1. education
2. school

The Tohono O’odham High School Newspaper
EAGLE NEWS
Volume 1, Issue 13
February 24, 2014
because they were the ones who came
up with the name.
Mr. Siquieros also said that the
original
plan was to have dorms at the
By Maryanna Norris and Shaina Manuel
school, but the budget was cut by 10%
so that was the first thing to go. The
Tohono O'odham High School has
planners figured that they would
been here since 1985, but do you know
build them later on. (I don't see any
the history behind how it came to be or
dorms!) An Olympic-sized
even why its building structure is the
“natatorium,” or swimming pool, was
way it is? Cultural Center and Museum
originally included, but that was cut
Education Curator, Mr. Bernard
out as well.
Siquieros, was involved with the planDid
you
know
about
the
time
capsule?
Mr. Siqueiros also told a little bit
ning of TOHS. When he visited TOHS
about
the placement of the buildings.
for the I:mig Cultural Series presentaschool that was used as a landmark
They weren't just randomly put here
tion, he had a lot of trivia to share about for the salt pilgrimages. The men
and there. The original plan was to
our school.
coming back from the pilgrimages
In 1983, Mr. Siquieros was hired as used that mountain as a cut off where have everything under one roof. The
school is actually based on traditional
the Director of the Papago Education
they would split up and head back to
O'odham family environment. In a
Department. He says the Nation had
their villages. The elders decided on
traditional household there are differalready planned on building a school
the name Bihinol Du’ag High School,
ent places for doing certain things
even before he was hired. They wanted a which means "a mountain tied," but
high school to be built for the students on somewhere along the way, the school such as cooking and sleeping. So at
the school there is one building for
the west side of the Nation. The Bureau name was changed to "Tohono
eating, another for classrooms, anof Indian Affairs wanted to close boardO'odham High School" because they
other for workshops, and then there’s
ing schools throughout the country, but
felt the name of the mountain would
the gym, and they all surround the
that couldn't happen if students had no
be hard to pronounce. Mr. Siquieros
gathering circle.
place to go. The Nation had a lot of sup- felt it was disrespectful to the elders
port from Washington. It was a long
process with many public hearings.
Lillian was our lone representative at the State TournaEven deciding on a name was not
easy. According to Mr. Siquieros, the
ment. You made us proud, Lillian!
name that was chosen was way different
than "Tohono O'odham High School."
The name that was written on the construction documents was "San Simon
High School." The Nation then decided
to have a public meeting with the community members from Hickiwan, Pisinemo, and Go'vo districts. They met at
San Simon School and started to come up
with names. This was around the time
when our tribe’s name was changed from
Papago to Tohono O'odham and everything was "Tohono O'odham" this,
"Tohono O'odham" that. The elders didn't want the school to be like that. One
elder from Hickiwan then pointed out
that Baboquivari High School was named
after the sacred mountain that lies there,
so he suggested that the school be named
after something like that because there
are prominent mountains around this
area. There is a mountain west of the
TOHS Trivia
PAGE 2
Boys’ Basketball
SPORTS
was not enough
to beat the
Hawks who
won 64-50.
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
the Eagles still continued to
struggle on offense, but they intensified the defensive effort,
By Domonique Cleveland and Sadie Belton
allowing Babo to score only 4
points the whole quarter; still,
The
Babo
Game
The St. Gregory Game
the Eagles scored only 6. TOHS
On Feb. 6th the
On the 4th of February, the Eaalso had a couple of steals but
gles traveled to play against the St. boys were pumped
failed to make points from them.
and eager to play
Gregory Hawks, who were 1st in
At the end of the quarter Babo
their last game of the
the division and 6th in the state.
was still ahead, 22-15.
The Hawks were hyped to play be- season against their
In the third quarter the
cause it was their last home game rival, Baboquivari!
Eagles came out more deterand senior night. For
mined than ever. TOHS started
the Eagles, it was their
playing better at both ends.
last away game.
