The Harbinger Issue 3 2025-2026

Despite being in a freak accident four months before starting his job, lead custodial manager Chris Garrett remains a positive and kind voice at SM East

POSITIVE SWEEPINGLY

art through

magazine, “The Hand”

Retired coach Michael Chaffee continues his passion for cross country through photography

story by LUCIANA MENDY

story by SOPHIA BROCKMEIER

story by ADDY NEWMAN

THE HARBINGER

SEPTEMBER 29, 2025

online preview

staff list

EDITORS

PRINT EDITORS

Sophia Brockmeier

DESIGN EDITORS

Libby Marsh STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

ONLINE EDITORS

Luciana Mendy

Lucy Stephens

ASST. PRINT EDITORS

Avni Bansal

Michael Yi

ASST. ONLINE EDITOR

Christopher Long

HEAD COPY EDITORS

Libby Marsh

Luciana Mendy

ASST. HEAD COPY

EDITOR

Grace Pei PRINT

Paige Bean

Griffith

ASST.

Addie Clark

Molly Scott

Ava Towner

Tyler Russell

Addie Clark

Katie Cook

Sylvie DeGalan

Zac Russell

Preston Hooker Emma Weidman

Bella Broce

Sydney Eck

Evelyn Bagley

Lucy Swope

MENTORS

Lyla Weeks

Miranda Liberda

Julia Campbell

Tillie Paisner

Madeline Glasier

Devon McFadden

Ella Slicker

Kennedy Moore

Eisley Foster

SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL

Ashtyn Ingram NEWS

Addy Newman OPINION

Adyson Cooper

Julia Campbell

Paisner

Liberda

ART EDITOR

Francesca Lorusso

Julia Campbell

Annie Trenkle

Simon Shawver

Evelyn Geheb

Emma Weidman

Molly McDermed

Vivien Glenski

Anastasia Flower

Lexi Madden

Maggie Rogers

Layla Love

Sophia Cicero

Avra Welling

Darcy Kroening

Charlotte Walton

RJ Kordalski

Lexi Madden

Evelyn Gehab

Alex Harden

Avra Welling

political cartoon

here to visit the Harbinger website with stories, multimedia, videos, photos and more

here to visit the

Instagram account to view galleries, stories, videos and more

STAFF WRITERS

Vanessa Blades

Reese Dunham

Alex Harden

Sloane Henderson

Sienna Williams

Anya Hudson

Bridget Dean

Hannah Rosemann

Effie Roper

Preston Hooker

Adyson Cooper

Tillie Paisner

Ella Slicker

Eisley Foster

COPY EDITORS

Preston Hooker

Caroline Beal

Addy Newman

Mya Smith

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Bella Broce

Lucy Stephens

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Evelyn Bagley

Ashtyn Ingram STAFF

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF

Ashtyn Ingram

Evelyn Bagley

Adyson Cooper

Madeline Glasier

Devon McFadden

Sydney Eck

Lyla Weeks

Lucy Swope

ADS MANAGERS

Preston Hooker

Molly McDermed

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Zac Russell

CONTEST COORDINATORS

Christopher Long

Tyler Russell

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policy

The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion. The content and opinions of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quotes material may be confirmed with the sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content though letters may be edited for clarity, length or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 400 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com.

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cartoon by PRESTON HOOKER

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View a gallery of the varsity soccer game against Gardner Edgerton. gallery by AVA TOWNER, ADDIE CLARK & EVELYN GEHAB

Read a story reviewing David Mackenzie’s thriller film, “Relay.” story by CHRISTOPHER LONG

NEWS

stories by EFFIE ROPER

FAIR-

TRADITIONAL LY

SM East students share their experiences attending the annual Plaza Art Fair

THE KANSAS CITY Plaza held its annual art fair from Sept. 19 – 21, showcasing local paintings, sculptures, drawings, clay and more.

The event has become a top-ranked national art event with around 250,000 attendees featuring over 240 artists each year, according to PlazaArtFair.com.

The Plaza Art Fair attracts many SM East students, many coming with friends or family.

Sophomore Ashley St. Denis has been going to the event since she was 10-years-old.

“It’s one of my favorite traditions to do,” St. Denis said. “I always look forward to it each year, and I love watching the bands play.”

Jack Stack Barbeque, Fogo de Chao and more. Live music and bands filling all nine blocks of the Plaza.

Sophomore Holland Baldassaro visited for the first time this year.

IT’S ONE OF my favorite traditions to do. I always look f orward to it each year, and I love watching the bands play.

ASHLEY ST. DENIS SOPHOMORE

The fair covers the streets of the Plaza with numerous restaurant booths – Cooper’s Hawk,

OPPORTUNITIES

“The [Plaza] art isn’t really affordable for the average human,” Baldassaro said “But it is super cool to walk through and see different art values.”

Baldassaro encountered artists and restaurants she’d never heard before, opening her eyes to new genres of music and underground restaurants.

“I discovered [local singer] Greg Jacobson and have been listening to him ever since.”

Baldassaro said. “I also tried a new restaurant called Heritage, and I will be going again to eat there.”

UNLOCKED

Scholarship Shawnee Mission rewards college scholarships for Shawnee Mission students

SCHOLARSHIP SHAWNEE MISSION is a guide to help juniors and seniors attending a Shawnee Mission high school earn scholarships. They come every fall and connect with college and university partners to plan for the students’ future; raising over $5.7 billion in the district this year.

When the student applies for a scholarship on March 1 as a Junior and is offered a scholarship in the fall semester, they’re encouraged to research the institutions if they’re interested and later apply when they’re seniors.

scholarship day on Sept. 16 run smoothly.

