The CHIEF September 2016

The Chief Online

P ONT I AC TOWNS H I P H I GH S CHOOL

September 2016

Inside this Issue:

WELCOME BACK, PTHS!

Sports 2

As summer is officially closing, the school year opens in full swing. I hope that everyone had a great summer and a great start to another school year.

School Store 3

Inside this issue: Upperclass Acts 4

This year is open to as many opportunities as you let in. If you’re looking to join a club or a team, go on the school’s website ( pontiac90.org ) to look in the handbook to see when their next meeting is! If you’re just set on joining a sport, remember that sports are seasonal, so in the off-season don’t be afraid to try something new in the meantime. To the freshmen, I hope that you are adjusting well to your first year of high school! You’re an Indian now, so don’t be afraid to wear that title proudly. Four years may seem like a long time, but it will go by faster than you think. Remember that high school is what you make of it, and with that I encourage you all to step out of your comfort and try something new this year. To the sophomores, congrats on completing your first year here at PTHS! Some people think this year is one of the easiest years, and I would have to agree. However, if you choose to continue and work hard at your goals it will pay off in the years to come. This is the year to put the idea of college in your mind. Start thinking about what path you’d like to go on, but don’t feel too pressured about decisions yet; you have more time than you think. To the juniors, it probably feels like you can finally start to see some light at the end of the tunnel! This year you have to start to make some decisions, and make a list of possible paths you might want to go down after high school. This also tends to be a major year for standardized testing, but don’t stress out! If you put the time in a study leading up to the test(s), your hard work will show. You have worked really hard leading up to this point, so don’t give up now! To the seniors, we’re almost there! This is the year to lock in our decisions as we prepare to walk across the stage and we receive what we have strived so hard for. Remember to continue to work hard despite what your “senioritis” might tell you. These four years have felt so long and so short at the same time, and I am excited to see what the future holds for each and every one of you. Finish strong, Indians.

Key Club 5

Movie Review 6

Student Poetry 7

Remembering 9/11 8

PTHS HAWAIIAN LUAU HOMECOMING 2016 “Surf’s Up” September 18 – September 24 Click HERE for the Homecoming Week Agenda!

Sincerely, Shelby Jennings. Student Council President

http://www.pontiac.k12.il.us/wp- content/uploads/2016/08/Homecomin week-agenda-2016.pdf

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FFA Update

Cheerleading Update

By Sarah Albrecht

By Carlie Weaver

Often, for FFA members, the new school year brings many opportunities to get out as a chapter member into the community. Just recently we walked in the Labor Day Parade and carried signs. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain, we weren’t allowed to help out at Rusty’s Drive In for the Thresher man’s Reunion this year. We have started some career development events, or CDE’s, such as the land use team and the horse judging team. Always be sure to check the signup sheets on Mr. Bane and Mr. Faber’s doors. You never want to miss out on something fun like the Six Flags trip or a trip to broaden your horizons such as the National Convention. This year’s National Convention will take place from October 19 th to the 22 nd in Indianapolis, Indiana. Keep an eye out for this application because it is sure to be a great trip. You don’t want to miss out! As students are getting into the swing of school, so are our fall sports! I took the opportunity to interview freshman Brooke Whittle, a member of the tennis team, and see how their season is shaping up. TR: What made you want to do tennis? BW: I wanted to be involved and try something new being a freshman in high school. I had heard so many positive things about tennis and it made me want to try it TR: What are your hopes for the season? BW: That we all do well and everyone improves. Also I hope that some varsity girls make it to State. TR: How do you think the season is going so far? BW: The season is going amazingly well; I never realized how fun tennis was. I am really glad that others encouraged me to try it. TR: What advice would you give to anyone thinking about joining the tennis team? BW: Don't be afraid to try something new. Tennis is a great sport for anyone and tons of fun! FFA information can be found HERE . Tennis By Taylor Ritter

If you have ever attended a PTHS varsity football game, you have probably noticed fifteen girls on the sidelines yelling and cheering with Indian pride. These fifteen girls make up the 2016 varsity football cheerleading squad. There are five new freshman additions to the team this year. These five girls, in alphabetical order, are: Lauren Durham, Natasha Koenig, Cori Martin, Carli Smetzer and Kylie Wunsch. In addition, we have two new sophomores: Margan Barr and Katie Sparks. This team has been practicing together since mid-summer and have been working hard on cheers, stunts, and tumbling.

Make sure you cheer along with them next time you are out supporting your varsity Indians!

