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The Arrow Thornwood High School

March 2017 Voulme 45 Issue 4

By Dejhanee Tillmanand Jonaie Conway

Jamiah Shepard is com-peting in the Special Olympics Winter World Games in Austria and has been named most In-spirational Athlete of the Year. “I will be going to Austria for two weeks, March 11th- March 26th,” Shepard said. Coaches inspired Shep-ard to participate in the Olympics. “Coaches from Illinois came to state last year, watched me compete, and thought I’d be great in it,” Shepard said. Jennifer Killian, one of Shepard’s Thornwood coaches, is “excited and hopeful” about Shep-ard participating in the Olympics. “Jamiah is one of six ath-letes from Illinois competing in the World Games,” Killian said. “Jami-ah has worked hard and will do a great job representing Team USA.” Killian said Shep-ard is “dedicated and de-termined” during practice. “Jamiah works hard

and doesn’t complain.” Killian said. “She also pushes her team-mates to be better athletes.” Shepard’s goal is to obtain the gold. “I plan to bring home gold medals,” Shepard said. Shepard is eager about going to the Special Olym-pics Winter World Games. “I’m excited for a new opportunity,” Shepard said. Shepard feels appreciated that she is the only person from Thorn-wood competing in the Olympics. “It feels great get-ting all this attention,” Shep-ard said. “I get to travel the world, and it’s a new experience.” Shepard was thrilled when she found out she was going to the Olympics. “I was excited because I get to go to another country,” Shepard said. Besides participating in the Olympics in Austria, Shepard feels delighted to be honored as the In-spirational Athlete of the Year. “It feels good and makes

me happy,” Shepard said. “I feel special and like my hard work.” As a Special Olym-pics Inspirational Athlete of the Year, Shepard will also have a documentary about her. “I’m excited, but it’s a lot of work,” Shepard said. “The first time

the cameras were on it felt awk-ward, but then I started to like it.”

Chris Johnson was featured on the baritone saxophone with Thornridge’s band at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival and received an out-standing soloist award. Johnson ended up playing with Thornridge band because TR’s baritone player had surgery the day of the perfor-mance. “It was nice playing, never-theless, and a good chance to push my musicianship in an unfamiliar situation,” Johnson said. Thornwood’s band teach-er, Dwayne Sanders, was joyful for Johnson. “I was very happy and ex-cited for Christopher,” Sanders said. “Since I have been here, Chris has exhibited great potential and char-acter as a senior band student.” Sanders said Johnson had an outstanding solo performance. “I believe Chris won the 1st place honor because the judges compared the overall presentations of all the soloist for the evening of

this event, and Chris’s presentation was the most outstanding,” Sanders said. Johnson played with Thorn-ridge’s band because the original baritone sax player had surgery. “Chris played with Thorn-ridge because the original baritone sax player found out a few weeks prior to the event that he could not play the event due to having surgery on that day, Sanders said. “Instead of telling the other students that they would have play without the bari sax part being played with the ensemble as they had rehearsed, Mr. Douglas asked me if I had a student that could possibly fill in. Immedi-ately, I could not think of anyone other than Chris.” Johnson carried two cho-ruses in “Vila Real.” “I didn’t choose the song. Mr. Douglas chooses all the selec-tions,” Johnson said. “I asked to blow “Vila Real” because I liked the changes.” Johnson practiced before the festival.

“Well, I got the music a few days before the festival, but I pre-pared how I usually do; spend some time in the practice room and work hard in rehearsal,” Johnson said. Johnson didn’t feel any dif-ferent playing with Thornridge’s band. “To be honest, I didn’t feel a lot of difference because performing with school,” Johnson said. “Sure there were some unfamiliar people, but I am friends with some of the TR band students.” Johnson did like playing with TR’s band. “The selections Mr. Douglas picked out were nice, the students were cool, and the performance went well,” Johnson said. “What’s there not to like?” Playing with another school, Johnson didn’t feel any pressure “I’ve been in plenty of stress-ful playing situations, and this was a far cry from that. I guess it’s be-cause I was with my comfort zone…somewhat,” Johnson said.

Shepard is competing in Austriaat Special Olympics Winter World Games

Johnson plays saxophone with TR band

Continued on page 7

Jamiah Shepard is competing in Special Olympics in Austria.

