Presbyterian Pan American School

October 26, 2014 •VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 1• KINGSVILLE, TX 78363

Eagle X-Press

Eagles Soccer falls short at regional playoffs

by Miriam JimenezStaff Writer

Lady Eagles Volleyball ends season with one loss

by Hector GarciaStaff Writer

PPAS Cross Country team runs in Corpus Christi

Staff Writerby Vania Jimenez

by Ana LopezStaff Writer

Students attend Fields of Faith at TAMUK PPAS Celebrates Spirit Week

Pep Rally held to honor Fall athletesby Nerina CruzStaff Writer

The 2014-2015 Eagles soccer team lost a regional playoff game on Monday, Oct. 12 against Brentwood Christian School of Austin in San Antonio.

Photo by: Ana Karen Davila The PPAS Praise Team performed at Fields of Faith, held at Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Oct. 8.

Photo provided by: Yearbook Staff Presbyterian Pan American School held Spirit Week from Sept. 30-Oct. 3 with different themes each day.

Members of the yearbook staff participated by dressing as Hippies on Oct. 1.

Photo provided by: PPAS Facebook

As other schools around the U.S, Presbyterian Pan America School (PPAS) also attended Fields of Faith at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) sta-dium to participate with other schools of this region. This being a special occa-sion, the PPAS’ praise band led the music in this event.The activity started at 7

p.m. with games on the field continuing with some music and after a while, Kania Martinez, track athlete from Belize gave her testimony about what happened when she was without God in her heart and how God talk to us.Then Joe Barron, TAMUK

coach, gave the sermon and talked about how all

people are special to God and the purpose of being in this world. He invited to all receive God in their heart and prayed for them. Mauricio Flores, stu-

dent at PPAS, said that he liked listening to the testimonies from Marti-

nez and the message from Barron about their experi-ences of God in their lives.Junior Salma Lucio said

the event is a very beau-tiful experience because you have the opportunity to be with friends and the event is a way to know

The annual spirit week at Presbyterian Pan American School was held from September 29 to October 3. Students and staff participated in the support for PPAS athletics, which con-sisted in dressing according to the day theme. “The main purpose of the spirit week is to show

one´s spirit for the school, and show the support to the seasonal teams” said Senior Grace Han. “It was a fun week. We really enjoyed

dressing and having crazy hair. I think it is a really good opportunity to show our spirit for our school and encourage our teams,” said Sophomore Sara Mendoza. On Monday, students had crazy hair. The fac-

ulty and staff had the opportunity to step back in time as part of “Flashback 80’s,” on Tuesday and as hippies on Wednesday. On Thursday, stu-dents and staff show their spirit and support by wearing shirts from the school´s teams, while on Friday it concluded by dressing as twins. “Spirit Week is one of the funnest weeks and one

of my favorite activities at the school because it is really fun to see teachers wearing amusing dress and having crazy hair. Besides being fun, Spirit Week makes you feel proud and feel the spirit for your school and that is really important because school is your second home,” Senior Ruiz said.

more about God, and an opportunity for peo-ple to get close to God.Finally, the big prayer

in a circle closed the event with many stu-dent receiving God in therieheart and taking time to be with friends.“It’s very special for

me to be with my school at this kind of event. I learned that God is with me always and he al-ways forgives my sins. He loves me and I love Him,” said Junior Cassandra Vazquez.The event finished,

pizza was given to eat and God was at that place with many students, not only at TAMUK, but in other parts of the country.

On October 11, the Eagles Cross Country team went to a race in Corpus Christi, where only four partici-pants of the girl’s team ran. They were Sophomore Sara Mendoza, Fresh-man Miriam Jimenez, Junior Vania Jimenez, and Junior Jessica Tsai.The team was led by Soph-

omore Sara Mendoza and Freshman Miriam Jimenez who consistenly placed in the top 10 at various races, said Reili Cantu, Eagles Cross Country Coach.Many students from dif-

ferent schools participate in the race. Sara Men-doza with the best time on the Eagles team placed 12th, followed by Miri-am with 13th, then Vania

with 83rd and finally Jes-sica with 101st place “As a Coach I am proud

because these young la-dies practiced 6-7 days a week and often early at 5:15 A.M. to reach the goals to compete at the State level,” Cantu said.The goal for the Eagle

team is to lower their times, and keep going to practices every day from Monday to Saturday as they usu-ally do, Mendoza said.“At the end of the race,

I felt very tired but I en-joyed it because I gave my best,” Vania said.Five out of six girls sur-

passed the standard and represented Pan Ameri-can School at the State Meet in Waco on Oc-tober 25, Cantu said.“My expectations are

high. We are hoping to place in the top 10 as a team which is not an easy task. Overall, the team is running well and the fu-ture is bright for Pan Am cross country with five out of the six members return-ing next year,” Cantu said.

