by Sadie Bowles
A Fresh Start: LSHS welcomes Mr. Muckey Election
101: A look at Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s proposed policies
&
Life
Remembering Rachel Stone Fundraiser honored memory of PE Teacher, created scholarship in her memory
Restoring Tradition Art students restored the beloved
Club
Team Features Loud Crowd Girls Cross Country
Tiger Head
Photo
Restoring Tradition
Art students spend hours to restore Tiger Head
One of our beloved school monuments, the Tiger Head, was removed from the face of the building when renovations began years ago. Thanks to members of the National Art Honor Society, the Tiger Head was restored and now has a new home facing the stadium.
“I think it’s a symbol of our school. It’s a symbol of our mascot. And I think it’s, it’s something fun that helps us spread tradition and stay true to ourselves.” Senior Khaliah Dye.
The Tiger Head is a symbol of our Mascot, and spreads a sense of pride for our school. The Tiger Head has been at the school for many generations, and was missed when it was gone.
“I don’t think we should have gotten rid of the Tiger Head because there’s so many people that are sad that it is not on the front of the building anymore. So even though it’s not there, I’m glad that we still get to have it for people to see,” sophomore Natalie Newkirk said.
People were really saddened by the fact that the Tiger Head is not in front of the building anymore. The Tiger Head had to have a lot of touching up after it went so long without any repair.
The restoration was not a quick or easy process.
“It took the span of like two or three months, I think. We sanded it down, and then we put, I think we put a primer, and then layers of like, car paint on it, and then we put a gloss over it so that, like, if it rains, or something like, it won’t wear down the paint like it did before,” sophomore Jimmy Shipman said.
The art students took time out of their day to help renovate the Tiger Head. It was a volunteer opportunity, and it was just to help. Students did not get anything out of it except that they
helped restore a valuable school monument to its former glory.
“There was a sign up sheet that you could, you could sign up on, and I decided that I would like to leave school and do some art, so I decided to sign up,” sophomore Georgia Graves said.
While working on the Tiger Head, students learned about more than just art.
“I learned a lot about the history of the Tiger Head when I was doing it that I never knew before. I never realized how important it was to other people until, like, they posted it on Facebook,” Dye said.
Once the photos of the restoration were posted to Facebook, members of the community were excited to talk to the students who restored the Tiger Head.
“People on Facebook were like, you redid the Tiger Head! I would be out in public and people were like, oh yeah, I saw you on Facebook. You redid the Tiger Head! And so it made me realize, like, people really care about that stuff. Especially with our school, that you think of the Tiger Head when you’re driving by. So I think it’s really important. And it helped me realize that,” Dye said.
All in all the Tiger Head is a very important monument, and was missed during it’s brief absence. The Tiger Head gives the school a sense of pride that no one can take away.
“It makes me happy every time I get to walk past it or see it on the side of the building and it makes me excited for more high school years to come,” Graves said Article by Natalie Lona
Photos on spread provided by Angela Hays
LOUD CROWD
What is a game day atmosphere without a group of rowdy fans getting the crowd going?
Lee’s Summit High School never fails to have that feeling through their very own Loud Crowd.
The Loud Crowd is something that has been around forever that students said they really love.
Senior Kolby Bockes said the past Loud Crowd leaders made him want to join the Crowd.
“It's something that I always really liked starting back to freshman year. It's something that I really liked the leadership of and how people really look up to you,” Bockes said. “I thought I could really make a difference through that standpoint.”
Although Loud Crowd has been around for a while, this year there were changes made to the Crowd. Mrs. McDonald took on the role of Loud Crowd Sponsor when previous sponsor, Mrs. Metzler, retired.
“She really cares about the students and is really passionate about school spirit, which we all love and also just how involved she is,” senior Loud Crowd member Rylan Podschwit said.
Mrs. McDonald being the new sheriff in town for Loud Crowd is not by accident; she has been known to have a very bubbly personality that would go hand and hand with school spirit.
“I was actually suggested for this position by a teacher and an admin member because they just think that I have a lot of school spirit and have a personality for it,” McDonald said.
The students who are part of Loud Crowd have done a great job keeping stuff fun and original.
