The Chief Online - Pontiac Township High School

New Teacher Report:
PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL
The Chief Online
Señor Flowers Retires
By Jeanette Wooldridge
After 33 years of dedication to PTHS, a
certain teacher is leaving us. He is
someone that we never notice until we
see that he has snapped a picture of us
and it has ended up in the yearbook.
This year Mr. Flowers, usually called
Señor, is leaving us to relax and enjoy
retirement. During his stay here he has
been involved in the Spanish Club for
33 years, Yearbook for 20 years, and
has been part of Quill Scroll Honor
Society, INTERACT, and Junior Class
Advisor for many years. As I sat in his
Spanish 1 class three years ago I
realized that he was a laid back teacher
that went with the flow and who has the
ability to let us go off in our own
direction and is still able to get every
class to the same point. The things that
Señor will miss about PTHS are the
students and helping people. Some on
his favorite memories are the Spanish
Club trips (including Mexico, Spain, and
Costa Rica) and the dances because of
the different atmospheres and the way
that people are dressed. His last words
of advice are: “Everything that you take
in school is important. You might not
realize it now but it is so don’t waste
your academics and extracurricular
activities.” Señor, you will be missed by
the student body and the fellow faculty
and we hope that you enjoy retirement.
May 2016
Inside this Issue:
FFA
2
Upperclass
Act
3
Sports
4
Summer
Reading
5
Projects
6
Operation
Gravestone
7
Music Dept.
8
Poetry
9
Student
Survey
10
CATCH UP WITH
PTHS EVENTS AT
HIGH SCHOOL
CUBE
PTHS on Social
Media
Señor in D.C. for the first Obama inauguration.
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Check out PTHS on
Facebook and Twitter using
the icons at the top of our
page or click HERE.
FFA May
Ag Extravaganza Photos
By Victor Johns
The FFA Chapter had an exciting
th
month! On April, 13 , Wacky
Wednesday was held at Prairie
Central High School. There was
an Ag. Business Management
CDE, Horticulture CDE, Ag.
Mechanics CDE, Quiz Bowl
CDE,and elections for the 20162017 Section 9 Officer Team.
Liam Pickett, J.T. Lannon, Lucas
Roe, and Andrew Hamilton
competed in the Ag. Mechanics
CDE. They all placed in the Top 5
in their respective areas and
nd
placed 2 as a Team. Jenna
Leonard, Victor Johns, Colin
Stark, and Mark Raube were
candidates for Section Office.
Mark Raube was elected Section
9 Treasurer.
CONGRATULATIONS Mark!!
th
On Saturday April,16 , the
Chapter held their annual
Banquet. There was a great
turnout. Megan Lauritsen and
Caroline Landstrom where chosen
as Star Greenhands, Emma
Jacobs was chosen as
Outstanding Sophomore, and
Colin Stark and Mark Raube
where chosen as Outstanding
Juniors. Seniors where presented
with a graduation cord and a Work
Course Award. We recently found
out that three members were
recommended for the American
Degree which is the highest award
given to FFA Members.
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The final chapter meeting was
th
held on May 4 , with officer
elections for the new school year.
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On May 13 was the annual Ag.
Extravanganza. Students brought
in animals, tractors, four wheelers,
and even a semi truck. It was a
fun day and the grade school kids
enjoy seeing everything and
getting to climb on the equipment.
FFA information can be found
HERE.
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Upperclass Act
ROLE MODEL(S): My grandmothers
ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: The Chief,
Scholastic Bowl, Band, Swinging
Bride, Madrigal Brass,
PET PEEVES: Chewing with your
mouth open, being rude, when
people feel that they are entitled
when they clearly are not.
FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH
SCHOOL SO FAR: The entirety of
Band
3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST:
Architecture, Geology, &
Archaeology
PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL:
Attending Ferris State University to
study Architecture and Sustainability
FAVORITE MOVIE: The Blind Side
MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG:
“Lost Boy” by Ruth B
Jeanette Wooldridge
NICKNAMES: JJ, J-Dog, Jet, Ms. Tuba
FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Mr.
Woith’s Engineering and Architecture
Design Class
FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: The
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
MOST POSITIVE MOMENT:
Becoming a God-Mother this past
summer
WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL
REMEMBER ABOUT ME: Being
the “mother” of the group and being
the one to find the bright side of
things.
HOW WOULD YOU SPEND
$1,000,000?: College followed by
buying a home then wisely investing
the rest for retirement.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A
DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS
WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
Flint, knife, a boat
LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Don’t
waste your high school years being
mad. Focus on the good and
eventually you’ll start seeing the
change it has made.”
Book Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Review by Allyson Schoff
In the city of Rey, the caliph selects a bride each night only to hang her by a
silk cord each morning. After her best friend, Shiva, is selected as a bride
and killed, Shahrzad decides to volunteer as the next bride so that she may
kill the caliph and end his reign of murders. Shahrzad manages to survive
through the first night, and then the second as she tells the caliph intriguing
stories. Soon the truth comes to light, and Shahrzad discovers that the man
she thought was a monster is really just a boy riddled with guilt, despair, and
a curse.