Music Department News

By Mathew Birkett

Our Marching Indians got 3 rd place in the Washington Invitational Competition on the 10 th and we’re preparing to do an even better exhibition at this year’s Indian Showdown with at least 10 other bands appearing to compete on Saturday, September 17 th . Our choirs are working on their music for the Fall Chorus Concert. In Concert Choir, we’re preparing to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” at the Homecoming game on the 23 rd . We also have our Tour of Schools on the 20 th .

Click HERE for the Music Department website

Attention Teachers! Check out the Teacher Resource Webpage @ http://libguides.pontiac.k12.il.us/content.php?pid=495677

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School Store

Literary Society: PTHS’s Reading and Writing Club

By Shelby Jennings

As some of you may have noticed, this year we have the addition of our PTHS Spirit Store! Here you can buy all of your spirit needs, including pencils, t-shirts, temporary tattoos, and more! There are also snacks and gum for sale, including granola bars and fruit snacks. All of the proceeds will go to a charity that Student Council will vote on later on. This store will be supervised by Mrs. Buchanan and Mrs. Jennings, and will be open after school every Wednesday in the commons!

By Allyson Shoff

Have you ever finished reading a book and just needed someone to talk to about it? Have you ever written a story and wanted constructive feedback from someone? Literary Society may be the club for you. Meeting in Mr. Christie’s room every Wednesday during the activity period, Literary Society is one of the only completely student run groups in the school. Facilitated by Director Allyson Shoff, Literary Society aims to improve writing skills and have a good time reading together. Our goals are to read at a moderate pace and have different writing prompts for people to complete every week. On Wednesdays, other members will read the writing each person has done, giving helpful suggestions and commenting on what they enjoyed. We understand that some people can’t make it to every meeting, so we keep a well organized Google Drive folder that is shared with all of the members and have an organized Skype group that is used to catch people up or to just chat.

Does this sound like fun to you? We’d love to expand our group, so please drop by on the next Wednesday in Mr. Christie’s room to sign up!

PTHS HOMECOMING 2016 “SURFS UP!” Our Hawaiian-themed Homecoming kicks off this year with hall decorating and our annual Powder Puff game on Sunday, September 18. The entire week contains spirit days and athletic Pack-the-Place’s, leading to our pep rally, parade, and football game on Friday, September 23. The week culminates with the “Surfs Up” Homecoming dance at 8pm on Saturday, September 24. We hope to see all students showing their school pride by participating in all of our PTHS Homecoming activities!

Student Survey: Favorite Summer Activities

Macey Rice- Going on vacation

Lauren Smith- Shopping

Camryn Feddern- Playing basketball

Sam Sipe- Walking down the 588 steps in Santorini, Greece

Aaron Putnam- Fishing

Skylar Johnson- Participating in the play Alice In Wonderland

Clayton Haase- Visiting Yellowstone National Park

GO INDIANS!

Sydney Barnett- Playing travel softball

Natasha Koenig- Going to Disney World

Carson Gregory- Watching my brother high jump at NAIA nationals

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Upperclass Acts

In Progress by Connor Franta

Vogt

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Tennis, cheerleading, track, Student Council, The Chief , Pontio , HOSA, and FFA. FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: My fondest memory dissecting my cat, Puma Thurman, in Anatomy last year.

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: I was elected to be the Student Council liaison!

PET PEEVES: Repetitive questions

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My unwillingness to share food and my expansive taste in music. HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? COLLEGE TUITION!!! IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A book I won’t get tired of, unlimited paper, and a pen. LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Medicine, science, and travel

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I hope to attend The University of Alabama and major in biology. I’m currently waiting for a letter in the mail!

FAVORITE MOVIE: Interstellar . I wrote a review on it last year.

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “I Wanna Get Better” by Bleachers

Carlie Weaver

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS : Mr. Nollen’s anatomy class

NICKNAMES: Cweave and Vanilla Face

ROLE MODEL(S): Mr. Nollen and Coach

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: A Work

Shelby Jennings

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Art with Mr. Vogt

LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Find what you’re passionate about, always be kind, and never give up on yourself.”

NICKNAMES: Shelb, SJ

ROLE MODEL(S): Pete Wentz, Mom, my teachers

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: The Hunger Games series

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Student Council, Girls’ Tennis, The Chief , Art Club FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Planning Homecoming over the years

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Becoming Student Council President

PET PEEVES: Disrespect

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My kindness and leadership HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? Travel, pay off college, charity IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? My dog, my music, my own bed

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Art, Music, Tennis

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attend Illinois State University in the fall

FAVORITE MOVIE: Spiderman

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Not Today” by Twenty One Pilots

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Key Club

Fellow Christian Students (FCS)

By Kaelee Germain

A cashier, a server, a time keeper, a consultant, and a cook. What do these occupations all have in common? Key Club! Key Club is high school volunteer organization that allows students to help others around their school and community through service. Some of the school activities the organization volunteers for include popcorn making at home basketball games, time keeping for the competitive home swim meets, serving food at the National Honors Society dinner, and even answering phones in the admissions office for the Holiday Tournament. Out in the community, Key Clubbers can be seen volunteering for events like “Parkpalooza,” where students have to prepare hot dogs and corn at a fast pace for the ravenous crowd. Key Club is the club to join for students who want to learn how to do an array of jobs, feel accomplished in their actions, and gain volunteer hours. It’s a great opportunity to live our school’s motto: “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve!” For more information about Key Club and when meetings start, contact PTHS’s Key Club president Alec Bristow or Key Club’s faculty advisor Jack Bristow either in his LACC Law Enforcement room (125) or by email at jbristow@pontiac90.org . This organization lives the anonymous quote, “no matter if you’ve completed one hour of service or one thousand hours, they all add up to make a difference in the world.”

By Leslie Babbs

FCS is opened to any religion. Meetings are every Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. On days of study sessions in the morning, there’s a Bible study in library around 7:15 a.m. to 7:35 a.m. FCS is a part of the “See you at the Flag Pole” which will be coming soon. Hope to see you at the meetings and make new friends!

Helmet displayed in LACC. Learn more about Fire Science HERE .

Don’t Forget to Charge Your Netbooks!

Art student Allyson Shoff paints faces for young Indians fans at this year’s PTHS Fan Fest.

PTHS on Social Media

Check out PTHS on Facebook and Twitter using the icons at the top of our page or click HERE .

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Book Review: Warriors: A Vision of Shadows #1: The Apprentice’s Quest by Erin Hunter In the first book of the sixth arc of the Warriors series, the four Clans of the Lake have had many moons of peace after the battle of The Dark Forest followed by the flooding of the land. Now, on the monthly visit to the Moon Pool, the Medicine Cats receive a vision from Starclan telling them of a danger looming new. When Bramblestar’s son, Alderpaw, is selected as a Medicine Cat Apprentice, he receives a vision of mysterious cats and shadows. This vision sends him and several cats of Thunderclan on a journey to visit Skyclan, an exiled clan that Firestar rebuilt many moon

prior to the events of this book. No one expects what occurs on the dangerous road ahead, or what they will find in Skyclan’s territory.

As many fans of Warriors know, this book wasn’t thought to happen. It wasn’t until last year that Erin Hunter announced that there would be more books after the prequel series that would revisit the cats of the lake territory after the events of The Last Hope and Bramblestar’s Storm. This new series presents a whole new group of characters that I feel will soon become new favorites. Cats from previous series are also present giving the book a memorable feel for old fans of Warriors. Alderpaw, the new focus of this arc, is a courageous young cat that I feel a lot of teenage readers will be able to connect to as he faces problems with general moodiness and fitting in. The plot presented was nothing new to readers of Warriors, but it was interesting nonetheless. While it wasn’t one of my favorite Warriors books, it was a great start to this story arc.

Visit the author’s website: warriorcats.com

Like most Warriors books, The Apprentice’s Quest is fast-paced and full of surprising twists and turns. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy and adventure (and cats). The Apprentice’s Quest is the first book in the sixth story arc, each consisting of six books. The Warriors series is also brought to life with a large collection of mangas, several 500+ page super editions, four field guides, an ultimate guide, and countless short stories.

Movie Review: Heathers

Review by Carlie Weaver

From a distance, Heathers may seem like your typical 1980’s high school comedy. This movie is not what you might expect from a glimpse of the poster. Heathers was almost revolutionary for its time. It displays nice, young women for what they are. The Heathers in Heathers are vulgar, vicious, and, in most cases, scary. Heathers follows four teenage girls. Three of these girls are named Heather. There’s Heather McNamara, Heather Duke, and Heather Chandler. These three plus newcomer Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) make up the most popular clique in the school. Things aren’t quite as they seem, though. How much do these girls really care for each other? Are they as inseparable as everyone thought? The entire environment of the school will change with the entrance of Jason “J.D.” Dean (Christian Slater). Be sure to check out Heathers on Netflix for a new kind of movie you may have never expected. Will you become a part of this cult classic’s large following? I know I have. 10/10 would see again

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Student Poetry

The Chief Staff

“Pickle” by Cheyenne Dillon

Allyson Shoff – Editor-in-Chief

People like me don’t eat Ice-cream, they don’t eat

Sarah Albrecht Leslie Babbs Taylor Brooks Matthew Birkett Cheyenne Dillon Kaelee Germain Shelby Jennings Taylor Ritter Eve Pouliot Carlie Weaver

Candy. People like me would skip Kissing in the rain for what they Love more than anything in the Entire world: a pickle

