Volume 92 issue 3

The Bell

November 20, 2015 Volume 92, Issue 3 Visit us at LHSNEWS.NET

Table of Contents #Drive2n2..........................................................................06-07

Royals Dr..........................................................................08-09 What Does Bionic Mean?......................................................10 Welcome Back Blue Jay..........................................................11 Let’s Get Medical....................................................................12 Capping Off Your Career...................................................14-15 Taste the Rainbow..................................................................16 LHS Cubed.............................................................................17 Social Connections Club........................................................18 Senior Ethan O’Hare..............................................................20 Junior Sydney Bell..................................................................21 Sophomore Alyson Oldham...................................................22 Freshman Nathan Moon.......................................................23 Teacher Abra House..............................................................24 Administration Jason Cahill...................................................25 What Are We Thankful For?............................................26-27 Once Upon a Mattress......................................................28-29 Niki’s Corner...........................................................................30 Staff Editorial...........................................................................31 Games..................................................................................32-33 Columns..............................................................................34-35 Athlete of the Month..........................................................36-37 Hustle and Heart................,,.............................................38-39

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Photo by: Kelsey Baldwin

Page: 06-07

Photo by: Brieann Wynn

Page: 20

Photo by: Madison Ray

Page: 10-11 Photo by: MaryAnn Johnson

Page: 39

Page: 18

Photo by: Hayley Johnston

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On the cover: Junior Trevor Harr runs one of his scenes as Prince Dauntless.

Photo by Erin Manis

Congratulations KC Metro All-District Full Orchestra!

1st VIOLIN: Natalie Juno , chair 4 Bailey Eddy, Chair 9 Kyle Walker, chair 11

2nd VIOLIN: Amy Jurgensen, chair 2 Lauren Rankin, chair 17

VIOLA: Cecelia Cook, Chair 1 Zoe Moody, Chair 2

CELLO: Bryce Lindaman, Chair 5 Tarsus Arciga, Chair 7

BASS: Ben Tervort, Chair 1

Staff

Mission

Adviser --> Lori Oyler Editor-in-Chief --> Tara Prindle Design Editor --> Alex Wilson Opinion and A&E Editor --> Emily Johannes InDepth Editor --> Teresa Parra Features Editor --> Lacy Williams News Editor --> Hannah Leonard Sports Editor --> Kati Benhardt Ads Manager and Cartoonist --> Daryl Gichui Online Manager --> Erica Schmitz Reporters --> Alec Augustine Sol Kim Niki Benhardt Kamden Bernard Jackson PeĂąa Hope Scobee Teegan Saunders Jenna Spence McKenzie Greenwood Riley Kelley

Caleb Lautenschlager Katie Moon Joey O’Kelly Tommy Roseman Haley Stephenson Delaney Tarpley Paige Twenter Meg Whipple

Our mission for the 2015-2016 school year is to unite a diverse group of people and ideas to compose an informative and entertaining magazine using articles, photographs, and commercial messages. As journalists in training we endeavor to give the best representation of the community of Liberty High School. The Bell student newspaper is a public forum for student expression.

Contact

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Address --> 200 Blue Jay Drive Liberty, MO Phone --> (816)-736-5353 Email --> loyler@liberty.k12.mo.us Twitter --> @TheLHSBell

Jabber “I #Drive2N2 because I have no one to text, hold hands with, or look at while I drive” @BenTervort

It’s been a long 30 years.

Kansas City is the best city.

I love this place.

@TimFritson

“PARTY LIKE IT’S 2015 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS BABY !!!!!!!!!” @Katie_Parrott10

“When u drive from Starbucks to school with your coffee on top of your car and it didn’t spill....... You know it’s gonna be a good day” @carsch_

“Not opposed to just writing “go royals” for all of the free responses on the AP Gov midterm” @mckenna_still

“But we beat that guy too! You know why we beat them.

Because all of you all people had our backs” -Jonny Gomes” @OliviaHoseth

@Aaron_Burson

“School is for Mets fans”

Jabber 05

#Drive2n2

Stuco launches the #Drive2n2 campaign to encourage safe driving.

Story by Riley Kelley

Texting and driving is a problem everywhere in the world, which means it’s also a problem that affects the community of Liberty and LHS. There is no doubt that texting and driving is frustrating to witness, especially because accidents are a risk even when drivers are not using their cell phones. Not only is texting and driving a problem, but using social media or shuffling through music can also increase the risk of accidents. One way to prevent these accidents is a safe driving campaign angled toward student drivers.

There is no shortage of student drivers at LHS. Hosting a parking lot overflowing with student drivers, LHS recently held a campaign to encourage safer driving among its students. By snapping photos in the StuCo photo booth showing their reason to drive with two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road, students got a chance to win one of three Apple products donated by Gary Crossley Ford.

Simply by sharing a meaningful reason to be a safe driver with the hashtag #Drive2n2, students could be selected to win an Apple Watch or be put into a raffle for an iPad Mini or an iPod Touch.

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For one student in particular, the meaning of the contest really hit home.

Freshman Gabby Ryal, selected winner and new lover of the Apple Watch, shared a picture of herself on her dad’s motorcycle, sitting next to signs she wrote about the different tragedies in her family that have resulted from car accidents.

“There have been lots of incidents that have happened with family members who have been in accidents, so that pushes me to drive safely because I know how it feels to go through that,” Ryal said.

Although she is still a permit driver, Ryal’s experiences have allowed her to have a deeper understanding of the #Drive2n2 campaign’s message to drivers.

“I believe that the purpose is to bring awareness to driving two and two, not only texting and driving, but the overall awareness that you need to be paying attention, which goes along with two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road,” Ryal said. “I think it’s important to drive two and two because there are so many awful things that can happen if you don’t. You can harm yourself or someone else and when you harm someone else,

you’re not only affecting them, but their whole family.”

The importance of the contest was recognized by almost all who participated and even drew the attention of those who did not. Junior Sarah Parrott was one of the students who participated, and she certainly recognized the significance of the campaign.

“It’s to really drive the importance of driving two and two and to show people what can happen when you don’t,” she said. “It showed people how personal it can get. If you don’t, you put the lives of others at risk and your own life at risk, so it just keeps everyone safe.”

Keeping two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road is a message that ties in the dangers of texting and driving.

“You don’t need to text and drive,” Ryal said. “Whatever the purpose is that you think is justified to do it, it’s not justified because you’re distracting yourself and putting so many other people at risk.

Whatever the other person needs, it can wait five minutes. There’s not a reason to do it while driving.”

Left: Jessie Fullinwider poses for the #Drive2n2 campaign. Right: Clayton Adams, Dane Larason, Aiden Bishop, Derek Karr and Ryan Stiff pose together.

Photo courtesy of Clayton Adams and Jessie Fullwider

EYES ON THE ROAD, NOT ON YOUR PHONE.

Left: Rachel Henrichs, Right: Orrin Donaldson, Jack Zhang and James Bednar give their reason to #Drive2n2.

No text is worth it.

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Stop by CARSTAR Wicklunds Liberty and pick up your FREE “It Can Wait” window cling.

941 SUTTON PLACE, LIBERTY, MO 64068

816-781-2838 CARSTAR.COM/WICKLUNDS

As far as raising awareness about being a safe driver and the dangers of texting and driving, school counselor and StuCo adviser Melanie Crawford believes the campaign was a success.

“Given the time constraints that we placed on the StuCo students for pulling it together, I think they did a fantastic job,” she said. “We definitely had some people who really got into it and for those who didn’t, I think the message was still very visible.”

LHS has also been chosen as a finalist for the one hundred thousand dollar grant in the result of the video contest put on for the #Drive2n2 campaign.

Sophomore class president Amos Mwaura admits it wasn’t easy for StuCo to pull the campaign together, but he hopes

to get the opportunity to put it on in the future.

“Dr. Adams suggested to us the #Drive2n2 campaign and suggested we tackle it,” he said. “Our campaigns met and discussed what to do for the project.

Lindsey Gercken and Avery Prine led the project and did an amazing job with it and organized everything. Hopefully this project can continue yearly.”

The photo booth, while extremely popular among participating students, took some discussion and creative ideas from the StuCo marketing and school spirit campaigns.

“In order to come up with the photo booth, our marketing and school spirit campaigns met at the beginning of the year and someone suggested a photo

booth,” Mwaura said. “The prominence of social media allowed us to use Instagram and Twitter to spread the message.”

