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Courtwarming crowning a new king and queen pg. 7
February 12, 2021 | Vol. 17 | Issue 8 | Lee’s Summit West High School | 2600 SW Ward Road | Lee’s Summit, Missouri
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Students’ take on how the traditional grading system can be toxic
CONTENTS
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After months of virtual school, returning to in-person impacts social anxiety
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Hit song “Drivers License” sparks drama in the music industry
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Facing change: the music department makes adjustments to their typical competitions FOLLOW US:
On this episode of Titan TV, Superintendent, Dr. David Buck answers questions about in-person learning; an education therapist discusses student mental health; Titan teachers compete in a masked singer spin-off and much more.
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Editorial Policy
Editor in Chief: Anna Long Associate Editor: Anna Eulinger Design Editor/Web Director: Madeline Cantrell Photography Editor: Vanesa Nhotharack Chief Copy Editor: Ella Skelsey Advertising and Billing Manager: Christina Jarvis Sports Editor/Web Director: Josh Wood Social Media Manager: Natalee Still Copy Editors: Emily Gerhart Mia Guidolin Hayden Peters Staff Artist: McKenna Bell Campus Photographer: Sarah Hall Sports Staff: Ian McDonald Keaghan McDaniel Social Media: Haleigh Davis Meghan Cox Reporters: Victoria Newman Caroline True Publications Adviser: Carol Ullery Business Adviser: Karrie Smythia
Titan Scroll is a student publication of Lee’s Summit West High School. The Titan Scroll is a practicing public forum for student expression. We welcome all letters to the editor, but reserve the right to edit for libel and for space. No unsigned letters will be printed. Letters may be emailed to the editor, dropped off in room 2048 or mailed to 2600 SW Ward Road, Lee’s Summit, Mo. 64082. Volume 17 of the Titan Scroll is published twice each month during the 2020-2021 school year. Student editors make all content decisions. The opinions contained do not in any way represent the Lee’s Summit West faculty, administration, or the R-7 school district administration or school board.
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Staff Editorial
Spread the love
Breaking down V-Day stereotypes Valentine’s Day is typically a holiday that singles prefer to
reject. Couples wasting their money on boxes of chocolates, bouquets of flowers, and candle-lit dinners. Ew, right? This is the wrong perspective. This cheesy holiday gives us the opportunity to take a step back and appreciate our loved ones. It’s a public service announcement to say, “I love you.” The pandemic has allowed us to put things on pause more than ever. We made it through these trials thanks to those who helped us along the way. As human beings, we need companionship to survive. Valentine’s Day celebrates just that. So choose to make the most out of it this day. Don’t view it as an annual reminder that you’re single. Consider it an opportunity to love one another. ‘Cause now more than ever, we could all use some TLC. Participate in Galentine’s or Palentine’s Day! Take advantage of the discounted chocolates and enjoy some time with
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your besties. Better yet, make it a self-care day. Curl up on the couch with a face mask and heart shaped Papa John’s pizza. Use the day to call the family members you’ve missed during the pandemic. Spread the love by leaving cookies outside your neighbors door. Pay for the person behind you in the drive through. These random acts of kindness are really just random acts of love. Remove the typical cliches of Valentine’s Day and focus on what it’s really all about. This isn’t meant to throw shade at those who are cuffed. The main message of this is that you don’t need a significant other to celebrate the holiday of love. Not all love has to be romantic. Remember in grade school when we gave every single classmate cards and candy? Don’t hesitate to continue making those around you feel special. So when Feb. 14 rolls around this weekend, enjoy it. Valentine’s Day is for everyone
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Staff Commentary
The toxicity of class ranks and the grading system Mia Guidolin On paper, grades might seem like the perfect way to give students feedback, but there are some imperfections in the system and reasons why grades may not be as effective as historically believed. The letter F has long been associated with failure, whereas the letter A scrawled atop an assignment carries a message of approval and celebration. The team at THNK School of Creative Leadership — an Amsterdam-based organization focused on developing “creative leaders capable of delivering innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.” Sophomore Morgan Read said that at her first high school orientation day, “Someone was like ‘you have to pay attention to your grades as soon as you start high school, even if you get a B, that can lower your GPA for the rest of high school.” It was difficult hearing that on the first day, Read said. “They need to get rid of that stigma.” Grades have way too much of an effect on students’ lives. “Students are having legit panic attacks, feeling anxiety and depression from getting bad grades,” she said. Not only are students hard on themselves, but the pressure to perform well from teachers and parents can add to that stress. Read said, “It’s very discouraging and it feels awful having everyone lash out on you because you’re not understanding the topic.” Participants at THNK are blogging that grades can cause children to develop a fear of failure, which consequently causes them to pick the easier