North Notes

Mustang Community,

It has been an amazing start to the new school year and great seeing everyone back in the building. We are so lucky to have the students that we do and the positive attitude returning to school has been great. There are two things that I wanted to highlight as we get the year started: Personal Electronic Device Guidelines and Traffic Flow before and after school.

Student Personal Electronic Device Reminder

As was communicated from the district earlier this week, the Blue Valley Board of Education passed guidelines regarding students’ Personal Electronic Devices. Our students have been great transitioning into this new guideline and we as educators know that it will most definitely increase student engagement during the learning process.

Start of Class/End of Class:

• When the bell rings to start class, personal electronic devices including phones, smartwatches and earbuds/headphones must be silenced and stowed away. We have found this prepares students for learning.

• When the bell rings to end class, personal electronic devices including phones and earbuds/headphones can be freely used until the next class and during lunch.

During Class Time (Includes Advisory Lessons):

• Unless otherwise instructed by a teacher, students should keep personal electronic devices including phones, smartwatches, and earbuds/headphones out of sight/put away.

Restroom:

• Students are required to leave their personal electronic devices in the room when using the restroom as we have found this reduces their time out of the classroom.

BVN Traffic Flow Before and After School

Due to our Athletic wing construction and our upcoming Performing Arts wing construction this winter, we are experiencing and anticipate higher levels of traffic congestion on our campus. We are aware of Overland Park Police instructing parents to not park along 123rd while waiting for students to be dismissed at 2:45. We are currently working with our district officials to create a plan to help alleviate this congestion. As soon as we have that plan established, we will send out a stand-alone email with directions on how to better access our parking lot to drop off and pick up students. For now, please know that you are encouraged to park in our open parking spaces along Glenwood by our athletic fields. There are many available parking spots where you can have your student meet you after school rather than lining up along 123rd. Again, we will send communication once we develop a manageable traffic flow with construction zones in mind. We appreciate your patience as we continue to work on this.

Thank you, again, for a GREAT start to the 2024/2025 school year!

The 2024-25 school year is an exciting time in Blue Valley Schools as we have the opportunity to look to the future while refreshing our strategic plan.

Your input is invaluable as we prioritize the goals and initiatives that will guide us through 2030. This survey is your chance to voice what you believe should be our top priorities, ensuring that our plan reflects the needs and aspirations of our community.

💻 2025-30 Strategic Plan Survey (3-5 minute survey)

The survey will remain open through Wednesday, August 21. For more information about the strategic planning process, visit www.bluevalleyk12.org/strategicplan.

August 19 - Odd Day: 7:35 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

August 20 - Even Day: 8:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

August 20 - Back to School Night for Parents: 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.

August 21 - Odd Day: 7:35 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

August 22 - Even Day: 8:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

August 23 - Traditional Day: 7:35 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

September 2 - NO SCHOOL / Labor Day

September 3 - NO SCHOOL / Professional Learning for Teachers

October 11 - NO SCHOOL / End of Quarter 1

October 21 - Parent-Teacher Conference Week: Times TBA

October 25 - NO SCHOOL

November 25-29 - NO SCHOOL / Thanksgiving Break

Upcoming All School Events

All BVN events, activities, sporting events and additional calendar adjustments are found on the EKL calendar: www.easternkansasleague.org

Click here for the 2023/2024 Blue Valley School District Calendar.

Monday, August 19 - Wednesday, August 21

Last year's Varsity, JV, C-Team, 3:05 - 5:30

Last year's Freshmen A/B, 5:30 - 7:30

Incoming Freshmen, 4:00 - 6:00

Thursday/Friday and rest of season practices...

Varsity/JV, 3:05 - 5:30

Freshmen A/B, 4:00 - 6:00

C Team, 5:30 - 7:30

Congratulations to the following students who qualified to compete this summer at the FBLA National Leadship Conference in Orlando, FL. We are proud of these outstanding students who represented North so professionally.