I have been told by several people online to read The Wrath and the Dawn,
so when I found that our school library had a copy, I decided to finally pick it
up. I didn’t expect much from a romance novel from an up-and-coming YA
author, but I was pleasantly surprised. Renee Ahdieh weaves a world
inspired the A Thousand and One Nights that is full of dreamlike stories and
wonderful characters. The story line jumped around a bit, but about halfway
through the book, a lot of things came to light and started making sense.
This book was the perfect mix of romance with a peek of fantasy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend this novel to those who
enjoy books and movies that involve Arabian culture, such as Aladdin. I
would also recommend The Wrath and the Dawn to those that enjoy
romance novels or stories with a strong female character.
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Click HERE for Author’s Website
ISHA Journalism Results
Sports
On Saturday, April 23, the PTHS Journalism Team
competed in the IHSA Journalism Sectional, which
was held at Illinois State University. The
competitors were Tatum Joerndt (Review Writing
and Yearbook Copy Writing), Colin Lakadat
(Yearbook Caption Writing and Yearbook Layout),
Kamryn Moore (Photo Story Telling), Naomi
Madrigal (Advertising and Editorial Writing), Jernie
Scott (Editorial Cartooning and Yearbook
Theme).
The Chief congratulates the Track team for achieving
30 personal records this season!
Boys Tennis Update
By Shelby Jennings
rd
The results for PTHS were Tatum, 3 in Review
rd
st
Writing; Colin, 3 in Caption Writing and 1 in
rd
Yearbook Layout; Kamryn, 3 in Photo Story
th
Writing; and Naomi, 6 in Advertising. Tatum,
Colin, and Kamrym advanced to the IHSA State
Journalism Final at Eastern Illinois University.
April 26, 2016
This tennis season I decided to interview the team’s number one
player, Zach Fellheimer, to update us on how this season is going
so far.
Shelby: What made you get involved with tennis?
Zach: When I was in eighth grade, Jacob Moore and Garrett
Lyons were on the tennis team. I went out and played doubles
with them one day and loved the sport.
S: How do think this season is going so far?
Z: As an individual, it’s going better than I have hoped. I’ve come
out strong and have been finishing my matches strong. As a team
we have struggled; our “Doubles” haven’t been winning often but
our singles is doing just average. This should be a rebuilding year
since we are going to be returning six of our top 8 players next
year.
S: How would you compare this season to the last?
Z: This year I have played much harder competition than last
year. I’ve also grown on my game a tremendous amount. I’ve
played up to competition and struck through my matches. I am
thankful to have played on varsity last year to get me ready for
this year. It has made a huge impact on this season.
S: Do you have any advice for new and upcoming players?
Z: If you know you are going to play next year get out and start
early; don’t wait for the season to come around. The best thing
you can have is experience and the more you have is the better.
If you have questions about tennis or are interested in joining next
season, you can ask Coach Vogt or Zach!
Operation Gravestone Day
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Summer Reading List
By Allyson Schoff
Summer is approaching quickly. Some of us will have summer assignments from our English or Social Studies
classes. Some of us will be taking a summer class such as Civics or Consumers’ Ed. Many of us will have jobs or
start looking for one. There’s always those times during the summer where you get unbearably bored, however. To
help chase away summer boredom this year, I’ve looked at a few lists on Goodreads to compile an awesome summer
reading list.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
is a book that many of us have
already read for an English class. If
you haven’t read it, pick it up this
summer. It is definitely a must-read.
Alice in Zombieland by Gena
Showalter is a loose retelling of Alice
in Wonderland with some zombies
and romance. You can’t go wrong
with zombies.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is another
retelling. This one is even more loose
than Alice in Zombieland. Cinder has
robots, magic, and a real control
freak of a queen.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by J.K. Rowling is another book that
many of us have read. If you haven’t
yet, pick it up! This is one of those
books that is perfect to re-read as
well.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is
another must-read. I think I’ve read it
twice. It’s one of the best historical
fiction books out there. Besides,
who’s a better narrator for anything
but Death?
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass is
a book that I am currently reading.
I’ve heard great things about this one,
and it’s pretty good so far.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson is
amazing! We read is a couple
months ago in Literary Society, and
everyone loved it! Almost all of this
author’s books are connected in
some way, and he is a genius writer!
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott
Lynch was the first read of Literary
Society this year. This is an amazing
book full of thievery and magic.
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke is
another awesome book full of
thievery and magic. From the author
of Inkheart, this story is expertly told.
Music Review
By Shelby Jennings
If you have been listening to the radio lately, you may have heard some too-true lyrics about growing up through the
years. Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” has been climbing the iTunes charts rapidly, currently holding the spot of number
one. As a soul-pop singer from Denmark, his work is successful not only in America, but also internationally. Graham’s
self-titled album is currently number three on the iTunes charts. If you want to learn more about Lukas Graham or take
a listen to his music, you can visit lukasgraham.com.
