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SPORTS: Coverage; or it Didn’t Happen. Header Design by Moaaz Waheed Fall Issue: November 2014 One Book at a TimeBoys Vollyball By: Soumya Ananth Results “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; opportunity to read. The inspiration for this idea PAGE 4 there are only children who have not found the right came to Amanda during the summer, when sheEntertainment: book.” – Frank Serafini found flyers asking people to donate books to kids Halloween SpookFest in newer communities in the north. She and Manasa PAGE 7 Over the summer, Gordon Graydon’s Ma- decided to start their own version of the campaign, nasa Guntaka and Amanda Jiang created The Book and started collecting books to donate to local shel- Project, a non-profit organization that aims to im- ters in Peel and the Greater Toronto Area. The Book prove literacy among homeless youth. Both Manasa Project’s initiative and commitment reflects how stu- and Amanda have a strong love for books and are dents at Graydon always strive to make the world a very dedicated to reading. They want to convey their better place. love of books to those who do not have the (Full interview on Page 2)Advice: Meet Gordon PAGE 9Editorial:NAnowrimo:A writer’s challenge PAGE 6Exclusive: Graydon Girls Rebound White Pine By: Yatin Kapur Mrs. Moretti who, with her phi-Teacher Reviews losophy, aimed to guide a reju- by a margin of 36 points venated set of players into a suc- PAGE 9 to 13. This loss was a blow to cessful season. The Graydon Girls bas- the team’s confidence but it was The Graydon Post on pleasing to see how the girls stuck (Full Story on Page 4) Facebook ketball team started their season together and moved forward with off with a disappointing defeat the next game in mind. The team [email protected] at the hands of Glenforest. The had been taken under the wing of home team was convincing in their play, and it reflected on the score-line as they beat the Hawks

NewsOne Book at a TimeBy: Soumya Ananth The Book Project is a non-profit organization runby two grade 11 Gordon Graydon students. To help spreadthe word about the Book Project, reporters from The Gray-don Post interviewed Amanda Jiang and Manasa Guntaka,the co-founders of The Book Project.How would you describe the book project?MG - The Book Project is a non-profit project, and what MG - And, it’s important for us to help other[s]. I mean,we do is we collect books and donate them to local youth what more do we have than that. And while there are a lot ofand homeless shelters. We started off with just youth shel- problems in third world countries, there’s also a lot of prob-ters but then we got in contact with Blue Door. They have lems in our own community that we kind of overlook.Wewomen and children who have been abandoned living there think Canada’s kind of perfect, but there are a lot of peopleand they wanted books for empowerment. So what we’ve who aren’t having the happiest time, and we wanted to helpdone is we’ve first started off in schools and by the end of the them out.semester, we’re hoping to have donation boxes in ten differ-ent schools [to benefit these shelters]. How do you think this will change their lives?Why did you decide to start this organization? AJ - Well, [reading] really opens up your mind. It really gives [homeless youth] something to do, [and] something toAJ- Well because a lot of people are focusing [on] third look forward to. Because, a lot of the time, if you are stuck inworld problems; which are very important, but we aren’t do- one place, and you don’t really want to leave, you don’t haveing that much about our local issues. So we thought, maybe much to do. It’s not to change someone’s life, it’s to improvewe could start something [locally] that we could do that someone’s life.would be helpful. MG - Most of [the people living in shelters] come from troubled pasts. They’ve been abused, or they’re runaways, homeless, or orphans. The thing on their mind is not to go out into the world and get a book. They’ve become shy, [even] reclusive. So, it’s important to help them build that confidence. They are amazing people, I am sure they all are. Their priori- ties aren’t to leave the shelter, [as] they finally have a home. A lot of them don’t end up going to libraries; that’s why we are bringing the books to them. 2

NewsWhen will the books be donated?MG - We are going to do our first donation the week of No- MG - We want books, but if you feel like there is somethingvember 2nd to November 9th. We are in the process of pack- you have to donate that will help them educationally, then going books right now; sorting them out, which one goes to ahead, we are all for it. We are focusing on [general] literacy.where, putting them in their boxes. We are going to be driv-ing personally, to the shelters, to meet with the kids we are So far, the pair has collected over 165 books and aregoing to be working with, meet with the women, and hand working with 5 shelters, in and around the GTA. Manasa andover books. Because, it’s important to have a personal rela- Amanda are hoping to work with other schools in Peel andtionship with the people you are helping out. the surounding community in the near future. By the end of this semester, they want to be working with 10 schools andAJ - We are going to take a lot of pictures, and we are going 7 – 10 shelters. Their main goal is to promote literacy andto try to document everything. help the less fortunate with their literacy skills, because in today’s fast paced world, these skills are vital. If you wouldWhat kinds of books do you accept? like to donate, the main donation box is outside the library.AJ – Pretty much any kind of book. We have youth booksand mature reads, but we are also accepting things like boardgames, school supplies, and things like that, [so] it’s not justbooks. We are just called The Book Project because we aremainly focusing on books.Amanda and Manasa sorting theur current donations Photos taken by Noor Abdel-Baset 3