Presbyterian Pan Ameri-can School (PPAS) Girls’ volleyball ended the season with a victory against First Baptist School (FBS) on September 15 in Browns-ville. They ended the sea-son with just one game lost out of nine against Bishop, Faith Christian Academy, Juan Diego Academy, Agua Dulce, First Baptist School and they placed 2nd at the PPAS tourna-ment. Sophomore Hen-riette Mbawbaw said that one strategy they used in the game was having fun and trusting in each other. “I really enjoy playing

with this team because even when we were los-

ing, we supported each other,” Mbawbaw said. Senior Captain Mariana

Gomez said some games were difficult but with the help and support of each other, they could end the games with victories. “It has been an amaz-

ing season. We improved a lot and we couldn’t have done it without our coach. I’m really going to miss them,” Gomez said.Volleyball Head Coach

Reili Cantu said both A and B teams improved leaps and bounds and they learned to play together. They also relied on each other and kept constantly encourag-ing each other. As a coach of the team Cantu feels really proud of the girls.“I could not be prouder

to be part of such a great group of young ladies. They encouraged and lifted each other up when necessary and kept fight-ing no matter what the score was,” Cantu said.

On Monday, October 13 the Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS) Boy’s Soccer team had a regional playoff game against Brentwood Christian School in San An-tonio and lost, 5-3.Sophomore Fernan-

do Ruiz scored one goal and Edgar Chai-dez scored two goals.“I felt very proud of

my team because they left everything on the field and I’m sure that we have all the mate-rial to improve the next year,” said Juan Plas-

cencia, Head Coach.Prior, On Tuesday,

October 7, the PPAS Boy´s Soccer team had a game against Austin Waldolf and won, 3-1.This game was for

area round of TAPPS Soccer Tourna-ment to be held in Waco on October 18.Freshman Minyeok

Oh scored two goals and Chaidez scored one goal. “The team showed

all their hard work they did during the game,” Plascencia said, The soccer boys

were so excited, happy, proud and en-gaged when the game finished, said Se-nior Emilio Vasquez, Captain of the team.“They worked very

hard at practice, al-ways supporting each other, never giv-ing up on the goal and running every single second of the game,” Vasquez said.The team also had

support from the two managers, Mau-ricio Flores and Juan Hernandez.

The PPAS Cheerleaders performed a routine at the pep rally on Oct. 2 to recognize fall sports and athletes.

Sophomore Sara Mendoza finishing a race at a meet

in Corpus Christi.

Photo provided by: Reili Cantu

Junior Reyna Martinez reaches for the volleyball

in a game at home.

Photo provided by: Yearbook Staff

On October 1st, Pres-byterian Pan American School held a bonfire as a school tradition, when the homecomig court is announced and the Senior class is blessed with a prayer. “At first, I felt nervous

but at the same time I felt great,” said An-drea Castanon, Senior Homecoming Queen. The Junior Class had

the concession, where they sold hamburg-ers, sodas and chips. Also, the Senior class

sold s’mores, which tast-ed very good, said Soph-omore Rocio Paredes. The next day, PPAS

students celebrated Ea-gles’ spirit week with

a Pep Rally. The Pep Rally school spirit and support for fall sports at PPAS. The event be-

gan by announcing the Homecomig Court. Alegandra Lara,

sophomore cheerlead-

ing captain, said she was proud of the cheer-leaders performance. The Cheerleaders per-

formed the dance twice and for many, it was their first time per-forming, Lara said.During the event, Perez chose two random people of each class to have the opportunity to participate in the money race game. This year, juniors Cassan-dra Vasquez and Scarlett Saldana won $30 each. At the end of the pep rally, the yell contest, which is a competition between the classes was held. The judges were three PCUSA visitors and the School Presi-dent Dr. Doug Dalglish. They chose the Junior class as the winners.

