The CHIEF October 2023

CHIEF PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL The

OCT, 2023

UPPERCLASS ACTS

CLASSROOM TIPS Get some tips to help you achieve even more success in your classes!

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

Classroom Tips By: Summer Negray

I personally know the struggles of high school such as keeping up with work, studying, homework, partner projects, and so much more! I hear a lot of people, specifically freshmen and sophomores, say that they struggle with staying up to date with science classes more than any other. I definitely know what this feels like because I was in the same position my freshman and sophomore year. No offense, but freshman and sophomores tend to have a lower attention span compared to juniors and seniors. Upperclassmen tend to be more familiar with what's expected of them. I know from my past experience that I also struggled with staying up to date with my science classes just because it's typically a little bit more of a workload compared to other classes. First thing that you should be doing is keeping track of what you have to do. Having a planner or using your sticky notes on your computer are both good ways to keep up to date with assignments. By keeping track of assignments that need to be done, you may find it easier to keep up with heavy workload. Another tip that you can be doing is keeping track of assignments that you've already done. For example, knowing that you already completed a lab or paper that you were worried about can be a good stress reliever. Honestly, this tip is one of the most important things that I do because sometimes I feel so stressed out from the heavy workload of classes, that I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. When I see this list of completed items, I remember all of the work that I have done and that I am putting much more of a fair share of work than I give myself credit for. I also have little note cards after each section that we complete as a class, so that I can remember what material I learned that day. For example, when I'm struggling with a problem, I don't have to sit there and struggle thinking about what we did in class that specific day. This has been so helpful with getting assignments done on time, and especially makes it to where I don't have to stress about whether or not I have to get help from a classmate/teacher. Another good idea is actually paying attention in class. I know it can be tempting to play on your computer, but it's not in your best interest in the long run. To be honest, it's definitely embarrassing when you get called on for a question that you can't answer because you were too busy playing Tetris.

Interview with Coach Gadbury By: Hannah Ricketts

This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Coach Gadbury, our new head football coach! He grew up in Tolono, Illinois, and attended Unity High School. He played both baseball and football during his high school career, and it was during these years that he discovered his passion for football. He decided he wanted to play football in college, and it wasn’t until he got there that he realized he could and wanted to coach for a living. Coach Gadbury attended St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and his favorite aspect of college was getting to meet different people from around the country. After college, he spent three years coaching at SAU before he came to Pontiac. When I asked him what he liked most about coaching, he said, “building relationships with the players,” and the overall opportunity he has to lead change and make a difference. His role models are his high school coach and his dad; they helped him become a good coach, leader, and overall person. He enjoys fishing and spending time with his friends, and one day he wishes to visit Dublin, Ireland. His advice to students is this: “There will be times where things won’t work out and you will fail, but always learn from it and move forward. Change is inevitable.” Thank you, Coach Gadbury, for sharing about yourself, and welcome to PTHS!

2023 Volleyball Season By: Taylor Hensonr

Now that fall sports are coming to an end, let's review the volleyball season! The freshman team has improved tremendously throughout their tough season and the JV team has played amazingly, winning almost every game they played! The varsity team has also played great, racking up a couple of hard-fought victories as well. I asked Mrs. Edwards, the JV coach, what values the team had for this season. She explained, “As a program during the first week of the season, we determined 12 values that as a team we were focusing on for the season, some of these values were trust, positivity, respect, and teamwork. As a team we are showing these values on the court, in school, and in the community.” I also asked Coach Edwards how she thought the season was going and what her favorite memory has been. She said, “All 3 teams have shown a lot of growth this season in their skills as well as playing as a team. For the JV team, one of the highlights was winning the Streator Invite. They went undefeated for the day by going 3-0 and winning each match in 2 sets. This was an excellent way to enter into the second half of our season with several upcoming conference matches.” The last question I asked was what she and the other coaches wanted to see towards the end of the season. She said, “As we wrap up our season, we always hope to see each team end on a positive note of playing well. Everyone has put a lot of time into the season, and it is always nice to end with competitive matches on all 3 levels.” As fall sports are coming to end, come support them and think about trying out next school year!

Interview with Ms. Jacobs By: Julie Zavala

Ms. Alex Jacobs is the school’s social worker. She graduated from PTHS in 2012 and has been back here for two and a half years.

Ms. Jacobs started out at Parkland College and played softball there. She went to ISU for her bachelor’s degree and University of Illinois for her master’s degree. She also went to Aurora University for her PEL. Ms. Jacobs’ high school experience was very good and she was involved in softball and volleyball. She describes PTHS as a strong community and was interested in employment here because she wanted to work with kids, sensed a great change from working at a hospital setting for five years, and she knew that she would be supported here. This year, Ms. Jacobs looks forward to working more with students and getting to know everyone better. Her favorite memories working here are getting to work with students in health and P.E classes and getting to know students and their opinions better. She also enjoys working with student’s families. Ms. Jacobs likes to run and work out, wedding planning (she is getting married in December!), hanging out with her dog named Lacy, and spending time with her five month old nephew. Her favorite song and quote are by Zach Bryan, “Be Kind”, and favorite book is anything written by Colleen Hoover. Ms. Jacob's tip for students to have a successful school year is to simply stay focused in the moment.