“I help facilitate the delivery of their letters that students receive and help set up the day they come, when they let us know when they’re coming, and what they need,” Peres said. “I also set up how many spaces they need in our lot to park for colleges and what the space needs to look like.”

THEIR ROLE in our school district is to open doors for students to opportunities that they didn’t even know about.

JASON PERES PRINCIPAL

The goal every year is to connect students to universities that will offer scholarships, according to Jason Peres.

Principal Jason Peres, a facilitator for Scholarship Shawnee Mission, helped with

The foundation’s impact is rewarding— changing students’ lives each year by breaking the financial barriers that prevent them from reaching their academic goals, according to Peres.

“Their role in our school district is to open doors for students to opportunities that they didn’t even know about,” Peres said. “It lets students know about scholarship opportunities, impacting many students each year.”

HOW TO SIGN UP

All about Scholarship Shawnee Mission • Students’ parents go to Skyward • Enroll their students in the program there The steps:

What does this offer?

• The students transcripts and demographics are sent to college and university partners

Finally...

• Colleges can offer scholarships to better guide the students future before applying to any colleges

TOP LEFT Live bands from in and outside of Kansas City perform for an audience at the Plaza Art Fair.

BOTTOM LEFT A display in one of the booths around the fair shows intricately designed glass pieces. These pieces are available to buy, but are also displayed for attendees.

BANNED

but NEEDED

Students with diabetes face challenges with the Securly Pass system and phone ban

story by LIBBY MARSH

THIS YEAR, THE implementation of the Securly Pass system for all hall and nurse passes, and the ongoing restrictions on personal device use, have created additional challenges for students with diabetes.

The digital pass system, Securly Pass, only allows a certain number of people to leave at a time, sometimes preventing students from getting to the restroom or nurse quickly. The phone ban affects students with diabetes directly due to the need to constantly monitor blood sugar levels on their phones. This is done through a continuous glucose monitor that pairs with an app like Glucose Buddy, Diabetes Connect and One Drop.

Medical exemptions for these students allow them access to their phones at all times, and teachers have access to health information in Skyward, according to SM East nurse Stephanie Ptacek. Despite this access, it’s difficult to communicate to teachers which students need access to their phones.

“[The] challenge is how to communicate with teachers that certain students need to have unlimited access to their cell phones, even with the ban in place,” Ptacek said. “That’s been challenging because teachers have a lot of students to manage. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember who needs their phone and who just wants their phone.”

Teachers have called students out

for having their phones out to monitor blood sugar levels.

Senior Garrett Brown has Type 1 Diabetes and requires constant access to his phone for medical reasons. He has had teachers tell him to put his phone away.

“As soon as I explained what was going on, they were super understanding and apologetic,” Brown said. “So it was no big issue.”

Brown has found that taking initiative and communicating with teachers helps avoid any issues, and doesn’t believe that policy changes are necessary at the school and district level.

However, additional attention is still drawn to students if a teacher forgets their medical exemption. The nurse has proposed the idea that students can place a sticker on the back of their phone to indicate they require the devices for medical reasons. However, this would disclose private medical information and draw unnecessary attention.

“Their blood sugar can go up and down, and it’s not just food,” Ptacek said. “It’s emotional or activity levels or illness, so many things can play into that. And so they’re living an extra challenging teenage life. We want to try not to add to that or make it more difficult because they’re dealing with these blood sugar challenges constantly, every day. There’s no break from it.”

Associate principal Dr. Anna Thiele also recommends that students reach out to teachers at the beginning of the year and copy a parent on the email if there is medical

GET OFF CANDY CRUSH

information they need to know.

“I think that’s the place to start for students,” Thiele said. “And I truly do believe that we have understanding teachers who are flexible in these circumstances.”

As a former teacher, Thiele has had students with diabetes in class and always worked to accommodate them. She also appreciated when students took the initiative to reach out and tell her about their medical concerns.

“I always appreciated when a student was on top of it because the last thing I would want for the student is for them not to be able to manage it,” Thiele said. “Then let’s say they passed out in class, and then we have to get the nurse in there with a wheelchair. So I’ve always been appreciative of students who are able to model and advocate for what they need.”

Despite the additional challenges that the phone ban and pass system bring, no changes will be made to the current policy.

According to Nurse Ptacek, problems like this arise when a new system, like the passes and phone ban, is implemented.

“I just think that everyone is trying,” Ptacek said. “I think the teachers and staff are trying to be consistent with the pass system so that it works the way it’s supposed to. And so I think we have these little hiccups that we have to get through.”

How phones helpmanage diabetes

Students with type one diabetes use apps that help them manage their diabetes with efficiency

Notifies for upcoming doses, blood sugar checks and low or high sugar warnings synced with a constant glucose monitor.

Tracking

intake Sends alerts and reminders

carbohydrate

Easily tracks carbohydrate intake through an app and helps keep students’ blood sugar from getting too high or too low.

SAY YES TO PROGRESS SAY YES TO PROGRESS

The Youth Equity Stewardship group has created three goals to help foster an inclusive environment at SM East this year story by

THE YOUTH EQUITY

Stewardship group, a district-wide initiative used to empower student voices, had its first district-wide meeting on Sept. 16 at the Center for Academic Achievement. During the meeting, students discussed plans for the future on how to make the school district a more inclusive environment.

Although Y.E.S. is districtwide, students from different schools also had a chance to make personalized goals during the meeting.

