2010-2011Wildcatter

Calallen Issue1August 2010 Photos and Text by Calallen Publications

Sincethatfinalbellof school rang and summer began, Corpus Christi had experienced many changes brought among it. There have been many new res-taurants, renovations, and new opportunities given to residents of the city. We now have a larger variety, new conveniences, and a refreshed atmosphere in the city. “I welcome the new changes Corpus Christi is undergoing,” sophomore Michael Huerta said. “The city has really been devel-opingandbringingbenefitsto the community.” Some of the new restaurants include: Ched-dars, PF Chang’s, Freebirds, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Takeniwa, Grimal-di’s, and Taco Bueno. “I really like PF Chang’s,” sophomore Joey Ibarra said. “I have not been to the new one in the mall yet, but I plan to take my girlfriend there sometime soon.” PF Chang’s is located in La Palmera mall. It serves well-known, good Japanese food. This par-ticular restaurant was also built in an environmentally friendly way. It is a good place to order different plates and split the meals. “Takeniwa is a good restaurant. I went there for my birthday dinner over the summer,” senior Tanner Konarik said. “It

was a little pricey compared to my usual choices but it made for a good birthday dinner.” Takeniwa is a good Hibachi Japanese style restaurant. It also is good place for special occa-sions such as prom.

“Freebirds is like Subway but for burritos,” senior Devin Boyd said. “I en-joyeditanddefinitelyplanon getting another meal there soon.” Freebirds lets the customer create his or her own specialized burrito. This restaurant is also pro-moted as a healthy place to get something to eat.“I think that the changes of LaPalmeraMallbenefitthe mall,” junior Haleigh

pus Christi, on the other hand, has other changes taking place. “I didn’t want them to tear the Coliseum down,” junior Lina Young said. “They should have just renovated it. I have many childhood memories there of going to skate and now Corpus doesn’t really have anything compared to it.” The mall got upgraded while the Coli-seum got torn down. The Coliseum has served many purposes in downtown Corpus Christi for the past 56 years. It hosted many concerts, shows, hockey games, and was an open ice rink. It became a Corpus Christi icon. “I think the Coliseum was beginning to look trashy,” freshman Ashley Cookston said. “It started looking out of date compared to the other downtown buildings.” Over the past decade the Coliseum has not been well maintained. While Corpus Christi is trying to look more modern it just lagged behind. “I like that the Coliseum got torn down,” senior Gabriel Longoria said. “I think they should do something with it like build a board walk or build the carnival they had talked about.” After years of much dispute and many

Bauch said. “It makes it looks much nicer and at-tracts more shoppers” The mall trans-formed from Padre Staples to the all-new upgraded La Palmera. It is revitalized with its new beach and aquatic style.

“I think the mall really makes Corpus Christi look better,” junior Allie Downing said. “It now attracts more tourist and of-fers a much bigger variety of stores.” Not only does the mall look nicer but it also has better stores, and an improved food court that people actually go to, not to mention it now has a large cylindricaltropicalfishaquarium. Downtown Cor-

FeaturePage 2

NewsPage 1

Inside:

Op/EdPage 4

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Now OpenNew Summer Developments In And Around Corpus Christi

Kayla Watkins Reporter(‘12)

votes of what to do with the coliseum it was decided to tear it down. Right now it is completely demolished but it is still undecided what is going to happen with the area. At the end of the list of renovations and changes comes something more lo-cal. “The Del Mar classes opening up in Calallen give students a good opportunity,” senior Given McClure said. “Now, Calallen locals do not have to go out of their way for classes.” Del Mar College opened up a medical center across the high school at the Northwest Center. It had a grand opening July 27th. “After volunteer-ing at Driscoll Children’s Hospital over the summer, I have realized the medical world can always use more help,” senior Osaki Benibo said. “I think these classes being conveniently offered in Calallen can give an op-portunity for more people to start a medical career.” All of these chang-es really modernize Corpus Christi. It is interesting to see what else will change and how people will like it. “Corpus Christi is really changing into a larg-er, major city,” sophomore Tommy Conroy said. “The changes over the summer alone are really developing it.”