After multiple submissions, freshman Gabby Ryal was selected as the winner of the Apple Watch with sophomore Brayden Swope and senior Elizabeth Devanny drawn as the lucky winners of the iPad Mini and iPod touch. Even after the contest, some wise words can be used to sum up the significant message taken away from the #Drive2n2 campaign by everyone at LHS. “Be safe,” Parrott said. “Don’t speed.

Don’t text and drive, don’t listen to your music too loud, and don’t let the other people in the car distract you.”

Photo courtesy of LHS Girls Basketball, Jack Zhang and Rachel Henrichs.

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Story by Jenna Spence

Photos by Hailey Smith and Adam Pouliot

The Blue Jay Drive street sign was changed for the Royals playoff game.

One major way the city of Liberty supports the LHS Blue Jays is through the name, “Blue Jay Drive” off of Highway 152 by the high school. For the sake of The Royals, however, this name simply would not work during the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. With the help of social media, the city changed the name of the street from Blue Jay Drive to Royals Drive for the duration of the series.

“The idea came from a local news reporter through Liberty. He was at the stoplight at Kansas and Blue Jay, took a photo of the street sign and put it on Twitter saying the sign should be changed for the series,” Emergency Preparedness Division Representative and head of social media for the Clay County Sheriff’s office Jon Bazzano said. “I happened to see that, and tagged the City of Liberty in the post, thinking it would be a great idea.”

The person behind the City of Liberty’s Twitter account is Sara Cooke, the Communications Manager for the City of Liberty.

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“I then made a phone call to the city administrator,” Cooke said. “He said it was a great idea.”

The city administrator then made phone calls to the school district and the city council to see if they were on board. Once the City of Liberty got the okay, they got Public Works involved. They then worked with a sign company in North Kansas City to get the street sign made. Within three hours, the sign was up. It wasn’t there for long, however. The street went back to the name Blue Jay Drive when the ALCS ended.

“Part of the reason why it happened so quickly is that the City of Liberty has a good working relationship with the County and the School District,” Cooke said. “Everybody was on board and supportive of the whole idea.”

The public’s reaction to the street sign has been overall very positive, with very few negative comments.

“There is community pride,” Bazzano said. “People are saying things about how it is cool that Liberty is doing such a thing

like this and that they are supporting the Royals.”

Students and staff at LHS can’t help but agree.

“I think that [the sign change] is a cool thing to do to get the community involved,” junior Clayton Adams said. “I feel really good about it.”

The City of Liberty posted about the change on Facebook, which received recognition from over 410,000 people. On Twitter, the post has received recognition from more than 22,000 people.

The comments about the change have not only been from people in the Kansas City area.

“We have received comments from people in Texas, Tennessee and even Canada,” Cooke said. “It is well beyond anything that we have ever seen.”

Public Works support from Liberty has proven to work in the past. Liberty “blue’ed” their fountain water in support of Kansas City’s professional Women’s Soccer team, FCKC, when they played for the National Championship in 2014.

Seniors Lindsey Zoz and Jessi Fullenwider pose with members of the sheriff’s department and our LHS mascot with their Royals gear.

Photo courtesy of Clay County Sheriff’s Department.

How do you expect the Royals to do during the World Series?

353 Students replied: 41.6% Win in Game 5

6.3% 14.2% 9.1%

28.8% Win in Game 6 14.2% Win in Game 4

41.6%

9.1% Lose to the Mets

28.8%

6.3% Win in Games 7

Top left: Clayton Adams sporting his Royals jersey. Lower left: Carlos Valencia and Colton VanVleck in their Royals gear. Lower right: Ben Kunkel holds a post season KC flag.

“We blue’ed the fountain, and FCKC went on to win the championship,” Cooke said. “We’re hoping our support for the Royals is good luck.”

And that it was. The Kansas City Royals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in six games to go to the World Series again against the New York Mets.

Students and staff at LHS were very excited to win the ALCS. “I was shocked that they won the ALCS because they did it in the same way that they did last year with a comeback win,”

math teacher Matthew Kiser said. “It was fantastic.”

Other Royals fans at LHS had strong faith in their team. Most were expecting the Royals to go all the way to the World Series.

“I wasn’t surprised,” sophomore Monica Moeller said. “I knew they were going to win. I feel that the Royals are more prepared. They know what they’re doing now.”

Students and staff expected a lot of the Royals in the World Series.

“I expect it to be a hard-fought battle with some good pitching duels, but I’m betting the Royals will take the series,” Adams said.

Moeller agrees.

“I think that they have a really good chance of winning the thing.”

And that they did. The Kansas City Royals took the series in five games, winning the last game seven to two in twelve innings. Way to go Royals!

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What Does Bionic Mean?

StuCo prepares for their annual hosting of Bionic Week.

Story by Tommy Roseman

Photos by Hannah Leonard

StucCo is always hard at work behind the scenes setting up school dances and fundraisers, but Bionic Week is something different. From November 30 through December 4, StuCo will lead the school through a full week of volunteering projects.

StuCo is no stranger to volunteer work.

They’ve already done plenty of it this semester.

“We have been doing a lot of highway cleanup and stuff for the school,” freshman Khushi Talati said. “We did Safe Halloween, that was our biggest project so far.”

Bionic Week is a huge deal and StuCo wants to get everyone involved.

“Right now there’s seven committees and each committee is in charge of different things,” senior Desirae Leeson said. “My committee is going to take on getting the school involved with Bionic Week and we’re raising money for the Special Olympics and the Polar Bear

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Plunge.”

Bionic Week is going to be a huge project for StuCo. It’s been around for six years now. In fact, the former StuCo member who created it is now in law school. As it turns out, the word “Bionic” is actually an acronym.

“BIONIC stands for Believe It Or Not, I Care,” sophomore Madison Ripper said.

StuCo has a lot planned, but it will take time to put it together. Counselor Melanie Crawford has been a StuCo coordinator for eight years.

“The kids are currently working on planning for Bionic Week. I know one of them talked about going to Cedars of Liberty, which we’ve done the last couple of years. They go and play games with the residents in that assisted living facility,” Crawford said. “They always do bell ringing for Salvation Army. They’ve got a couple of other things in the works, too.

We’ve gone to Synergy the last couple of years, we’ve done some work for the

Women’s shelter there.”

StuCo plans to hold a lock-in on November 13 to plan everything for Bionic Week. Since it is their biggest project it will take a lot of time and hard work to organize everything.

Students can get involved by donating to the Special Olympics, but if they want to help out with the other service projects, they definitely can.

“Students can help by emailing anybody in student council. Everybody’s welcome to be involved in Bionic Week,” junior Emily Azpell said.

In the future, StuCo may set up a physical or online sign up sheet. Be sure to ask any StuCo member for more information.

“It really get’s everybody involved,” Azpell said. “We unify the school and make it a better place.”

Left: StuCo talks about when to start prepping for Bionic Week. Right: Senior Desirae Leeson discusses the lock-in, where posters for Bionic Week will be made.

Welcome Back Blue Jay Leadership class holds tryouts to bring back the Blue Jay mascot.

Story by Kati Benhardt

Photos by Madison Ray and Allison Schowengerdt

Give me an M! Give me an A! Give me a S-C-O-T! The LHS mascot is back and ready to pump up LHS’s school spirit. A group of students from the LHS Leadership class, Aidan Bishop, Kayel Newland, Brianna Walker and Janin Hernandez, are in charge of bringing back the Blue Jay mascot. Mascot tryouts were on October 29, 2015 after school.

The LHS mascot was never taken away; it just hasn’t been used in the last couple of years.

“It wasn’t necessarily taken away, I don’t really know why, it just kind of ended,” sophomore Kayel Newland said. “There was a guy mascot and a girl mascot, at the football games and they incorporated it into their lip dub and it was big with school spirit. I don’t really know if it was taken away or if people didn’t want to do it.”

The group’s plan for the mascot is to create more school pride and excitement.

“Why not rejuvenate the Blue Jay? We are the Blue Jays and we should be proud of the school community we belong to,” teacher Jessica King said. “Our hope is that there is some excitement in the student body because this is studentled, not directed by administration or teachers.”

The hope is that the mascot will not only

encourage students to attend more games, but persuade people from the community as well.

“I think it is going to have a really positive impact, hopefully get more people out to the games, not only people in our school, but people in the community, like younger students around the Liberty district,” junior Janin Hernandez said.

The Leadership class looked for certain qualities when choosing a mascot.

“Someone who is outgoing and really interested in our school and school spirit,” junior Brianna Walker said.

