October 2015 - Thornton Township High Schools District 205

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The Arrow
Thornwood High School
October 2015 Voulme 44 Issue 1
Cell phone policy is a hit
Due to changes in the cell phone policy, students use their cell phones in the cafeteria.
By: Jazmyn Webb and
Giovanna Robinson
At the beginning of the
school year, administration implemented a new electronic device policy. The policy consists
of students being able to listen
to music during passing periods and in the cafeteria. Also,
teachers have a sign of whether or not electronic devices can
be used in their classrooms.
Assistant
Principal Don Holmes was the
one who came up with the
new electronic device policy.
“It was something I
initiated here at Thornwood.
Our deans meet up with oth-
er deans of the district,” Holmes said.
“However, all throughout the south
suburbs many of the school districts
amended their electronic device policy.”
Holmes thinks that this
change will
lead to more cooperation
from
the
students.
“There have been less discipline referrals from teachers regarding
electronic devices,” Holmes said. “Tardiness has decreased from this time
last year. I had conversations with
teachers that reflected that this new
policy has made a positive change.”
Holmes
doesn’t
believe
that listening to music during
the passing periods distract students from getting to class on time.
“Statistics show tardiness has
dropped from last year to this year. Students perform better with music,” Holmes
said. “Less conversations are in the halls
because students are listening to music.”
Sophomore Tierra Hayes is for
the new electronic device policy because it “gives students access to their
phones without getting in trouble.”
“I was happy because I don’t have
to sneak and use my phone,” Hayes said.
Sophomore Raymond Flores
is also for the new cell phone policy.
“I’m for it because we can use it to
help us with our work in class,” Flores said.
Sophomore
Deayveon Holliday believes that this policy has made school life simple.
“It has made school
life easier because students
can use their device to help
them during assignments that
they don’t understand and for
emergencies,” Holliday said.
Freshman Joel Webb
also believes this policy has
made school life more natural.
“It has made school
life easier because we are able
to listen to music during the
passing periods, which helps
some students get to class
on time,” Webb said. “It also
helps relax my mind because
music helps me calm down.”
Makiera Fields also
thinks this policy has made
school life more common.
“When some students
finish an assignment earlier
than everyone else, they tend
not to disturb others when they
have earbuds in,” Fields said.
However, Fields was
surprised when she first heard
about the cell phone policy.
“They were so serious
about the rule last year of not
having cell phones out in class
and in the hallways,” Fields said.
Sophomore
Ashley Douglas didn’t support
the new cell phone policy
when she first heard about it.
“I thought that they
were not really changing anything,” Douglas said. “We
can’t really do anything in
the matter of five minutes.”
Muhammad invents caffeinated
toothpaste to help students sleep
By: Destinee Tillman and
Jasmine Wright
To help students who
have trouble falling asleep at
night and waking up in the
morning, senior Luqman Muhammad created a caffeinated
toothpaste that does both.
“I thought it could solve
problems, and it was doable,”
Muhammad said.
Caffeinated toothpaste
is an invention Muhammad
came up with while at an entre-
preneurship program.
“I attended a function called
Start It Up hosted by Future Founders.
This event helps entrepreneurs come up
with ideas,” Muhammad said.
Creating this project, Muhammad couldn’t have done it alone. Retired Thornwood science teacher Gene
Adrian assisted Muhammad with this
product.
“He helped put the right proportion of each ingredient in the toothpaste,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad researched a lot to
find the right ingredients to make the
toothpaste. He realized guarana was the most important ingredient.
“Without it, it would be just
toothpaste,” Muhammad said.
Not only does his toothpaste
give consumers the energy they need,
but it also has a great tasting flavor, coconut mint.
“I’ve tried it on a total of 10
people,” Muhammad said.
Having a bright mind and lots
of ideas, Muhammad had no problem
entering and winning a contest.
“I received a beats pill,
t-shirt, crewneck, all-expense
paid trip to Michigan where I
attended a two week entrepreneurship camp and $2,500,”
Muhammad said.
Even after Muhammad
was successful, he still thinks
that he could have done better.
“I felt like I could have
done more like prototypes of
tubes and contributed more
sales,” Muhammad said.
2 VIEWPOINTS
Editorial
Thornwood High School
17101 South Park Avenue
South Holland, IL 60473
Editors-in-Chief
Prepare to vote;
Register online,
research candidates
With President Barak Obama unable to
serve a third term, many candidates are running
for the presidential election in the primaries.
Democrat candidates are Lincoln Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin
O’Malley, Bernie Sanders, and Jim Webb.
Republican candidates are Jeb Bush,
Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham,
Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich,
George Pataki, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Marco
Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump.
Since there are a lot of candidates, you
may not be familiar with many of them. So, how
do you decide which candidate you want to win?
One, you can read newspaper articles about the candidates.
Reporters
cover day-to-day current events about
the candidates. They write about both
the professional and personal events.