By Jonaie Conway

VIEWPOINTS2

Photo oPinionsWhat would you

like to add

to the school lunch menu? Why?

Thornwood High School17101 South Park AvenueSouth Holland, IL 60473

Editors-in-Chief

Jazmyne RodgersJonaie ConwayJaylin Williams

Staff

Destiny ArchibaldParis Banks

Monica BrowderCleondria Butler

Jose CarbajalChristine CerdaYadira CorreaShane Crozier

Elana FleshmanTaylor Irons

Chernise JonesJordan Jones

Tayler LawsonJimmy LeasterKadara MahanKirsten MooreBobbi Moses

Areyanna RichardsonJesus Santana

Chaniya SawyerDejhanee Tillman

Noel TrimuelJamie Williams

PrincipalDennis Willis

AdvisorMrs. Marlene Matthias

The Arrow is produced by Thornwood stu-dents. Opinions expressed do not necessarily repre-sent those of the administration, faculty, or advisor.

Tylisha MckenzieSenior

Lashon Dodd-GarrettSenior

Deajhia TillmanSophomore

Brian NevilsSenior

“I would like BBQ chick-en because it’s something

that most people enjoy eating, and it’s good.”

“Pizza Hut pizza in the lunchroom because the

pizza here is nasty.”

“Some fresh fruit and smoothies because it’s more healthy for us instead of this

fake food.”

“ I would like for chick-en tenders to be added to the lunch menu, just

to switch up on the chicken sandwhiches.”

EditorialChance the Rapper’s $1 million donation

should inspire othersto do the right thing

Chance the Rapper donated $1 million to Chicago Public Schools because CPS is $215 million in debt. Chance talked with Governor Bruce Rauner about providing funds to CPS. But, their talk was unsuccessful. Therefore, Chance decided to donate $10,000 each to 10 CPS elementary and high schools, hoping oth-er philanthropic leaders would also donate. Al-though Chance’s $1 million donation will not be enough to cover CPS’s debt, Chance’s dona-tion has generated discussions about his action. By donating $1 million to CPS, Chance brought more attention to Illinois politicians not working together to adequately fund schools. Television stations and newspapers covered his donation and provided back-ground information about politicians’ lack of working together to find a solution to school funding. Maybe, this coverage will encourage politicians to find a solution to school funding. In addition, if Chance’s donation en-courages politicians to adequately fund CPS, students may steer away from violent lives. Spike Lee and President Donald Trump, among others, have stressed the violence

that has occurred in Chicago. If CPS schools are adequately funded, Chica-go students will have more options to choose classes and activities that will lead them away from violent options. However, if politicians do not work together to find a solution to fund CPS, maybe Chance himself will encourage CPS students to follow a path that leads them to positive choic-es. Chance graduated from CPS and became a successful rapper. Besides donating to CPS, Chance provided free concerts and created an anti-vio-lent movement, #saveChicago. So, CPS students may be inspired by Chance to choose a non-violent lifestyle. Hence, regardless of what Il-linois politicians decide to do about school funding, hopefully, the pub-licity created by Chance the Rapper’s donation will encourage CPS stu-dents to be motivated to graduate, set goals, and make positive choices.

