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Job Title: Chemistry and Physics Teacher

Married? How Long? Not Married

How long have you been in education? This is my first year being a Teacher.

Where were you before Crane? I lived in El Paso Tx.

What do you do for fun? I like to cook and play video games.

How many siblings do you have? I have 1 big brother named RJ.

Children? Grandchildren? No children

What is one of your hidden talents? I can make my wrist pop at any time I want.

What would students be surprised to find out about you? I love to fish, and I can beat everyone in 2K (ask Gage)

Do you have any pets? I have 1 dog named Trixie and 1 cat named Lily.

If you won the lottery and decided to give up working in education, what would you do instead? I would buy a lot of land, build a ranch and raise animals. It would be a safe home for stray dogs.

What inspires you? My mom inspired me to become a teacher. She’s been a special ed teacher for 30+ years. MY big brother RJ inspired me to become a coach!

What is your dream vacation? To take a week and explore the major cities in the U.S. Then visit Japan.

What are your trapped-on-a-desert-island books and movies? The bible and the entire Avengers Infinity Saga.

Is there anything else you would like to share? About you? Working in education? I love working with the kids, especially coaching! I want to be an athletic director one day.

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By Corinn Hensley

El Ave News staff writer

Future Farmers of America (FFA) is an organization that was founded by a group of young farmers in 1928. Their mission was to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. They taught us that agriculture is more than cows and plows- its science, it’s a business and it’s art.

FFA is a dynamic youth organization that changes lives and prepares members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education. FFA develops members’ potential and helps them discover their talent through hands-on experiences. Members are future chemists, veterinarians, government officials, entrepreneurs, bankers, international business leaders, teachers and premier professionals in many career fields.

Each student in FFA must complete a SAE ( Supervised Agricultural Experience). There are many different types of SAE projects that the students can participate in. Some kids did a recycling project, hatching chicken eggs, hydroponics, and much more. SAE projects teach students about many different things such as different agricultural related events, responsibilities, and leadership.

Jolee Seaborn, the FFA instructor and AG teacher, says some words about her participation in the FFA program.

“I strive to build the Agriculture program here at Crane ISD as students continue to get involved. I believe in the future of agriculture and I believe the best way to invest in the future is through our kids here at Crane ISD.”

Josh Morales, sophomore, shares a few words about his experience with this program.

“I joined FFA because I have always liked being around animals. By joining FFA, I am surrounded by them and I get to learn everything about the animals. I learn the way they act and the way their body works.” Morales said  “I want to learn the science behind them and how each animal works with different people. This program allows me to explore deeper into something I enjoy a lot.”

Aiden Trahan, freshmen, mentions a few things about being in the program.

“I really enjoy being able to make friends who are interested in the same stuff I am interested in. Although doing the quizzes are not that fun, being around my peers makes it better. The quizzes we take are about FFA history. We also talk about AG skills which is a leadership development event where you demonstrate a skill used in agriculture and clearly communicate what you are doing.”

JJ Rodriguez, sophomore, shares his thoughts after being questioned about the hardship of being in FFA.

“Being in FFA is definitely a challenge sometimes. Although it is tough at times, I'm always grateful to have the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful team and organization. I get the opportunity to meet new friends, better myself as a person, and be an example as for what the FFA stands for. Ms. Seaborn always pushes us to do our best.”

The opportunity to join FFA is open to all students and if you are interested contact Ms. Jolee Seaborn.

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By Clarissa Velasco

El Ave News Staff Writer

As we approach the middle of fall, we love to reminisce on the feeling of leaves falling and the smell of pumpkin spice in the air. We look forward to watching old halloween movies and playing halloween music. You grab your favorite blanket and bake cookies with a friend to binge watch the perfect show. Well what if I told you that the perfect show was the series Gilmore Girls.

Gilmore Girls is a show based on a Mother and a Daughter that live in a small town named Stars Hollow. The mothers name is Loralie Gilmore and the daughters name is Rory Gilmore. They both have a strong bond considering it's always been them two only plus Lorali´s parents. Along with them they have a friend who owns a diner and his name is Luke. This plays a major part of the show because it shows the friendship between the girls and luke. Early on in the show we meet Rory's friends and Boyfriend. She has a wonderful life at Stars Hollow but also lives a double life going to a different high school than her friends named Chilton academy.

Rory is really academically driven. She was valedictorian when she graduated from high school and went to Yale for college. Her fashion sense is very basic, yet stylish and inspired many to dress like her. Many strive to be academically driven and kind like Rory. This series is very heartwarming to the audience. The show has tons of fans and is highly recommended to be watched. There are many life lessons shown to the viewers at home.

So now that you know more about the show and the main character grab your friends, a cozy blanket, and your favorite snacks because this show is the best to watch during the fall. I would rate this 4/5 stars. You can watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix now.

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Everything to know about Catfish: The TV Show

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Everything to know about Catfish: The TV Show

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By Shauna Scott

El Ave News Staff Writer

Online relationships happen more often than you think. The thrilling part of these relationships is when the couple meets face to face for the first time. The feeling of love, wonder, and excitement fills their body as they prepare for the best time of their lives. Most couples have a heartwarming story to tell after having this experience, but in rare cases, the story is a nightmare.

Online relationships carry many risks. One of which is the possibility of your partner being a “catfish.” A catfish is a person who takes information and images from other people and uses them to create a new identity for themselves. They portray themselves as this person to try and make friends or even to find a romantic partner. Usually, a catfish will stay in a relationship with someone who believes their lies. They feed off of the attention and love they’re getting by pretending to be someone else. A common problem occurs during these relationships which usually exposes the catfish; the catfish won’t call or show their face because they don’t want to show their true identity. In the end, they get exposed and leave their partner heartbroken from the harsh reality.