Two, you can do an Internet re-
Raynell Bruton
Jorge Correa
Jeshua Glover
Staff
search on all of the candidates. This
research will allow you to find
both past and current information.
Third, you can watch the presidential debates on TV. This way, you can form
you own opinions about each candidate.
Besides seeking more information
about the presidential candidates prior to
the primary elections, you also want to
make sure that you register to vote. To
register to vote, you must be at least 17
on or before the primary election and
turn 18 on or before the general election.
If you are old enough to vote, you
can register online at Illinois Online Voter
Registration Application. You will need a
valid driver’s license or state ID number.
Therefore, make sure you are
ready to vote in the primary elections
by registering to vote and by researching information about the candidates.
JaWan Emmons
Keith Leftridge
Luqman Muhammad
Giovanna Robinson
Gloria Skinner
Crystal Stanton
Destinee Tillman
Ashley Walker
Danielle Weaver
Jazmyn Webb
Jamie Williams
Jaylin Williams
Jasmine Wright
Principal
Dennis Willis
Advisor
Mrs. Marlene Matthias
The Arrow is produced by Thornwood students.
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent
those of the administration, faculty, or advisor.
Photo Opinions
Shawn Mathews
Senior
Ahsley Herring
Junior
“Donald Trump so that
he can take our nation
out of debt.”
“Hillary Clinton because
she will be the first woman
president.”
Who
should
be the
next
president?
Why?
Kayla Buckley
Junior
Dejah A-Jackson
Junior
“Hillary Clinton because I don’t like Donald
Trump. I don’t know any
other candidate.”
“Jeb Bush because Hillary
won’t make a difference.
Donald Trump will make
the government more
corrupt with his business
like attitude.”
PHOTOS
Seussical
The
Mu s i c a l
3
FEATURES
4
Spooktacular
13th floor haunts
students
By Giovanna Robinson and
Ja’wan Emmons
13th Floor Haunted House located at 1940
George Street in Melrose
Park has been known to be
one of the top Halloween
haunted houses in Illinois.
13th Floor Haunted House has
a couple of different attractions. One
attraction is called feral moon, which
is a cemetery on a distant hill overlooking the town of Blackmoor. The
second attraction is called dead end
district, and this is where all the people affected with deadly diseases live.
This haunted experience is
open for the Halloween season from
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. or 7 p.m. to midnight. The prices for this sinister experience range from $24.99 to $44.99.
Some Thornwood students have
been to the 13th Floor Haunted House.
Freshman
Jayla-
Ford
is one of these few.
“It was really scary and exciting; it
was like they fed off of your fear,” Ford said.
Junior Christian Lays also
enjoyed this Halloween attraction.
“I had a great time even
though it was like any other haunted house,” Lays said.
Kayla Henderson thought the
opposite about the haunted house.
“I am going to 13th Floor because it is a different type of scary haunted house with different types of creatures and monsters,” Henderson said.
Erica Mosley was ecstatic
about the 13th Floor Haunted House.
“I’m so excited to describe my
experience,” Mosley said. “I
am mostly lost for words.”
Travis Marshall was
excited to attend as well.
“The haunted house
was an amazing experience,”
Marshall said. “It was the
best haunted house I have
been to, and I have been to
a lot including Statesville.”
Eric Johnson expressed
how the haunted house was an
experience he will never forget.
“This haunted house
was very scary, and it was not
like any other,” Johnson said.
“I almost had a bad reflex.”
Statesville
frightens visitors
By Danielle Weaver and
Jazmyn Webb
Old Statesville prison is now a thriller filled
haunted house in Lockport,
IL during the holiday season.
Statesville used to be a
prison located at South Weber
Road, Lockport IL. It is now
a haunted house where they
scare people who dare to enter.
General admission is $30 but
$21 per person for a group of 15 or more.
With over 150 live actors attacking the customers at every step and 40
horrifically detailed rooms, it takes customers who dare an average time of 4050 minutes to get through its oppressive
walls. If customers make it all the way
through the haunted prison, they will get
their money back because a lot of customers don’t usually find their way out.
Some students have been to
Statesville and had a good experience.
Freshman
Jamal
Perrian
had
fun.
“It was scary, and they jumped
out on me and chased me,” Perrian said.
“But, overall it was a fun experience.”
Sophomore
Jessica
Zavala had a scary experience.
“I have been to Statesville,
and I had fun with my friends,” Zavala said. “It was very, very scary. I
almost punched them in their face.”