PHOTOS 3

Black History Month

FEATURES4

By Jazmyne Rodgers Natural hair comes in many different tex-tures. Some are straight, and some are wavy, but most of them are curly. However, most women are afraid to embrace these natural curls because they claim they are “unmanageable.” So, they turn to “Dark n’ Lovely” perm products and expensive flat irons. However, there are few women, includ-ing myself, who actually embrace our African hair textures and make others jealous. How do we do it? Just like all other hair textures, clean hair makes managing it a lot easier. But, how do you clean it? How often do you clean it? What kind of shampoo and conditioner should you use? To clean hair the correct way, start by a routine called “prewashing.” This is how you prep your hair for a complete wash. All you do is wet your hair, take a little shampoo about the size of a quarter, and rub that through your hair. After the shampoo is evenly distributed through-out your hair, rinse and repeat. But this time, put more shampoo in your hair about the size of a fif-ty cent coin, maybe a little bigger. Now, take this shampoo and rub it on your hands, mainly your fingertips. Weird way to rub something togeth-er, but you’ll see why. Using your fingertips, mas-sage the shampoo into your scalp. Why? Well, you can’t have a clean head without a clean scalp. That’s like having a sandwich with no bread. After you’re done washing and mas-saging, rinse the shampoo out of your hair and apply conditioner to your hair. You should only wash your hair once every one or two weeks because the shampoo strips your hair of the moisture it needs to keep healthy, and I would recommend using Shea Moisture Jam Black Castrol Oil shampoo and conditioner. Now, we worry about moisture. One thing you need to know about your natural hair is that kinkier hair is usually drier than loose wavy hair. This is because your hair is knotted up, which re-stricts some of your natural oils from running down the shaft of the strand. To keep your hair moistur-ized, try to keep it untangled as much as possi-ble. That does not mean brush and comb it every day; that will just pull your hair out. Keep it tied up, when you’re sleeping or napping, with a silk hair tie or bonnet. You should also spray your hair with water and apply any type of moisturizer to your hair daily. I’d recommend using 100% Natu-ral African Shea Butter or extra virgin coconut oil for moisturizer. If you don’t like your hair feeling heavy, then I’d recommend using the coconut oil. Finally, comes the styling. The inter-net has an unlimited variety of different natu-ral hairstyles, but the most common one is the natural twist out or the wash n’ go. These hair-styles kind of go hand-in-hand in styling. One big difference is that one hairstyle is more defined than the other, and that is the twist out. Anoth-er difference is the amount of time it takes to do these hairstyles. The twist out usually takes over night if you want really defined curls whereas the wash n’ go takes about thirty minutes to an hour to do. You literally “wash” your hair and go. You can do other hairstyles like Mo-hawks, hair puffs, Bantu knots, and one of my favorites, along with the twist out, mini twists. Mini twists are usually protective hair styles and a good hairstyle for people who don’t like dealing with their hair. You can also braid it up with your own hair or with bags of hair; how-ever, bags of hair are known to pull your hair out, so I wouldn’t recommend using those.

Natural hair is manageable

FEATURES 5

By Jesus Santana

Taking a break on Spring Break

Spring Awakening is a good vibe

By Christine Cerda

Spring break is a time when students can relax from school for a week and do whatever they wish. Thornwood’s spring break starts March 27, and The Arrow staff asked students how they are go-ing to spend their spring break. Senior Jay-lin Scott is earning money. “I am getting money to save up for a car,” Scott said. Junior Ashiley Her-ring is focusing on college. “I’m going to go on col-lege tours,” Herring said. Senior Isaiah Myles is traveling to Africa to visit a relative of royalty. “I am going to go to Af-rica to visit my great un-cle who is a king,” Myles said. Sophomore Brian Gray is keep-ing up with his favorite sport and balancing it out by getting a job. “I am working on football and looking for a job,” Gray said. Senior Quante Rob-

inson is working out. “I am going to lift weights for football,” Robinson said. Junior Niyel Clark is also training for football. “I’m working on foot-ball for next season,” Clark said. Senior Kayla Buckley is working on school assignments. “I’ll be working on IB papers because they’re

due in May,” Buckley said. Senior Noah Dixon is going out of state to visit a loved one. “I’m going to Georgia to visit my girlfriend,” Dixon said. Senior Jayla Snell is also going out of state. “I will be going to Mississip-pi to visit my dad,” Snell said. Senior Keeyley Lay is do-ing a variety of activities. “Playing softball, getting started on my IB paper, and hang-ing out with friends,” Lay said. Joshua Nailon is pre-paring for prom and college. “The thing I’m planning to do for spring break is looking for a car for prom, and I’m getting ready for college,” Nailon said. Senior Loken-ya Smith is taking it easy. “I’m chilling for spring break because I don’t really have nothing planned,” Smith said. “Hopefully, I get my spin tattoo, so I can show it off when I wear my prom dress.

