Mrs. McCage

A Letter From The Principal

Aloha, Lions!

It’s great time to be part of our school community! We’re kicking off some exciting weeks ahead — starting with our Hawaiian Pep Rally next Thursday. Dust off those floral shirts and grass skirts (within dress code, of course!) and get ready to bring the island spirit to the gym.

Then, as the leaves fall and the pumpkins glow, don’t miss our Halloween Dance! Costumes, music, and maybe a few spooky surprises — it’s going to be fang-tastic!

And speaking of great news — our new 4-day instructional week is officially underway! That’s right — Fridays are now for rest, recharging, and maybe even get those students to finish that laundry pile that’s been giving you side-eye since August. (Is that only at my house??) Let’s make this season one to remember — full of learning and laughter!

Kimberly McCage

Integrated Athletics

Ponder ISD had their Integrated Athletics Event on October 2nd and it was such a blast! We had Gifted and Talented,Student Council and High School volunteering their time to help others.

So you may be wondering, What is integrated athletics? Integrated athletics is a program that helps include sports for individuals with disabilities. This helps students with disabilities feel included and feel the joy of being a team.

Gifted and Talented students cheered for all of the participants and helped with the sensory tent and concession stands. It was an awesome day!

Inside the Classroom

By: Truitt Laney, Parker Jackson, Logan Mueller, Kendall Custy, Maddie Wright, and Katelyn Starr

What we are doing in class!

In 7th period GT class we are editing the news letter every Tuesday.

8th grade ELAR is writing using RACE to improve their writing skills.

In computer science they are creating web designs.

6th grade advanced math learning about rates by doing an activity about chewing and blowing Bubble gum.

8th grade is learning slope-intercept form in math, Newton's Second Law of Motion in science, horror stories in English, and the signing of the Constitution in History.

Choir singing “Zum Gali Gali” They are having a choir concert coming up next week on Wednesday. We would love for you to come and see their performance! by Kendall Custy

6th Grade is learning about ratios and rates in math, metals, nonmetals, and metalloids in science, grammar and comma splices in English, and studying Central America in History.

7th Grade is learning about proportional and non-proportional relationships in math, time-distance graphs in science, conjunctions in English, and Stephen F. Austin's contributions to Texas in History.

Student Spotlight

By:Liam Lapinski, Cooper Moore, Triston Sands, Eddie Jones, Andrea Soto

Nash Pommer

Favorite subject: Health Science

Favorite hobby: Basketball

How do you stay on top of your grades: Trying my best

How do you stay focused: Tells friends to stop talking to him

Avery Neukirch

What’s your favorite subject? Math

What is your favorite NFL team? Dallas Cowboys

What’s your favorite sport? And why?Volleyball, because it’s fun.

What do you do during your free time? Hang out with friends.

Who’s your hero? Mrs.Barksdale

What’s your favorite snack? And why? Cheez-its because they're yummy.

Boys Athletics

By: Beau Penland, Levi Davis

The 7th and 8th grade football teams had a game on Thursday October 2nd against Vernon. The 7th grade game against Vernon started at 4:30 and the 8th grade game started at 6:00. The 7th grade won against Vernon 42 to 12. The 8th grade also won 22 to 6.
Way to go Lions!

This year the 6th grade boys begin their practice in the weight room. They start small by working on their form while using a pvc pipe. After many months of work and training they will work their way up to a bar. By next year our 6th grade Lions will be ready to go to the weight room for a workout.

Boys Athlete of The Week

By: Truitt Morris, Mason Garcia, Parker Calhoun

The athlete of the week is Jagger Nix. He won this award from his hard work and dedication to the game. Last game he scored multiple touchdowns including a pick six that was 60 yards. He also had amazing blocks when we ran the ball his way.

Did you think you were gonna score on your pick 6? No, because their QB was about to tackle him.

Were you tired after pick 6? He was very very tired.

What made you come back to football and want to play it again? He had to bounce back from his injuries and get his get back.

What is your favorite route to run and why? Inside release slant.

Do you like playing WR or do you want to play a different position? He loves playing WR, because he likes to run routes and moss people.

Girls Athletics

By: Madi Reid, Georgia Angeley, Cori Johnson

Last Saturday October 4 we had our district meet for cross country and our boys and girls all hit a new PR meaning a new time or a better time.

Go Cross Country Ponder Lions!

Volleyball girls scores: 7th grade B team lost to Pilot Point 1 to 2.

7th grade A team lost to Pilot Point 0 to 2.

Girls Athlete of the Week

By: Lilli Allred and Kaylee Martin

Amaiyah Patterson

What’s your favorite candy?! TWIX

What’s your dream job?! HAIR STYLEST

What’s your favorite sport?! TRACK

Who do you look up to and why?! Her mom because she's strong

Who’s your favorite teacher and why?! Mrs: Berte because she’s chill

Happenings at PJH

By: Mason Hanes, Easton Nordie, Tucker Dishman, Rozalee Sanchez, Iker Carcia, and Jesus Jimenez, Leiter Hagemann

Please see the flyer to RSVP for Gifted and Talented Family Night on November 3.

No School on Fridays

See below and bring some snacks!

On 10/2/25 PJH had their second Pep RALLY OF THE YEAR. The theme was Pink Out! Everyone wore pink to show support for the patients with Breast Cancer.

-Kaden Jones

Students leaving on Thursday excited about NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY!

