CHIEF December 2018

DEC, 2018

The

PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL

ART SHOW

UPPERCLASS ACTS

Read all about Josie Noonan's success at a recent art show!

Check out which PTHS seniors are this month's Upperclass Acts!

table of contents

03 Letter from the Editors

04 Art Show

05 Student Survey

06 Sports

06 Special Olympics

07 Upperclass Acts

09 Movie Review

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The

CHIEF

www.pontiac90.org

As we check off the items on our Christmas shopping lists, let ’ s add a little something for an angel on a tree, pay a visit to a lonely nursing home resident, or shovel your neighbor ’ s walk. Most importantly, enjoy your Christmas break with your loved ones.

A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITOR

By Jo s eph G i l mo r

Hello, everyone, and thanks for tuning in to this month ’ s edition of The Chief! I hope everyone enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal and is looking forward to Christmas break. Although we are all too old to believe in the Santa Claus myth, we still have a thing or two to learn from old Saint Nick when it comes to this special time of year. People all around the globe recognize that this is the season of giving, but here at PTHS, we are charitable all throughout the year

See you next year!

If you are interested in writing for The CHIEF, please contact Mr. Soares, Mr. Blair, Joe Gilmor, or myself!

N O M A D I C |

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2018 ART SHOW BY JOSIE NOONAN

Throughout the school year, and my four years at PTHS, I have had the opportunity to have my artwork submitted into different conference and county art shows. In years past, I have won a few awards in these local contests. However, this year, Mr. Vogt submitted my acrylic painting into the 2018-2019 Illinois Art Education Association Student Art Show and my piece was selected. In this contest, 634 entries were submitted from Illinois students and only 45 were selected from K-12 by a panel of Art Teacher Judges. Out of the 5 junior art pieces to be selected, mine was recognized. Mr. Vogt, Mr. Bohm, his family, and my family had the privilege to attend the awards ceremony on November 10th in the Normal Theater during the IAEA Annual Conference in Bloomington-Normal. At this event, all of the chosen works were framed and displayed outside of the theater. It was amazing to be able to see the other great artwork created by young kindergarteners, and the detailed, skilled work of those in high school. I plan to go into the Art field after high school, so I was incredibly honored and excited to be a part of this Student Art Show. I am very grateful for the

By Joseph Gilmor Tuba Christmas

Another Tuba Christmas has come and gone under the direction of former PTHS students Seth Brown, Danica Mayback and Patrick Bromley. The directors returned to their hometown to join several members of the Junior High and High School low brass sections to perform traditional Christmas carols on the Courthouse square immediately preceding the Light-Up parade. This year was a challenge, as rain poured and temperatures plummeted. However, a good turnout helped brighten the band’s spirits. The evening culminated with the arrival of jolly old Saint Nick. Although the performance was merely weeks ago, the participants are already looking forward to next year, so if you want to hear classics such as Silent Night and Little Town of Bethlehem, come on out in 2019 and bring a friend.

Student Survey - "What I Want for the Holidays"

New car stereo with subwoofers – Jake Langer

Ferret –  Katie Sparks

New comic books – Keaton Casares

Google Play gift cards – Zach Johnson

Puppy – Hannah Legner

Another season comes to a close for athletics here at PTHS. This season, the Lady Indians had many returning players including a handful of veteran seniors including front row Hannah Legner, middle Rebecca Rich, left side hitter Madison Wright, libero Jordyn Fox, part time libero and back row passer Emma Brummel, and back row passer Elle Giovanini. More returning juniors like setters Maddi Stark, Madi Mennenga and hitter/middle Camryn Feddern also stacked the varsity lineup, making for a pretty promising season. The ladies started out the year with a tough loss against Morris, showing that much needed to be work on. Coach Kelly Audia had the ladies working hard every day, and three hour practices were a regular occurrence. The product of their efforts was shown at the Pontiac Invitational where they beat Dwight, El Paso and LaSalle Peru, only losing to our rivals Prairie Central who beat Pontiac in every confrontation this season. The Indians placed second in that tournament, only losing by a technicality. The Lady Indians made big strides as the season went on, and chemistry started to flow more and standout players made themselves known. Madison Wright and freshman Brooke Fox were the cannons for the Lady Indians at left side, putting up kill after kill each match from accurate sets by Madison Stark and Madi Mennenga. Camryn Feddern had position switches from right side, to left to middle this season, adapting well in each and proving to be a consistent asset for the team. The Lady Indians rounded up another great volleyball season at Central Catholic where they lost to Prairie Central for the 4th time this season in the first round of regionals. The ladies are looking forward to another chance to play next season! Volleyball Season Comes to a Close By Clay Miller