Spring Awakening, a three day music festival filled with thousands of people from all over the world com-ing together, is June 9 to 11 at Add-ams-Medill Park in Chicago. The festi-val’s music is a deep house/EDM genre. Many DJs come from all over the world. The DJs include Afrojack, Ales-so, Armin Van Buuren, Diplo, Martin Gar-rix, Galantis, Alan Walker, Marshmello, Yellow Claw, Robin Schulz, Datsik, Exci-sion, and Krewella. These DJs do a very good job at keeping the people pumped up and dancing. Many of these DJs are from England, Netherlands, Sweden, etc. Every year they have new ac-tivities for people to do. A lot of times they have wet slides for people to slide

down. Or , usually they have dance con-tests, and the contestants win prizes like t-shirts or glasses, etc. Many peo-ple bring water in book bags because they can get dehydrated from dancing all day. Or, a lot of people end up buying from the concessions. But, the prices ar-en’t regular concession stand prices. The prices are sometimes double the regu-lar price. A water bottle costs $3 or $4. The cool thing about Spring Awak-ening is if the people get tired and hot from the other stages, they have a stage called Silent Disco Stage. The Silent Disco Stage is a stage where people use headphones to listen to the music the DJs play. It’s a way for people to still be able to listen to what they are play-ing just not in the hot crowded area. A lot of people take advantage of that area

because it gets really hot and stuffy from the crowded area. So, a lot of peo-ple want to still be able to listen to the music just not around so many people. Tickets cost $221.75, or the pay-ment plan is $55 each month till May 19 for the general admission. For the VIP, it is $81 a month till May 19. It would originally cost $179, but they charge for shipping and service fees. Since it is a three day event, they of-fer wristbands or just single day tickets. Overall, Spring Awakening is a great music festival. It is a time to meet a lot of new people and take a break from school or work. The vibe from be-ing around everyone is amazing and is one of the best experiences a person can en-counter. Everyone is happy and in a good mood and want to dance with everyone.

News6

By Yadira Correa

Students earn art awards at SWSC and SSC art shows

Four art students earned awards at the SWSC and SSC Regional Art Show. Ariyon Madry, Jennifer Serrato, Desti-ny Williamson, and Brian Nev-ils won awards for their artwork. Madry took Best of School for her acrylic paint-ing at the SWSC Art Show. “I felt proud that my art earned an award. Due mainly to the fact that the particular piece was older, so to see that some of my older work was worthy of an award was amazing,” Madry said. “My Unwavering Quest Away From Medical Profession-als” was the name of her artwork. It was an acrylic on watercolor paper painting (18 x 24) and used acrylic paint and watercolor paper. “My piece was inspired by my previous art teacher,” Madry said.Madry has plans for a career in art.

“I plan on pursuing a ma-jor in painting because I feel like I would be able to make a good career of it, and it would allow me a wide range of job choices,” Madry said. Art teacher Brian Evans is proud of Madry’s artistic skills. “Ariyon is a very talented artist here at Thornwood. She has shown success in many different mediums,” Evans said. “We are very pleased to have her acrylic painting in the show and to be selected as Best of School at SWSC show.” Serrato took Best of School for her colored mixed me-dia project at the SSC Art Show. “I felt accomplished be-cause I won an award for some-thing I enjoy doing,” Serrato said. “I’ll Be Back Soon” was the name of her artwork. It was a draw-ing of two people hugging each oth-er in pajamas and used color pen-cils, chalk pastel, and watercolor. “I follow one of my mod-els on social media and want-ed to draw him,” Serrato said.

Ariyon Madry’s painting “My Unwavering Quest Away From Medical Professionals”

Brian Nevils’ ceramic piece “Unearthed”

Destiny Williamson’s ceramic piece “Red Hot”

Jennifer Serrato’s media project “I’ll Be Back Soon”

Serrato also plans to obtain a degree in art. “To continue doing art and get a degree in art,” Serrato said. Evans said Ser-rato draws well. “Jennifer has amazing drawing skills, and her colored pencil abilities look very realistic,” Evans said. “We were proud to see her receive an award for her piece.” Williamson received the “Great Clay Award” for her ce-ramic piece at the SSC Art Show. “It made me feel proud of myself because all my hard work was worth it,” Williamson said. “Red Hot” was the name of her artwork. It was an 18 in. tall coil pot hand con-structed and painted black and red and was made out of clay. “Mr. Evans, my art teacher, kept saying it looked like a lamp, so I kept with that theme,” Williamson said. Williamson con-siders art as a hobby.

