Hello JH families!

Welcome back! We’re wrapping up an amazing UIL season, and before we even catch our breath, we’re gearing up for upcoming TMSCA contests. There has never been a better time to see our students shine—this group is on a roll! Our students showed up, showed out, and showed everyone exactly what Junior High excellence looks like! Whether they wrote, solved, calculated, or performed their way through competition—each one of them demonstrated grit, talent, and pure determination.

The data is in… and guess what?
We are growing….And our scores are showing it!  And we are DEFINITELY not done yet!
(Seriously—if growth were a sport, we’d be headed to state.)

Thank you to our parents for early morning drop-offs, late-night pep talks, and occasional reminders that “YES, you signed up for this, now go to tutorials! 

Our parent/student/teacher triangle game is STRONG right now. Like championship-level strong. It’s the teamwork for us.
✔ Students are putting in the effort
✔ Teachers are delivering direction, support, and the occasional motivational speech
✔ Parents are keeping the ship afloat with reminders, snacks, and “Did you do your homework?”

Together, we are pushing every student to show their absolute best—and they are rising to the challenge! We say it often because it’s true: This is a team effort, and our team is AMAZING.

Thank you for trusting us, supporting us, and cheering on your students. Their accomplishments are a reflection of the village behind them—and what a village we have!

I am so proud to be a part of this Village… And you aint seen nothin’ yet! 

By: Iker Garcia and Kaden Jones

In Mrs.Batt's 6th-grade class, we are reading a story about the Titanic. As we gather information, Mrs. Batt assigns each of us a random passenger (crew member, 1st class, 2nd class, or 3rd class) to research. We then create presentations about the Titanic, which are due on Wednesday.

7th grade  Mr. Moore

Mr. Moore's 7th grade class has been hard at work mastering grammar through an engaging game of Jeopardy. Students are building their understanding of independent clauses, definitions, and complex sentences. They are also honing their editing skills by fixing fragment sentences.

8th grade Mrs. Hubbard

They are reading a book about how President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and the cover of the book is called “Captain; No captain”. And how the assassin planned his escape and how he would sneak in.

By: Truitt Laney

6th grade math

In math we are currently working on Multiplicative and Additive Inverse relationships.

7th grade math

In math right now we are learning about the Pythagorean Theorem which is a squared+b squared=c squared for example.

8th grade math

In 8th grade math we are learning about Factoring quadratics.

By: Logan Mueller

In 6th grade science we are doing transverse waves with slingies 

In 7th grade science they are learning about the solar system and gravity. 

In 8th grade science we are learning about weather fronts. We have a cold front coming our way.      

6th grade history learning about Martin Luther King Junior on MLK day. They learned about his significance in history and equality.

By: Parker Jackson

7th grade history has been learning and talking about the Mexican and Texan war, and the struggles of fighting in it. 

8th grade history presenting their perspective maps about the Andrew Jackson timeline, and the Indian removal act. Finding out the hardships and how life was in their shoes as they walked from Georgia and Florida to Oklahoma. 

By: Kannon Barksdale

Charlie Chappell

Favorite things

Color: Hot pink

Movie: Home alone

Food: Chicken Nuggets

Drink: Alani

Hobbies: shopping

Tucker Dishman

Favorite things

Color: Red

Movie: Blind side

Food: Pizza

Drink: Dr Pepper

Hobbies :Video games

By:Georgia Angeley 

Katelyn Sandmann

What is your mindset for matches?

My mindset for tennis is to achieve and work through difficulties I face on the court.

What is your routine before matches?

Before matches, Me and Maddie like to stretch, pray, and wish each other the best of luck.

What drives you to get good grades?

Without good grades I would be ashamed of myself and good grades is what strives me to be a better person and academics.

What is your favorite class and why?

My favorite class is Health. The reason I like health is because the teacher is really nice and she gives us easy activities.

 By: Cooper Moore 

Parker Morris Calhoun 

What's your hobby? sports and wrestling

 What is your favorite subject? Athletics

What do you like about Ponder? Bevs.

How do you be a good person? Being respectful.

How do you get good grades? Extra credit.

By: Lilli Allred

What is your favorite candy? Nerd gummy clusters

What is your favorite sport? Volleyball

What's your favorite book in the bible? John

What's your favorite drink? Dr: Pepper

What’s your favorite shoe brand? Nike

What is your favorite bible verse? Philippians 4:13

By: Jesus Jimenez

What is your favorite store? Ross

What is your favorite hobby? Playing soccer

What motivates you to do good in school? My Mom

What's your favorite sport and if you have one what’s your favorite team? Soccer and Cruz Azul

What’s your favorite food? Tamales

By: Mason Thedford and Triston Sands

8th Grade Basketball 

Beat Pilot Point by 3 points

Tournament on January 17th

8th grade A team went 0-3 (lost to 2 buzzer beaters)

8th grade B team went 1-2

 By: Parker Calhoun

How did you get so fast? I train box jumps.

What is your pregame meal? 12 count from Chick-fil-A and a fruit cup.

