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Westwood Horizon
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The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon
The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon
Sophia Cortes

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor

Class of 2026

Hi I’m Sophia and I am a member of Student Press! When I’m not in the press room and have time for hobbies you may catch me crocheting, drawing, or creating art in general.

All content by Sophia Cortes
Decorated in bright red HEB lids, green juice tops, and white bottle caps, the collection of lids on the mural form the Mexican flag. Proud of their work, HSA students danced to Spanish music after speeches and awards were given.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity: Hispanic Student Association Highlights Representation in Mural

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
May 20, 2025
Deeply concentrated, Ava Stidvent '28, Evelyn Stidvent '26, Shrika Prakash and Hannah Son '25 paint the superheroes and the night sky of the teacher appreciation mural. Surrounding artists join in, working on painting the history and science characters. "It's really great to give back to the local middle school [CVMS] and I also think the concept is really cool to represent teachers as superheroes," Prakash said.

NAHS Paints Teacher Appreciation Mural and Save Soil Backdrop

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
April 17, 2025
Reminiscing from her memories as a young child, Sydney Daigle '26 smiles at her artwork, proud of her finished piece. Daigle utilized a contrast between graphite for the child and oil pastels for the background to capture a nostalgic aesthetic. "I wanted to portray in my message that you can easily forget those [childhood] memories, so I used color to symbolize those memories always being preserved in you," Daigle said.

Young Artists Express Unique Themes at Annual Visual Art Scholastic Event

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
March 5, 2025
After the intermission phase, the contestants walk out from the black drapes and pose. Starting the formal wear stage of the pageant, seniors Ian Shone, Austin Barrois, Kaya Chen, Steven Ma, and Hrithikesh Panda all dress their best.

Annual Mr. Warrior Pageant Captivates Audiences

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
March 1, 2025
Slowly walking through the array of hanged art pieces, students observe at the paintings and drawings, admiring their intricate composition. NAHS officers spent numerous hours preparing the exhibits to ensure the seamless success of the event.

Drawn In: NAHS Highlights Art Appreciation at Winter Art Show

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
February 4, 2025
Sharply hitting their motions, the team pushed through the exhaustion. The cheerleaders completed their first competition of the year.

Cheer Takes on Challenges at Game Day Invitational

Sophia Cortes and Lilah Schlanger
January 5, 2025
Requiring a complete blackout to be fixed, a fallen pole caused by the heavy rain led to an early dismissal on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Benefitting inconvenienced students and faculty alike, the day off in the middle of the week allowed for a break from the academic pressure of the week.

Lights Out: Fallen Pole Sparks Early Dismissal

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
December 9, 2024
Heavily concentrated, NAHS member Chloe Nanda '27 places a butterfly stencil on the child's face and begins to paint in the lines. With many designs and colors available, NAHS's face painting booth grew in popularity as the evening went on and countless children lined up.

Spreading Holiday Magic by Brushstroke

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
December 9, 2024
Blending her bilingual skills and journalistic abilities to share the stories of American culture, Lena Boas ‘25 crafted a video package documenting American life for German audiences. “[A German TV station] wanted me to do this video diary so that I could show my personal life and what it's like going to school here [US].”

Through Two Lenses

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
November 15, 2024
In a deep state of concentration, Mrunali Rajiv ‘28 calmly smooths out the pinched edges of her pinch pot. Other members’ creations included jewelry dishes and mugs. “Making what you want and not having anyone telling you what to do is very therapeutic about art,” Rajiv said.

Molding Minds and Hearts

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
November 13, 2024
With a heart for teaching AP Environmental Science and a commitment to inspiring future educators, Ms. Mihealsick was honored for her service by being awarded the Texas Teacher of the Year position.

Awarded for Excellence

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
November 4, 2024
Waving to the crowd, Warrior Cheer throws candies and chocolates to the children lining the streets. Cheer adopted the theme of Candy Land for their float, eventually winning first prize for their float design and execution.

Leveled Up: Annual Homecoming Parade Promotes School Pride

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
October 16, 2024
Cheerleaders Jenna Hallidy ‘27 and Katelyn Wiley ‘27 guide mini cheerleaders to shout their school chant, ‘Fight Warriors Fight!’ The mini cheerleaders put their new knowledge to use when showing their parents the tricks and chants that the cheerleaders taught. “When I came here as a mini I really looked up to the cheerleaders and I hope I can leave as good of an impact on the children I’m watching as the cheerleaders did on me,” Wiley said.