To be a mascot, there were some basic requirements. The Leadership group is hoping to find six different people to be mascots.

“The students auditioning to be the mascot have to have physicals on file because it’s an athletic thing. There has to be somebody in the suit and someone with them at all times,” Newland said.

“So we’re trying to get, best scenario, six people to pull from and then each night we can have one person in the suit and one person helping them. We can switch it off so it’s not just totally on two people’s shoulders.”

The mascot tryouts consisted of many different tests. “[Were going to have them dance to]

“The Whip” and “The Nae Nae” and then we’re going to have questions like, what are you involved in?” Hernandez said. “Just so we don’t have people who are already busy because then they won’t be able to attend many games. So, just interview questions and then we’re going to look at the way they interact with new people and people they don’t know.”

The tests determine whether or not the students would be fit for the mascot job. “[After dancing to two songs] We’re going to have them play the game heads up. Based off of that, we’re going to call a few more back and ask them questions,” Newland said. “We’re going to ask them what they think about spirit, why they want to be the mascot and we’re also going to ask some fun questions like chocolate or vanilla? Pepsi or coke? We want to get to know them and make sure their personality fits what we’re looking for.”

The mascot has one main goal.

“To really interact with our student section and the crowd and just really vamp up our student section with more spirit,” Walker said. “We want to have a Blue Jay “revealing” at one of the first basketball games.”

Left: students try out to be the new mascot. Right: The former Blue Jay at a football game.

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Let’s Get Medical

Medical Leaders of Tomorrow is a club that teaches students about medical careers.

Story by Caleb Lautenschlager

The medical field consists of hundreds of jobs and millions of people fighting to be at the top of their profession. It can be a competitive field and may seem overwhelming. Fortunately, LHS offers a club that may be able to give students a head start in their medical career.

Medical Leaders of Tomorrow is a club that presents great opportunity to learn more about anything in the medical field.

“We talk about different professions and new ideas in the medical world,” sophomore Jared Ezzell said.

The topics range from the newest and greatest medical technology to groundbreaking research paving a way for new fields.

The club is sponsored by Bio. Med. teacher Tim Block, but was created by passionate and eager students.

“Medical Leaders of Tomorrow is not something I started, it’s something the students started and they just needed an adult sponsor. Since I teach Bio. Med., I was an obvious choice,” Block said. “It is really student driven and is clearly student led. That’s what I like about it, it gives students some leadership opportunities

Photo by Hannah Leonard

and freedom.”

Some of those opportunities range from guest speakers from William Jewell and even the director of anesthesiologist residence at University Hospital in Cleveland.

“We talk about different professions and new ideas in the medical world,” sophomore Jared Ezzell said.

“A former student of mine, Dr. Heather McFarland for University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio will FaceTime or Skype with MLT at some point this semester,” Block said.

Other opportunities consist of community work and exploring careers at Mosaic and William Jewell.

“We have a speaker coming from William Jewell to talk about college for medical students,” senior Courtney Parker said. “We are working on getting volunteer opportunities set up as well as getting Dr. Mees’ wife to come talk about physical therapy.”

The opportunities are endless. If students are interested in getting their feet wet in the field, the club opens doors for many opportunities.

“We’ll also explore some career opportunities at Mosaic and William Jewell, and get some guest speakers in here to talk to us about what it takes to get into the medical field,” Block said.

Along with being able to meet new people and learn a lot about a medical job, the club offers a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

“Meetings are really laid back,” Parker said. “It’s basically just a gathering of people that are interested in medicine and want a place to go talk about that and learn more about it.”

If students are interested in joining, the club meets the first Friday of every month in room 510.

“If you have even a slight interest in the medical field, it’s a great way to gain more information about what’s going on in the field and how science is advancing,” senior Aubrey Bennett said.

Left: Soliana Kahassai and Abigail Weekley pose together. Right: second year member of Medical Leaders of Tomorrow, Amos Mwaura.

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Capping Off Your Career Northland CAPS is a program offered to students to get career path experience.

Story by Paige Twenter

Photos courtersy of Northland Caps

The Northland Center for Advanced Professional Studies, or NCAPS, is a rare curriculum offered for juniors and seniors at seven different schools including Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Liberty, North Kansas City, Park Hill, Platte County and Smithville.

“NCAPS is a profession based experience for juniors and seniors from seven Northland school districts where student can “test drive” the real world of work.”

NCAPS Project Manager Allison Clemens said.

The program provides students an opportunity to be involved in an industry and profession­ based environment every day.

“I really have loved the people, I work with so many people from so many different schools and I wouldn’t have ever met them otherwise,” senior Carly Schott said. “I also just really love the exposure and the experience I’m getting from it. It’s real life, we work with real business partners and if we fail, we let down our business partners and it affects their business.”

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The program is offered both in the morning and the afternoon; the morning classes are 7:30a.m.-10:00a.m. and the afternoon classes are 12:00p.m. ­2:30p.m.

NCAPS is flexible and adaptable for students needs.

“I was originally in the Medical strand, but I had a change of heart right after my training and requested to switch,” senior Barcilio Blake said. “NCAPS assisted me in the transition process and was very welcoming to the idea. They really do care about everyone’s individual motivations.”

NCAPS is different than a regular seven hour school day in more ways than one.

It offers both high school elective credit and college credit, as well as it provides 1.5 credits. Tuition for the program is paid for by the district, and transportation is not provided.

“It’s like a step outside the classroom, it’s not lecture, notes or test based,” Schott said. “My ‘tests’ are when I present to the business partner and I pass or fail is if they like it or not.”

NCAPS is split in five separate strands

including Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, Global Business and Entrepreneurship, Global Logistics and Transportation, Medicine and Healthcare and Technology Solutions. The program offers numerous real life experiences for students including mentorship, guest instructors, business partner projects, internships and site visits.

“The curriculum that the students experience is all driven out of the industry partners. For example, if you’re in Medicine and Healthcare, you’re not studying a textbook that has things that are out of date, you’re really learning from the experts that are in the field at that point,” NCAPS Regional Executive Director Donna Deeds said. “I think that is one of the great exposure, that the curriculum changes all the time and allows the student to have a cutting edge experience.”

Students from the program work on many projects throughout the year to help aid their business partners.

Left: Seniors Carly Schott and Skyy Miller with their strand from NCAPS with guest speaker, the mayor of Kansas City; Sly James. Right: Students get the chance to learn more from one of the medical strands.

“Right now, I’m helping a company design a website and I am designing a mobile app for the CAPS program as well,” senior Quin Craven said. “The mobile app is like an Uber App, so it helps kids who don’t have a ride here to find one.”

NCAPS is not only beneficial for the students, but also for the business partners.

“I think that recently we have seen students that design a project that has cut out costs in a specific manufacturing environment,” Deeds said. “It was a simple solution and a fairly inexpensive solution, but nobody could see it except for seventeen year olds.”

In the first semester, instructors facilitate the learning process through relevant problem­ based projects provided by business partners. In the second semester, students participate in unpaid internships.

NCAPS supplies students with not only more insight on a specific field, but also basic professional skills.

“I’ve learned public speaking, which is not applicable in school environments, such as pitching ideas and products, formal

discussions, critiquing other’s work and how to brainstorm with another team,” Blake said. “I’ve also become quite well versed in Audition and Premiere.”

The program is constantly changing and growing.

“We will add strands if there are jobs that look like careers in the future, then we will add them into the program. For example, when we see something rising in a specific job or industry we will work through our business partners to find out if that’s really true and then we will add an actual strand,” Deeds said.

There is an abundance of possible careers to follow after participating in NCAPS. Such as Director, Storyboarder, Cinematographer, Editing specialist, Scriptwriter, etc.

“There are a plethora of options out there in Audio, Graphic Design and Photography schools,” Blake said.

NCAPS also provides students with a special knack when preparing for after­high school education options.

“I think that as long as colleges understand what this program has to offer, I think that they really see it as a differentiator.

Many ties, mainly in selective colleges, everybody that applies to those colleges have a 4.0 and has 10 AP classes,” Deeds said. “Whenever they are looking at transcripts they see that these students have real professional work experience and when they interview for scholarships, they can speak to real problem­solving experiences that they’ve had with companies and that does differentiate them.”

The program not only conducts businesses and the learning process, but also aids students personally.

“NCAPS is the best thing that has happened to my professional and academic life,” Blake said.

Upcoming juniors and seniors can find out more information and enroll at http:// www.northlandcaps.org.

Above Left: The Technology Solutions strand meets at Cerner.

