SPRING ❧ CLEANING Read about the stories of our

lives as students dig up past

articles from the Timber Creek

Tribune and add a new spin on

old pieces

APRIL 2019

 

Throwback Article Title: “Wizard of Oz Takes the Stage”

Companion Piece Poem By: Aurea Jimenez The wizard of TCHS Timber Creek High school Opened the wizard of Oz. The stage had no set, just like the mysterious Oz It seemed very simple, after all, it was a long time ago. I wonder how good was the showed wonder how many people showed up. I wonder if the wizard still remembers that timber creek was once its Oz.

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Throwback Article Title: October 2003 “Leaving so Soon?”

Reflection Piece By: Hayley Colon

Leaving So Soon?

Ever since 2003 students have been able to opt out of having 24 credits, and instead have 18 in order to pass high school. This was a way to reduce crowding in schools, and have more funds to support new projects, and clubs. However I think it’s just a scam to convince students to get out of high school faster. Colleges would still prefer the students who put in more work in their academics rather than the students who took off early.

With this new system students will be tricked psychologically into thinking the less learning the better, 16 years ago this may have been a good thing but now the fight to get into college has become more competitive. With Ivy league schools, and AP courses it isn’t enough to do the

bare minimum, we have to succeed in order to be noticed among all the other students competing around America.

There are some bonuses to this like leaving highschool faster to make room for other incoming students, however it underprepared those who leave early compared to the other students who have gained more knowledge by sticking around and taking more classes, and earning more credits.

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Throwback Article Title: November 2004 “Taiwan Fight for Freedom Causes Conflict with China”

Personal Reflection Piece By: Olivia Yao My grandfather was only nineteen when he had to flee for his life.

He was studying at the University of Nanjing, pursuing pre-law, when the Chinese civil war broke out. The Communist Party was growing in number and in power, sweeping down from Northern China and painting the country in red. When the fighting reached Nanjing, he was left with only two options: run or suffer under the rule of a Communist regime.

There was no returning home. His village was too far north, already taken over by the Communists. With nowhere else to go, he and a group of his college friends ran on foot. They traveled inland, away from the coast, and into neighboring Vietnam.

Vietnam was being occupied by the French at this time, and the French, being allied with the Chinese nationalists, were aiding refugees like my father. Camps had been set up at the border and refugees were warmly received, given plenty of food and fresh water.

My grandfather and his friends were still young and bright and their future’s uncertain. My grandfather had always had a way with language and, in a few months, he had become practically fluent in French. He found a position as a liaison between the Chinese refugees and French officials.

Once the Communist Party had official taken hold of China, the remaining Nationalists fled to the small island of Taiwan, right off the mainland. The US Navy aided in their escape, keeping the Communists from pursuing them. Once the Nationalist government had reestablished in Taiwan, my grandfather and the other refugees were able to join them in repatriation.

In Taiwan, my grandfather was able to learn English and find opportunities to work with Americans. Eventually he was sent to a seminary school to continue his education that costs paid for by an American Christian organization that saw potential in him. It was there that he met my grandmother who had also come to be there through her own story of escaping the mainland.

Only in the 90s, when he had immigrated to America with his wife and three young children, was he able to reconnect with the remnants of his once prosperous family back in mainland China. They had thought him dead and, though my grandfather was able to move on and make peace, many of his family members were still so full of hate towards the Communist regime and could not let go of the life they had lost.

After many years of tension, China finally came to the agreement not to attack Taiwan, as long as Taiwan made no moves to claim political independence. Today China and Taiwan maintain a good business relationship. They are both at peace, busy prospering their own economies. Though Mainland China still holds a dominant military power over Taiwan, both sides would prefer to avoid a war from a past generation.

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Throwback Article Title: April 2003 “Tight Cars, Loose Wallets”

Comparison Then vs. Now

By: Sophia Torla

FAST and FURIOUS    

At Timber Creek High School, diversity is found around every corner. With over 3,500 kids, each student is responsible for expressing their personalities and interests in a different way than their neighbor. But perhaps the most condoning venue of this diversity, might just be where you’d least expect: the school parking lot.