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Students Create and Read Picture Books in
Interdisciplinary Project
Students in Mrs. Richardson’s Early Childhood course
nd
rd
th
and Mr. Soares’s 2 , 3 and 4 hour English 2 courses
participated in a interdisciplinary project in which students
created picture books on “nonfiction” topics and read
them to preschool students. Students created both print
and e-books covering topics from the history of Mickey
Mouse to baseball.
Students gained experience in research as well as
learning how to present information for a particular
audience. Both the preschoolers and the high school
students greatly enjoyed the experience.
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Operation Gravestone Ceremony
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Music Department
By Matthew Birkett
As the school year comes to an
end, the PTHS Music
Department prepares for the
next year. The Tri-M Induction
Ceremony occurred on
th
Thursday, May 12 . Band Mini
Camp (or rather, May/June
Band Camp) is coming up from
th
th
the 24 to the 26 and later on
st
st
the 31 and in June on the 1
nd
and 2 . At the Operation
Gravestone assembly this past
Wednesday, Concert Choir and a select ensemble of instrumentalists performed “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “The
Dying Soldier” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” The Symphonic Band played “America,” “God Bless America” and
th
“Salute to the Armed Forces.” You’ll even see our Marching Indians out on the streets on the 30 for the Memorial Day
Parade. While we are preparing, you’ll likely see the bands marching outside more!
Click HERE for the Music Department website
English Department Sponsors “Honors Mixer”
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Review by Carlie Weaver
Movie Review: Interstellar
Interstellar is a 2014 mystery/ science fiction film. IMDb gave it 8.6/10.
The movie follows the story of Joseph Cooper (Matthew
McConaughey) and his family. They’re living on Earth which is
becoming inhabitable. A second dustbowl is taking over and jobs like
astronauts and scientists don’t exist anymore, or so they thought.
When Cooper finds a hidden, top secret NASA station, he is offered a
position to be launched into space in search of a new planet. In order
to prevent the end of humanity and ensure a future for his children,
Cooper leaves his family for the trip.
The astronauts must travel through a wormhole to another dimension
to find another planet to live on. Unfortunately, this means that while
Cooper may not have been gone for long, many years will have
passed on Earth. Decades even. Will Cooper save humanity? Will he
ever see his beloved daughter again? Will he find his way home to
Earth ever?
Interstellar is not available on Netflix, but can be rented from Family
Video. I recommend this movie for anyone who enjoys thinking about
what they’re watching.
Click HERE to see the official website.
Student Poetry
“From Sullivan Ballou’s Letter”
A found poem by Olivia Welshans
I feel
impelled
to
write lines
for
when I shall be no more
and not there
to buffet the storms
I fear death
but
I am willing - perfectly willing
To
diligently
calmly
proudly
without halt or falter
fall on the battlefield
for
in my breast
I know
my love of Country
beats
to maintain this Government
to shield you
and my children
from harm
I have no misgivings
But, O, Sarah!
My very dear
My wife
my unbounded love
I fear
hazarding your happiness
my dear little children
my little boys
my own joys
I fear will grow up
to memories
blissful moments
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But Death calls upon me
two thousand men are sleeping
around me
those who went before
blood
suffering
Revolution
I am ready
I lay down at last
And
from my last breath escapes
“I love you”
wafted on a prayer
to Divine Providence
or
to you
But
perhaps
on a
calm summer night
a strong wind or soft breeze
will bear me
to blow the banner of my purpose
or
to you
More Student Poetry
Student Survey:
“Restoration” by Carlie Weaver
(Inspired by Operation Gravestone)
My Summer Plans
Seven valiant Union men
Fought the Confederates strong
Their efforts saved our country
They were heroes all along
Golfing – Peter Babb
Softball – Kailey Brinkman
FFA Convention – Celina Romero
Going to Florida – Sean Anderson
Perished at war
Honored in death
Meant to be remembered
After their last breath
Cubs game – Lucy Hodgson
Texas and Kentucky – Hannah Blankenbeckler
Netflix and chill – Cam Dawson
The rain poured down
Polluted by sulfur dioxide
Gravestones were destroyed
The world should have cried
Ozarks – Loryn Beal
Lots of camping – Stephanie Davies
Lifting for football – Jacob Matern
Hanging with friends – Abby Wargo
Our mission is clear
We know what must be done
Restore their graves
We need support from everyone
Boating - Mya Betts
So spread their story
Honor their lives
We’ll raise them up
Deep from the archives
The Chief Staff
Kamryn Moore, Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Albrecht
Matthew Birkett
Mary-Kate Cupples
Shelby Jennings
Victor Johns
Allyson Shoff
Becca True
Carlie Weaver
Jeanette Wooldridge
Congratulations
Class of
2016!
The Chief
Mr. Soares, Faculty Sponsor
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