Adele Van Lieshout won 1st place and was named National Champion in Financial Statement Analysis at this National Conference. Adele went up against the top competitors from each state in the Financial Statement Analysis event. In her presentation, she analyzed Intel Corps's financial statements and made recommendations for improvements and future growth. Mustang Proud!!

Anjali Kambhampati – Journalism

Mahmoud Khalifa – Intro to Financial Math

Gavin Nelson – Job Interview

Landon Nelson – International Business

Kushal Reddy – International Business

Maryn Triplett – Impromptu Speaking

Rishika Vunnama – Accounting I

Adele Van Lieshout – Financial Statement Analysis

Where the United States Supreme Court and Theatre connect.

The Coterie, the premier theater for young audiences and families, serving more than 70,000 annually, commits to new work and representing all communities on their stage. This season will be no different with their original production of Just Ask!, a musical about young people with different abilities working together to create a garden as they learn more about each other. It is based on The New York Times best-selling book by Sonia Sotomayor.

BVN Theatre Director, Rachel Cain and Senior Thespian, Sebastian Gonzalez Layton were included in a special event featuring Justice Sotomayor and local arts leaders in a panel format, where they addressed questions about the impact of the arts and what it’s like to have a career as a designer, writer, performer, and other theater industry roles.

It was an inspiring evening hearing from the Justice about her journey into the arts, not “feeling like an artist” early in her education, “being different” and feeling required to conceal those differences, and how she challenged herself to take art classes in college to help broaden her understanding of the world around her. She encouraged the arts leaders in the room to keep going and for those students in the room to find their unique voice and place in the wider world of “the arts.” She ended the evening sharing that of all the work she’s done, she feels this musical will “be her legacy.”

BVN Theatre will be a pilot school in partnership with TeenTixKC. https://www.teentix.org/kc

TeenTix builds a bright future by empowering young people to take an active role in shaping their arts community as audience members, critics, influencers, advocates, patrons, and leaders. We exist to break down barriers that prevent teens from accessing the arts, career development, and arts learning opportunities. We empower teens to engage in civic life through the arts.

TeenTixKC focuses on Arts Access: We see young people as the key to cultivating and preserving our region’s culture.

Youth Empowerment: TeenTix invites teens to the table and prioritizes uplifting their voice in program development, growth, and design. Similarly, we value equitable compensation practices and pay teens for their contributions to our Newsroom Blog, Teen Arts Podcast, New Guard, and program gallery showings. BVN Theatre Director, Rachel Cain, and students Joslyn Selser, Soren Petrikin and Aivan Freeman attended an event over the summer to connect with other KC community partners and TeenTix Deputy Director, Austin Sargent, sharing their voices and getting a behind the scenes look at nonprofit organizational operations and learning about opportunities for the youth in KC to be involved.

Any teen can sign up for a TeenTix account using the link above and start exploring the Arts in the KC area, with events priced from FREE to $5 maximum (including community partners like, Starlight Theatre, KCRep, The Coterie, Owen Cox Dance, KCAT, and more).

Counselors at BVN are assigned by the first letter of a student's last name:

• Bridgett Brownlee: A–Da
• Catalina Donnelly-Vazquez: De-H
• Jenn Weber: I–Moo
• Linda Hardy: Mor-Sho
• Amanda Levin: Shu-Z

Questions? Contact the Counseling Administrative Assistant, Kawaini Duson, at kjduson02@bluevalleyk12.org.

Your Blue Valley North School Nurse needs 6 parent volunteers to help with the annual hearing and vision screening on Thursday, October 10, 2024 from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please email Nurse Amanda Collichio at ajcoillichio@bluevalleyk12.org if you are available to help. Six volunteers are needed for the success of this important event. Thank you for considering!

Boxes of Kleenex, Puffs, or any brand of tissues are needed for our classrooms. If you are able to donate, please drop them off in the BVN Main Office between 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. We are grateful for your help!

Families of high school students will receive automated attendance messages via email, phone, and/or text message at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 pm if a child is absent and his/her absence has not been reported by a parent/guardian. If parents forget to report an absence? No worries. Reply directly to the phone call or email and make the edit in the attendance reporting.

