NORTH NEWS February 16, 2021

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

Unless unforeseen circumstances arise (power outages, etc.), school will continue during snow days. Because our learning mode is currently hybrid, only the in person group for that particular day of the week will attend courses remotely (logging into WebEx and Canvas each hour).

Those students that were to be asynchronously learning that particular day will still login remotely to their Seminar Check-In time at 12:55 p.m. and then access their work/courses asynchronously via Canvas throughout the remainder of the day.

If your student is unable to attend remotely on a "snow day," normal daily attendance procedures apply.

Upcoming Events:

February 15: No School - Presidents' Day

February 16: No School - Teacher Professional Development

February 17, 18, 19: Remote school only (see weekly news write up below)

The week of February 15 is already a short week due to Presidents' Day and teacher professional development. Please plan for the remainder of that school week (Wednesday, 2/17 - Friday, 2/19) to be remote learning days.

This was not the preferred option of our district or our secondary schools, but due to the overlap among secondary personnel, transportation logistics, and other scheduling factors, this was the only viable option for the remainder of that particular week.

All remaining weeks will operate on a normal hybrid schedule after 2/19. Any "No School" Fridays remaining on the district calendar will not affect hybrid in-person days on that particular week.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23 select Juniors who pre-registered will be participating in the annual ACT testing day. Only those students who signed up for this ACT test will need to come to school that day.

For the rest of our students, we will have a "asynchronous" learning day. Students will begin the day by checking in with their 1st hour teacher via WebEx. Attendance will be taken and students will be provided information/instructions for the rest of the day. After this check-in period, students will work on assignments that have been provided to them by all of their teachers on Canvas. No additional live classes will take place that day as our teaching staff will be helping to supervise the ACT testing.

We will resume our normal hybrid schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 24 (see schedule below).

Top 20 Teachers have created a Canvas Top 20 Course for all students at Shawnee Mission North. Top 20 is a great resource for all our student to access. Top 20 is a way to help students and staff reframe their thinking to help identify where they are at socially and emotionally. It provides strategies to help when we are not in our best mindset. We encourage all our students to participate within the Top 20 Course on Canvas. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to any Top 20 Teachers posted on the Canvas page.

See the calendar below for reminders about the upcoming schedule.

• Mon/Wed - 3:20-4:20, ELA, ELL, Science
• Tue/Thur - 3:20-4:20, Social Studies & Math

Click HERE to sign up

If you a Junior signed up to take the state issued free ACT test at Shawnee Mission North on Tuesday, February 23rd at 8:00am. Please read the details below to get ALL the information you need for that day.

1. You are testing in individual classrooms throughout SMN. (You must wear a mask and be socially distanced while taking the test) Lists with your name and testing location will be posted throughout the building beginning this week. You will be expected to be at your room location no later than 7:55am to check-in. (No one will be admitted to their rom location after 7:55) You can check-in as early as 7:30.

** Must bring school ID or Driver’s License/Photo ID to verify your identity during the check-in process.

2. Items TO bring with you the day of the ACT

• School ID/Driver’s License
• #2 Pencils w/eraser
• Calculator – There are a few calculators that are prohibited. To see a list click here. (Calculators will NOT be provided. If you need a calculator, talk to your math teacher before testing day to check one out for the day)

3. Items that are NOT allowed into the testing room.

• Phone (You will be dismissed if you have your phone out during any part of testing)
• Backpack
• Water Bottle
• Snacks
• Headphones
• Scratch paper
• Book
• 
  

4. Busses will run at normal time in the morning and breakfast will be provided from 7:15 to 7:40 in the cafeteria. (Remember no food or drink in the testing rooms)

5. Lunch will also be provided. If you are interested in eating a school provided lunch that day, please fill out this lunch form, so our lunch team can prepare enough lunches for the day.

6. A small snack and water bottle will be provided during the break between the 2nd and 3rd test.

7. The ACT test takes approximately 3 ½ to 4 hours. Once everyone in your room is finished with the test, you will be dismissed as a classroom. Afternoon Busses will run that day and leave at 1:10pm. If you are a bus rider, you will stay in the cafeteria until it is time to leave.

8. Lastly, you will need to pre-register with MyAct and complete the non-test information either before the test or two days after you take the test. Each of you have a personalized Non-Test Instruction sheet with directions that can be picked up in Student Services THIS WEEK. (You can’t register until Feb. 15th, but remember we don’t have school next Mon. and Tues. and we are full remote Wed, Thurs. and Fri of next week.)

