THE PACK

March 2014
Spring Break
April 14th 18th

Editor: Emily Lewis

Co-Editor: Kody Stokes

Inside this issue:

Is a diploma really
a big deal?

The Gaming Zone\

What should I do
for college

Administrators
Notes

8-9

How to catch a
liar!

Get to know the

Bradley tutors

1011

Student Comics

12

Is a diploma really

Points of Interest

Bradley Tutors!
Notes from
Administrators!

Students Comics!

Gaming and movie

reviews!

Perfect Attendance!

Spring Birthdays!

Why is a high school diploma such a

big deal? To start off it looks great on a job
application, as well as a college application.
Chances are higher for you to get a better job
if you have a high school diploma rather than
a GED. Why? Because to the work force, if
you have your high school diploma
you are better educated. If you
have earned your high school diploma you will feel better about
yourself to know you made it all
the way through high school.
High school diplomas look
absolutely great on job applications
and college applications. Some
colleges view GEDs as if it were a
high school diploma.
(theamericanacademy.com) There
are also colleges who
dont look at them as a
high school equivalent.
A high school diploma
gives you security to get
into colleges. Knowing
you have security should
make you feel better
about your future and
that you can get into high
education then someone who dropped out.
A high school recipient earns about
$27,915 a year compared to someone who

dropped out, who earns about $18,734.

Thats about a $9,181 difference a year.
(howtoedu.org) So, if you want to make
more money, getting your high school
diploma is the way to go. If you continue
to work from the age 18 to 65, you will
make $431,507 more than someone who
dropped out of high school.
A high school diploma helps the
society as a whole. A diploma helps the economies and local taxpayers.
The reason that happens
is because they make
more money than a dropout to have disposable
income to spend on more
things. Someone who gets
their high school diplomas are less likely to have
government assistance,
which helps the taxpayers that pay money
to the government.
High school diplomas are a bigger deal than a lot of teenagers think it is.
It impacts our whole future, our jobs, and
education. So, next time you are thinking
about dropping out just remember high
school is just 4 years and the diploma
will feel amazing in your hands when you
achieve it. Its definitely worth the 4
years.

Article by Emily Lewis

Page 2

their skill level, which is at one hundred, your weapon of choice becomes a
tool of destruction. I prefer magic and
unarmed combat. I can deal more damage with my fists than a medium leveled
sword. Magic also deals insane amounts
I truly enjoyed the game
of damage in a short amount of time,
Oblivion. The game has many differeasily disposing of any enemy that conent storylines pertaining to what facfronts you. However one should also
tions the player chooses to join. It has focus on skills that affect your attribhundreds of hours of gameplay. Ive
utes. The reason for this is because
been playing it for weeks at a time. It
when you level up you get to increase
features battling many different creayour attributes, which are like strength,
tures while progressively getting
intelligence, willpower, speed, agility
stronger. You can pick how your char- and a few more. The higher the skill
acter is, examples being a mage, war- increases the more your attributes inrior, or bowman.
crease. This allows for an easy maximiThe game is unique to role zation of attributes at an early level.
playing games because it allows you
I also like how the game reto choose seven skills you wish to
quires you to think about what you do.
specialize in, for instance, you can be If you go around and kill everyone in a
a magician and warrior, or specialize
town they wont like you anywhere and
in all combat skills and be
there are other negative
an all around killer, there are
consequences. If you beseveral skills to choose from
come a hero then everyand you get to pick the ones
one will love you and be
you like. The game came
happy to see you. Joining
out in 2006 it doesnt really
the assassins guild, called
compare to more modern
The Dark Brotherhood,
games but for its time it has
causes you to venture
good graphics. The game
into towns and kill peohas a more realistic look to
ple, if you get arrested
it than some modern games.
and sent to jail the conseThe lighting in the game is
quence would be losing
good, you can see in dark caves with- progress in skills. You have to plan out
out having to use torches or spells to
your assassinations and evil-doings so
see, I like this because I just want to
that you dont suffer the consequences.
charge into a cave, kill everything,
The guilds have a positive or negative
take the loot and move onto the next
impact on how people feel about you
place thats ripe for the plundering.
which is measured in fame or infamy.
Thunderbolt said, Cyrodiil looks abEach guild has its own story,
solutely stunning. Everything is bright there are also several quests you can do
and wonderful in the sunfor people around town. Immediately it
shine (metacritic.com).
starts you off on the main story quest,
I also enjoy how you can,
which will lead you to fight the Daedra
by advancing in the skills of athletics
of Oblivion. If the only reason you want
and acrobatics, you can move faster
to play the game is for the significant
and jump higher than any enemy you
stories you will still have many hours of
encounter. When a player maximizes
enjoyable gameplay.