Nev Schulman is an American TV host and producer. He sadly was a victim to a catfish in 2007. It all started when he was contacted by an eight-year-old girl named Abby on MySpace. Abby saw a photograph of Schulman in a newspaper and created a watercolor version of it to get his attention. Shulman found it interesting and began regularly chatting online with Abby. Before long, Shulman became Facebook friends with Abby's entire family, including her mother, Angela, and her 19-year-old sister, Megan.

Over time, Shulman began falling for Megan. For seven months, Megan and Shulman talked on the phone and exchanged text messages. Megan would even write original songs for Shulman, posting them publicly on her Facebook page. Shulman was excited to finally have an opportunity to meet Megan in Michigan, but was unprepared for the future.

Shulman decided to travel to Megan and was joined by his friends, Henry and Ariel. They planned to film the couple's happy ending. On his long trip, Megan asked Shulman if he'd like to request a song for her to sing. He responded by asking her to sing an original for him. Megan sent over her rendition of Johnny Cash's 'Tennessee Stud'. Shulman recognized this song and after a Youtube search, discovered that she was stealing other's music all along. Shulman stated "When we found 'Tennessee Stud' on YouTube, which she had just sent us half an hour earlier, that's when we realized everything was fake."

Determined to find out who was the real person behind 'Megan' was, Shulman and his friends continued on their journey and travelled 1,300 miles to her house in Michigan. When they arrived at the house, Megan's mother Angela answered the door. She claimed that Megan wasn't home and attempted to call her a number of times with no success. Shulman found this questionable but decided to wait it out and see if Megan was available the next day. To Shulman's surprise, he got a message from Megan that said that she had been "checked into rehab for alcoholism", but Shulman wasn't convinced this was the truth. He returned to Megan's house, where Angela, the mother, opened the door and finally admitted that the photos of Megan were not real. For months on end, Angela had been constructing a web of lies using up to 15 different Facebook accounts to catfish Shulman.

Shulman decided to take his experience and turn it into a plan to help other victims. He created a reality-based docu-series with his co-host, Max Joseph, to reveal the truths and lies of online dating. He named the show “Catfish”. The point of the show is to find out couples have a true relationship or if they are being catfished.

Some couples on the show have been together for a few months while others have been for years. Schulman receives requests from people asking him for his help in determining whether or not their online lover is lying about who they really are. Each episode is a different couple with a different story. Shulman gets in contact with the individual who’s asking for help and sets up a plan. He travels to wherever they live and uses background checks and research to uncover the truth of their partner’s identity. In most cases, Shulman figures out that the person isn’t who they say they are, but in rare circumstances, the relationship is totally truthful. But when Shulman does find out the individual is a catfish, he figures out who they really are, and breaks the news to the skeptical partner. Usually, the partner is surprised by the truth. Other times, they knew it was coming.

Schulman then finds a way to contact the catfish to arrange a first-ever-meeting between the two lovers. He finds a time and place for the two to finally uncover the harsh reality of what they thought was a perfect relationship. The skeptical partner is always shocked to see who their partner actually is. They are sad about the fact that their relationship was a lie, but grateful the truth was uncovered. Joseph, the filmmaker, documents every step of the process and turns the experiences into a show for others.

At the Television Critics Association press tour in August 2012, Schulman said that the point of the show isn’t all about pulling the rug out from under people, but to figure out whether or not two people are totally lying to each other. He said that this was only the first part of the story. He explained, “We want to know why they are doing it, who they are, what they are feeling, what led them to this place, and why that resonates with thousands of other young people who have the same feelings.”

The catfish show first aired on November 12, 2012 and is still running today. The show is on its eighth season with 83 episodes as of October 3rd. It’s very interesting watching the truth unfold in these stories. I give this series 5 out of 5 Golden Cranes!

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Real life crane spotted in the alleys of Crane Texas Sunday Evening.

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Crane High school students learn how to become true welders! 

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Crane High school students learn how to become true welders! 

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By Natalia Ayala
El Ave News staff writer

Imagine heat so hot, it molds metal together. Imagine the metal having an orange and yellow color as it is burned and molded into a hand made sculpture designed by the hands of a student. Picture the safety equipment they are required to wear such as- a welding helmet, gloves, jacket, as they hold a torch against metal that has fire the colors of blue and orange sparking the sculpture to life. Sparks fly, sizzling and popping is heard as fire burns, students take precautions to make sure the heat is controlled and that they are safely equipped, should anything incidental happen.

Crane High School's welding class has many student athletes who work hard for 2 class periods everyday, taking their time to create what they are assigned to create in their own way, and taking many tests to become eligible to weld professionally when they are older. They weld in a building across the school where it is safely built to handle the heat and equipment needed to create these amazing one of a kind sculptures.

This high school has many dual credit programs but by far, welding is still one of the most popular choices for male students and a handful of female students. Welding is one of the most important and highly demanded jobs in the U.S. Choosing a career in welding will help teach you to fix and make many things such as cars, buildings, ships, and more. This career choice will always be needed and will not be affected should we have another pandemic such as the virus we know as covid.

Not everyone is cut out for this profession. It uses a lot of physical strength, takes a toll on your body, and comes with a lot of dangerously used equipment like the torch. The torch also causes many welders to get eye discomfort, and possibly even permanent physical damage such as burn scars. To be a professional welder, you must be mentally tough and hard working to be able to perform your duties everyday. Not only must you be able to do your job everyday, but you must also be able to communicate well with others. When you have projects such as welding a building and cars, you need to consider what the client wants done, and work together as a team with not only them, but your other colleagues on the project as well.

