NORTH NEWS February 6

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

North Community,

We had a great week last week our students are performing well, and our honor roll ice cream social was a great success! Please make sure to read below for information related to Parent-Teacher conferences, the winter formal, and much more! Thank you so much for your support and Go Bison!

Parents and Guardians,

Shawnee Mission North will be hosting only one opportunity to touch base with teacher’s about your student’s progress this semester. The spring conferences will take place on Wednesday, February 8th from 5 to 8pm. Conference times are by appointment only for 10 minute time slots.

Parents will schedule conferences through Skyward. Directions on how to do this are included here.

Directions to Sign Up:

1. Log into your parent account in Skyward. https://skyward.smsd.org/

2. Click on “Conferences” on the left hand navigation

3. On the right side of the student tab > Click on “All Conferences”

4. Click on “Select a Time” for the class you would like to schedule a conference for that time slot.

5. Find the time slot that works for you to have the conference and click “Select” and then “Save”

6. You will repeat this process for each teacher/class that you would like to schedule.

7. You will then receive an email for each time slot you select for your student.

8. WebEx conferences can be scheduled by corresponding with your student’s teacher(s).

The intent of parent-teacher-student conference is to provide positive dialogue between parents, students, and teachers to help our students succeed here at North. Please make sure you bring your student with you to conferences. If they absolutely can’t attend, please have a conversation with them beforehand so you have some background information about the class you are having a conference.

NJROTC members will be around SMN to guide and direct parents and patrons to the correct location; Spanish-speaking interpreters will be available to assist families. Spanish-speaking parents that need assistance signing up for conference times via Skyward, please contact Maria Diaz-Lorenzana at 913-993-0277 or email her at marialorenzana@smsd.org.

Thank you,

SMN Administration

• Student fee email notifications will be sent out on Friday, February 10th.

• The Online fee payment portal can be found at https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/55790 You can set up an account or pay as a guest using the student’s last name and ID number.
• Fees not paid by June 1st or graduation for seniors may be sent to the Collections agency.

• Any questions regarding fees, payments, or to arrange a payment plan should be directed to SMN bookkeeper, Shelle Lewis at Shellelewis@smsd.org or 913-993-6910.
• Families qualifying for free or reduced lunch can receive a waiver for part of the fees if they provide the bookkeeper with a copy of their Food Service benefits letter.

Buy your yearbooks now for $65 from www.yearbookforever.com. There are only a limited number of books and are available on a first come first served basis. Contact yearbook adviser Becky Tate with any questions.

ACT Prep class in Overland Park at the Blue Valley School District's Hilltop Conference Center on Wednesday, February 15th and Thursday, February 16th from 6:30pm to 8:55pm. This class is open to students from any high school.

The early-bird price for this two-night workshop is $85.

ACT Test Prep Class - Greater Kansas City Area — Power Prep (powerprepinc.com)

Seniors,

Are you fluent in two or more languages? If so, sign up on the link below to gain more information on taking the AAPPL test later in the spring. The AAPPL test will give you the opportunity to prove your language skills in order to earn the Kansas Seal of Biliteracy.

The Seal of Biliteracy has many benefits including the potential to earn more money, college credit at some state universities, and a special recognition at graduation.

Sign up on the following link below if interested. We will check your eligibility and get back to you with next steps soon!

The Seal of Biliteracy has many benefits including the potential to earn more money, college credit at some state universities, and a special recognition at graduation.

Sign up on the following link below if interested. We will check your eligibility and get back to you with next steps soon!

https://forms.gle/E5pY6kdcd7KCadwi9

Keeping our Students Healthy

You may have recently heard news reports about increases of illness this fall, as is typical with this time of year. In SMSD, we have begun to see increases in absence due to illness; with a few physician diagnosed illnesses and many generalized symptoms.

One of the most important things to help decrease the spread of illness is for those who are not feeling well to stay home. If your child has a temperature of over 100.0 or has vomited or has had diarrhea, they must stay home. Students may return to school when they have been free from fever (without medication), vomiting, or diarrhea for 24 hours.

Your child may also be ill, but without these symptoms. They may have a sore throat, headache, cough, or generally not feel well. If you suspect illness, please keep your child home. If in doubt about sending your child to school, contact the school nurse or your child’s doctor.

Please always check the school calendar for the most up to date schedule SMN Calendar

https://smnorth.smsd.org/students/counseling

Counselors are providing a presentation during parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday, February 8 for any parents and students who would like to start preparing for post-secondary plans.