route, instead of the challenging one. “Will this make them educated individuals? I think we want students to be naïve, to dream big, to take risks and to engage in divergent thinking,” wrote a THNK member. The THNK team took a look at how grades impact students’ future lives, stating on their website, “Our society is even structurally dependent on grading performance. Just look at how the best jobs go to the students with the best grades at the best universities, who in turn accept students with the best grades at the best high schools.” Read said she feels this idea in her own experience. “We hear that we have to get good grades to have a good future, yet we don’t use any of those grades, or any of what those grades stand for, in our future whatsoever.” In reality, many business owners and hiring representatives have said that grades and GPAs have no weight when it comes to hiring someone. In an interview with the Washington Post, Laszlo Bock, Ex-Senior Vice President of People Operations of Google said “GPA scores are worthless as a criteria for hiring, they do not predict anything.” This being said, feedback is an important part of education. It lets students know what they did wrong in order to improve. THNK suggested that personal feedback would be more effective than direct grades, and I agree. Grades reinforce the idea that “I’m not good at this, I should just give up.” Personal feedback
could instead say, “Your current approach isn’t working, try a different way.” “When I have bad grades it’s actually very discouraging for me,” Read said. Instead of being motivated to do better, she stops and ‘ghosts’ the problem. The team at THNK ends their thoughts by saying that their school is done with grades. “They have lost their original purpose, imply failure, and undermine personal relationships.” Their alternative to grades has been personal feedback by the students, teachers, coaches and peers. Sophomore Bashira Griffin-Bay said she agrees the grading system could be improved. “If grades were more of progress checking rather than if you’re failing the class or passing, I think it would be better on students’ mental health.” Read said something similar, “We should use them [grades] as progress, not define it as someone’s status as a student.” She said she believes grades shouldn’t play such an important role in a person’s life. Chemistry teacher, Aaron Bailey explained that the way his class works is slightly different than usual. “In chemistry I release answer keys before the homework is due so that students can check their own work and ask better questions in class when something doesn’t click,” Bailey said. He also mentioned how he gives out short quizzes that encourage students to understand what they’re learning before moving on. “If they struggle to correct their mistakes, force them to bounce some ideas off a teacher before they can earn the right to try again.” Bailey said that overall, grading has switched to a way where students can get opportunities to get credit for mastering a topic that was initially difficult for them. He said “I want to teach students that a moment of failure is not the end of your story. It is an opportunity to prove that you can do difficult things.” From a teacher perspective, Bailey said that the grading system doesn’t have to be toxic. It helps students identify what they’re good at. “It communicates to a college, employer, or next high school teacher what level of competency they can expect on a set of skills,” Bailey said. “Nobody wants to be put in a position where failure is the expected outcome, and being evaluated helps us discover where we fit.” Grades aside, many students don’t know the reason for class ranks. “I genuinely don’t know why rankings exist if I’m being honest. I have no idea why. I think they are very negative and toxic,” Read said. Read mentioned that students might strive to better their placement, but that “It’s still a very toxic way to reinforce that.” Griffin-Bay echoed that thought. “I really don’t think
they’re necessary, I don’t think there are any benefits or any purpose to class ranks.” In an interview with the Washington Post, Alfie Kohn, author of 14 books about education, parenting and children said that, “When students are rated with letter or number grades, research shows they’re apt to think in a shallower fashion, as compared with students who aren’t graded at all.” Kohn is a big supporter of abolishing class rank. He argues the fact that class rankings have no real benefit at all. “Class rank has much less significance to college admissions officers than a range of other factors, and the proportion of colleges that view it as an important consideration has been dropping steadily,” stated Kohn. Indeed, college admission officers have said that there has been a decrease in the number of applicants that come from schools that rank their students. “Ranking makes the high school experience unnecessarily stressful while simultaneously destroying the sense of community and any potential for peer support that can help students get through those years intact,” said Kohn. Of course getting rid of grades and class rank wouldn’t happen overnight. Kohn suggests that schools could get rid of class rankings first, and then move on to getting rid of grades for only freshman, and so forth. Kohn says that getting rid of class rankings would be the first step to restoring some sort of sanity back to schools. “Ideally it should be followed by moving away from grades altogether, which some schools have already proved is not only possible but enormously beneficial.” However, Bailey said not to let anyone tell you that you aren’t good enough, or don’t belong somewhere. “Your road may be more challenging than someone else’s but your final accomplishments will be all the more heroic for the struggle it took to get there.”