They were rebounding more, and
In the first quarter
they were making most of their
the Eagles had a
Zeke goes up for two.
shots. The teams were going
sloppy start with mulhead to head, but Harrison Begay went
The Eagles had
tiple turnovers. The
beast mode, scoring 13 out of the
been looking forHawks were a bit tall,
team’s 20 points in the third quarter!
ward to that game
making the Eagles
In the last minute of the quarter, the
ever since their
struggle with reboundloss against them
early in the season, and now that
Daniel was left wide open. Babo was going to
be on TOHS territory, they couldn’t help
but feel determined and ready for what
would be going down that night.
Before the game started, both the Eagles’ girls and boys basketball players were
recognized. Family members escorted each
player for a photo shot and TOHS souvenirs
and flowers. That night was the last basketball home game for seniors Harrison
Begay, Alonzo Cipriano, and Anthony
Pablo. Each senior was rewarded with a
small basketball with all of their teammates’ signatures and numbers.
Lots of hugs after the game.
In the first quarter the Eagles didn’t do
so well, probably due to nervousness. The
It seemed like almost everyone on
ing. The first quarter ended 15-8,
Eagles had some bad passes, they were
Hawks.
missing easy shots, and they weren’t regame was intense with both teams
In the second quarter, the Eabounding. Babo, on the other hand, was
scoring back to back 3’s, but the Eagles
gles started matching the Hawks,
easily scoring and trying to push the pace,
had the lead, 42-38.
and the Hawks were getting frusand the Eagles were behind 18-9 at the end
As if the game wasn’t exciting
trated. One of the Hawks’ guards
of the first quarter.
enough, the intensity picked up even
committed an intentional foul, and
Entering the second quarter of the game,
more in the fourth. The teams mostly
their defense couldn’t keep the Eatraded baskets, and the Eagles mangles from scoring.
Jade takes it to the rack.
aged to keep the lead. Jade
In the third and fourth
Velasco and Alonzo Cipriano
quarters, the Eagles were doboth had great defensive plays
ing great on offense but needed
and monster blocks. Babo was
a little work on defense betrying to press, but with an all
cause the Hawks’ guard continguard line up, the Eagles broke
ued scoring. St. Greg’s had a
their press. In the end the Ea12 point lead at the end of the
gles closed the game on a good
third quarter.
offensive stretch. The Eagles
In the fourth, the Eagles
won, 42-38, and the home crowd
played hard and strong but it
went wild.
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
SPORTS
PAGE 3
Girls’ Basketball
night. The Hawks had five graduating seniors, who all started and came
out fired up and ready to play.
By Montoya Baptisto
The Hawks set the tone
early on defense, pressuring the ball and forcing multiple turnovers.
Offensively they established a high-low post-up
offense easily with their
6’4” forward and 6’3”
center and scored with
ease in the paint. The
Eagles didn’t back down
defensively, playing good
help side defense and
contesting jump shots,
Sighs of relief just after the Baboquivari game.
but the Hawks had too
This year our lady Eagles had a
much size for the Eagles, which helped
good season with a strong finish. They them gain the rebounding advantage
ended the season with a 11-5 record,
early. The Eagles had trouble setting
but it was not enough to make state.
up their offense due to the Hawks’
trapping defense. The first half score
was 25-8.
In the second half the Eagles
played a diamond and one with the
point guard to startle the Hawks’ offense, and it did just that. The Eagles
got many steals, but they missed lay
ups and weren’t able to capitalize on
the fast breaks. The Hawks were also
very disciplined to get back on defense
after a turnover. The final score was
54-19 Hawks, the only blow-out the
lady Eagles had all season.
The Baboquivari Game
February 6th the Eagles hosted
their last home game of the year
against the cross-rez rival Baboquivari
the TO Nation turned out for this game. Warriors. This game is always the big
boom game of the season, the turf batThey missed the sectional tournament tle, the original duel in the desert.
This game would be the last home
by losing to a team they should’ve
game for our two senior guards, Dobeaten. The lady Eagles finished 32nd
monique Cleveland and Allison Johnin the state and 5th in the sectional.
Our ladies had one slip up early in the son.
The much hyped game was just as
season (to Babo), but then only lost to
intense as the first one; it was all you
state tournament qualifiers.
could want from a rivalry game.