Review of
Oblivion

In conclusion, Oblivion is a
great game, even though it is eight
years old. The game is still a viable
option for those who want to try role
playing games but are worried about
becoming bored. Oblivion is a fantastic investment and anyone who calls
themselves a gamer should have at
least played it. Gamesradar said, The
fourth Elder Scrolls entry is utterly
brilliant and should not be missed by
any adventure-spirited gamer (metacritic.com).

Article by
Austin Gentry

Review of
Dungeons and
Dragons:
Neverwinter
The MMORPG of Dungeons and
Dragons: Neverwinter as swept up my
heart from the moment of playing it.
The game has great mechanics and
plot to go around with it for a fun
filled time of merriment and adventure.
When I first heard about Dungeons and Dragons: Neverwinter from
a friend my heart sank, since I was a
child Dungeons and Dragons has been
my favorite pencil and paper game
since my uncle introduced me to it as a
young dwarf. Then when I saw Dungeons and Dragons Online I saw a
game that was unfulfilling those other
MMOs have put in my heart. I was
crushed to see that a childhood
memory that I loved so much was
turned into a boring game of running

Page 3

and spamming the 1 button all day.

So I went back to W orld of
Warcraft and other games.
So as you can tell I was reluctant to venture down a path that
might turn out the same as the last.
So I installed the game and logged
in but to my surprise when I made
my dwarf and went on to the tutorial it turned out the same as Dungeons and Dragons Online, I
thought to myself that it was
doomed to be bad since they recycled the old beginning of the tutorial
starting off stranded on a beach but
I was determined to go on.
I first looked at the interface and found it to be quite pleasing no massive amounts of bars to
spam buttons only five buttons
where actually usable at a time, then
I saw that your main attacks or At
Will attacks where usable on your
mouse. I squealed a bit inside. As I
ventured on the tutorial fighting the
hordes of undead I then found out I
could dodge attacks my heart leaped
for joy as I found out that this was
similar to the same mechanics of the
combat system of Tera. I loved it
because they improved from the
number bar as specialty attacks and
used Q, E, and R to do more advanced attacks with cool downs and
1 and 2 for more or less an ultimate
attack that causes massive amounts
of damage. Even today after playing
for more than 2 weeks I still get
excited about when I build up
enough action points to do my rain
of steel attack on my dwarf great
weapons fighter. The game developers have also touched my childhood heart of using the action point
symbol as a d20. (20 sided dice)
While I have yet to do any
dungeon groups or pvp maps I have
figured out that Neverwinter excels
in single player instances much like
the game Guild W ars 2 the single
player instances are story driven but
what makes these more interesting
is that there are not just mobs and
bosses but traps and secrets to find.
I go to bed at night dreaming of

what my next adventures in these instances will be exhilarated for another

chance of glory against the final boss
at the end of each one.
Unlike most MMOs, Neverwinter has one thing that makes it
stand out from the crowd a player has
a chance to make their own quest story with a feature called the
Foundry. This is a type of sandbox
where you make the mobs, dialogue,
and scenery for your adventure to
share with the entire game. Players
are allowed to rate your instance you
made and the top ones are featured in
the home menu.
The gaming clan XGN says,
Neverwinter is a disappointing
MMO. There isnt a lot of freedom
for players to roam and it doesnt reimagine itself in the open world genre. For a free-to-play game it offers
too little. While it may not have an
open world it is still has a lot of freedom. There is much more customization than in games like World of
Warcraft with the way your character
looks. Even though it does not have
an open world people still have a reason to go back to past areas to collect
rewards for better gear.
(metacritic.com)
The website Everyeye.it talks
about, The new MMO transposition
of the famous paper role-playing
game Dungeons & Dragons is a success, and one of the best examples of
free-to-play titles currently available.
I do believe it to be a success with so
many people playing it you cant help
to see the beauty in its design and its
game play. Though there are better
examples this one is near the top.
(metacritic.com)
Overall from what I have experienced this game has a lot to offer
and can go really far if the developers
keep adding content for players to
interact with and for them to experiment with in the Foundry. For my
score I give Dungeons and Dragons
Neverwinter 89 out of 100.