Music Update By: Lily Raby

Saturday, October 14, was the last competition for the PTHS Marching Indians. We accomplished many great things over the past few months, and our efforts had made a great success in our competition at U of I. We have set aside competitions for now, as we are focusing on our concerts. Since the start of the year, PTHS Chorus have been well preparing for their fall concert and are excited to take the stage. Be on the lookout for more information and updates about your PTHS Band and Chorus!

Key Club 2023 By: Brieaunna Duck

Key Club is one of the largest internationally student-run organizations. I have met so many friends from inside and outside the country because of Key Club. I personally have been in Key Club all of my years in high school. However, up until this year, before I went to the Key Club International Convention, I thought Key Club was just a PTHS school activity. But, like I said, the club is international, and exists in 30 countries around the world! If you would like to join, or have any questions, feel free to talk to or email Mr. Bristow. He would love to hear from you. On a fun note, Key Club has multiple different events throughout the year. Our most recent one was the Fall Leadership Rally. This was a ball, and was really informative on office positions. We had a chance to get together with our district board where we all played games, had a free lunch, and had brief discussions regarding a variety of subjects such as fundraisers and community service initiatives. It is never too late to join and now would be a perfect time because officer elections are coming up!

At the beginning of the year, the Chief staff was asked to contribute new ideas for articles we would personally like to write. That’s when I proposed the idea for “PTHS Pets,” an accumulation of pictures and facts about pets owned by PTHS students and staff. “Who doesn’t appreciate cute animals?” I thought. I have never owned a pet, so it was particularly fun for me to gather information and learn about other people’s pets this month. Without any further ado, allow me to introduce you to the first collection of PTHS Pets!

PTHS

PETS By: Lillian Rainbolt

Daisy Owner: Ms. Babb Breed: Miniature Goldendoodle

Archie Owner: Ms. Babb Breed: Miniature Goldendoodle

Likes: Her cousin Addie, getting treats, being first, going for a car ride and trying to be in the front seat, walks, being with her family, TOYS. Dislikes: Storms, being alone, loud noises, being told no. Fun fact: She is named after Daisy from The Great Gatsby.

Likes: Belly rubs, all things food, going for car rides and being in the front seat, attending doggy day care, walks, and being with his family. Dislikes: Having to wear his harness, being told no. Fun fact: Ms. Babb got his name from the show Riverdale .

Moss Owner: Liz Paulson Age: 2 years old

Likes: Scaring his owners and making messes. Dislikes: Closed doors and shaking paper. Fun fact: Has a brain condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia.

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Hobbes Owner: Olivia Yedinak Breed: Miniature Holland Lop Bunny Likes: Dismembering phone chargers (7 so far) and chewing on books. Fun fact: Got his name from the comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes.”

PTHS

PETS

Lizzy Owner: Devin Skrzypiec Age: 5 years old Likes: Laying around like a pancake. Fun Fact: Diet consists of Dubia roaches, mealworms and kale.

Ringo Owner: Levi Rients Breed: Whippet (miniature greyhound)

Age: About 15 years old (Owner says, “We adopted him when he was about 10 or 11 from an animal shelter where he had been there for over a year”). Likes: His toys and will play with them until he can’t anymore. Fun Fact: He used to be very active, but he's sadly torn both of his ACLs and has only had surgery on one of them. That doesn't stop him from running and showing his love, though.

Donna Owner: Jake Davis Breed: Black Australorp Age: 1½ years old Likes: Mud

Molly Mae Owner: Señora Mounce Breed: Mini Aussiedoodle Age: 2 years old Likes: Watermelon, going to the golf course, sleeping in. Dislikes: Baths, getting brushed, carrots.

Dislikes: Rain and extreme temperatures. Fun Fact: She has lost all the toes on one of her feet, so she lives in the house away from a flock

Upperclass Acts

Mickala Travis

NAME: Mickala Travis

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: Red White Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

NICKNAMES: Mickey

ROLE MODEL(S): My teachers

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: When I got to perform my flag solo at our home football game for all of my family to see.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Marching band, Concert band, Choir, Key club, student council, and growers group.

PET PEEVES: People who are always negative also people who have bad manners.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Painting up at the U of I marching band competition

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: That I am always willing to try new things.

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Traveling, Music, Reading.

