NORTH NEWS October 26, 2020

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

We are excited to welcome students back into classrooms at SMN! The next few weeks are going to be a learning process for everyone as we establish new routines and procedures as we work to best support student learning.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled on Wednesday, Nov. 11 (5:00-8:00PM) and Friday, Nov. 13 (7:40AM-3:20PM) this year. All conferences will be held virtually. Parents will receive information in the coming days about how these conferences can be scheduled through Skyward.

As previously mentioned, in-person students will return to the Brickhouse on Monday, Oct. 26. To help ensure the health and safety of our students, staff, and families, many of our normal procedures have been altered. SMN will be utilizing the SMSD reopening plans and operating procedures to guide what school will look like when students return.

Below is a link to the SMN Reopening Plan for Students and Parents. Within this plan is important information related to health/hygiene, arrival/dismissal, lunch, passing periods, classroom procedures and more. This document will be updated as we adjust our procedures to best serve our students and staff.

SMN Reopening Plan - Students & Parents

Students, parents and teachers - the Attendance Office is going paperless! This new system utilizes student ID numbers, so we are asking all parents when calling to include this in the message they leave with the attendance office.

Students arriving late will come to the attendance window to check in. Instead of receiving a paper pass to class, students will receive an email that will be used for admittance into class. When leaving early for an appointment, students will again be sent an email. This email will serve as the student's pass to leave class at the designated time.

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 will be providing when students return to the building. 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 Online fee payment portal can be found at www.smsd.org, hover over the "Families " tab, and click the link entitled "Pay Fees Online”. The site can also 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.

One thing is for certain with 2021, you will want to celebrate your senior's graduation with a Senior Ad in the 2021 Indian.

The second deadline has been extended until Nov. 7, with prices increasing after each deadline.

The best way to purchase a Senior Ad this year is online.

To pay with a credit card and/or submit all your photos go to www.yearbookforever.com. Choose SM North. You can upload all of your photos and pay here.

If you don’t want to upload, no problem, you can also drop off the form, photos and payment at the SMN front office or mail them to SM North, attn. Becky Tate.

After you send your Senior Ad in, you will receive a proof via email by Feb. 9. Not all will be done by then, but a majority will be. If you haven't seen yours by then, please call 913-993-7012 or email notate@smsd.org and check on the ad. Photos will be returned in late April.

Thanks so much for supporting the Indian yearbook. We look forward to designing your senior’s ad. If you have any questions, please contact yearbook advisor Becky Tate at 913-993-7012 or at notate@smsd.org .

The College Now and Quick Step Plus College Algebra enrollment deadline has been extended to Monday, Nov 9. Enrollment guides for College Now and Quick Step Plus can be downloaded below. Please be sure to complete all steps in the enrollment process. If a student obtains a placement waiver, student will still need to log in to MyJCCC, register for the course, and pay tuition. More information can be found by clicking here.

Total Registration is now open for students to pay for their AP Exam(s). The cost is $100 per exam. The priority deadline to register and pay is Tuesday, November 3rd. A $40 late fee will be added to any exams that are paid for AFTER November 4th. All AP exam payments are being taken through Total Registration… NO payments will be accepted at the school. You can pay for your AP exam(s) at www.TotalRegistration.net/AP/172000.

Whether the student wants to take the exam or not, students are STILL REQUIRED to go into their College Board account and change their exam indicator from “undecided” to either “yes” or “no” before November 3rd. If you have questions or need financial assistance, please reach out to Leah Murray at leahmurray@smsd.org.

SMSD Financial Aid Week

Oct. 26-30

Good morning seniors and senior parents/guardians!

This is Monique Wesley the College Adviser at Shawnee Mission North. I hope this email finds you well! I’m reaching out today to let you know about some financial aid help opportunities being provided next week during our Shawnee Mission School District Financial Aid Week.

Our hope is to provide assistance and answer any questions you may have about the financial aid process by creating a variety of platforms and opportunities. *You are by no means required to attend any of these events if you are uncomfortable in doing so*

Here’s what you can expect:

Monday - Preparing for the FAFSA Resources - we’ll turn your attention to a specific page on our FAFSA Resources website where you can find helpful steps you can take before completing your FAFSA.

Tuesday - Live Virtual FAFSA Walk-Through Presentation with college consultant Jason Anderson, 6:30 pm (register here)

Wednesday - Sign up for individual FAFSA help with your college adviser: https://calendly.com/moniquewesley-smn

Thursday - In-person FAFSA completion event at Shawnee Mission South HS Flex Theater (register here)

Friday - What Happens after Filing Your FAFSA Resources - we’ll turn your attention to a specific page on our FAFSA Resources website where you can find next steps after completing your FAFSA

Unable to attend these events? No problem, please feel free to reach out for help at moniquewesley@smsd.org.

Please don’t hesitate to reach back with any questions. Thank you!

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

https://studentscholarships.org/newsletter.php

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

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.

Food Service will continue to provide meals for pick up on Fridays even as students return to in-person learning. Starting on Friday 10/23/20 the meal pick up time will be 6:30 – 7:45AM at all schools. The reason for the change are elementary students will be in class on Fridays. As students return to in-person learning, USDA has indicated the meals are at no cost to students. If a student wants only a carton of milk, they would need to purchase this as ala carte. This would be similar to a student purchasing a bag of chips or a package of cookies. These are considered ala carte items and the student would need to purchase these. Make sure your student has money on their account to purchase these items.

See the Teen Food & Fitness newsletters at the Food Services website

Please contact the Food Service office with questions at (913)993-9710 or foodservice@smsd.org.

Families interested in bus transportation for their students should visit https://www.smsd.org/families/transportation.

Football: The SMN football game vs Mill Valley was cancelled due to extenuating circumstances. All was not lost as senior members of band and cheer team were recognized. The football team will play Blue Valley North on Friday at 7:00pm @ BVNW in the first round of 6A regional playoffs.

Volleyball: SMN VB team played a very competitive match vs SM East in the first round of the 6A regional play-offs. North catapulted to a strong start winning the first game 25-20; 21-25 and 25-17. The girls gave great effort.

Soccer: the boys soccer team closed out the regular season with two losses: SMNW (1-3) and Olathe South (0-7). The team finished the regular season with an 8-8 record. They play SM West on Tuesday night in the 6A Regional “Chill Bowl” at 6:00pm @ Westridge.

Cross-Country: Congrats to Trevor Maxville (3rd in SMNW regional) who qualified for KSHSAA 6A State Championships in Augusta, Kansas on Saturday, Oct. 31 @ 12:00pm. The boys and girls (Josei Tyrell 13th) team finished in 4th place in the toughest regional in the state; that being said all individual runners have greatly improved and a number of runners ran personal best times.

You may pre order PEC pricing and free shipping by using this link. Contact Brock Stubbs (brock@pecsports.info) if you have additional questions.

http://pec-sports.hhimagehost.com/SHAWNEEMISSIONNORTH2020fallsports

• Spotify- Start Up Helper Issues: If you have the Spotify app installed on your computer you may be getting an error pop-up preventing students from using their device? Here is are the directions to fix it. Fixing Start up Helper

• 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