Article by Joseph Zilkowski

Review of
Assassins Creed:
Black Flag
The year is 1715. Pirates rule the
waters of the Caribbean and have established a lawless Republic. Among these
outlaws is a lethal young captain named
Edward Kenway. His notorious exploits
earn the respect of legends like Blackbeard, but draw him into an ancient war
that may destroy everything the pirates
have built for themselves. Sounds pretty
cool right?
The most recent installment of the
six game series has brought millions of
fans to the Ubisoft franchise. Playing as
the daring pirate Edward Kenway, the
player must unravel a conspiracy between
high-ranking Templars to manipulate the
British, Spanish and French empires into
locating the Sage later identified as Bartholomew Roberts who is the only man
that can tell the location of the observatory.(W ikipedia.com) The biggest change
by far is the new open-world sailing. The
boating from AC III is back in roughly the
form you may remember, but now sailing
the open waters has been expanded to act
as your primary method of getting from
place to place. The major cities of Havana,
Nassau, and Kingston are joined by a large
smattering of smaller isles, ports, and deserted specks of land. Even in the open
waters, numerous activities will present
themselves, including simple ship-to-ship
combat and plunder, underwater diving
missions, and enemy fort capturing. The
game is basically a pirate version of Grand
Theft Auto. You, as Edward Kenway, can
sail the seas in your fully customizable
vessel, complete with steel tipped battering
rams and cannons on every side. But you
might want to be careful; most of the water
is covered with patrolling enemy boats,
many of which will decimate your crew
until you learn how to fight back. But lets
not jump to the end just yet. The way the
game flows is more revolutionary then any
of the games previous. In addition to utilizing an upgraded
CONT TO PAGE 4

Page 4
CONT FROM PAGE 3

next-gen Anvil Engine, which also powers the game for

the new Xbox One and PS4 features
higher-resolution textures and assets.(Geforce.com) This game is different in many ways, as the previous
ones werent focused around pirates.
And yes, this game includes all the
sword fighting, ship wrecking, plank
walking, rum chuggin, and scallywaggin a pirate could want. In my opinion,
the game was 100% successful. It featured a campaign that kept me home
each night playing to find out more.
The map is currently the biggest out
there, topping GTA V by at least 2
times. However, there were some disappointments. The only thing that was
difficult was when running the right
stick on the controller didnt have the
same action as it did in the previous
games, making the running a lot more
difficult when atop of objects. Besides
that, I think that Assassins Creed Black
Flag is one of the greatest games out
there.
Taking its setting into the pirate-filled waters of the early 18th century Caribbean, Black Flag crafts a surprisingly and wonderfully vibrant world
to explore, both at sea and by land. And
while its story isn't all that much more
interesting than anything in the last few
entries in this series, Assassin's Creed
IV has so much to do, and so much of it
is genuinely entertaining, that you'll be
far too busy to care about its periodic
missteps. (Giantbomb.com) But for
most of the game youll be on land, partaking in the usual activities that AC
offers. These include story-based assassination missions, but also completing
contracts, fight off random enemies,
chase down couriers, purchase your
own business, hunt animals, climb as
much as you want, and a whole new
system of collectables includes sea
chanties, which will be synced with
your crew to add to their playlist of pirate songs they sing while youre sailing. That was hard to say. Crashing
your boat into a rogue wave and watching the water sweep over the deck of
your boat, seeing ships in the distance
explode after you deliver a well-placed

cannon shot, and simply taking in the

gorgeous vistas as you perch atop the
many synch points spread throughout
the game, are just a few of the many
visual highlights I can recall. The animation quality is top-notch too. Drew
Scanlon said, writing for Giantbomb.com. But with every well puttogether video game, it has its downfalls. Occasionally you'll see the kinds
of weird quirks inherent to this series,
like downed enemies glitching out due
to wonky ragdoll physics, or the occasional character lifting a weapon that
appears not to have actually loaded in
their hands. But where the most detail
and work has clearly gone--namely into
Edward, his cohorts, and their various
combat animations--the game looks
terrific. It all runs great too, with only
minimal frame rate dips in rare instances.
In conclusion, I would adhere
to my statement that Assassins Creed
Black Flag is the best of its series, offering a whole brand new type of gameplay.