The Crane High scools welding program helps students learn how to do all of this and more. I encourage many students to give it a try, and see if they enjoy it, before brushing it off. Learning how to weld comes with many good qualities that help you later on in life to become a better person.

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Crane High School counselor is there when you are in need!

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Crane High School counselor is there when you are in need!

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By Gracie Snow
El Ave News staff writer

Imagine you have something deeply personal going on that you are afraid to speak about to your family and friends. It’s eating you up inside, and because it involves your parents, you can’t turn to them either. You’re between a rock and a hard place. Where do you turn? You need an ear to talk to. Thankfully, Crane High School has a counselor who is there to help you with your problems.

Dana Rizo, CHS counselor, is very familiar with advising students who are in need. She is there and you can count on her to listen and give you advice about your situations. When you think of a counselor and what she sounds like you may think of her. When a student is confessing how they feel about something that has happened, the counselor would give you advice about the situation, or how to deal with it. When you go to your local counselor you may feel the relief lift off your chest when you go and open up about let’s say you were getting bullied about your appearance and you needed someone to give you advice about fixing the situation without it getting out of hand.

This week’s agenda for Mrs. Rizo is to prepare the seniors for their next chapter in life and how they are going to proceed on with their lives when they graduate high school. This week is the main focus for the senior’s to prepare them for college applications, job interviews, and even getting scholarships. One important thing that Mrs. Rizo helps with us getting your schedule changed if needed, she also helps with new students that have transferred here and helps them with finding their classes. She even asks the older students to help the new kids who come, for them to understand where they need to go everyday. She also is a very important person when you want to get your schedule changed to get into the classes you want to take for college and just normal things you want to take to gain your knowledge about, or even if you just want to get out of classes you don’t enjoy taking.

We need our counselor to make referrals for more counseling if needed, and also make many phone calls to parents about their children's college classes, grades, and even if they need to be talked to for their behavior. One thing that we had worked on last year was a program called SEL which means Social Emotional Learning where we learned about our experiences, and personal information that we wanted to talk about or even how to treat other peers around you. This year the counselor had created a new important program called, “ Youth Aware of Mental Health” (short term YAM). This program is for all students but the main focus is for new incoming freshmen who need to be talked to about their mental health, or any issues they may be struggling with. This program is for the freshmen class to gain  knowledge about our mental health, and how it can affect us as  human beings.

When Rizo was in kindergarten she had always seen herself becoming a teacher when she had gotten older, and she never expected herself to become a school counselor. When she was in high school she babysat people’s children when they needed help or if they were going out and needed a sitter. She would babysit their kids for them. When she went to college for her Bachelor’s degree she went to Stephen F. Austin State University. And when she decided to get her Masters degree she went to Angelo State University.

She taught her first class when she was 21 years old. After a few years of earning her Masters degree she decided she wanted to continue teaching kids, and became a school Counselor for Crane High School. When she became a counselor her goal was to make an impact on students' lives and life choices. She says that a small gesture from her may be a very important gesture to students' lives, and is a very big thing for students. And as always, Mrs. Rizo says, “Every Day Is a Different Day,” at Crane High School.

And as you walk out of your local school Counselors office, you feel the weight that was bringing you down lifted off your chest. And you are ready, and recharged for the rest of the school day!

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Spotless: CHS janitors keep the school shining

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Spotless: CHS janitors keep the school shining

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Story by Sally Gutierrez

El Ave News Staff Writer

Picture yourself as a high school student. You and your friends are fooling around in the hallways. Then, one of your friends suddenly spills their soda on the ground. Your friend glances around and then starts to walk away. "That's someone else's mess.", he shrugs.

Then, when you come back the next day, the floor is squeaky clean, and without a thought, your day goes on.

Many people can take advantage of the cleanliness of their school; moreover, most students don't even know the names of who works behind the scenes to keep our school polished.

Some janitors live a quiet life, Margie Fuentes, CHS janitor, says that she has been a janitor for 13 years, but doesn´t have a reason for why she stayed so long. “I don't talk to the students much. It's just cleaning, so it's not hard once you get the hang of it, but I still like it.”

On the other hand, Alma Hernandez, another custodian, states that she does her job for the kids to have a clean setting.

‘I've worked here for 23 years. 9 hours a day, I clean so the students in this school can have a neat place to be. I enjoy creating that environment.”

Custodians are on duty 24/7, and there is always someone there to clean up at the end of the day. Furthermore, there are night crews working from 3:30 all the way to 12:00, just cleaning classrooms and tidying up.

Our janitors of CHS are pretty dedicated to our school and its cleanliness. So, next time you see a janitor, maybe shoot a ‘thank you’ or two at them.

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Crane mother struggles with effects of liver transplant from a decade ago

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Crane mother struggles with effects of liver transplant from a decade ago

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By Maritza Tarin
El Ave News staff writer

By Maritza Tarin
El Ave News staff writer

Growing up, I lived each day wondering if my mother would live another day. If my mother would live to see me reach my important life milestones: graduation, engagement, marriage. Would she live long enough to see me have children of my own?

My childhood is filled with memories of the hospital. The smell of disinfectant still takes me back to some of the darkest days of my life. Back to a time when I tried to take comfort in my mother’s words: “Mija, it’s going to be okay.” I can remember it as though it was yesterday, my eight-year-old self playing on her father’s phone, doing her best to take her mind off what tragedy might soon come her way.

I recall hearing these words from everyone who tried to comfort me: "Mom is gonna be okay.” Imagine going through this, but for your entire lifetime of sixteen years. Imagine watching your sister hold your mother’s hair up as she vomits into a trashcan. Or calling your dad while he’s at work to tell him that your mother fell again, hurting herself pretty badly in the process. Imagine having to help your mother with her many medications. Simply put, it’s not something that many people even want to think about, but it is something that I have lived through every day of my life so far.