After months of being isolated, students with social anxiety could experience a rough time transitioning back to full in-person school Anna Eulinger Social anxiety can pose problems on any given school day as students walk through the halls, go to lunch, or give a presentation at the front of the classroom. After nearly a year of limited social interaction, the first step back this week could cause an even bigger spike of anxiety for some students. Before going back in person, Junior Cadence Mayrand said she thought that would just be the case for her. “It’ll definitely make it worse. I am already nervous about COVID in general, but I also just don’t like being around that many people, so I’ll probably distance myself and anxiety will get worse.” After the return to in-person school on Monday, Mayrand said she was anxious most of the day since she felt that the hallways were hectic and that people were staring at her. Mayrand said she thought the worst part of the day was lunch due to the congested state of the commons. Mayrand said she was diagnosed with social anxiety just last year and noticed it causing issues for her before coronavirus was in the picture. “I mean, the hallways were always hard because, just my own head was telling me that people were talking about me or looking at me, but then we went into lock-down and I couldn’t see anyone and I got used to that. So, just going back made it worse because I wasn’t used to seeing all of those people constantly.” When Mayrand starts to get anxious at school, she said she will try and text her close friends or focus on her schoolwork rather than trying to talk to other students she is not as comfortable with. If it gets really bad, she will excuse herself to use the restroom. Yet, with these calming methods, Mayrand said she would still much prefer to stay online. “I don’t like being around large groups of people, so I definitely like online better because it’s more that I’m able to work on my time and I don’t have distracters at school that prevent me from doing my work,” Mayrand said. When it came down to it, Mayrand said she decided to move in-person with the rest of the school district because she can see her friends every day and wouldn’t be able to take theatre with the online academy. Similar to Mayrand, sophomore Ryan Bell has battled his own fight with social anxiety and said he prefers online school over in-person, but chose not to move online to avoid a major change in his schedule and teachers. “It’s definitely nerve-racking because it’s just not safe, because it’s not like the virus is gone, so I don’t know why we’re going full-time back. [The first day back] is probably gonna be kind of rocky because in my first hour, I have to present a video of my group and I’d be in the video, which I do not like watching me do anything, so that’s going to be a nervous wreck,” Bell said. Online school may have had more negative mental health effects for some, but Bell said that he thinks in-person school is worse for him personally. After experiencing the first day back in-person, Bell said he was very anxious due to the number of people at school and feeling like he was unsafe. “I feel like in-school definitely has more negative effects, because online I feel like I was actually doing way better than we do in-person, since I didn’t actually have to go to school and have to experience anxiety if I didn’t know something. Online, I could just quickly look it up, and in-person you can’t do that and embarrass yourself in front of the whole class if you don’t know anything,” Bell said. Along with this, Bell said that he will stay in his room for a couple of hours to calm himself down when he experiences anxiety. In the middle of a normal school day, this may not be possible. Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker Barry McAnulty said an increase in social anxiety when going back in-person is completely normal, but students should listen to their bodies and do what is best for them. “If they start getting shortness of breath, lightheadedness, dizziness, that kind of thing, they’re not having a heart attack. They’re having
symptoms of a panic attack or some anxiety symptoms and if they can just take some time and get some breathing under control … it’s going to be really important that they try to hang in there and they push through it,” McAnulty said. While it may be the opposite of what some students want to do, McAnulty said that students with social anxiety should put themselves in that uncomfortable position of being in-person and not switching to the online academy. McAnulty said that by students removing themselves from this situation, they will continue to feed their social anxiety. For students having anxiety about the COVID aspect of going back full in-person, McAnulty said to look to the facts about the virus for reassurance. “When this first started back in March … we had some very concrete, just simple facts about how COVID is spread. So, we know that it spread through droplets, through coughing or sneezing, and then if it was on a surface … typically you’d have to swipe your hand on a surface and then touch your hand to your mouth, your nose, or your eyes,” McAnulty said, “So, social distancing, hand-washing, obviously we’re required to wear a mask; they just have to have that reassurance that, ‘Hey, this is safe’ and try to stay out of what we’d call irrational thought processes.” To further help cope with this increase of anxiety, whether it be socially or about COVID, educational therapist Kristin Scharlau said students have resources available to them at school to help them get through the day, especially the first few days of coming back in-person. “If you