NORTH NEWS January 11, 2021

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

Remember that teachers will be finishing 1st semester curriculum and priority standards and finalizing 1st semester grades. Additionally, teachers will be preparing and administering 1st semester finals. Teachers are finalizing plans for their 1st semester finals with their professional learning communities and will be communicating plans to students in the coming week(s). All finals will be completed by Friday, January 22 and the 2nd semester will begin on Tuesday, January 26.

1/5 -1/22/21 - Remote Learning Continues

1/22/21 - Last Day of Semester 1

1/25/21 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Workday

1/26/21 - Hybrid Learning begins (for those that signed up for this learning model)

We received many emails and phone calls last week about changing student’s learning preference for the 2nd semester. Unfortunately, we are unable to change learning preference (In-Person to Remote Only and vice versa) for students at this time. The master schedule and teachers schedules for 2nd semester was created using the preferences that were selected at the November 30th deadline. As such, there is very little to no room within classes to make adjustments. We apologize for this inconvenience.

• Mon/Wed - 3:20-4:20, ELA, ELL, Science
• Tue/Thur - 3:20-4:20, Social Studies & Math

Click HERE to sign up

Parents -

My name is Dillon Simmons and this is my 7th year teaching Social Studies at SM North. For much of the past year I have been conducting a case study for my doctoral dissertation at Kansas State over how members of our learning community at North (including students, parents, teachers, and administrators) feel about online learning as we have been forced to use it due to COVID-19. Part of my study includes this short anonymous 5 minute survey, and it would mean a lot to me if you could find some time to take it. I’m hoping to get as many responses from students, parents, and teachers at North as possible to utilize alongside data from my interviews. The use of online learning in high school settings is still a very under-researched topic in education, and the past couple months have revealed reasons to be both excited and cautious for future implementations of online learning. Your thoughts and feelings go a long way in helping educators develop learning opportunities that are most appropriate for you and your students!

Thanks in advance for your participation, love you North 😊!

Sincerely,

Dillon Simmons

Second Semester Schedules will become live for students to view on Wednesday, January 13. Please know that the academic counselors have been working tirelessly to get your schedules complete. Some may not yet be complete by Wednesday. If you see that there is an error or your schedule is incomplete, please email your Alpha Counselor about your schedule. Students will have from Wednesday, January 13 to Friday, January 22nd to request any preferential schedule changes.

Once semester 2 begins on Tuesday, January 26th, there will be no preferential changes allowed. We will only be able to make changes to a schedule if there is an error, due to the following circumstances:

• Incorrect placement in a class
• Failed the pre-requisite in first semester
• Seniors who need a class for graduation

Please email your Academic Counselor for schedule change requests or questions.

A – D jordanlandis@smsd.org

E – K leahmurray@smsd.org

L – Q jenniferfontaine@smsd.org

R – Z deannagriffey@smsd.org

2021-2022 Tentative Enrollment Timeline

• January 12 and 14: Enrollment process videos to students during seminar Northern Exposure.
• January 14: “Menu Board” of courses, co-curricular courses, and extra-curricular activities sent to current students and parents via email, posted on our website, and posted on social media.
• January 18-22: Northern Exposure week (videos to students along with virtual Q&A sessions during the course of the week)
• February 1-5: Finalize student enrollment remotely through Seminar (we may have to pull kids from classes if we can’t catch them in seminar)

Spring schedule of classes is available online -
The schedule of classes will display course offerings and any prerequisite requirements needed. You can visit the College Now website to get all the information needed to APPLY/TEST/ENROLL/PAY for the spring semester. These four steps will walk you through the process with FAQ’s to answer any questions you may have along the way.

ACT or Placement Test Requirements

For a complete list of how students can place into their courses, go to www.jccc.edu/CollegeNow.
CNA (Certified Nurse Aid) – ACT Reading sub-score 19 or higher, or appropriate JCCC placement test score (proof of a 2.8 high school GPA can also meet the Reading Requirement).

Enrollment and Payment Deadlines-
Deadline for spring College Now enrollment is Friday, Feb 12. Payment is due at the time of enrollment.

Spring College Now enrollment begins on Jan 19!

Scholarships (students will need to sign up to access page): Click on the link for more information.

https://studentscholarships.org/newsletter.php

Scholarship Database

Student Scholarships

Advent Health - Dietary Aide - Food Services click here

Lowe's Careers - Seasonal Worker - click here

Johnson County Park & Rec - Before & Afterschool worker click here

Panera Bread - Mission location click here

Rally House - Mission location click here

Wrestling, the Tribe hosted Blue Valley Northwest and Shawnee Mission Northwest on Saturday. Performing well and earning victories: Trey Laplant, Marjae Marti, Lucas McGriff, Jack Taylor and Jasper Dewey. Our next competition will be Wednesday at Shawnee Mission East against East and Shawnee Mission South. We will also compete at the St. Mary’s Kansas 8-team meet on Friday.

The boys swim and dive team had a great meet this past Friday at the Aquatic Center. We were in a tight meet race with a strong Lawrence high school team; while we lost the team, points battle we had some great personal best times! The 200-medley relay and the 200-freestyle relay both came out victorious, and the 200 free relay qualified for state That relay included Cameron Lee, Junior Lopez, Jakob Rooney, and Caleb Sostarich. Other winners included Junior Lopez in the 200 IM Cameron Lee in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke, with Caleb Sostrich only one tenth of a second behind him. Other swimmers who had a great meet included Luke Kramer, Jorge Coromac, Zach Setzkorn, Clayton Spear, Porter Lee, Jack Nely and Jakob Rooney. Oliver Goering also had a fantastic meet diving as he almost scored enough points to qualify for state. The Indians are in action again tonight against Shawnee Mission Northwest. Good luck to all the swimmers and divers!