In 2006, my mother started to have liver failure from taking over-the-counter medication for her intense migraines that she has had since she was small. She was a healthy child who lived in Presidio. She was diagnosed with the condition called Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, a chronic disease in which the bile ducts in one’s liver are slowly destroyed. I am the youngest child of three. My father’s name is George Tarin, and my siblings are Clarissa Tarin and Calix Cortez.

My mother, Juanita Quiroz, who had just been diagnosed with liver failure, later discovered, in 2006, that she was pregnant with me. I was a surprise, which made her pregnancy dangerous because of the medicines the doctors had given her without knowing she was pregnant. The doctors immediately let her know that her condition could potentially lead to a miscarriage. However, on June 21, 2007, she gave birth to me, a healthy, although premature, baby girl.

When my mother was diagnosed with her condition, the doctors immediately put her on a transplant list. For a while, my mom was managing well. That is, until 2014, when she started to see a gallbladder doctor in Odessa. He then mentioned to her that the San Antonio Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant Hospital Facility is an amazing place for people suffering with her condition. In January of 2015, my mom had her first appointment. She had been going to a hospital in Fort Worth, and she decided to try San Antonio instead. Four months after her first appointment in San Antonio, she got progressively worse from throwing up at home every day, not being able to walk, and losing weight. Eventually, she began to look like nothing but skin and bones.

In May of 2015, she finally got her liver transplant. Everyone was there in the waiting room when the doctors came to tell my dad that she had died. My mom was taken off life support after the surgery; they ended up having to revive her and put her back on life support. For two weeks she was on life support and not stable. My sister and Dad ended up moving to San Antonio while my brother would come occasionally to visit my mom.

In August, we moved back to Odessa, and my sister would take me to school here in Crane. I was starting second grade and was so happy. My mom continued to go back and forth from Odessa to San Antonio. Two days out of every week, my mom would go get her blood drawn in Odessa to make sure all her levels were okay. In 2016, we moved to Crane, and my mom’s overall condition was better. Everything was finally falling into place. She was progressively getting better, and now she only had to have her blood drawn once a week.

However, in June 2023, my mom went to go get her blood drawn for her once-a-month checkups. We had grown accustomed to having good news come our way. Sadly, a few days later, she got a call from the doctor, saying that her body was rejecting her new liver, and they needed her in San Antonio as soon as possible!

My mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, and I packed our bags and loaded up into the car to follow her to the hospital. We stayed there a week and two days, during which time she was given steroids so that her rejection medication would work faster. The steroids ended up giving her diabetes and hypertension, meaning she had blood pressure that was much too high. In October, she returned to San Antonio to learn that she was still going through rejection, and that it was worse than it had ever been. The doctors increased her dosage, and she was now taking 6 rejection pills a day and two antivirals and many more things as well.

There are many unanswered questions about my mother’s health that my family and I still have. No child at any age should have to endure the pain of watching their mother slowly fade away like tiny particles of dust. All of the days I spent with her in a hospital or simply just sitting by her on the floor handing napkins while she threw up is something I am glad I was there for. There is no other person that I would have wished was there than my sister, brother, dad and I.

If I could give you any piece of advice, it would be this: Hug your family tight and cherish them while they are here; you never really know when their last moments will be. Going through something as traumatizing as this was one of the hardest things to get over, and now that it's starting all over it is like I am reliving a nightmare.

Recalling my mother’s journey so far, my father described it this way.

"It was hard watching her go through all kinds of pain,” he said. Even now it's hard. Watching all my kids go through this was even harder, but your mother is the strongest woman I know, and if she did it once she can do it again."

My mother expressed how proud she was of my father for the way he’s handled keeping the family together as she battled through her illness.

“Your dad went through so much from working shifts that take up the whole day, he hardly even got to see you guys grow up. While in the hospital all of my kids are on my mind, I fight for you guys, y'all are my motivation, and you guys keep me up and running!”

Recalling her journey so far, she described the physical and emotional pain she’s endured over the years.

"I felt like I was going through a world of fire and hurt while I was sick, and now that my rejection is back I'm scared to feel that again. The worst part about me getting sick 9 years ago is the fact that I missed my children's childhood. I am so grateful to have a husband that does the things he does not only for me but for his family, and my children. I could not be more grateful to Jesus for giving me and extra nine years and possibly even more time to spend time with my kids."

When you go to bed, wake up, get dropped off at school, remember to hug and say I love you to your guardian, or loved one. Never take what people do for you for granted.

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Crane High School theater play: The Tale of La Llorona  

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Crane High School theater play: The Tale of La Llorona  

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Story and photo by Salma Gutierrez

El Ave news staff writer

We all know about the theater and the way it affected our world today. People now can express themselves through the art of theater and plays in many more ways than one. So now I have a question for you. Have you ever thought about what a whole lot of work it must be to make a theater play and finish it in the span of a few weeks? Could you imagine having to learn a whole book’s worth of words or make props on a stage in under a month and test yourself to the limits of your body or skills in craft in order to handle being put under pressure by the open house’s eyes and ears? Well that’s a job none other than the Theater Crane High School students have to face.

The play theater group is working on it titled as such,  “The tale of la Llorona”, a play based on the infamous legend and myth known as The weeping woman. The summary of this play is about a close group of friends telling scary stories and reflecting on their childhood on a rainy Halloween night.

“For all my years of being in theater and being in a play like this, this has got to be one of my favorites to date.” Said Ashton Adams, junior,  cheerfully with a smile on his face.