PlayStation can play Blu-ray disks

and all games on the computer are
potentially free. However, I prefer the
Xbox because I grew up with it and
I'm a little biased.
He is says that Call of Duty is
his favorite game series because he
enjoys the merciless killing of his enemies. He is entitled to his opinion
however I wholeheartedly disagree
because I believe that the best game
series that ever existed is Halo. The
game Halo is way beyond its time.
He stated that its a killing
game meaning first person shooter
(FPS). When asked if he enjoyed FPS
games he said, Yes I do, I really do, I
really love Xbox stuff. He tends to
favor FPS games over other types of
games. One reason he enjoys the
game is because of the replay value,
he said it can be played for many
hours at a time and constantly.
Brad explained that while you
only get to play as a single character
you are allowed to customize your
weapon of choice. In certain Call of
Duty games you are able to customize
how your character looks. Halo has a
greater variety of character customization and is overall the superior
game. These games have both multiplayer and single-player. Brad prefers
multiplayer because you get to play
with other people. He does sometimes play single-player, which can be
played on a few different difficulty
settings.
Brad told me that the easiest
The most interesting man in
the world, Bradley Tomblin, shared his difficulty can be played with no troubles at all, a ten year old could do it,
insight on which gaming device and
video game he prefers above the multi- however the hardest is so difficult
Brad doesnt even attempt it! Brad was
tude that exist. He and I might not
share the same views on the best avail- impressed with the graphics, which get
progressively better with each game.
able game but his opinion is valued
While gaming causes a lot of
highly. However, we do seem to agree
tension
between
gamers, especially
on the preferred gaming device.
over
consoles,
game
discussion is ofHe prefers to game on the
ten
a
lot
of
fun.
Brads
opinion was
Xbox 360. He enjoys this console more
greatly
valued
and
debate
worthy. We
than playing on the computer,
all
can
agree,
however,
that
gaming is
PlayStation, and even the Atari. He is
convinced that the Xbox is the superior a great source of fun.
gaming device since thats all he has.
He does admit that other consoles have
good aspects that the Xbox does not.
For instance, I am aware that the

Article by
Sam Thomas

Brad The Killer

Article by
Austin Gentry

Page 5

Values
Since the dawn of man, value
systems have been present in every
individual and society. In the book
Spiral Dynamics written by Don Beck
and Chris
Cowan talks
about value
systems evolving along as
humans adapt
to different
challenges in the world. For example
in the book the first level of value
systems is based off of instinctual
drive or genetics. This level of value
systems was very primitive and was
used by very early humans. The Level modern humans on is Orange, in
this stage the book states that our value system is as follows.
Orange; the Fifth Level System
"Strive Drive. The Strategic vMEME
Strive for autonomy and inde-

pendence
Seek out "the good life" and ma-

terial abundance
Progress through searching out

the best solutions

Enhance living for many through

science and technology

Play to win and enjoy competi-

tion
Learning through tried-and-true

experience
By interviewing people who
lived in the past and also people
growing up now, I can see how this
orange level value system is changing
and leading to or straying away from
the Green value system that goes as
follows

tions. Religion which was a huge thing

back in the day is seeing a lot of de"HumanBond. The Relativistic vMEME cline in importance; this was even said
by the oldest participant. Discrimination was said to be largely noticed as
Explore the inner beings of self and
well witch surprised me, since todays
others
society is supposed to be equal.
When looking at the younger genera Promote a sense of community and
tions you can see a very individualistic
list of values that arent based off of
unity
religion, it seems like people either
rebel or set their own rules to live by.
Share society's resources among all
But what caused such a change in the
values people inherit? By asking the
Liberate humans from greed and
generation in between I felt that I
could get a good picture of what hapdogma
pened.
The person I interviewed
Reach decisions through consensus
seemed to hold onto such religious
values as the older generations, but
Refresh spirituality and bring harmo- also felt that society was a heavy influence on her and other peoples values.
ny"
When asked about how big of a role
By asking participants from dif- religion plays in society she also felt
ferent eras of American culture I could
that there is a decline in people attachget a good understanding of how value
ing to religion. She said she felt dissystems have changed. The first person I crimination a lot as a child because of
interviewed was the
race, and says now that discrimination
oldest and gave me the
is still alive and well in todays sociemost detailed answers.
ty, just not as up front and in your face.
My guess was because
After analyzing all of these
the further back you go
results I am actually in fear. It sort of
the more important valseems like the oldest generation was
ue systems were mainsort of heading toward the next level of
ly because of religion.
value systems but failed. The generaWhen asked what
tion afterward seemed to be on sort of
were some of your values? the first par- a slow decline and the current generaticipant said Universal values basically tion is at a split. Most peoples values
like the ten commandments. She also
stem largely from the influences put on
stated that looking for the best in people by advertising and corporations. The
and also treating others how you want to only religion people bow down to in
be treated (golden rule) were important
the end is the all mighty dollar, no
values to her as well. Her religion was
denying that. On the opposite side of
also said to be a huge influence in her
the spectrum is the people that actually
perspective on life, she also stated that
want to fix things and go to the next
society puts a huge influence on peoples level, but in society they are frowned
values, things like advertising and popu- upon or laughed at. The world is crumlar media influence people without them bling and the only way to fix it is to
being aware of it. Also when asked
ascend to the next level of values.
about discrimination, she felt that she
personally wasnt a victim of the act but
also stated that she tries not to discriminate at all.
When compared to what the
youngest participant said, it seems like
the exact opposite of the older generaGreen; the Sixth Level System