are feeling really overwhelmed, you can ask to come or do an e-pass to the counseling center and we can try to help with some more in-depth approaches if we need to. If you need to talk to a counselor or if you feel like ‘I can’t do lunch today, I need an alternative place to eat’ or ‘I can’t do passing periods today, it’s too overwhelming,’ we could try to figure out an alternative passing period for students that are really struggling,” Scharlau said. For students who are dealing with less severe circumstances and feel that they can cope through self-help, Scharlau said she recommends doing deep breathing exercises in situations that cause anxiety or to listen to calming music when walking through crowded hallways. Along with this, Scharlau said she highly recommends having a morning and nighttime routine to prepare for the school day. “I usually recommend like 30 minutes before you actually kind of want to be asleep to have a nighttime routine that gets you kind of settled, whether that be an app or doing some type of meditation, or reading. Try to do something that doesn’t involve a screen if you can,” Scharlau said, “In the morning, maybe even if it’s just five minutes or if it’s on your bus or on your drive to school, listening to something motivational, listening to music that you really enjoy that puts you in a good head-space, or doing a meditation in the morning to kind of set up your day and your attention for the day is really good too, as well as journaling.” Above all else, Scharlau said she wants students to know that they always have resources available to them at school. “I just want to make sure students know there are people here at school to help. Even if you don’t know how to ask for help, you can ask a teacher and they can get you down to the counseling center … So, there are always resources if you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, anger, suicidal thoughts, OCD, any type of stuff we can definitely help,” Scharlau said. For McAnulty, he said students should know that life will not stay
“Just reassure people that today is not forever, that ‘new normal’ shouldn’t be used, it should be a temporary normal. This is a temporary normal, not a new normal, that eventually will get better.” this way.
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Staff Commentary
Me and my Chucks Madeline Cantrell Valentine’s day is a day for love. Cliche, I know, but the sentiment stands. I love lots of things: my family, my friends, the opportunities I’ve been given, but what about a pair of shoes? Is it possible to love a pair of shoes so much that the sole is coming apart, but you would rather glue it back together then get a new pair? For me, yes. Way back in 7th grade, my mom bought me a pair of white high top Converse Chuck Taylors. Back then (in ye olden days of 2015) white Converse were to be paired with black leggings your mom bought with Kohl’s cash and long sleeve Pink shirts. But in the almost six years since, Converse have had a bit of a re-work in the minds of some teens — Converse are a vintage style icon, not a tweenybopper essential. Converse as a company started in 1908, but their classic high tops didn’t come around until 1917. Those early high tops were marketed as non-slip basketball shoes— which they were used for until the 1980s with the advent of Air-Jordan. They wouldn’t be known as All Stars until Chuck Taylor, a professional basketball player, re-designed them with more support. At that point in time, Converse was the basketball shoe, controlling the market until the late 70s. Off the court, they could be seen in movies like Grease and were actually worn in an NFL game in the 1950s. Besides their advent as basketball shoes, Chucks, as they’d come to be known, were well loved “retro” street wear, and became popular off the court. To me, this is where these shoes became the icons they are. Without their resurgence as casual wear, I don’t think these shoes would be in my closet. My personal favorite pair of Converse shoes are the first ones my mom bought me back in 2015 for the first day of middle school. They are probably the most well loved pair of shoes I own, and I cannot imagine my closet without them. I’ve stepped in mud with these shoes and thrown them in the washing machine more times than I can count and they are still holding up (although they are no longer white). They have stayed in my closet even as I get other white sneakers — I just can’t bring myself to get rid of them. Recently, on TikTok, I’ve seen people dying their old white Converse different sold out colors and continuing to upcycle an older pair of shoes. They all have stories and almost personalities based on how you wear them. I’ve moved past black leggings and skinny jeans (sorry to the millennials out there) and have elevated to plaid pants or mom jeans (the og gen-z uniform). My mom even wanted me to wear them with my ball gown shaped prom dress last year (she’s quirky y’all). I think that everyone has that one pair of shoes that they cannot live without — and as I mentioned, my Converse are those for me. My mom told me that she had a pair in high school and college, and that she only got rid of hers after I was born. It’s odd to think that a pair of shoes can hold such sentimental value for some of the weirdest reasons. Literally, these shoes have survived three friend groups so I think that they might be more reliable than people. As for how to style these babies: keep it simple and vintage. These are the rare shoes that go literally with everything. They come in every color, pattern, size, height, anything you can imagine. You do you when it comes to these shoes, I know that I’ll still keep my old school chucks.