For senior Justin Rosario, cars are more than just a method of transportation, but a fascinating hobby as well. Inspired by his father and Paul Walker, Rosario comments that his dad “taught him everything to know about cars” and with his help,modified his 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. “It’s got a catless long tube header, off-road X-Pipe, no muffler, Airaid intake, and ngk spark plugs,” Rosario added, “not to mention, it’s the fastest car at the school.” With only 8 miles to the gallon, Rosario makes up for this detrimental aspect with his Diamond black paint job.

Senior Matthew Slodkoswki also takes pride in his vehicles. His daily is a 2003 Mustang Mach 1 (pictured), a collector car. “Out of the black 2003 models, my car is 1 out of 1,700 made,” Slodkowski commented, “which means that absolutely nobody will ever pull up anywhere with the same car as me.” Not to mention, the majority of Mach 1’s are high mileage, but Slodkowski’s rides at a meager 20,000.

For this Timber Creek Senior, collecting cars is a pleasurable pastime for him and his father. Shows on the weekends are a must, and replacing stock parts for high performance parts has become both a useful and enjoyable skill of his. “The mustang has an off road X-Pipe, 108mm throttle body, JLT High Performance 5 inch intake, 45lb fuel injectors, fr500 wheels, progressive lowering springs,” and even more. “I do the majority of modifications myself because its cheaper,” he shared, “I’m enrolled at UTI to become an ASC certified technician so I know a decent amount about cars and how they work.”

Other than the Mustang, Słodkowski indulges his free time in customizing both a 1978 F-150 Ranger, and a 1967 F100 - two older trucks that are difficult to find.

For Senior Aiden Caskey, his 2001 Jeep Wrangler is his prized possession and personal aesthetic. When he was younger, Caskey’s father always had several jeeps, and growing up he was naturally attracted in that direction.. Now as a teenager, Caskey relishes in the ability to offroad with the top off, a messy and chaotic (but absolutely worthwhile) experience. “I think the best part about my jeep is the yellow color,” Caskey proclaims, “and my next step is to add some really loud speakers to it.”

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Throwback Calendar: February 2014

Companion Piece By: Jordan Evans Entertainment: I have decided to replicate and update a calendar that was featured in the February 2014 issue of the school paper. Originally, the calendar displayed a few dates and locations for local concerts. In this version, everyday has a corresponding concert. The goal for this companion piece is to encourage students to venture beyond their comfort zone and experiment music in which they are not accustomed to. The calendar contains several local artists in hopes that the tickets to these events will be affordable for a teenager’s (sometimes non existent) budget. Using this calendar, students can find adventures in which they can pursue with their friends.

April 2019

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 Why Don't We, Eben (Pop) and Brynn Elliott

