The CHIEF February 2018

CHIEF FEB, 2018 PONTIAC TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL The

SCHOLASTIC SUCCESS!

UPPERCLASS ACTS

Read about the historically successful season our JV and Varsity Scholastic Bowls are having!

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

table of contents

03 Editor ' s Note

04 NewTeacher Interview

05 Scholastic Bowl

05 Music Update

07 FFA Update

09 Upperclass Acts

12 Student Poetry

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The

CHIEF

www.pontiac90.org

I know that this cold weather can make people lose their motivation, specifically seniors, so it is important to remember that our grades are equally important this semester as they were last. Remember to keep studying and working hard, but remember to enjoy the rest of the year. It’s never too late to join that one club that you’ve been too scared to join. Don’t be afraid to try new clubs or sports this spring! Enjoy February and thanks for reading!

EDITOR'S NOTE W H A T ' S G O I N G O N ?

By Kamr y n Moo r e

Welcome back to the second semester of school! While I’m sure everyone enjoyed our extended Winter break, it’s time to go back to the books. While January has come and gone, February comes with exciting events like the Winter Dance, Boys Swimming and Wrestling Sectionals, among other fun things.

Sincerely, Kamryn Moore

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What do you want for Valentine's Day?

New Teacher

Mikayla Ehresman

By Joseph Gilmor

Durrell Robinson, affectionately known as Coach Rob to all of us, experienced a long eventful journey on his way to Pontiac Township High School. After graduating from Danville High School, where he was an All-State player, he played for Bethany College, where he earned a degree in Health and Physical Education. Later, he played professionally for several years both in the United States and overseas in multiple European nations such as England and Scotland. Finally, he decided to teach others. Coach Rob taught full-time at several high schools across the nation, and his last job was coaching the Pontiac 66ers team in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association, before taking the coaching job here in Pontiac, where he now coaches Varsity Boys Basketball while also serving as as a substitute teacher. In 2016, he was awarded the Midwest Professional Basketball Association's “Coach of the Year” honors. Returning to Pontiac has allowed him to reminisce about playing for Danville in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, our program’s marquee event. When asked what he enjoys most about coaching, Coach Rob stated that he loves watching his players’ basketball skills improve. He grinned and nodded as he further stated that there is nothing more satisfying than watching his players reap the benefits of all of their hard work. We are so blessed to have Coach Rob, his experience, and all of his enthusiasm for the game on our side!

"Chocolate covered pretzels"

Mackenzie Mies

"More sleep"

Sophie Olson

"A relaxing day at home"

In this tournament, Clayton Haase placed on the all- tournament team with the second most points (290) scored out of all players on the day. Freshman Ed Sarama also had an incredibly impactful day, falling just short of all-tournament honors. Outside of tournament play, our JV team has gone undefeated (12-0) under Mr. Sweetwood as coach and Clayton as captain. Top scorers, including Ed, Clayton, Aaron Putnam (Soph.), Hannah Wallace (Soph.), Servetka Bekirovski (Fresh.), Robert Young (Soph.), and Alec Kridner (Fresh.), have led our team to massive victories over our Illini-Prairie Conference foes, Olympia and Prairie Central, as well as other out-of-conference schools like Blue Ridge and Cornerstone Christian. Our Varsity team has been very successful as well, going 16- 6 under Mr. Ramseyer as coach and Henry Woodburn as captain. As the season comes to a close, we hope to maintain this success in the program with JV finishing up their final matches and Varsity heading into IHSA Regional Competition this month. N O M A D I C | 2 4

T H E A N S W E R I S . . .

SCHOLASTIC BOWL

By C l a y t on Ha a s e

Success has been abundant for the PTHS Scholastic Bowl program this season, as both the varsity and junior varsity levels have winning records. Our JV team recently participated in a major tournament in Roanoke- Benson on February 3rd and came out as the runner-ups of the 12-team tournament. After going 4-1 in pool play, we made it into the semifinals to compete against the strong Roanoke-Benson team, which we beat in a very close match. Losing to the Mercer County team in the championship match put us in second place, which was the school’s highest finish ever in the Roanoke

Music Update

All-State Musicians If having made All-District was not enough, PTHS also had four students go to All-State for their amazing performance within the arts. For Choir, we had our own Kevin Kuska, Mackenzi Mies, and Amy Rice. While both Mies and Rice are juniors, Kuska was selected as a senior. In band, we had PTHS senior Caitlyn Ricketts play in the All-State orchestra on French horn. The All State Festival took the span of three days. During the three days, tons of time and effort was put into perfecting their pieces for the concert on the last day. The participants were also treated to a clap out in their own school to show how proud the student body at PTHS was of the honor musicians. While the festival is now over, the people involved will always keep their experience with them and the knowledge of music learned. By Alyssa Rodriguez February 8, 2018, marked an exciting day for all of the Pontiac Township High School Band and Chorus members. After being offered an opportunity to show off their musical talents, all of the students appeared in the commons that evening to participate in the annual Solo and Ensemble Contest. Musicians of all shapes and sizes, from bass singers to violin players, were brought together by their love of music to compete in front of musically talented judges from the Pontiac area. As a result of the judging, students were placed in one of three divisions, with many students earning Division One ratings. In addition, they all received valuable feedback from the judges on how to improve their performances in the future. For the many senior participants, it was even more so a night to remember, as it was their last opportunity to compete at the high school level. Hopefully, they will take fond memories of the competition with them as they continue on their journey to higher education, as well as throughout the rest of their lives. Of course, no matter what their age or instrument, the night of the Contest was truly a night to remember for all participants. Solo & Ensemble Contest By Joe Gilmor

everyone was able to get up and interact with one another and build new friendships with other FFA members from other chapters. During our Mental Growth session, we learned how to think creatively and critically, including “thinking outside of the box” and rationalizing it. When it came to our emotional growth session, we learned exactly what we thought of ourselves and also what others thought of us. It helped build our self esteem and encourage us to step out of the box. After that it came to the social session where members were encouraged to go and talk to someone that they didn’t know. Similarly to the emotional growth session, we were encouraged to step out of the box again. Lastly, our physical growth session talked about becoming active and not letting ourselves fall to the temptations of procrastination and laziness. With each session we learned just much good we can do not only in our chapters but nationwide.

