Walking into the arena, Principal Paige Trujillo greets the student body at the beginning of the pep rally. It started at 3:55 p.m., according to the altered bell schedule, and celebrated the success of the 'Ship Serves' day. "Guys, I just want you to take a minute and really think about the fact that you today impacted somebody's Thanksgiving, you impacted somebody's food supply, you impacted animals that are sitting in shelters that don't have homes," Trujillo said. "You guys made a difference for our community, you made differences for families today, and I'm so incredibly proud of that."

Cutting into the t-shirt, sophomore Emily Ringheimer prepares to braid it into a dog toy. To minimize expenses, the Student Council donated its shirts from the previous years towards this cause. "I thought it was a really cool experience to help people in need," Ringheimer said. "I enjoyed doing this with my friends."

Trash bag in hand, sophomores Aryan Sajith and Elliot Weber walk down the PHS campus looking for litter to pick up. Classes rotated between making dog toys, assembling sandwiches, picking up litter, and writing letters of gratitude throughout the event. "The 'Ship Serves' day was a simple event that made even the most reluctant Prosper students more involved in their community," Sajith said. "Now, since it was the first time I did something like this in Prosper with this many people, I was initially confused and struggled to find what I was supposed to do, but soon I was able to find a place where I can serve our community well."

As the old t-shirts are laid out, students repurpose them into dog toys. In total, they made 2,000 pet toys to donate to all the local pet stores in Prosper. "I do have to do a couple of thank-you's, because we had a lot of help," Principal Paige Trujillo said. "Thank you to our incredible staff — round of applause for our teachers y'all."

Organizing the food donations, English II teacher Colin Brown was one of the many staff members overseeing the student volunteering in the sandwich assembling station. For this event, PHS partnered with the Prosper/Celina branch of LovePacs to provide 500 packs of nonperishable food items for families in need. Classes were only 75 minutes long rather than 90, following the altered bell schedule.

Concentrated on her letter, sophomore Sahasra Surya writes grateful words to local first responders. Students had the choice to write to first responders, hospital patients, and senior citizens in this station. "My experience during the 'Ship Serves' day was that it was really fun and a creative way to share joy to others through cards," Surya said. "It was a positive experience overall and I hope our school does this again." 

Talking amongst themselves, sophomore Christopher Floyd, and juniors Nihal Reddy Cheerke and Arnav Shah prepare to cheer on their fellow senior teammates. These three players are in the varsity team. The varsity team most recently played against Plano High School Sept. 2.

Arm around her mother, senior Ananya Reddy Manyam and her parents pose for a picture with her senior poster showcasing childhood moments. This is Manyam's second year on the varsity team. "My favorite thing about tennis is the friends I made on the team," she said. "I love all the tournaments where me and Mahitha go out and we order food and just talk."

Looking back to her parents, senior Mahitha Bagam walks towards her coaches to get officially recognized. This is her first year in the varsity team. "Tennis at PHS has become a part of my life since my sophomore year, and despite the good or bad days, I have cherished my time here and continue to reminisce about it once I become an Eagle Tennis alumnus," Bagam said. "Tennis has taught me a lot of values and discipline I need past the tennis courts, given me beautiful friendships that I am so grateful for, and helped me become a better person on and off the court."

Conversing with a fellow music teacher, Orchestra Director Monika Bartley prepares to conduct the orchestra and band through a quick warm-up session. Bartley and Associate Director Cassie Cepeda chose a handful of students from the chamber orchestra to play as an accompaniment to the musical. "Preparing to conduct "Into the Woods" meant learning how all the pieces fit together," Bartley said. "I began by listening to professional recordings while studying the score to understand how the music supports the singers and enhances the story. Rehearsals focused on careful listening, adjusting tempos and helping both the orchestra and cast feel confident in how to respond confidently to the unique challenges of live performance."

Staring into the distance, sophomore Roger Mendes Fares sings his solo as the character Jack. His character is inspired from the fairytale "Jack and the Beanstalk." "Preparing for this show was very vocally challenging," Fares said. "I trained very hard to be able to sound better and worked alongside the directors to get where I am."

Reading from his phone, senior Boyd Mueller practices the introduction speech he will state directly to the audience for the opening show. Mueller plays the role of the Giant while also working the backstage mechanics as a theater technician. "We had a couple days to prepare, we had to sing a song, and then for the three days following that, we had cold reads where our director and the other fine arts directors who were in charge of casting the show," Mueller said. "We would go in there, they'd give us a scene to read with a partner or a small group and we would read through that scene as if we were the character."

Hand on one shoulder, senior Ernest McGhee tries to trick Red Riding Hood as the Big Bad Wolf. McGhee is also apart of the Prosper Mighty Eagle Band. "My role as the wolf was completely opposite from my personality, but I enjoyed the challenge," McGhee said. "I am very grateful to have gotten to rehearse with everyone and see their hard work and dedication these past few weeks to create a whole different world of mystery and magic for folks to enjoy, even through the bad weather."

Holding her hands together, freshman Kaitlyn (Katie) Rose Nugent harmonizes with her co-stars. Along with playing Cinderella in the show, Nugent earned a spot in the 2026 All State Choir. "This show has been such an amazing experience for me," Nugent said. "And it genuinely has been such a joy to be able to share the stage with so many people that I look up to."

Performing her solo, senior Brooklyn Reeves looks at the audience as her character The Witch. Reeves' character is derived from the Rapunzel fairytale written by the Grimm Brothers. PHS Theater held a final rehearsal before the showcase to the elementary students.