CFE Arena, Orlando, FL, US

2 Gary Lazer EyesSad Halen and dot org

The Patio, Orlando, FL, US

3 Emily Reo

Stardust Video & Coffee, Orlando, FL, US

4 Throttle

Celine Orlando, Orlando, FL, US

5 J-Live

Iron Cow Cafe, Orlando, FL, US

6 Alec Benjamin

The Social, Orlando, FL, US

7 Escape the Fate

Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL, US

8 A Sunday Fire and Glass Mansions

Tir Na Nog, Daytona Beach, FL, US

9 AbioticCognitive, God of Nothing, and Greylotus

The Haven Lounge, Winter Park, FL, US

10 Tyla Yaweh

The Social, Orlando, FL, US

11 Raleigh Keegan

Tin Roof - Orlando, Orlando, FL, US

12 Miramar Drive and The Swamp Donkeys (FL)

Austin's Coffee, Winter Park, FL, US

13 Colt Ford

Raw Hyde Live, Ocala, FL, US

14 2CELLOS and Jon McLaughlin

Amway Center, Orlando, FL, US

15 Tam Tam the Sandwich Man & the Magical Sugar Cookies and The Palmettes

Sly Fox Bar, Orlando, FL, US

16 Jordan Foley and Kevin Maines and The Volts

Lil' Indies, Orlando, FL, US

17 DBMKPatternist and Walkney

Soundbar, Orlando, FL, US

18 Jack and JackAlec Bailey

The Plaza Live, Orlando, FL, US

19 Kash-d OutFirst Hit and Artikal Sound System

The Abbey, Orlando, FL, US

20 Jess Glynne and Leon Bridges

House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL, US

21 Tenth Avenue North

Bayside Stadium, Sea World, Orlando, FL, US

22 Whitesnake

Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL, US

23 Kulick

The Plaza Live, Orlando, FL, US

24 Ward Davis

The Social, Orlando, FL, US

25 Lonestar

America Gardens Theatre, EPCOT, Lake Buena Vista, FL, US

26 Parachute

The Social, Orlando, FL, US

27 Simply Three

Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando, FL, US

28 Hail the Sun, Dance Gavin Dance, and Don BrocoCovet and Thousand Below

House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL, US

29 Lord Huron and Faye Webster

House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL, US

30 Oh, Sleeper The Agony Scene and Earth Groans

Soundbar, Orlando, FL, US

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Throwback Article Title: February 2013 “A Dangerous Obsession”

Reflection Piece By: Luz Garcia

This throws me back to when I was around the age of nine years old and I had an obsessive fangirl phase towards Justin Bieber. I honestly felt like I knew every fact there was to know about him and everything. I breathed and lived for just Justin Bieber between the ages of nine through 12. I did not care about any other famous singer or band it was all just a world around Justin Bieber. Reflecting on it now at the age of seventeen, I would’ve really hated younger me because I wasted so much time just focused on Justin Bieber. I’m talking about walls covered in posters and pictures, waiting until 4 A.M. for the new single to drop even if I had school at 8 A.M the next day. I even remember getting bullied for only supporting one artist and not the others that close peers favored over but all I still wanted was to go to a Justin Bieber concert. I didn’t care about what others opinionated and I wished Justin did the same back in 2013. What others critiqued about his life he should’ve ignored it completely because he was just a teenager. Every teenager does crazy things like staying out too late, experimenting new things, learning what is right and wrong for themselves and he didn’t get the chance to live through that privately. If I were in his shoes, I would’ve gone completely insane knowing that everyone is following my every move and judging my every step of the way, right or wrong, people will always have something bad to say. My point is with this is that we should all go back to the past and analyze our prior way of thinking and compare it to the knowledge acquired throughout time even it was right or wrong, it’s never to learn to reflect and learn.

❖ Throwback article Title: May 2008 “Middle School and High School Start Time Swap”

Companion Piece By: Nora Mahgoub High school has always been filled with interesting new challenges for those who attend it, and one

interesting challenge the students who go to a Orange County High School is that they must wake up

early to attend school. School technically starts at 7:20 AM but for many students they are at school way

before due to them trying to get ahead of traffic or their bus coming early.

In years past there have been talk about switching the early time of high schoolers to the later time of

middle school, and it actually happened during the 2008-09 school year. However it only lasted a year

before we were switched back. This time change greatly altered the schedules of athletics and marching

band with practices going long past sunset. And many clubs opted to have meeting in the morning rather

than staying until five. This is likely why things were switched back since there was resistance from these

programs to keep the change.

Now once again our district has been discussing changing the start time of our school for a later one. On

our SGA’s Instagram a link to a Google Form was posted asking students what they think the pros and

cons were of a later start time. No information was given to what the district has done with the survey.