Passing It On

Sophia Cortes and Lilah Schlanger
October 14, 2024
As one of the most complicated stunts they perform, the Cheerleading team stacks on top of one another forming a pyramid with a Westwood ‘W’. “The pyramid was challenging because we had to put a lot of faith in each other to be able to throw Audri Moreno ‘27 high enough so she wouldn't hit Mia Zell ‘28 while flying over,” Cheerleader Jenna Hallidy ‘25 said. Although this new advanced routine heavily challenged the cheerleaders, they persevered to make the Pep Rally a success.

Cheer Shows Up and Shows Out For USA-Themed Pep Rally

Lilah Schlanger and Sophia Cortes
September 24, 2024
Guiding Legend Galvan ‘25 on sculpting techniques, Ollie Trail '25 works on their friendship trays in the shape of a broken heart. Both friends decided to join the Ceramics Club as it was a great opportunity to learn and harness their love for ceramics together. “One day I was hanging out with Legend and thought of a genius idea to make a heart-shaped tray out of clay, and once I found out Ceramics Club was having a meeting, we took it as the perfect activity to create what we had in mind,” Trail said.

Cultivating Creativity: Ceramics Club Sculpts Trinket Dishes For First Meeting

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
September 21, 2024
Working together to paint their section of the backdrop, NAHS members Kendall Potts ‘27, Swasthiya Mahesh ‘27, and Ananya Velmurugan ‘27 enjoy the event together. They not only saw this as a chance to contribute something good to their school, but also to socialize and form new connections based on shared passions for art. “When I’m at the dance, I can look up at the finished backdrop and remember that I worked on that and how amazing it was that I was a part of that,” Ananya Velmurugan ‘27 said.

NAHS Fosters Creativity by Painting Homecoming Backdrop

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
September 17, 2024
Students' phones in a phone storage caddy during class. At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, the Westwood administration introduced a new policy restricting phone use in class. Restricting phone use to set times in the school day, the new policy has been met with both approval and annoyance.

Helpful or Stressful: Students Evaluate New Phone Policy

Addy Temple and Sophia Cortes
August 30, 2024
Arranged by style, the Fiber Arts Club stand displays plushies, coasters, keychains and other goods made for the sale. The first of its kind for the club, the sale allowed club members to showcase their love for craft while giving back to the community.

Wool You Be Mine: Fiber Arts Club Sells Valentine-themed Handcrafted Goods

Sophia Cortes and Katie Ring
February 17, 2024
A majority of Texans rely on Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for their electricity, especially during the winter. But after the recent winter storm, and previous winter disasters, Texas' power grid should be re-evaluated.

The Texas Power Grid Needs To be More Reliable During Winter

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
January 23, 2024
As the world advances in technology, social media has risen to be a staple part of the everyday lives of adolescents. Due to these advancements, social media has grown both as a supportive tool to bring teens together, and a potential source of harm, especially for adolescents.

Behind the Filter: A Closer Look at the Dangers of Social Media

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
December 18, 2023
Debating, Ronit Singh ‘26, Hannah Au ‘26, and Jatin Aggarwal ‘26 discuss which chemical reaction will occur. “I was debating with my peers on where the elements on the activity series were and which one will react,” Singh said. “If the first metal in the reactants has higher activity than the second metal, a chemical reaction will occur.”

Advanced Chemistry Classes Apply Learning to Lab

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
October 17, 2023
During the seventh meeting hosted by The Fiber Arts Club, Treasurer Joy Kim ‘26 presents a slideshow teaching club members. Every week, the club updates members about fiber art terms, gives announcements, and takes attendance before the meeting. “I talked about the difference between stockinette and fair isle knitting to teach the beginners basic knitting terminology," Kim said. "Announcements [covered] our future events and charities we will be working with very soon.”

Fiber Arts: Crocheting Community

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
September 27, 2023
Vaishnuv Thiagarajan stands proudly in front of his completed monument in front of the Austin Public Library. Each pillar that Vaishnuv built himself represents a sector of frontline service.

Remembering Diligence: Senior Vaishnuv Thiagarajan Creates America’s First COVID-19 Frontline Workers Memorial

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
September 8, 2023
Students will be undergoing more stress this year due to the new bell schedule. Shortened flex and lunch times will negatively impact students by not allowing them enough time to relax.

The New Bell Schedule Will Negatively Affect Students

Sophia Cortes, Dreamcatcher Assistant Editor
August 15, 2023
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