The CHIEF April 2024

CHIEF PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL The

APR, 2024

UPPERCLASS ACTS

PTHS PETS RETURNS It’s back! Read all about the pets of the PTHS community

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

Retiring Staff: Mrs. Rebholz By: Lauren Russow

Mrs. Rebholz is the Athletic Secretary here at PTHS. She has been in this position for 24 years. She describes PTHS as a community and wanted to work at our school because two of her kids were students here. She also thought it was a much closer drive than Prairie Central, where she worked before coming to Pontiac. This school year she is looking forward to retiring! As she reaches the end of her time at PTHS, she recalls some of her favorite memories like getting to know the students and becoming friends with the staff. She got to know students on and off the field, including newer students' brothers, sisters, and even parents! She also enjoys seeing all the different improvements that have happened over the years, especially the recent renovations to our gymnasium. The most enjoyable part of Mrs. Rebholz's job is that no two days are alike. Mrs. Rebholz’s high school did not have girls' sports teams until her senior year, when she subsequently she joined Track and Field. One similarity between her experience and now is that the teachers have a general concern about their students. Even though the class size was smaller when she was in high school and there was a lot of one-on-one help, the teachers were there to help the students and had their best interests in mind. She later attended Midstate College in Peoria. During retirement she is most looking forward to sleeping in and traveling with her husband. The things she will miss most about PTHS are the staff and students, as well as the sugar cookies and pie rolls made by the lunch ladies. Her favorite sport is basketball and favorite athletic event at our school is the Holiday Tournament. Her hobbies are reading, golfing, and spending time with friends and family. Her favorite book genres are mystery and science fiction. Finally, her tips for freshmen to have a successful school year are to get involved and put themselves out there, even if they are scared, because they will be glad they did in the end. She says the more involved a student is, the more fun he or she will have and she doesn't want students to regret not being involved, even if sports isn’t their main interest.

Key Club Update By: Taylor Henson

With the 2024 school year quickly coming to an end, the votes for who will be the new leaders of Key Club have arrived starting with one of the most important officer positions: the president! The new, but familiar, president for the 2024-2025 school year who was voted by fellow peers is Olivia Lindsay! She has great leadership skills and has helped the Pontiac community so much with her service. Next, the incoming vice president is also a familiar returning face: Morgan Dewald! Morgan is a great leader who can take charge in place of the president’s absence and is very dedicated to helping her community. Furthermore, the upcoming secretary is Megan Wiechmann! Megan, also familiar with the program, is very attentive and perfect for this position. Lastly, Trinity Cheek, the newest to Key Club, was voted to be the leader of treasurer. She is great for the position because of her desire to lead and learn. Congratulations go to this new Key Club board! Did you know that airbags in cars operate on a swift and explosive principle to safeguard occupants during collisions? When a crash occurs, sensors detect the sudden impact and signal the airbag control unit, initiating the deployment process. Within milliseconds, small explosive charges ignite, generating nitrogen gas that inflates the airbag rapidly. This inflation creates a protective barrier between passengers and the hard surfaces of the vehicle's interior, reducing the risk of injuries. Interestingly, airbags are designed to deploy only in specific circumstances, such as high-speed collisions, and they work in conjunction with seat belts to maximize safety. With their lightning-fast response and cushioning effect, airbags exemplify cutting-edge automotive engineering, revolutionizing passenger protection in modern vehicles. Fun Fact of the Month By: Hannah Ricketts

PTHS PETS By: Lillian Rainbolt

Mugsy Owner: Ms. Smithson Breed: English Bulldog Age: 6 years Likes: Golf cart rides and ice cream Hobbies: sleeping, eating, sticking his tongue out at everyone, and laying around. Fun Fact: Smitty says, “He does love water, but he cannot swim. We found this out last summer when I was getting the Chenoa Pool ready for the season and he decided to jump in. He is top heavy and sank. All I could see were his back paws kicking out of the water. I rescued him.He now has a lifejacket.”