School Picture Day for 9th, 10th and 11th grade students was today! This photo will be for the yearbook and students went during their English class. You can still place a discounted PRE-ORDER until midnight tonight--see info below, or go to https://bit.ly/BVNF24 to place your order. Photo packets can be ordered anytime at www.rollandkc.com using your student's ID number as the access code.

If seniors did not get their senior pictures completed over the summer with Rolland Studios, they will have their photo taken on Monday, September 23, 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. during their lunch. This day will also be a chance for Re-takes if a 9th, 10th or 11th grade student is unhappy with the photos from August.

If you have questions about school photos, please contact Rolland's Customer Service at www.rollandkc.com or email them at cs@rollandkc.com .

If you have moved or plan to move over the summer, please contact the BVN Registrar, Ann LaGrange, by email at ALLaGrange@bluevalleyk12.org. Thank you!

Deadlines are coming quickly for Senior Tribute ads in the 2025 yearbook! The ad is a way of recognizing the memories, achievements and hopes you have for your child’s future. The flyer below is full of information to help you gather materials for your student’s senior ad. Be sure to check past yearbooks for ideas!

If you have any questions, Northern Light staff is here to help. You can reach out to us at bvnseniorads@gmail.com.

Hopefully, all seniors have had their senior portrait taken by Rolland Studios for the yearbook during the summer. (You can choose another company for your personal senior photos which can be used in the Senior Tribute Ads, but only a photo from Rolland Studios will be used for the “Senior Section” of the yearbook.) Info about packages and proofs, go to www.rollandkc.com . If you did NOT have your portrait taken this summer, plan to be in the BVN library on Monday, September 23, between 10:30 am - 12:30 pm for the LAST CHANCE to get this done!

Senior Diploma Form and Transcript Release- ACTION NEEDED: Our diplomas will be ordered at the end of the first semester in order to have them for May graduation. Please click on the link below and complete the Senior Diploma/Transcript Form. Please complete as soon as possible. This form also authorizes the release of senior transcripts for college applications. Click here: Diploma/Transcript Authorization.

SENIOR INFO PAGE
All this info and more can be found on our Senior Info Page! Click here: 2025 BVN SENIORS

Are you a student who is in the class of 2025 or class of 2026 and have a 3.5 GPA or higher? Are you interested in being a candidate for National Honor Society induction in the fall? If so, please read on. Students need 40 hours of community service from January 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. These hours must come from non-profit 501c3 organizations. We will not count hours such as walking dogs, babysitting a neighbor, helping someone move, tutoring, volunteering at country clubs etc. Students should already be on x2VOL, the platform that tracks hours, and should be recording and verifying hours on this online platform. An individual from the organization must verify hours with an email that is from a .org email address. Look online for opportunities that are posted on the x2VOL website. If you are questioning if hours count as community service, please contact Mrs. Cornelius and Mrs. Stein to get prior authorization.

Information will be sent out in the fall. But, tentative dates for the initial information meeting are Wednesday, September 19, at 3:00 p.m. and Thursday, September 20, at 8:00 a.m. both in the PAC. Attendance at one of these two dates is mandatory! We will hand out all information to students at this meeting. Other than community service hours, students are not working on anything else before this meeting.

Mandatory induction practice is Monday, November 4, 2024, at 7:00 a.m. and Mandatory Induction Ceremony is Monday November 4, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Family is welcome to attend the induction ceremony! Mark your calendars!

Feel free to reach out to Ms. Cornelius (acornelius@bluevalleyk12.org) or Mrs. Stein (sistein@bluevalleyk12.org) with any questions. Thanks!

Click on this link for all NHS information:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tc2fEZe4ZDztC5ljcr7u2GZn4O_rIkbH/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117665179597290868537&rtpof=true&sd=true

Updates for the 2024-2025 School Year

If your student needs to keep medications in the health room at school, please be prepared for this new school year with updated medical orders from your child’s physician. These orders must be updated for each new school year. Authorization For Medication/Procedure To Be Administered At School. Please have medical orders faxed to 913-239-3038.

Medications can be dropped off by appointment only during normal school hours of

7:35 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Please e-mail Amanda Collichio, School Nurse, at ajcoillichio@bluevalleyk12.org to schedule your drop off time.

Immunization News

All 11th Grade Parents – all 16-year-old students in 11th grade for the 2024-2025 school year are required to have their updated booster of MCV4 meningococcal immunization. This

is needed before 08/13/2024 to avoid school exclusion due to immunizations non-compliance.

Please E-mail any updates to your student’s immunization record to Nurse Collichio at ajcollichio@bluevalleyk12.org. Students who are not compliant will be excluded from school starting on Friday, August 16, 2024.

Exclusion letters were mailed at the end of May to all parent/guardians of students who are not compliant with the Kansas State required immunizations.

Refer to Link regarding requirements: https://www.bluevalleyk12.org/Page/34370

Need to speak with the nurse?

If you need to speak with the nurse, please e-mail ajcollichio@bluevalleyk12.org to set up an appointment.

The Mustang Club needs several vital roles filled for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. Please, please consider helping, or even better, recruit a friend to do a job together! Without your help, it is not possible to continue providing the same level of support to our BVN students.

Are you looking to become more involved at BVN and make a difference for the kids and faculty? The Mustang Club is looking to fill the following positions:

BOARD POSITION: VP OF FUNDRAISING

This rewarding position focuses on various fundraising efforts through ancillary projects to the general membership drives. One main project includes renewing current advertisers and collecting payment for new advertisers, in our Activity Guide. Creation of the Activity Guide is done by a BVN staff member, not by this Board Member. Most of the efforts for the Activity Guide occur during the summer. Any other fundraising projects, like percentage nights at local restaurants/retailers, that the Board decides on, would be facilitated through this Board Member. Attendance at 4-5 Board Meetings a year would be required.

COMMITTEE POSITION: CONCESSIONS STEP UP

Learn the ropes from the current Concessions Chair and help manage BVN concessions. Fun opportunity to work with student and parent volunteers and help raise funds for student activities! This person(s) would become the Concessions Chair for the 2025-2026 school year.

COMMITTEE POSITION: BUCKAROO BRACELET CHAIR

The new Buckaroo Bracelet replaces the Ticket Tees of old! This person would coordinate the sales of the Buckaroo Bracelets to our feeder middle schoolers to allow them entry into high school athletic events. This project is solely done in the summer and then it is over for the year.

COMMITTEE POSITION: SENIOR TILES CHAIR

This person works with school administration to send out communication to seniors/parents to order a senior tile. Payments are made through the Mustang Club website. Once deadline is over, this chairperson submits the senior tile data to our tile manufacturer and edits the proofs. This project happens after the start of 2nd semester and is very easy!

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: BUCKAROO BASH

Buckaroo Bash is BACK for the Fall of 2023! We need several people (grab some friends!) to be on the Buckaroo Bash committee. This committee is forming now as we need to start planning for this fantastic BVN Parent Party, which is our biggest singular fundraiser!

PLEASE CONTACT HEATHER GLENN AT bvnpbcpresident@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out with any of the above positions!

Thank you for your consideration!

Durham will continue to transport our bus riders in the 2024/2025 school year. If you have questions, please call Durham School Services at 913-681-2492 or contact them via email at admin6700@durhamschoolservices.com.

North Notes is a newsletter for the parents and students of Blue Valley North High School. If you have questions, please contact Janet Roush, Assistant to the Principal, at JRoush@bluevalleyk12.org .

BVN Office hours: Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

BVN Twitter:

@MustangsBvn

@BVNOstroski

@TheKurle

@BVNCounseling

@MustangsOfBVN

@bvnnews

@BVNMustangsPBC

BVN Instagram:

@bvnmustangs

Email: Jroush@bluevalleyk12.org
Website: www.bluevalleyk12.org/BVN/
Location: 12200 Lamar Avenue, Overland Park, KS, 66209
Phone: (913) 239-3000
Facebook: facebook.com/BVNMustangs/
Twitter: @bvnnews