“From what I've heard from people around the school, we have done a good job. People are talking about the football games for sure; saying that we have better energy and we have been fun to just listen to,” senior Loud Crowd leader Drew Sommerer said. “I think it comes from a lot of people in the front knowing what's going on in the game so they know and are ready for what chants are next.”
Loud Crowd hopes to have crowds at more events this year.
“The goals this year are just to be more inclusive and get people to go to all the sports, not just football and basketball, but hit all the sports,” Bockes said.
Article by Jackson Hocker
Top photo by Caroline Huffington Middle photo by Bella Lynch Bottom photo by Caroline Huffington
Girls Cross Country
Cross country runners are known for running long distances, but for members of the team, it’s about much more than the distance they run.
“I only started with cross-country because it was helping me condition for soccer,” Sophomore Paige Posson said.
A lot of the girl’s team started in middle school, and when they ran, they always got something nice out of it.
“It was easy in middle school because we would run to the gas station and get ice cream and it sounds kinda stupid but like me, that’s when my friends and I were like, yeah, we should keep doing this in high school,” junior Kenley Halferty Said.
For the team, it takes work to balance the demands of cross country with the demands of school.
“Managing cross country and school is difficult when I have so much work to make up because I’m gone for state and it’s a lot really but advisory is always helpful, sometimes our meets end early so I still have the night to do homework,” Posson said.
To be ready for a race ,the girls need to prepare mentally and physically.
“I think about how I’m gonna run and to just think of getting done so I won’t slow down even if I’m tired, then I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of pasta because carbs are supposed to be good before you run,” said Posson.
They do different drills at practice.
“Our workouts we will do an 800 which is two laps at constant paces and we go run regularly for a certain amount of miles, so we build up our mile mileage and stay in good condition,” Halferty said.
Warming up for any type of sport is always a good thing to do, to avoid any type of injury.
“To warm up we stretch well then we do dynamics which is kind of stretching at a faster pace,” senior Janet Garciga said.
The biggest goal for the team is to always do better than the year before.
“Our biggest goal is to go to state and PR which means to get a better personal record,” Garciga said.
When the girls are running in a race and they are just not feeling it, they have strategies to make the run seem easier.
“I’ll think of how good it feels to be done and to possibly PR but usually I’ll zone out and I feel like I’m done after thirty seconds,” said Junior Alexa Braton.
Recovery is always important to do after any physical activity, it helps the runners avoid being sore when they wake up the next day.
“When we’re recovering we go on cool downs, which are stretching and rolling our muscles out,” said Garciga.
Article by Korryn Davis
Photos on spread by Addy Williams
24-25 Cafeteria Policy Change
Students adjust to new policy that requires students to eat lunch in the cafeteria
New year, New rules .This year at Lee Summit High School there are a fair amount of new policies that are getting mixed reviews from the students and members of the faculty.
One of those policies is the new cafeteria policy. Last year, students were able to eat lunch anywhere on campus.
This year, students can only eat lunch in the cafeteria. This change is meant to cut down on trash on campus, in addition to disruptive behaviors.
“I think It’s working. To my knowledge, I don’t really think people are wandering off doing stuff during lunch as much,” sophomore Grayson Helm said. “It’s easier to contain everybody. The idea behind it was just so that people wouldn’t be doing dumb stuff during lunch. So, overall it's probably working. I do think it would be pretty nice though, if we could still go to those other places.”
With every change, there are pros and cons. One major con with the new policy is overcrowding.
“In the lunchroom, it’s so loud that you can’t really tell what’s going on all the time, so kids could get into fights or arguments and teachers wouldn’t notice,” sophomore Leah Lewis said.
There could be any number of reasons that a new policy was put in place, but a big reason was there were so many places that students ate, it was hard to supervise each area.
“I just think they changed the policy to try and help staff, so we don’t have to have so much more staff on Lunch duty,” cafeteria manager Kelly Cook said. “Kids were eating in the tennis elbow and on the learning stairs and upstairs by the snack bar, so they were eating all over the place and we had to have staff in each one of those areas.”
Article by Natalie Lona
Photos by Addison Lusk
Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger
Principal Nathan Muckey graduated from LSHS in 2008. Muckey was involved in Men’s basketball, choir, football, and SBE.
photo from Reflector Yearbook vol. 73
High Fives
Principal Nathan Muckey high fives a student. Mr. Muckey supervises dismissal everyday. “He says bye to students at the end of the day,” senior Rylan Podschwit said.
photo by Caroline Huffington
Win or Lose
Principal Nathan Muckey attends a football game. The tigers lost 12-37. “Mr. Muckey got mad at us because we were chanting score board, then we lost,” senior Drew Sommerer said.
