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The Arrow Thornwood High School

February 2016 Voulme 44 Issue 3

By Jaylin Williams Thornwood teacher Danny Gray was nominated for a Golden Ap-ple Award for his great teaching skills. “It’s a great honor to be associated with such a distinguished group,” Gray said.

Gray received items for being a nominee. “I received a Golden Apple certificate and a nominee welcome letter that could be placed in my professional portfolio,” Gray said. Gray still has to prepare him-self for the Golden Apple Award, however.

“The next step is a series of es-says and recommendation letters submit-ted by me and my colleagues,” Gray said.Gray has had other careers be-fore settling down at Thornwood. “Before my teaching career, I was a program manager. I worked with kids that were DCFS wards in a highly structured group home,” Gray said. Gray enjoys sending out positive values in his students. “I like to teach because I get an oppor-tunity to instill positive values in the students from my community,” Gray said. “I love my job.” His students seem to feel the same way about him as well. “He deserves it,” Raynell Bruton said. “He has been one of most influencing teachers.” Even his students know he is hard work-ing and dedicated to them and their education. “He is greatly involved with his students and cares about bettering their education while teaching important life lessons,” Allen Price said.To his students, he is a role model and a teacher. “He has worked very hard to get to where he is with his classes and is a good role model for young teens,” Davion Pettigrew said.

At the end of the semester, students were taken off of loss of privileges behavior modifi-cation program for attendance and tardiness. According to a handout from assis-tant principal Don Holmes, students were taken off loss of privileges so that they could start with a clean slate second semester. Students had mixed feelings about students being taken off of LOP. Sophomore Malachi Kel-ly didn’t really have a reaction. “I didn’t really care,” Kelly said. “I’m really not late to class anyway.” Sophomore Jalen Car-ter had an amusing reaction. “I started laughing because it was

a group of students who started getting hype at the announcement,” Carter said. Junior Ariana Martinez be-lieves they should take students off of LOP for behavioral issues. “They did it for students who were on it for attendance, so why not behavioral issues?” Martinez said. Other students believe they shouldn’t take them off of LOP. “No, they shouldn’t take them off of LOP for behavioral issues because their behav-ior isn’t acceptable, and some should be pun-ished,” sophomore Brittani McGowan said. According to the handout from Holmes, the loss of privilege program now has three progressive tiers of intervention. For tier one of loss of the privileg-es program, students will lose the oppor-

tunities of athletic events spectating, field trips, gym jams and school assemblies. For the second tier of the loss of priv-ileges program, students cannot attend field trips, gym jams, school assemblies and athletic event spectating. On the second tier, they also cannot be an athletic, club or activity partic-ipant, nor can they obtain parking passes, at-tend school dances, nor take a driver’s ed class. The third tier of loss of privileges has the same rules as tier two, but students are not al-lowed to attend prom or graduation ceremony. Also, for the second semester, any stu-dent who misses one or more detentions will automatically be placed on LOP until all out-standing detentions have been served. Any student will also be placed on LOP for fail-ure to serve infractions or for violating oth-er school rules, at the deans’ discretion.

Gray is nominated forGolden Apple Award

Thornwood students get off loss of privileges list for second semester

Danny Gray, Thornwood business teacher, is nominated for a Golden Apple Award.

By Jazmyn Webb and Giovanna Robinson

VIEWPOINTS2

Photo oPinionsWhat

did you think

of ‘How to treat a lady’? Why?

Thornwood High School17101 South Park AvenueSouth Holland, IL 60473

Editors-in-Chief

Raynell Bruton Jorge Correa

Jeshua Glover

StaffJaWan Emmons

Drew EvansKeith Leftridge

Luqman MuhammadAllen Price

Giovanna RobinsonKatlyn Rogers

Crystal StantonDestinee TillmanDanielle Weaver

Jazmyn WebbJamie WilliamsJaylin WilliamsJasmine Wright

PrincipalDennis Willis

AdvisorMrs. Marlene Matthias

The Arrow is produced by Thornwood students. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the administration, faculty, or advisor.

Elezha HudsonSenior

Destinee GreySenior

Katlyn RogersSenior

Ashley WalkerSenior

“I enjoyed it a lot. No one was left out. I saw how most of the girls

smiled, and the boys were gentlemen. I feel that it was a really good idea.”

