The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow
Gianna Barreras

Gianna Barreras, Staff Writer

HI I’m Gianna, I’m in digital game development and I like making and playing games! I’m happy to be here!

All content by Gianna Barreras
Grabbing her phone to take a photo, sophomore Vanessa Ta sits down on a bed and takes a couple photos to post on her social media. “I just really [feel] that my favorite cosplayer is everyone lowkey, because I get to see people’s creativity,” Ta said. “I get to see how skilled and talented they are.”

An imaginative and inspiring Cosplayer: Meet Vanessa Ta

Gianna Barreras
October 23, 2025
Ta expresses her love for dressing up, as well as how she puts her costumes together.
As students enter Journalism Foundations in Matthew LaPorte's classroom, they put their phones in the phone caddy. The phone caddy is placed in the front of the classroom on the whiteboard. “I feel like it’s unnecessary to completely ban self phones from school, but I feel like there are better regulations for having them on your person,” junior Jaidyn Eddington said.

School enforces phone ban in classrooms early

Gianna Barreras, Staff Writer
September 24, 2025
CCSD will now require schools to follow updated phone regulations beginning in the fall of 2026.