Earlier this semester, students at SMN completed the YouScience assessment. YouScience is a researched-based tool with a goal to identify your student’s interests and aptitudes and connect them with in-demand careers. Through a series of scientific-based assessments, YouScience uncovers your student’s natural talents, then combines those aptitude measures with interests to generate their specific profile. The results that the school is provided with show each student who completed the assessment and their aptitude, interest, and overall fit in relation to in-demand careers.

As we begin the enrollment process for the 2021-2022 school year, the information from YouScience has been shared with SMN teachers. Teachers will use this data to contact students (via email) who have a “fit” that is associated with a course they teach to make an initial contact with them, encourage them to enroll in their class, provide them with additional information, etc.

Please remind your student to continue to check their email on a regular basis as teachers will be reaching out with important information that your student may find useful when determining the courses to enroll in. We hope that they find this useful and connects them with additional courses in which they are not only interested in, but that they also have an aptitude for.

AP Students: The final deadline for AP Exam orders is coming up quickly. If you want to register for an AP exam OR if you need to cancel an AP exam, you will need to do so BEFORE March 1st.

To order an AP exam: Visit www.TotalRegistration.net/AP/172000, pay for your exam and then Ms. Murray will get your order changed to “yes” in College Board. There is a nonrefundable $40 late fee for each AP exam that is ordered at this time.

To cancel an AP exam: Log into www.TotalRegistration.net, cancel your exam and then Ms. Murray will get your order changed to “no” in College Board. There is no financial penalty to cancel but late fees are not refundable.

Click on the link for more information about Scholarships.

https://studentscholarships.org/newsletter.php

Scholarship Database

Student Scholarships

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

Panera Bread - Mission location click here

Rally House - Mission location click here

The Boys Swim and Dive team will be sending 7 swimmers to State Championships this Friday at the SM Aquatic Center in Lenexa. This year, due to COVID, State will be a One-Day Only Timed Finals. North should be seeded very high in a number of events. Cameron Lee, a junior, will lead the way by swimming two individual events and two relays. Senior Caleb Sostarich will be seeded in the top 8 at State in the 100 Breast. Lee will also be seeded in the top 8 for the 100 Butterfly, and will be joined by sophomore Junior Lopez, who should also be seeded in the top 8. Lopez will also be seeded in the top 10 in the 200 Freestyle, repeating the two events he swam at State last year. He will also be in two relays. Sostarich will compete in his specialty, the 100 Breaststroke, and will swim it for the 3rd year in a row at State. Swimming on relays for North will also include freshman Charlie Brooks in two relays, sophomore Jack Nely in 1 or two relays, sophomore Jakob Rooney in 2 or 3 relays, and senior captain Jorge Coromac in 1 relay. Two of Norths relays, the 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays, should both be seeded in the top 8. Good luck to all the swimmers as we cap off a historic year in the pool for SMN.

Wrestling - Two wrestlers qualified for 6A Sub-State at Olathe North this weekend;

Freshman 170 - Jack Taylor (3rd Place) and Senior 285 - Jasper Dewey (Champion).

Bowling had a meet last Tuesday in Lawrence against SMS and Olathe West. Varsity girls took first led by Alyssa William with a 578 series while Brianna Hubenett placed 2nd with 494 and Kayla Anderson 5th with 439. Varsity boys took 3rd with Brennen Hughes leading the guys with his highest series of 432. The teams will bowl on Wednesday 2/17 against Gardner and Ottawa and will compete in Districts (rescheduled from 2/16) on Friday 2/19.

Girls Basketball team had an epic game on Friday night vs Mill Valley. They battled the duration of the game and North sealed the victory on free throws by Summer Wieneke and Jess Brown to win 41-36. The team also played and lost to Olathe Northwest on Tuesday and Olathe North on Saturday morning. The girls’ basketball team plays SM East on Thursday (senior night) and Olathe East on Saturday.

Boys Basketball team battled Mill Valley before the Jaguars pulled away by nailing free throws in the 4th quarter, winning 66-61. North dropped a game to Olathe Northwest on Tuesday evening. We trailed the Ravens by 4-10 points and couldn’t push ahead but battled throughout the game. The team plays Wednesday vs LFS (senior night) and hits the road for games @ SME on Thursday and Olathe East on Saturday to close out the regular season.

Spring Sports begins on Monday March 1, 2021. Please make sure you have your physical turned in to the office no later than Friday February 26th at Noon. If you have participated in Fall or Winter sports you have completed this requirement. See Mrs. Rettig in the office if you need to check on your paperwork.

Live Eligibility - The athletic department practices live eligibility via skyward reports. We will run our first report on Monday, Feb 8 for semester II. A friendly reminder our student-athletes must be passing 5 courses in order to participate in competitions.

Spring Off-Season/Open Gym Guidelines

Weight-training Conditioning Hour – check with Coach Carpenter and Coach Walter about work-out dates for North.

