC breakdowns. “The fan in the room definitely makes it more comfortable to work,” Pecayo said. “I like being able to do my work in comfort instead of having to sit in the heat.”

Campus Air Conditioning Receives Much Needed Repair

Adrienne Vera-Perez, Staff Writer
September 21, 2023
Classrooms cooled down after a month of abnormally hot temperatures.
Being new to the school and its policies, freshman Cameron Kefale signs out of the class to use the restroom. He has found these rules to be helpful with shaping school safety. “I think that the bathroom policies are actually pretty good,” Kefale said. “Let's say someone does something bad while they are gone, this rule helps them [staff]  know who was in the bathroom at that time.”

Updated District-wide Bathroom Procedures, Technology Set in Place

Amelia Castellanos, Staff Writer
September 21, 2023
Staff has recently added regulations regarding bathroom usage for students.
BREAKING NEWS: LAURA PENROD NAMED NEVADA TEACHER OF THE YEAR

BREAKING NEWS: LAURA PENROD NAMED NEVADA TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Ayma Malik, Editor in Chief
September 19, 2023
Laura Penrod is the Nevada State Teacher of the Year for 2024.
Placing another spoonful of pineapple on her plate, sophomore Sophia Vizcarra grabs lunch from the school’s salad bar. CCSD has been working hard to provide healthier food while still trying to appeal to students. “Honestly, [school lunch] is really good,” senior Angelina Diaz-Munoz said. “I like when they have the salad bar, I eat it every single time, and I really like the ranch that they serve.”

CCSD School Cafeterias Switch From Papa John’s to Domino’s Pizza

Ava Torres, Staff Writer
September 15, 2023
CCSD schools have a Domino’s Pizza test run to see student response
Parents and students were alerted at 6:23 a.m. that school was canceled due to "an unexpected number of licensed staff/teachers absent." There was less than 40 minutes before the school day began. “Waking up to constant notifications that school is canceled for today, thousands of thoughts started running through my head,” senior Aeron Pearson said. “‘When are they going to make this day up?’ ‘What about my assignments?’ ‘What about HOSA today?’”

BREAKING NEWS: School canceled due to teacher, staff shortage

Southwest Shadow, Editorial Board
September 12, 2023
A lack of teachers, support staff, and administration led to school being canceled for the day.
School operations closed for staff development day

School operations closed for staff development day

Ayma Malik, Editor in Chief
September 8, 2023

Teachers and staff will be present on campus Monday, September 11 for staff development day. Classes will not be held.

Sporting CCEA blue, Southwest CTA teachers protest before school hours to comply with NRS 288.230 and in support of the union’s mission to build what they believe is an equitable contract for teacher’s salary increases. CCSD and CCEA continued negotiations this week. “The goal is to show the district that teachers are not happy with the current conditions and pay,” Social Studies teacher Jessica Kelly said. “I just hope that parents and students care enough to support us publicly. For example, contact our region’s School Board Trustee or our superintendent Jesus Jara in support of teachers.”

Teacher salary concerns continue after two more days of negotiations

Jianna Aganon and Yaritzza Montenegro
August 19, 2023
CCEA is negotiating with CCSD about contract changes.
Bracket of the PlayVS Championship, showing the team’s progression from quarter finals to finals.

Southwest Squids Win Splatoon National Championship

Ethan Bull, Opinion Editor
June 3, 2023
Final series ended in a 3-0 victory against the ATC Mammalians.
Painting a Prom poster, junior Sahib Rattan draws the landscape around Rapunzel’s castle. About 500 people are expected to attend Prom. “Everyone has really been looking forward to Prom,” Rattan said. “It’s a huge event so we’ve been working really hard for months to plan this.”

‘At Last We See The Light’ Prom to be held at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country Club

Philipos Alebachew, Staff Writer
April 20, 2023
Tickets are being sold all this month at the school banking office, starting at $50.
Placing her cellphone into the holder, sophomore Alize Quiroz abides to the new restrictions put in place after a series of fake social media accounts were created with the school’s name. This rule was put into place to limit cyberbullying, mainly through the action of taking pictures or videos of students during school hours. “We were never really allowed to use our phones in class anyways,” Quiroz said. “Implementing this new rule really just enforces the current one. I don’t necessarily think this is the correct solution, because there’s lots of other things that could prevent cyberbullying a lot better because it’s going to happen no matter what. However, I see how admin may think it’s fair.”

Surplus of Fake Instagram Accounts for School Clubs, Organizations Cause Problems

Kailie Sicolo, Staff Writer
April 20, 2023
Measures are being taken to put a halt to the harassment and cyberbullying that's been created.
Working diligently, students in Algebra I work on a problem. Teachers were notified about the exam in February. “My major concern is that CCSD made the decision about EOCs well into the school year,” Algebra 1 teacher Kirsten Landau said.  “They have given us very little time to adjust our plans and prepare for this assessment.“

‘End of Course Exams’ Return for the Upcoming School Year

Jianna Aganon and Yaritzza Montenegro
April 18, 2023
After years of hiatus, End of Course exams are being reintroduced into the curriculum.