Above Right: The medical strand practices a real life situation.

Right: MAGNA Ribbon Cutting.

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Taste the Rainbow GSA works hard to bring people together to accept everyone.

Story by Joey O’Kelly

Photo by Lacy Williams

There are many ways to unite people into an alliance and a community of support, safety and togetherness. How did GSA do that this month? Simple. They used the one thing that everybody likes – candy.

“There’s so many people here that it’s hard to find a community that relates to you, so to have the club that has the LGBT community, it’s easier to connect,” sophomore Molly Bessmer said.

GSA or the Gay Straight Alliance, is based on the qualities of safety, acceptance unification and awareness of the LGBT community. Whether someone is gay, transgender, bisexual, asexual or just a straight ally, everyone is welcome in the GSA. “I believe it gives a safe place for all students and it promotes acceptance of all of our student population,” club sponsor John Barreca said.

To promote these things, money is a necessity. That’s what candy grams are for.

“We were going to sell t-shirts, but we didn’t have enough money to start out with, so we decided on candy grams because we can get candy really cheap at Costco and it’s just fun for Halloween,” freshman Katie Morriss said.

From October 20 to October 29, GSA sold candy grams in the cafeteria. These candy grams were one dollar and consisted of M&M’s, Skittles and LifeSavers. Candy grams were delivered to students during the week of October 26. They could be

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purchased for a friend or for oneself.

“We are selling candy grams because it’s around Halloween time and everyone loves candy. We just want to spread positivity about other sexualities that aren’t known amongst our peers,” Morriss said.

Candy grams were a way of giving the people here at LHS a reminder that LGBT youth exist and that the atmosphere of acceptance needs to be prominent at LHS. “Our goal is to raise money so we can spread positivity about unique people at our school,” Morriss said.

The money from candy gram sales goes to other activities related to LGBT awareness.

“It’s just for us to have possible field trips so that we can go places like the equality house,” junior Cameron Prater said.

The GSA has been an important part of LHS for many years now.

“This is my sixth year as a GSA sponsor and we were met with more adversity in the beginning and every year I’ve seen improvement in the amount of tolerance and acceptance,” Barreca said.

Thanks to the work that GSA has put in towards building acceptance, safety and awareness, the levels of tolerance and acknowledgement have grown at LHS. “Back when the club first started, when we would put signs up, they would rip them down in the hallways,” senior Valerie Nierman said. “But now, there’s no one really against it, we want more people for it, but I think there’s less people against it.”

When someone is different from everyone else, it can be difficult. It’s difficult when no one is accepting and everyone is against it. GSA wants that feeling to go away and for everyone to be accepting, making it easier for all students.

“It’s a struggle to be gay youth, especially in a not very progressive town,” Prater said. “Gay youth need a place where they can ask questions about their struggles or experiences.”

According to The Human Rights Campaign, 92% of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT – the top sources being school, the Internet and their peers. GSA wants to stop this problem of discrimination and negativity towards LGBT youth.

“I think GSA is needed at LHS because we need to raise awareness about other sexualities and open up and talk about it and not be afraid to express ourselves,” Morriss said.

GSA is a safe place for anyone and everyone. There is no judgment. It is a safe place to go to ask questions or just learn about youth and rights around the country.

“I think GSA has impacted LHS because we finally have a voice amongst the school through Mr. Barreca and certain counselors that meet with us,” Morriss said. “We are spreading our feelings towards everything that’s said in school that’s against us or for us.”

Gay Straight Alliance passed out candy during the week of October 26.

LHS Cubed

A new club for aspiring Rubik’s Cube solvers.

Story by Hope Scobee

Photos by Lacy Williams

Almost everyone in the world has played with a Rubik’s Cube at some point in his or her life. Not a lot of people know there is an actual scientific way to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

The freshmen boys Rubik’s Cube Club are experts at cracking the problematic code.

They meet every Monday during Liberty Hour in room 200.

“Rubik’s Cube Club is where, I believe, six of us get together with our favorite puzzles we want to bring,” freshman Harrison Hewitt said. “We time ourselves, race for fun, we experiment with other people’s puzzles and sometimes try and learn different algorithms.”

This club is fairly new and is always welcoming new members who know how or are interested in learning the Rubik’s Cube.

“I think this club has only been around since about the end of September,” teacher

Todd McDonald said.

Upperclassmen know that algorithms are challenging math units in precalculus.

These freshmen already have algorithms down to a science.

“You learn to solve a three by three, which isn’t necessarily difficult,” Hewitt said.

“You just learn the standard algorithms of a layer by layer method, which is what I use.”

The boys in this club wanted a time during the week where they can hangout together with their friends and practice at their favorite hobby.

“Whenever I’m in a class with one of my friends that can solve a cube and we have time, we race and see who can solve it faster,” freshman Brandon Barksdale said.

“We would always have to stop so now in this we can do it for the entire Liberty Hour and we don’t have to constantly stop.”

This club is a great way to assist your brain in functioning on the first and, arguably, the

longest day of the school week.

“The club members bring in all of their different types of Rubik’s Cubes of different sizes and styles and they basically practice timing how long it takes them. They also prepare themselves for competitions they could go to,” McDonald said.

Rubik’s Cubes may seem mind blowing, but the majority of the club insists they are not as demanding as they appear.

“I ordered one in March off of Amazon and I just kind of spent the entire afternoon teaching myself from videos and guides online,” freshman Sean Sullivan said. “My best solving time is 16 seconds.”

A good attitude is the best thing a person could do for any activity they enjoy doing.

No one is going to win every time, so staying positive and never giving up is the key to having fun.

“My goal is kind of the same as everyone else’s. Just to get faster and have fun while doing it,” Barksdale said.

Left: Freshmen Brandon Barksdale and Nathan Moon solves the Rubik’s Cube.

Right: There are many types of Rubik’s Cubes.

Features 17

Friends for Years to Come Social Connections Club combines friendship with academics.

Story by Alec Augustine

Photos by MaryAnn Johnson

The Social Connections Club is looking for new members. Their foundation is acts of kindness and making new friends between special education students and other LHS students. They meet in Room 100 every Thursday during Liberty Hour.

Officially, the goals are to enhance friendship, increase social interactions and improve self-confidence through interactions with peers and adults, but to the members of the club, it means much more than that.

“It is really a chance for all students to interact and enjoy each other’s company but it gives [special education] students the opportunity to see other students that they wouldn’t normally see on a regular basis all different areas to interact with the members of the group,” sponsor Adrienne Fowler said. “It’s awesome seeing them

Above Left: Billy Green, junior Alice Ballew and senior Haley Grimes play UNO. Above Right: The entire club play’s ‘Let’s Dance’. Bottom Left: Marquis McAdams plays ‘Let’s Dance.’

Bottom Right: Senior Daniel Lehenbauer dances along with ‘Let’s Dance’.

Features 18

have fun. Last time we even played ‘Let’s Dance.’ It was a fun time to let loose and enjoy ourselves.”

Freshman Ryan Bremer agreed. “I like the games we get to play,” he said.

Sponsor Jessica King explained how the club got started.

“It was really an idea to get students a space where they can naturally socialize, feel safe, and sometimes even provide games they can play. However, other times we let natural socialization happen in a comfortable classroom so it’s not as intimidating as the Commons or the lunchroom,” she said.

“I like how we can play games and how other people show up so we can make new friends,” freshman Rebecca Nestlerode said.

When they get together, club members

do a lot of fun things, ranging from video games to going to events.

“We like to play video games when we meet and even card games whenever we can. Just anything to get together to relax and have some fun,” Fowler said, “We’ll even try and go to a school play. Last year, we went to see Shrek and even went to a basketball game. This year we are going to try to go to another play, but we’re still working it out.”

The sponsors have a deeper connection with the students.

“I just really enjoy working with the kids and I had just started to teach a class for them this year so this was an additional way to work with them,” Fowler said.

Head down to Room 100 on Thursday during Liberty Hour to have fun and make new friends!

Coloring Contest!

Stressed out? Unwind while you color this Thanksgiving Turkey! When you finish, bring your picture to Room 605 to enter the coloring contest by Monday, Nov. 23. The winner will recievea $10 Chipotle gift card.

Games 19

What’s your job like at LHS? “It’s pretty cool—it’s nothing like being every other fan there.

All of us in the front row can lead a chant and I get to hold the spirit stick, which is pretty special. The spirit leader goes to all the major sporting events where a lot of students are going to be, but you also have to support the underrepresented sports that don’t get as much recognition too. So far, my favorite game was definitely versus Park Hill South when we got our first win. We had a pretty good-sized amount of people there for an away game and it was really fun to get the win.”

