M I S S I O NM I S S I O NM I S S I O NThrowing Down the RulesA.R.T. teaches incoming freshmen the school rules, by any means necessary p. 5

Lunch Tray MadnessWhy not clearing your tray affects everyone p. 8

Changing The PlayWhat to expect this footbal season and a tour of the remodeled weights room p. 6

Shawnee Mission North HIgh School Volume 91 Issue 1 Senior Jonathan Crane tries to escape the cell-phone-hating tiger (senior Shafer Jonas) during an A.R.T. sketch on Freshman First Day. Photo by Gabe Alejos

2 | Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

News

Along with the changes made with staff and student activities at SM North there have also been changes made to the school lunch.

SMSD food services nutritionist Jill Funk said the National School Lunch and Breakfast program follow regulations from KSDE and USDA for school lunches.

“The lunch menus have been rewritten this year with the implemen-tation of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA),” Funk said.

North principal Richard Kramer loves the new menu.“I think as a group we don’t eat very well,” Kramer said. “When we

have the opportunity to offer foods, we have a responsibility to offer foods that are nutritious and that will help promote good health and wellness.”

Funk said students will see many favorites from past years and many new items to try.

“The HHFKA changes how we plan menus,” Funk said, “because now there is a minimum and maximum number of grains and meats we can offer on a daily and weekly basis based upon the age of the student.”

Junior John Swagerty is happy with the changes.“I’m glad they’re making the lunches more healthy,” Swagerty said.North’s cafeteria manager and parent of a child in the Shawnee Mis-

sion School District, Toni Arellanes said she is very pleased with the changes as a parent.

“More nutritious choices insures me that my child is eating healthier,” Arellanes said. “We as parents and students deal with changes every year, this is just another year.”

Funk said in the past fruits and vegetables were encouraged and now they are required.

“Another part of this regulation,” Funk said, “is that the student must have a half cup of fruit or vegetable on their tray for the students to re-ceive the lunch for the meal price.”

Kramer wants the students to be just as excited with the changes as he is.

“I hope the students will see the upside to wanting to lead a healthier and active life,” Kramer said. “Nutrition is a part of living and wellness is something that we should be trying to instill in our young people today through healthy choices in their meals.”

Senior Garrett Young said he’s not so sure students will warm up to the new lunches.

“I think it’s good for the majority,” Young said, “but the students that have already made up their minds about eating unhealthy aren’t going to change.”

Funk said the variety has increased so there will be many new fruits and vegetables.

“You will see fresh bell peppers, snow peas, mushrooms, sweet potato bites, kiwi, mangos and plums, just to name a few,” Funk said. “We have also been increasing whole grains and decreasing sodium on the menus the past few years and will continue to do that.”

Senior Stephen Phillips said he was looking forward to the changes. “I personally like it because I like fruits and vegetables,” Phillips said.

“There are more choices this year that I would actually choose.”

Lunches on a health kickSchool lunch food is revamped to promote healthier eating habits for students and staffBy Kyle Milligan

A half cup of fruit or juice (above) must be chosen at lunch for students to re-ceive the correct meal price. The juice boxes are located on the second line of ‘Mom’s Kitchen’ in the lunchroom. Most students say these new food options are positive. “The changes give us more variety and they offer an easy way to eat healthier,” sophomore Daniel Lubratovic said. “The new food isn’t much of a hassle to work with.” Photo by Tayler Anderson

Among the new lunch choices are salads with a whole grain roll (above), a version of the chicken quesadilla on whole grain flatbread and baked chicken instead of breaded chicken. “I’ve been getting the salad a lot now,” junior AJ Bonci said. “I like it because it’s simple and healthy. It’s a lot easier to have your whole meal and condiments on one plate, and it is a more filling portion than some of the other lunch items.” Photo by Tayler Anderson

3| Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

Student playwrights presented their one act plays (OOAs) on Sept. 12, 13 and 15 in the Margaret McClatchey Little Theatre. The 10 plays were split into two nights, each night had a cast of 20 students.