Photo by Sadie Bowles
All the Applause
Principal Nathan Muckey claps for administrator Tracy Gramkow. This was Gramkow’s second year at LSHS. “The admin makes the school better,” sophomore Maggie Sowder said.
photo by Caroline Huffington
Good morning!
Principal Nathan Muckey greets students as they get off the bus. When Muckey sees students with their headphones in, he’ll ask them what music they’re listening to. “The admin makes the school better,” sophomore Maggie Sowder said.
photo by Caroline Huffington
FRESH A
START
In February of 2024, the LSR7 school board approved the decision for Nathan Muckey to serve as Principal at Lee’s Summit High School.
“I’d definitely say it was a goal, maybe a dream,” Muckey said.
LSHS won’t be entirely new for Muckey, as he is an alumni. When he was a student, he spent time working with and learning from Dr. John Faulkenberry, principal at the time.
“When I was a senior, I was a SBE student. I worked in the athletic director’s and principal’s office. So to have that dream and see it come to fruition now, it’s surreal,” Muckey said.
Muckey graduated from LSHS in 2008.
“I played basketball for all four years, I played football, I sang in the choir, and I was an SBE student,” Muckey said.
Muckey said there are some differences and some similarities between his time at LSHS and LSHS now.
“It obviously didn’t look like this when I went here. The construction has put
LSHS welcomes new Principal Nathan Muckey
a significant face lift on the school, but you know, I think students are students,” Muckey said.
Some teachers knew Muckey before he was their Principal.
“Mr. Muckey was a student of mine his senior year, which is kind of weird,” English teacher Stacy Allison said.
Many teachers said they noticed changes in the school.
“The vibe is so different. It’s positive. I feel like I’m respected,” Allison said.
Some students said they have concerns about having a new principal.
“A lot of students have their own way of doing things and may not take him seriously or his rules,” senior Adeline Herbert said.
One student said they are excited about Mr. Muckey being our principal.
“I like that Mr. Muckey wants to connect with the students in our school and he also makes everyone feel welcomed and seen,” sophomore Maggie Sowder said.
Spread by Caroline Huffington
Homecoming Parade
Photos on spread by Addy Williams
Kamala Harris’s Proposed Policies
Policies taken from https://kamalaharris.com/issues/
Reproductive Freedoms:
Sign a bill to restore reproductive freedom for all states
Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis:
Sign bipartisan border bill
Child Care and Long Term Care: Lower care costs
Pay care workers a living wage
Borders and Immigration: Sign the bipartisan border security bill
Energy Costs and the Climate Crisis:
Advance environmental justice
Protect public lands
Protect public health
Lower household energy costs
Create millions of new jobs
Hold polluters accountable
Social Security and Medicare:
Ensure millionaires and billionaires pay their taxes Fight for citizens to get the benefits they earned.
Ensure no one is above the law: Require Justices to comply with ethics rules
Term limits for the Supreme Court
Ensure that former presidents do not have immunity for crimes committed during their term
Health Care:
Strengthen the Affordable Care Act
Keep tax credit enhancements, which are lowering health care premiums of about $800 a year.
Extend the $35 cap on insulin and the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap.
Lower drug prices and cancel medical debt for more Americans
Taxes for the Middle Class: Restore the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit
Expand the Child Tax Credit to $6,000 tax cuts to any families with newborn children
Anyone earning less than $400,000 annually will not pay more taxes.
Implement a billionaire minimum tax and “quadruple the tax on stock buybacks.”
People earning a million dollars or more a year will have a 28 percent tax rate on long-term capital gains.
Civil Rights and Freedoms: Pass John Lewis Voting Rights
Pass Freedom to Vote Acts
Pass the Equality Act
Expand vote-by-mail and early voting
Secure $2 billion in funding for Offices of Civil Rights
Small Businesses:
Expand the tax deduction for new business from $5,000 to $50,000 and increase the amount of federal contract dollars going to small businesses.
Pathway to the Middle Class: Ensure parents can afford high-quality child care and preschool for their children
Strengthen public education
Fight for higher education to be more affordable.