Dual Participation Athlete (JJ) – If your student is interested in participating in two after-school activities please complete the DUAL ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION CONTRACT and schedule a meeting with both coaches and the athletic director.

Girls Swim & Dive - Open Swim & Dive @ SMSDAC- Tuesdays starting today, 1-26-21, 6:30-7:30PM Feb. 7, Feb. 9, Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.

The district has made the decision to change the doctors allowed to release students from COVID Return to Play to only MD, PO and APRN; DC and PA-C will be removed, as they do not have the ability to perform cardiac assessments.

KSHSAA Guidelines Return to Play

SMSD partners with The Health Partnership, which is a medical practice with family physicians and pediatricians; they also have equipment to perform an EKG. The Health Partnership the only federally funded health clinic in Johnson County. They accept families with no insurance as well as families with health insurance coverage. They have offices on the Shawnee Mission Medical Center campus and in Olathe.

Face coverings for all attending and supporting interscholastic activities. The only exception is for those actively participating in competition.

At their recent meeting, the Executive Board approved for staff to take the following actions when a school is found to be non-compliant with covid-19 risk mitigation protocols:

a. First report – notification to school administration detailing violation and identification of corrective action.

b. Second report – correspondence to school and district administration.

c. Third report – school/district administrative appearance before the Executive Board.

d. Fourth – implementation of Executive Board sanctions including, but not limited to:

• i. Loss of postseason host opportunities
• ii. Removal from postseason tournament(s)
• iii. Suspension of KSHSAA membership for all activities
• iv. Fines/Special assessments

Based upon response of school leaders, they move more rapidly through this sequence.

Shawnee Mission North is proud of the accomplishments of our student athletes and their ability to perform at the next level while earning a post-secondary education on a scholarship. If you are a student-athlete who has, or will, sign an athletic scholarship our intention is host our school athletic signing ceremony in the spring. As time progresses more information will be disseminated.

Congrats to Lexi Speed for receiving a Gold medal at FCCLA District competition for Fashion Construction!

You and your high school student are invited to participate in a research study investigating bicultural identity and the decision to pursue higher education. Please see the letter below for more information and how to sign up.

FREE meals are offered to all SMSD students regardless if they are learning remote, hybrid or in person. This includes breakfast and lunch meals. These free meals will continue through the end of the 2020-21 school year. If you have any questions, please see your cafeteria manager. Meal pick up will be on Fridays from 6:30-7:45 a.m. at all schools.

Please contact the Food Service office with questions at (913) 993-9710 or foodservices@smsd.org. The school breakfast and lunch menus, pick up meal information, and other nutrition information are available on the district’s website at https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service.

All families that have not already applied for free or reduced meals this year are encouraged to apply if they feel they may qualify. There is a possibility that additional Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer ( P-EBT) funding may be available later this school year for those who have been approved for free or reduced meals. Click here for information and applications. If you have questions please call the Food Service Office at 913-993-9710.

• 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.

• 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

The 7th Annual "Trivia Night for the Tribe" VIRTUAL event has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb 20th!!

Did you know that you can raise $$$ for your favorite SMN team, club, or group by participating in the upcoming "Trivia Night for the Tribe"?

The cost of this adults-only evening is $240 per team with a maximum of 8 players per team. Each trivia team can designate a donation of $100 from your registration fee to benefit the SMN club, group, or team of your choice!

The 7th Annual SMN "Trivia Night for the Tribe" - will be a VIRTUAL EVENT hosted by TriviaHub. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 20th at 7:00 pm and start recruiting your team - you can register and pay at the following link...

https://www.smnptsa.com/

Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/405427664151831/?active_tab=discussion

Much of the event will be the same as in the past – it will be a fun night full of Trivia, Prizes & Bragging Rights (including awards for Best Team Name/Theme/Costumes), plus our Raffle. The biggest change is that this year, you get to participate online from the comfort of your home!

Registrations and team payment must be received by FEBRUARY 11, 2021, to secure your spot!!

Teams will be assigned a number that will be used by each participant to sign-in to the event. This number is used to group your team together in “Break Out Rooms” to answer the trivia questions. Team members can log in as individuals, or if they are in the same location, they can log in as a couple, or small group. Team members DO NOT need to be at the same location during the event.

Raffle tickets and mulligans will be available for purchase before the event.

Trivia Night for the Tribe is co-sponsored by the SMN PTSA and the SMN Booster Club and all proceeds will be used to support SMN students, staff, and programs!

For more information, contact SMN PTSA at smnorthptsa@gmail.com or SMN Booster Club at smnboosterclub@yahoo.com - we will also be posting information, updates, and more on our Facebook event page...

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