Drama teacher Chris Palmer oversaw the performances. “OOAs is a fantastic way to get seen at North,” Palmer said. “They

are entirely student run, student stage managers, directors and actors.”Junior Adam Alexander, the assistant stage manager for the show,

said OOAs are an easy way to get involved in the department.“My main job was props for the show,” Alexander said. “Which I had

never done before. I was able to learn a lot, and meet a lot of new people, OOAs has made me excited to do more stuff this year in the theater department.”

Night one, which performed Sept. 12 and 15 were written by sopho-mores Danny Lubratovic, Hannah Patterson, Rachel Panjada, Kennedy Carter and Jenny Easley. Night two, performed on September 13 at 7

p.m. and Sept. 15 at 2 p.m., were written by sophomores Jerry Duong, David Beckley, Amanda Enyart, Michael Schley and Forest Kinsey.

“This was a really fun experience,” Schley said. “I’m glad to be able to work alongside my friends be able to say I have had a play performed at North.”

Panjada said going from actor to director has been very fun.“Last year I performed in OOAs and this year I am directing,” Pan-

jada said. “It has been really fun to take on this leadership role and work with your very own cast to put on a great show.

Palmer said the reason they try to perform OOAs during the fall sea-son every year is to raise participation.

“Because we have around 10 plays every year, OOAs gives us an op-portunity to have a lot fun and have laid-back auditions and be able to cast many students,” Palmer said. “That way we can get a lot of new students involved and show them what North theater is all about.”

Annual OOAs hit the stageStudent written and directed plays feature 50 student performances

OOA 1 directors: sophomores Danny Lubratovic, Hannah Patterson, Rachel Panjada, Kennedy Carter and Jenny Easley. Photo by Eric Berndt

OOA 2 directors: sophomores Jerry Duong, David Beckley, Amanda Enyart, Michael Schley and Forest Kinsey. Photo by Eric Berndt

Homecoming candidates are announced20 girls from North’s senior class were presented for the Homecoming nomination at the fall assembly

In seminar on Thursday, Sept. 5, students gathered in the Field House to honor the Top 20 candidates for Homecoming Queen and the fall sports players that made Sunflower League in State for softball and baseball.

Math teacher and Pep Club Sponsor Heather Bledsoe said the Cross Country team was also recognized placing second in the Sunflower League competition on Sept. 4. Bledsoe faced a

time crunch because the fall sports and Home-coming Assembly were put together due to the lack of seminars this school year.

“Pep Club had to cut down the amount of information the candidates were allowed to in-clude in their bio, as we did last year,” English teacher and speaker at the assembly, Katherine Miner said. “Everything just got a little less time, from the cheerleaders routine to the length of

the Homecoming Queen’s announcement.”Although many parts of the assembly were

shortened, students and staff were still able to enjoy the traditions of North.

“Since I’m a former marcher myself, the drumline’s performance was especially one of my favorites,” Bledsoe said. “I also liked the presentation of the candidates with the swords from NJROTC.”

By Brandon Morrison

By Adria Hafner

North’s top 20 homecoming nom-inees. Photo by Tayler AndersonTop Row (left to right): Kassandra Valles, Hannah Bohrn, Victoria Kee, Marissa O’Dell, Brionna Morgan, Sieda Hall, Kristen Enyart, Elaina Zinn and Katie Arnote. Bottom Row (left to right): Re-becca Simkins, Lauren McDonald, Sarah Czirr, Elizabeth James, Sarah Clifford, Jennifer Lanman, Jordan Johnson, Samantha Fisher, Kathryn Tannahill and Ali Pluff

Freshman First Day

4 | Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

A Day of FirstsStudent ambassadors and staff members provide a fun transition day for Freshmen

Aug. 13 was the first day for incoming freshmen at North. Student ambassadors helped the freshmen make a smooth transition from middle to high school.

North Principal Richard Kramer thought Freshmen First Day went very well and especially enjoyed the role the student ambassadors played.

“What I really liked about Freshmen First Day was our ambassadors. I think what makes North, North, are our kids,” Kramer said. “I really enjoyed watching our ambas-sadors interact with our fresh-men. I love our student body because our kids are willing to give anyone an opportunity.”

Junior and student body elections head Neyda Venzor said Stuco had a positive im-pact on the freshmen.

“I think we really helped get them through their first day,” Venzor said.