Special Olympics Youth Activation Summit

The Special Olympics Youth Activation Summit was held at Heartland Community College on November 10-11. Cori and Jamie Martin serve as Co-Chairs on the Youth Activation Statewide Committee and had been busily preparing for this entirely student-led conference. They did a super job representing PTHS throughout the whole weekend with the presentation they gave as well as others responsibilities they had. In addition, Coach Casson brought down these six students to attend the conference: Charlene Ahrends, Adam Blair, Kaitlyn Hunt, Montanna McCulley, Macey Rice, and Ronnie Fearman. They all were excellent examples of PTHS students. These students gave up their whole weekend to share and learn about respect, being youth leaders, and other unified activities.

Upperclass Acts

Josie Noonan

NICKNAMES: Jo

ROLE MODEL(S): Mrs. Hatfield, my mom,

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Receiving recognition from the Illinois Art education Association for one of my paintings, and have it travel around the state, including the Capital Building, to be displayed

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Basketball, Student Council, tutoring, mentoring, National Honors Society, Art Club

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Homecoming powder puff and hallway decoration

PET PEEVES: Littering

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Art Education, Pastry Chef, Visual Arts

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My dancing

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Major in Art Education at NIU or ISU

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? Help my family, donate, and buy a lot of McChickens

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Goonies

IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A record player, a tool kit, and my bed LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Work hard at everything you do so that you can achieve what you want.”

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Happy Accidents” by Saint Motel

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: AP Art with Mr. Vogt

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: The Divergent series by Veronica Roth

Upperclass Acts

Zoe Hocker

NICKNAMES: Zozo or just Zo

ROLE MODEL(S): Sarah Paulson

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Ringing bells for Salvation Army with other student council members on cold days.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Scholastic Bowl, Yearbook, and Tri-M.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Bus rides home from Scholastic Bowl meets are by far my favorite collection of memories. All of us sing (or screech depending on how you wanna look at it) songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” eat at Culver’s and crack ridiculously dumb, yet witty jokes.

PET PEEVES: When people expect to be treated with respect when they do not give it.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: The weird one that is always speaking her mind, paving her own path, and trying to help others, sometimes to a fault. HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? Paying off debt, donating to charities, and traveling the world. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A fire kit, my cat, and a never ending pasta bowl from Olive Garden (with complimentary Andes mints of course). LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Do not ever take the present moment for granted, because you only ever get one.”

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Social work, counseling, writing.

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I plan on attending Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in the social work program. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree I want to joining the Peace Corps.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Kill Bill

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Waiting on the World to Change” John Mayer

FAVORITE CLASS: AP English

FAVORITE AUTHOR: Phillippa Gregory

Movie

Review

Movie Review:

A Christmas Prince

By: Jasmine White

The movie A Christmas Prince is a nice Christmas movie to watch with anyone during the Christmas season. It has a nice Christmas atmosphere throughout the movie with some romance in it, and it also has a nice family feel. A Christmas Prince may not be a classic of Christmas movies, but it sure is good to watch for the Christmas season. The movie has a plot where you can sense what might happen later in the movie, but it is unique since no other movie is like this one. An example of why the plot is a bit predicable is when Lady Sophia breaks into Amber’s room and takes something that Amber had found that could change a person’s life. You can clearly tell of Lady Sophia’s intentions of what she would do with the object she had found in Amber’s office. An example of the movie’s conflict is when a journalist, trying to make her career, goes to Aldovia to get a scoop on the prince; she somehow gets herself into being a tutor for the young princess. The journalist named Amber uses a fake name when she went to be a tutor and she tries to keep this secret from the rest of the royal family.

This movie is really good to say the least if you have a love for Christmas movies. I rate this movie a 5 out of 5.

The Chief Staff Sunny Holt: Co Editor-in-Chief Joe Gilmor: Co Editor-in-Chief

The Wandering Poet Sunny Holt

Lily Lydigsen Clay Miller Luke Morrissette Jacob Orndorf Alyssa Rodriguez Becca True Hannah Wallace Jasmine White

Attention all writers and appreciators of literature! This past month, PTHS brought a new club to the surface: a poetry club! The first meeting was during October but do not fret, the Wandering Poet is always open to new members. It is a club that consists of poetry reading and the study of poetry. If you are interested, contact Ms. Hatfield at ehatfield@pontiac90.org or Sunny Holt at 20sholt@pontiac90.org! We can’t wait to see you!

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

Enjoy creative writing? If you ever would ever like to see your creative pieces in The Chief , contact Mr. Soares or Mr. Blair!