Review
Hit single “Driver’s License” drama
Emily Gerhart Actor and singer, Sabrina Carpenter, is Olivia Rodrigo and her debut single, our blonde girl. Carpenter is 21, four years “Driver’s License” have taken the internet by older than Rodrigo, and has been spotted in storm. It was streamed 65,873,080 times on public romantically with Bassett, starting in Spotify in the first week, continuously top- Jun. 2020. ping charts, and getting noticed by some of Carpenter apparently took this lyric to the biggest names in music. heart, because on Jan. 22, 2021 she released The 17 year old’s song gained popularity her new single, “Skin”. The song features the because of how relatable it is to other teens, lyrics, “maybe ‘blonde’ was the only rhyme” on a deeper level than getting your license and “You been tellin’ your side/So I’ll be teland driving through suburbs. “Driver’s Li- lin’ mine.” It is not much of a stretch to ascense” features Rodrigo’s raw emotions con- sume that the verses are in response to Roveyed in gut-wrenching lyrics, as well as drigo’s song, and its mention of a blonde girl. speculation and drama surrounding its con- Carpenter cleared the air on Instagram aftents. ter getting backlash for the song’s harsh lyr She portrays deep feelings that teens don’t ics. “The song isn’t calling out one single perget credited for, based around getting her son. Some lines address a specific situation,” driver’s license. There are many aspects of she admits, possibly referencing the Rodrigo this song that can be tied to her rumored real situation. “While other lines address plenlife heartbreak, Joshua Bassett. ty of other experiences I’ve had in this past Bassett is an actor, singer, and Rodrigo’s year,” Carpenter said. co-star in “High School Musical: The Mu- She adds that she “wasn’t bothered by a sical: The Series” (HSMTMTS). Although few lines in a (magnificent) song and wrote a never confirmed, there was speculation that diss track about it.” their on screen relationship advanced into Bassett took the more cryptic route when real life back in late 2019 through early 2020. writing his new music. He clarified that he The couple never spoke about their rela- wrote “Lie, Lie, Lie” in November 2019, tionship publicly, but fans gathered evidence about a friend who had lied behind his back, based on their obvious chemistry during and not Rodrigo. His latest single, “Only a interviews and flirtation on social media. It Matter of Time,” released on Jan. 28, contains was obvious they liked each other more than lyrics that are more telling. just friends. “Time to tell the world that you’ve been In Rodrigo’s unreleased song, “Gross,’’ lyin’ on my name,” and “but why would you posted on her Instagram, she mentions a make your pain mine?/You’re makin’ me pay brown haired boy. There are other references for your crimes,” are just a few lyrics in his in this song and others that can’t be directed recent song that point to Rodrigo. None of at anyone else but Bassett. As the popularity this was confirmed or denied, but similariof HSMTMTS decreased, so did the talk in ties are definitely adding up. the media about the couple. This love triangle has been keeping the me Bassett and Rodrigo both announced dia entertained for weeks, and has brought a new singles on Jan. 4. Fans couldn’t help but lot of success to all three of them. believe the two singles were connected, al- The songs share details in the lyrics, deepthough neither artist spoke on it. Rodrigo er meaning, and music videos, which were was first to the punch after releasing “Driv- all released closely together. So, I find it hard er’s License” on Jan. 8, a week before Bassett to believe the situation was a huge coincireleased his single, “Lie, Lie, Lie.” After Tik- dence. It caused a buzz in the media and got Tok caught wind of the drama, the situation people talking about their music careers. went viral. During an interview with “British Vogue”, Evidence-wise, the first line definitely set Rodrigo said she did not want to discuss the the tone. It reads, “I got my driver’s license person referenced in “Driver’s License.” last week, just like we always talked about …” From the looks of it, Rodrigo may never Bassett taught Rodrigo how to drive. Perfect- spill the details, or who each song is truly ly indirectly direct. about. I know, real or just a stunt, this drama To keep the clues coming, our next line is has been fun to keep up with and has kept featured in the bridge, “I still see your face in me wondering. the white cars, front lawns …”. Not Rodrigo has spoken out multiple times about her obsession as heart wrenching, but Bassett has with singer, Taylor Swift. Swift noticed and commented on Robeen seen owning a white car, and drigo’s Instagram post captioned, “next to Taylor on the U.S. probably has a front lawn too. Par- itunes chart i’m in a puddle of tears”, with “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud.” Photo by Emily Gerhart allels continue. An honorable mention in this song is the last line of the chorus, “‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.” Ouch. Rodrigo is clearly going through it. A few lines before, Rodrigo writes, “And you’re probably with that blonde girl, who always made me doubt/She’s so much older than me/she’s everything I’m insecure about”.