North Associate Principal Annette Gonzales said she was pleased with Freshmen First Day and like Kramer thought the ambas-sadors did a great job.

“I thought the energy was great coming from the incoming freshmen and I thought our student ambassadors did a better job,” Gonzales said. “I was really glad to see their energy, to see them getting in there, visiting with students, mentoring them, answering their questions and helping them participate.”

Senior and Student Body Communications Head K.C. Lombardino said the dancing session of the day was a success.

“A lot of freshmen were pumped up for it,” Lombardino said. “I thought they had fun and put a lot of energy into the dances.”

Senior and Student Body VP Rebecca Simkins said Freshmen First Day went really well, not only for the freshmen but for Stuco as well.

“It was a success and ran very smoothly,” Simkins said. “I think they already look up to us as leaders.”

Kramer said he has no doubt the freshmen will be able to adjust to the new environment.

“They’ll really grasp onto the freedom of not having assigned seats in lunch,” Kramer said, “not having to walk on a certain side of the hall, and not having to do all of these procedures.”

Student Council Advisor Chris Zuck said the freshmen will need a key

element to help them transition this year.“They need support,” Zuck said, “but our school does a great job of

providing students the opportunity to learn.”Kramer said he hopes the freshmen left their first day with a positive

attitude of North. “I hope the most important thing the freshmen took away was that this

is a place that they can feel comfortable,” Kramer said, “a place where they feel they can succeed, and a place where they can come and be in a secure, safe and loving environment.”

Gonzales said she wanted the freshmen to learn what makes high school different but also to start gaining school pride.

“I hope they took away that high school is different, and the expec-tations are more rigorous regarding academics and behavioral expecta-tions,” Gonzales said. “The most important thing is that I want them to say ‘this is my school, this is the school that I want to come back to every day’.”

As for Kramer’s expectations for the freshmen, he only wants them to be successful.

“My hope is like it is for every kid in this building,” Kramer said, “that they’ll graduate and go on to college or a career and be productive and be successful.”

By Kyle Milligan

Freshmen (left to right) Charles Kaifes, Tyson Martin and Noah Hastings clap during the Freshman First Day Assembly. “I liked what Pep Club did to let us have fun,” Kaifes said. “Particularly the Justin Beiber (skit).” Photo by Gabe Alejos

smnmission.com | Mission Magazine | 5Volume 91 Issue 1

Nervous And Excited. As the freshmen entered the audi-torium on Freshman First Day, the 30 Advanced Repertory Mem-bers (A.R.T.) knew they had their work cut out for them. In under 15 minutes they had to instill in the freshmen the North rules that would need to be followed for the next four years.

A.R.T. wrote and rehearsed sketches in the days leading up to Freshman First Day.

Senior Andy Frye (center) was one of the emcees for the show. “We were all a little nervous,” Frye said. “Not only was this our

first time in front of people this year. This was our first time per-forming as the new A.R.T.”

Frye says they were fueled by the laughter. “It was important that (the freshmen) had a good time as well as

learned the rules,” Frye said. “From our first sketch to our last, we were feeling more and more confident that we had done our job.”

Senior Kassandra Valles, another emcee, was happy with the creativity of the sketches.

“We were able to show some the kids some really exaggerated characters and get some good laughs,” Valles said. “I think the stu-dents and staff got a good taste of what to expect from A.R.T. this year.”

Following The Rules. Seniors Lorraine Mwangi (left) and Elaina Zinn (center) lifted the table up and headed on the stage. They were about to perform a sketch on behavior in the lunch room.

“I was playing kind of a mean valley girl,” Zinn said. “We had fun really exaggerated our characters.”

The girls taught that being respectful in the cafeteria is an im-portant rule.

“It’s important that we set a good example for lunchroom be-havior to the underclassmen.” Mwangi said.

Along with being nice at lunch, the sketch the girls also remind-ed the students about clearing their trays after eating.

“It is not the responsibility of other people to clear our trays,” Zinn said. “It’s a sign of respect when we clean up after ourselves.”

A.R.T. members said they were proud that they can help their school, whether it is the rules assembly or helping an student find their class, and still have fun doing it.