The total number of acting cast for the play are 7 Crane High School students. The actors including Ashton Adams, junior, Pedro Morales, senior, and Noah Garcia, sophomore, Asialyn  Sanchez, junior, Taylor Hale, sophomore, Sasha Oyervides, sophomore, Esor Carraso, sophomore, and Salma Gutierrez, junior.

Currently the play is going through its beginning and there are several things that need to be fixed and done, that being the scene’s props, the posters that will be hung and published, the overall students having to act, and the backstage crew getting the lights to work. But the director and theater teacher herself, Vannesa Velasco, will make sure everything for the play will be cleaned up and ready before the due date of The Tale of La Llorona.

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Jordan Orozco

El Ave News staff writer

Red flashing light, the overhead speakers repeatedly saying lockdown, and teachers rushing to lock the doors. Bearacade is the brand of barricade that teachers use to secure the door by bolting it to the floor. The teacher directs the students to a corner for safety. For these measures we have a new crisis alert.

The crisis alert is a new system that we have to better protect the students. It looks like a fire alarm but instead of it just flashing a white light it flashes different colors and they all mean something different. The students and teachers have to follow different instructions.

Red is the one that we will be talking about today. The red flash is another sign for lockdown. It means move away from sight, maintain silence, do not open the door, recover students from the hallway, lock the classroom door, turn out the lights, and move away from the doors and windows.

Crane high school teacher and his wife, who is also a school employee, know first hand what it's like when security measures break down.

Brad Pettit, journalism teacher, had said “ My wife and I went to Uvalde following the school shooting there.” he said “My mother in law is a florist she, Latrina little, and a few ladies from the little flower shop went to Uvalde to help their local flower shop deliver flowers for all of the funerals that were happening simultaneously after the school shooting.”

Jessica Pettit, instruction coach,  says “I was in high school when I was first exposed to school shootings when the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado happened.  It really scared us and it kind of made us look at our own classmates differently and ask ourselves if it could happen at Crane High School.” She says.” As a teacher, we go through hours of school safety training in hopes that it will never happen at our school but we would be prepared if it did. I think of my students as my own and I would do anything and everything in my power to make sure they are safe.

There were also a couple of students in High school that had something to say about how they feel about school shootings and having to go into lockdown.

Corinn Hensley, Sophomore, says “I think upgrading the system is better for all the students that attend Crane High School. It reduces the possibility of the students witnessing trauma” Hensley said. “ including experiences and overall keeps is much more safe and less at risk.

Gary Ray Gutierrez, sophomore, also had something to say.

Gutierrez says “I think that our school could take more precautions to prevent this kind of things from happening and make the safety of the kids better by adding more security” he said. “I also think that our school is doing a good job by restricting us on certain things that we can do such as going out in the halls during our class periods.”

While no one wants to think about school shooting it's important to always have a plan and to be prepared in case of situations like this.

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The group visiting the Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, and lastly Mount Vernon

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Crane High School students explore Washington D.C, Gettysburg, and Mount Vernon.

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Crane High School students explore Washington D.C, Gettysburg, and Mount Vernon.

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Photo and story by Aaron Padilla

El Ave News staff writer

Imagine you are a kid who always dreamed about visiting the nation's capital. Being able to see the historical landmarks of the United States Of America, and touch the same railing that George Washington himself touched.

This year World Classrooms gave Crane Middle School students the opportunity to take a trip to the east coast and enjoy our nation's capital. 28 students and 10 parents attended this trip. This trip was not just like any other trip because of all the historical places we visited in such little time. Sure sometimes we were running on 1 hour of sleep but that did not stop our CEOS from getting us from place to place.

Danny, and Niko who were the CEOS for our trip, and did everything they could do to make the trip the funnest trip we had ever been on. ¨Our trip went as well as it could have possibly gone,¨ Niko said.

When CEO Niko was asked of how he felt about our group he responded saying, ¨When you have a group who truly wants to be there it makes going to Washington DC so much more enjoyable.¨

We did not just visit Washington DC, we also visited Gettysburg, and Mount Vernon. Each historical place we visited felt like a dream come true to every student , parent, and teacher on that trip! I absolutely loved each and every place we visited;  but one place stuck out to me the most, and that was the Washington Monument. Washington is amazing once you are able to see it in person! The way the color of the brick changes from the middle up is truly amazing, and you find it even more amazing when you learn the history behind what the color of the brick changes.

1 of the 3 teachers that attended this trip was Daisy Smith, Smith is an ELA teacher at Crane Middle School. Smith shared some words with us about the trip she attended with World Classrooms, ¨This was a memorable trip for the students and each of us who went on the trip,¨ Smith said.

When Smith was asked about the things she got to experience and visit she said, ¨ Leaving our small town of Crane allowed us to see so many things that others never have the chance to see, including the ACTUAL Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and many other important documents.¨

This trip was one to remember; the people that attended this trip were the ones that made it as fun as it was. I definitely would want to take this trip if god permits me!

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CISD welcomes new chief technology officer 

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CISD welcomes new chief technology officer 

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Photo and story by Maritza Tarin
El Ave News staff writer

Imagine the world without your phone, or any type of technology at all. In 1943-1946 the first kind of digital technology was made, and it was a computer. The computers nowadays have better sound quality, the screens are no longer static, some are even touchscreen! Technology has been brought to schools now by using computers, the apps google classroom, zoom, and other apps!

Crane ISD has a new technology officer, Mark Patrick the executive in charge of anyone's technical needs also known as the president of IT. Becoming a CTO comes with many responsibilities and hardships but Mr. Patrick seems to be handling this new job pretty well! Patrick has to go through being THE head officer of IT, he is always busy and on the go, he has to be a strong independent man with people skills and have strategy.

