April – Prom

Under the City Lights prom was  enjoyable for both students and staff.

“I’ve been doing it for close to ten years now, and with the experiences I’ve had, I find I enjoy it more every year,”Student Council Advisor Kim Mattern said.

One highlight of the event was that students really enjoyed the food.

“There was variety. It was good quality, too. It wasn’t like HoCo where stuff would run out in two seconds,“ junior Julianna Coleman said.

Specific foods got many compliments from students.

“There were the triangle things—they were covered in sour cream and stuff. They were so good,” Coleman said.

More than that, the planners enjoy a job well done and happy students. Expectations are high, and the planners are eager to please.

“Watching everyone come in so nicely dressed and that sense of anticipation and the excitement really makes me happy,” Mattern said. “I feel like I’ve done a good job when they leave and it’s clear that they’ve had a good time.”

March – Spring Musical

This year’s spring musical set their expectations sky-high with “Chicago” and passed them with flying colors.

“I was tremendously proud of everyone; I think we had four extremely strong performances. Students will look back and feel proud,” Musical Director Nathan Rancatore said.

It was chosen because it was a challenging performance, but the group rose above.

“We threw around some ideas and Chicago kept coming back. We looked at the strength of our students but thought ‘How could we challenge them?’” Rancatore said.

Chicago, being a difficult show to pull off, needs a group that works very well together.

“The work that we had to put in, not just us, but ensemble, lead, the directors—it was so incredible. You need the right group for it, really. I like to think it was good,” Roxy Hart’s actress, junior June Coffindaffer said.

She recommends doing Chicago again, sometime, despite its difficulties.

“It’s so fun to put on. Me, personally, I’d be in Chicago again. It’s fun, and I’m gonna miss it. For the school, I think it’s difficult. It’s a really hard show to do well. I think we did it pretty well. There’s a lot of dancing and a lot of singing,” Coffindaffer said.

January – Freshmen in the Locker Room

With the addition of freshmen to the upperclassman gyms, the gap between upper and lowerclassmen has narrowed.

“Whereas in the freshman building they would have been alienated, they can make friends with upperclassmen here and they can have it rub off on them,” junior Grady Bartz said.

Since the change, the transition between middle and high school has been made a little easier.

“In middle school you don’t interact a lot with the upper classes, and in high school that’s just not the culture. I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that in the first year,” Bartz said.

But with students fresh out of middle school, there have been cases of middle school behavior from some students.

“It’s the maturity level, if the freshman or if that student is mature enough to be in these classes with the older kids then it works fine. We’re having problems with the immature students that are distracting, so that’s where we run into issues,” PE teacher Justin Williams said.

Overall, it seems both teacher and student approve of the change, even with the minor hiccups.

November – Fall Play

This year’s fall play, “Failure: A Love Story,” was a wonder to behold. 

“Our students are very talented and they do a good job of working together and making sure everything comes together: building the prop pieces, doing the lights, doing the sound, doing the costumes, so I think we’re a really well oiled machine,” {Technical Director Alex Smith said.

Between technical improvements, incredible casting and well-made props, the play has blown past expectations set by previous events.

“For past musicals we ended up renting lights—and spending lots and lots of money to do that—but we got an all new light system that we used for the fall play last year and this year. I think the students especially have had a real good time trying to learn how to do them, and learning how to program,” Smith said.

The sound also drastically improved since last year.

“The sound has made a huge difference, I mean if you look at videos from shows two – three years ago, videos from when I was in high school here. Mics used to go in and out, they were really poppy, bad feedback. Now, although there are some minor errors here and there, they’re much more reliable and much more clear, and it’s just great,” Smith said.

May – Graduation

As the 2026 school year comes to an end, the beginning of saying goodbye to the seniors arrives. Some seniors are happy that the year is coming to a close, others are sad that they have to leave a place full of memories.

“I  think one of my favorite classes was English 2 Honors with Ms Walker. I think it was a challenging course, I think it actually brought a lot of good skills out of me.,” senior Cesar Arciniega said. “Another very good class is Rhetoric, with Mr Depew. Again, I feel like I’m being a good student, I feel like a lot of my skills are being put to good use.” 

While some students will miss classes, others will miss the fun afterschool activities that were either overlooked or that they or didn’t have enough time for. 

“I wish I did D&D club more, I only was able to do it a couple of times, mainly because of scheduling. I wish I was able to participate in it more,” senior Blake Zabinsky said.

Since the seniors are departing, our Principal also had some positive feelings on the class of 2026 that he would like to share. “I really think they helped restore us to a time before covid.  It was the best year we have had in years, and their leadership played a large role in making that possible.” Principal Chris Chlebek said.

Even with the sad departure, the memories and stories will continue to spread a smile, a chuckle, or both.

  “During the spring musical last year, my junior year, I was on stage during one of the nights,” Zabinsky said. “I got so into character that I punched the desk that I had my hands on. I punched it a little too hard and chipped the paint on the desk.”

Even though the seniors are leaving, they would like to leave behind some words of wisdom for those who are just starting or those who will continue high school. 

“Get involved, but also, I would definitely have to say enjoy it while it’s still there.” Zabinsky said. 

As the seniors are prepping themself for walking up to grab their diploma and say their final goodbye to the PCHS family, the staff have noticed the growth and what they’ve achieved since first walking through the front foyer. 

“I am immensely proud of them and what they accomplished over their four years here.  It was an honor to watch them grow.”