Office Hours 7 AM - 3:30 PM

913.993.7200

Offices will be open to the public on Thursday July 25, 2024

Attendance

Attendance Hotline 913.993.7245 (All Day)

Attendance Office 913.993.7242 (Partial Day)

Email: lisagruman@smsd.org

Dear Northwest Community,

We are excited to be back in the offices as we prepare for the start of the 24-25 school year! We hope you are enjoying your summer and we look forward to welcoming our students in the upcoming weeks. I have outlined some key dates and shared more detailed information for your reference below. I am also including some information about an opportunity for parents or guardians to get involved with our new mentoring program - see below for more details. Our offices will reopen on Thursday, the 25th, so please reach out if you have any questions.

New this school year - watch for our weekly podcast, Everyday Orange with Gruman and Volk, starting August 8. I am excited to co-host with our Student Body President Easton Volk. Podcasts links will be on our new Instagram, X(Twitter), and website each Thursday.

Everyday Orange shines a light on the high school experience at Shawnee Mission Northwest. As the pops of orange color flow throughout our hallways, commons areas, and into our classrooms, this podcast will engage guests throughout the places and spaces where our students find their home. Our Cougar Pride is strong, both in our traditions and how we continue to grow and change – we will welcome students and staff to our podcast each week as we give our community insight to the everyday orange that is life at NW.

July 25 - Offices Open with hours from 7 am to 3:30 pm

July 29 - Student schedules available to view in Skyward

July 31- Fee Payment & MacBook Pick Up at NW 12 pm to 6 pm

August 1 - Fee Payment & MacBook Pick Up 8 am to 12 pm

• Families may pay fees online at following link: e-Funds
• Families may pay fees or create payment plans in main office on the dates and times above. If you miss these two dates, you are welcome to see our bookkeeper during office hours starting 8/2.
• NW PTSA supports our staff and students throughout the school year. Please consider joining at this link: PTSA Membership.
• Students checkout their MacBook device from the Library after both Parent and Student Verifications are completed in Skyward by both a parent/guardian in Family 1 and our student.
• See steps for Online Verifications in a section below.
• See information below about Free or Reduced Lunch Applications. Families that share their qualification may have their schools fees reduced.

August 8 - Watch for the first episode of our new weekly podcast, Everyday Orange with Gruman & Volk

August 13 - Freshman First Day and Freshman Picture Day

August 14 - First Day 10-12, Classes Begin for All Students and Sophomore/Junior Picture Day

August 14 - Physical Night for Athletics from 6-8 pm in Aux Gym, use Door 13

August 19 - Senior Picture Day

August 19 - First Day of Fall Sports - Physicals are due before first practice.

August 22 - Back to School Night at 6:30 pm (Spirit Wear sales prior to event)

Student Schedules available in Skyward on July 29. Please see below if you have questions.

• If a student is requesting a schedule change or is missing a class in their schedule:
• See Lisa Jones in the main office to complete a schedule change form
• Email the completed form at this link: Schedule Change Form to their counselor. If parent cannot sign, then parent may email the form to the counselor to indicate approval.
• Parent signatures are not required for a missing class request.

Mentor Program:

• Please take a moment to read through the google form at this link: Mentoring Program.
• Opportunities range from involvement for a one-time career advisement session with groups of students, mock interviews, or regular mentoring sessions with students. The form above collects your preferences for style and time commitment for mentoring.
• We will provide an informational session with any training once we have collected our volunteer mentors.

School Supplies:

• Students may select the organizational system that works best for them - spiral notebooks, binders, combination folders. Students use their MacBooks for many resources and activities, but we do encourage some items to organize class notes.
• If a teacher has a specific item that students need for their class, they will share that information and provide time for students to get that item.
• There are opportunities for students to rent a graphing calculator if that is beneficial for the course they are taking, Their math teacher will share that information with students and families.

One common question is regarding the Participation/Activity Fee. That fee supports students' participation in all activities and athletics at NW. The fee also provides all students free admission to home sporting events, plays, and musicals when they show their NW Student ID. If you have questions about any fees in the fee payment process, please contact us.

Have a wonderful week!

All the best,

Lisa Gruman

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.

July 25, 2024 - Offices Open

July 31, 2024 - Fee Payment & Macbook Pick up - 12 pm to 6 pm

August 1, 2024 - Fee Payment & Macbook Pick up - 8 am to 12 pm

August 13, 2024 - Freshman First Day and Freshman Picture Day

August 14, 2024 - Sophomore, Junior & Senior First Day and Sophomore/Junior Picture Day

August 19, 2024 - Senior Picture Day

August 22, 2024 - Back 2 School Night

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

Visit the PTSA website.

Sign up here to assist with Macbook Distribution SMNW PTSA: SMNW - 2024 MacBook Distribution Help (signupgenius.com)

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

If questions, please contact Mrs. Vicki Alvey at 913-993-7400 or by email at victoriaalvey@smsd.org

• 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.

• 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