Patrick claims, “I started in the summer, contacted by someone here in the district needing some help in technology and sorted through some things and felt very welcome and excited to serve the teachers and students of CISD. Having time would be the most challenging thing I go through on a daily basis, everything that we do on a daily basis relies on technology and that means the people who use technology rely on us. For everyone to succeed in their jobs they need us to succeed in ours. Usually when I have problems I can fix, I go to this network that withholds many different technology directors and CEOs of the state of Texas and other states. All I have to do is ask the question and hit send and several different people see the question and will help or answer my question. If not I will go ahead and send a text message to a certain person. I started in education teaching, I had a lot of really good teachers, and some really bad ones as well. I felt like when I graduated college I thought things would be better, but only If I'm willing to make them better myself. I started teaching, went to instructional support, and campus administration, district administration,and technology leadership. I have been in education since 2004, went to the University of Texas in Austin for my bachelors, I got my masters at A&M Texarkana, my doctorate is through Texas Tech University. Right now I have finished my doctoral and superintendent program. All I have left is my dissertation and hoping to graduate in May!”

Ignacio Flores states, ¨working with Mr. Patrick is like babysitting a golden retriever, he is so optimistic and has so much energy! I help him generically and with any technology issue I can around the district for example when teachers have issues with printers, to when students have issues with chromebooks and many more. One of my biggest challenges working with Mr. Patrick is the fact that he has so much energy! More than anyone I have met. Although we have other employees I would love or shall I say we would love more pairs of eyes and hands working with us. I am also super excited to share that that we redesigned the Wifi in the high school and we are now working in the middle school, we are also working on printing which I am not able to share as much information about but printing is going to get a lot easier for everybody not just the staff, students included.”

Technology gets more and more advanced everyday, let's see what else comes through the year!

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New science teacher, Juana Velasco, makes her mark on CHS

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New science teacher, Juana Velasco, makes her mark on CHS

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By Rose Tarango

El Ave News staff writer

Prior to being the awesome teacher she is today, she was a teacher's aide for 12 years here at Crane Isd. She likes teaching because of her experience as an aide and when they offered her the job. She says she “took the challenge”.

While in her college days, she got a bachelor's degree in computer programming, so teaching wasn’t her first career choice.

Mrs. Velasco claims she enjoys seeing students grow with what she teaches them, for example: when they say “I didn’t know that” and when they come back years later and say what she taught them helped them a lot post-graduation.

She says teaching has changed her for the better because she was a teacher's aide and saw teachers teaching for only a little and having short lessons. Now she she sees the work you have to put into a lesson and says  “It is not as easy as it looks”

After her teaching career, she plans to retire and enjoy her old age, try new things, before age prevents her from doing so, and being active.

Mrs. Velasco has been married for 40 years! She has four children and one granddaughter whom she adores.

When asked what she liked to do in her free time she said she likes to spend time with her granddaughter and her kids. She says she never has free time but when she does it is spent with the ones she loves.

If she wasn’t a teacher here at Crane Isd she said she would probably try something new like a profession she hasn’t tried or, stay home to be a housewife and be with her kids.

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Story by Addysen Vincent

El Ave News staff writer

Imagine you are in class working on a math assignment. You come across a problem on paper and you don’t know how to solve it. Your face gives off a visible expression that you're confused and all of a sudden a teacher aid comes up to you and asks if you need help. They help you with the problem and help you understand. Finally you get it. Thankfully teacher aids are there to help disabled kids and to help with anything else you need.

When asked what the job entails, Lindsey Sausedo, a teacher aid, said, ¨Working as a teacher aid involves following special ed students around and helping them when they need it. I have to make sure that they are learning as much as they can.¨

Clarissa Tarin, teacher aid, replied with, ¨I follow all the students around making sure that they get the education they need, so I have eight periods just like the students.¨

When talking about the struggles that come with being a teacher aid, Lindsey responds with, ¨Mine are educating the students enough and helping them understand what they are learning.¨

Clarissa replied with, ¨The hardest thing about being a teacher aid is going back to highschool. Since I have eight periods just like the students, it feels just like I am in highschool again.¨

When asked who they go to when they have struggles they both said they go to Sasha Oyervides. Sasha is a special education teacher who started off as a teacher aid. For her job she teaches students with special needs and offers in class support for the students.

Sophomore, Keyera Carter, says, ¨I like the teacher aids, they help me a lot, they help me with pretty much everything. If I have a question about anything they pitch in and help me understand.¨ Keyera also said, ¨I thank the teacher aids for the help and that I'm glad that the teacher aids are here to help me with work that I do not understand.¨

¨It is very rewarding seeing a kid who was struggling, pass.¨ Said Lindsey when asked what her biggest achievement was in the teacher aid department.

Clarissa said, ¨I love seeing kids light up when they understand a problem that they were struggling with.¨

Teacher aids are an important part of the Crane Independent School district because they help students who have special needs get the help they need.

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Mr Wright feature story(i need you to check it)

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Mr Wright feature story(i need you to check it)

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By Gary Ray Gutierrez

El Ave News staff writer

Imagine having a label that many people perceive to be a disability? Ironically, your disability is your strength. This is the situation that new geometry teacher Howard Wright experiences on a daily basis.

Wright has been diagnosed with autism, a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. He is very open about being

“on the spectrum,” but he doesn’t let that hold him back. In fact, when asked about the limitations of his disability, Wright said that there really isn’t any.

“It's challenging, but it doesn't really bother me,” Wright said.

Wright has a gentle and caring demeanor. He can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of the football game cheering on the Golden Cranes and mixing it up with Crane superfans, Wild Bill and Jack Carman.

Wright likes to inspire kids, and one could argue that he's very good at just that.When asked about why he got into teaching math, Wright took a moment to think then started to explain how he was inspired by other mathematicians that he looked up to when he was young.