However, my interest was piqued on this topic. So I asked my fellow students what they thought if the

time changed. A couple of them said they it wouldn't make a difference to them, but an overwhelming

majority said that they would prefer it to stay the same. Many of those students who were opposed to the

change ended up being in afterschool programs like theatre and band that run late after school. Others

who weren’t in these types of these programs, but took many academically rigorous classes still liked the

way it is now because it “gave them more time to work on their assignments”. What I find the most

important from all of this is that the district is moving in the direction with asking the students on their

opinion, and that they should continue to do so when it comes to all matters that would greatly affect

students.

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Throwback Article Title: “Fashion Do’s and Don’ts of the Season”

Companion Piece By: Madelyn Smith

The fashion of teenagers has changed drastically over the past two decades. In an article of the May 2002 Timber Creek Tribune, the authors describe several fashion do’s and don’ts which teens today would find incredibly amusing.

“The Britney Spears look is in ladies!” This is one of the fashion do’s of 2002, and while I do admire Britney and find myself humming toxic now and then, the Britney look is definitely not in anymore. While I admire the bravery of a double denim look, I’m not certain others would appreciate my sudden homage to the iconic 2001 look.

Another amusing fashion rule established by the glorious 2002 article is that ankle boots are not fashionable whatsoever. I’m not sure any teenage girl would willingly give up her ankle boots which have become so fashionable today.

It has become apparent to me that the styles of today greatly reflect the styles of past eras. Scrunchies, chokers, doc martens, fishnets under jeans, these are only a few examples of the ’80s and ‘90s fashion which has become so standard in 2019 culture. We truly are trying to bring those 20 years back and with my doc martens and chokers in tow, I will gladly join the unspoken movement of pretending early 2000’s fashion never existed.

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Throwback Article Title: “Movement to Free the Nipples”

Companion Piece By: Hareema

As we know feminism has grown in its movement within the last couple years. A part of this movement is the “Free the Nipple Movement.” This movement is established on the basis that if a man can go shirtless so can a women. Feminism is rooted from the fact that women and men should be completely equal and the Free the Nipple movement is a very physical aspect of that. The Timber Creek Tribune article written about this was written in 2015 when the movement was first starting to become popular. The author Brittany Crary makes some really good points in her editorial. She writes “ I grew up in a world where, as a a female, I was told to not expose my body for self protection.” This a theme that many women around the world can relate to. Many women are told that if they want to be protected from the horrors that this world has to offer that they have to make decisions for themself that will somehow protect them from the actions of other.

More than just allowing women to expose themselves in public I think the “Free the Nipple Movement” stands for the idea that a woman should not be blamed if something bad happens to her. Even now for years after this editorial was written many of the same difficulties exist. It is still not legal for women to be topless and women are still blamed for the crimes that they are victims too. An example of this is that in rape cases the victim (female) are still asked what they are wearing. The idea of this absolutely absurd considering that what a woman is wearing is not an invitation for a man to come and do what he wants for her.

❖ Throwback Article Title: “Maturity Gained With Experience: The Perks of Growing Up”

Companion Piece By: Sheridan Mootoo As children, all we want to do is grow up. And although we’re constantly told that we

should enjoy being children, we just can’t seem to live in the moment. Now, in high

school, we all wish we could be children again.

I have distinct memories of elementary school: making my first friend, playing four

square at the playground, and moving my color to red for the first time (I cried... a lot).

There was nap time, and recess, and no homework at all. I was the smartest kid in the

class.

Middle school was difficult. Not in terms of schoolwork, but the struggle of keeping up

with the drama and knowing everything that was happening in my peers’ lives. I’m not

proud of it, but that was how it was. There was no privacy.

Now I’m in high school, and the drama doesn’t matter anymore. What matters now is

keeping up my grades and getting into college. It doesn’t interest me much, in all

honesty, but our generation feels pressure like no other previous generation. We are told

that if we don’t go to college, we can’t possibly succeed. High school is like its own little

world, and it can be easy to get sucked up in it. But no matter how much stress I go

through, I have to remind myself that high school is just a small part of the rest of my

life.