What position do you play in basketball? SG (shooting guard)

When did you start playing basketball? 3rd grade

By: Mason Garcia

Ponder’s B team won 56 to 7 to Boyd. Dax had the best game this season. That is why we are calling him "NEW YEAR NEW DAX!” He did very good at taking the ball to the rim and passing.

Ponder’s A team won 81 to 18 to Boyd. Madden scored a lot and got a lot of rebounds.

Ponder Jr high basketball had a tournament this week. First the B team won all 3 of their games. They beat Krum 49 to 15 then they beat HSAA  and then they beat Celina. Logen did the best in the first game. They kept leaving him unguarded so he got easy layups. Dax in the 2nd game scored his first 3 of the season after working so hard to score it. Mason Garcia did good at fighting for the ball. The third game they were not doing good in the first half but then stepped it up and ended up winning.

Then the A team won all 3 of their games. They beat Elevate then they beat Caddo Mills 41 to 39 then the last game they beat HSAA. In the  tournament everyone played equal.  

By: Truitt Morris

Miami VS. Indiana

        21      -       27

Indiana defeated Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship in a stunning upset that changed one of the most surprising seasons. It was a historic win for Indiana because this was their first ever national championship in football. Miami missed lots of opportunities, they struggled in the red zone and couldn’t capitalize on several scoring chances, which led to the loss. It was a game that will likely be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in college football championship history.

By: Cori Johnson

7th grade A team played on January 15th. They had a game against Whitesboro. They won 29-36

Highlight: Marlo

Marlo brings energy and toughness every time she hits the court. She fights through contact, makes big plays, and always finds a way to score. 

7th grade B Team also played on January 15th and they also won! 

7th grade A Team had a tournament on the January 17th.

Here are the scores.

Game 1 lost to Shermn 31-37

Game 2 beat Bells 34-2

Game 3 lost to Gunter 31-27

 Highlight: Kadi Thorson 

Kadi owns the paint every time she plays. She battles through contact, finishes tough shots, and never gives up on a play. Her highlights show just how strong and fearless she is on the court.

The 7th grade B team did not have a tournament. 

By: Madison Reid

1.What Is your Jersey Number? 25

2. What Sports do you play? Volleyball,Basketball,track,Dance, and cheer

3.What is your favorite sport? Dance

4. What is your Favorite drill? 550 

5. What would you tell your younger self when it comes to your sport? “To take corrections the first time your told”

6. How do you stay motivated? Think of the positive in these situations.

7. What is your favorite quote? “Think of the positive even when it’s feels impossible”- UNKNOWN

8. What is your Favorite hairstyle? Dutch braids Half up, Half down.

9.What is your Favorite bible verse? John 14:8 If god is all you have; you have all you need

The 8th grade A team won 48-3.

Only the 8th grade A team went to a tournament last weekend and won both games.

They also beat Whitesboro 41-3. They got second place in the tournament. Charlotte shot a three point buzzer beater at the tournament. 

2 weeks ago, 8th grade A team had two good point shots and won 2-1. 

 PJH Beginner Band

By: Jackson Fairbanks

Currently in beginner band we are leaning the music for next concert that looks something like this.

In Mrs Wiggins (art) we are choosing one out of many options to spend time on to create a project. I chose Op art.

We also raced our balloon cars last week and graphed our results. 

By MASON HANES

In GT, we have started a new project! It is called the Real World Project. We have to plan out stuff like school, job, and what future life is gonna look like. It is so far a great project. There are 12 slides so we have a lot of work to do and keep us occupied! Thank you to our teacher Mrs. Deranger for assigning us this awesome project!

By: Liam Lapinski

6th grade is making scripts for a puppet play. Here is one of the scripts:

“With one minute left down by seven there seems to be no hope for the cougars. It seems that the bears will win!” “Hey cougars they are playing red 54 try to get an interception.” *the next play* “It’s up AND INTERCEPTED!!!!” “They take it to 30, 20, 10 , AND A PICK 6!” *crowd going absolutely insane* “However if they want to win they have to get two points.” “If they want to go to overtime they have to get an extra point.” “Looks like they are kicking.” "But they fake!” “They scored, winning the game!!!” *crowd going even more insane* *Team going home.* “LETS GO WE WON THE BOWL!” “ We won the bowl for the beartraps for the first time ever!” “Let’s go!”

7th and 8th grade are working on one-act plays

I interviewed Joseph L.

What role do you do in plays? Tech

What do you like about theater? Being involved

What upcoming plays do y’all have? Right now we are in the process of reading a play called Peter Pan's Jump Shot/ We are not certain if we are going to do it but it is a possibility.

By: Tucker Dishman

Students have been practicing, taking notes, and preparing for their next practice meet on January 24th. We had to move the meet to next weekend Saturday, January 31st because of the bad weather expected over the weekend. The meet will be here in Argyle. 

Tuesday Jan, 20, 2026 will be the start of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Cattle shows will start off with the Dairy Cattle Show. The Goat shows start on Sunday, Jan, 16, 2026. Below is the weekend agenda if you are thinking of heading out to the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. 

Hope Squad

By: Rozalee Sanchez

What Hope Squad is: Hope Squad is a program with members that people trust. We try our best to make people happier and notify our counselor if anyone is thinking suicidal or depressional thoughts. The reason we are in Hope Squad is because friends voted for us because they think we’re nice, easy to talk to, and we’re good friends. 