The SM East Y.E.S. group outlined three core objectives for the year: inform students of the bullying reporting process, work with school leaders to spread awareness about inclusivity and publicize what both Y.E.S. and the Multicultural Student Union do around the school.

junior Sofia Paddock, SM East Y.E.S. will first be implementing the goal of increasing awareness about the reporting and discipline process. During the meeting, students from across the district raised concerns about bullying reports going unanswered.

Associate principal Anna Thiele who also attended the meeting, was able to explain that administrators are required to investigate all reports. But most of the time, the information in the reports isn’t sufficient enough for them to determine necessary aspects like the location, time or perpetrator, so they can’t take much action.

I THINK [students] want to make a change. They want to have an impact. And Y.E.S. club promotes leaders who want to do that and so many other aspects.

SOFIA PADDOCK JUNIOR

Y.E.S. collaborates with teachers and administrators to create a safe district community. Throughout the past few years, the club has been a part of making changes to the district’s discipline policies, teaching teachers how to respond to derogatory terms in their classroom and working with middle school students on self-advocacy.

“I want students to have ownership in their own experience, and adults to really take the time to listen to that and understand those experiences,” District Y.E.S. Coordinator Kaitlin Shulman said. “Because we are all in education for a reason, and usually it’s because of kids, so if we say that, we should really mean that on a deeper level.”

According to Y.E.S. member and

When discussing the bullying reporting process, students came to the consensus that the reporting system should be utilized more in order to hold students accountable for their behavior.

“I feel as though it is normalized, specifically at East, to brush things under the rug, especially when it comes to bullying or race or LGBTQ discriminatory remarks,” Paddock said.

Paddock believes that students not knowing how to use the online Report Bullying system leads to little action against discriminatory behavior.

“It just creates an unsafe environment in East when we don’t know how to report bullying,” Paddock said. “Or when people don’t feel like they need to or won’t get an actual response.”

The Y.E.S. students plan to make an informational video to be shown during advisory on how to correctly fill out a report with the necessary information that administrators need. They also

FUTURE SESSIONS

want to inform students about the process administrators are required to follow once they receive a report, to reassure students that their voice matters.

The Y.E.S. group also decided to create the goal of working more with school leaders, such as Student Council, Pep Club, teachers and coaches, to help make a stronger impact on any messages the club wants to get out to the student body.

“We can push for actual change to happen, because people will listen to [the leaders], “ Y.E.S. member and senior Shubra Durgavathi said. “Students will follow what they’re doing, especially with student leaders. Students will care more about what they have to say.”

The third goal of the year for the club is less concrete than the other two, according to Durgavathi, but the students plan to find a way to raise more awareness about groups like Y.E.S. and MCSU. The way in which they plan to achieve this goal is still being worked out.

According to Durgavathi, they made this goal to reassure students that action is being taken to help improve the school’s environment, and make sure students know these clubs are always open to new members.

In the past years, SM East has usually had the smallest group of students come to the Y.E.S. meetings compared to the other schools, according to Paddock. But this year, instead of just four to five SM East students, there were around 20. Paddock believes this shows students want to be more involved in making the school a better environment.

“I think [students] want to make a change,” Paddock said. “They want to have an impact. And Y.E.S. club promotes leaders who want to do that and so many other aspects, like creativity, having compassion or empathy and inclusion.”

Upcoming Y.E.S. and MCSU activities

KU Student Leadership Conference (Sept. 30)

Students will do interactive leadership activities on the KU campus to explore ideas about the value of community in school.

local

Midwest HALO Conference (Oct. 7)

The Hispanic American Leadership Organization will teach students how to overcome unexpected challenges in college.

design by MICHAEL YI photos by PAIGE BEAN

LUCIANA MENDY

LEFT SM West students Miley Truong and Paige Peiker hug after speaking about empathy versus sympathy.

TOP SM West students Taliyah Thompson and A’meera Fanella hand a microphone back to one of the Y.E.S. interns during “courageous conversations.”

RIGHT SM North student Sawyer Manirath grabs a piece of candy.

BOTTOM SM West student Antonio Dunn speaks about privilege within his

communities.

OPINION

hot take

story by EFFIE ROPER

TThe hate for Benson Boone’s summer song, “Mystical Magical,” is excessive

HE HIT SUMMER song

“Mystical Magical” by Bensone Boone is mystical, but there’s no magic to it.

Or that’s what most people say.

I heard nonstop gossip over the rising artist and his new song “Mystical Magical” over the summer and even more when I went to school

But, as I sat in my room, listening to the electronic blast of the introduction, I was shocked.

Leading to the lyrics and beat, I couldn’t understand why there was constant hate towards it. People shared mean comments making fun of the song’s lyrics. But the intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge of the song were all fantastic.

I instantly became a fan. I added his music to my Spotify playlists and researched how he rose to his fame by singing at pop-ups and auditioning for American Idol.

His new album, “American Heart”, came out not even a month after I first listened to him, which exposed me to

more of his music, such as “I’m Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else,” “Mr. Electric Blue” and “Man in Me.”

It was one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. I listened to it constantly, and eventually reached Benson Boone’s top 1% of listeners in two weeks on Spotify. He then announced his “American Heart” world tour through his socials, which, to my disappointment, wasn’t coming to Kansas City.

I voiced my adoration of him to my friends and instantly received backlash. They said he’s “weird” and “screeched instead of sang”. But I’d want to see them try to sing that high a note.

I decided to keep listening to him, ignoring what people would say. I followed his socials for updates of his music and tour and became a big supporter of his music career.

Boone’s music continues to amaze me with his high-pitched vocals, interesting lyrics and crazy flips. I will continue to support him through his journey as a rising artist, moon-beaming my playlists with his new releases.

Students give their opinions on why they like Benson Boone we asked you...

*Instagram poll of 468 votes DO YOU THINK BENSON BOONE DESERVES THE HATE HE RECEIVES?

HARPER NEWTON SOPHOMORE

I THINK “MYSTICAL Magical” wasn’t one of his best , but his other songs really recover from that and he’s a good artist overall. The hate he gets is just from that one song.

AUGIE WALSH SOPHOMORE

NO, I DON’T think that he deserves the hate he gets because he’s a young and upcoming artist. We shouldn’t be hating on someone whose career is just blooming.

comic strip by SOPHIA BROCKMEIER

design by ADYSON COOPER

photos by SOPHIA CICERO

FOR: 6 AGAINST: 1

The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against.

EMPATHY FOR ALL

HModern society is so desensitized to school shootings, that it creates more attention when someone with a public presence is the victim

E WAS KILLED for his political views.

No politics, just prayer. I don’t support what happened to Charlie, but Charlie supported what happened to Charlie.

Hundreds of students posted Instagram stories with captions like these on Sept. 10, the date of American political activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Students were either mourning his death, or criticizing the people mourning his death.

There was so much media being posted, shared and reposted in a matter of minutes, leaving no room to decipher how to feel about the situation.

With many things to be considered, one was, should we really feel bad about someone who said so many controversial things? To think of this question left a guilty feeling due to the grotesque video released of Kirk being shot. However, the things Kirk said were completely immoral and frequently crossed the line of being merely political.

Kirk said that if his daughter were raped, the she would still have to carry the baby, in a debate video posted by Jubilee. He also said, “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s,” according to Wired. And ironically, “I think it’s worth [it] to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so we can have the Second Amendment to protect our

other god-given rights,” according to the New York Times.

Kirk was openly racist and misogynistic. And he was proud of it. Does that mean he deserved to die? No.

American society, specifically today’s high schoolers, is very familiar with the fact that school shootings are a regular occurrence.

Almost too aware. As terrible as it may be, when the word “shooting” appears on the news feed, no one is surprised. Society is desensitized. People will skim through the article and devote five minutes of time to reading about what happened, but at the end of the day, those lost lives become another statistic.

The difference is, Kirk isn’t the typical victim of an average shooting. The victims of shootings are so often that when the victim happens to a wellknown activist who travels to colleges and preaches offensive words, people pay attention.

So much so that Oct. 14 was officially named the National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk by the House and the Senate, but there is no current day of remembrance for the thousands of school shooting victims. If there are going to be national holidays for shooting victims, there can’t be selective empathy.

As of Sept. 10, the day that Kirk died, there have been 47 school shootings in 2025 in the U.S., according to CNN. This averages around five per month. This

THE NUMBERS

doesn’t even factor in shooting incidents that aren’t on school grounds.

Through the mixed emotions, one question stood out: Why is society just now rallying for change relating to gun violence? It was unheard of for this many people in high school to spam their Instagram stories with tributes, so why do it for someone whose goal and messages were inherently filled with hate and judgment?

Kirk’s death was violent, and the immediate posting of the uncensored video of him being shot was absolutely uncalled for. But if it takes a young, white and hateful man’ for certain people to address gun violence in the U.S., then the views and morals of society as a whole are seriously skewed.

Columbine in 1999. The Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Sandy Hook in 2012. And just a couple of weeks ago, the shooting at the Catholic school in Minnesota. These are just the most well-known. But if every gun-violence incident was listed in this story, it wouldn’t fit on the page.

Statistics about shootings in the U.S. since January 2025

47 SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

3.4 AVG. DEATHS

Gun violence needs to end, and it certainly won’t if it is only recognized when the victim is someone who was widely known on social media. Every kid who is a victim of a school shooting has an identity, and mourning isn’t

1,714 FATALITIES

22% IN SCHOOLS *according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government

4,371 VICTIMS 21 CHURCH SHOOTINGS

OUT

of the

story by SLOANE HENDERSON

THE SMILE ON my face instantly faded when I saw the dreaded inner and outer circle after walking into room 504.

I forgot the Socratic seminar was today. For the next 45 minutes, due to our large class size, I was talked over, ignored and scrutinized by my 30 classmates, trying to interrupt and earn as many summative points as possible.

Sitting in that circle, based on the anxious faces around me, I could tell what other people were thinking, myself included. “Ok, when this person finishes, I need to jump in. Was that comment “contributing” enough? How can I add to this discussion again?”

These were my least favorite days of the year as a freshman — worse than any test days.

Socratic seminars — structured group discussions designed to encourage learning and analysis — always go poorly because they are not executed correctly in classrooms. Worse than that, they fail to achieve their goal of student-led

PREP WORK

discussion and learning, resulting in grades that poorly reflect students’ actual knowledge.

Teachers must change their Socratic seminars to literature circles, small discussions used in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes, to better benefit students.

Socratic seminars are usually used in English classes to analyze a text or book that the class has read. They’re supposed to allow students to look closely at the story, build on what they’ve covered in class and ask each other questions to analyze the text deeply.

But, Socratic seminars aren’t all what they’re said to be. The definition overlooks the fact that it creates unproductive pressure on students.

Introverts, simply put, struggle. The majority of students don’t look forward to speaking in front of the class, with all eyes on them. Some would rather take a bad grade than have 30 of their peers stare at them while trying to come up with something to say.

And, for extroverts, this is the easiest type of test. All they have to do is dominate the conversation with mostly meaningless points and they get an A plus.

Teachers claim they’ll ensure everyone gets the chance to speak, but helping

when 30 other students are also trying to force their way into the conversation.