Veterans:
Fight to end veteran homelessness
Invest in mental health and suicide prevention
Expand economic opportunity for military and veteran families
Gun Violence and Crime: Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
Require universal background checks to purchase a gun
Support red flag laws
Fund law enforcement
Bad Actors and Costs: “Crack down” on practices that allow big corporations to increase prices and “undermine the competition” that allows business to thrive while also keeping the prices low for consumers.
All for a federal bad on corporate price gouging on consumer goods
Lower drug prices and “cap insulin costs” and take on Big Pharma, for non-seniors as well
Take on any pharmacy middlemen who raise prices for their own gain.
American Innovations and Workers:
Support clean energy, AI and American leadership in semiconductors
She will “fight for unions.”
Sign in the PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.
Raise minimum wage and end sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities and for tipped workers, eliminate tax on tips for service and hospitality workers
Implement paid family and medical leave
Rent and Homeownership : Build 3 million affordable houses and rental units
Penalize any firms that “hoard available homes” to drive up prices.
Give first-time home buyers a maximum of $25,000 to help them pay their down payments.
Top photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov
Bottom photo by Eli Raikhel, used with permission from NSPA Campaign 2024
Donald Trump’s Proposed Policies
Policies taken from https://www.donaldjtrump.com/issues
Congress Limitations: Encourage term limits for Congress members
Ban funding for campaigns coming from taxpayers
Ban lobbying for past cabinet members and Congress members
Banning Congress members from trading stocks with their insider information.
Veterans:
Better care and benefits for veterans
Energy Dominance: “Unleash” the production of domestic energy resources
Reduce the price of gas
Promote energy security for other allied countries
End the Green New Deal.
War:
Keep the U.S out of unnecessary foreign wars.
Build a “state-of-the-art next generation missile defense shield”
Rehire “every patriot who was unjustly fired.”
Election Laws:
Reform election laws to verify the eligibility and identity of each voter
Ban ballot harvesting and unsecure drop boxes.
Approval by state legislators will be required for State and local officials to make an illegal or unconstitutioal change
Ban private money from going into local election offices.
Fair Trade:
Improve the economy by lowering taxes
Increase paychecks and create more jobs for Americans.
Immigration: End catch-and-release
Restore Remain in Mexico and end asylum fraud.
Create a merit-based immigration system that protects American labor.
“Deputize the National Guard” and any local law enforcement to help remove “illegal alien gang members and criminals.”
Parent’s Rights:
“Cut federal funding for any school or program pushing “Critical Race Theory” or “gender ideology on our children.”
Investigate any discrimination based upon race in school districts.
“Keep men out of women’s sports” and “certify teachers who embrace patriotic values.”
Give rewards to school districts or states that eliminate teacher tenure for K-12
Adopt Merit Pay and a Parental Bill of Rights
Cut the number of school administrators
Implement the “direct election of school principals by parents.”
Drug Cartels:
Promised to “take down the drug cartels” and impose a “total naval embargo” on them.
Order the Department of Defense to “Inflict maximum damage” and label cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Ask Congress to enable drug smugglers and traffickers to receive the Death Penalty
Crime:
Deliver massive funding to hire and retrain police officers as well as give them “qualified immunity”.
Start a 4-year national reshoring plan and ban Chinese ownership of critical infrastructure in the U.S.
Promises to “bring back our supply chains” and build the United States into the “Manufacturing superpower of the world.”
Free Speech:
Terminate any federal bureaucrat who has censored American citizen’s speech
Ban taxpayer funds being used for illicit censorship
Outlaw federal agencies and eliminate funding for nonprofits from censoring speech.
Pass a “digital bill of rights.”
Enact landmark legislation to restrict social media platforms’ ability to censor speech
More consequences for assaults on police officers
Send the National Guard to high-crime areas.
Health Care:
Stop COVID mandates and “restore medical freedom”
Stop unexpected medical bills, implement transparent prices and “reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums.”
“Always protect Medicare, Social Security, and patients with pre-existing conditions.”
Top photo by Nikolas Lliepins, used with permission from NSPA Campaign 2024
Bottom photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov
Securing Rachel Stone’s Legacy
Fundraiser honored memory of PE teacher, raised money for scholarship
Rachel Stone. A mother, coach, friend, teacher, wife and so much more, passed away as a result of a tragic car accident the morning of February 16, 2023.