What do you enjoy about LHS? “I like the people in it. There are so many amazing people in high school and there are so many people that you can meet, it’s just so amazing how many friends you can meet. I’m involved in Link Crew, NHS, Key Club, FBLA and DECA—so I have became friends with some really great people through those clubs.”

What are your favorite things?

“My dog Sadie because she is awesome and she loves me. I really like Kansas City, like the city as a whole. Everyone is just so genuine and you get a good vibe from it and it’s just a happy city. My favorite place in Kansas City is downtown, the Plaza, you know wherever you can go and find fun things to do and my third would have to be LHS.”

Kiser’s thoughts: “Ethan is such a great student to have in class. He has always been very easy to get a long with and I love his outgoing personality.

I admire his positive attitude and the effort he puts into his work.

I’m looking forward to seeing what great things he does in the future.”

Senior

Ethan O’Hair Spotlight 20

Story by Sol Kim

Photo by Brieann Wynn

Why did you join Diversity Council?

“My friend told me about Diversity Council, but it was originally called African American Association. Since I am African American, I thought: “why not?” My favorite part of Diversity Council is that it is different from every other club. We are actually able to talk about different ethnicities and learn about different cultures. It’s a bunch of different ethnic groups coming together and talking about our cultures. For example, there’s this Asian kid who was talking about adoption in China. I think that it is important for us to learn about these different cultures, because this school is not very diverse.”

What else are you interested in?

“I want to speak multiple languages when I grow up, like Spanish and French. My mom and dad know how to speak multiple languages, so I also wanted to learn how. I don’t want people that speak another language to be able to talk behind my back. I am also in StuCo because I wanted to meet new people. My favorite part is knowing the things that are going on around the school before it becomes public. I [also] fix cars. My uncle asked me to help him one time and so now I work for him.”

What are your hobbies out of LHS?

“I like boxing because it’s fun and different. It’s really unique for girls to box and it feels good to get my anger out. I got into boxing when I saw a fight and I thought that I could do that, so I told my dad and he signed me up for classes.”

Block‘s thoughts:

“I have taught Sydney for two years. My first impression of her was her warm smile. She has a willingness to work hard and I like her sense of humor and toughness. She is a great kid that never makes excuses. Most of the time, she quietly goes about her work, but when she speaks, you better listen.”

Junior

Sydney Bell Story by Katie Moon

Photo by Hanna Davidson

Spotlight 21

When did you discover comedy?

“I’ve been weird my whole life. I guess I started doing Humorous Interpretation, which is a speech and debate event, at the beginning of my freshman year. I actually had the opportunity to go to nationals with that, which was amazing. Ever since I was little I’ve loved SNL, Upright Citizens, all that stuff. My parents have been supportive of everything I try and they know I especially love Exit 1-6.We have rehearsal every week on Thursday and for our shows we perform improv, so we just play improv games. Then we have shows once a month. Usually we, I wouldn’t say spirit circle, but we get pumped up before a show. I’ve done a lot sports-wise, so I thought athletics was my calling, but it is not.”

What are you involved in?

“I do Public Forums and the debate topic changes every month. We started prepping at the beginning of the year. Since the topic changes every two months, we have to write new cases on new topics. Since we have debate class everyday, we cut cards, run speeches, do all that stuff. We probably prepare for a debate every two weeks for each topic. I also do Mock Trial and Model UN. I did Model UN last year, but I really love mock trial.”

What is it like in Mock Trial?

“Mock Trial is basically a fake court trial. We have witnesses and attorneys. This is my second year doing it. Last year I was an attorney, which was a ton of fun. We actually qualified for state last year and that was cool. We have court sessions down at the Jackson County Court House.”

Mr. Baldwin’s thoughts: “Alyson is an exceptionally hard worker and she is really motivated.

It’s really great to see her positive attitude and her hard work ethic as she works toward her goals in my class.”

Sophomore

Alyson Oldham Spotlight 22

Story by Jackson Peña

Photo by Malissa Pennington

How did you get into art?

“My friend Kyle Munden and my seventh grade choir teacher got me into musicals. I would have to say Turner Staton from a few years back inspired me. He was very good at what he did and he would pursue that any way possible. I play the Minstrel in Once Upon a Mattress.

You get to meet a lot of new people from different grade levels and it’s kind of like your part of one big family.”

Do you want to pursue art?

“I do, I plan on going to college. I want to go to Pepperdine or some place like that. It’s a good college and it doesn’t just focus on fine arts, but that’s one of their main focal points. If I wanted to do science or something, I could do that, but at the same time I could act and sing.”

What else are you in?

“I’m involved in Rubik’s Cube Club and track. In Cube Club, we have different types of Rubik’s Cubes like the Pyramix, which is the 12 sided, two-by-two, three-bythree, four-by-four and five-by-five. I also really like running. I run every other day, about five miles a night. I also play the viola in orchestra and I sing in choir. Other than that, I like to watch Netflix.”

Ragan‘s thoughts: “Nathan is a great student. He excels in math and he is a hard working at all the things he does. His favorite entertainment is his Rubik’s Cube and he has taught us all a lot about it.”

Freshman

Nathan Moon Story by Jackson Peña

Photo by Corben Phillips

Spotlight 23

Why did you pursue your career?

“I love teaching I love working with students and kids. I love the Spanish language so I just thought what could be better than combining the two and teaching kids the language and the culture and sharing my passion of the language with them. I think it’s really neat to be able to share the culture with [the kids] and be able to see their language skills come to life in the classroom when they can start you know using the language for themselves and using it outside of the classroom as well.”

Where did you grow up?

“I was born here—I’m from Kansas City, go Royals! I went to Pembroke Hill down by the Plaza for high school. [I remember as a kid] going to the Chiefs games with my grandfather who is no longer with us. It was kind of our special thing when I was growing up and he had really awesome season tickets so there were games where I would get to go with him instead of my grandmother and that was really special to me.”

What do you do outside of LHS? “I love to run and be outside. I just ran my fifth half marathon back in early October and I like to be with my friends. I also love to cook and hang out with my dogs. I have two dogs—Baci is a black Labrador and Chuey is a Chihuahua.”

Megan Dolsky’s thoughts: “Señorita House is so nice and cares a lot for her students. I love having her as a teacher because she makes learning Spanish fun. She always has a positive attitude and that is something I really admire about her.”

Teacher

Abra House Spotlight 24

Story by Sol Kim

Photo by Natalie Griffin

What are your hobbies?

“I like to spend time with my family, coaching sports, hunting, fishing and hanging out outdoors. My family is probably the most important thing to me, but I care deeply about this school and my role here. I care deeply about students and what they do after school and the activities they participate in.”

Who inspires you?

“I get inspired often by the amazing kids here with their different talents. Every time I see a different talent being displayed, that’s inspirational. Of course, I get inspiration from my family and my kids. I love athletics and I am a true believer that students can learn just as much in extracurricular activities as you can in math and science class. I think they are equally important and play a major part in student’s lives.”

How do you do your job?

“I rely heavily on our coaches and we’ve got some great coaches in place. Open communication with them is tremendously important to make sure that we are all on the same page with the sports and activities. Of course, getting that information out is important to us. I would say that open communication and good relationships with the staff is the key.”

Morgan Fleming‘s thoughts:

“Mr. Cahill really helped getting the spirit busses going for our post season basketball run last year. He encouraged attendance and made it possible for all of those students to come to Columbia to cheer us on. He also helped set up everything for State volleyball and basketball including our charter busses and hotels. He is a great athletic director who has always supported and cheered me on in high school.”

Administrator

Jason Cahill Story by Katie Moon

Photo by Kasey Allshouse

Spotlight 25

Giving Thanks

Story by Lacy Williams and Teegan Saunders

Photos by Teresa Parra

Who are you most thankful for?

434 students responded.

8.1% Other 6.2% Myself

5.1% Boyfriend/girlfriend 59.8% Family

5.3% Pet

15.5% Friends

Sometimes you just have to stand back and really look around to see all of the great things happening.

“I’m thankful for all the opportunities I have and that my family is always there for me because I know not everyone has quite as many opportunities as I do or feel as safe and secure as I do at home,” sophomore Troy Savaiano said.

“My family is my mom, dad, my brother and I, so just the four of us.Every year, my family spends the entire day of Thanksgiving cooking, we all just stay in the house and turn the TV on and watch the parade. It’s a lot of fun,” Savaiano said.