Not to mention the grading. To determine a grade, teachers look at how prepared a student is, if their comments contribute to the conversation and how many times they speak.

However, the grading of the speaking portion itself varies from teacher to teacher. Most of the time, it’s based on how other students perform.

One method is tallying up the total number of comments, then dividing by the number of students to find the average amount each person should’ve spoken. After seeing the average, individual grades are given based on whether students performed above or below average. Another way is grading a student’s total times speaking out of the student who spoke the most.

For example, even if an introvert makes three deep, insightful comments, it doesn’t compare to an extrovert who has five surface-level comments.

To combat these shallow comments, teachers say that a comment only counts if it contributes to the conversation. But in every class, that changes because “contributing” is subjective.

One day it’s using textual evidence, the next it’s making an argumentable claim,

means the length of your comment or how many times you speak.

But I’m not writing an entire story just to say we should completely eliminate Socratic seminars. They have good concepts and goals like discussion, learning and analysis. Yet they are ineffective in 30-person classes.

AP and IB English classes use methods similar to Socratic seminars; however, they’re called literature circles.

In these, students gather in groups of five to seven to discuss the recent book the class read.

The teacher then circulates the room, listening to snippets of each conversation to ensure the students are on track and gathering the necessary information for grading, still allowing it to be completely student-led.

Literature circles encourage actual discussion, not just making statements in an overcrowded circle and in turn, students are more comfortable discussing their analysis and connecting with their classmates — ultimately improving their learning.

The bottom line is, Socratic seminars are outdated and overused. It’s time for teachers to switch it up and admit that what they’re doing isn’t working. Literature circles are more beneficial to students, promoting the same skills as Socratic seminars, but without the

Reasoning

art by FRANCESCA LORUSSO

NOT SO FLUENT

Duolingo doesn’t help foreign language learning and isn’t practical

story by REESE DUNHAM

ISEE THE daily Duolingo notification to save my streak of 576 days pop onto my phone screen just as I’m about to go to bed.

I then let out a long sigh when my lesson for the day had the exact same vocabulary I’ve been learning since I started my streak. Almost two years ago.

I finish the lesson in around two minutes, roll my eyes and think, Wow, I did not learn anything new .

Duolingo is an app that offers learning for 43

languages through automated lessons. According to Duolingo’s website, the app’s main purpose is to teach languages and facilitate basic conversations.

However, my years of experience with the app have found both to be untrue.

Initially, when downloading Duolingo, a learner will select which course they would like to complete, and then take a placement test. Then, the app decides what level of difficulty to start the learner at.

Throughout the course, the learner will encounter basic language lessons like speaking, listening and stories, but there are also more engaging lessons that were recently added, like video games and video calls with one of the characters. But here’s the issue with Duolingo: the content doesn’t get more challenging as you go through the course. I should no longer be seeing clunky and basic sentences like “Are these your apples?” and “I see the car,” two years into learning Spanish on

It would be much more helpful to study the numerous Spanish conjugations and expand my vocabulary every day, especially if traveling to a different country. If I travel to Spain, my first question isn’t going to be, “Hello, are these your apples?”

The entertaining lessons throughout each section and unit, the characters vital 576-day streak are the only features that keep me going on my Duolingo journey.

I cannot comprehend the chokehold that my streak has on me. It cannot be broken. Ever. I refuse to give up on the progress I’ve made.

THOUGHTS ON

SOMETIMES THE lessons don’t correlate with what you’re actually learning in the class.

Duolingo features a few cartoon characters that appear in each lesson to help you progress. Each of them have their own memorable personalities that correspond with their respective stories or lessons, making it exciting to see what the lessons will be.

The only character I’m not a fan of is Duolingo himself. He’s weird and creepy, and if I haven’t done a lesson that day, the app will spam me with notifications

Also known as experience points, XP are Duolingo points that are earned for completing lessons

that say “Reese, I’m very impatient. You know what time it is.” or “Nobody ignores me...for long. Do your lessons.”

None of my Spanish classes in school have required me to complete Duolingo lessons as homework, so it’s my own decision to continue just for the streak.

The real-life applications that Duolingo claims to achieve, like basic conversations and vocabulary, are not accomplished. For the amount of time I spend doing lessons, such as stories and video games, I haven’t learned anything worthwhile.

Another problem that makes Duolingo impractical is the energy system.

The free version of Duolingo has a system where, in each lesson, you’re allotted 25 energy points. For every question you answer, you use energy, but when you get questions correct, you gain back energy.

This is incredibly annoying, especially for some students who need to earn a

DUO

back during lessons, they can’t earn their assigned XP amount for the week. The only way to avoid this problem is to upgrade to Duolingo Super or Max. These are paid plans that offer unlimited energy, no ads and many other features. Currently, Super Duolingo is priced at $12.99 per month, and Duolingo Max is $29.99 per month. However, for students who are using these platforms for homework and aren’t going to upgrade, they can’t complete the homework.

Despite its valid attempt to create a widespread language learning opportunity, Duolingo’s app systems for school homework are impractical, and the platform is essentially useless for basic conversations.

If you are looking for a way to discover and master foreign languages, the only thing Duolingo is going to teach you is how to ask random and obscure questions. If you want to learn about more than food and plane tickets, Duolingo isn’t the place.

Students talk about their experience with Duolingo

PAIGE WILDMAN SOPHOMORE

I HONESTLY JUST think that Duolingo isn’t even teaching us anything.

SYDNEY GEFFERT FRESHMAN

I THINK DUOLINGO can be helpful with more specific things that we wouldn’t really learn in class. Like, besides vocab I think it’s beneficial for sure.