Sports Graydon Girls The girls looked to have finally around in their favour. This game have settled in, but they were faced proved to be a big blow to the team as Rebound with another hiccup as they lost their they went on and lost their next two next game to Rick Hansen. Having won games against Mentor College and St. By Yatin Kapur their previous two games, Rick Hansen Joseph. Having played 3 games in 10 was full of confidence, and they chal- days, it is fair to say that the lack of(Con’d from Front Page) lenged our girls to give it their all. The results can be attributed to the increas- After a hard week of Graydon’s Girls Basketball Team ing fatigue and injuries of thetraining, the motivated team Photos contributed by SAA squad.faced against T.L. Kennedy The girls’ moved for-(TLK) who looked shaky af- girls came back fighting but were un- ward with a positive attitudeter their previous game against able to turn the game and took everything in stridePort Credit. The girls had the as they bounced back againsthome advantage this time Woodlands’ struggling team.around and it all came together The girls persevered through-as the team collectively swept out the game and came out onaside a sluggish TLK team top with a resounding score ofby a score of 21-13. Saruka 25-15. When asked about howThavaseelan played an instru- she felt about the losses priormental role in this win, as she individu- to this sweet victory, Captainally scored 13 points and led the line Sherry Wang replied: “Theof attack to take advantage of TLK’s most important part was howvulnerable defense. we all stuck through it together and learned from the experience, and the girls should be immensely proud of all the effort they’ve put in this season.” Bumping up Graydon’s Game Hawks were soon put up against Cawthra. It was a game that was ex-By Yatin Kapur tremely important for both schools; where any slip-ups would be magni- The Senior Boys volleyball tempted to work overtime during train fied. It was amazing to see how manyteam was full of confidence as they be- ing; ultimately sorting themselves out. Graydon students attended this match,gan their season against a very impres- The school was starting to question the and the boys were uplifted to see suchsive Glenforest team. The Hawks were team’s capability, however the boysunable to win, and unfortunately this silenced their critics as the energized strong school spirit. In the end, theform carried onto their next game, as set of players won their next game ver- Hawks overtook the Cawthra teamthey lost to St. Paul Secondary School, sus Applewood. The game was a tight with a very respectable score of 2-1.creating an unfortunate losing streak. but necessary win, as the boys won all The boys carried this form into their three sets with narrow margins. next, and last, matchup of the season With a shameful record of 0-0- where they beat Mentor College in an6, the team was disheartened, and at As the games rolled by, the intense affair. The Hawks turned their season around as they went from 0-0-6 to a final record of 7-0-8. 4

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Editorial 30 Days, 50 000 Words, and 24 Metric Tons of Coffee By Rachel Shadoff “I like that it pushes my limits as an author.” Irena Cernea, a grade 11 student, is one of many participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this Novem- ber. It’s a worldwide competition with a promise of being published as the top prize, the only rule being that your en- tire novel must be written within the month. “It’s a great time to consume an insane amount of coffee, and get behind in sleep.” Matthew Loconte pointed out; highlighting the fact that writing a novel in its entirety is no easy task. It’s a fantastic opportunity for all writers – aspiring, amateur and professional alike – to try their hand at writing characters you’re bound to fall in love with and plots that don’t fall apart. There’s an astounding sense of accom- plishment that comes with finishing a novel, whether it takes a month or a year, and though the task may seem daunting, writing a novel is on a surprising amount of bucket lists. Past winner, Larry Deibert, said he felt no different than the rest of us before he wrote his winning manuscript. “I never thought I would be able to create a novel in 30 days, but I did.” Anna Hoyer, a 2013 winner, told reporteres “It was the second best thing that happened to me last year, only to be topped by my graduation,” With such glowing reviews from winners and participants, National Novel Writ- ing Month has had a clear impact on the international writ- ing community. Statistics show that all published authors started with the first word, so put your pens to paper, get ready… get set, and let’s write a novel! 6

