![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
![Junior Mia Milicevic practices her forehand at tennis practice with the WJ girls tennis team. “Sometimes I don’t like [tennis] because you’re alone but most of the time, I do like it for that reason because it really is just you out there. I do experience being part of a team at WJ but in tournaments and when I’m playing outside of school, I like that rush when I win a point because I did it all by myself, Milicevic said. (Courtesy Mia Milicevic)](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/c54807e1-6ab6-4b0b-9c65-bfa256bc7587.jpg)
![The Jaguar student section sits down while the girls basketball team plays in the Great Eight game at the Denver Coliseum against Valor Christian High School Feb. 29. Many students who participated in the boys basketball student section prior to the girls basketball game left before half-time. I think it [the student section] plays a huge role because we actually had a decent crowd at a ranch game. I think that was the only time we had like a student section. And the energy was just awesome, varsity pointing and shooting guard Brooke Harding ‘25 said. I dont expect much from them [the Golden Boys] at all. But the fact that they left at the Elite Eight game when they were already there is honestly mind blowing to me.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7517-e1716250578550-900x1200.jpeg)
![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-1200x800.jpg)
As apples are dipped into sweet honey, a year just as sweet is rung in.
The connection between food and tradition runs strong within the roots of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. The holiday is celebrated as the Jewish New Year, centered on the month Tishrei in the lunar Hebrew calendar. The main tradition of Rosh Hashanah is to wish for a sweet new year through going to services, hearing the shofar and eating sweet food such as apples and honey. Families within Jewish communities gather together annually to share traditional and symbolic foods.
“Tapuach ve Dvash (apples and honey) is one of my favorite dishes to eat during the holidays because of the symbolism behind the dish and what it means,” junior Mia Zilberman said. “It represents the hope and happiness of the new year, which is a good mindset to have as the new year enters.”
While Tapuach ve Dvash is one of the most representative dishes for this holiday, families celebrate with other cultural dishes, which vary with each family’s different traditions.
“Whenever I see the kugel, I know it’s a special time of year when I really get to embrace my Judaism and get a fresh start,” freshman Ava Silk said.
Kugel is a sweet, baked pasta that is typically eaten among Ashkenazi Jews. It is made with cinnamon, butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, apricot nectar, milk, cinnamon, raisins and of course, egg noodles. It is topped with a mixture of crushed cornflakes, butter, cinnamon and sugar.
“After services my mom, who is a rabbi, and all the other clergy members get together and have an amazing dinner,” Silk said. “While we eat the kugel, we share stories and catch each other up on what’s been happening in our lives, tell jokes and just have a good time with people we love and care about.”
Families dedicate time into perfecting their family’s take on these well-known cultural dishes and putting their own spin on them. The Silk family “combined and tested” kugel recipes until she found the “perfect” recipe.
“Everyone raves about this kugel, and it is definitely a fan favorite,” Silk said. “It is loved by the community so much that my mom went to a big catering company and taught them how to make it, so that everyone can enjoy that sweet noodle dish on the holidays with people they love.”
Many families take pride in their own unique recipes and prefer a specific way their family prepares the dish. In junior Sam Rudin’s family, it’s a long lasting tradition to make matzo ball soup.
“My mom and grandma make [matzo ball soup] every single holiday, it’s delicious,” Rudin said. “I’ve tried other [takes on the dish] and compared to other families or any restaurants. My family’s [matzo ball soup] is much, much better.”
While each family has their own way of celebrating the holidays, the different foods are a great way to bring people together.
“After services, we go home to a meal, and there’s just a sense of warmth that reminds me that no matter what the new year brings, I will be surrounded by my loved ones,” Zilberman said.
This story was originally published on Three Penny Press on September 26, 2023.