The Saint Gregory Game
Both teams struggled offensively
On the 4th of February the lady
only scoring 9 points combined in the
Eagles traveled to the home of the 3rd first quarter. The defense was smothranked team in the state, the St. Greg- ering, and the game went back and
ory Hawks. The Eagles were traveling forth. The full court press played by
to the last away game of the season,
the Warriors sped the game up a lot;
and for the seniors, it would be the last the Eagles struggled to handle their
game bus trip of their high school capress but eventually broke the press in
reers. The Hawks were hosting their
the second quarter. The Eagles kept
last home game, and it was senior
changing defense and pressured the
Jessica shoots over a Babo defender.
Warriors’ ball handlers, resulting in a
bunch of steals. But they couldn’t capitalize consistently with lay ups. The
Eagles still held a 4 point lead going
into the half, 11-7.
The Eagles and Warriors came out
in the third ready to play. Both teams
brought more intensity, and it was a
one point game going into the fourth
quarter.
In the fourth, the game went back
At times it was a wrestling match.
and forth offensively. The Eagles put
on a full court press to disrupt the
Warriors’ offense. The press worked,
and the Warriors showed frustration
with their body language. The Eagles
held a two point advantage with under
30 seconds in the game. In desperation, the Warriors fouled several times,
and the Eagles capitalized to eke out a
30-25 win.
A two-point game with 27 seconds left!
PAGE 4
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT by Ariceli Josemaria and Lillian Mattia
Domonique Cleveland
How do you feel about your last year at TOHS?
I feel very depressed., depressed but happy at the same time. I
didn’t think I would graduate from here because I heard a lot
of bad things about it, but since I came here, I’ve felt very
happy, and I am comfortable here.
What are your expectations for your last year?
My expectations are to at least be ranked in the top five.
I also expect myself to like writing and reading because I
hate them so much I can’t get into them.
What are your plans after high school?
I wish to attend NAU and study to either become a
teacher or a nurse or anything
to do with children because I
love them so much. I plan to
get my driver’s license because
I still haven’t got my driver
license or permit because I’m
so scared to drive. I also plan
to get a German Shepherd
dog.
Where do you see yourself
in five years?
I see myself traveling to different reservations and meeting
new people, meeting other
Native Americans, and helping them. I will at least have
a house of my own, a car, and
my German Shepherds—at
least two of them.
If you won the lottery,
what would you do with
the money?
I would save some of it for
myself in case of emergencies,
and I would give some of it to
charities and also to schools
that are having a hard time with money to get equipment and stuff because that’s how my middle school
was. And I would also give it to my family. I would
also not rely on it that much because I know how
money can change a person.
Was high school how you expected it to be?
Honestly no, because I thought it was going to be
much harder and more difficult but it’s not; it’s just school. I
thought middle school was freakin hard.
What were you like when you were younger? And have
you changed from it?
When I was younger, I had a double personality. At school I
was quiet; I always kept to myself and I didn’t like talking to
people. I didn’t like the presence of people I didn’t know. I
was such a mean person in my head, but when people talked to
me I was really nice. This was just because I went to school
with a lot of Mexican and white kids. I was the only Native.
When I went home, I was very loud and curious. My mom told
me I loved to eat baby lotion and powder. I really changed
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
from those days. To be honest, after coming to TOHS, I
became more social and outgoing.
As a child, what was one of your biggest fears?
Being a disappointment and being hated. I felt that if I got
a bad grade, no one would talk to me. That’s why I don’t
like getting bad grades.
Which is more important to you, the money or type
of job? Why?
The type of job because, why would I be there if I didn’t
like it? The most boring job for me would be the person
that takes parking fees from the people entering a parking lot. I would
instead work at the poorest daycare
center, even if I got paid $1 an hour
because I would rather work with
kids than not at all.
What was the most stressful
time in your life, and how did it
change you?
The most stressful time was my
freshmen year. It was so hard waking up every day to go to
school because I didn’t
want to go back to that
school. The work wasn’t
hard; just getting through
the day was the hard part.
If you were invited to
speak to a group of
grade school children
about succeeding in
high school, what
would you tell them?
“No matter what, never
change who you are and
what you want. No matter
what someone says or
what they think of you. Go
to school, because it really counts. Just do
your work no matter what distractions
there are.
If you could travel to any place in
any era, where would it be and why?
