28th August 2020// Friday// 1st Edition

Caption: Chief Editor/ Founder: Bilvika Abburi Writers:

Start of Something new Over the years, thousands of students have sat in the very spot you are in, anxiously waiting for the clock to strike 8:40. Whilst roll call may seem like an endless tragedy, we’re hoping we can help. I’d like to introduce… “The Ponds Gazette.” A school newspaper written by the students; for the students. The Ponds Gazette will be presented as the ‘school newspaper’, distributed to students in roll call every Week B Friday!

Founder: Bilvika Abburi Writers: Faith Dhliwayo Ethan Zuliani Krisha Kamdar Tayyab Awais Sheen Sandhu

Spirit Week 2020 -------------------------------------------- Whilst, the initiation of the Ponds Gazette is quite exciting, it is not the only special event this week. As of week 6; Spirit week is officially underway! Our 2021 leadership team has outdone themselves yet again covering everything from a paper plane competition, teacher’s vs student’s basketball games to a real life quidditch match! What is Spirit week? Why do we celebrate it? According to our 2021 school captain; Milana Hobby “Spirit week aims to celebrate the differences and talents our school has in one celebrated week… spirit week is definition of what our school stands for.” What does the money raised during spirit week go towards? According to our 2021 sport’s captain; Owen Hemsworth “The mufti donations go towards Liverpool hospital, so we can help them with COVID-19 relief whether that goes towards ventilators or other PPE required, we just sort of help them in these sort of times.” Written by: Bilvika Abburi

Principal’s message: Spirit week has been a great event for our school and just what was needed with all the bad news of 2020. The dances today especially showed how many people are willing to get into the spirit. The events have been expertly organised by the new leadership team who have worked tirelessly to share their spirit with you. I am so thrilled to be writing in this edition of the first student newsletter. I was on the committee at my school who produced a newsletter. I know the work and organisation needed to put it together. Thank your team and a special thank you to the initiator Bilvika Abburi for her enthusiasm.

Paper Plane Competition ---------------------------------------------------------------- As a part of Spirit week many took the initiative to participate in the paper plane competition. A difficult yet engaging competition organised by Prakhar Chaturvedi and Vinanti Maharaj on 24th August, Monday. The overflowing enthusiasm and persistence of students made it too good to miss! As students entered they were accompanied by music to entertain them. Student competitors were required to construct paper planes using one A4 paper with only the folding technique permitted (no cutting, gluing or taping). Both, distance and airtime were assessed separately to determine the winner!

Written by Krisha Kamdar

Teacher domination in the Annual Grudge Match ------------------------------------------------------------ Students and teachers assembled for the annual teacher’s vs student’s basketball game; a rivalry established in 2019. A fast start from the teachers led by Mr Fuoco with some Lebron James-esque finishing at the rim allowed Mr Thomas and Mr Hwang to control the tempo and guide the teachers to a comfortable victory. Despite a strong effort from the students to get back into the game, the game ended with the teachers up by 9, finishing teachers 23 - students 14

Written by Ethan Zuliani

TPHS Mask Task -------------------------------------------------------- Spirit week had a great start with the first activity being

a mask design competition, this brilliant idea was

created by Antonia Diaz Ballas and Rajaswi Regmi,

who are our 2021 social justice leaders! The

competition was held inside the library during recess,

which was involved students across all grades, all of

whom were drawing up a storm.

Written by Sheen Sandhu

TPHS Talent Quest ------------------------------------------------------- Spirit week continued with the next student organised activity; Live Performances. Tuesday's launch, coordinated by Zanin Aeiveri and Tavleen Kaur, our 2021 Multicultural leaders! The show featured performances that included singing and dancing. The winner, Jessie Hua, performed Moonlight by Ariana Grande and was rewarded a $50 JB-HiFi gift card! Well done to our winner, participants and organisers of this event!

Written by Faith Dhliwayo

Muggles vs Wizards ------------------------------------------------------- Stage 4 gathered around the school oval for a quidditch competition, featuring the Yr 7’s and the Yr 8’s. Quidditch is a fast-paced game, inspired by the famous movie Harry Potter. There was a dominating start from the Red team with great control of the game. The Pikachu costumed yr 7, played was exceptional, scoring a goal for the green team, however, the red team scored the last minute goal with the final result, 20-10.

Written by Tayyab Awais

MUFTI BASKETBALL QUIDDITCH

SPIRIT FLASHMOB

TALENTQUEST PAPERPLANE DODGEBALL

MASK