“Jaime Escalante and my sophomore teacher Mr. Wall are what got me into math.”

This led to Wright explaining why he wanted to inspire kids. When asked about where he grew up, his eyes lit up and he became eager. He talked about how he grew up in Sacramento, Texas, where he decided he wanted to become a teacher to make a difference in the world. Wright studied at California State University, Sacramento for his bachelor's degree. When he was asked about why he decided to get into teaching math, his inspiration and wanting to make a difference was an instant response from him.

“I wanted to make an impact,”

Even when on the spectrum, Mr. Wright thinks that it helps him more than taking away from him. While autism can come with challenges, some autistic people find there are positive things about their condition: for example, being more creative, determined, focused or accepting than other people. Wright puts all of his time and effort into his assignments to make sure that we can learn in a way that can impact or inspire us. When asked about why he hasn't given up, Wright's tone changed.

“I keep going because I need to do the right thing. Fight for what's right, not easy.”

Even with Wright’s challenges, he still pushes to inspire kids.  We all have our biases and preconceptions about how labels limit us, but Mr. Wright is proof that we can all rise above our disabilities and even succeed in despite of them.

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Photo and story by DJ Hernandez
El Ave News Staff Writer

Books, books, and more books. This is what Sophia Ortiz sees nearly every day. It is her passion and one of many reasons she has chosen to work here at Crane High School.

Sophia Ortiz is the library director for Crane High School. This is her twelfth year working for Crane Schools; However,  she started as a parent volunteer, then a substitute teacher. With her newfound passion for teaching, she started to get her bachelor's degree.

Ortiz then applied to be a teacher's aid in the elementary and the following year she started working in the middle school as a reading and technology teacher. With yet another newfound passion, she started teaching the sixth grade as an ELA teacher

For fun Mrs. Ortiz likes to read. She also enjoys gardening and watching movies. She has one sister, two step siblings, and three half siblings. She has one daughter. Emily, sophomore. When asked if she had any hidden talents she is unsure.  She goes on to say before she wanted to be a band director and even went as far as going to Angelo State University.

She has two chihuahuas (Portia-13 yr, Max-2 months),  a bearded dragon, (Merlin), guinea pig,  (Diva),and a red eared slider turtle (Tortuga)

Ortiz says if she ever won the lottery she would still be a librarian but she would travel the world and find the libraries of the world and be where the people

Her dream vacation is to go to Europe to visit historical sites, however, she is not a outside type of person but she loves seeing historical sites.

If she were trapped in a desert and had to choose a book and a movie she says, “This is probably the hardest question ever!! I love so many books and movies and they are always changing depending on my mood. Right now I would have to say the books I would take would include The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Game of Thrones Series by George R. R. Martin, and Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano. As for movies, I would probably have to have the Harry Potter series, Practical Magic, and all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. “

She has been married for 13 but as she says “ I've been gracing his presence for 16.”

Before Crane she came from a small town called Roby, Texas.

“It wouldn't surprise me if you haven't heard of it. It's about 20 miles north of Sweetwater. I lived there all my life until I moved to Crane in 2010. “ she states

Mrss. Ortiz sure has had quite the adventure and Her inspiration for most of it is, “The students and teachers here at Crane ISD. I believe that what we are doing here is making a difference in the world and I'm excited to be a part of it.”

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Amanda Golson named special ed diagnostician

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Amanda Golson named special ed diagnostician

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Story by Adam McGuire
El Ave News staff writer

Amanda Golson Crane High School special ed diagnostician was asked questions about her life and daily routines.

Mrs.Golson was asked how long have you been teaching?

I was a teacher for a little over 17 years before moving to my current position as an Educational Diagnostician for Crane ISD. I had previously taught special education (a total of 4 years) and middle school science (a total of 13 years).

When did you decide that you wanted to become a teacher?

I knew that I always wanted to help people, but I had originally considered going into the medical field as a nurse or physical therapist.

I even had a college job working in an Orthotics and Prosthetics facility and was strongly encouraged to enter that field by my bosses and coworkers. However, at the time, the idea of prolonging my college years was daunting and the idea of teaching and coaching was something that really had my interest.

I was a student/athlete in high school and I had some really great teachers and coaches that I loved and I fell short of greatness. Like any kid, I had some experiences that really dampened my spirits.

When I decided to teach and coach, my goal was to always try to be better than what I had! I never wanted a student/athlete to ever feel the way I felt in those situations. I can only hope that I didn't fall short in my career.

How is your experience helping special ed kids?

I really enjoy helping students to get the help they need in the classroom. My position involves the evaluation of students to determine their strengths and needs in the educational environment.

I also hold meetings and handle a lot of the paperwork and plans that are in place to help these students succeed in their educational environment. I also strive to make a difference and to help improve processes within the special education department.

I am a very helpful person and will always do what I can to help the students of Crane ISD. The experience in this position is very demanding, but I can only hope that my dedication is making a difference for our students with special needs.

How many kids do you usually work with?

We currently serve about 100 students in the school district as a department.  However, I work with many additional students throughout the year when students are referred to special education. When I am testing students, I get to work individually with students on a one on one basis.

How long have you lived in Crane?

This is my 4th year in Crane. I previously worked at the high school as a Special Education Teacher for my first two years here.

I have previously worked in… McCamey ISD as a middle school science teacher for 6 years. Monahans-Wickett-Pyote ISD as a Science/Special Education Teacher and Coach Volleyball, Basketball, Track, Cross Country, and Cheerleading for 9 years

Where did you go to college?

I obtained my Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology and Special Education from Angelo State University.

I obtained my Master of Education Degree as an Educational Diagnostician from Sul Ross State University.