I would say the era where they had samurais and knights because I would want to
be a really strong female knight or samurai because I know that they looked down
on them in those days. I love protecting people so I would
protect someone.
What motivates you to succeed?
My family is what motivates me to succeed because not
many of them had the opportunity to go to college or university and they had kids early. They had to let everything
go.
Do you have any advice for the younger students?
I would say, “Don’t let anyone change YOU or what you
want to do, just be who YOU are and what you want to do,
and of course STAY in school. ”
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT by Ariceli Josemaria and Lillian Mattia
Orenda Victor
PAGE 5
When you were a kid what were your dreams?
I wanted to become a student who travels the world and
discovers different things, or to become a mathematics
teacher.
How do you feel about your last year at TOHS?
What are your hobbies?
I feel happy but sad because, I made a lot of new friends.
Laughing, hanging out, playing sports, and being ranWhen I’m here, they make me happy and when I’m anywhere
else, it’s boring. I spend more time being with them than being dom.
What was your favorite song in your freshman
out in the world, but it’s okay because now
days and what is your favorite song now?
that I’m graduating, I will get to experience
Escape the Fate- Gorgeous Nightmare and now it is
new things.
Five Finger death punch- Under and over it.:)
What are your expectations for your
What were you like when you were younger?
last year?
And have you changed from it?
I expect a lot of greatness to happen, so I can
I was shy and not very talkative, and now I’m outgoing
get a job and move on with my life.
and talking to people I wouldn’t have talked to before I
What are your plans after high school?
was here.
I was thinking of going back to school, but
What type of music do you listen to?
I’m not that kind of girl. I will probably end
Mostly everything that sounds good or with a good
up moving to Tucson and finding a job there
bass.
so I can buy myself a house.
How would you describe a perfect day?
Where do you see yourself in five
Laughing, eating, and
years?
hanging with the best
I just see myself working.
buds.
Are you optimistic about your future?
If you could be best at
No, because there are a lot of things happenanything, what would
ing to me and I don’t see things
you choose?
that positive. But if there was
I would choose to be good
somebody with me, like a close
at making baskets and
friend, it would be more excitdream catchers.
ing.
As a child, what was
What is your favorite food?
one of your biggest
Enchiladas, meat-lover pizza,
fears?
and sherbet ice cream.
Growing up.
List three words to deIf
you
were stranded on an
scribe yourself.
island
and only had three
I’m very colorful, random, and
things, what would they be?
weird.
Music, food, and water.
Taco Bell or Burger King?
What is your favorite class
Burger King, because I like burgers and I like their
and who is your favorite
milkshakes.
teacher?
If you won the lottery, what would you do with
Chemistry because we do a lot
the money?
of labs and I learned a lot about
I would go back to my village and support everyone; I’d
what we eat and drink.
just give the money out.
My favorite teacher is Mr.
What was your favorite TV show when you were
Laflin because he was funny
younger?
and awesome.
Invader Zim and Catdog.
Of which of your accomIf you could have superpowers, what would they
plishments or honors are
be?
you the most proud? Why?
I’d be smart, fast, and strong.
It is becoming a DJ because
If you could start high school all over again, what
early in life I wasn’t talking
would you do differently?
I wouldn’t ditch, I would go to class on time, and I would go to much and I was very shy, but now I am really outgoing
and getting known.
my classes more.
What was the most stressful time in your school
What do you think is the most interesting aspect of
years? How did it change you?
yourself?
It was making up work to get my credits. It taught me to
Being weird.
buckle down and get to work.
Was high school how you expected it to be?
No, I thought there were going to bullies and then I found out Any advice for youngsters?
Stay in school and don’t miss class and your future will be
there weren’t. I made a lot of good friends.
great.
PAGE 6
AROUND THE SCHOOL
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
Catapults at TOHS
Photos and story by Alyssa Antone
On February 13 Mr. Mooring’s second
hour class presented and shot off their
handmade catapults to see whose
would go the farthest. It took a week
of preparation for the students to design their own catapults and to test
them out before the little competition.
News Bites
Compiled by the Eagle
News Staff
2/10—Ariceli’s b-day
2/11—Delvon, Brittany G. and
Mr. J’s b-days. (Mr. J turned
29 for the 33rd straight year.)
