Connections
National Spelling Bee
Eighth grader Mariah Coffey competed, for the second year in a row, at the Scripps National Spelling Bee last week. In the first round, she correctly spelled "demurrage" but then selected the incorrect definition of "jettison" in the second round. Mariah was one of seven spellers from Missouri and 245 spellers from around the US to compete at the National Bee.
National Qualifier
At the end of June, Harrisonville High School senior Cooper Appleman will be competing for a Thespy at the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Thespy award is presented to students achieving a Superior rating at the national level. Cooper will be competing in the set design category after earning a Superior rating at the state level.
Theater teacher Jamie Crutchfield said, “The judges [at State] were blown away by his presentation because his textual analysis was so clear and he articulated how the text informed the design. He also used technology to create a beautiful 3D model.”
Cooper designed the set for this spring’s performance of Peter and the Starcatcher. However, the work started more than a year ago when he was enrolled in Mrs. Cruchfield’s Theatre 1 class and they designed a set for Death of a Salesman after reading the play.
“After the project, Mrs. Crutchfield approached me with an opportunity to design the set for the following year's spring play. I started researching set design and collecting inspiration for the Peter & the Starcatcher set.”
Cooper’s research included viewing several productions of the show and reading the book on which the play is based.
“I knew that I wanted a big set that a lot of people could be on at once, while still looking like a ship. I wanted to include as many fun/unique aspects as possible, so I included things like a drawbridge, ladders, a huge mast, and a ton of different levels for actors to stand on. When designing the set, I used the software Sketch up which is a 3d modeling tool, and it was honestly so cool to watch it come to life on the screen.”
It was one thing to design the set, but there was more work to be done to enter his design in the competition. The list of requirements included a basic panel of information about the show including where it’s set to be performed and when, a personal design statement about the concepts and themes of the show and how they inspired the design, and requirements from the script (things that are necessary to the plot that are included in the set). This list also included research requirements such as: functionality requirements, setting, practical/artistic needs, budget, elements (fixed/static) and information on the school’s performance facility.
“I had to present these things, the set, and an inspiration board I made that was not required to a panel of judges. I presented the set, explained all my research and included my own opinions about the show and how the set should be designed. Overall I believe I presented for 11 minutes, though with the stress of the moment it felt like 2.”
Earning the superior rating was exciting, but Cooper found that being a part of the production for which he designed the set to be pretty exciting too.
“I was able to watch the set come to life while I was rehearsing. It was amazing to see all of the elements come together to create such a great show.”
Cooper’s favorite element of the set was the drawbridge. “With the bridge, the ladders, and the layers, the set felt like a playground and I loved it. I was also proud of the ingenuity that our construction crew had to make pallets with old and splintered wood on the walls to make for an old rickety ship feel. Overall the elements came together to make something I was extremely proud of.”
As he heads into his senior year of high school and beyond, Cooper hopes to continue with theater in some form.
“I am currently exploring colleges; I’m undecided about a major but I’m leaning towards geology/theater. One of my requirements for colleges is that they must have a great theater department. I would love to continue to act and even design sets in college.”
CCC hosts successful inaugural event
The Cass Career Center hosted its inaugural KC Workshop Development Hackshop, held at Beck Event Space on May 21. The event included a keynote speaker, Joseph Quero, ActionCOACH South Kansas City and walk and learn sessions with Natalie Smith, Compass Health Network; Mo Cisneros and Mike Himes, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council; Connor Hartnett, Culver's of Harrisonville; and Kelly Calvert, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The event focused on strategies to recruit and retain employees and build culture within an organization. Funds raised from the event support the CCC’s Pavilion Project.
Whataburger Welcome
Some of our Wildcat cheerleaders, football players & Wil’e helped welcome our newest restaurant to town.
FFA Rewards Trip
Cass Career Center FFA members spent May 20-21 touring farms and agribusinesses in the Oklahoma City area on the FFA Rewards Trip. During the two-day trip, the eight most active members throughout the year had a chance to tour the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, explore downtown Oklahoma City, Brickopolis Arcade, and the baseball stadium, ride a river taxi around Brick Town in Oklahoma City, tour Express Cattle Ranch, tour Express Clydesdales & Percherons Horse Ranch, and learn about interior plant scaping at Calvert's Plant Designs. Members who attended the trip were Preston Baker, Kristin Baumgardner, Gabriel Doe, Marissa Hayes, Warren Highley, Toby Johnson, Lane Jones, and Case Melzer.
Parachute Design
In summer school communication arts at Harrisonville Middle School, students are reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and learning survival type skills to go along with each chapter. In Chapter 1, students learned that the book's character, Brian, is on his way to visit his dad for the summer when the pilot of the small bush plane he is on suffers a heart attack rendering him unconscious. Without knowing how to fly the plane, students discussed what Brian could do in order to make it to the ground safely. One idea was to make a parachute. All students received a lawn bag, ziplock bag, string, and masking tape. Students spent one day designing a parachute to safely carry a Barbie doll to the ground. Students tested their parachutes and made conclusions about the design of the parachutes based on the speed and velocity of the Barbie falling to the ground.
Egg-citing Experiment
In summer school science class at Harrisonville Middle School, students learned about Newton’s 3rd Law - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Students had to keep two eggs going and try to get them to kiss each other so they would transfer the energy.
Determining Density
In fourth grade summer school at Harrisonville Elementary School, students are learning about surface tension and making predictions. They made a prediction of how many drops of water a penny can hold. Then they tested their prediction by dropping water onto a penny.
Board Meeting
The Board met on Tuesday, May 21 for their monthly meeting. Agenda items included...
- Approval of trips for SkillsUSA, Educators Rising, and DECA for national conferences
- Recognition of Kelsey Budzick and Cooper Appleman, HHS students who served as Student Ambassadors for Real World Learning and student representatives on the district's Strategic Planning Team. Cooper is also headed to the National Thespian Festival to compete in Set Design.
- Approval of contract with OPAA! for food service management.
- Approval of the 2024-25 salary schedules.
The Board also videos all meetings & posts on the district YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/HarrisonvilleSchools.
Videos of past meetings are available at this link - https://www.harrisonvilleschools.org/Page/940 and on Board Docs.
About Us
Email: jill.filer@harrisonvilleschools.org
Website: www.harrisonvilleschools.org
Location: 503 South Lexington Street, Harrisonville, MO, USA
Phone: 8163802727
Facebook: facebook.com/HarrisonvilleSchools
Twitter: @HvilleSchools