One Act Play Set for Zone
by Krissy Boxell

Set in the heart of New York, the One Act Play members acted out “In The Middle of Grand Central Station” for PHS on Monday, March 24 to prepare for the approaching UIL zone competition that will take place at Princeton HS on Tuesday, March 25.

In the play, the disturbed and neglected Marty, played by senior Erica Kane (shown above), runs away from home to live in Grand Central Station, surrounded by bums, played by seniors Keegan Farley and Maranda Jeter, and busy towns-people. A social worker, acted out by senior Lindsey Allen, and concerned friends, played by sophomores Yvonne Michaud and Josh Daniel, try to convince Marty to return home to her mother, brought to life by senior Megan Martin. Marty tries to use music throughout the play as an escape from her upsetting reality. Finally, she decides to leave Grand Central Station and listen to the advice of those who truly care about her.

At zone on Tuesday, Ponder’s One Act Play team will compete against three other schools. The top two will then advance to the finals on Friday, March 28.

“I am excited to finally get to perform the play at a competition,” Farley said. “We have all worked so hard and it’s sad to see it ending.”

Performance Photo Gallery

Softball Starts Busy Week
by Kristen Kimmel

The Lady Lions have a challenging week ahead of them. They will be playing four games this week. Tuesday they travel to Farmersville and Friday they host Leonard in a double-header. Saturday they will face off against the undefeated Aubrey Lady Chaparrals.

“We have to make sure we stay focused all week,” junior Keeley Woods said. “Tonight’s going to be a tough game. We just have to make sure we go out ready to play.”

While many people were on vacation over Spring Break, the Lady Lions were working hard on the softball field. They took on Melissa last Monday to gain another victory. Sophomore Ashley Anderson took the mound and kept the Lady Cardinals at zero. The Lady Lions won 15-0 in 4 innings with key hits from all the players.

Lady Lions Vs. Melissa Photo Gallery

Baseball Seeks District Wins
by Ashley Britt

After starting district with a 2-3 record, the Ponder Lions baseball team continues district play this week with two games. The first game will be at Farmersville on Tuesday, the second at home against Leonard on Friday.

Last week during spring break, the team played three games against tough district opponents - Krum, Aubrey, and Melissa.

In the Krum game, the team got behind 0-3 early in the game. The Lions tried to come back with a late inning rally, but fell short and lost 2-3. They also lost 1-6 Thursday to the undefeated district leader, Aubrey. The boys ended the spring break week with a win, though, when they took on Melissa Friday and won 8-6.

The tennis team started spring break by hosting a tournament for area teams. Paradise, Era, Slidell, St. Jo, Godley and Trimble Tech brought competitors for the Saturday tournament.

Carlee Garza and Colton Moore again dominated in the girls and boys singles divisions to take first place. Ashley Britt also placed in singles - taking third place.

In girls' doubles, Ashley McBride and Tiffany Lowery won first and Jessyca Thomas and Val Cook won the consolation bracket.

Benji Garza and Yvonne Michaud won third place in mixed doubles.

The team returns from spring break with time to practice and prepare for the district meet on April 3 & 4.

Stardust
by Kaleb Broadstreet

Many books are made into movies, especially those books which contain magical worlds where the hero gets caught up in adventures. Stardust sets itself apart from the others though, with a strong cast and humor throughout the whole movie.

Tristan is a young man who lives in the small village called Wall. He is in love with a woman named Victoria, but she does not love him in return. Although Victoria does not love him, she promises to marry him if he crosses over from Wall to the magical realm of Stormhold to retrieve a fallen star for her. But when he gets to the place where the star fell he finds a girl named Yvaine.

In the world of Stormhold there are many magical creatures and beings. Among these beings are three witches who are growing old and need Yvaine’s heart to become young again. These three witches hear about a star falling so they go on a hunt to find her. There is also a young prince who wants to find Yvaine so that he can become King of Stormhold. Tristan must try to bring Yvaine safely back to Wall.

This movie is full of adventure and also has you laughing the entire time. It’s a clever mix of action/adventure and comedy. The cast all give strong performances, including a fun performance from Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing pirate who has a ship that flies through the skies.

The DVD features deleted scenes, bloopers, and other fun things to watch. Even if you’re not a fan of deleted scenes or things like that, you should still check this movie out.

Rated: PG-13 for fantasy violence and some risqué humor.

Starring: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro