Office Hours 7 AM - 3:30 PM

913.993.7200

Attendance

Attendance Hotline 913.993.7245 (All Day)

Attendance Office 913.993.7242 (Partial Day)

Email: lisagruman@smsd.org

Dear Northwest Community,

We enjoyed an amazing Bonfire last night with our community!! It was so great to see so many celebrate the kick-off of our fall season with this Northwest tradition. We are grateful for the Shawnee Fire Department for their guidance to Spirit Club during the set-up and extinguishing the fire to close the evening safely. Their partnership allows this tradition to continue! We also want to shine a light on the leadership of our Spirit Club - the assembly and planning for this event is run by our students with support from their sponsors. We are fortunate to have our students working hard to make these events a reality! Visit @smnw_office on X for pictures from the night.

This upcoming week we have our Club Day during Late Start on Thursday, September 12. Students leaders for our clubs will set-up their tables in the mall area. Students may explore the opportunities available to them. Clubs typically meet after school and are a way for students to connect with new friends that enjoy a common interest. We encourage students to arrive by 7:45 am to visit the tables and find a potential new activity.

Please take a moment to scroll down and see some very important information from our social workers. September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month and they have provided great resources in their section below.

Reminder - deadline to register for PSAT/NMSQT for juniors and PSAT for sophomores is Sept. 13th. Interested juniors should register at the following link:

https://user.totalregistration.net/PSAT/172771

Interested sophomores should speak to their academic counselor to register for the exam.

Our new episode of the Everyday Orange podcast, linked below, features conversations with students from two of our fall sports - cross country and soccer, as well students across a variety of groups that make the experience under the Friday Night Lights full of energy and school spirit. We talk to members of our band, dance team, cheer team, and KUGR live streaming. Last week's episode included conversations with coaches and players from volleyball and football and next week we will complete our highlights of the remaining fall sports. Episodes include other activities and important events around NW, so we hope you will find a moment to listen.

Have a wonderful weekend.

All the Best,

Lisa Gruman

September 12, 2024 - Sophomore Class Ring Presentation by Josten's during seminar time (info to follow meeting)

September 12, 2024 - Late Start Club Day - Mall Area starting at 7:45 am

September 19, 2024 - Sophomore Class Ring Order Day

September 26, 2024 - Orchestra Concert - 7PM - NW Auditorium

October 1, 2024 - Fall Choir Concert - 7pm - NW Auditorium

October 4, 2024 - Homecoming Parade - 1 pm

October 5, 2024 - Homecoming Dance - 8 pm - SMNW Cafeteria

Have you been encouraging your student to get involved in their school community? Is your student still trying to find a place to fit it? Then please encourage your student to attend our upcoming club day on Thursday, September 12th from 7:45 to 8:30 AM. This is before class time on our late start morning. We have over 30 clubs that will set up tables in the mall to promote and recruit new members. We have so many clubs that most students will find something that matches their interest. This is always a fun and welcoming event for all students.

This option is for reporting all day absences and late arrivals only.

When requesting an early dismissal please call 913-993-7242 or email jamieprosser@smsd.org

Zach Cash A-D zacharycash@smsd.org

Barb Legate E-J barbaralegate@smsd.org

Katie Cole K-Pe katherinecole@smsd.org

Jessica Andrade Pf-R (ELL) jessicaandrade@smsd.org

Jordan Landis S-U jordanlandis@smsd.org

Erica Jablonski V-Z (RWL) ericajablonski@smsd.org

Dual Credit Enrollment is in full swing! Quick access to instructions are linked below. Students that are enrolled in a dual enrollment class have received an email with the details. What courses qualify? SMNW Dual Enrollment Course Offerings

JCCC COLLEGE NOW FINAL ENROLLMENT DEADLINE: September 20, 2024

Financial Assistance (College Now only)

Note there is grant money for those that demonstrate need (see the SMNW Counseling Website for information).

HELP!

JCCC Support: (913) 469-3803

Quick Password Reset: password.jccc.edu

JCCC Prerequisite / ALEKs / Accuplacer Services: (913) 469-4439

SMNW & JCCC Help Sessions listed on the SMNW Counseling Website

BAKER UNIVERSITY FINAL ENROLLMENT DEADLINE: September 6, 2024

RWL ACTIVITIES

Real World Learning Career Exploration SEPTEMBER Activities:

• September 12: SMSD's Professional Skills Workshop: Students will be interview ready by developing and enhancing their resume as well as learning and practicing interviewing skills. (Check back for signup)

• September 27: SMSD Career Fair (Check back for signup)

Senior Scholarship Spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uSln_YFkMVKroQe1GuVNHrdfjMN4dg_rNmVuR22-bZc/edit?usp=sharing

Free parent webinar offered on September 12th at 5:30 PM.