Bowling-Our season finally started last Tuesday with practices most of the week! High! We attend our first meet of the season at Olathe Lanes – East today Please send good vibes to the team today!!! Go North Bowling!

Boys’ basketball lost to SM South in SFL action Friday night, 59-37. The boy’s sophomore and freshman A teams secured wins! We are in action on Tuesday at Olathe West and Saturday hosting Shawnee Mission West.

Girls basketball lost to SM south in SFL action Friday night, 60-25. The girl’s sophomore team secured a victory. We are in action on Tuesday at home vs Olathe West and Friday at Shawnee Mission West.

Spring Sports Conditioning begins Tuesday January 18th

Game Check-in for Parent/Guardian: A reminder that parent(s)/guardian(s) are limited to two people per essential participant (player, cheerleader, dance team member—when applicable—and other deemed personnel by the athletic director per KSHSAA mitigations). It is reminded those attending events at SMN your point of entry will be through Door 41 and you will check in at the table with game management. Once in the gymnasiums some basic reminders for mitigations are:

• Only parent(s) or guardian(s) of the person are allowed
• All those entering must wear masks
• All those entering should not enter the facility until 15 minutes prior to the scheduled game time per the schedule on www.sunflowerleague.org
• Once in the assigned seating location, fans should remain in the stands and keep proper social distance.
• Upon conclusion of the game fans should exit immediately

Monday, January 5, 2021
Message from Dr. Mike Fulton
Learning Model Update

On Tuesday, January 26, 2021, middle and high school students in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) will return to in-person learning, using the hybrid learning model. Elementary students will continue with in-person learning. Students whose families have selected remote learning will remain remote.

During hybrid learning, students with last names (A-Lamb) will attend on-site Monday and Tuesday, and receive instruction remotely on Wednesday and Thursday. Students with last names (Lamc-Z) attend on-site Wednesday and Thursday and receive instruction remotely on Monday and Tuesday. On Fridays, all students will learn remotely. In addition, some students may work on-site in small groups on Fridays, as determined by academic needs. Special education services will continue as detailed in the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). If the IEP has established an Alternate Service Plan, those services will continue as outlined.

The district is able to return to in-person instruction for secondary students due to success in preventing COVID-19 transmission in schools and an increase in staffing capacity through the hiring of December graduates. This notice is consistent with our commitment to provide a minimum 14-day notice when moving from one mode of instruction to another, except in situations requiring immediate action.

Students and staff will continue to follow all COVID-19 mitigating actions, including masking, social distancing, and handwashing. We will continue to work with public health officials to implement all measures necessary to keep students and staff safe.

You will receive more detailed information from your child’s school about the transition in the coming days. If you have specific questions or concerns, please reach out to your child’s principal. We look forward to welcoming secondary students and staff back to school in hybrid learning on January 26, 2021.

Our Shawnee Mission community is looking toward the future. The Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to place a $264.2 million bond proposal on a mail ballot this January. Click here to learn more about the SMSD mail-in bond referendum being held in January 2021.

This bond proposal is designed to provide lasting facilities improvements across the district, and to strengthen student learning. View a video overview about the proposed bond here.
The goal is that the Shawnee Mission School District can continue to be ranked among the finest school districts in the nation, employing exceptional educators who work in state-of-the-art facilities, where learners achieve their full potential.

All families that have not already applied for free or reduced meals this year are encouraged to apply if they feel they may qualify. There is a possibility that additional Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer ( P-EBT) funding may be available later this school year for those who have been approved for free or reduced meals.

Click here for information and applications. If you have questions please call the Food Service Office at 913-993-9710.

• Student Support Tech Link: Lastly, if you have not already, please have your student check out the Black SMSD Icon in the dock next to the life preserve (Hep Desk) icon. This Student Technology Support link will direct you to helpful information and be a reference when troubleshooting your MacBook during remote instruction. Student Tech Support Reference

• Please contact the front office for support 913-993-6900

In order to give more teams the opportunity to participate, the SMN Booster Club has decided to POSTPONE the 7th Annual SMN Trivia For The Tribe VIRTUAL event - it WILL NOT be held on January 16 as originally scheduled.

We hope to have a new date and more information available soon!

The next SMN All-Activities Booster Club meeting will be held on ZOOM on Monday, January 11 at 6:30pm.

Join Zoom meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81442321246?pwd=Q3VMMGxNWWFPOGFnMk5hdkdRK0dBdz09

Meeting ID: 814 4232 1246

Passcode: 740434

The Booster Club offers Attendance Grants to all SMN clubs, groups, or teams who have an adult representative at Booster Club meetings throughout the year. If an adult representative (does not need to be the same person) attends at least 4 meetings a year, your group will get $100, attend 6 and get $200!

2020-21 Booster Club Meeting Dates:

Jan 11, Feb 8, Mar 8, Apr 19, June 7

Every January, SMN PTSA seeks individuals who would like to join our team for the next school year. If you would like to help us ensure students have supplies and gear, staff have resources and are appreciated, and positively impact the culture at North, please email smnorthptsa@gmail.com. We welcome all!!

For SMN PTSA/Booster Club news and updates like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter....

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=403968853023402

https://twitter.com/SMNorthBooster

https://twitter.com/SMNorthPTSA