We will meet at 6pm in the Learning Commons.

LOOKING FOR SUMMER EMPLOYMENT:

JCPRD Lifeguards Aquatic Jobs | Johnson County Park & Rec, KS (jcprd.com)

Advance Auto Parts - Click here to apply

Charlie's Car Wash - Two Overland Park locations - stop by or go to charlies.com

Creative Carnivals & Events part time help. Email kevin@carnivallady.com

Crown Center Ice Terrace - click here to apply

Freddy's - freddys.com/careers

Jefferson's - Hiring Kitchen staff - call 1-785-727-3000

Overland Park, City of - apply at recruit.opkansas.org

Papa Murphy's on Shawnee Mission Parkway - 913-638-4552

Stretch Lab - Leawood and Overland Park locations hiring - Click here

Stanley Steamer - Career opportunies - Email: dfry@steemer.com

UPS - Lenexa, KS email - sford@ups.com

Tidal Wave Auto Spa - Click Here

Go to student services for more information.

02/06/23

The North Bison Swim and Dive team had a fantastic Varsity League meet over the weekend, finishing 5th out of 13 teams. North was led by Junior Lopez, Zak Kohoutek, and Jonathan Guild, who were all major contributors as well as each of them breaking a school record!!! Lopez, a senior captain, was dominant all weekend and placed 2nd in his 2 individual events, the 200 and 500 Freestyle. In Finals, Junior broke the 19-year-old school record with a 4:52.20 in the 500. His 200 Free is also within 1 second of the school record. Guild, a sophomore, set the 100 Backstroke school record with an amazing :55.69 time on Friday night, and finished 4th overall in Finals on Saturday. He also placed 9th in the 200 I.M. to win the consolation finals heat with a personal best time. Kohoutek, also a sophomore, had a huge presence in the meet, placing 3rd in the 50 Free and 5th in the 100 Free. He was the only non-senior in the top 11 swimmers in the 50 Free. He also broke the School Record in the 100 Free by leading off the 400 Free Relay with a time of :48.45. Charlie Brooks, a junior, had a fantastic meet as well. He finished 14th in the 200 Free and 8th in the 100 Backstroke, just missing a State qualifying cut. He was also fantastic in the two relays he swam. Senior captain Jack Nely was a huge part of the Bison success as well, placing 10th and 13th in the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke, respectively. He is close to state times in those two events, as well as in the 50 Freestyle. Porter Lee, a junior, had a great meet as well. He dropped 6 seconds in his 200 I.M. to move to a 12-place finish. North also had two divers who placed in the top 16. Henry Duff dove very well and placed 12, and Jack Eaton had a great final 3 dives to move up two places to finish 13th. The 213 points by the Bison was only 14 away from placing 4th and the most North has scored in quite a few years. Congratulations to all the swimmers and divers on a fantastic meet, proving again that North is a force to be reckoned with in the pool!! Next, the state meet is in two weeks at the Shawnee Mission District Aquatic Center.

The Bison Girls Wrestling Team had an outstanding showing at the Girls Sunflower League Wrestling Tournament. Alyssa Briner placed 3rd @ 110lbs, Josephine Rathsam place 2nd at 125lbs, Brooklyn Bonewits placed 7th @ 130lbs, Genessa Gillespie placed 6th @ 145lbs, Marley Escareno placed 7th @ 155lbs, and your Sunflower League Champion at 140lbs is Aniah Grady.the team placed 6th!

The Boys Wrestling team competed in the Sunflower League Championships this past Saturday. The following student-athletes placed: 138 lbs. Nawaf Alsaleh placed 10th, 150 lbs. Joey Piasecki (14-14) placed 9th, 175 lbs. Diego Juarez (5-3) placed 5th, 190 lbs. Jack Taylor (29-8) placed 4th, 215 lbs. Ke`Juan Blake (19-6) placed 4th

The Lady Bison picked up a win Tuesday evening over Olathe East, 38-30. The Bison top scorers were Freshman Tamiah Washington (7pts) and Junior Iliana Garcia (7pts). Senior Jessica Brown added 11 rebounds and Senior Lidia Mojica added 5 steals. The Bison are back in action Friday at Gardner Edgerton.

Lady Bison came up short at Gardner Edgerton last Friday. Senior Jessica Brown led the Bison in scoring with 10 points and added 9 rebounds. Freshman Tamiah Washington added 8 points with 6 rebounds. The Lady Bison are back in action at home Tuesday February 7th. Varsity tips off at 6pm vs Olathe West!