2PageSection

Learning the Ropes. Past choir director Elizabeth Harvey goes over class plan-ning with new director Jolene Stallard. (Photo by Britton Simpson)

Choir director, Dr.Joan Lee, has left Calallen to be closer to family. There were definitely mixed emotions when she informed her students of her choice. “I was very sad when I heard Dr.Lee was leaving,” sophomore choir student Amanda VanZandt said. “She was a great teacher, and taught me a lot. It will definitely be different without her there.” Some of the students were worried about having a new

director because Dr.Lee had become such a major part in these student’s lives. “I think it’s going to be something different for everyone,” choir president Whitney Taylor said. “But if we can all work together it will only make us stronger, and I think Ms.Stallard will be an excellent addition to our Choir family.” Dr.Lee’s replacement will be Ms. Jolene Stallard. “This is my first

Both the HTC Evo 4g, from Sprint, and the iPhone 4, from AT&T, are stellar new products on the market today. Both phones incorporate a new front facing camera optimized for video chatting, and boast extreme Internet speeds, while providing an easy and simplified interface.

“Both are awesome phones,” freshman Jay Espinoza said. “I wish there was no decision.”

Apple iPhone:“The iPhone 4 is

fantastic, it can do anything anywhere,” sophomore Cameron McIntosh said. “With the front facing camera and the new FaceTime calling system, you can call any person with an iPhone 4 and actually have a face to face conversation with them.”

The iPhone 4 is a spectacular phone; it has

year as a choir director and a teacher,” Jolene Stallard said. “I was a bank teller at frost bank before I became a teacher. The choir will be undergoing some changes this year, but there is one thing that will stay the same that might make the students a little happier. “We will still have Monday night rehearsals, because I know the students love them!” Ms.Stallard said.

great features but also has flaws. The iPhone has a smaller display then the Evo, but has a much better resolution screen,(960 x 640 of the iPhone vs. 800 x 480 of the Evo), providing an easier to see and use screen. The iPhone 4 has problems involving the new external antenna. At certain times the phone would just lose reception. Apple’s response? You’re holding wrong. In a recent statement released by apple, it was said that if you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band. Also, Apple changed the iPhone’s design from the beloved rounded pebble like body, to a more boxy and edgy external.

“I don’t know if I’d want one,” junior Maddie

Britton Simpson Reporter(‘13)

Matula said. “They’re a little too boxy for me”

Evo 4g:“The Evo is amazing,”

said junior David Knars when asked about the Evo, “It has a wider touch screen than Apple’s iPhone, a better web browsing experience, and live updates an iPhone

cannot provide.” The Evo sports a

massive 4.3 inch screen, along with Sprint’s 4g network,

and customizable appearance.

“This is truly one of the best smart phones ever made,” Chris Zeigler, an Engadget reviewer said.

The Evo runs on android 2.1 with sense which provides a lighting fast and glitch free operating system. It also features a neat kick stand on the rear of the phone to showcase the huge

screen and enable you to easily watch videos with it. Although some people might prefer it, the Evo’s, memory is stored to a removable mini SD memory card. The

phone comes equipped with an 8 GB memory card, the iPhone comes with 16 GB of memory, and is located inconveniently underneath the battery. However, the Evo does have the better of the two cameras. It has an 8 Megapixel camera on the front, and a 1.3 Megapixel front-facing camera.

“It’s just the beginning really,” junior Will Walz said. “The Evo should set the standard for many phones to come.” Which is the better phone? Who’s to say, both devices have similar specs and features, and each one offers things the other doesn’t. Some people will prefer one over the other, but ultimately companies, HTC, and Apple, have worked to put the best phones possible on the market.and how people will like it.

Stallard Takes ReinsNew Choir Director Expects Exciting Challange

Tech ShowdownApple iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo 4G

Although new to the choir program, Ms.Stallard is “ecstatic” about this upcoming year. “ I know the choir students are great and it’s an honor to be part of a wonderful program.” Stallard said. “We are going to take the Calallen choir program SKY HIGH!”

Reese Gallagher Reporter(‘12)

Cellphone Challenge. The HTC Evo 4G is on the left with its competitor, Apple iphone on the right.

stepped up my game to a new level. It should be a great season!” The Lady Cats start district play Friday September 10th against Alice at Alice at 5:30 PM where they will start their ride to a better ending of a season than last year’s 2nd round playoff loss. “”If we push ourselves to our full potential and strive to be the best we can be, we can have a very successful season,” senior Demi Holladay said. “I expect us to be a powerhouse team like we have been for the past couple of seasons.”“We have many new players and we will be victorious.”

3PageSports

The 2010 volleyball season is finally upon us and the Lady Cats are starting to work their way to another district championship. “This year we have a really great team,” junior Katie Baker said. “We have all become really close and have a great game between us.”

