The Ponds GazetteIssue 1 | 26th November 2021

The Ponds Spirit Week Edition

The Ponds High School Student Publication | Vol. II

IN THIS ISSUE

Introducing the new Gazette Team

2021 Spirit Week

Retro - Best Dressed

'Tell Them From Me' survey

D O M I N I C L I T C H F I E L D A N D T A V L E E N B H U L L A R0 1

Introducing The Editor-in-Chief and Ponds Gazette 2022 Starting with this issue, I, Giovanna AnikaTabanag, will be taking over the role ofEditor-in-Chief of The Ponds Gazette. It is myprivilege to serve the school, following theinspiring leadership of Bilvika Abburi,outgoing Editor-in-Chief. The opportunity tolead a school newspaper has always been adream of mine. I want this volume to bememorable not only to us but to everyoneelse.

Introducing Our New Team

The Ponds Gazette will serve as both a platformfor community discussion and a place for thoseinterested in journalism to develop their skills. Iwould like to introduce to you the first twelvemembers of this year’s team:

We all wish to express our gratitude andappreciation to last year’s team for all theirvaluable contributions to the First Volume ofThe Ponds Gazette. We’re looking forward toconnecting with you every Friday Week B!

G I O V A N N A A N I K A T A B A N A G0 2

Giovanna Anika TabanagNew Editor-in-Chief

The Ponds Gazette Team

Dominic LitchfieldVinanshi Maharaj

Krishna ShuklaNikki Subagyo

Anika TabanagSamanya Thokala

Aizah BanoTavleen BhullarHarneet DhaliwalJuliana GhettoNatalya GhettoAmeerah Hassan

If you would like to join our team,please get an application form in

front of the office.

We would love to have you!

To achieveanything, you

must beobsessed.

That is why Iam obsessed

with success. Iwill lead this

team tosuccess and

turn ideasinto reality.

A message from ourformer Editor-in-Chief

Bilvika Abburi:

Retro Mufti DayOn Thursday of Week 7, The Ponds HS held theSpirit Week mufti-day where students were toldto dress up to the theme of retro. The dayencapsulated Ponds Pride by providing studentswith the opportunity to showcase their creativitythrough retro-themed clothing. Many weresuccessful and had retro-inspired looks, featuredon the next page.

Students were interviewed throughout the dayand gave their take on what Spirit Week and theretro mufti meant to them. “Spirit Week is achance to build school spirit, and is a time tothink about the school during the week,” saidBlake Morgan (Year 12). Raja Alanson (Year 12)stated that “Spirit week is a time to build socio-cultural literacy and reflect on the diversity ofThe Ponds High School."

The Ponds Spirit PrideThis year's Spirit Week was a special event, as itbrought The Ponds High School communitytogether to celebrate our bond and how,together, we overcame one of the year's mostdifficult challenges: COVID-19. Being forced intoonline learning for over a term impacted ourlearning and overall school experience, includingour interactions with peers and the generalclassroom experience. For one, I never want tohear the term “Zoom” again!

Spirit Week enhanced the positive atmosphere,acting as a morale booster for students after thelockdown. The retro-themed mufti on Thursdaywas a unique spin on last year's theme. Inspiredby previous years' themes, 2021's retro dayallowed kids to connect with history by raidingtheir parent's wardrobes or adding a bit of theuniversal plaid. Students were also able toconnect with and express gratitude to theirteachers through the teacher appreciationmessages. Although some activities could not goahead due to Covid restrictions, the virus wasunable to break our spirits. Next year, we’rehoping to improve Spirit Week with moreactivities such as teacher vs. studentshandball/basketball games and Krispy Kremestalls. Spirit Week was a fantastic opportunity tobring students together and develop ourcommunity's bonds.