By Easton Nordie

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the US, with approximately 1 in 8 women (13.1%). The official day of breast cancer awareness is October 13th.Breast cancer awareness focuses on education, early detection, and support.

Breast cancer awareness is very important, people all over the world die from this tragedy. This has gotten way better over the years though, people have been paying more attention to this. The first recorded cases in ancient Egypt (c. 1600 BCE) viewed breast cancer as an incurable disease, and treatments were aimed only at offering temporary relief. Even into the 1920s in the U.S., the five-year survival rate was less than 5%. Now In the U.S., the overall five-year relative survival rate for breast cancer is 91%. If the cancer is localized (has not spread outside the breast), the five-year survival rate rises to 99%. Since 1989, the breast cancer death rate has dropped by 44%.

Facts about breast cancer awareness month

1.: October grew from a week-long initiative to a month-long event to raise awareness and encourage women to get regular mammograms.

2. The campaign has been incredibly effective, leading to a significant jump in online search traffic for breast cancer donations and events.

3. This all established in 1985 to increase awareness and treatment.

They would appreciate this a lot

Spread the word to everyone that October is breast cancer awareness month. If you support breast cancer awareness, please wear pink to support all the people that lost their life due to Breast Cancer.

All About Books

By: Braxton Wood and Eve Raymond

The Wild Robot is a popular children's novel written and illustrated by Peter Brown and originally published in 2016. The animals are initially frightened by Roz, but she eventually gains their trust after she adopts an orphaned gosling, Brightbill. As she befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home. The story explores themes of otherness, adoption, community, and the relationship between nature and technology. The island ecosystem eventually faces threats from the outside world.

The animated film:

The first book of the series was adapted into an animated feature film by DreamWorks Animation, with an initial release in September 2024. The film was directed by Chris Sanders, who also directed Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. Lupita Nyong'o voices the robot Roz, while Pedro Pascal voices the fox Fink. The movie received critical acclaim and was nominated for three Academy Awards. A sequel has been confirmed to be in development.

Where to buy the book

You can purchase the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown from a variety of online and local retailers in both hardcover and paperback. Barnes & Noble offers the paperback version (Wild Robot Series #1) for approximately $6.74 as of September 30, 2025. Walmart offers the paperback version for approximately $4.72 as of September 30, 2025.

The Dog Man series, created by Dav Pikey–the same author of Captain Underpants– includes 12 books, and multiple related spinoffs. These books include:

Dog Man: Unleashed (2016)
Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties (2017)
Dog Man and Cat Kid (2017)
Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas (2018)
Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild (2018)
Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls (2019)
Dog Man: Fetch-22 (2019)
Dog Man: Grime and Punishment (2020)
Dog Man: Mothering Heights (2021)
Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea (2023)
Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder (2024)
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins (2024)
Dog Man: Big Jim Believes (2025)

In the first book (I will not explain them all) an officer named Knight and his dog, Greg, are attacked by “an extremely evil cat” named Petey. Both Knight and Greg are injured in an explosion, rendering them in a coma at a hospital. The doctor says that the hospital cannot save them, but a nurse suggests sewing Greg’s head onto Knight’s body. The hybrid resulting from this, named Dog Man, starts the series. If you are hooked, I recommend buying one of the books above.

Weather

By: Ethan Johnson

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s meteorology reports were often wrong. For example, the Galveston Hurricane was predicted to go towards Florida, but instead it hit Texas and ended up being the deadliest hurricane in US history with a death toll of 6,000-12,000 people. As of the 1880s, meteorologists were actually banned from using the word “tornado” in weather reports. This was because it was very hard to predict tornadoes back then; so why alarm the people when it would probably have been wrong. In the early 20th century, people would sometimes go high up in the sky to study temperature and air pressure. Over time, meteorology has evolved from weather reports being wrong most of the time to people researching ways to predict when a tornado will form hours ahead of time.

Fun Facts

By: Jackson Fairbanks

Did you know that the human circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long

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

Did you know that there are currently eight NFL teams without cheerleaders?

Ok, this one is shocking. Did you know that a sneeze can travel up to 100mph?

Did you know that Scotland's national anthem is the unicorn.

Teacher Spotlight

By:Madeline Hunt, Charlie Chappell, Saylor Nightengale

Mrs. Barksdale

1-If humans could read minds, but only for 10 seconds what would you do? Talk to herself in her head for 10 seconds before responding.

2- What is your favorite snack and drink? Cheez its and Alani

3- What is your favorite unit to teach? Expressions and equations

4-What drives you to teach? Kids who don’t have strong relationships at home.

5- What do you like to do in your free time? Watch her kids play sports

6-If you could teach a different subject would you? No, I would not, but I would do other things in education.

Ponder Junior High UIL

By: Kannon Barksdale

UIL A+ Academics Tryouts – Coming Soon!

UIL A+ Academics gives students in grades 6–8 the chance to shine in a variety of academic and performance events. This program builds on classroom learning while helping students grow in confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Tryouts are happening now! Students may try out for more than one event as long as they are not scheduled on the same day. To participate, students should talk with the teacher sponsoring each event. Permission forms need to be turned in!

Events include:
Art • Calculator Apps • Chess • Dictionary Skills • Editorial Writing • Impromptu Speaking • Listening • Maps, Graphs, & Charts • Mathematics • Modern Oratory • Music Memory • Number Sense • One Act Play • Oral Reading • Ready Writing • Science • Social Studies • Spelling • Theatrical Design (Pilot)

We can’t wait to see our Lions showcase their talents at UIL!