“Me” Poems 2016

Chloe Who wants to become a nurse Daughter of Katy Funny, leader, messy

Mr. Blair, Faculty Sponsor Mr. Soares, Faculty Sponsor

A reader, saxophone player, roller-blader Friends with Caroline, Brandon, Ashley Resident of Odell, Illinois Bachman

Look for the print version of The Chief in The Pontiac Daily Leader

Frank Who wants to become a … Son of frank and Lyndell Busy, athletic, smart

A scooter rider, BMX rider, and socialist Friends with Jimmy, Carlos and Juan Resident of Pontiac, Illinois Smith

Collin Who wants to become a Communications Engineer Son of Christine and Greg

Kind, respectful, and humorous A gamer, swimmer and drummer Friends with Lowell, Forrest and Dylan Resident of Pontiac, Illinois Monical

Karlie Who wants to become a doctor Daughter of Jerry and Kristie Friendly, honest, interesting Enjoys sleeping, hanging out with friends, playing volleyball Friends with Caroline, Tristan, Zoe Resident of Pontiac, Illinois Moore

Operation Endangered Species – The Alligator Snapping Turtle Project State Farm Advisory Board

Click HERE for the Live Turtle Cam!

Michael Who wants to become a police officer Son of John and Lisa Friendly, sportsy, and busy A hunter, fisherman, and a basketball player Friends with Jack, Ben, and Carlos Resident of Pontiac, Illinois Fitzsimmons

CATCH UP WITH PTHS EVENTS AT HIGH SCHOOL CUBE

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Remembering 9/11

“Home”

By Kaelee Germain

It was just like any other day around the world 15 years ago; families woke up, got dressed, ate together, and left for their busy work day ahead. However, 2996 of those American workers wouldn’t come home at the end of the day, while 6,000 more would be injured during it. This day, of course, will forever be remembered simply as “9/11.” It began with Al Qaeda hijacking two American flights. At 8:06 am, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north World Trades Center tower and at 9:03 United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south World Trades Center tower. Exactly 102 minutes is the time difference between the first attacks to the collapse of both towers. It’s ironic isn’t it? That only 102 minutes separated our country from a normal work day to our country’s leaders wanting war on Al Qaeda for destroying the lives and futures of many Americans. In 102 minutes, the average person may complete homework or go through a daily team practice or make supper and have the dishes cleaned and put away. Yet those 102 minutes are what changed America leading into the rest of the twenty-first century. As of 2016, one may spot the differences in our country, from the amped up security at airports that take (on busy days) over an hour and a half to get through, or the racism that’s been created against Muslims from our fears of the terrorists that share the same religion, or even the creation of Homeland Security. Even the harsh views of presidential candidates (you know the one) on allowing Muslim immigrants into the country is a hard topic to create views on now. On a slightly brighter note, there have been many examples of unity that have brought this country together in part of the attacks. These acts of unity include the creation of “Ground Zero” in New York City, speeches made by political and community leaders alike, and the moment of silence that begins the school day each day. America is not the only country to have dealt with such catastrophe on this scale before. On the 22 of March this year, bombers in Brussels killed nearly 32 people at Zaventem International Airport. Before that, gunmen and suicide bombers killed over 100 people during the Paris attacks on November 13 th . Even before 9/11 there have been bombers and gunmen and all sorts of evil. The importance of each of these events is how the world picks itself up each time. To show that a nation of the people is far greater than one hateful, single-minded individual and that nations of the people have the unity that can overcome hundreds of hateful individuals no matter how gruesome they may be. On this September 11 th , we must remember those who have died due to the attacks, those who continue to fight for our freedom against the same forces responsible for the attacks, and those who are leading us as we come together as a country to move forward from the attacks.

By Eve Pouliot

My average day goes pretty simply. I wake up and I’m exhausted from the inability to sleep the previous night. But, I get up. When you have things to do that’s what you do. As the school day progresses I do my best to push through the tiredness and I have a really good day most days. I get to be social and productive. I love doing those things. But by the end of the day I’m tired again. But this time it’s not from a lack of sleep. It’s because I really don’t want to go home. My home life is sort of messed up right now and it has been for a while. So I don’t like it. But I understand that a lot of people are the opposite way for one reason or another. They have a rough time at school and a good time at home. I know there are some people who don’t want to do either. They don’t want to be at home and they don’t want to be at school. I understand that too. Maybe there are also people who like both. Let me tell you, if you are one of those people I envy you. But anyway, I’ve been thinking and I bet there is a place in everyone’s life that they actually feel good. This place can be hard to find but I bet it exists for everyone. Sometimes that place is in plain sight but because you feel so awful you don’t see it. But it’s there and I encourage you to find this place. I encourage you to find your home.

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