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? Investing is the right thing to do but… I would buy a custom pink Jeep. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? My bed, My friends, boat. LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: Be involved in everything you can because you are only in high school for a short period of time so make the most of it.

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Go to ISU for communication in sciences disorders and then progress to become a Speech-Language Pathology.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Holes or Purple Hearts

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Mr. Blair

Upperclass Acts

Jaxen Paine

NAME: Jaxen Paine

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: Animal Farm by George Orwell

NICKNAMES: House of Paine

ROLE MODEL(S): My parents

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Any time that I am with my whole family.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Band, Choir, Madrigals, Jazz Band, National Honors Society

PET PEEVES: Whenever people take advantage of something good they have.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: The band and choir Disney World trip.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: I love music

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Music, cooking, acting

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would buy my dream car, a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and give some to my parents, give half to charity, and save the rest of it. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? An Xbox, a person of my choice, and a stack of all the good Star Wars movies. LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Don’t wait to do something if you think you want to. If you have interest in something, and the time to do it, the experience is worth it.”

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: College for either music education or music pastoring

FAVORITE MOVIE: Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Family” by TobyMac

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Band and Choir with Mr. Schickel and Mr. Durbin

Bonquadivarious Bontavious Food Review By: Lauren Russow This dairy free cookie dough recipe is simple to make, not very time consuming, and a totally delicious simple treat! The dough is very rich in flavor and the chocolate brings it all together for the sweet lover’s perfect dish! Dairy Free Cookie Dough Recipe Time: 15min Servings: 2 Ingredient’s (In Order of Use):

1/3c Melted Butter 1/3c Brown Sugar 2 Tbsp White Sugar Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Maple Syrup 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract 1 Tbsp Milk (Almond Milk Used) 3/4c Heated Flour Chocolate Chips (Dairy Free Used)

Music Review

By Jack Demopoulous

IGOR by Tyler, the Creator

For this month's music review I decided to stay within the theme of spooky season by going over Tyler, the Creator’s IGOR . The character IGOR derives from the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein in the old story, Frankenstein. Now, why is this important? Well, this name is implemented to follow the gothic “Igor” archetype as a villain's assistant and represents a darker, apathetic side of Tyler that is revealed. The music is a masterclass of tracks and every song could be debated to be the best on the album. It should come with no surprise that this took home rap album of the year for 2019. The album itself is actually a loop as if you were to listen to the beginning of the album with “IGOR’S THEME.” You hear a sudden rift, and at the end with “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” we hear the same familiar rift. Now the reason for this is because IGOR tells a story about Tyler who falls in love with another man. But this man is in love with a woman, which makes Tyler feel like a sidekick AKA “IGOR,” after being strung out for so long. He then claims to have fallen out of love and tries saying goodbye. But then the last song “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” ends with the line “Can’t say goodbye.” Thus begins the cycle where if he stays friends with this guy he’ll inevitably fall in love again, starting the whole painful process over again. This comes back to one of the songs earlier in the album being “EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING.” This album is, without a doubt, one of the best albums I ever listened to with a strong theme throughout the album and downright beautiful music throughout. I highly recommend this album whether you already have listened to it, or if this will be your first time.

Book Review

By Payton Mercer

Always Human by Ari North

This month’s book review is Always Human by Ari North. Always Human actually started as a webtoon book and later became a graphic novel. It is a short story that takes place in the near future and is a sci-fi romance. The two protagonists are Austen and Sunati. Austen has an autoimmune disorder called Egan’s Syndrome that sets her aside from everyone else and for this reason she cannot use mods. This poses a problem because Austen and Sunati live in a world where everyone can use mods to enhance appearance, memory, health, and plenty more. They met at the transportation platform because Austen was stressed out and lashed out on Sunati. The book continues with them building and strengthening their relationship. Their next date was at a waterfall and hiking area. When they finished their hike, Austen left for a moment to freshen up and left Sunati to view the town square. When she returned, she told Sunati to close her eyes because Austen was taking her to see a surprise. Sunati described the scene as “Mars in the Australian desert.” Soon after, Sunati’s birthday comes up and things take a turn for the worst, or so it first seems. Sunati went to visit Austen midway through studying for her exams without mentioning that it’s her birthday. Midway through trying to comfort Austen, Sunati mentions how she is strong for not using fashion mods due to her immune disorder. This ultimately sets Austen off, causing Austen to yell and shout at Sunati on her birthday. Sunati exits her dorm and sits outside crying while Austen feels absolutely awful as well inside her dorm. While Sunati begins crying, a stranger with white feathery hair appears and comforts her. As Sunati meets and bonds with this new character, she is left with the necessity to build back her relationship with Sunati. This is a great book and I highly recommend it if you are interested in young, sci-fi graphic novels. All scenes in Always Human appear to be in watercolor paints and are always astonishing detailed.

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 Jalene Woolford Julie Zavala

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