by Ana Karen DavilaStaff Writer

FEATURES & OPINION

Pan Am hosts Homecoming dance on campusby Scarlett SaldanaStaff Writer

Eagles X-Press Staff: Adviser, Desiree Alegria. Ismael Bartolome, Nerina Cruiz, Ana Karen Davila, Isaac Del Rio, Hector Garcia, Juan Hernandez, Kevin Ishimwe, Miriam Jimenez, Vania Jimenez, Eric Kazerwa, Alain Kwizera, Sunghoon Kwon, Ana Lopez, Scarlett Saldana.

by Scarlett SaldanaStaff Writer

PPAS is pink for breast cancer awareness dayby Ismael BartolomeStaff Writer

by Scarlett SaldanaStaff Writer

by Hector GarciaStaff Writer

Morris Chapel Choir performs

in Kerrville

by: Vania JimenezStaff Writer

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

First TAMUK dual credit students recognized

Campus Ministry sponsors dance for hunger

Photo provided by: Signe Fredrickson

Senior Monika Ruiz

The Homecoming Court was recognized at the dance, held October 3. From left, King Emilio Vasquez, Queen Andrea Castanon, Prince Jorge Castillo, Princess Frida Trevino,

Duke Moises Araujo, Duchess Alexa Contreras and Sweet-hearts Luis Gomez and Leslie Canales.

Photo by: Ana Karen Davila

Photo by:: Scarlett SaldanaSenior Uriel Gonzalez

According to the Su-san G. Komen Founda-tion, breast cancer is a malignant tumor that is formed in the breast. This horrible disease is

caused because of a mal-function in our system. Cancer begins when

our body starts to produce more cells than we should have. It means that there

is more cell growth than cell death. October is Breast Can-

cer Awareness Month

(BCAM) and it is im-portant to recognize. For the National Breast Cancer Foundation, this month is an annual campaign to increase awareness in people of this monstrous disease. In the Care Cycle So-

lutions’ website, it said that this campaign was founded in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Soci-ety and the Pharmaceu-tical Division of Imperi-al Chemical Industries, promoting mammog-raphy as a very use-

Photo by: Scarlett Saldana

Senior Monika Ruiz, 18-year-old, was named the Student of the Month for Sep-tember at Presbyte-rian Pan American School (PPAS). She is from San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico.“I feel so proud and

happy to know that all my effort has been recognized,” she said.Ruiz said she doesn’t

have a specific tech-nique to study, but she makes diagrams and whenever she gets a good grade, she feels proud. “You just need to find a

way to remember things

better or something that you can relate the in-formation to,” she said.In her free time,

she likes to have fun with her friends, bake or listen to music.“My friends don’t

influence my grades and that’s why I have never failed a sub-ject,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz also said that she doesn’t have a spe-cific time to study, she just pays atten-tion in class and stud-ies the night before.“I always find a way to

have fun but also have great grades,” Ruiz said.Ruiz is one of two stu-

dents that is attending Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) for the first time as a dual credit student. She is currently taking English and Political Science.“I like going to college.

It is really interesting and challenging,” Ruiz said.She is looking for-

ward to going to Sch-reiner University or Houston Baptist Uni-versity after graduation.

On Oct. 4-5, the Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS) Choir, ac-companied by Choir Director Joe Garcia, traveled to perform at First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville.Pastor Rob Lohm-

eyer and members of the congregation along with the PPAS choir ate dinner and then, students left with the families they had been assigned to.The first perfor-

mance was on Sun-day at 8:30 a.m. and the second at 11 a.m.|Senior Ana Karen

Vazquez said that she was a little ner-vous but that at the same time, she felt

happy because she was having commu-nication with God.The choir performed

“We Thank You Lord,” and “Sing a New Song,” and then Lohmeyer thanked the choir for their performance and all of the parishioners prayed for them.Junior Natalia Mar-

tinez said that it was a good experience and that she can-not wait to go back.“It was so much fun.

We met a lot of peo-ple. I can’t wait to go again,” said Fresh-man Angela Rivera.