Article by
Josh Desir

Page 6

Movies and show reviews

the stew. Also I find the pot dealers
very very funny in the film, the way
they are portrayed and the way one of
them says Winston had me laughing
a lot.
One critic named Roger Ebert
I think High School of the
gave the movie a good review saying
Dead is a great anime. It has zombies
it was a bewildering complex caper
and anime put together, which takes
film. Witch I think is completely true
place in a high school. The director of
the actors did a great job at portraying
the anime was Tetsoru Akari, prothe East end of London.
duced by Mitsutoshi Ogura and writ(Metacritic.com)
ten by Yosuke Kuroda. The anime
Another critic, who honestly
aired July 5, 2010September 20,
sounds like a hater stated the exact
2010 in Japan.
opposite saying that the actors werent
High School of the Dead is anime that
believable at all and that they sounded
has an average teenage boy (as all
like they were forcing out every word.
leads) named Takashi Komoru is at
I completely disagree; like I said the
his high school where a zombie outactors did an amazing job at portraybreak happens and he has to fight
ing the east end. (Metacritic.com)
through a horde of zombies with his
Overall I would suggest
class mates to find out how it hapwatching this movie. Its a great movpened (themanime.org).
The movie Lock Stock and Two ie if youre into crime thrillers with a
The author did well with the
little comedy; its also a look at Jason
plot but it only had 12 episodes in the Smoking Barrels is an instant classic in
Stathams early career. Watch Resermy opinion. Its a 1999 cockney thug
first season which were only 24
voir Dogs then watch this film and Im
minutes long. The acting was good, it movie written and directed by Guy Ritchdidnt sound cheesy like those Sy-Fy ie. The movie stars some pretty good actors for the time such as Jason Statham or
films and actually went into it and
acted like it was real. Even though the Vinnie Jones. The plot of the movie is a
very funny but well-written one. The
anime started off with action on the
first episode the anime still described main character, eddy, is a card shark, a
the characters and told their stories on very good one, and aims to make him
and his buddies rich by buying in to a
the way.
Happy Birthday
100,000 card game ran by the local sex
The anime had two antagoshop owner and big time crime king pin.
nists, one was the zombies and the
March Babies!
main one was a deranged teacher and After doing so he ends up being ripped
7th Gabby Cusack
off and bullied into barrowing 400,000
the students he took control of. The
7th Mark Heller
reason why was when they were get- more to keep the game going. He then
loses all the money, and is forced to pay
ting to the bus to get away from the
10th Josh Des ir
back the kingpin in a week or suffer dire
school a student got grabbed and he
10th Blake Svymbersky
grabbed onto the teacher for help but consequences.
The movie has a sad, rainy-type
when the others werent looking he
12th David Domnick
of
feel
to
it, which is good since it takes
stomped the students head into the
17th Molly DeLorme
place in Londons east end. The movie
ground killing him. Further into the
21st Breyon Nixon
anime he tried to get the main charac- also covers all characters lives at the
same time since they all tie together at
ters killed and tried taking control of
22nd Austin Gentry
the end. Also the way Guy Ritchie shot
the group in the beginning.
25th Cody Gilles
the film is awesome, in one scene on of
The only things that did not
the
main
characters
who
is
a
chef
puts
give them five smileys was how out
lettuce into a stew that is being cooked,
of nowhere after finding a safe place
in the next scene the camera comes out of
they had to face the zombie horde to

High School of

find another safe house just to leave it

again. Other reasons come to play when
they have to get rid of a useful vehicle
without a thought and how they when
they get cornered they happen to run out
of ammo suddenly when barely encountering zombies. So after seeing how the
zombies act and how much of a threat

Article by
Terron Bowling

Lock Stock and

Two Smoking
Barrels

Article by
Josh Desir

Page 7

What should I
do for college?
I have interviewed a few fellow students, a couple juniors and a
senior. I wanted to get a bit of a variety of class to see what difference in
preparation there is. There is a lot of
information I asked about but, my
most important question to figure out
is, do you know how and where to
search for financial aid? There is a lot
of question and concern dealing with
what people can do for money to get
into college. Another question Im
concerned with is, are you familiar
with the admission requirements of the
college youre thinking about? Many
people are going to either have very
high expectations of getting into college, or theyre going to have very low
expectations of what they will need to
get into college. My last concern was
in; do you know what you need to apply to colleges? If teenagers know
what we need to get into colleges, we
might be more motivated to get into
college.
I first interviewed Blake
Svymbersky, a junior, didnt have
much thought on furthering education.
He mentioned that his father was a
bartender and he might get into that, or
he might get into military. Now, Blake
has an interesting way to look for financial aid. He suggested using his
parents to help him get the financial
aid he needs and then pay them back if
its a large sum of money. He mentioned to me that he isnt even close to
applying for colleges. Part of that reason is preparation, he isnt ready to get
started on the process, but also because
he has no idea what he would need to
get into college.
Breyon Nixon was the second
person interviewed, a little more interested in furthering education. He is
interested in going from community
college to a university, such as ICC to
Bradley. Being very interested in mu-

