NORTH NEWS November 16, 2020

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

From the staff at SM North, we hope that your family has a wonderful Thanksgiving break. We are very appreciative and thankful for all of our students and families. Hopefully you will all be able to find some time to relax and enjoy the holiday.

Please be aware that SMN will be closed from Monday, Nov. 23 - Friday, Nov. 27 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The building and main office will re-open on Monday, Nov. 30 at 7:00AM.

11/16 & 11/17 - Group A Hybrid Learning Days; Group B Asynchronous Learning on Canvas

11/16 - First Day of Winter Sports

11/18 & 11/19 - Group A Asynchronous Learning on Canvas; Group B Hybrid Learning Days

11/19 - Booster Club Culver's Night

11/20 - Friday - All students REMOTE

If your student is already in, or is at some point placed in mandatory quarantine, please call Nurse Kelly (913-993-6916) with all the needed information and dates. Here are a couple of general FYI's regarding student attendance while on quarantine.

1.Students on quarantine are expected to attend class via WebEx on their "in person" days and on Friday remote learning days.

2. Attendance for each class hour will be taken and recorded as if the student was in person (even though they are on WebEx). This option is available only to students on mandatory quarantine.

3. Students on "at home" days during quarantine will look at Canvas for asynchronous learning directions from each teacher.

4. Students not present will be marked absent (unexcused).

5. Parents still need to call in absences for students on quarantine who do not feel well or begin to present symptoms of COVID-19. If attendance is not called, absences will be marked unexcused. Attendance Hotline 913-993-6945

Again, in a mandatory quarantine situation, specifics for the quarantine protocol and any questions you have regarding the process will be answered by the school nurse.

As we continue to navigate our remote learning circumstances, please partner with us in protecting and maintaining the confidentiality of all students. Parents should not interact with teachers via their student’s WebEx during the instructional day! If you would like to visit with the teacher, please use appropriate measures during appropriate times to communicate with them. Again, parents are to NOT become involved in your student’s online classes during instructional time. If you have a question for the teacher, please use the appropriate means to communicate with the teacher at a different time. Interacting with the teacher directly during their WebEx session is not deemed appropriate in order to maintain student confidentiality (Federal law).

• 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.

Congratulations to the following SMN students:

Orchestra - Amil McDaniel earned 1st Chair bass in the ECKMEA District Blue Orchestra.

Choir - The following students were selected to the ECKMEA District Choir:

Alexandria Arnold, Nico Bernal, Kai Bynum, Skylar Freeman, Ella Gibson, Kailey Green, Naomi Hart, Raina Jackson, Morgan Jahnke, Andrew Madden, Olivia Morris, Lawson Noland, Savannah Nolte, Austin Peck, Tyson Sheets, Jeremy Taylor, Emily Turner, Alexis Wendel, Claire Winston

Band - The following students were selected for the KMEA district bands:

Nick Gasser - 6th chair, trombone - Gold Band

Emma Knutson - 2nd chair, flute - Red Band

Bradley Rennick - bassoon - Red Band

Anahi Silva - 1st chair, flute - Blue Band

Congratulations to the following students that had artwork accepted into the Merriam Parks & Rec's 24th annual high school visual arts competition. The exhibition opens on December 3rd at the Merriam Community center.

Evey Goering, Christianna Kasunic, Jeremy Dembowski, Giselle Garza, Zoe English

Attention Remote students: If you had your picture taken but didn't make it to our drive thru picture pick up last week, please stop by the office to pick up your picture packet, The office is open 7:00-3:00 Monday through Friday.

Plan ahead and add lunch money online under “optional fees” in case students want to purchase ala carte lunch items to supplement the free lunches the USDA is providing. Checks & cash are accepted in the cafeteria as well.

If you want to purchase items from the vending machines, please bring exact change, the office will not be making change this year.

We are asking ALL parents to pay fees ONLINE this year.

• The site for the online fee payment can be found at this link. https://www.smsd.org/families/pay-fees. You can set up an account or pay as a guest using the student’s last name and ID number.
• Prior year fees are now past due and need to be paid to avoid being sent to collections.
• Any questions regarding fees, payments, or to arrange a payment plan should be directed to SMN bookkeeper, Shelle Lewis for help. Shellelewis@smsd.org or 913-993-6910.

The annual fundraising drive for Johnson County Christmas Bureau will be held through Thursday November 19th. This year, JCCB isn’t accepting food donations, so we are collecting cash and new or gently used coats in order to provide warmth and support during this upcoming season.

In person students can drop off change/cash or a coat in one of the buckets located when you enter the building. We will have people and signs at the Theatre Doors, Main Entrance, or the Aux Gym entrance. There will also be a donation station set up during each lunch.

Students are competing against other enrollment groups (for example group A or B). StuCo has painted giant turkeys and we have hung them up in the cafeteria to serve as leaderboards for each hybrid group. A donation of one coat will add three feathers to your turkey, while cash donations will add feathers for each $10 collected. The group that feathers their turkey the most will win a random drawing to gift five students enrolled in that group with a pie for Thanksgiving. Currently, Group B is in the lead, but we still have two full weeks left to collect cash and coats!

We will be able to accept online donations through the website https://smnstuco.weebly.com/ . We will post QR codes in the school, at the donation stations, and on our social media accounts. We’ve partnered with PTSA to collect the online donations and help us divert funds to the JCCB at the end of our drive. We are hoping this makes things easier for students to donate and for our remote only students to join in the fun.

Junior students will be able to sign up through a custom form in their Skyward student portal. See the form below.

The form will be open to students through Friday, November 20.

The ACT will be administered to JUNIORS ONLY on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. The ACT WorkKeys will be administered on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

Both of these state funded tests will be administered in SM North.

If you have questions about signing up, you can contact Mr. Jamison.

We are pleased to announce the 17th Anniversary of KC BizFest 2021. This year our event will be held virtually on February 10th -13th, 2021.

KC BizFest is a scholarship competition for Latinx Junior and Senior students in the Kansas City Metro Area. The competition is sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

It is a four-day competition that is business-focused. Students participate in a virtual conference-style event for three days where they learn how to write a business plan. On the fourth day of the competition, students present their business plans to panels of judges, and the top students receive scholarship money.

Online applications are due December 11th.

Check out the flyer below for more information

College Rep Visits:

11/16/20 - 3:00pm Northwest Missouri State

11/19/20 - 3:00pm Missouri State University

November 17th @ 3pm: U.S. Navy

November 18th @ 3pm: Baker University

November 20 @ 3pm: Missouri Southern State

Sign up sheet - click here

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

https://studentscholarships.org/newsletter.php

Scholarship Database

Advent Health - Nutrition Service Worker click here

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

Did you know some ways you can help encourage healthy meals for your student?

• Explore – Encourage your child to try new foods at home and school.
• Encourage breakfast – Breakfast fuels learning. School Breakfast is available at all schools. No advance registration necessary! All students are welcome!
• Know the options – Schools offer a variety of selections at meals. Talk with your child about healthy choices.
• Encourage good nutrition – Encourage your child to take and eat the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat milk offered in school meals.
• Be a healthy role model – Eat a wide variety of healthy foods with your children.

The school breakfast menus, lunch menus, and other nutrition information are available on the district’s website at https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service.

All students going out for a Winter sport need to have their physical turned in to the office no later than TODAY, 11/16/20, is the first day of Winter Sports. If you participated in a Fall Sport this requirement has already been met. Questions contact Tammy Rettig tammyrettig@smsd.org

Please see the button below for information on all of the Winter Sports/Tryouts/Coaches Contact Information.

Please see the buttons below for the Online Verification information in English & Spanish.

• 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

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