The CHIEF April 2023

CHIEF PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL The

APRIL, 2023

UPPERCLASS ACTS

MANAGING STRESS

Read about dealing with the stress of getting ready for college

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

College Stress as a Junior By: Summer Negray

If you’re a Junior, you just recently had to take the SAT. This test really makes you think about the college you want to go to along with what you want to do for a career. You should have been doing college research all this year to help you prepare for college. If you are anything like me, then you just started to do research or you have done a little bit every now and then. College research can be very intimidating at first. There are so many different websites and tips that are out there to help you, but most of the time they just confuse you more. What I recommend is that you narrow down your career paths. Hopefully, by now you have an idea of what field of work you want to go into, for example: medicine, agriculture, technology, business, or education. With that, you can find good information about schools in your area, or out depending on what you want to do! I know that I want to go into dental hygiene, but I don’t have many options when it comes to schools in Illinois. As a result, I have to decide on what kind of degree I want and whether I want to stay close to home or go to school in a different state. I know, because of the research that I have done, that I want to get my bachelor's degree. If you are not sure what kind of degree you want, typically higher education equals more pay and more job opportunities. This can vary depending on what type of career that you go into. For example, with my bachelor's degree, I would still be paid the same as a dental hygienist that has their associates. The main difference is that I would not just have to work in a clinical setting. It is extremely important that you find out all the details of your future career. Next, look at the cost and aid at the schools that you are thinking about. This can really make or break a school choice. Sure, finding your dream school is nice, but are the years there really going to be worth spending the rest of your life paying it off? See about any scholarships that the school offers. If you are having trouble navigating a college school's website, ask our guidance counselors. I have had to pester Mr. Flott multiple times to get him to help me try to find information on a school's site. You can even call that school to get more information about the program that you are interested in. Also, remember that it is okay to change your mind!

Freshman Perspective By: Lily Fetgatter

Many of the students at Pontiac Township High School are in different extracurricular activities like baseball, track and field, and softball, along with many other sports! As one of these students I know sometimes it can be hard to keep up with school because you can easily get busy, but there are many ways you can stay on track with both! First off, use your time wisely. Many students at PTHS have study hall time so be sure to use that time to get any homework done. You can also try to finish any homework in class if you have time or if you have time in another class, and finish your homework there. By keeping up with your homework, you will not have to worry about not being able to participate in your extracurriculars. Make sure you continue to work hard to handle both school and extracurricular activities, especially with the end of the semester quickly approaching!

Teacher Interview with Mrs. Ricketts By: Hannah Ricketts

I had the privilege to interview Mrs. Ricketts, and now I get to share who she is with you all! She grew up in Saunemin, IL, attended PTHS for high school, and her favorite things during her time here at Pontiac were Peers in Action, cheerleading, and band. She has been a special education teacher for 15 years and knew that she wanted to do this when she was a peer partner in Mrs. Baumgardner and Mrs. Shelton’s classroom. She attended Eastern Illinois University for her bachelor’s and St. Xavier University for her master’s, and her favorite part of college was all of the new experiences it brought with it. When I asked what her motivation was in life, she said, "My main motivation for everything is my three children. I want to show them that they can do anything they set their minds to, even if it is scary at first. I want them to see that they must always keep working and digging hard to reach that next goal," which is a beautiful sentiment that we all should remember as we continue on further into our lives and eventually into our own careers. Some interesting facts about Mrs. Ricketts are that her dream vacation is to visit Australia and her favorite activities involve anything outdoors: gardening, running, camping, and reading. Thank you, Mrs. Ricketts for serving our school community!

PTHS Softball By: Lauren Russow

The spring seasons of sports at PTHS are in full swing, and a season full of winning is ahead for the Softball Team. The Softball team was ranked at Number 4 during the preseason in the 2A division. So far they are having a great season, and good luck to all the softball players in their next game! Make sure to come out to support the softball team at any of their remaining home competitions. For all information regarding PTHS Softball, you can follow them on Twitter @PTHSsoftball!

FFA Update By: Addisyn McKinney

Before our long Easter weekend on Thursday, April the 6, some of the FFA members including officers took a special trip down to the wonderful city of Bloomington, IL, and had their “own time” at the entertaining trampoline park Altitude. This is a fairly new idea to the FFA community of taking a trip like this that I personally say was a hit! Officer Alexa Hittle was the master planner of this activity which she pulled off flawlessly. The members had about two hours to jump and enjoy themselves while afterwards the members were all treated with a wonderful dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. If you happened to miss this event but want to go to the next one, it will be on April 13th which is date of the monthly chapter meeting. Hope to see you there!

PTHS Band Update By: Hannah Ricketts

After a refreshing spring break for us all, the band had a few short weeks until the upcoming Spring Concert. This will be the last concert of the year, and there will be many groups showcasing their talents. Concert Band and Symphonic Band have been preparing a handful of pieces, each of which have been more challenging than the last cycle. A Pontiac favorite will be making a return in the Symphonic Band: “Amazing Grace” [arr.]. Students have been given the opportunity to prepare solos or small ensembles that can be performed at the concert, and we all can look forward to a handful of these performances. Finally, as the concert grows closer, the Jazz Band only has a few rehearsals to go before it’s show time! We have been working on much more challenging music this cycle and we’re excited to perform what we’ve been learning to the community. My personal favorite out of the selection is Spain by Chick Corea/arr. Paul Jennings. This month in my Art I Class we learned how to create our own little comic strip. We first started by creating our own little cartoon characters for the comic. We were able to design them in any way we wanted as long as it wasn’t an already invented cartoon character. For example, we couldn’t draw Garfield, Big Nate, or any other popular comic strip characters. It had to be a character we made up from our imaginations which made it a lot more fun. We could, however, be inspired by a cartoon character from a comic strip and try to make our own version of that character. Once we had our character drawn out, we started a small rough draft and drew the character a few more times beforehand so we can get used to drawing the character for the comic. Once we finished our rough draft we improved our work so that we were able to move onto the final comic strip. The final comic strip was the last step into making the project. This is where we drew out the scenes where we had our comic character acting out. For example, I drew my comic character helping a cat down from a tree using six panels (boxes) that I drew the scene out in. We were able to add speech or thought bubbles if we wanted to since it made the comic pop out more doing so. Once we were done with the final comic we turned it into the art tray for our designated class! It was a nice and different project to do and I personally really liked it since I love to draw in the first place. It’s also a cool project to use your imagination on since you’re pretty much making up your own kind of story. Art Class Update By: Willow Dodson