With all the new changes this year, including new Coach Alicia Ostmeyer, our girls will have a very different year. “Our new coach has proven to all the girls that she knows a lot about the game, even though it’s her first year as a head coach,” junior Emily Sacky. “It helps that

she played the game so she knows where to help perfect our weaknesses.” Our girls are starting this season off as co-district champions with rival school Flour Bluff. However, with the changes in the district, our girls will have to learn many different teams playing styles to help secure their chance of victory. “Our schedule is much harder this year due to the changes in our district,” junior Mary Floyd said. “However, I feel that Coach Ostymeyer is going to lead us far, hopefully all the way to state.” The Lady Cats have been working hard during their whole off season to help ensure their spot on the

Varsity team by playing for club teams, working with other teammates during free time, or even hiring their own personal trainers. “I’m honored to even be put on Varsity with these amazing players,” sophomore Harper Hans said. “I feel I have definitely

With the start of the new school year brings us the start of another exciting season of high school football. The Cats have been working hard towards preparing for their very difficult schedule ahead of them this year. “I feel we are going to have a very successful season this year,” junior Jared Langley said. “I’m excited to get this year started so we can prove to our community that we are a better team than last year.” The Cats last two seasons have both ended in disappointing Area Finalist losses. This year’s team plans to have a much better finish. “On this team we

have a lot more chemistry than last years did,” junior

Avery Cortez said. “We have all become closer as a team throughout the years

that we’ve played with each other.”

With only 16 returning varsity players this year, younger players from

last year’s Junior Varsity team need to find a way to

step up and become leaders on this years varsity. “Varsity’s game is a much faster pace than games for Junior Varsity,” junior Nick Espinosa said. “You can’t make the same mistakes on Varsity that you can on Junior Varsity and hope to get away with it.” Even though the season is just now

beginning, players have been working out hard

since last year’s season ended in December. “We have really

progressed this offseason, including myself,” junior Jake Brearton said. “We have done every thing we can to make us a stronger and more confident team.” The Cats open up the regular season hosting the Costal Bend Classic Thursday, August 26th, at Wildcat Stadium against Corpus Christi King at 7:30pm. “We have a very strong team this year,” senior Gabriel Longoria said. “If we take this season practice by practice, and game by game, we should have a very successful year.”

Road To Redemption

Volleyball Girls Begin Journey To Success

Finishing Strong: Seniors line up for pictures after their final day of high school football circuits. Photo By: Mary Catherine Underbrink (‘11)

Tyler Kirksmith Reporter(‘11)

Spiking Up The Season

Football Team Prepares For Season

Hands High. The volleyball Ladycat girls come together as a team.

Spike It. Katie Baker sends the ball smashing into the opponent.

4PageOp/Ed

As the incoming class of ’14 makes the big switch from middle school to high school, there are many things on the minds of this year’s freshmen. Now, we can’t have these things scattered around their brains, so the obvious thing to do is to organize these thoughts into an acrostic.

Tip 1- You are going to school to learn, not talk back. Teachers are here to enhance your lives, not ruin them. “RESPECT your teachers,” senior Blake Geary said. “They can FAIL you.”

Tip 2- Grades! Although its easy to slack off, you will look back your senior year and be glad that you made good grades. In the long-run it only benefits you.

Tip 3- Do your work! Take it from me, it’s better to have it completed when it’s supposed to be rather than five minutes before it is due.

Tip 4- When it comes to passing periods, PASS, for everyone’s sake. It’s called “passing period for a reason.” So please do not sit and congest the hallways.

Tip 5- Have fun. You only have four years and they will fly by sooner than you think.

Food- Sorry, it’s still the same.

Restroom- You can go to the restroom more than ten times a six weeks in high school because there are no school planners here. “Well, you can only control your bladder so much before going to the restroom is unavoidable,” says Michelle Alvarez (’14), “Unlimited restroom breaks seem convenient.”

Extra curricular- There are many clubs to join at CHS. “I think the clubs are a good addition to our school because they create diversity and everyone will be able to find something he or she likes and wants to do,” says Carlos Trevino (’14).

Sports- There’s a larger variety of sports this year, so more people can find a sport they like.

Homework-“The counselors told us that every pre-AP class would have an hour of homework,” says Holly Raiborn (’14), “Either that’s a load of dog dirt or I’m going to have to cut out sleeping and eating from my schedule just to make time for it.”

Music- We can listen to our mp3 players before classes start.

Attire- We can finally express ourselves through free dress. “It’s pretty wonderful!” says Layton Hart (’14)

Nordic Skiing- Wait, What? How’d that get in there? There’s no snow skiing in south Texas.

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Jacob Reinhard Reporter(‘14)

Alex Price Reporter(‘11)

Five For FreshmanFirst Week of School Tips

A perfect definition to describe our beloved

Mrs. Presley’s teaching style.

FlibbertigibbertySilliness and/or being impulsive

Word of the Month