“I want to go into culinary and eventually continue drawing and pottery as a hobby,” Williamson said. Evans said Williamson is skilled with working in clay. “Destiny is new to ceram-ics and seems to be gifted working in clay,” Evans said. “The height and shape of her piece looked great. It was well constructed.” Brian Nevils earned the SSC Art Merit Award for his ceramic piece. “I feel really proud about winning the award because I real-ly worked hard on it,” Nevils said. “Unearthed’ was the title of Nevils’ ceramic pot, which was 18 in. tall, made out of clay, and glazed. “It was kind of old and ancient looking, so I named it Unearthed,” Nevils said. Evans also said Nev-ils’ ceramic pot looks ancient. “Brian created a very large piece, and his glazing really brought it all together,” Evans said. “It had a very earthy feel and looked like something done centuries ago.”

Sports 7

By Kadara Mahan

Dye named athletic director,bleeds blue and gold

Fomby is appointed assistant AD,wants to make positive changes

By Bobbi Moses

Jim Dye became the athletic director in January. Dye graduated from Thorn-wood in 1984, and he has been an economics and U.S. history teacher at Thornwood since 1994. “I bleed blue and gold,” Dye said. As an athletic direc-tor, Dye has one main goal. “Thornwood athlet-ics: building champions and winners in life,” Dye said. Dye has many responsibil-ities as the head athletic director. “Too many to list,” Dye said. Dye plans to make mul-tiple changes for the Thorn-wood athletic department. “Create academic incentive programs for our athletes,” Dye said. “Our athletes seek rewards and accolades. Try to upgrade our facilities which is much needed.” Dye’s position as athlet-ic director affects his daily life.

“Keeps me very busy su-pervising athletic events at home and at away events,” Dye said. Dye’s past experiences as a coach and assistant athletic direc-tor help with his current position. “My experiences as a col-lege athlete and assistant ath-letic director help me under-stand the job and the needs of the coaches and athletes,” Dye said. The assistant direc-tor from 2005-2012, Dye had multiple responsibilities as the assistant athletic director. “Scheduling athletic events, awards distribution, and academ-ic incentive programs,” Dye said. In high school and college, Dye participated in sports and won awards. He played football and wrestled in high school, and he was All-State and All-Ameri-can in high school wrestling. He wrestled at Michigan from 1984 to 1989. He was three year letterman Big Ten place winner. His team finished second in Big Ten and placed 5th in the NCAA in 1988.

Thornwood wel-comes the new assistant ath-letic director, Shavon Fomby. Fomby wants to see a positive change in Thornwood’s athletic department, so she de-cided to apply for the assis-tant athletic director position. Fomby has a few responsi-bilities as assistant athletic director. “My primary responsibili-ty is scheduling of events,” Fomby said. “I am also responsible for su-pervision of practices and events.” Being an assistant athletic director has some positive aspects. “I like the interac-tion with the coaches, ath-letes, and parents,” Fomby said. Fomby’s goal is to be more than an assistant athletic director. “My goal is to one day be the athletic director at Thorn-wood,” Fomby said. “I want to continue to make positive changes in the culture of athletics at TW.” Before this posi-tion, Fomby was a coach. “I coached cheerlead-ing here at TW for two years,” Fomby said. “I was also the ath-

letic trainer here for six years.” But, Fomby doesn’t just coach; she is also a teacher. “I have been teaching at TW for four years,” Fomby said. “I currently teach driver education, sports medicine, and IB SEHS.

In the past, I have taught PE, health, and fitness and nutrition.” Sports have always been a part of Fomby’s life. “I have participated in cheerleading and track when I was younger,” Fomby said.

Shepardcontinued

from page 1

When Shepard found out she was going to be filmed for a Special Olympics documenta-ry, her reaction was excitement. “Wow,” Shepard said. Having cameras on her doesn’t affect her competitions. “I forget the camer-as are there,” Shepard said. Because Shepard is ded-icated, Killian said she deserves to be Inspirational Athlete of the Year and in a documentary. “This is a huge honor, and Jamiah will be honored at a Gala in October,” Killian said. Shepard was in-spired to play snowshoe. “Some of my clos-est friends encouraged me to play,” Shepard said. Shepard’s favor-ite part about compet-ing is hearing the gun fire. “I like to hear the pop of the gun,” Shepard said. “It’s exciting. I like to run against people and win.” Shepard participates in snowshoe at various places. “I practice at Thorn-wood, and I compete in Chica-go and Galena,” Shepard said. “I also trained in Vermont.”