sic, a requirement for a college that

he attends has to have a music program. He has aspirations to become a
manager of a business, and eventually an owner of a business. When
asked if he is going to need help getting a financial plan for college, he
responded,
Definitely. At the
moment, the only
aid that he is aware
of and likely to use
is Peoria Promise. When asked
about the admission
requirements he
thinks that the requirement for ICC is a 3.0 GPA. In
reality, ICC is an open admissions
college. There are no admission requirements. You simply have to
maintain a 2.0 GPA throughout the
year. There are a couple other academic requirements to continue your
time at ICC, all of which can be
found on the www.icc.edu website.
My final interviewee was
Molly DeLorme. She has a lot of
steadiness and a lot of ideas for her
education after high school. She
plans on being either a pediatrician or
a cosmetologist. Her idea of a good
school will have some sort of medical
program. She also would like to go
from a smaller school to a bigger
school. She doesnt feel she needs
financial help because her parents
have secured her plan with a college
fund started when she was younger.
The college she is thinking about is
ICC to ITT Tech. Although shes
nowhere near ready to apply for colleges. She has a lot of ideas and I bet
she is going to go far with her further
education.
A very good program for
those who have been in Peoria
schools for those who have graduated
from a Peoria public school, and also
want to go to ICC. The financial aid
is only available to those who apply
to ICC and thats the extent of your
help. The longer you have paid Peoria City taxes the more financial aid
you receive. This is a very, very pop-

ular choice for teenagers who have lived

inside of Peoria county. Lets say that
you only attended for a few grades, you
still have 50% of your attendance at ICC
paid for. If you went through all 13
grades (K-12) in Peoria county, you get
100% of your attendance at ICC paid for.
If a free ride to college
doesnt motivate you I
dont know what would.
Many people have many
different plans after high
school. There are over
100 colleges and universities in Illinois alone.
You have a lot of options
for advancing your education and getting somewhere in life and
with your career. There are so many options that you have to make your career
choice dreams come true, especially if
you push hard now to have the laid-back
success that you worked for, for over 16
years. Be sure to look up the admission
requirements of whatever college you
want to?attend so you have a goal while
youre still in high school.

Article by Kody Stokes

Dont forget to check

out this video about
the school

http://youtu.be/
ViGqRaujQes

Page 8

Notes From
Administrators:
Note From Mr. Bixby
It is often stated that good things
happen to good people. In this case, I am
referring to the good things that have
happened for the benefit of our students
and faculty.
First, Mr. Czarnik and Mrs. Gianessi now have Smartboards installed in
their classrooms. This was made possible by a generous monetary donation by
the Rotary Club of Peoria North, a service organization that has adopted the
Peoria Regional Learning Center.
Secondly, as a result of another
generous monetary grant that came from
the district Rotary office, we were able
to purchase twenty new arm chair desks
along with a rack for storing the desks.
We have yet to break them out. We have
been entertaining some creative ways to
use these desks if the winter ever subsides.
Thirdly, Peoria Notre Dame high
school has come through again. Last
year they donated the twenty desks that
are currently being used in Mrs. Gianessis and Mr. Czarniks room. Recently,
they phoned to say that they had ten
more desks for us.
Fourthly, a group of highly respected Peoria and county professionals
have joined to establish a committee to
raise funds for the benefit of our students
and faculty. This group is experienced in
raising money. When they are in support
of a program, people of means listen to
what they have to say. Hopefully, they
will achieve the level of success that will
allow us to financially strengthen our
foundation. Then we may be able to
achieve some of our dreams.
Finally, during the end of the
semester one, two visitors of East Indian
heritage paid to me a visit. They said
that the United States had been very

good to them and they wanted to give

something back. They suggested that
they would be interested in funding a
tutorial program for our students. As a
result of their offer I embarked on a
journey to identify Bradley students
that would match up well with our students.
Consequently, we now have
ten tutors from Bradley that are available to give academic support and encouragement to the PRHS students. So
far the students, the faculty and the
tutors are experiencing a great deal of
positive interactions. All of this does
much to give our school positive exposure. Exposure that will assist us in
breaking down the barrier of being the
best kept secret in Peoria County.
Students, keep up the good
work, your efforts are not going unnoticed.