How long did you have to go to college?

Bachelor Degree - 4 years

Masters Degree - 18 months

Other info about me:

I have two sons who attend Crane ISD.

Payton - Middle School - 8th grade

Ryan - Elementary - 5th grade

If I am not working, you can probably find me at some sort of ball field watching my boys do their thing!

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A trailer review over Percy Jackson and the a Olympians 

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A trailer review over Percy Jackson and the a Olympians 

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El Ave news staff writer

Curtsy photo

It was first released and sent out with a trailer in May 2022, and the tv series for Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be released this year here on December 20th, 2023 on Disney+ itself.

First time, the series was green lit in January 2022 with Disney Branded Television, 20th Television, and the Gotham Group, who have worked with the Percy Jackson foundation before.

But what is Percy Jackson and the Olympians? It’s an upcoming American fantasy television series created by Rick Riodan and Jonathan E. Steinburg for Disney+, based on the book series of the same name by Riordan himself.

From what the trailer gives us, it will be heavily influenced and inspired by the book itself, but we never know what types of changes will overcome the original.

The plot from what we have seen so far for the series is of a 12 year old student named Percy Jackson in modern times who seems to not ‘fit in’ with the people around him. In a twisted turn of events he is actually a demigod that is later on sent to a place called camp half blood to control his new found abilities and save the world from chaos and disaster. While all this happens, he’s awaited with allies, enemies, and long lost connections on his way to victory.

The production for this show first began with a father, Rick Riordon, telling stories about Greek mythology to his son, Haley Riordon, as bedtime stories. It started this way because Haley in the second grade studied Greek mythology and asked Rick to tell him stories based on Greek myths. And by close to the end of this year, the tv series will finally be out to be watched only on Disney+.

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Angel Reyes, junior, obtains the boomstick at the final pep-rally at El Ave Stadium.

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From left; Bryan Tanajero, Chris Lewis, and Hugo Montes, all juniors get creative as they build a structure in class.

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Crane Technical Theater

Story by Salma Gutierrez

Curtsy photo

El Ave News staff writer

Once upon a present time there was a UIL student group named Technical Theater who aimed to make their designs go to the next level and off to state.

And when it comes to technical theater work, marketing, promoting, changing, and upgrading that play or musical is always a must and never an ask. The main reason people do this is because it’s all about making a play with the same concept but switched and turned into something differently at the same time. Usually an example would be Sweeny Todd’s play having a different and changed poster to be more appealing than the original.

This year of 2023, the Technical Theater thespians have to work and get a hands on experience with the all well known and an all-time favorite for many musical theater enthusiasts, Hadestown.

“The first time I heard that we were going to make a stage design for Hadestown, I was so excited. There's just so much material in the works and it just lets my imagination run wild!” Exclaimed Taylor Hale, sophomore, and a member of Crane’s Tech theater.

Now what exactly is Hadestown? well to summarize that play, it’s a theater show about a comedy romance between Orpheus and Eurydice who have to face the battles with greek gods. Mostly being Hades, the god of the underworld, and Persephone, the goddess of spring.

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By Taylor Hale
El Ave News Staff Writer

When you were growing up, did you ever think about being a doctor, an astronaut, maybe even an archeologist or marine biologist? As we all know, jobs like these take knowledge. “Knowledge of what,” you may be asking. That knowledge is mainly science!

Crane High school has 4 different science based courses that students take. These classes include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and even our CNA class. These different topics give our students the understanding of themselves and the world we live in. This is a way to go into depth about these science classes.

Biology is the first thing many of our freshmen are recommended to take since it's their first year. Biology defined by Webster's Dictionary is a branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes. Our students at Crane high school learn about how the environment and how it works as well as themselves and how their body generally works.

Chemistry, being the main science class the sophomores take, is defined as the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances. In chemistry, the students learn about the chemicals found in our universe. They learn how these chemicals react with each other as well as their effects on our earth.

The fourth class is Physics. Taken by the 11th graders, Physics is a class that is focused on the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. In other words, Physics is the study of Isaac Newton's laws of energy and motion.

CNA, which stands for Cirtified nurses assistant. The CNA class takes health and biology cources to become licensed nursing assistants to start up their carrers in the healthcare field.

The Nurse and CNA teacher, Jennifer Leyva, said that “ The class gets first hand experience with the generic population, and the students learn to love it!”

Salma Gutierrez, junior, said “I think the best thing to learn in physics was inertia. It's easy to remember and I liked the Bill Nye episode.”

These courses of science teach us about our endless universe and ourselves. Your doctors, pharmacists, astronauts, even the people who tell the weather, they all had to learn from teachers about science and so do we. Science is so important to life and survival and we have our teachers to thank for teaching us all the core knowledge.

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By Omar Murguia

El Ave News staff writer

I asked students what is their favorite NFL team. Here are their responses:

Tristan Cabazos-New Orleans Saints. ¨because i like them¨

Javian Murguia-San Francisco 49ers. ¨because i don´t like the cowboys¨

Christian Terrine-Dallas Cowboys. ¨i just like them¨

Eli Jacobo-Dallas Cowboys. ¨because they are on top¨

Juan De Leon-Dallas Cowboys. ¨because they are the best¨

Axel Martinez-Dallas Cowboys. ¨they are my favorite¨

Adien Trahan-Dallas Cowboys. ¨because they are Americas Team¨

Roman Fuentes-Dallas Cowboys. ¨everybody likes them so me too¨

Adrian Bedoy-Baltimore Ravens. ¨because the cowboys are a sorry team¨

Weston Rankin-Dallas Cowboys. ¨because they are my team¨

Ivan Martinez-San Francisco 49ers. ¨because their on top and are the best team¨