“I’m proud of the way everyone came together,” Smith said about his students.

The state competition was roughly about 10 hours. At nationals there will be multiple preliminary rounds and the last round is with the final remaining teams. The closest CdS has ever come to winning Nationals was in 1988 when the school won 3^rd place.

Students in this class had to apply for a spot to get in; only seniors are allowed to be in the class. The class is split into 6 units of four or five people each. Each unit gets a number of questions that they have to study, answer and present at competition. Each unit gets a score and then the scores of all the units are added up for the overall team score.

“It is a great experience, you learn so much,” senior Hirsh Shah said.

Shah is in the Unit 4 group, which was the best performing group for the CdS team in the district competition. Even though the students are split into units they still have to function as a whole team.

“We are a very cohesive class. It’s fun and there is intellectual stimulation. It is a break from classes with students who only care about music and their cell phones. We actually care about the learning,” senior Courtney Naumann said.

To be in the class you have to be hardworking and show interest in the government. The skills you take out of the class are public speaking, composure and how to deal with high pressure. Librarian Justine Centanni and government teachers Lisa Adams and Smith are the sponsors of We the People.

“This year the class has kept the tradition of We the People alive by exemplifying a championship team,” Smith said.

Voting ballots went out Jan. 9 and 10 and the three contestants from each grade will be, Cole Richwine, Russel Jones and Chris Morton for the freshman class. For the Sophomore class, Blake Jones, Omar Soussi and Tevin Mayfield. Then for Juniors, Sumeet Patwardhan, Chad Roland, and Nathan Samuels and finally for the Senior class is Avery Moss, Dong- Hyun (D.H) Kim and Sahil Bissessur. These are subject to change.

“It should go really well, there are a lot of improved aspects,” Junior Class sponsor, Robert Corwin said.

Mr. Corona’s categories will remain the same as before: best-dressed, best talent and best smile. Members of the school including administration members, students and faculty will judge the boys based on the talent show, formal eveningwear and question and answer.

Mr. Corona is one of the biggest fundraisers for Prom and “Student Council is hoping for a good turn out,” Junior Class President Wyatt Larson said.

“What they’re doing is trying to identify what sorts of materials, subjects and methods that teens will gravitate toward,” P.E. and health teacher Scott Centanni said.

The program is called the Healthy Teens Program. After working with the Phoenix Union District, Corona del Sol volunteered to have the program taught here.

ASU provides Corona’s health teachers with the new curriculum and teachers execute it while the guests from ASU gather data on the students.

Centanni said he doesn’t see any major differences in this new program from what Corona already teaches in health. The only differences he said were format and delivery style.

The program is completely voluntary; the only students participating are the individuals who volunteered to give the program a whirl.

“ It (the program) was very unprepared,” sophomore Tamia Horton said. “The informational PowerPoints they had were very boring and didn’t keep our attention.”

Corona will not be participating in this program next year because it is just a trial program to gather data.

The Cartunes is performing through an organization called High School Nation, which brings fun and free lunch time entertainment to public high schools and middle schools around the country. In the past, “they have taken the Taylor Swift Fearless tour, New Boyz, Cody Simpson, Jason Castro and other musicians to campuses across the U.S.”

The artist will be available to the school newspaper, yearbook staff, tv production classes, and music classes  while they are on campus.

Worksheets are then due back Thursday, Jan. 26 for freshmen, Jan. 30 for sophomores and Feb. 3 for juniors.

Then class registration in the guidance office starting with freshmen on Jan. 31 and Wednesday, Feb. 1. Sophomore registration is Feb. 2 and 3. The last to sign up for classes is the junior class the 8 through the 10.

Students must register in the bookstore with a $5 donation for Corona’s homeless families in need by January 6th. The test will start at 8 this Saturday morning and end at 12:30 p.m. Students should bring a #2 pencil, their bookstore receipt and gather outside the guidance office.

Students can pick up their scores in Lecture Hall B on January 11th, from 6  to 7:30 p.m. Students will also have an opportunity to meet with a Princeton Review teacher who will explain their scores.

Number of spaces is limited; register today.

“We’re playing two songs with band. We did it last year too,” junior orchestra student Poorva Rajguru said.

However, it isn’t just two normal class competitors getting together for the season; there is a reason as to why band is participating in this orchestra concert.

“A lot of the songs they (orchestra) wanted to play needed wind ensembles,” junior band student Kaileen Fei said.

Instead of only Corona del Sol students playing, students from Aprende, Pueblo and Kyrene middle schools are making an appearance as well.

“The middle schoolers are coming and playing the Nutcracker with us,” Rajguru said.

Not only does the concert include the CdS band and orchestra players as well as the middle school, the audience will have a chance to join in too.

“For the Christmas songs, the audience can sing along. We did it last year too and it turned out really well,” Rajguru said.

Another way this concert will be different from most is the addition of a light show.

“For full symphony we might have a light show to go along with it,” Rajguru said.

Unlike the last orchestra concert, this one is not free and will cost $5 per person, but all the money made is going toward a good cause.

“All proceeds are going to Friends of the Orphans. It helps kids in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Rajguru said.

On Dec. 9 and 10, all five of Corona’s choir units will perform holiday songs in the James C. Love Auditorium.

Some of the songs will include “Oh Santa,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “This Christmas” and “Let It Snow.”

“I’m really excited to perform for the holiday concert because it is just so festive,” sophomore Sara Lascano said.

To add to the excitement, a few special guests will be performing at the concert. The Kyrene Middle School 8^th grade choir and student teacher Elliot Liles’ Avenue Jazz will be included in the concert.

“This is an awesome and amazing concert,” said choir teacher Greg Hebert. “The 250 students have been rehearsing since October on this music. It will be fantastic.”

Tickets will be sold in the bookstore for $4 for students and $5 for adults.

“Our main goal for this event is to raise money for the Salvation Army and give back to the community,” junior Katie Wilkinson said.  “It’s a great cause and is a lot of fun.”

In addition to the Red Kettle Club, a variety of other Corona del Sol clubs will be participating in this event. Some of these clubs include the Book Club, the Good Samaritan Club, the Key Club, and even Principal Brent Brown.

“It truly is a great cause,” Corona del Sol English teacher and Red Kettle Club sponsor Debbie Gile said. “All of the proceeds stay in Tempe and help public programs directly.”

While this is their first time participating in the Salvation Army fundraiser, the Red Kettle Club members hold high aspirations for its success.

“We want to make the largest amount of money possible, although anything is good,” Gile said. “We really want to set a precedent and spread awareness and help.”