“It was a very refreshing gesture that shows chivalry is not dead. It was nice to

be greeted with flowers like a lady should, and it made every Thornwood girl feel

special.”

“I think it was a great idea. It actually made my day

because I was in a real bum since I had been in a sling

for two weeks.”

“I believe it made the girls feel very special.”

EditorialHow to Treat a Lady

exhibits positive male attitude and lifts females’ spirits

To learn ‘How to Treat a Lady,’ a Few Good Men handed a carnation to fe-male students as they exited the cafeteria before classes started on February 11, a few days before Valentine’s Day. As each gentle-man handed a carnation to a lady, he stat-ed “A beautiful flower for a beautiful flower.” ‘How to Treat a Lady’ had several positive aspects. One, it illustrated to both males and females how a male should treat a fe-male. Males did a kind act by giving fe-males a flower, and they said kind words to the females. In return, females respond-ed with a smile and/or a “Thank you.” Two, ‘How to Treat a Lady’ boosted fe-males’ self-esteem and spirits. Some females have low self-esteem for various reasons. The gentlemen’s kind gestures and words helped increase some females’ self-esteem. Also,

some females stated that they were hav-ing a bad day or week, and the ‘How to Treat a Lady’ event lifted their spirits. Three, it showcased Thornwood males in a positive image. The members of a Few Good Men chose to participate in a constructive activity. None of them had to partake in this activity. Hence, they are role models to other male students. Four, a Few Good Men were re-quired to dress in business attire. Besides their kind gestures, they also received en-couraging comments about their attire. So, it goes to show that males get noticed and positive comments for wearing appropri-ate attire—not by wearing sagging pants. Overall, ‘How to Treat a Lady’ event exhibited Thornwood pride on February 11. Hopefully, this event will encourage others to demonstrate their Thornwood pride.

PHOTOS 3

HOW TO

LADY

D A Y

TREAT A

FEATURES4

Should trendS Stay or go in 2016?

The New Year has begun. Entering 2016, Thornwood students decided which 2015 trends should stay or go. Senior Luqman Muhammad said that the whip/NaeNae is not okay. “The song is mediocre at best,” Mu-hammad said. “Every song and dance has its time, and its time has passed.” Sophomore Juanita Henderson said the dance is not a good dance. “It’s ugly and stupid looking,” Hender-son said. “The dab is way better than some whip.” Senior Mekko Smith had a different opinion about the dance. “The whip/NaeNae should stay,” Smith said. “It’s a fun dance that everyone does.” Besides the whip/NaeNae dance,

Thornwood students had comments about Dj Khaled’s snapchats. Senior Imani Tidwell said his snapchats are boring. “His snapchats are pointless and boring,” Tidwell said. “He says the same thing repeated-ly.” Freshman Lanaya Franklin said he is motivational. “His snaps motivate me to do better be-cause he’s really inspires me to change my ways,” Franklin said. Senior Akira Montgomery said his snap-chats are funny. “His snapchats are funny to watch,” Montgomery said. “It’s funny watching him on the treadmill, sweating, and talking about noth-ing”

Besides the whip/NaeNae dance and Dj Khaled snapchats, Thornwood students have something to say about tapers. Senior Brianna Saabir said tapers should stay. “They are very cute on boys,” Saabir said. “It enhances their looks.” Junior Mariah Parker said tapers should go. “Boys look way better with a regular haircut,” Parker said. “It’s too much now; it looks ugly to me.” Senior Keshun Colbert-Wright said it should go. “Too many people have it,” Col-bert-Wright said. “People should get what looks right instead of trying to fit in.”

By Destinee Tillman

Whip Dance

NaeNae Dance

Taper Haircut

FEATURES 5

By Jorge Correa

Thornwood students prepared for second semester

In January, a new semester start-ed as students returned after a well-de-served winter break. A lot of Thorn-wood students are preparing to correct mistakes they have made last semester.

Junior Francois Coupet

Jr. said he would like to avoid hassle.

“I would like to stay out of trouble as much as pos-sible,” Coupet said. “Suspensions held my grades back.”

Some Thornwood students also want to stay on top of their grades this semester.

Senior Darren Wilson said he wants

to spend more time studying.