“It’s fun taking our own experiences we have had in high school and being able to relate to underclassmen,” Zinn said. “It tells them, we’ve been through the same things, and have learned the best way to get through it.”

Starting Off Right. When A.R.T.’s PDA hating Batman ran onto the stage, the freshmen knew they were in for a good laugh. Senior Rocky Alterman’s Batman voice is just one of many that have graced the North stage in the past years.

“It’s a character I can have a lot of fun with,” Alterman said. “And with the new movie out, (A.R.T.) knew it would be a hit.”

PDA is a rule A.R.T. strongly believes in.“It can make our school look really bad,” Alterman said. “And it

clogs the hallways. The older you get, the easier you can see why it is a disrespectful and sometimes gross thing to do.”

Senior Marissa O’dell, the writer of the Batman sketch, knew PDA had to be addressed in a fun way.

“It’s a pretty serious issue throughout the year,” O’dell said. “I was hoping by writing a memorable sketch, the freshmen would understand and remember, no one wants to see it.”

The A.R.T. Rules Assembly is a way to get excited about the new school year as well as the new A.R.T. members.

“The assembly allows students to learn the easy dos and don’ts of North from positive role models,” senior A.R.T. member Eliza-beth James said. “It’s a chance for the freshmen to see us and get pumped up about our shows and their new year here at North.”

6 | Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

Sports

It’s early November on a crisp Friday night in Leav-enworth. last school year. The Indians are going up against the bitter rival Pioneer squad. North lost their first district game to SM Northwest in a gut wrenching overtime. But, they came back strong the next week and crushed Wyandotte 69-6, giving them a 1-1 dis-trict record.

It was now make-or-break time for the Indians. If they won, the playoffs awaited. If they lost, their sea-son was over.

Then Senior Mason Perez returned the kick for the first touchdown of the game.

Indians were up 7-0.But after that bit of excitement, things didn’t go

North’s way the rest of game. The Indians lost the game 35-14, ending their season.

“Everyone was crushed,” said senior football player Ricky Gonzalez. “I just remember seeing all the se-niors crying, and then the rest of us broke down. We couldn’t help ourselves.”

Within two weeks after the loss, Coach Dennis Grayless had his 2012 squad start getting ready for the upcoming season.

“We thought it was important to get back to work right away,” said senior Henry Bell. “We knew this was a big deal for the team and the rest of the school.”

Soon after that the schedule for next season came out.

Week one: Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Leavenworth Pioneers.“This is a big chance for revenge,” Grayless said. “They knocked us out of the

playoffs almost a year ago. Now we get to go out and show them what we are made of this year.”

Since last November, the football team has been preparing for the upcoming season. According to the coaches and players, there hasn’t been any time wasted.

“We worked every morning from 6:30 to 10:30,” said junior Jake Buchanan. “We all want success so bad. You can see it every practice.”

Along with the work, the linemen went out to SM West for a challenge against all the other Shawnee Mission Schools. This time North finished first.

According to Grayless, the biggest weapon for the team is in the backfield. But he isn’t referring to just one player. He was referring to the offensive line of the team and the triple threat speed in the back including Bell, senior Caleb Denman and junior Jesse Patterson.

“They are three of the best athletes I have ever seen,” Grayless said. “We will be in great shape if we can keep them all healthy.”

One big change for the team this year is the new captains. In an out-of-the-ordinary-situation, juniors are now allowed to become cap-

tains, if they are voted by their teammates.“I don’t believe leadership has an age limit,” Grayless said. “That’s why I

changed [it] this year. We have very capable juniors who can be great leaders for this team.”

With this change, two juniors were voted captains along with the two seniors. Patterson, junior Maceo Mitchell, senior Nick Finazzo and senior Will Carter were all named captains.

“It feels good to be a captain,” Patterson said. “But I’m not here to put down any of the older guys (seniors). I’m here to play football.”

Along with new players, new coaches and new strategies, the football team also got brand new renovations to the team locker room and the weight room.

The old weight room was completely torn apart and re-done. They tore

through the walls and created a new trainers room and cardio room where the old girls locker room used to be.

The lockers were about 10 years old and theft was becoming a problem ac-cording to Athletic Director George Sallas.