Baseball and track practices
started.
2/13—The Marines came to
TOHS to talk with prospective
recruits. Twenty-five students
attended to get info. Lillian
went to the state tournament in wrestling in Prescott. She
lost to the second seed (from Camp Verde) in her first match
and lost her second match to
a San Manuel wrestler.
There was a medical triage
in the parking lot after
school. An ambulance transferred an injured
person to a helicopter for transport to a hospital. Daphne came
back.
2/14—Seniors sold Crush Grams for Valentine’s
Day. The Science Fair winners
were recognized at an assembly.
ASU downed the U of A in a basketball double-overtime slugfest 69-66.
NBA All Star Weekend. Maria’s
mom went to Texas and visited the
Alamo and saw the
world’s biggest cinnamon bun (the size of a
steering wheel) and the world’s biggest pizza (42” in diameter—too
much for Maria’s mom, uncle and his
girlfriend to finish).
2/16—The East NBA All-stars defeated the West All-stars, 163-155, the most points
ever scored in an All-star game. Willie went to
Mt. Lemmon. There was still a little snow in
places.
2/17—Presidents’ Day—no school.
2/18—The newspaper class had a party for Lillian.
Eagle News just heard that the cultural series
presentation for tomorrow was postponed—that
shot our front page for this edition! Meeting of
the seniors’ parents in the evening.
2/19—Virgil and Shaina H’s b-days. Seniors met
with Mr. Rios to get measured for caps and gowns.
STUDENT NARRATIVES FROM MR. JACKSON’S CLASS
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1 3
A Prank on Me
Jesusa Andrews
This one time I was pranked by one of my cousins. She
texted me telling me that she had to tell me something very
important, so I texted her back saying, “OK, what is it that
you need to tell me?”
I was sitting there thinking and waiting for her reply.
Then next thing you know my
phone buzzed and I read her
text saying her phone was going to be turned off, and so I
texted her back saying, “Well
are you still going to tell me
what’s so important?”
PAGE 7
sign, confused. I couldn’t stop laughing and told him what
I did.
A Memorable Prank
Allison Johnson
This one time my sister and I played a prank on my
little brother and my other sister. It was really funny at
first, but in the end all four of us got in trouble, especially
me because I was the oldest and it was my idea.
It was in the afternoon and my brother and sister were
taking a nap because we all spent the whole morning playing outside. My other sister and I stayed awake watching
cartoons. My step-mom was in her room, but we didn’t
know. We thought she went to town, so I told my sister
And then she texted me
that we should play a prank on
back saying, “Yes, I still am,
the two younger ones. She
but you have to call me at this other number.” At the bottom agreed with no hesitation.
of the text was a long phone number, so I got a pen and paShe asked me, “What should
per to write down the number that she gave me.
we do?”
The next thing you know, I dialed the number and waited
I said, “Let’s put chocolate
for it to ring. It took a few seconds to reach the number and frosting on their hands and
then it started ringing. Then this weird voice came on and
tickle their faces with a feather!”
said, “Ha, ha, you have just been pranked,” so I hung up the
She said, “Oh yeah! Then
phone.
they will slap their faces with
I was a bit mad. Then I texted my cousin back saying,
the chocolate!”
“Ugh you jerk! Why did you do that? I thought something
We got the frosting and put it on their hands and then
bad happened!”
started to tickle their faces. My brother whacked himself
Then she texted back saying, “I am sorry Jesusa, but I
with the frosting, but he didn’t wake up. However, my
just wanted to see what you would do.” And so that was my sister woke up as soon as she slapped herself with the
cousin’s prank on me.
frosting. She started to cry really loud, waking up my
brother who started to cry, too. We laughed so hard because we pulled it off, and they were crying with chocolate
Prank
all over their faces. My sister who did the prank with me
Keanan Lopez
told them that they were ones who were eating the frosting
One day I pulled a prank on my friend at the store in
and that they better clean up the mess they made. We
Casa Grande. We were bored and wasting time while my
laughed even harder because they had no clue. They just
mom was shopping, and my friend said, “It’s boring! I want cried.
to do something fun.”
Out of nowhere, my step-mom came out of her room.
