The CHIEF November 2019

NOV, 2019

The

PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL

UPPERCLASS ACTS

NEW TEACHER INTERVIEW Meet one of the newest additions to our PTHS faculty: Ms. Edwards

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

table of contents

03 Letter from the Editors

04 New Teacher Interview

05 Music Update

06 Unified Summit

07 Extracurricular Updates

08 Upperclass Acts

10 Movie Review

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The

CHIEF

www.pontiac90.org

Don

’ t forget to take a

A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITOR

breather and make time for yourself. Soon we will be off to winter break, thankfully, and we will have a lot of time to sit back and relax. Make this month count! Thanks for tuning in!

By Sunn y Ho l t

Hello everyone and welcome to the November edition of The Chief! As the weather freezes up, remember to stay bundled and warm. Finals are, sadly, getting closer and closer to

- Sunny Holt co Editor-in-Chief

us. Stay focused and continue pushing your studies!

N O M A D I C |

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New Staff Interview: Ms. Edwards

This year, we here at PTHS have had the honor of welcoming several new editions to our teaching staff. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of these new members, Ms. Ashtin Edwards, and I’d now like to share a few of the topics discussed during the interview with our readers. Ms. Edwards was born and raised in Lexington, IL, where she played basketball and volleyball while attending Lexington High School. Ms. Edwards also took various leadership positions throughout her high school career, serving as both her class secretary and FCCLA president her junior and senior year of high school. After graduation, she attended Heartland Community College for two years and later transferred to Illinois State University in order to pursue a degree in Special Education. As part of her education at ISU, Ms. Edwards had the opportunity to student teach at PTHS, and after serving as a long-term substitute teacher the following semester, took a full-time teaching position as a Special Education teacher this year. She says that while teaching Special Education can be challenging at times, it is also very fulfilling, and she encourages any current PTHS students considering a career in the educational field to follow their dreams- the reward is well worth it.

While Ms. Edwards still has many experiences yet to come at PTHS, she has loved every moment of her time here so far, and looks forward to her future as a Pontiac Indian.

Music Update: U of I Competition

By Alyssa Rodriguez

On Sunday, October 20th, the Fall Choral Concert was showcased for the public. Starting the concert was the Cantabile Choir that consisted of treble voices. Some of the songs that the students performed were “Cantate Domino” and “Sisi Ni Moja.” In between switching full choirs, the Men’s Quartet performed “Darkness On the Delta.” Men’s Choir then took the stage and sang “Stand By Me,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Jailhouse Rock.” Following the full choir, the Madrigal Singers performed two pieces taken from their show. Bel Canto came to the stage next and sang pieces such as “Gloria” and “El Cielo Canta Alegria.” Then, the Men’s Choir combined with Bel Canto to perform “Furaha.” To end the concert, Concert Choir took the stage and sang five selected pieces. Some of the songs included “Let the Music Fill Your Soul,” “Modimo,” and “All of Us Be Free.” The theme, “Songs of Hope & Freedom,” shined through due to the selections performed. After all of the work put into performing the concert, the choirs now work on pieces for the Winter Concert. their last performance of the marching season. The day included tons of rain, schedule changes, and flexibility on behalf of the students. While the day was dreary, the Marching Indians kept up a positive attitude and put on a fantastic show for the judges of the U of I competition. While the ranking was not favorable, the students overcame the weather and put on one of their best runs of their performance. For the seniors of the Band and Color Guard, it was surely a memorable competition that will always remain special to them. Moving on from the marching season, the students involved in Band will now work on Concert Band pieces for the Winter Concert in December. Fall Showcase By Alyssa Rodriguez Since June, the Pontiac Marching Indians have been putting hours upon hours into this year’s show. The selected marching show this year was titled “What Dreams May Come.” Within the show are songs such as “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurhythmics, “Once Upon a Dream” by Lana Del Rey, and “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saëns. On October 26th, the Marching Indians loaded up the Band trailers and made their way to Champaign, Illinois, for

Students Represent PTHS at Unified Summit

In November, eight of our students attended the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools Youth Activation Summit at Kankakee High School. Cori and Jamie Martin serve on the Statewide Committee and presented on Whole School Engagement which highlighted all that we do at PTHS. The other students who attended are Charlene Ahrends, Austin Vanover, Ariel Nichols, Christian Gardner, Macey Rice, and Michael Aaron. We had many students and teachers from across the state tell us how they strive to be like PTHS. Thank you for your continued support of all that we do!