The new renovated locker room creates more room and more cleanliness as the lockers are in rows instead of bunches. There are also new benches made of cement that are aligned with most of the lockers. The benches are molded to the ground and the bottom of the lockers.

“It’s so much more roomy and new,” Gonzalez said. “It’s nice to have some-thing like this while at North.”

The new renovations, according to Grayless, came up to almost half a million dollars.

“It’s awesome to have this new addition,” Grayless said. “It’s our house we just have to keep it clean.”

As far as the rest of the season’s schedule goes, North will be facing last year’s State champion, Olathe South in week two, SM Northwest week eight, and rival SM East in the “Nut Cup” week nine.

“There is not one team we cannot beat,” Grayless said during a practice. “We are capable of causing huge damage to teams in this league. We just have to have faith and keep working hard.”

There are a total of 105 football players on the roster (freshmen included). According to the Sunflower League Football Blogspot, this is low compared to other teams. But Grayless didn’t care about that.

“I don’t care about the people that aren’t here,” Grayless said. “I care about the guys that come every day and bust their butts. The opposition can only put the same amount of players that we can. Numbers behind those 11 players doesn’t matter.”

As far as this season goes, the players believe that there will be no easy game. But they use that as motivation.

“I’m just excited to go out and play some football,” Gonzalez said. “Coach tells us all the time that if we all do our individual jobs on the field then nothing else can stop us.”

Football freshens upCoaches and players prepare for success this season with new captains, renovated weight roomBy Andrew Keech

Holding the ball, senior Henry Bell (center) prepares to go down during the scrimmage on Friday, August 24. “Getting in the end zone is like winning a battle, and seeing all the effort you made come together.” Photo by Tayler Anderson

IT’S NOT JUST DOING HOMEWORK.IT’S DOING WORK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, TRANSFORMING AMBITION INTO ACHIEVEMENT.

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7 | Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

8 | Mission Magazine | smnmission.com September 2013

Opinion

Lunchtime. A time to stretch our legs, sit with friends and eat our share of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and then some. Another year has begun and students are already getting into the daily motion of chew, swallow and repeat. But with this new school year, an old problem still remains. The bell rings, the students race out the door and a warzone of trays and half-eaten food remain for the staff members to clean up.

Every student has seen it. Students have left their trays instead of clearing it at one time or another. But bad habits are just that, bad, and they have to be addressed. If students can’t have enough responsibility to take their plastic tray from point A to point B, how are we ever going to finish that college resume, or stay on the Principal’s Honor Roll? This laziness goes farther than the lunchroom. It affects everyone at North.

The bulk of the conflict lies in the clearing area. In order to clear trays, students have to weave in and out of their peers crowding around the doors waiting for the bell. As lunch goes on, the crowd grows and grows until a hundred students stand between you and a clean lunch-room. A clear path should be kept leading into the room to clear trays. A line system is used to get your food. A line can also be used to clear it. Be respectful of your fellow students. Leave a path so you can keep your lunchroom clean and set a good example.

The staff members on lunch duty do a very good job of providing a way to throw away our trash without students moving a muscle. Every lunch, they wheel around two or three trash bins, getting sauce on their hands and waiting for students to finally make that crumpled wrapper in from three feet away. This is strictly our teachers being helpful and trying to curb a problem the student body could have fixed a long time ago, and if it isn’t fixed soon, students are going to wish they took the 10 extra steps.

Imagine a lunchroom where you get your food, you sit down, you eat it and then you clear it. After you’re done you sit down again and you

wait until the bell. There is no going and seeing friends at another table or standing at the doors because you just can’t wait to get back to math class. If the students don’t solve this problem, extreme measures will be taken to instill a solution.

Every time you leave your tray, you leave a message, saying North students are lazy and expect others to do things for them. Every time we clear our tray, our message is that we responsible and we respect our school. Something as simple as lunch trays can sway the pride of the North.

So keep yourself accountable, keep your friends accountable and keep your lunchroom clean. This will make your lunchroom monitors happier which will allow you more leeway. Respect and integrity are in the little things, have pride in your tribe, North.

Photo illustration by Diane Calderon

Clearing up an issueStudents still apathetic about keeping lunchroom clean

“Were we this small?” Cartoon by Shafer Jonas