Bella Owner: Ms. Smithson Breed: English Mastiff Age: 5 years Likes: Ice cream and water (She enjoys riding in Smitty’s truck to go help get the Chenoa pool ready in the summer) Fun Facts: Bella currently weighs about 150 lbs and eats EVERYTHING. She has to be watched to make sure she doesn’t eat the other dogs’ food. Smitty also says, “We have this game where she can put her front paws on my shoulders and stands with me face-to face. She is almost taller than me when she does this.”

Draco Owner: Ms. Smithson Breed: German Shepherd Age: 8 years Likes: Playing ball (even more than treats)

Fun Facts: Draco is Smitty’s protector and follows her around everywhere. Smitty says, “He came from a breeder that specializes in police dogs and Draco exhibits a lot of those traits at times. As he has gotten older, he is mellowing out and is very much a teddy bear now. But, if someone were to break into my house, I think he would give them a run for their money.”

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PTHS PETS

Nelson (Nellie) Owners: The Christensons Breed: Great Dane Age: 5 months

Deacon Owner: Ms. Smithson

Breed: Pit Bull Age: 13 years Likes: Getting pets (Smitty says you could pet him all day, and he would let you) Fun Facts: Smitty says, “ He is my adoptive dog and has been with me for around 7 months. I have stolen him from my boyfriend. Deacon now follows me around with Draco and pays attention to me. He does not bark either. Needless to say, he is not a guard dog. He is the most chill dog I've ever known. He likes to get covered up at night now with his blanket and I have to tuck him in, or he will not lay down and go to sleep. He is starting to show his age, but since being with my dogs, he moves a lot better now since he is staying active. “

Lambeau Owners: The Hayners Breed: German Shorthaired Pointer Age: 6 years

Name Origin: Lambeau's name comes from Lambeau Field which is where the Green Bay Packers play their home games. The Packers are the Hayners’ favorite football team, so they thought it was a very fitting name. Likes: Anything ball/playing fetch, going on walks/runs/swims, going for car rides, interactions with humans, pup cups from DQ Dislikes: Being left alone, loud noises Fun Fact: The Hayners got Lambeau from fellow PTHS worker, Kelly Carter. He is actually brothers with Mrs. Carter's dog and Mrs. Kuta’s dog.

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PTHS PETS

Lloyd (aka Squishy) Owners: The Christensons Breed: Domestic Long-hair Age: 2 years

Tyron Owners: The Christensons Breed: Pomeranian Rat Terrier Age: 12 years Fun Fact: Tyrone is extremely overweight but adorable nonetheless.

Eloise Owners: The Christensons Breed: Calico Age: 2 years Fun Fact: Eloise is the sister of one of the Christensons’ other cats, Lloyd.

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PTHS PETS

Luna Boona Owners: The Christensons Breed: Short-hair Domestic Age: 9 years Fun Fact: She is “evil” and hates everything in life except for food.

Maximus Von Fluffernutter Owners: The Christensons Breed: Domestic Long-haired Age: 14 years

Seamus Ray Owner: Aiden Christenson Fun Fact: He is a rescue who has three legs and a quarter of a tail.

Upperclass Acts

Kassyn Harcharik FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

NAME: Kassyn Harcharik

NICKNAMES: Kat, Kass, Krae

ROLE MODEL(S): My mom, sisters, sister-in-law, and dance teacher

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Becoming an Aunt!

PET PEEVES: Loud Chewing

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Girls Swimming and Diving

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: That I love to talk and I have a positive attitude! HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would start by donating to education organizations, I would pay for my college, purchase some gifts for the people I love and purchase some products for myself. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A Chipotle bowl, my phone and my bed. LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Don't spend your time trying to please others, embrace who YOU want to be.”

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Placing in my 400 free relay during my swim season sophomore year and my senior year homecoming week.

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Education, dance, being outside

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attending Illinois State University and Majoring in Elementary Education

FAVORITE MOVIE: 10 Things I Hate About You

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Unwritten” by Natahsa Bedingfield

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Mrs. Richardson/Early Childhood Education

Upperclass Acts

Camden Gillette

NAME: Camden Gillette

FAVORITE AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling

NICKNAME: Gillette

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Coming back after my injuries.