Mrs. Stone was driving along an icy 50 highway when a tractor trailer lost control. It was a hard day for LSHS.
Rachel Stone impacted many students and teachers’ lives at Lee’s Summit High School. Now, they’re working to keep her memory alive and honor her legacy with a scholarship.
“She was my coach as well as my health teacher, but she was also a family friend of mine. She made it very easy, just someone to talk to and be around, and was a great help to me during volleyball and just help in general,” junior Makayla Emry said.
Class of 2026 and 2025 had Mrs. Stone as a teacher or coach before she passed away.
“She was a big help to the staff, and was a great person and teacher, as well as a volleyball coach. She cared about others and looked out for others, and always helped when needed.” Emry said.
Mrs. Stone is commonly referred to as a kind and caring person. She would help the students in whatever ways she could.
“She was overall just really kind, really caring, very compassionate, and she actually helped me through my first panic attack, and helped me a lot with my anxiety and just general issues,” senior Mason Thomas said.
students to persevere.
“She really helped me believe in myself with volleyball and stuff and, like, if it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t, I probably would of quit,” Bake said.
Students honor Coach Stone’s memory by continuing to play volleyball. Instead of playing for themselves, they play for her.
“She was a family friend of mine, and then when she was my coach, she was one of the only people I felt at the time believed in me. When she died, I debated on quitting volleyball altogether, because it hurt too much to be a part of, but I continued club volleyball, and I do it for her now, because if I just give it up, then I don’t have anything to remember her by,” Emry said.
Mrs. Stone was very close with many students. From helping students through tough situations, to saying hello in the halls, she was always there if needed.
“She was very sweet, like, she’d see me in the hallway. She would be like, “Hey, Ashlee,” I’d be like, “Hey!” I missed that a lot, actually.” Junior Ashlee Bake said.
While she was here, Stone encouraged students to keep going. Even with her passing, she has continued to encourage
Students were not the only people who grieved her loss. Fellow colleagues reflected on memories made with Mrs. Stone.
“She had a lot of empathy towards students and teachers and situations, she was good at that type of thing, and then she was, she’s really pretty fun. She liked to have a good time, to make jokes and things like that,” P.E Teacher and Tennis Coach Jamie Voelker said.
Mrs. Stone’s death came as a shock. As she was headed to school that morning, students and teachers dealt with extreme grief during the school day.
“You get this phone call that someone has died in a fatal car wreck. And it’s really hard to believe, but actually, our roads are very dangerous, and it happens all the time. Unfortunately,” Voelker said.
Coach Voelker organized a fundraiser for Mrs. Stone. The fundraiser took place Friday, August 30, before the first football game of the season.
“So it’s just a school wide tailgate. Anybody who’s connected to the school, whether they be alumni, current students, retired teachers, just come and kind of have a sense of community.” Voelker said.
The fundraiser was for a scholarship in Mrs. Stone’s name. The goal was to raise a minimum of $10,000 to start the scholarship. Ultimately, the fundraiser earned $24,00 towards the Rachel Stone Memorial Scholarship.
“Rachel was big about family. And this is a family in some ways, so just come celebrate her legacy, and then all that money will go directly towards scholarships for our students to apply for,” Voelker said.
Not only will the fundraiser raise money for the scholarship, it will also help students and teachers gather together in remembrance of Mrs. Stone.
“It can help somebody in some way, and it brings our school back together, and gives us a reason to like, show school spirit and just be a family.” Emry said.
Remembrance isn’t the only result of the scholarship, it’s also giving students another reason to persevere in times of hardships.
“Part of the point is to remember who we lost and that we shouldn’t just give up. That’s actually why I quite like the scholarship, because it’s kind of just telling you don’t give up just because this happened,” Thomas said.
With this scholarship, Mrs. Stone will always be remembered as a teacher and coach who did everything she could to help her students succeed. Whether it be volleyball or life, Coach Stone will continue to be remembered at Lee’s Summit High School.
“A legacy, year after year, there will be a scholarship to just kind of remember who she was, and how she always wanted to help the kids, Voelker said.
Article by Addy Williams
Photos on spread taken by Addy Williams