FFA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE The annual FFA 212 leadership conference was held in Shaumburg, IL, through Feb 2nd and 3rd. We had ten freshmen enter this conference and leave with new ambitions that we’re able to bring back to our Pontiac FFA chapter. Our 212 experience started with everyone who was attending being split up into two big groups. From there we were led through various sessions that had to do with each of us learning about personal growth. During each session, By Lu k e Mo r r i s s e t t e

The Varsity boys started the year defeating Ottawa at their own tournament in front of their home crowd on Friday night during prime time. Varsity defeated Prairie Central in Flanagan only to follow it up with another win verses the Hawks at home only a matter of a week or so later. The Varsity boys stand at a record of 9 wins 11 losses as of the fifth of February. They hope to see more success in the coming games under the instruction of Head Coach Durrell Robinson. Both JV and freshman boys programs will continue to put in the work required to build a winning varsity program in the future. Home games are always full of energy thanks to the pep band here at PTHS, and if you happen to miss an event, make sure to check The Cube which offers full coverage of every home game for fans that miss a game or wish to watch one over again. The Cube works out well for my grandparents who watch every game played at home from Tucson Arizona.

S P O R T S

PTHS BASKETBALL!

By C l a y t on M i l l e r

Basketball is in full force at PTHS. The girls program is having a lot of success this year, showing some impressive wins at home and away. Win or not, the girls have shown court sense and teamwork across all levels. JV and freshman girls teams have also showed promising signs of success for the future of the varsity program in years to come. The boys program has had a year of ups and downs. Varsity and JV started the year off with tournament after tournament, playing tough competition throughout.

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Upperclass Acts

Madisyn Webster

NAME: Madisyn Webster.

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

NICKNAMES: Webby.

ROLE MODEL(S): My dad.

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Finishing PreCalc.

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: Softball.

PET PEEVES: Chewing with mouth open, arrogance.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Getting that dub against Central Catholic last softball season.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: Not being able to make morning plans with me because I sleep until noon. HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000?: Buy as many hash browns as possible at Family Kitchen. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?: Hash browns, water, and a boat.

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Softball, Criminal Justice, Brandon.

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Play softball at Illinois College and major in Criminal Justice.

FAVORITE MOVIES: Tangled and Tommy Boy

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts.

LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Get involved, take Law, come watch every softball game.”

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Good ole Christie.

Upperclass Acts

Lucas Roe

NAME: Lucas Martin Roe

FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

NICKNAMES: Luke, Luke Roe, Luc

ROLE MODEL(S): My Dad

MOST POSITIVE MOMENT: Becoming an FFA Officer

ACTIVITIES @ PTHS: FFA, Bass Fishing Team, National Honor Society, Math Team

PET PEEVES: When people do not mind their own business, and when people do not try and just give up.

FONDEST MEMORY OF HIGH SCHOOL SO FAR: Going to Washington Leadership Conference for FFA.

WHAT MY FRIENDS WILL REMEMBER ABOUT ME: I am a kind person that tries to help people.

3 MAJOR AREAS OF INTEREST: Ag Engineering, Farming, the Outdoors

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1,000,000? I would pay for college and use the rest of it after college to buy more farmland. I would also make sure I have a nice house and truck and donate some of the money to charity for our veterans and service members. IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? A knife, paracord, and a water purifier LAST WORDS OF ADVICE: “Never give up and once you have succeeded don’t forget to turn back around, thank the person that helped you and pay it forward by helping the next person in line.”

PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I would like to go to Iowa State University to major in Ag Engineering and minor in Agronomy, and after that I want to be an Ag Engineer that designs farm equipment. I would also like to continue working on our family farm.

FAVORITE MOVIE: American Sniper

MOST INSPIRATIONAL SONG: “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE TEACHER/CLASS: Natural Resource Management with Mr. Bane

Th Critic's

 Corner

Music

Review of R&B Artist Kehlani's "Again"

By Sunshine Holt

Earlier this month, R&B artist Kehlani released “

Again,

” a completely unmixed

single, according to Kehlani herself. This song is a raw, simple acoustic that will make you fall in love with the artist herself. Her fourth single since her album SSS in 2017, Kehlani stuns her fans once again with her vocals. The song is written about a past love.

Student Poetry Celestial By Sunny Holt To the people who look up at the stars And wish This one is for you You are the sun of our galaxy The moon of our planet Our world would not exist without you Some may say you’re a waste of space Or that you are an alien to this world But you are not You are just a sliver in the darkness That is waiting to be discovered.

The Chief Staff

Kamryn Moore: Editor-in-Chief

Leslie Babbs Kenzie Cool Kaelee Germain Joe Gilmor Sunshine Holt Clay Miller Luke Morrissette Alyssa Rodriguez Becca True Hannah Wallace

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