The Boys Basketball team lost to Olathe East, 47-63 on Tuesday evening, Randall Boldridge led the Bison in scoring with 20. Aziz Jagne added 12 points and 6 rebounds. North travels to Gardner this Friday for a Sunflower League match-up.

The Boys Basketball team lost to Gardner Edgerton. Cold shooting plagued the Bison in the second half. Final score was 28-55.

All four of the Shawnee Mission North divers placed in the top 15 at Saturday’s Shawnee Mission East Dive Invitational. Jack Eaton led the Bison by placing 10th with 357 points. Ollie Goering was next placing 12th with 349 points. Luis Guzman and Henry Duff rounded out the scoring placing 14th and 15th. The next diving for North is at Varsity Sunflower League Feb. 2nd through 4th.

After four straight days of competition the Bison bowlers hosted a Sunflower League meet versus SM Northwest, Olathe South and Olathe North. The JV girls finished 2nd today and Stella Hart finished second overall. The varsity girls finished fourth on the day. The JV boys finished in fourth place against their Sunflower league opponents. The varsity boys finished the meet in fourth place.

Save the Date: Hall-of-Fame Induction ceremony is set for Friday, February 17 at half-time of the boys varsity game vs SMNW. The following student-athletes will be recognized: Jim Audley, Cathay “CJ” Mahoney Scherman, Chase Reddick and Keith Guinn

Please check the school calendar so you can continue to support students participating in our athletics and activities programs.

SM North Cheer will host their tryout informational meeting on March 20, 2023 @ 6:00pm in the cafeteria. Tryout clinic 3/27 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Aux Gym and 3/29 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Aux Gym.

Thank you to all our fans who contributed to the McFall family fundraiser as the spouses battle cancer.

Spring Sports: If you need to reach out to one of our varsity winter coaches please contact

Varsity Baseball Coach

Rusty Jones

btl359@gmail.com

Twitter: @SMN_Baseball

Varsity Girls Softball Coach

Julie True coachtrue22@gmail.com

Twitter: @SMNorthSoftball

Varsity Tennis Coach

Steven Acala

Stevenacala6@gmail.com

Twitter:TBD

Varsity Golf Coach

Walter Mansfield

Waltermansfield@smsd.org

Twitter: TBD

Varsity Track and Field Coach

Aaron Davidson

Aarondavidson@smsd.org

Twitter: @SMNTrack

Varsity Girls Swim and Dive Coach

Kailey Morash

Kaileymorash@smsd.org

Twitter: @SMNGirlsSwim

Varsity Girls Soccer Coach

Jaime Velez

Jaimevelezacosta@smsd.org

Twitter: @smngirlssoccer

JOIN OUR 3&2 BASEBALL UMPIRE ACADEMY

3 & 2 Baseball Program / JOCO Recreation is recruiting baseball umpires: REGISTER HERE https://bit.ly/3FSVn2U or call 913-401-6000 &/or email 3and2UIC@gmail.com

Live Eligibility

• Reports will be provided to coaches daily from skyward. We use the canvas platform which must be synchronized with Skyward; due to syn issues;

• Eligibility reports are Bi-weekly process

• 1st and 3rd Monday of the month

• If a student shows the AD between reports, he/she improved their grade then he/she is immediately reinstated.

• If a student does not improve and is on the next report they become ineligible for contests until they can show they are passing 5. They regain eligibility as soon as they can show proof and the process starts all over again.

SM North subscribes to Core Course GPA. If your student is interested in participating in collegiate athletics please visit the website and begin the registration process. SMSD will host a college eligibility informational session in late fall. It’s never too early to begin this process.

CoreCourseGPA.com now makes it easier than ever to educate your student-athletes and families on various aspects of NCAA/NAIA initial-eligibility and recruiting. Just click on the 1-Minute Recruiting Webinars below:

NCAA Core Course GPA vs Cumulative GPA

What are the NCAA D1 Initial-Eligibility Requirements?