Random Thoughts
By Mr. Stueve
I am so proud of the students
and staff for their efforts on the Aviary
Project! One of my goals for our
school when we first opened two years
ago was to create a learning environment that took advantage of this beautiful 2,000 acre park to which we have
access. This project is just the beginning of more project-based opportunities that I hope we develop in the future.
On Sunday - May 4, 2014 from
1:00 5:00 p.m. we are going to sponsor a Peoria County Teacher Appreciation Event here at the park. There will
be live entertainment, a raffle for an IPad Air, a silent auction, food, and other attractions including a recognition
ceremony for teachers in the County
who are retiring this year. The purpose

of the event is twofold. One, we want

to say thanks to the men and women
who have worked as teachers and
administrators for many years in an
attempt to help children. The second
purpose is to raise money for our
school so that we can continue to operate for many years to come. Please
mark this day on your calendar and
plan on attending to show your gratitude and support.
Over the next several months
we are going to begin the process of
changing our official name from Peoria Regional High School to Peoria
Regional Learning Center. We are
doing this for a number of reasons.
The PRLC label will distinguish us in
name from all of the other high
schools in Peoria County. We are
really a learning community as our
approach is somewhat different from
traditional high schools. Finally, we
hope to expand opportunities in the
future to a wider range of learners
beyond just students in grades 9 12.

Greetings from Ms. Bonnies

office
Happy St. Patricks day,
Happy Spring, Happy Daylight Savings Time! It will be so nice to see
warmer weather, more sunshine, and
more light. So get ready to give it
all youve got for P.R.H.S. school
spirit; in other words
BE HERE EVERYDAY PEFECT
ATTENDANCE EVERYONE,
EVERYDAY! SHOOT FOR IT!!!
Can you do it?? I think you can.
One week of perfect attendance will
get you a free breakfast donut or
maybe even a home-made delight, on

Page 9

the following Monday or Tuesday,

courtesy of Ms. Bonnie and Ms. Pointer. Our school finances run almost
solely on money we receive from students good attendance. When attendance is bad, when students leave
school early or come late, our total
income goes down, which makes it
difficult to run the school or even plan
for future years here. Please, if you
dont feel well in the morning, come to
school anyway and try to make it.
Most of the time that is how people
deal with minor discomforts and illnesses in the real world of work.

and so on
(businessinsider.com).
Liar, liar, pants on fire. People who lie fidget inwards towards
themselves, like fidgeting with their
clothes, hands, hair, biting their lip.
There is always going to be
Its all red flags showing that they are
someone that lies about something. There nervous or trying to stick with their
are little white lies that dont hurt anystory. Another red flag is when they
one; there are also big lies that cause a
press their lips together and look
lot of trouble in the long run. People have away, thats a big red flag. It means
to keep up with their lies, creating more
that they have to think really hard
and more lies; its just a giant lump of
about the answer. The last interestdisgusting mess after awhile. There can
ing way to
be a lot of pain in a relationship, a break catch a liar is
of trust in a friendly relationship. There a to ask them
lot of negative consequences, especially
to tell it from
when most people end up collapsing and the ending to
telling the truth anyway. Instead of letthe beginting this go on, why not recognize when
ning. In gensomeone is lying right away? Well may- eral a truthful
be not right away, but at least quick
person will
enough to stop that mess from happenNote from Mrs. Pointer
have a bit of
ing.
an easier time with this, but its still a
Heres a couple tips to catch a liar. They bit difficult. Either way, a liar tends
Did you know that each month only offer a bare bones story. Most liars
to remember events in chronological
students who had perfect attendance
decide that if they put to many details
order, so telling it backwards would
for the previous month have their
into a story it will be harder to keep their require a lot more effort
names put into a drawing for
facts straight in the long run. On top of
(lifehacker.com).
$20.00? Yes, $20.00! In addition,
that they also think if its too elaborate,
Remember, all of these are
there is a weekly reward for all stuthe listener will think that theyre making just red flags on how to catch a liar,
dents who have had perfect attendance
the story up. If they offer little small denone of it is a surefire way to catch
for the month. This month they have
tails it could also be a giveaway. For ex- one. Do not accuse anyone of lying
enjoyed a weekly pizza party. Each
ample, if they mention what they were
just because they had a red flag, some
month the weekly reward changes a
drinking, or what they were eating, you
truthful people may just get nervous.
little, but the goal is to encourage each might have another red flag that set off
Never ask Why? because it will put
student to attend school every day.
(nbcnews.com).
people on the defensive. You will
Where were you last night?
never figure out what you would
When students enroll at PRHS My mom asked, Where was I? I rewant to know if you do. If you think
they sign an agreement to be in attend- sponded. Answersomeone is lying, just go over these
ance 90% of the time. Attendance has ing a question with
few points, Im sure you will find
been a challenge this winter, especially
a question is usualyour answer.
with the weather and the amount of flu ly another key
or students have experienced. Please
giveaway. Using
continue to reinforce good attendance
this stall most peohabits with your child. Attendance is
ple can think of a
so important to the success of a student
story to make up to
at PRHS. Excessive absences results
respond to the
in missing instruction, and in turn
question asked. Another point to this, is
leads to incomplete work and a poor or
liars tend to start speaking slowly, then
failing grade. Again, we want each
start speeding up their speech. The reastudent to experience success, so your
son for that is they got the story straight
encouragement would be appreciated. in their head. They might hesitate, start