So I said, “Okay, you should
She took one look at the chocolate mess on the living room
get in a shopping cart.” So he got
floor and started yelling at all of us. She spanked the
in, and I was pushing him and
younger ones really hard and then asked them what haprolled him in the parking lot and
pened. They cried staying, “I don’t know.”
let him go. After that it was my
She knew right away that we did it. She asked, “What
turn, and he pushed me into a
happened Angelica?”
car, which was damaged a bit.
My sister tried to lie saying that they did it on their
After that my friend needed to
own, but my step-mom already knew. She was just testing
use the restroom. We went back
her. She looked at me. I said, “We put the chocolate on
inside and I said, “I’ll be waiting
their hands.”
outside.”
She made me clean up the mess. As for my sister, my
As I told him that, I looked and saw that the women’s and
step-mom spanked her for the prank and for trying to lie
the men’s signs could be removed. I called him back and
about it. I thought I got off easy, but later on that day my
said, “Hey my mom wants you, hurry.”
dad spanked me, which was a lot worse.
Then he said, “Okay, I’ll be back.”
When I look back on that day, the prank was worth all
Right after he left, I switched the women’s and the men’s the trouble we got into because my sister Angelica and I
signs. He came back and went into the women’s bathroom.
still laugh about it when we remember that memory.
Right after he came out, he was laughing and looking at the
Eagle News is published every two weeks
by the TOHS Newspaper and Creative
Writing Class. You can write to us:
Eagle News
Tohono O’odham High School
HC 01 Box 8513
Sells, AZ 85634
Or email: james2.jackson@bie.edu
Dear Savvy Senior
So I have this friend who is starting to act strange.
Lately she’s been ditching me to hang with another
crowd, who in my opinion is bad news. I don’t want to
force her to be with me all the time but like I said, she’s
the only one I talk to. This isn’t just about my feelings.
I’m also scared that she’s going to get in a lot of trouble if
she stays around that crowd. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a
good friend, but I’m just worried. Help?
If you would like electronic copies of
-Concerned Sandy
Eagle News (pdf format), email us with Dear Concerned Sandy
your request and email address.
In my opinion Sandy, as her friend you do have a right to ask her why she
has been acting strange or why she has been ditching you. There is nothing
Thought of the Week:
wrong with asking her about it because who knows? She might not even
know what she has done. Another thing, generally people have many
Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the
friends and some tend to be bad influences, but looks can be deceiving, and
if this crowd is causing her to lose track, you should explain your worries to
strength to endure a difficult one.
your friend. I’m sure she’ll understand.
—Bruce Lee
-Savvy Senior
Wings
TOHS
Reads
Reviews from
two students
By Aprilynne Pike
This book is about a girl, named Laurel,
who’s been home-schooled until she is fifteen.
She never knew she’d find teenage life a whole
new experience by just changing to public
school. When she starts high school, she meets
a boy named David who becomes really close
to Laurel. One day she feels a bump on her
back. When she looks, she sees a blossom appearing on her back. She begins to feel she
doesn’t belong in a human world, but becomes
happy because David helps her see life from a
different point of view. He tells her not everyone has a blossom growing out of her back and
it’s special. I never knew self-esteem was so
important at age fifteen. This book taught
that it is. I sometimes wondered what was
wrong with me. I was just living this book. It
made me see that you can find new things in
people.
The book “Wings” is an interesting story
about a young girl named Laurel who discovers a flower blooming on her back while
starting her first year at high school after
being home schooled her whole life. Beginning sophomore year, she meets a boy named
David who soon after becomes one of her
closest friends. When the mysterious flower
appears, she decides to tell him and he tries
to come up with a reasonable explanation.
When it is decided that it’s not possible, they
set out for an answer. But while the story
goes on they spent it discovering the unexplainable truth. The friendship and love that
Laurel and David have for each other make
this book an exciting and romantic story.
Reviewed by Rayven Monte
Reviewed by D.P
Come One, Come All to the STAR PARTY
Where? TOHS Gymnasium
What day? Tuesday, March 4
What time? 6:30-8:30 p.m.
STORY TELLING, RAFFLES, REFRESHMENTS, TELESCOPES, PORTABLE PLANETARIUM
For more info contact Mr. Beres, TOHS Science Teacher, 520-362-2400