“I want to study for longer pe-riods of time,” Wilson said. “Studying will help me improve my grades a lot.”

Freshman Paul Johnson said that he wants to take his grades seriously.

“I would like to make honor roll both quarters because I need to start tak-ing school seriously,” Johnson said.

While some students know how they are going to improve their school performance, others know how they can change their life outside the classroom to help make school easier.

Freshman Retronda Fleming said she wants to cut out all distractions.

“I can change all the dra-ma I have going on because that dis-tracts me a lot,” Fleming said.

Sophomore Jesus Perez said he wants to start enchaining his education.

“I want to read more outside of school,” Perez said. “I believe this can help improve my overall performance inside the classroom.”

By Jeshua Glover

Thornwood High School stu-dents have made New Year’s resolutions. Senior Lauren Tillman said that her goal for 2016 is to go to college. “I want to go to Indiana State to become a nurse,” Tillman said. Junior Patricia Munoz said she wants to pass all her classes in 2016. “Pass my AP classes with an A,” Mu-noz said. “Also pass my tests with at least a B.” Senior Jesbern Ordillano set his goal for 2016 to get himself a car. “It doesn’t matter what type of car as long as I get my own car,” Ordillano said.

Thornwood students have dif-ferent methods of obtaining these goals. “Do my FAFSA, apply to col-leges and finish up school,” Tillman said. Munoz said she has two ways of completing her New Year’s resolution. “I will accomplish my goals by studying more and paying attention in class,” Munoz said. Ordillano said there is only one way he can complete his goal. “I will save my mon-ey to purchase a car,” Ordillano said. Along the way, these Thornwood students may face obstacles or a few bumps on the way.

Tillman said stress is an obstacle for her. “Just having to deal with all the stress from school,” Tillman said. Munoz said that when completing a goal, you will always face obstacles along the way. “Some obstacles would be trying to study since I have a job. I don’t really have free time on my hands,” Munoz said. Ordillano said obstacles are just walls you have to climb over. “An obstacle that I may face is spend-ing my money and how much I can limit myself to saving at a time,” Ordillano said.

Thornwood students set New Year’s resolutions

Features6JASMINE AT THE MOVIES

May the Force be with you

By Jasmine Wright

The wait is over. The movie event of the year is here. With the new release of the classic movie saga Star Wars: The Force Awakens, many fans are excited about the movie’s long awaited release. Unlike the other Star Wars movies, this one’s main character is a girl named Rey, who starts out as just a girl from Jakku but later realizes she is no ordinary girl. Rey is played by Daisy Ridley. This movie also follows Finn (John Boyega) who crash-lands on a desert planet where he meets Rey. Together they team up with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Re-sistance receives the news for the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). The movie picks up 30 years after the events that occurred in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The First Order and Resis-

tance are still looking for the missing Jedi Mas-ter Luke Skywalker. New heroes emerge from the rise of the search of the Jedi, and all encoun-ter new obstacles of their own. Finn is a Storm-trooper and has been one all his life. On his first battle with the First Order, he realizes that what they are doing is wrong. So he helps one of the Resistance’s members escape from the First Order’s battle cruiser. The two escape safely, but their ship crashes on a desert planet called Jakku where Finn meets Rey. Rey thinks Finn is part of the Resistance and is here to help droid BB-8 get back to the resistance base. BB-8 holds the map to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. Han Solo and Chewy also come in this movie when Rey and Finn steal a ship, which is the famous Millennium Falcon. Han and Chewy help Rey and Finn get to the Resistance base. Throughout this process, they encounter Kylo Ren who is Han’s and Princess Leia’s son. The First Order captures Rey, but Finn will not rest and until they get her back.

This movie is different from the other movies in this saga. By which I mean, this one stars a girl. The other movies in this saga follow a leading male character but not this movie. Ridley portrays the fierce female role well. The movie is really good and interesting, but viewers would have to watch the previous movies to get the jest of it. I have not watched any of the previous movies, but with great listening and putting two and two together, I figure out who is who and who also stars in the previous movies. The movie does not have a lot of effects as I thought it would, but I like that about the movie because it shows that the movie produc-tion doesn’t have to have all the glam from a Hollywood studio to be a good movie. I thought this movie really was going to be a hit and miss, but it is actually good. So if you are thinking about checking it out, go ahead. So until next month Thunderbirds, may the Force be with.