The 2014 Presby-terian Pan American (PPAS) Homecoming Court was announced at the bonfire on Octo-ber 1. Seniors Emilio Vasquez and Andrea Castañon were cho-sen as Homecoming King and Queen. Ju-niors Jorge Castillo and Frida Treviño were chosen as Prince and Princess. Sopho-mores Edward Araujo and Alexa Contre-ras were chosen as Duke and Duch-ess. Freshmen Les-lie Canales and Luis Gomez were cho-sen as Sweethearts. Senior Andrea Casta-

ñon said she was not sure what was about to happen, she didn’t expect to win.‟ It is a pleasure and

honor to me because I have the opportu-nity to represent my

class as a queen,” Castañon said. Junior Frida Trev-

iño was happy for this opportunity of being princess. ‟ I honestly didn’t

expect myself to

win. For real, I didn’t know I had the sup-port of all those peo-ple,” Treviño said. She is also thankful

with her friends that voted for her and also because she always wanted to be princess.This event ended

with the Homecom-ing dance, which PPAS students at-tended on October 3. Treviño said she re-

ally enjoyed the dance with her friends and she had lots of fun with them. Senior An-drea Castañon said she liked dancing with her friends and having a good time with them the most.

On October 17, at 7 p.m., the Campus Ministry Council (CMC) at Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS) organized a “We Can Party” dance in the SUB that will help starving people by donating a can of food as entrance to the dance.The activity was done with the purpose to help people that have nothing to eat. The food that CMC received from the activity was sent to the local food bank by Mary Rogers-Ellsworth, the Director of Spiritual Life at PPAS.“The event was planned with a focus on God calling his people to feed the hungry, in both the Old and New Testament,” Rogers-Ellsworth said.At the dance, modern songs in English were played and at the end, there was also Mexican songs called cumbias played.“There were not too many people that went to the dance, but I enjoyed dancing the cumbias that played at the end,” said Jessica Galvan.The junior class had the concession that night. They sold food and snacks such as candies, chips and sodas.“The ‘We Can Party’ dance encourages Pan Am students to take action against world hunger,” said Se-nior Monika Ruiz

The Morris Chapel Choir performed at First Presbyte-rian Church in Kerrville on Oct. 5.

17-year-old Senior Uriel Gonzalez from Matamoros, Tamaulip-as, Mexico was named Student of the Month for August at Pres-byterian Pan Ameri-can School (PPAS).“I feel very proud of

myself and of the ef-fort I put into my stud-ies,” Gonzalez said.Gonzalez said that

he studies as much as he can and he also wakes up in the morn-ing to study again.“If you want some-

thing you need to work hard for it,” he said.He studies and

helps others study too. He said that ev-

eryone can get good grades if they want to.Gonzalez added that

he studies with a tech-nique called pneu-monic (a learning technique that aids in-formation retention.)He and his friends

also try to study to-gether and help one other so they can get

better grades, he said.“In my free time, I

like to play sports, talk to people I rarely talk to, and read different books that I usually don’t read,” Uriel said.Gonzalez is one of two

students that is attending Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) for the first time as a dual credit student. He is currently taking English and Political Science.“I really like the free-

dom that I feel taking college classes, because I do everything and teach-ers seldom tell me what to do,” Gonzalez said.Gonzalez is plan-

ning to attend TAMUK after graduation.

ful tool to save lives. Presbyterian Pan

American School (PPAS) is not the excep-tion in promoting aware-ness of breast cancer. On October 17, PPAS

was painted in pink. The majority of the stu-

dents wore pink shirts to support the cause. Bracelets and flyers

were given away to fos-ter awareness of breast cancer in students. Anna Mireles, the

school’s nurse, said that this month serves as a reminder to people to be

screened for breast can-cer and to encourage others to get screened. It is very impor-

tant because it could save lives, she said.“It is the second most

common kind of cancer in women. Awareness helps with the impor-tance of early detec-tion, but also helps to spread the word and encourages individuals to get involved,” said Principal Ellie Perez. “Show your sup-

port by wearing pink.” Photo by: Ismael Bartolome

PPAS Students work pink on Friday, Oct. 17 for Breast Cancer Awareness Day.