By Carson Gregory

Winter Sports

As the months grow colder and the days grow shorter, it is clear that winter will soon be upon us. However, as the fall season comes to an end, a new season has begun for our PTHS Scholastic Bowl athletes. Under the guidance of Mr. McElwee, coaching the varsity team, and Mr. Sweetwood, coaching the junior varsity team, members of Scholastic Bowl have begun practice and are now hastily preparing for their first tournament. So far, both teams have gotten off to a great start, with the junior varsity team even scheduling a special practice this month, during which members were able to compete with local veterans from the Pontiac area to test their knowledge of American History. In short, it seems that this season shows great promise for all of our Scholastic Bowl athletes, and we here at The Chief wish them the best as they go face-to-face with other schools in our region to show off their academic knowledge. November not only brings the end to fall sports, but also the beginning of winter sports. Boys and Girls basketball, Unified basketball, wrestling, boys swim, and scholastic bowl are all beginning. Cheer is also continuing on. Hopefully, this winter brings success to all sports. Boys and Girls basketball both have new members of their coaching staff. New play styles and coaching philosophies will breathe new life into both of the great programs. The Boys look to return to the level of success they achieved last year. The Girls look to build on a great season last year and perform at their highest level as many seniors lace their shoes for their final season. The state championship Unified basketball team hopes to return to their previous levels of success after a premature exit from the state series last year. The wrestling team is packed with members capable of making runs to state. Boys swim also hopes to continue their dominance in the conference. The cheer team continues to look more and more comfortable as they constantly improve. Finally, the Scholastic Bowl team should find great success this season, as the team is full of very intelligent students working towards victory. Overall, Pontiac seems to be fully capable of having a truly successful winter season. As many of the winter sports teams are made up mostly of seniors, they no doubt hope to continue the Pontiac tradition and leave a legacy for the underclassmen and future Indians to follow. Scholastic Bowl Update By Joseph Gilmor

Upperclass Acts

Marley Noles

NAME: Marley Noles

NICKNAMES: Mar, Bob

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: ALL classes with Mr. Nollen and AP US History with Mr. Christie

ROLE MODEL(S): My teachers and Bob Ross

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: Looking for Alaska by John Green

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: National Honor Society, Key Club, Peers in Action, Unified Sports, Scholastic Bowl, & Skills USA

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: I really enjoyed being a marshal my junior year at graduation!

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Making Macdeath in Rhet III

PET PEEVES: “Sassy” people

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My awkwardness and AE obsession

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Animals, Education, Comedy

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would open the nicest dog sanctuary in the world

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Major in Social Studies Secondary Education

IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A TV that works somehow, all of the Friends episodes, and my sister LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today’s peace.”

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Sandlot

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “In My Life” by The Beatles

Upperclass Acts

Garrett Brunner

NAME: Garrett Brunner

FAVORITE BOOK/AUTHOR: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

NICKNAMES: Gary Jr, Gmoney

ROLE MODEL(S): Coach Vogt and Mr. Blair

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Getting accepted into National Honor Society

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Golf, Tennis, NHS, NTHS, and Madrigals

PET PEEVES: People chewing with their mouths open

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Prom at Hancock Stadium in Bloomington

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My laid-back personality and humor

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Business/Marketing, Science, Tennis

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would by my dream car, donate to charity, and save what is left over. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? Water, a machete, and some kind of fire starter LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Listen to the teachers when they say your grades matter freshman and sophomore year. They actually matter more than you think.”

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attend college and major in Business while playing tennis

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Blind Side

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “‘Till I Collapse” by Eminem

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS:

Film Review

The Addams Family Review by: Jasmine White

The movie The Addams Family is a hilarious movie to watch with friends and family. This new version of The Addams Family is a recreation of the original one, but in an animation. The film has fantastic humor, animation, and use of music in scenes. Throughout the whole movie, there are funny jokes to make anyone who has a sense of humor laugh. For example, in the beginning of the movie, Morticia and Gomez Addams are looking for a place to say. They list off how they want a place where nobody wants to go there and how spooky it is. Then it shows they're going to New Jersey, which is pretty funny. The animation of the movie is also great. It shows fantastic animation of the characters and the setting such as the Addams’ house. Lastly, the use of songs throughout the movie is excellent and fits in with every scene. An example is when their cousin, It, comes in his car. The song that announces his entrance is great and makes the scene funny and enjoyable. To sum up, the movie The Addams Family is a perfect movie to watch if you’re looking for humor. I give it a 5 out 5 stars.

The Chief Staff

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

Carson Gregory Marley Noles Ava Nollen Alyssa Rodriguez

Lauren Smith Jasmine White

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

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