News 7

By Ja’Wan Emmons and Danielle Weaver

Adidas representative William Bernard talks about his success to Thornwood students during a recent visit.

Adidas rep talks to students William Bernard from Adi-das talked to Thornwood students about his success in the fashion industry. He was brought in by education and career tech teacher Samuel Agyarko. Agyarko brings in a guest speaker every month to talk to stu-dents about unconventional methods to success. “I like to bring speakers that al-low my students and students alike to gain perspective,” Agyarko said. Along with giving speakers the chance to learn from students, Agyarko also hopes for students to take lessons from various speakers. “I want my students to recognize they aren’t alone in their fears for the fu-ture. Many successful people sat in their same seats/shoes their senior year,” Agyarko said. Bernard grew up on the west side of Chicago. From a young age, Bernard knew he loved fashion.

“My older cousins inspired me to love clothes and fashion,” Bernard said. In his last year of college, he decid-ed to drop out and follow his dreams to attend fashion school. He went from working as a re-tail associate at Gap, Nike, Couch, and Tory Burch to now a field representative at Adidas. “I majored in education just be-cause it would please everyone else but was depressed and had to make myself hap-py and live out my dreams,” Bernard said. He also has his own men’s fash-ion line called Pierre Leamington. The line was featured in New York Fashion Week. “The show was fast-paced, chaot-ic, and stressful,” Bernard said. “I experi-enced many sleepless nights, but overall it was a great experience, and I hope to go back.” Although having already accom-

plished a lot in only 25 years, he still has big dreams. He is currently getting his mas-ters and plans to become a fashion buyer. “I keep my goals written down on a piece of paper that I keep with me all the time to remind me of what’s important,” Bernard said. With all of his success, Ber-nard still finds giving back to the com-munity a major part in his longevity. His foundation “Fashion for Life” gives coats among other clothing and food to kids in need. “I want kids to believe in them-selves and know they can make it and don’t do it the traditional way,” Bernard said. Bernard shared many life stories and lessons with students. He ended with tell-ing students be confident in being different. “Own it,” Bernard said. “Got to walk with confidence.”

SPORTS8Four wrestlers make

All-ConferenceBy Giovanna Robinson The Thornwood wrestling team re-cently competed at the SWSC Confer-ence tournament with a good turnout. “We had four 1st team All-Confer-ence selections,” Coach Donkor Parker said. The four wrestlers are Cody Sock-well 170, Brandon Wynn 113, Kel-ly Brown 285, and Khandon Howse 152. Although the good out-come, there are still some improve-ments Parker thinks should be made. “We need to improve on scor-ing from the bottom,” Parker said. The IHSA Regional tournament will be against Eisenhower, Marist, Thornton, TF South, Richards, Sandburg, Shepard and Stagg. They are preparing for this tournament. “We are currently going through ‘hell week’ where the room is extremely hot, and the practice is extremely intense,” Parker said. Success is defined different-ly by the Thornwood wrestling team. “We are a very young team, so our measure of success at this time is not mea-sured upon wins and losses, but we ex-pect a few of our senior leaders to advance to the next round,” Coach Parker said.

Cody Sockwell advances to Sectionals.

Girls’ basketball is coming to near end of the season

Thornwood girls’ basketball team wants to finish its season strong with a win against Thornton. The team’s over-all record is 5-15, 2-7 in Conference. The starting team is point guard Breneka Walker, forward Aija Sgrigno-li, guard Miya Agee, forward Lavon-yaa Pointee, and forward Taylor Irons. Walker averages 22 points a game. Irons leads the team in rebounds with eight rebounds a game. Also, Walker leads the team in assists with five assists per game. The girls want to en-sure a win against Thornton. “Make sure they get back on defense be-cause their small and like to run,” Coach Jona-than Kohn said. “They will try to take the top two players out of the equation offensively.” Kohn also stated what the Thorn-wood players need to do in order to win. “We need to stay disciplined to our game plan. If we do that, we should be able to win the game,” Coach Kohn said. Kohn said playing Thornton is tense. “It’s one of our most intense games of the year because of rivalry. Both teams seem to play intensively because of the ri-val,” Kohn said. “It’s a tough game to play.”

By Jazmyn Webb