BLANKA STRANDELL JUNIOR

MARCHING TOWARD VICTORY

SCAN ME PHOTO

Scan here to view and purchase photos of the Marching Band’s Practices

while playing the cymbals for the marching band routine. Positioned in the front of the ensemble on percussion, Jones helped keep the tempo steady, which was a key component for the performance, guiding both the color guard and musicians through the routine.

LEFT Freshman Reece Jones focuses on the sheet music

photo by Tyler Russell

BELOW Freshman Cora Lickteig plays the xylophone to warm up for the band’s rehearsal of “Baroquen Glass” before school.

photo by FRANCESCA LORUSSO

LEFT Junior Evelyn Desalvo waves her decorative flag during set eight of the marching band routine. The color guard included 18 JV Lancer Dancers, a change from previous years when only the varsity Lancer Dancers performed.

photo by TYLER RUSSELL

ABOVE Sophomore Harrison Seymour and the tuba players warm-up their tubas during zero hour practice. photo by FRANCESCA LORUSSO

FEATURE

this week in PHOTOS

A look inside student life during the past two weeks

GRAHAM’S COFFEE

Freshman Graham Geheb created and runs his business, Frederick’s Coffee

Inspiration:

People were making businesses on social media and he wanted to create his own

Biggest challenge: Frederick’s Coffee is promoted through Instagram, telling people about it and is sold at his mom’s store, Narrative Promoting:

Marketing the coffee

Favorite part:

Geheb’s biggest joy in running his business is seeing people enjoying what he makes

Goals:

His longterm vision of Frederick’s is to expand the business to other places like farmers markets or his dad’s office’s coffee shop

MEET THE

CHILDREN’S PLACE

TEEN BOARD

Get to know why two students joined the Children’s Place Teen Board and their favorite service project

JOSH WEHNER SENIOR

I JOINED BECAUSE these kids need good character in their life because they’ve been through so much. I participated in making valentines for the kids, these gifts mean more than we could’ve imagined and the kids in the program appreciated them since they never really received gifts like this before.

ANNE BOWSER JUNIOR

I THOUGHT JOINING would be a way to connect with my community. My favorite [drive] I’ve done was the diaper drive. We all made signs and posted on social media to promote it prior to the event. We stood outside the Macy’s in Prairie Village to accept donations. After we all got Einsteins.

design by JULIA CAMPBELL photos by EVELYN GEHEB

ABOVE Sophomore Dave Williams and juniors Gunnar Stallbaumer and Cole Person explain and test a robot they made in their robotics class.

photo by ANASTASIA FLOWER

RIGHT

Sophomore Lila Henry kneads dough for soft pretzels being made in foods class.

photo by DARCY KROENING

photo by MOLLY SCOTT

ABOVE In her ceramics class, senior Kate Jones practices using the potter’s wheel by sculpting a cylinder.

50fink WITH

Art teacher Adam Finkelston shares his passion for art with his students by curating an art magazine, “The Hand”

SNEAK PEEK

of the

MAGAZINE

Covers from Finkelston’s magazine

DOZENS OF MAGAZINES

are peeking out of and are tucked between the shelves of a wooden cabinet by the doorway of Room 231.

Amongst copies of photography journals and National Geographic catalogs, there’s one magazine that stands out due to the unique linocut cover — “The Hand.”

LI NO CUT

A print made from a design cut into a piece of rubber-like material

Adam Finkelston — the art teacher in Room 231 — co-edits “The Hand”, a print and photography magazine that’s based on viewing art in-person. Finkelston doesn’t always contribute to his magazine, instead he includes other artists, but he curates the pieces that eventually are included.

“One of the foundational missions of the magazine is that art should be experienced in person as much as possible,” Finkelston said. “Looking at art on a screen just doesn’t cut it. Seeing [art] physically — it’s different. You can turn around and look at it quickly. You can sneak up on it. You can look at it from across the room.”

Finkelston publishes “The Hand” four times a year, and shares his passion for the arts with his students through the magazine.

“I think it’s just cool, because it seems so much more legit, and it makes you look up to your teacher,” senior and AP Studio Art student Makena Pruitt said. “It’s like if your English teacher wrote books. You kind of feel like you’re getting more of a genuine source. You can tell that [teachers] are passionate about their subject if they’re also doing it outside [of class].”

“The Hand” is distributed to around 700 subscribers around the

world. These subscribers are found around the United States and many other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China and Brazil. The artists, featured in “The Hand,” are from many of these countries.

But, a wide range of local artists can sometimes be featured in “The Hand.” These contributors are chosen by Finkelston and his co-editor and former SM East art teacher, James Meara. Many times, Finkelston and Meara find the artists through social media or art galleries.

Finkelston’s goal with “The Hand” is to represent artists as people, and to get to “the humanity of the artists that make the work.” So, he conducts interviews with artists to ask about their studio space, inspiration and specific art pieces for the magazine.

“I’m an art fan, I love art, and there’s a lot of artists who I really admire,” Finkelston said. “Having a magazine allows me to contact [artists] and either give them a platform to show their work or even interview them.”

Recently, Finkelston talked to his long-time inspiration Dan Estabrook, a New York-based photographer, about his contribution to the upcoming issue.

“[Estabrook] is an artist whose work I was looking at [in college],” Finkelston said. “I had no idea that I would ever get to meet him or talk to him. And then a couple months ago, I got to interview him.”