Sometimes it’s the people around you who really remind you of all the things to be thankful for.

“My family is always there for me, they’re really great. We are always joking around and I always seem to have a good time,” Savaiano said.

Indepth 26

Through the unspoken art of dance and the bond that grows with her and her teammates, junior Taylor Bargfrede found gratitude.

“I’m thankful for this gift because it is an outlet for me and has been for so many years of my life.

It has become something that I do everyday and something I would like to continue in the future,” Bargfrede said.

Bargfrede sees her love of dance as a blessing in itself, and knows how much it has impacted her life.

“Everyday I think about it as a gift. I have built a lot of friendships and relationships through dance with my peers and my teachers and they just push me and inspire me everyday,” Bargfrede said.

“Through dance I get to be who I am and I don’t have to conform to what anybody else wants me to be. I have done dance since I was little and it has always been there for me whenever I’m having a bad day,” Bargfrede said.

What food are you most thankful for?

434 students responded.

9.4% Technology

20% Pizza

21% Mashed Potatoes

What are you most thankful for?

434 students responded.

11.3% Sports

9.2% Other

28.6% Home/Where you live

11.1% Fried Chicken 10.8% Ice cream

15.4% Mac ‘n cheese 21.7% Other

There are few things that get students into a thankful state of mind more than thanksgiving.

“My grandpa [was sick] and he’s great now. It’s like nothing even happened and nobody knows, but my family and I, we know it was God. See, I didn’t used to live here, so it’s awesome to be here around him and I can learn things from him, and grow as a person,” senior Kasey Smith said.

Smith knows that her family has helped her in so many ways, pointing her down the right roads.

“They’re the people who shape me, who are there when I’m having a bad day. I can talk to my mom and my brothers. They are the reason why I am the person that I am,” Smith said.

27.9% Music

Although students may not always get along with their parents, sometimes students are thankful for what parents do for them.

“I’m thankful for my parents because they’re always there when I need it and always help me with my problems,” freshman Jessica Roseburrough said.

“My mom is always available to take me to activities I want to go to like this week, I’m going to Flash Performance and she’s driving me from school to there,” Roseburrough said.

13.6% Education

When students think of what they are thankful for, the first thing that comes to mind is not necessarily where they live, but to junior Ethan Cook, it’s a big deal.

“I’m incredibly lucky to live where I do and be apart of the 300 million people that get to have access to education, food, water and all that jazz,” Cook said.

He said being able to celebrate and be free as an American citizen is a very powerful and lucky right we have.

“There are like 4.5 billion people that don’t have access to everything that I have in America as an American citizen,” Cook said.

Indepth 27

Once Upon A Mattress

The story of The Princess and the Pea meets exciting new twists in this hilarious classic.

Story by McKenzie Greenwood

Once upon a mattress in a high school far away...LHS presents, Once Upon A Mattress.

If you thought you knew the story of “The Princess and The Pea,” you may be in for a walloping surprise,” teacher Michael Turpin said. “Did you know, for instance, that Princess Winnifred actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that Lady Larken’s love for Sir Harry provided a rather compelling reason? Or that, in fact, it wasn’t the pea at all that caused the princess a sleepless night?”

“Carried by a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic of royal courtship and comeuppance provides for some sidesplitting shenanigans,” Turpin said.

“Chances are you’ll never look at fairy tales quite the same way again.”

The cast, crew, and directors of Once Upon A Mattress put in many hours of hard work and dedication for this production.

“We chose this show so that we could have a unique set and we also knew that we had a lot of costumes in stock,” choir

A&E 28

Photos by Erin Manis

teacher Phillip Holthus said. “It was also time to do a classic show. We have been doing Disney for a few years so we wanted something older that requires different acting skills and different vocal techniques. The musicals of today require more of a rock/belted tone quality and we wanted to go back to a more traditional style of singing.”

Not only are the directors of this show very important, the devotion and unity between cast members is a huge part of making the show work. Junior Trevor Harr plays Prince Dauntless.

“My favorite part about the show is that this year we are together as a family, and the cast is just great this year too,” Harr said. “The key to putting on a good show is the connection you have with other characters, and how well you get along with people backstage and onstage.”

Junior Mary Muir, who plays Lady Anna-Lynn, and junior Alana Pendergraft who plays Emily have many preshow rituals, and funny moments from rehearsal.

“I think it’s more comical than any shows we’ve done in the past. I think that will be fun and make for more audience

appeal,” Pendergraft said. Many people seem to be enjoying the mood and atmosphere this show has.

“I love the cast and crew. I like the atmosphere that this show is giving off,” Muir said.

Pre-show rituals are a way of preparing for scenes on stage, or just a way to calm nerves before the curtains raise.

“We always do “energy” as a group and that’s just something that we always do before the shows as a group,” Pendergraft said. Sometimes, pre-show rituals can be personal, and not so much a group activity.

“I pop my back and my neck backstage and then I count down from ten before I’m about to go on, it calms my nerves,” Muir said.

Rehearsals in the Little Theatre start at 3:15 and usually do not have a set time of when they end. They can be long and tiring, but they create many memories and funny moments that will always be remembered.

“It’s not really funny, but I almost died at rehearsal. It was a dance rehearsal and the set wasn’t fully built, but there was a platform that I thought was fully built, that they said was stable to walk on that had

Left: Senior Jay Butler and sophomore Molly Day sing, “In a Little While” in rehearsal. Right: Sophomore Josie Wilkersen, sophomore Kayla Hill and senior Josh Munden practice.

a trap door on it,” Pendergraft said. “As I was dancing, I jumped and did a turn, and the trap door like went caplooye. I’m here today and I live to tell that story.”

A case of deja-vu hit one of the cast members, too. Senior Roman Accardi is playing King Sextimus, the mute king, who is the father of his previous role in Once Upon A Mattress, Prince Dauntless, played by junior Trevor Harr this time around.

Of course, you cannot forget about the people who work backstage, with set, costumes, makeup, lighting, sound and much more. A production would be nothing without the hard work of the crew.

“It’s super fun to be in the crew of Once Upon a Mattress, and I love being able to see lots of my friends every day,”

freshman Abbie Bavuso said. “One of the challenges of being in crew for the show is definitely how much time it takes up. It’s really tough when you have to miss things here and there because you have other commitments that you need to do.”

Once Upon A Mattress includes hints of humor, catchy songs, and fun dances.

“It has a huge cast, it has a lot of fun characters, characters that are over the top from normal everyday people that you might meet,” teacher Don Johnson said.

“It’s colorful and the dancing is fun, the music is fun, it’s an enjoyable show.”

The drama is appropriate for all ages, with songs for kids and funny hints at adult jokes that will even make parents laugh.

“Our show is a great show for children,”

Holthus said. “It’s a classic fairy tale told in a new and funny way. Our actors do a great job of becoming new characters and they really bring the show to life. The set and costumes will be amazing too.”

Cast and crew members are ecstatic to begin the production.

“I think it will be fantastic. All the performances are really strong and the set looks amazing,” Accardi said. “Everything is just coming along really well. Besides, musicals are awesome and it’s a really funny show.”

Tickets are five dollars for children and seniors, 10 dollars for adults and can be purchased online at showtix4u.com, which opens November 12 and closes November 21.

Above: Sophomore Kate Turnage practices her tap dance. Top Right: Freshman Katherine Vlamis and sophomore Amos Mwaura watch and react to the scene. Right: Freshman Weston Brown practices his solo of ‘Very Soft Shoes’.

A&E 29

Niki’s Corner Photos by Niki Benhardt

Let’s Go Royals!! The last time the Royals won the World Series was in 1985.

Everyone is excited to bring the pennant back to Kansas City.

A&E 30

Top: Jordan English and Chris Murphy show their support for the Royals.

Bottom: Freshmen Jordan Garrett and Rudy Marmolejo, junior Trevor Harr and senior Josh Munden all show off their Royal spirt.

Staff Editorial Is texting and driving a problem at LHS? Inexperienced drivers are scary to encounter in the parking lot after school, but putting a cell phone in their hand or in front of their face is asking for a disaster.

The Bell staff discussed the issue of texting and driving, with the question, “Is texting and driving a problem for LHS students?” Many of the staff members believe that the issue is not strictly with students or LHS, but it is a problem for the public in general.

Administrators and counselors admit they witness distracted drivers on the road that are not just student drivers. From the frustrating car that won’t stop veering into the wrong lane to the person who thinks green means stop, one glance at a text can be disastrous.