ROLE MODEL(S): I look up to my parents.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: I played football all four years.

PET PEEVES: I don’t have any pet peeves.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: Breaking my hip my junior year.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: After-school workouts with coach Lewis.

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would buy my dream car and invest the rest of it. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A speed boat with a filled up gas tank, a jerry can filled with gas, and a case of water. LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Be a kid as long as possible, you have your whole life to be an adult.”

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Cars, sports, social media

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Go into the workforce as a diesel mechanic.

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Blind Side

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “The Boys of Fall” by Kenny Chesney

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Mr. McElwee

Unpopular Opinion: All Movies Shown in the Theater Should Have a 15-minute Intermission By: Summer Negray

There is nothing compared to hyping yourself up to see a movie that you've been dying to see since you heard the release date. The excitement cannot be compared to anything else, so you purchase the outrageously expensive tickets immediately! The day you have been waiting for arrives and you make your way extra early to the theater to get the best seats. When you arrive, you order a large popcorn with a large drink because let's face it you already know you can’t see a movie without a tasty snack, and how can you possibly have that delicious snack without a drink to quench your thirst? So, the time you've waited for arrives, you go to the theater and get the best possible seats because you arrived first, of course. Within that time of enjoying the lovely previews, you've chowed down on half your bag of popcorn and sucked down a great portion of your drink. But, just as you begin to think that you should get some more and hit the bathroom, the movie starts. You sit back in awe as the movie you've been dying to see takes over the big screen. More than a quarter of the movie goes by and suddenly that large drink makes itself apparent; however, you push the thought aside and keep enjoying your movie. As more time passes, it becomes nearly impossible to enjoy the glamorous pictures in front of you as the overpowering urge to answer nature’s call rings you again. Obviously, you hurry back as fast as possible in order to minimize the amount of screen time you miss. Alas, it’s too late! In that short window you've missed the big twister. The bang and pow of the movie is gone. I myself have been an unfortunate soul who has been affected by this scenario, one that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. This is why I feel very strongly about the growing need for breaks during theater-hosted movies. When I'm at home, I have the power to use my handy dandy remote to pause and rewind missed parts of a movie, which is something that is lacking in theaters around the world. I believe this may be a strong reason why people are choosing to stay home instead of going to the theaters to see a movie. These people too have been plagued by this horrible scenario. Theaters are losing out on revenue because of the lack of breaks during these movies. Incorporating a 15-minute break during the movie would allow patrons to relieve themselves and spend more money by buying more snacks and refilling drinks, increasing the overall profit of the theater and the amount of happy customers.

About Me Poem By: Bobbie Horton

Horton Is the daughter of Cari Oleson.

Who wants to escape to California to see the Grand Canyon. My hobbies are sleeping, nature walking, and swimming. I enjoy watching Yellowstone and Listening to country music. My greatest fear is heights, being underwater, and spiders. My favorite meal is tacos.

Someday I want to become an in-home nanny. After high school, I want to become a nanny. I was born at home with a midwife. Clifton, Tennessee. Bobbie Lynn