Talking to artists is still Finkelston’s favorite part of the magazine, even after 11 years of publishing. However, “The Hand” wasn’t always a 700-subscriber and 80-artist magazine.

wanted to make another [magazine],” Finkelston said. “And then we’ll make enough money from that one that we can make another one. It was definitely living paycheck to paycheck sort of at the beginning, we didn’t know how long it would last.”

Now, Finkelston is getting ready to celebrate issue 50 of “The Hand,” releasing on Oct. 10.

During class, it’s hard for Finkelston’s students not to notice the passion he puts into the art.

Seniors and co-presidents of Art Club Pruitt and Natalie Jones each spend one period in Finkelston’s class, working on their AP Studio Art portfolios.

As a part of the AP Studio Art class, Jones takes field trips during class to local artistic venues such as Finkelston’s personal art studio in Old Overland Park. Last year Jones visited the space where Finkelston creates prints such as the colorful ones featured in “The Hand.”

“He really loves art, and he wants to see it all the time,” Jones said. “The magazine is just another passion project; he just loves his art.”

I HAD NO idea that I would ever get to meet him or talk to him. And then a couple months ago, I got to interview him.

ADAM FINKELSTON ART TEACHER

“We started this thing, and we just

Copies of “The Hand” are always available during class in the crowded, wooden cabinet, and students look at them during class.

“He’s very passionate,” Pruitt said. “He teaches full-time to students and he curates a whole magazine. If that’s not passion, I don’t know what is. And if that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.”

story by SOPHIA BROCKMEIER

EXPLORING

Chamber

A look into the close bonds between students in the audition-only choir

WHO IS... MR. FOLEY?

SM East choir teacher for eighteen years

CHOIR

Even if we’re just going over one bar, again, it means something to put that much effort into such a little piece of music because it shows that this music is doing and the message it’s giving to all of us and the audience. WE REALLY CARE about what OVER AND OVER AND OVER IT MEANS

SENIOR

[MR. FOLEY]

Building a community, especially in Chambers. And I think he does that by making sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Specifically in share time, he makes sure that

EVERY SINGLE PERSON SO MANY PEOPLE

gets a chance to share. […] Just creating that space for everyone to talk to each other is really nice, because there are in Chambers [who] I had no idea went to our school before, [...] now I’m friends with everybody and it’s crazy, because we’re all from such different groups.

JUNIOR

WHAT IS... CHAMBER CHOIR?

The only audition choir at SM East, that involves gigs and an additional choir class

*Instagram poll of 130 votes HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE CHAMBER CHOIR PERFORM? YES NO

*The higher the number, the lower the range

18 LOCAL LANCER

NATALIE

Senior Natalie Jones makes and thrifts materials for her own beaded jewelry

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DECIDE TO MAKE YOUR OWN JEWELRY?

“I remember being in a thrift store and seeing a really gross-looking necklace that I’d never wear, but there were some really cool beads on there, and I thought, ‘Wait, I’d love that.’”

HOW HAS JEWELRY GIVEN YOU A WAY TO EXPRESS YOURSELF?

“I feel like a lot of jewelry people typically wear today is very similar, and people tend to limit themselves and constrain their styles. But when you make your own stuff, you do it based on what you like. I love mixing metals and using different materials for pieces, and it just feels cool to have something that’s like ‘I love all of this, and I made it because I like it.’”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST PLACES TO FIND MATERIALS?

• BLESSINGS ABOUND 10325 Metcalf Ave. Overland Park

• RIVER MARKET ANTIQUES 115 W. Fifth St. River Market

• OUTDOOR MUSIC FESTIVALS

BEST

Some of Jones’s favorite bracelets she’s made

EACH bracelet is made of thrifted vintage glass beads

THE colors from each piece match Jones’s most worn colors so they can be matched to her outfits

design by TILLIE PAISNER

Senior debater Ishaan Home continues SM East’s legacy of elite debate while supporting the next generation as a cadet teacher and mentor

MASTERING ARGUMENT MASTERING

AS SENIOR ISHAAN Home writes the day’s topic on the whiteboard, the debate room hangs heavy.

Heavy with the weight of the monstrous trophies that overflow from the shelf rungs to the counters. Heavier from the perplexed heads of novice debaters, lost in the lesson.

Three of the colossal trophies are Home’s, past triumphs at debate tournaments in Iowa and Topeka. Someday, he hopes the freshmen around him will bring home even larger awards. But for now, they’re still shaky and new to the hectic, research-based combat Home has grown to love obsessively over the past four years.

Home turns back toward the class — his class.

“What is the job of the 2AC [speaker]? It’s to answer the 1NC speech, and what?”

A small voice rises from a table in the corner. “To build up the original argument.”

“Exactly. Don’t let your opponent control the direction of the debate,” Home replies, gesturing his Expo marker in wild orbits as he projects his voice.

“The 1AC speech is like your baby as a 2AC [speaker], because that’s you, right? You’re captain of the affirmative

ship. So you need to keep extending the affirmative throughout the debate.”

As both novice debate cadet teacher and varsity debater, Home spends first and third hour back-to-back in the debate room; first prepping to compete at the top level, then passing on fundamentals to newcomers. In his final year, Home aims to win national tournaments while inspiring younger debaters to share his passion for the activity.

Before Home joined debate, before he could read speeches about indigenous land law at speeds north of 300 words per minute, he was just a middle schooler with an interest in foreign countries and environmentalism. He wrote petitions to reduce paper waste and essays in social studies class about the Partition of India, but he’d never had a judge declare his arguments right or wrong.

When Home joined debate at SM East, he found a space where he could expand on his political knowledge through competition. He learned how to write rebuttal speeches using minimal prep time. How to take notes on an opponent’s speeches in as few words as possible. And how winning felt after an intense two-hour round.