FEATURES
5
HaUntings
Scary
Halloween
Movies
1. Halloween 1-5
2. Scary Movie
3. Scream
4. The Last Exorcism
5. Paranormal Activity
6. Insidious
Six Flags Great America
Fright Fest
7. Sinister
8. Charlie
9. Orphan
10.The Hills Have Eyes
11. Friday The 13th
12. Jason X
13. Freddy vs. Jason
14. Chuckie
15. The Bride of Chuckie
16. Alien vs. Predator
17. The Purge
18. Insidious: Chapter 2
19. Insidious: Chapter 3
20. Area 51
21. Cabin in the Woods
22. The Lazarus: Effect
23. Poltergeist
24. Saw
25. Annabelle
By Jasmine Wright and
Destinee Tillman
Halloween is one of teens’ favorite holidays to
celebrate. Six Flags Great America has an annual Fright
Fest where people of all ages come out to be scared.
Great America is a family park until night
falls. That is when the monsters come out. At night,
the park turns into a night of terror with attractions that offer fun and spooky activities for the
whole family to enjoy. From October 21 through
November 1, the regular park hours are 11 a.m. to 4
p. m., and Fright Fest hours are 5 p.m. to midnight.
Many attractions at the park make it easy
for all ages of the family to enjoy the park’s events.
Anyone can come out and be scared. All regular attractions will be open plus Halloween themed ones.
The park turns its tourist train into the
Boo Liner where train a conductor tells scary stories and has unwanted riders board the train.
The witching hour is a time where lumberjacks, scary clowns, demons, werewolves come out to
band together to collect souls throughout the
park. These monsters get released from Hurricane Harbor’s graveyard, which is turned
from a water park into the demons’ layer.
Another Halloween themed attraction
is called the Gates of Hell where visitors will enter
Nox’s home, and six haunted houses await them.
Carousel Plaza is the where vampires
board the park’s carousel in search of blood.
The vampires went hungry for months and are
waiting at any time to attack on fresh meat.
Nox’s Cavalcade of the Odd is a freak
show where incredible stunts are performed.
Junior
Azariah
Parker
enjoys everything the park has to offer.
“I liked how the park had many scary activities for me to do,” Parker said. “I liked riding
on the rides and entering the haunted house.”
Mykah
Lett
likes
the
idea
of
always
being
scared.
“It was fun because you had to go
around and people were scaring you,” Lett said.
6 HOMECOMING
HOMECOMING 7
8
SPORTS
Castillo wins bronze
at Special Olympics
By Jeshua Glover
and Jorge Correa
Miguel Castillo shows his bronze medal at TW’s homecoming.
Thornwood soccer player Miguel Castillo won a bronze medal after
placing 3rd in the U.S. Special Olympics.
Castillo will always remember standing on the podium with his
bronze medal.
“I was happy,” Castillo said.
When Castillo entered the
stadium in Los Angeles, he felt very
excited.
“There was a lot of the noise
in the stadium,” Castillo said. “I also
got to meet WWE superstar Stephanie
McMahon.”
Besides-being excited, Castillo
was also anxious.
“I was also nervous to go by
myself on this adventure,” Castillo said.
This experience changed his
life.
“I want to see more of the
world,” Castillo said.
For the game, he wore
the number eight on his jersey
and played forward positon for
his team.
The team practiced once
in St. Louis and once in Indianapolis before playing in the
game.
He prepared by running
with Thornwood coaches Sara
Hlad and Amelia Keorpes.
“At home, I rode my
bike and went running in the
park, and I played soccer too,”
Castillo said. “I played with my
uncle in the park.”
Castillo started playing
soccer with his cousins at the
age of five. He was inspired to
continue playing as he saw soccer on television and fell in love
with the game. Before playing
on the USA Special Olympic
team, he played for district
teams and his middle school
team.
“It’s my favorite sport,”
Castillo said.
Football team has new look
A few football players show off their new home uniform colors at the Homecoming pep rally.
By Ja’wan Emmons
and Danielle Weaver
The Thornwood varsity
football team is rocking a new
uniform. The new uniform
includes a gray jersey with blue
numbers for home games and a
white jersey with blue numbers
for away games.
“The football coaches designed
the new jerseys,” Athletic Director Anthony Clemmons said. “It was already
designed, so I can’t take credit for it.”
Clemmons said the jerseys were
paid for by the hard work of staff and
students.
“The athletic department and
the football players fundraised, so we
split the cost, and it came out to about
$5,000,” Clemmons said.
Some football players have
expressed their approval of the new
uniforms.
“I love the new jerseys,” linebacker Shalik Williams said. “They
influence the team to do better.”
Williams is excited
about the new look.
“I like how the new
jerseys are different,” Williams
said. “They stand out, and nobody expected us to go gray.”
Another player who really likes this new look is senior
defensive end Dorein Kendall.
“It’s my senior year, and
we get to play in new jerseys,”
Kendall said. “(When) you look
better, you play better.”
Some football players
do not favor the new uniforms.
Senior wide receiver
Drew Evans said the jerseys
don’t really show the Thornwood pride.
“I don’t like the gray
because the school colors aren’t
gray,” Evans said.
Offensive lineman and
right tackle Javon Boston also
has concerns about the new
uniforms.
“They’re real tight,” Boston said.