New AD and TW graduate, Jim Dye bleeds blue and gold.

Shavon Fomby schedules events for the athletic department.

SPORTS8Moraga places 4th at State

in 50 and 100 free

By Jose Carbajal and Bobbi Moses

By Kirsten Moore

Thornton PE teacher Kenneth Smithwill be head football coach next year

Sophomore Tristan Moraga placed 4th at State in two swimming events. Moraga placed 4th in the 50 free. “I felt very happy not only because I won fourth, but because I tried my best and made it to state,” Moraga said. Moraga also placed 4th in 100 free. “I felt very proud of my-self for making 4th place two times in a row,” Moraga said. Moraga received two IHSA medals for his accomplishments. Coach Joel Vickers is proud of Moraga’s achievements.

“After Tristan won 1st place in both the 50 free and 100 free at Sectionals, I was elated,” Vickers said. “As a swimmer in high school, I qualified for the IHSA State meet, and I knew what Tristan was go-ing to experience. At the state meet, the coaches felt so proud of the effort that Tristan put into ac-complishing this incredible feat. He’s an inspiration to any stu-dent with a disability and what type of potential each possesses.” Moraga trained hard in order to make it to State. “I did 20 push-ups ev-ery day and swam 1300 me-ters every day,” Moraga said. “It was hard, but I never gave up.” Coach Vickers was confident in putting Moraga in 50 and 100 free.

“Tristian has been training extremely hard for this,” Vickers said. “Coach Aranbula and Coach Tesar worked tirelessly to get Tris-tian from a non-swimmer to a state competitor. Tristian put in many yards in the pool to get where he is.” Moraga excelling at state was a group effort. “This was a group effort,” Vickers said. “Besides the coach-es, ECHO teachers Sara Bird and Kate Arellano were instrumen-tal in facilitating many things to help Tristian participate in swim-ming. The District 205 girls’ swim team helped teach Tristan how to swim. It was a remarkable effort by many people to help Tristan reach this amazing achievement.” Moraga felt great being in the

New Trier pool during the State meet. “I felt very excited that I was in a pool with some of the greatest swimmers in the world,” Moraga said. The experience of Mor-aga going to State was his first. “That was my first time going to State, and I will for-ever cherish it,” Moraga said. Moraga joined the swim team unaware of how great he would be. “I thought it would be fun,” Moraga said. “I also joined the team because swimming is good exercise.” Moraga’s two-year jour-ney is still a work in progress. “I plan on joining the swim team at my new school and go to State again and aim for 3rd place,” Moraga said.

Thornton physi-cal educator teacher Kenneth Smith will be Thornwood’s head football coach next year. Being a football coach will give Smith a chance to make a difference in his players’ lives. “The head football coaching position at Thorn-wood would give me an oppor-tunity once again to impact the

lives of young men,” Smith said. Smith has one main goal. “My number one goal is to make a difference in the lives of my players academically, social-ly, and athletically,” Smith said. Smith’s coaching style focus-es on both physical and social levels. “My coaching style philoso-phy is centered on developing and sustaining lifelong relationships. I see myself as a resource that I want my players to utilize to assist them in attaining their goals,” Smith said. “I believe in providing structure,

discipline, and developing our ath-letics into good decision makers.” Becoming a new coach at Thornwood is enough moti-vation to want to make changes. “My plan is to work with the faculty to put ‘Student’ back into student athlete and truly make football an extension of the ac-ademic day,” Smith said. “As an extracurricular activity, playing football is a privilege not a right.” Smith is going to motivate the players by getting close to them. “I will motivate our play-

ers by spending time with them and showing them that I care. It is important to develop relation-ships that are based on respect and trust,” Smith said. “When you have that, then your athletes are more willing to listen, and they will not want to disappoint you.” Smith coached football at Thornton, Rich Central, Home-wood-Flossmoor, Crete-Monee, Rich East, and Hubbard high schools. Smith played strong safety and fullback at Bogan High School.

Tristan Moraga places 4th in 50 and 100 free at State. Moraga and his coaches’ initials are written in Braille.