Game Reviews

By Jack Demopoulos

Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical shooter game that requires some of the best skills out of any other game in its genre. Rainbow Six Siege , or R6 , is a game that requires all of your attention and your ability to know what operators to pick. Operators are the characters you choose to attack/defend a map against the enemy team. The strategy of the game is to either try to plant the defuser or negate the attacking team by planting or eliminating everyone on their side. There are some operators that are almost essential for any map that you will play on such as Thermite, Ace, Hibanna, or such. For example, to defend a site such CCTV Rooms/Cash Room from the Club House map, the optimal operators to bring are as follows; Jaeger or Wamai, Valkyrie, Kaid or Bandit, Maestro, and for the last operator you will have an Azami. Now this is not the end all be all, everything can be adjusted slightly but this defense is hard to get through and will make it very annoying to fight through. Now to counter this defense, on the attacking sides of things you will bring a Capitao, Thatcher, Thermite, Osa, and a Finka. Thatcher to get rid of all electronics on a wall, Thermite to blow up the wall, Capitao to put fire on the catwalk to get rid of the Azami playing on it, and Osa will put down her bulletproof shield to pre-fire enemy combatants who cross their path. Finka will act as a support and will give you a boost in your health and your recoil control. However, there are many variables to determine who to bring for a site, and at the end of the day it is the team’s decision of what operators they want to use. R6 , being one of the most played games currently, has to have the biggest skill gap among all players. You must have a good squad around you to win games along with good game sense, communication and in-game hearing. In-game hearing involves listening to an enemy walk across a certain type floor (cement, wood, or a carpet), hearing the placement of breaching charge, or hearing the grunt of a certain operator. Rainbow Six Siege is one of the hardest games to become excellent at, but when you do it feels so good to be on a different playing field than anyone else.

Movie Review

By Tyler Drechsel

Inception (2010)

Who is the greatest director of all time? If you were asked this question, a few names may come to mind. Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, and my personal favorite, Quentin Tarantino. These directors are all fantastic and known for their unique artistic vision and style. Christopher Nolan however, is a director who’s maintained a very good reputation and all of his films have managed to find success. Some way more than others. Christopher Nolan is responsible for many masterpieces such as The Dark Knight , Interstellar and his most recent film, Oppenheimer . His films feature incredible performances, unique concepts, original stories, and most of all, mind-blowing visuals. He has made a huge name for himself and a huge impact on the world of film. And while all of his films are either good or perfect, there’s one movie that sticks out to me as his magnum opus. That movie is Inception, which is the most creative, intelligent, and unique movie I’ve ever seen. For those who don’t know, Inception is about a man named Cobb. After being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Cobb is forced to leave the United States and his children behind. He is able to make a living, however, since big corporations pay him to do jobs for them. Cobb is a thief, but not the traditional kind. Rather than stealing cash, jewels or any physical items, Cobb infiltrates the dreams of others and steals their ideas and thoughts. As dreamers explore the world of their dream, they subconsciously create more and more of the world as if they were actually discovering different parts of it themselves. The people who inhabit the world of the dream are reflections of the dreamer's subconscious, and if one falls asleep and has a dream while already in a dream, then time goes on for longer periods of time. If one dies in a dream, he or she wakes up. Cobb is able to steal the ideas of others by designing the worlds the dreams take place in, as well as create specific scenarios. He then uses these scenarios to trick dreamers into giving away information either verbally or subconsciously within the dream world. After one of his heists goes bad, he gets a different job offer from a man named Saito. Rather than stealing an idea, Saito wants Cobb to PLANT an idea into the head of one of his business competitors. A concept known as inception. At first, Cobb refuses since inception is borderline impossible. However, when Saito tells Cobb that he can bring him safely back to America with his kids if he does the job, Cobb accepts. However, the mission is threatened by Cobb’s subconscious, which has been infected by his dark and tragic past. Throughout the dream sequences in this film, some of the most stunning visuals in all of cinematic history can be seen. Buildings are flipped upside down, gravity becomes non-existent, and staircases are optical illusions. The effects are beyond stunning. The acting is also incredible. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great performance and truly embodies the emotionally scarred character that he is. As different characters go into many different dreams within dreams, the film jumps back and forth between perspectives. The editing makes it easy to comprehend what’s going on in all of the different scenes. The rules of the world are unique, complex and very well thought out. The story also has a lot of emotional themes of trauma, loss, and facing one’s past. The ending of this movie is one of my personal favorite movie endings of all time. An emphatic 10/10.

Editor-in-Chief: Vanessa Kapper The Chief Staff Jack Demopoulos Tyler Drechsel Brieaunna Duck Lily Fetgatter Megan Hensley Taylor Henson Kat Mercer Summer Negray Lily Raby Lilian Rainbolt Hannah Ricketts Lauren Russow Michelle Stevenson

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