In attempts to make students at

Yes: 23 No: 2

LHS safer drivers, StuCo launched the #Drive2n2 campaign to help raise awareness on the issue. Administrators interviewed by The Bell leadership suggested that an App to disable cell phones while the car is going may help discourage the need to look at a cell phone at every red light. If it isn’t buzzing, then students won’t be so tempted by their devices.

During the class discussion, The Bell staff brought up the hypocritical lectures given by parents to students to stay off their phone when they themselves are guilty of texting and driving. In some situations the students are the ones ensuring their parents are staying focused on the road. It is important for everyone to set an example of safe driving and the

#Drive2n2 campaign promotes that.

Skipping a song, checking that Twitter notification and trying to follow the map app doesn’t seem like a big deal until it’s too late. Keeping two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road is important for everyone’s safety. The text can wait.

Some teachers believe that high school drivers are already inexperienced and will be poor at operating vehicles regardless if they have a phone in their hand or not.

On the contrary, the staff recognized that inexperienced drivers are extra cautious because they are aware of how new they are at it. Either way, The Bell staff agreed on one thing: it doesn’t matter how great of a driver (of any age) someone is, a cell phone impairs everyone’s skill when behind the wheel.

Illustration by Daryl Gichui

Opinion 31

Thanksgiving Feast

N M U T U A G B H Z C I T J L M C U A S

B Q J S U P R F W G R L S E O P A A V E

E W M O E I D M F P A L E Q D G R H K G

R A K C C F M W Y E F G V E H A F W S C

Y E A R B N L Y M V P H R I B O P L R W

AUTUMN BREAD CASSEROLE CORN CORNUCOPIA GRAVY

Z N B G N I F F U T S X A P G W P T Q S

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S W R M Y Y W V H E O E H E P N S E D B

G R Z P E P E I J Q J W O P P K R M I R

R D E L P V W K S C O R N U C O P I A J

A K S Y V H O V R H C E K B G F Q Q E Q

V M S M T O J N B U B F G R I Q G L R Y

Y L F O K A R P L R T O X M L C O R I E

U D V U U U I L F Q E T N S S R L E C V

HAM HARVEST MAYFLOWER NOVEMBER PECANS PIE PILGRIMS

S T D T O L U J J U G A E E E B Q W O R

A P M H G F K X G L X X D S C E T O X Y

E W A R K Y N U N T X A S Z R Y L L E E

D T I N L B Y V I X K A R L C W N F B C

Y M A L S G H W R N C G K V A Z Q Y M K

S H G H X W R Y W P O T A T O E S A D F

T C O R N M V E I V X H V Z M A K M U C

PLYMOUTH POTATOES STUFFING THANKFUL TURKEY WISHBONE YAMS

LHS Corn Maze!

Games 33

God Bless The Dallas Cowboys Editorial by Ediror-in-Chief Tara Prindle

Check out this Hallmark scene: it’s families coming together and for each other’s company. This is most definitely not the joyous scene in the Prindle household.

In my home, we make the traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy and so on.

We have the biggest meal because every

woman in the family has the knowledge of good comfort Southern cooking, but it’s the meal is served the chaos begins, which is my favorite part.

Then, men sit on the couches and scream at the TV when the Dallas Cowboys play the wretched Redskins. Since the “spirits” of Thanksgiving are flowing in them, they’re cursing and jumping up and down like monkeys. Then on the other side of the room, my aunts argue like lawyers with their children about eating their food.

My sister and I cower on our own side of the table; we usually swing back and forth between the two sides of the room.

I’m usually all dressed up when dinner starts and chat with my aunts and mom, but by the end of dinner, I’m in a Troy Aikman jersey and I’m just as bad as the men, throwing a Bad Call Brick at the TV when Tony Romo throws an interception.

(God only knows what it’ll be like when I have a family of my own and my kids get to see their papa Tommy, my dad, scream

curses at the TV as a futuristic, bionic Tony Romo throws an interception.)

I know it’s not the most picturesque scene, definitely not a Rockwell Thanksgiving scene, but I love it. I love the way the kids run around the house and won’t eat their food despite my aunt’s nagging. I love the way my dad and my uncles react like apes, banging their fists against their chests and doing a banshee screech. I love the way my mom and aunts tell stories about random things at work or at home.

I think the best way to describe my family would be to say they’re the Missourian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “My family is big and loud but they’re my family. We fight and we laugh and yes, we roast lamb on a spit in the front yard. And wherever I go, whatever I do they will always be there.” - Toula Portokalos.

Man’s Best Dawg Editorial by Design Editor Alex Wilson

I am a dog person. I grew up with dogs in my home and it just wouldn’t be the same without a four-legged, shedding, barking companion around me. My family has had many dogs over the years, but the dog that had the biggest impact on my life has to be our dog Gunner. Gunner was a perfect

Opinion 34

name; he was crazy, loud and hyper.

However, at the same time he was loyal, protective and funny.

A few years ago, my sister wanted to adopt another dog. My sister got Gunner for free from a family that was struggling to feed their dog’s litter of puppies. At first, my parents were reluctant to invite another animal into the mix, but when they saw this dog it all changed.

Gunner grew up to be a short and bulky brown dog with a wrinkly face and wiry fur. He was the ultimate mutt, he had at least five different types of terrier in his blood plus a little bit of Shar-pei for good measure. Inside of his brain however, he was the most unique animal one would ever meet. Gunner blurred the line between puppy and adult, he was very energetic and always wanted to play but was very protective and aware of people’s emotions. He cared about you as much as

you cared about him even tough he could be the hardest button to button sometimes, Gunner would have free-spirited moments and run away and explore the world unleashed. He cared about everyone from other dogs in the house to complete strangers. A bunch of dogs act like this especially terriers, but our terrier added his own flare to it.

We had Gunner for about two years, but had to put him down. It is not a good feeling to lose a dog so early on. But what really stands out to me now that some time has passed is that I’m thankful for the short years I had with Gunner. To Gunner those years was the entirety of life, there was no more and his two years alive was an amazing experience.

Winter Break, Where You At? Editorial by Opinion Editor Emily Johannes

Well here we are, about a month out from winter break. So close and yet, so far. How are we ever going to make it to the end of the semester in one piece?

Every year, we get to this point in the school year and I am surprised. Wasn’t the

first day of school just a few weeks ago?

I thought I had time to get all my grades up. I thought I had time to study for the ACT and various other standardized tests.

At the same time however, it feels like an eternity stretches between now and winter break. Thirty days is forever in stressed out student time!

I’ve been ready for a break for a couple months already, but I don’t think the break is ready for me. I have many elaborate plans centered around winter vacation and most of them involve sleeping and eating food. Sure, I could do that now on the weekends, but it just seems sweeter when it happens on a break. I know I must seem a little whiney about school and obligations, but the truth is that taking a break from these things every once in a while is healthy.

Finals come before the break however

and they’re coming soon. I’m not prepared for this. Have I even learned anything this semester? I still have to pull my grades up and study to do well on these massive cumulative tests. I’m not prepared to only have three semesters of high school left.

Winter break means I’m that much closer to graduating and having to be an adult, and being an adult scares me. Maybe this isn’t really about how much I want a break, meaybe this is really about growing up and my fear of it. After all, adults don’t get the luxury of long breaks like students do.

Putting all of these worries aside, I still really want a good long break from school.

Winter break, please come save me.

Anti-Panic Button Editorial by Ads Manager Daryl Gichui

Don’t sweat it, no worries, keep calm and carry on; there are tons of little sayings that help remind us to stay mellow during tough or stressful situations and not get anxious, but oftentimes words can only carry you so far.

In high school, it’s pretty easy to be overwhelmed by all the tests, assignments, events and activities each day. They can start to build an uneasy little pitter patter

in your heartbeat.

People start to question themselves asking, “Do I have the time for this?” or, “Do I really want to do that?” and it only adds fire to the fear factor flame.

Next comes the flood of doubt and even more questions like, “Can I do this?”

“Should I do this?” or “I can’t do that?” and “I don’t know how.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of sweat, worry and stress and I feel like it’s something I’ve had to continue to work on myself a lot, especially in my school life and my sport. However, I’ve slowly realized there’s a simple solution to putting out this fire before it even starts.

It’s called confidence.

Now hear me out, this is more than just feeling confident in how you look or feel.

This confidence comes from taking that, “I can do this,” feeling and using it as a kind of focus fuel for your goals. It’s easier said than done, but once you’ve built up a set of small victories while doing this, you’ll have a really good habit.

