NORTH NEWS March 6

Website: https://smnorth.smsd.org/
Location: 7401 Johnson Drive, Overland Park, KS, USA
Phone: 913-993-6900
Twitter: @SM_NORTH_HS

North Community,

I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful weather we had this weekend. We are looking forward to a great week as we finish the third quarter and head into spring break! Have a great week and Go Bison!

Good news and Upcoming events:

State Testing:

SMN students will start our Kansas State Assessments when we return from Spring Break. 10th-grade students will test in ELA during the week of 3/20-3/24. They will also test in Math the following week (3/27-3/31). 11th-grade students will test in Science during the week of 3/27-3/31. Please talk with your student about the state assessments, and encourage them to give their best effort!

Tardy reduction incentive drawing:

We will be doing prize drawing for students with zero tardies and zero unexcused absences for third quarter on Thursday! The drawing is for a 32-inch Smart TV!!!

International Night:

International Night is a celebration of the cultures of the families represented at SMN. Students host tables for their home countries/cultures and share their games, food, dances, clothing, and art.

When: March 8 from 6 - 7:30 pm

Where: SMN Field House

How much: Free, but donations to International Club are always appreciated.

What: Try the food, play a game, learn a dance, or just talk to your students and their families.

So far we have students signed up to represent Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia, Colombia, Italy, France, South Sudan, the Philippines, Russia, Afghanistan, The Netherlands, Venezuela, Cuba, and more!

The following students have qualified for the Presidential Gold Award Certificate have earned a minimum of 3.5 GPA and scored in the 85th percentile or above on the ACT Composite, Math or Reading.

Wilson Boyd

Wyatt Boyd

Naomi Culley

Jason Culp

Jackson Dinh Phan

Elise Dummermuth

William Eaton

Madison Elmer

Ian Ensley

Micah Godwin

Cole Hageman

Jovanni Hernandez

Caleb Kiatoukaysi

Sareen Kronawitter

Owen Laipple

Erick Merino Diaz

Declan Nielsen

Tochukwu Obi

Elliannah Ousley

Evelyn Parnell

Lily Smith

Samuel Souder

Gabriel Stigers

All Seniors should have ordered a cap and gown from Jostens. If you have not done that, please click on the link below and get that taken care of ASAP.

Cap and gown only: https://tinyurl.com/62wjnrvu

All graduation products: https://tinyurl.com/bdzdrezs

https://smnorth.smsd.org/students/graduation

The Noche de Baile Mixer will be on March 24, in the cafeteria from 7-9pm.

CHARITY PICNIC

This week the student body may nominate a charity of their choice and Stuco will narrow it down to one final charity to which picnic proceeds will go. VOTING WILL BE ON CANVAS!

Wednesday, March 29th

Indian Hills Middle School

6400 Mission Road, Prairie Village KS, 66208

7:00 – 8:30 PM

Raising teens is hard. Especially, if they are struggling and you feel like you’re “walking on eggshells.”

Become a BOLD Parent

Information and Registration for this event is at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bold-parenting-adolescent-adhd-anxiety-depression-tickets-537957995847

Please see Student Services section below for information regarding summer Academy and e-School Information.

This is a reminder that applications for scholarships available to North seniors have a due date of March 17th, 2023. More information can be found on the SM North Student Services website.

• Student fee email notifications were sent out on Friday, February 10th.

• The Online fee payment portal can be found at https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/55790 You can set up an account or pay as a guest using the student’s last name and ID number.
• Fees not paid by June 1st or graduation for seniors may be sent to the Collections agency.

• Any questions regarding fees, payments, or to arrange a payment plan should be directed to SMN bookkeeper, Shelle Lewis at Shellelewis@smsd.org or 913-993-6910.
• Families qualifying for free or reduced lunch can receive a waiver for part of the fees if they provide the bookkeeper with a copy of their Food Service benefits letter.

Keeping our Students Healthy

You may have recently heard news reports about increases of illness including allergies this spring, as is typical with this time of year. In SMSD, we have begun to see increases in absence due to illness; with a few physician diagnosed illnesses and many generalized symptoms.

One of the most important things to help decrease the spread of illness is for those who are not feeling well to stay home. If your child has a temperature of over 100.0 or has vomited or has had diarrhea, they must stay home. Students may return to school when they have been free from fever (without medication), vomiting, or diarrhea for 24 hours.

Your child may also be ill, but without these symptoms. They may have a sore throat, headache, cough, or generally not feel well. If you suspect illness, please keep your child home. If in doubt about sending your child to school, contact the school nurse or your child’s doctor.

Please always check the school calendar for the most up to date schedule SMN Calendar

• March 8: International Night
• March 13 - 17: SPRING BREAK
• March 24: Noche de Baile Mixer
• March 29: BOLD parent presentation

https://smnorth.smsd.org/students/counseling

Has your student failed a required class? Do they need to make it up this summer to stay on track to graduate? SMSD offers two summer programs: Summer Academy and Summer eSchool. Please refer to the websites for details. Financial aid is available for qualifying students.