• KSHSAA Physical Packet- PPE (Rev. 3-20), Concussion Info Release Form, Transportation Release Form- HS - English [Required Athletic Forms for High School Students]

• KSHSAA Physical Packet- PPE (Rev. 3-20), Concussion Info Release Form, Transportation Release Form- HS - Spanish [Required Athletic Forms for High School Students

• 2022-2023 SMSD Concussion & Head Injury Information Release Form

• 2022-2023 SMSD Concussion & Head Injury Information Release Form - Spanish

• 2022-2023 SMSD Student Transportation Consent and Release Form

• 2022-2023 SMSD Student Transportation Consent and Release Form - Spanish

• Parent Information and Consent Form- Cross Country Guidelines-Distance Training Off Campus for MS and HS Athletes (English)

• Parent Information and Consent Form- Cross Country Guidelines-Distance Training Off Campus for MS and HS Athletes (Spanish)

• Voluntary Student Accident Insurance (Managed by K&K Insurance)
  Our school district has selected the Student Insurance Plan from K&K Insurance Group to make reliable coverage available to parents. If you don’t have other insurance, this plan may be a resource to consider. Additionally, even if you have other coverage, this plan can help fill expensive “gaps' ' caused by deductibles and copays. Coverage may be purchased at any time during the school year.

High School Sports Information

• High School Sports - Athletic Schedules

• SMSD Athletic Stadium and Athletic Complex Locations

• Kansas State High School Activities Association

• SMSD one page calendar

• SMSD HS Activity Handbook

• SMSD Athletic and Activities Webpage

Principal's Honor Roll

GPA 4.0 or above

Honor Roll

GPA 3.0 to 3.9

If you have questions about honor roll, please reach out to Anne Viera, registrar, at anneviera@smsd.org.

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM SM STUCO

ON SALE THIS WEEK

Out-of-school guest forms can be picked up in the office.

Northman assembly is on Tuesday, February 7th, during Seminar

Voting will open Tuesday the 7th through Friday the 10th

The Northman/Hall of Fame game is on February 17th. The Northman ceremony will happen between the girl's and boys' games. Stick around for the boy's game to see the Hall of Fame halftime.

Class fundraisers will be put on during lunch February 13-17th.

Due to a scheduling conflict, the February SMN Booster Club meeting is being moved to Monday, February 13 at 7:00pm on Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting (2/13 at 7pm)

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83195569743?pwd=Vk8waldaZkVjeXBSQ21sUzBleGlVUT09

Meeting ID: 831 9556 9743
Passcode: 73afk9

Thank you to everyone that donated items, volunteered, and attended the 9th ANNUAL SMN TRIVIA NIGHT! A lot of fun was had by everyone as they helped raise funds for student groups, PTSA, and the Booster Club at Shawnee Mission North!!

The following student groups at North each received $$$$ from Trivia Team Registration designations -

Band, Baseball, Boys Swim, Boys Golf, Cross Country, Dance team, Drama Dept, Equality Club, FCA, Football, French Club, Girls Soccer, NJROTC, Orchestra/Strolling Strings, Unified Bowling

Congrats also goes out to Nancy Hesse for winning the autographed JuJu Smith-Schuster Chiefs jersey raffle!!

• Join PTSA (optional, but highly encouraged): Parents, grandparents, teachers, and community members: You can now become a PTSA member. Your membership helps support our students and their school!

Check PTSA out on Twitter @SMNorthPTSA or https://twitter.com/SMNorthPTSA

Check PTSA out on Facebook @SMNorthPTSA or https://www.facebook.com/SMNorthPTSA/

Check the PTSA Website http://smnorth.smsd.org/Pages/parent-involvement/PTSA.aspx

Join the PTSA Here - https://smnorthptsa.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true&category=Memberships

Click here for the SMSD Website

As the winter months approach, it is especially important for our community members to be aware of inclement weather procedures and how they can be alerted if plans for building closures are announced.

Procedures

If conditions make it necessary for the SMSD to close schools, the district will implement one of three plans: A, B, or C.

Click here to view the plans.

Inclement Weather Announcements

If plan A, B, or C is announced, this information will be shared broadly.

Staff and families can receive direct emails, texts, and voice messages.

Families can sign up to receive alerts in the manner that works best for them.

Click here for details on how to sign up for alerts.

Additional Resources:

The main page of the district website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Local radio and television stations

24-hour information line at (913) 993-7380

No announcement will be made when schools are to remain open.

• ** Please Note- If you have an account from previous years (even Hocker Grove), there is no need to create another account.
  
• New users: 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.
• Canvas has the most up-to-date grade information for your student, if you have questions about missing assignments, please contact your student’s teacher.

Skyward

To get information about your login information for your Skyward parent account please contact Student Services at 913-993-6930. Skyward helps parents keep track of attendance, pay school fees, view national and state test scores, complete the online verification process and much, much more.