What we did last meeting: Last meeting we wrote and decorated positive messages for people who are feeling down. For example, a few favorites were “Be the light in the dark” and “You are trying and that’s enough”. Mine were “Be the change” and “Look on the bright side” 

Squad Members: Rozalee, Easton, Gabby, Anistyn, Steven, Corbin, Reid, Kayla, Kaylee, Andrea, Ryan Brown, Kaden Kelsoe, Iker, 

Time and place: We usually do Hope Squad meetings on Monday during Advisory

Remember you’re amazing!

Also by: Jackson Fairbanks

Did you know that Venus is the only planet to spin clockwise?

Did you know the sun makes up more than 99% of the mass in our solar system?

Lined up, all of the planets in the solar system could fit in between the Earth and the moon.

A lot of people say the great wall of China is visible from space, but did you know that's actually a lie?

Did you know that at birth your bone count drops from about 300 to 206 and all of those bones are in your hands and feet.

1. If I had any superpower it would be the power to heal, I hate to see people suffer.

2. If I could take my students on a field trip anywhere in the world, I would take them to the Mediterranean, because places like Greece, Italy, and Turkey would allow students to walk where ancient civilizations began, where democracy, the Olympics, Roman engineering, and early trade routes were forged. The Mediterranean Sea becomes more than a map label, it’s clearly a highway for trade, ideas, and cultural exchange.

3. I'm not sure I do a very good job of keeping things fresh in Keyboarding, typing is very repetitive, but I do try to help students enjoy typing through games.

4. Luckily, the typing curriculum I use does the grading for me, so it's like having a full time assistant. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I wouldn't mind unlimited Cherry Coke Zero!!

5. I teach because of the Ahha moments. I love seeing student's and athlete's faces when they finally "get it".  I also love having the same schedule as my kids! The only way I would stop teaching is if I found something that would allow more flexibility for me to spend time with my son at Baylor University in Waco, allow me to travel to watch my daughter who will be playing softball next year at Pratt Community College in Kansas, and go to Disney World whenever I want!

By: Braxton Wood

The Lorax is a story about greed and self control. A boy who was living in a poor area goes to an old man called the “Onceler” and exchanges items for a story. The story is about the Onceler when he was young, and he started a business of cutting down trees in the area to sell “Thneeds”. This business grew large quickly, and many “Thneeds” were being made for money until all of the trees were chopped down. The Lorax, who is an orange tree-defender, was actively trying to prevent this. Finally, when the final tree was cut down (rendering the species extinct), the Lorax leaves a message: UNLESS and ascends to the clouds.  The Onceler pondered it for years, but understood what it meant at that moment and gave the boy listening the last Truffula seed, who then proceeded to grow it to bring back the species.

New Year Goals

By: Katelyn Starr

Do you have any goals for the new year? If not, now’s a great time to get some! Some people don’t set goals because they can never accomplish them. That’s because you are setting too big of goals. Start small. First try doing something for a week, then a month, then a year. Don’t set a goal for something you know you can’t do. All you are trying to do is improve. If at the end of the year you aren’t perfect, at least you have the habit of doing it! 

In GT we made one word goals then put them on the door. We hung them on the door so when we leave the classroom we see them. This is a daily reminder of what we want to accomplish. 

By: Ethan Johnson

Over the weekend, it will get significantly colder than it is now. On Saturday, the low is 7°F, and the high is 22°F. On Sunday, the low is 5°F, and the high is 21°F. There is a high chance of rain and or snow. Drive carefully, as there may be ice on the road. Eventually, it’ll get warmer, but for a little while, dress warm. This is all because a winter storm is headed our way. Let’s just hope we all get home safely and enjoy playing in the snow, and just staying inside and chilling. Also, I can’t be the only one who thinks the feeling of just staying inside and chilling while it’s snowing or during a winter storm is just, like, one of the best feelings in the world, right? 

We had our UIL competitions in Grapevine at NCTC and we did absolutely great!

Our UIL teams had an outstanding performance on Friday, January 9!

Number Sense and Calculator Applications stole the show—all 3 teams for those events earned 1st place in the district!

More Team Awards:

The 8th Grade Math Team won 1st Place

Maps, Charts, and Graphs won 2nd Place

The 7th Grade Math Team won 2nd Place, and

the 6th grade Listening Team won 3nd Place

Individual Awards:

Braxton Wood (8th Grade) – 1st Place in Calculator Applications, Math, and Number Sense. Way to go, Braxton!!

Andison Smith won 1st Place in Dictionary Skills

Mason Garcia won 1st Place in Calculator Applications

Liam Lapinsky  1st Place in Number Sense AND Chess Puzzle! Woohoo!

Cooper Moore won 2nd Place Math AND Number Sense

Garrett King won 2nd Place Number Sense.

Amazing job, Lions!  Your dedication, time, and hard work truly paid off, and we are so proud of you!

Teacher Favorites

Teacher Websites

Ponder Junior High

940-479-8220

501 Shaffner Street. Ponder, TX 72259