Year 10 and 12 Students Dressed up for Retro Mufti Day

Spirit Week

A I Z A H B A N O , K R I S H N A S H U K L A , H A R N E E T D H A L I W A L , A N D V I N A N S H I M A H A R A J0 3

"A chance to build school spirit"

The Ponds' retro mufti day raised money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation Australia and sawhow our fashion changed over time. There were so many amazing and creative outfits! Here aresome outfits that stood out, as well as their inspirations:

Retro - Best Dressed

Best Dressed

First up, we have this cool 1980s outfit. It was inspired bythe preppy style that peaked in the '80s. The collareddress and tights gave it a very classy look. The contrastwith the light coloured jacket and dark dress gave it all anextra splash of colour. This outfit was amazing anddefinitely was one of the best-dressed outfits.

Lastly, this outfit included a plaid skirt which was verypopular in the mid-’90s. The crewneck sweater vest,which was well known in the 1970s, also made a perfectmatch with the skirt as it is very colour-coordinated.The medium-length socks and leather shoes top it alloff. This was another amazing outfit and was doubtlessone of the best-dressed.

Next, we have this grunge boho-inspired outfit. It was inspired by1970/80s fashion with the layering anddark colours. The accessories such asthe glasses and jewellery also add anamazing touch to this outfit. Overall,this was certainly one of the best-dressed outfits!

Spirit Week gave us a chance to dress up, share our school spirit, and look at fashion throughout theyears. The school was full of gratitude, colour, and the community was brought closer together!

A M E E R A H H A S S A N0 4

We do the Tell Them From Me (TTFM)survey every year, but why do we do it andwhy does it matter?The TTFM survey entails a series of questionsabout your personal experience in school, howyou feel, a little bit about your parents, and thefuture. This anonymous survey helps theschool and the Department of Education gainan idea of how the students feel about schooland of any improvements they can make tocreate a better learning environment.I know you have probably put in randomanswers just to get some free time, but it is anexcellent opportunity for the school to gain aninsight into the students and how they feel.You may have heard negative commentsabout the school but this survey allows you toexpress your opinions anonymously, and,better yet, suggest ways in which the schoolcould be improved. It gives you a chance tohelp make a change to better the schoolenvironment. 68% of people at the school feelpositive whilst the state average is 76%.

Tell Them From Me Survey

'Tell Them From Me' Survey

What Are Your Suggestions?If you have any ideas or suggestions to do with theschool you can reach out to us (the Gazette),teachers, year advisers, or the school leaders. Theschool would love to hear your perspective andthe Gazette would love to know and expand onyour ideas. Help us, help you.

How Can We Change This?

The school is trying to change. Juliana and I wereinvited to attend a session where students fromThe Ponds gave feedback on the school and thedata from the Tell Them From Me survey. Thestudents gave a lot of insight, and we would love tohear your opinions on some of the suggestions, aswell as your own!The students said that there were too manyassessments in the one time period and thatstudents wished for more help. There were also alot of ideas that we already have at the school, butstudents did not know about them. For example,one student wanted to create a club that alreadyexisted. A suggestion to fix this issue was to have aday where all the clubs are set up on the oval, sopeople can choose what clubs to join. They alsosuggested more Homework Club days as theyneeded more help from teachers with schoolworkand homework.

J U L I A N A A N D N A T A L Y A G H E T T O 0 5

Announcements

Let's jolly up our seasonal spirit!Candy-grams will be available this term andlook out for other events...

What percentage of students inour school feel positive about

the Tell Them From Mesurvey?

Hint: The answer is in this issue.

This issue's question is:

Gazette applications are open!

Christmas is coming

We are looking for Artists, Photographer,Graphic Designers and Writers! Grab a formin front of the office.Applications are due Friday 3rd ofDecember, 2021.

Enter your asnwer in the red boxlocated at the front office. Winner

will be announced next issue!

The Ponds High School Student Publication | Vol. II

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Editor-in-Chief

Copy Editor

Reporters

Layout Designer

Photographer/Graphic Designer

Entertainment Editor

Announcement Editor

Giovanna Anika Tabanag

Dominic Litchfield

Natalya Ghetto, Juliana Ghetto, Ameerah Hassan, Aizah Bano,

Krishna Shukla and Vinanshi Maharaj

Tavleen Bhullar

Nikki Subagyo

Samanya Thokala

Harneet Dhaliwal