Registration for summer programs will be at North in Student Services.

If you have questions about what class your student needs to take, please reach out to your child’s Alpha Counselor.

A-D & ELL Jeinny Morris jeinnymorris@smsd.org

E-K Leah Murray leahmurray@smsd.org

L-Q Jennifer Fontaine jenniferfontaine@smsd.org

R-W Deanna Griffey deannagriffey@smsd.org

X-Z Britt Sherer brittsherer@smsd.org

SMN Scholarships

This is a reminder that applications for scholarships available to North seniors have a due date of March 17th, 2023. More information can be found on the SM North Student Services website.

LOOKING FOR SUMMER EMPLOYMENT:

JCPRD Lifeguards Aquatic Jobs | Johnson County Park & Rec, KS (jcprd.com)

Advance Auto Parts - Click here to apply

Charlie's Car Wash - Two Overland Park locations - stop by or go to charlies.com

Creative Carnivals & Events part time help. Email kevin@carnivallady.com

Crown Center Ice Terrace - click here to apply

Freddy's - freddys.com/careers

Jefferson's - Hiring Kitchen staff - call 1-785-727-3000

Overland Park, City of - apply at recruit.opkansas.org

Papa Murphy's on Shawnee Mission Parkway - 913-638-4552

Stretch Lab - Leawood and Overland Park locations hiring - Click here

Stanley Steamer - Career opportunies - Email: dfry@steemer.com

UPS - Lenexa, KS email - sford@ups.com

Tidal Wave Auto Spa - Click Here

Go to student services for more information.

Congratulations to Junior Lopez, who earned a spot as a Kansas 1st Team All-State Swimmer for his accomplishments at the 6A State meet last weekend. He finished 2nd in the 200 Freestyle and 3rd in the 100 Freestyle. Both races were new Shawnee Mission North school records, and tied him for the highest finishes in two swimming events at the state meet with Trey Smith during the past 30 years.

Lopez also earned 2nd Team All-State honors last season. That marks the 4th year out of the past 5 that the boys have placed a swimmer on the All-State Team. Congrats to Junior on his historic accomplishment!!

SMN Wrestling wrap-up: SMN had three individuals compete at the Kansas State High School Wrestling Championships in Park City, Kansas. For the girls team Aniah Grady was the first girl in North’s history to qualify for the state wrestling tournament. She wrestled in a very tough weight bracket and won one of her three matches. For the boys team Jack Taylor and Ke’Juan Blake both qualified for their second year in a row. Jack won 2 out of 4 matches, and Ke’Juan won 1 out of three matches.

All three of these athletes have been outstanding leaders both on the mat and in the classroom.

Thursday, April 13 SM North Sports Foundation Legacy Scholarship

Wednesday, April 26 National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing in the FH

SM North Cheer will host their tryout informational meeting on March 20, 2023 @ 6:00pm in the cafeteria. Tryout clinic 3/27 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Aux Gym and 3/29 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Aux Gym.

Spring Sports: If you need to reach out to one of our varsity spring coaches please contact

Varsity Baseball Coach

Rusty Jones

btl359@gmail.com

Twitter: @SMN_Baseball

Varsity Girls Softball Coach

Julie True coachtrue22@gmail.com

Twitter: @SMNorthSoftball

Varsity Tennis Coach

Steven Acala

Stevenacala6@gmail.com

Twitter:TBD

Varsity Golf Coach

Walter Mansfield

Waltermansfield@smsd.org

Twitter: TBD

Varsity Track and Field Coach

Aaron Davidson

Aarondavidson@smsd.org

Twitter: @SMNTrack

Varsity Girls Swim and Dive Coach

Kailey Morash

Kaileymorash@smsd.org

Twitter: @SMNGirlsSwim

Varsity Girls Soccer Coach

Jaime Velez

Jaimevelezacosta@smsd.org

Twitter: @smngirlssoccer

JOIN OUR 3&2 BASEBALL UMPIRE ACADEMY

3 & 2 Baseball Program / JOCO Recreation is recruiting baseball umpires: REGISTER HERE https://bit.ly/3FSVn2U or call 913-401-6000 &/or email 3and2UIC@gmail.com

Live Eligibility

• Reports will be provided to coaches daily from skyward. We use the canvas platform which must be synchronized with Skyward; due to syn issues;

• Eligibility reports are Bi-weekly process

• 1st and 3rd Monday of the month

• If a student shows the AD between reports, he/she improved their grade then he/she is immediately reinstated.

• If a student does not improve and is on the next report they become ineligible for contests until they can show they are passing 5. They regain eligibility as soon as they can show proof and the process starts all over again.

SM North subscribes to Core Course GPA. If your student is interested in participating in collegiate athletics please visit the website and begin the registration process. SMSD will host a college eligibility informational session in late fall. It’s never too early to begin this process.

CoreCourseGPA.com now makes it easier than ever to educate your student-athletes and families on various aspects of NCAA/NAIA initial-eligibility and recruiting. Just click on the 1-Minute Recruiting Webinars below:

NCAA Core Course GPA vs Cumulative GPA

What are the NCAA D1 Initial-Eligibility Requirements?