Go to College, Not Into Debt: Solutions for an Affordable Education.

Description: Explore the complex world of need-based and merit-based financial aid. Parents and students will learn about how to lower costs under the new FAFSA rules, the newly formed Student Aid Index (SAI), and tips for optimizing college admissions and scholarships.

Link to sign up: https://foxly.link/shawneemissionhs9

SMSD Alumni Parent Panel is at Shawnee Mission Northwest on September 18th. Come learn about how to navigate your student’s college-going process from parents of SMSD alumni! Wednesday, September 18th 6-7:30pm in the SMNW Auditorium. Enter on East side of the building. Questions? Contact jailynstewart@smsd.org

Registration for the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) will open August 29th and close Sept. 13th. The National Merit Scholarship Program is highly competitive and challenging, as it requires achieving a high score in comparison to other top-performing students nationwide. Each year, about 1.5 million high school juniors from around the world take the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). From this pool, approximately 50,000 students with the highest scores are recognized as Commended Students or Semi-Finalists. Of these, around 16,000 Semi-Finalists advance to the next stage, where they can compete for National Merit Scholarships. Only juniors can qualify for the scholarships available through the NMSQT, but sophomore can take the NMSQT as practice.

Interested juniors should register at the following link:

https://user.totalregistration.net/PSAT/172771

Interested sophomores should speak to their academic counselor to register for the exam.

What parents need to know about suicide prevention

September is the national month for suicide prevention. It’s important to have conversations pro-actively, before our kids struggle, to prevent suicide and keep them safe and healthy.

How can I talk to my teen about mental health and suicide? Make a point of incorporating mental wellness into daily conversations by asking how they are feeling and coping with stressors. If you are concerned about suicide, it’s important to ask directly, “Are you thinking about suicide?”

Research shows people who are having thoughts of suicide feel relief when someone asks after them in a caring way. Findings suggest acknowledging and talking about suicide may reduce rather than increase suicidal ideation.

The acronym ACT is a simple way for people to remember how to respond when someone opens up to you about suicide

Acknowledge: Ask open-ended questions, i.e. those that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Resist the urge to offer quick fixes or solutions and avoid lecturing, all of which tends to shut down dialogue.

Care: Validate and support their feelings, even if you disagree with them. At this time in their brain development, teens are wired to hear and see negative intent. Let them know you are on their side.

Tell: If you are concerned about your child or your child is concerned about a friend, utilize the new local hotline by talk or text at 988.This hotline connects to local crisis counselors 24 hours a day.

How does my child get support if needed at SMNW? As part of our valued system of care for students, SMSD employs two licensed mental health professionals available to all students in each high school. Your NW student has a clinical social worker assigned to them by alphabetical order just as they have their academic counselor.

If you or your child have concerns during the school day, Tina Clark (A-K) and Melissa Osborn (L-Z) are available for support. They can be reached directly 913-993-7233 (Clark) and (913) 993-7236 (Osborn) or via Student Services.

Parents often report difficulty engaging with their teens in conversation. Oftentimes, teens are more easily engaged around their interests. Try sitting down next to them to play their favorite video game or listening to their music. Teens often feel less vulnerable driving with you in the car, going for a walk or engaged in a task such as playing catch.

Zero Reasons Why, a community campaign to prevent teen suicide, provides this helpful Back to School Toolkit for Parents.

What is Sources of Strength? We are privileged to have a group of trained peer leaders as part of our Sources of Strength wellness program at SMNW. These leaders spread messages of hope, health, and strength throughout the school year. This evidenced based national program is approved by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and promotes a culture where teens look out for each other and normalize help seeking behaviors.

County Resources:

Johnson County Mental Health Center: Crisis Line (913) 268-0156

https://suicideprevention.jocogov.org/

National Resources:

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988

NAMI Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

Trevor Project- LGBTQ+ Resource: 1-866-488-7386

Visit the PTSA website for the September PTSA Newsletter!

ALL-SPORT PASSES NOW AVAILABLE FOR 24-25 SMNW ATHLETICS

All Sports Passes are now available for purchase! All ticket sales including the All Sports Pass are available digitally through GoFan!