Maybe I have a tough quiz on Wednesday and instead of thinking, “How does he expect us to do a quiz when I barely understand the unit?” I say, “Alright, I’ll come in during Liberty Hour and get some help, and maybe look up some videos.”

Instead of dreading an afternoon workout, I look forward to it knowing that it’ll set me up to compete at our my next upcoming meet.

This doesn’t mean each week I’ll have perfectly written and legible notes, or have all the time in the world to study and finish homework every night or even not feel exhausted at times. But even when those bumps in the road do come up and the clock starts winding down, I’m confident I can handle the pressure as I work towards each class or race ahead of me.

I’ve learned that in the end, I am the decider on whether I’ll walk down a road of success or stress.

Opinion 35

Athlete of The Month Story by Haley Stephenson

Photos by Brieann Wynn and Katie Lamb

LIBERTY

55 Name: Michael Skaggs Grade: Senior Sport: Football Right guard and defensive end Height: 6’2” Favorite food: Pizza “My favorite part is just getting to hit people and the physical contact of the sport. The hardest part is being conditioned, playing both ways and having to go 110% during games. My favorite memory is my junior year when we beat Park Hill South in the playoffs.”

-Michael Skaggs

“He’s fun to be around, he works hard. He’s never in a bad mood As a player, I like how physical he is and a really good football player. He’s a nice guy, but he’s mean on the football field. He doesn’t back down from anyone.”

-Aaron Easley “Michael is a very versatile player who can play both offense and defense. He is a very humble person who always puts the team first. Michael has had some games where he has been dominant. Against Columbia Hickman, he drove a guy off the field into the other teams players on the sideline. He is also great in the weight room. He is very powerful and can hang clean over 300lbs.”

-Chad Frigon

Sports 36

LIBERTY

Name: Alex Rogers Grade: Junior Sport: Tennis Height: 5’3” Favorite Food: Sweet potatoes “I’ve been playing tennis since I was twelve. I like the fast paced-ness and how competitive it is. The hardest part is the mental aspect of it. Going to State was exciting because it was my first time breaking to State in my high school tennis career. My favorite part was winning the first game because we really didn’t expect to and it gave us a lot of confidence.

-Alex Rogers “She’s funny to talk to on and off the court. She makes playing fun instead of just competitive. As a player, she’s very aggressive; she gets done what she needs to get done, but she also knows how to have fun. She’s a very loyal partner and friend. I enjoy playing with her.”

-Claire Varney “She brings a fun side to the group, but I think one of the things that I enjoyed most was seeing her really defend herself during a match. I think her level of play has increased a lot. She was a great number one. She’s very talented it’s great to have girls that are talented physically, but also very well rounded, just very good people. She brings that characteristic to the team.”

-Pam Koch

BobbleJays

Story by Kamden Bernard

Photos by Hailey Smith and Mikayla Hill

LIBERTY

27 Name: Robert Rawie Grade: Sophomore Sport: Football Height: 5’11” Favorite Food: Steak “My favorite thing about football [is] the atmosphere, getting out there on Friday night and playing as hard as you can. I love being with all my friends and doing something that I love. The hardest thing about football is probably the whole week, the game on Friday and getting up [on Saturday] morning to do film. [However], you always get up because you want to do whatever you can for the team.”

-Robert Rawie

“He’s a hard worker and he pushes everyone to do better.

He’s one of the best players I’ve ever known. He’s cool, he works really hard all the time. He really dedicates himself in sports. He’s a really nice friend on and off the field. He’s really nice to people all the time. He’s the rawest.”

-Thomas Henrichs “Robert is a very coachable kid. He goes so hard through drills that it really affects other people and makes our whole team better. Robert is a very good versatile player and he’s a good running back and receiver. He also plays defense and his biggest attribute is he goes really hard all the time and it leads to him being very good in a lot of various things.”

-Chad Frigon

LIBERTY

Name: Jane Sundell Grade: Freshman Sport: Cross-country Height: 5’6” Favorite Food: Ritz crackers “I’ve been running cross country for one year. [My favorite thing about cross country] is probably making new friends. It was really fun going to the capital city challenge in Jefferson City because we got to go on a bus and stay in the hotel. It was so much fun.”

- Jane Sundell “I’ve known Jane my whole life but for cross country only this year. She’s really fun and spunky. You can always count on her to be positive. She’s very competitive and really cares about what she’s doing. She really wants to be good. Jane’s really funny. You can always count on her to put everyone in a good mood.”

-Payton Adams “Jane Sundell is one of the nicest student-athletes I've ever had the opportunity to work with. She is extremely teachable and coachable. Jane has an outstanding work ethic and her teammates know that she is someone they can count on. My favorite memory of Jane so far is watching her work so hard to come back after sustaining an injury at morning practice. She is very dedicated and tough.”

-Tim Nixon

Sports 37

November 2015 School 11/12 - 11/14 Once Upon a Mattress

Little Theatre, 7pm

11/19 - 11/21 Once Upon a Mattress

Little Theatre, 7pm

11/14 & 11/21 Once Upon a Mattress

Community

Concerts

Holidays

11/5 REO Speedwagon @ The Midland

11/11 Veteran’s Day

11/7 X Ambassadors

11/26 Thanksgiving

11/3 Parade Celebrating World Champion Kansas City Royals

Downtown Kansas City

11/27 The Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Crown Center

@ The Midland

11/8 Awolnation

@ The Midland

11/10 Old Dominion

Kansas City Power and Light

Little Theatre, 4pm

December 2015 School 12/1 Chamber Orchestra Concert

Liberty Community Center

12/7 Concert and Symphonic Orchestra Concert

Liberty Community Center

12/15 Choir Concert

Liberty Community Center

Holidays

Sports 12/3 Girls Basketball vs.

Blue Springs South New Fieldhouse

12/17 Girl’s Basketball vs.

Lee’s Summit New Fieldhouse

12/8 Girl’s Swim

12/17 Boy’s Baskettball HyVee Shootout

12/15 Girl’s Swim

12/15 Wrestling Match vs.

Kearney

Liberty Community Center

Liberty Community Center

Liberty High School

12/6 Hanukkah Begins 12/24 Christmas Eve 12/25 Christmas Day 12/31 New Years Eve

Hustle and Heart Girl’s Rugby received third at this year’s State competition.

Story by Delaney Tarpley Photo by Hayley Johnston Girl’s Rugby went to the State competition this Halloween. After a successful season last year, winning the whole state competition with a three game shutout, this year the Lady Jays grabbed third place.

Senior Hannah Reid predicted how she thought the team would do this year.

“I think we’re going to do really well, we have a really talented group of girls,” she said. “We had a lot of rookies come in this year who all picked up really quickly and that’s been fun to watch. Hopefully we’ll carry on the tradition that we have.”

Hannah Reid, attributed their success to teamwork. After finishing 4-0 in league play, had a chance to defend their title at State.

“We used a lot of good teamwork, which is how I think we were able to get so far this season,” sophomore Danielle Staples said. “Getting to know each other is really

fun and everyone learned new things.”

Most of the players were able to keep a positive attitude leading up to the competition.

“I think we’re going to do pretty well,” freshman Lauren Tali said. “We have a bunch of players on our team that are really good. We’re all good at different positions and we each have our own thing that we bring to the team. We have good communication and a pretty strong sisterhood.”

This confident mindset was followed by many others such as Reid and Staples.

However, their placement at State wasn’t just good luck.

“Our girls work hard and Sergeant Bloss with the National Guard has been a great asset in helping our girls get fit,” coach Tracey Davis said. “They are very driven to do well and it shows in their play on and off the field.”

While girls rugby is not currently a popular sport in the U.S., the team hopes to see a change in its current status.

“Girls’ Rugby is not a major sport in the U.S. right now,” Reid said. “Hopefully it will be in the next couple years once it’s introduced into the Olympics, but it’s such a rarity to find another person who’s a rugby player.”

Despite all their wins, most of the girls’ favorite part about playing rugby has almost absolutely nothing to do with their victories.

“My favorite part is getting to know everybody and forming the sisterhood that we form,” Staples said. “We have each other’s back for everything.”

Tali agreed.

“We’re basically like a family,” she said.

“I love it because I’ve never felt like that before with any team. I’m glad I have the opportunity to play with the rugby team.”

Left: The Rugby girls huddle up during state competition. Right: Junior Jalyn Holloway rushes past opponents down the field to score.

Sports 39

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