How to catch a liar!

Article by Kody Stokes

and stop frequently, or speak in fragments. Also, people who lie tend to not
use contractions. They will repeat things
like I did NOT instead of I didnt

Page 10

Get to know the tutors

Ms. Hancocks second hour got the chance to know the new tutors.
We asked them 4 questions.
1. What college and program (major) did you come from? What was your Major
2. What inspired you to pursue your subject major?
3. What are you doing after college as a career?
4. Do you enjoy helping other people learn? / Why are you interested in tutoring?

Kaitlin Olson

1) Bradley, majoring in advertising

2) I get to be creative & communicate
with clients and businesses
3) Account manager at advertising agency
4) It is fun to help people learn the material
5) Always put 100% in because it pays
off in the end

Rishika Murthy

1) Bradley University, Indiana, Major English/Journalism

2) I love reading, and writing, and growing up
3) Teaching, pursuing another Masters
or PHD
4) Yes
5) Do what makes you happy, and work
hard at it

1) Bradley University, Nursing

2) I want to help people
3) Working in a hospital
4) Yes, anything to do to give back
5) Don't take education for granted
Chaise Nache
1) Bradley University, English Ed.
Major / Teacher
2) Enjoys reading, writing, poetry, and
helping others
3) Plan on being a high school teacher
4) Tutoring is a rewarding job
5) Don't let anybody tell you that you
can't do something
Danielle Salvator

Pat Daly

1) Bradley University, Business

2) Business is a broad subject, not to
sure
3) Sales or management/economics
4) Yes it is a good way to build qualities, keeps me busy, easy to learn when
teaching
5) Working hard, will eventually get
you to your goals, work and will get
where you want to get

1) Civil engineering
2) Skill set led me down that path
3) Road design pavement design
4) Yes, to impact high schoolers
5) Dont sell yourself short, pursue your
dream no matter what
Ryan Lewis

Page 11
1) Bradley University, special education
and elementary school
2) Kids, I played teacher as a kid, to
inspire them
3) 3rd or 2nd grade teacher
4) Yes, help people, its fun
5) Stay optimistic, makes you look better on the world, more hopeful. Treat
others how you want to be treated,
makes a happier life

Jenna Gordon

Kevin Wollscheild

Mollie OBrien

1) I go to Bradley University, and am

graduating in December 2014. I am a
double education major, in both elementary and special ed. I have a science concentration
and middle school endorsement as well

Jenny MacGregor

1) Bradley, industrial engineering

2) Challenge, overcoming hard things
3) California, working for a company
called Tesla Motors as an engineer
4) Yes, the school, and I like a challenge
5) "Don't undervalue education. It may
seem lame, but being more educated
is a good feeling, be proud in being
smart"

2) I really enjoy helping people learn

new things, and being in a school environment. The "aha" moment in a classroom is something I strive for every
day
3) When I graduate I will be applying
for a traveling consultant job with my
sorority, and then after finding a teaching job and a place to live
4) Yes, I love helping people learn. I
enjoy tutoring because it helps me keep
my brain sharp and benefits others
5) "Make sure you balance your social
life and academic life. I did not have
good grades when I first came to college because
I was busy making new friends and
joining clubs and such. That GPA has
hurt me ever since, and I now know
what to value first"

1) Bradley, secondary education, English concentration, math certificate

2) I always wanted to be a teacher, in
Junior High one of my teachers said
she went to Bradley so that inspired me
to go there
3) I hope to become a high school
teacher
4) Basically tutoring is what I will be
doing for the rest of my life
5) Always get it done on time, its
much easier instead of having to make it
up

Perfect Attendance
For January-February
January
Josh Howald
Ethan Masen
Landon Piasse
Blake Svymbersky
Joseph Zilkowski

February

Samantha Matheny
Callie Perryman
Blake Svymbersky
Joseph Zilowski

Page 12

Students Comics
Home made ice cream By Emily Lewis

Great Expectations "By Terron Bowling

A Flowers Life By Emily Lewis