• KSHSAA Physical Packet- PPE (Rev. 3-20), Concussion Info Release Form, Transportation Release Form- HS - English [Required Athletic Forms for High School Students]

• KSHSAA Physical Packet- PPE (Rev. 3-20), Concussion Info Release Form, Transportation Release Form- HS - Spanish [Required Athletic Forms for High School Students

• 2022-2023 SMSD Concussion & Head Injury Information Release Form

• 2022-2023 SMSD Concussion & Head Injury Information Release Form - Spanish

• 2022-2023 SMSD Student Transportation Consent and Release Form

• 2022-2023 SMSD Student Transportation Consent and Release Form - Spanish

• Parent Information and Consent Form- Cross Country Guidelines-Distance Training Off Campus for MS and HS Athletes (English)

• Parent Information and Consent Form- Cross Country Guidelines-Distance Training Off Campus for MS and HS Athletes (Spanish)

• Voluntary Student Accident Insurance (Managed by K&K Insurance)
  Our school district has selected the Student Insurance Plan from K&K Insurance Group to make reliable coverage available to parents. If you don’t have other insurance, this plan may be a resource to consider. Additionally, even if you have other coverage, this plan can help fill expensive “gaps' ' caused by deductibles and copays. Coverage may be purchased at any time during the school year.

High School Sports Information

• High School Sports - Athletic Schedules

• SMSD Athletic Stadium and Athletic Complex Locations

• Kansas State High School Activities Association

• SMSD one page calendar

• SMSD HS Activity Handbook

• SMSD Athletic and Activities Webpage

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM SM STUCO

March is VAPING AWARENESS MONTH. On Thursday, March 9th, there will be a table in the cafeteria where students can sign a pledge to not vape. There will be supervisors if there are any questions. You can also check the updated Nurse pass to find resources to help stop vaping.

Voting will be on Canvas!

Tickets will go on sale in April. More information to follow.

The next SMN All-Activities Booster Club meeting will be on Monday, March 6 at 6:30pm in the Learning Commons.

The SMN Booster Club is currently looking for parent volunteers to serve on our Board as Vice-President, Corresponding/Membership Secretary, and Treasurer. If you would like to become more involved with the Booster Club, contact Paula Blood at pdblood@sbcglobal.net to learn more!

Our Spirit Wear Store is ALWAYS OPEN!

Shop online for your SMN gear using the QR code below or with this link -

https://shawnee-mission-north-booster-club.square.site/

• Join PTSA (optional, but highly encouraged): Parents, grandparents, teachers, and community members: You can now become a PTSA member. Your membership helps support our students and their school!

Check PTSA out on Twitter @SMNorthPTSA or https://twitter.com/SMNorthPTSA

Check PTSA out on Facebook @SMNorthPTSA or https://www.facebook.com/SMNorthPTSA/

Check the PTSA Website http://smnorth.smsd.org/Pages/parent-involvement/PTSA.aspx

Join the PTSA Here - https://smnorthptsa.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true&category=Memberships

Click here for the SMSD Website

As the winter months approach, it is especially important for our community members to be aware of inclement weather procedures and how they can be alerted if plans for building closures are announced.

Procedures

If conditions make it necessary for the SMSD to close schools, the district will implement one of three plans: A, B, or C.

Click here to view the plans.

Inclement Weather Announcements

If plan A, B, or C is announced, this information will be shared broadly.

Staff and families can receive direct emails, texts, and voice messages.

Families can sign up to receive alerts in the manner that works best for them.

Click here for details on how to sign up for alerts.

Additional Resources:

The main page of the district website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Local radio and television stations

24-hour information line at (913) 993-7380

No announcement will be made when schools are to remain open.

• ** Please Note- If you have an account from previous years (even Hocker Grove), there is no need to create another account.
  
• New users: Download the Canvas Parent App from the App Store or Google Play store.
• Follow the prompts to create your account. Create a username and password.
• Search SMSD (Shawnee Mission School District) > Shawnee Mission North > Eventually it will ask you for a “Pairing Code”
• To find your student’s “Pairing Code”
1. In your student’s Canvas account have your student click on “Account” (Top Left)
2. Click on “Settings” > then click on “Pair with Observer” (Right side)
3. Enter this “Pairing code” when prompted in your Canvas Parent App.
• Note that each parent needs a different code, therefore repeating this process to generate a different code. If more than one student, you will be prompted to “add student” on the app. Repeat the process to generate their observer code.
• If your student will not provide the code to you, please reach out to the school to get the Pairing Code. 😊
• Additional Canvas gradebook information can be found here.
• Canvas has the most up-to-date grade information for your student, if you have questions about missing assignments, please contact your student’s teacher.

Skyward

To get information about your login information for your Skyward parent account please contact Student Services at 913-993-6930. Skyward helps parents keep track of attendance, pay school fees, view national and state test scores, complete the online verification process and much, much more.