Upperclass Acts

Lanie Good

NAME: Lanie Good

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Starting the OB Joe’s Coffee and volunteering at Helping Hands.

NICKNAMES: Lanie Bug

ROLE MODEL(S): Beth Shelton and Laura Baumgardner

PET PEEVE: People playing with their gum.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Coffee Shop, The Write Stuff

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: How I like to help.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Cemetery walk

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would give it to someone who really needs it. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? Water, family, food

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Family, friends, movies

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Getting a job

FAVORITE MOVIE: All the Bright Places

FAVORITE TEACHER: Laura Baumgardner

LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Be a good person.”

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: The Diary of Anne Frank

Upperclass Acts

Claire Smith

NAME: Claire Smith

FAVORITE AUTHOR: Charles Bukowski

ROLE MODEL(S): Florence Pugh, My Grandpa and Mr. McElwee

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Summer of 2022

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Drama, Chorus

PET PEEVES: When people FaceTime on a train

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: My favorite memories of high school have been the times I’ve spent as a different character. I think that portraying a different person in your own fashion is really cool.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: My Humor (hopefully)

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000?: I would use it to benefit others and then spend the rest on a pair of shoes that I’ve been looking at for a while, ha ha. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? Food, water, and my best friend

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Theatre, Fitness, Engineering

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I have no idea, but I’ll probably go to college.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Any movie with Chris Evans in it

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “She” by Dodie

LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Don’t self reject. It only has to make sense to you.”

FAVORITE TEACHER: Mr. McElwee

Music Review

By Caroline Paulson

Music Review

I have been bestowed the honor of once again writing the music review for this month’s edition, and boy am I excited. Quite a few of my favorite artists and bands came out with new music over the past month, and I am going to cover a few of them, so I’m going to get right into it. The first album on the list, and the one I have been looking forward to for the longest, is the new 100 gecs album, 10,000 gecs. This album is an immediate hyperpop classic, but, personally, I was expecting there to be a lot more glitchcore. It opens very strongly, with a bass heavy track with a killer electric guitar rift, “Dumbest Girl Alive.” The same simple lyric style that 100 gecs is known for and Laura Les’s vocal style are perfect for a track like this, making it a new favorite. Other personal favorites that I won’t go into as much detail for include the single “Hollywood Baby,” “Billy Knows Jamie,” and the final track, “mememe.” Personally, this is a No Skip Album, and I can’t wait for what the duo has in store for the future, in their next album that will, in all likelihood, be called 100,000 gecs. The new Fall Out Boy album came out just over a week after, on March 24th. It is a real return to form for Fall Out Boy, with Patrick Stump’s and Pete Wentz’s beautiful work as a duo once again in the style they started with, including some lovely orchestral embellishments in multiple songs. The first song, “Love From the Other Side,” is practically a masterpiece. A pop punk marvel, with the electric guitars and beautiful vocals paired with the beautiful orchestral theme and Pete Wentz’s lovely lyrics, are exactly what one would want from a Fall Out Boy song. I honestly can’t narrow down a list of more favorites, but the title song, “So Much for Stardust,” brings back parts of the melody from “Love From the Other Side” in a beautiful way that feels very much like a musical reprise. I really loved this return to pop punk from this group, and I just can’t wait to hear future projects. Another No Skip Album.

I strongly recommend both albums to anyone looking for new music!

TV Show Review

By Vanessa Kapper

Gilmore Girls

There comes a time in every person’s life when they have to force themselves to try a new TV show that they have been putting off for way too long. This time for me it was the amazing classic, Gilmore Girls . Some of you reading this will think it is unbelievable that I have never watched such a great show, and others will associate it with the similar TV show title, Golden Girls , as I once did. Although I have never watched Golden Girls , I have heard from a source that it is nothing like Gilmore Girls . Gilmore Girls released on October 5th, 2000 and ran until May 15, 2007. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life , a short continuation of the series, was released in 2016. Gilmore Girls is a light hearted comedy-drama telling the stories of single mother, Lorelai Gilmore, and her daughter, Rory Gilmore. When I read reviews of the TV show before watching it, someone said that the TV show felt like being wrapped up in a blanket. This review turned out to be very accurate as the viewer is quickly able to witness the love in the community of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. With slightly crazy neighbors, multiple strange town events, and the love interests of the main characters, Gilmore Girls does a great job of getting their viewers hooked. I highly suggest giving Gilmore Girls a try, and if you turn out to be anything like me, it will become one of your favorites.

Editor-in-Chief: Vanessa Kapper The Chief Staff

Kyla Baker Willow Dodson Lily Fetgatter

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

Rebekah Hendershott Addisyn McKinney

Summer Negray Caroline Paulson Lauren Russow

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Student Poetry: Spring By: Lauren Russow

Warm weather is finally here Which means that Sprint is near Comfortable shorts can be worn Pretty flowers are being born The warm weather brings cheer And the skies are finally clear