All Sports Passes are ONLY available in the digital format. You will have access to your All Sports Pass through the GoFan platform throughout the entire school year. There are two types of individual sports passes:

(1) Individual Sports Pass–Adult: Admits one adult with the cost being $75

(2) Individual Sports Pass–Student: Admits one person, who is not a SMNW student (with valid ID) to get into games. Please remember that all individuals grades K-12 are considered students. Cost is $50

The Shawnee Mission Northwest All Sports Pass allows you to pre-purchase your admission to Shawnee Mission Northwest regular season home regular season athletic events. This convenient option can allow for quicker access by eliminating the need for cash at the entrance gates. The All Sports Passes are not valid for KSHSAA post-season events and regular season tournaments hosted by Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.

In summary, two different passes available:

Individual Pass–Adults are $75.00

Individual Pass–Students are – $50

See below to order your individual passes today. For questions contact the SMNW Athletic Office at 913-993-7400 or email angelogiacalone@smsd.org

SMNW All Sport Pass

Parents, athletes, and others throughout the community, we are hopeful that you enjoy our latest edition for the EveryDay Champion Newsletter, n hopes of keeping you updated with pertinent information in the SMNW athletic/activities. Keep up with all the schedule information and other pertinent areas to "keep you in the know." If questions regarding athletics/activities you can reach out to us by emailing Mr. Giacalone, angelogiacalone@smsd.org, or Mrs. Alvey, victoriaalvey@smsd.org or you can reach out by phone at 913-993-7400.

You can click the link below for the week of September 9, 2024
EveryDay Champion Newsletter Week of Sept. 9th

• Individual High School calendar: Sunflower League
• Combined High School calendar: https://www.shawneemissionactivities.org
• Visit our Athletics Website for schedules of upcoming events: https://smnwcougars.com/
• Check out the NW Track Results: MileSplit

Subscribe to Shawnee Mission Northwest’s national award-winning student-run newspaper, the Northwest Passage! A $20 year-long subscription will get you an issue delivered directly to your house every month and will help cover the cost of printing and operations of the publication. The newspaper, which has been publishing for 54 years, covers all things Northwest, from sports to the arts to classes and everything in between. The paper is routinely a NSPA Pacemaker Winner, naming it one of the top 15 student newspapers in the country.

To subscribe, sign up with this Google Form: https://forms.gle/L4DESESc5b5sLdx26

For any questions about this, please email adviser Chris Heady at christopherheady@smsd.org.

Senior Parents: Senior ads are open for purchase right now. We will close them off early in the second semester. Here is the link to purchase and upload photos and text for us to design:

https://yearbookforever.com/school-store/LaBX1JdcUsjybDQKQlVUKd7B

Happy back to school time families of SMNW!

This is a friendly reminder that your 9th and/or 11th grade students need vaccinations prior to the start of the school year. Please check with your student’s physician about obtaining those vaccines as soon as possible.

Please provide proof of vaccination to the nurse aid or I. You can email this to myself at wendywoods@smsd.org or the nurse aid Brenda Renteria at brendarenteria@smsd.org.

Please turn any athletic papers to the athletic secretary in the main office.

I would also like to introduce our new health office nurse aid Brenda Renteria; she will be helping with vaccinations, paperwork and everyday office needs.

Feel free to email or call with any questions or concerns about your student’s health or vaccine needs! You can reach me, Wendy Woods (nurse) at 913-993-7216 or Brenda Renteria (nurse aid) at 913-993-7606.

Thank you,
Wendy Woods, RN, BSN, MSN

NW Nurse

• https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/health-services/illness

• https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/health-services/medication

• https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/health-services/immunizations-physicals

2024-2025 Fees
DS Bus Lines will start receiving payments for the 2024-2025 school year after June 10, 2024.

Early payment discount before July 22, 2024
$160.00 per student, per semester or $320.00 per year for school year. Must be received or postmarked by July 19, 2024.

Payments received after July 22, 2024
$185.00 per student, per semester or $370.00 per student for the school year.

Transportation Enrollment Forms
To enroll students for transportation visit DS Bus Lines website.

Those that have registered for busing by the early pay deadline can access bus information via the student's Skyward Family Access account prior to the start of school. The school of attendance will also have a list of bus stops and pick-up times the week prior to the start of each school year.

Once student bus information is available in Skyward Family Access, please sign up for the late bus notification system Textcaster. Both parents and students can sign up to receive bus notifications via this text system.

Terms and Conditions
Bus service is available at schools where 50 or more students are contracted to ride the bus, or where pay ridership has been mandated.

Service will not be started until a signed contract with payment is submitted to DS Bus Lines. Secondary students will be required to show student I.D. to the driver. They will not be allowed to ride the bus without showing student I.D.

Kindergarteners and first-graders must have an adult receive the student at the bus stop.

Bus fare is payable by credit card, money order, or check. CASH WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Bus fare is payable by mail or in person to:
DS Bus Lines
5519 Merriam Dr.
Merriam, KS 66203.