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Senior Jacob Webster is crowned king. Webster said his favorite memory was riding the bike in his P.E. class.
Courtwarming
2021
Seniors Dera Okafor and Jacob Webster meet after being crowned 2021 Titan Courtwarming Queen and King. Okafor said her favorite memory in high school was “getting first place in all conference in original oratory.”
Senior Dera Okafor takes the crown. Okafor is involved in DECA, debate, and track.
Brooke Ellis, Olivia Berens, Jordan Brown, Dera Okafor and Anna Eulinger make up the class of 2021’s courtwarming queen nominees. This year, the crowning ceremony was limited to the nominees and their families. photos by McKenna Bell
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Courtwarming king nominees Nathan Lightfoot, Graham Hayes, Vincent VanBebber, Max Twogood stand with king Jacob Webster. This year, only seniors were recognized in the court.
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Carrying the tune in a pandemic Meghan Cox Like most things this school year, the band department’s annual holiday concert was canceled and replaced with a virtual concert, bringing a new set of challenges. The band was split up into woodwinds and brass for a few in-person practices during virtual learning. During rehearsals, students wear a facial mask with a slit over their mouth to be able to play. Additionally, students place a bell cover on the instrument to prevent air escaping into the open, and students are spaced out to follow social distancing guidelines. During the last in-person rehearsal, players completed a test run for the recording of the virtual concert. Still, the virtual concert had a different feel for players than years past. Clarinet player, junior Maddie Balsman said, “There is always an exciting and nervous energy about performing that can’t really be felt in a virtual concert.” Preparation for the concert looked different this year, Balsman said. During hybrid, they could practice in class. However, during virtual, practicing was left up to the students. “Mr. Thurmond, our conductor, really has to trust that we are practicing our music because he is not in the room to hear us play,” Balsman said. Clarinet player senior Anastacia Gibbs and her section have faced the challenge of not practicing together. “Before, we would use each other as a resource and play with each other,” Gibbs said, “Instead, all work had to be done alone with the hopes it would fit well with everyone else.” The entire band department has encountered an unpredictable year of in-class playing and learning. “It was also difficult to rehearse during hybrid learning because only half our class could be there at any given time,” Gibbs said. Flute player senior Rebekah Hartwig, said she has felt disconnected from her peers. “This year I feel separated from everyone and it feels like we are just band students playing a piece instead of an actual ensemble.” Hartwig has also felt a loss of motivation. “There have been many times where I wished I didn’t sign up for band since I don’t really get much of the pros to the class (like concerts, rehearsing together, etc).” Luckily, with some strong passion and private flute lessons, Hartwig said
she’s learned new things which helped bring back her motivation. Similar to band, the orchestra was forced to change their tempo during auditions for district and state choir. For district auditions, students recorded in class during hybrid learning. For Missouri, All-State Orchestra auditions students recorded virtually.
Junior Maddie Balsman (left front) has been in band since her freshman year. She said virtually concerts don’t generate the usual nervous energy that comes with performing. Photo courtesy of Anastacia Gibbs
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Senior Aly Gurtiza signs her letter of intent to play volleyball at Central Michigan University. Gurtiza made her third Missouri All State team this year after a season where she reached 1000 digs. Photo by McKenna Bell
Senior Devyn Dancy signs her letter of intent to run cross-country at Rockhurst University. Dancy was a part of the team that won state last year. Photo by McKenna Bell
Despite multiple injuries senior Cam Careswell signed to play NCAA Division One Baseball at the University of Missouri. Besides earning accolades as a pitcher and first baseman, Careswell also received all state honors on the football field. Photo by McKenna Bell
Winter signing day
Seniors Kendall Rivero, Logan Boenker, Grant McAtee, Shane Fredrickson, Dylan Halterman, Zachary Myers, Brady Pezzetti, Chase Taylor and Cam Careswell celebrate committing to play in college. Seven of them will continue to play either Football or Baseball at the collegiate level. Photo by McKenna Bell
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