Entertainment Halloween!To celebrate Halloween, Graydon held it’s “spooktacular” Spook Fest on October 31. Between the dance floor and the manyother Halloween-themed activities, there was plenty of fun to go around. It had to end eventually, however with such highlevels of school sprit many costumes stood out amongst the crowd. The Graydon Post compiled some of our favourites toshare with you! 7

Halloween! Photos taken by Noor Abdel-Baset, Aamer Seth, and Moaaz Waheed 8

Exclusive Remembrance Day Guest Speaker John Wilson By: Mahnoor Hamid John Wilson, an author nominated multiple timesfor the White Pine Forest of Reading awards, will be visit-ing Gordon Graydon on November 11th to take part in ourRemembrance Day assembly. Mr. Wilson is fascinated byhistory and writes books about “war and how young peo-ple, trapped in events they can barely comprehend, [deal]with the horrors of conflict on a local and global scale,” ahighly relevant topic for Remembrance Day. His book Shotat Dawn, the third book in the I Am Canada series, featureseyewitness accounts of key moments in Canadian history,namely in the First World War. On Tuesday, Mr. Wilson willbring his passion for history to Graydon students and sharehis insights on the experiences of young people in war. Af-ter the assembly, Mr. Wilson will be available to sign bookfor students in a meet and greet in the library at lunch. Mr.Wilson would also like to invite Graydon students to buy hisbooks, if you place an order by Friday, November 7th, he caneven bring your pre-ordered book with him. White Pine Teacher ReviewsAudacious by Rush by Eve SilverGabrielle Prendergast “This book is defi-“This book has a very nitely on par withunique writing style, the past standard [ofand addresses impor- White Pine nomi-tant contemporary nees], and is a goodthemes. The relevant contender. However,topics are a welcome it is book one of achange.”- Mr Smith series.” - Mrs. TijanicThe Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley by Jan Andrews“It was definatly an interesting read. I liked [the book] but it was hard to followbecause of the different perspectives used.”-Mrs.Seeback 9

Advice ASK Gordon!Dear Gordon, Hey Gordon,I’ve always been a hardworking student, but lately I’ve I used to love going to school, but nowadays it just stressesbeen finding myself losing focus and procrastinating a lot. me out. I really need help coping with it all. Do you haveI’ve been trying to be productive, but it’s just not working. any advice?What should I do? - Stress Ball- ProcrastinatorHey Procrastinator, Dear Stress Ball, Believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel. While I’m dismayed that you’re stressed, I’m gladHighschool students have many things on their minds, what that you decided to ask for help. That is the first step to deal-with all the homework on top of extra-curricular activities ing with your issues. School is a cause of stress for manyand volunteer work. The key to productivity is staying fo- students, but the good news is that there are ways to helpcused, but it can be difficult if you try to cram everything you cope. For one, I would suggest you try stress-relievingin one go. To increase your level of productivity, I’d sug- exercises. Try running or yoga; anything that helps you cleargest you use the Pomodoro Technique. The name may sound your mind and relieve tension. Another technique you couldunfamiliar but I’m sure you’ve heard of the method. When try is managing your time wisely. Set a reasonable timelineyou start studying or working, set a timer and take a 5 min- for yourself and commit to it. Often the cause of stress isute break between 25 minute intervals. Every four intervals, work overload, but by prioritizing and organizing your load,take a longer half-hour break. Created by Francesco Cirillo you can avoid last minute hassles. I realize that sometimesin the 1980s, the Pomodoro technique is proven to improve stress can become overbearing, and in such a case, I wouldfocus, as taking breaks between periods of study help to keep suggest you take a time out. I don’t mean the kind of time outthe brain refreshed and reduce mental fatigue. Try it out, and your parents gave you when you were little, but one that yousee if your productivity increases. set for yourself. Remove yourself from the stressful situation for a while. Go for a walk, read a book, pick up a hobby, and then come back to the issue. Even a few minutes away can help you to see the problem from a new, less stressful per- spective. In any case, I would encourage you to talk about your stress with your family, friends or peers. There are peo- ple who are always happy to help you, and talking can some- times relieve stress. Experiment with these strategies, and if the problem persists, you can always make an appointment with your guidance counsellor.Hey Graydon! My nameis Gordon, and I’m thegiver of advice aroundhere at the GraydonPost. Make sure to checkout what I have to say! Paper Layout and Gordon Design by Sinclaire Bruin 10