“Debate gave me this competitive feeling, which I thought was really cool,” Home said. “I like to win. I don’t always win, but I like to win.”

Not only could he conduct year-long

THE EFFECT

The effect Ishaan’s work as a cadet teacher had on novices

ANDREW WATERS FRESHMAN

AS A CADET TEACHER, he’s just so much more direct, which I think is really helpful in a topic like debate. It’s so straight to the point in debate itself, so it’s helpful to have someone that just cuts straight to what you need to know.

research on topics such as the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance and fiscal distribution, but he could also discuss these topics within a community of nonstereotypical nerds, from cheerleaders to student journalists.

In his junior year, he was inspired by then-seniors Lucy Pace, Sophie Leonard and Jaxson Terreros — learning from the style of their delivery, casual mentorship of underclassmen and constant research.

Last summer, Home attended the same seven-week University of Michigan debate camp they did, spending more than 10 hours a day debating, researching and listening to lectures in Ann Arbor. And this fall, Home teaches a novice debate class, just like Pace and Leonard.

“He’s always been a strong debater, but he’s really stepped up tremendously as a leader of the squad for both the advanced kids and the novices,” debate teacher Trey Witt said. “He’s probably the strongest leader I’ve ever had.”

Between teaching, going to tournaments and reading upwards of 20 research papers a week, Home is spending over 30 hours a week on debate — nearing the commitment of a full-time job. Home and his new partner, junior Gray Snyder, are shooting for the top two tournaments this year — the Tournament of Champions and the National Speech and Debate finals, where Ishaan placed third last year.

In the twilight of his high school debate career, Home hopes to give everyone a chance to compete at a high level, whether it’s through introductory lessons to novices or slideshows to advanced debaters.

“He’s absolutely amazing,” freshman and novice Andrew Waters said. “He’s really, really good at teaching debate because he’s so fresh in the mindset of what he’s talking about.”

Home recognizes that some are only in the class for the communications or honors credit. But for him, the massive time investment and insane argumental juggling that define competitive debate are exactly what make the activity so fulfilling.

“This isn’t an activity that’s all about research,” Home said. “It’s a place where you build connections, make friends, have fun, and talk about what you want to talk about. And you don’t have to be a certain type of person to do that.”

OH MY GOSH. He’s great. He’s great at teaching. He gets to the point, he’ll explain things, and he’ll re-explain them if need be. He definitely seems to know exactly what he’s talking about, and shows that he loves debate and everything about it.

photos by ZAC RUSELL

GIGI HOFFMANN FRESHMAN

story by MICHAEL YI

let’s get

COOKING

JUNIOR CARTER WRIGHT

had all of his ingredients — a $35, 16-ounce steak, extravirgin olive oil, Montreal steak seasoning, butter, pepper and salt. Latin hip-hop music blasted from his Alexa. He put on his blue sunglasses and infamous white chef’s hat.

A two-foot ring light balanced on his kitchen countertop, holding his phone. He pressed record.

Then came his favorite part: yelling.

“Welcome back, ya’ll,” Wright shouted at his phone. “Today we’re gonna be cooking up some steak. Let’s get cookin’.”

He gets to work. He seasons and brushes the two steaks with butter and heats the grill pan. Then, after asking his Alexa what temperature the steak should be, he cooks the steaks on each side for two minutes until the inside reaches 135 degrees.

After the steaks are cut up and on his signature red plate, Wright edits the one-hour process into a 40-second Instagram video using CapCut — he even bought the premium version two weeks ago for $10 a month so he could access the special effects, filters and

templates.

“I just add a bunch of random transitions one after another to make [the video] chaotic,” Wright said. “It turns out perfect.”

Wright posted his first cooking video on his main TikTok account in midJuly — the same time he began cooking. Wright says it was spur of the moment; he was cooking at his friend’s house and thought it’d be fun to film it. Now, he has an Instagram account dedicated solely to cooking, where he uploads videos three to four times a week.

He’s not only focused on the food. To Wright, bringing energy and personality to the kitchen is just as important.

Wright doesn’t cook alone. There are around 10 others featured on his Instagram — friends, coworkers and classmates who assist with camerawork and try Wright’s food.

In his foods class, he met senior Willow Austin, and after small talk and a messy microwave cookie explosion, the two decided to start a cooking club.

“Carter didn’t have a lot of ideas on how to kick start [the club],” Austin said. “And I feel like I just kind of did. So he was like, ‘Wanna be Vice President and try to turn this into more?’ He’s the

their GroupMe, AP Government teacher Jacob Penner as their club sponsor and even a treasurer — junior Sheehan Hensley. Hensley will manage future donations and reach out to Hy-Vee and other local grocery stores to determine if they are interested in contributing supplies and ingredients.

“Carter came into my seminar one time, and he was just right there talking about it, so I thought I’d join,” Hensley said. “I just hope that we’re able to make some nice meals and get some highquality ingredients from people who’ll donate to us.”

Along with meeting Austin in foods class, Wright also became friends with sophomore and Spanish exchange student Jaime de Sandoval de la Cruz.

To spice up his two-hour Spotify playlist, “cookinwitcarter bangers”, Wright turned to de la Cruz for song recs — one of which was a Spanish hip-hop track called Dembow y Reggaeton.

“[Spanish music] is energetic, and it puts me in a happy mindset,” Wright said. “I can’t understand the words. It’s

various catchphrases in Spanish.

His cooking goes beyond collaboration; Wright often prepares meals for others. He made mango habanero chicken with mac and cheese for his mom, prepping it into glass containers for her to take to work for lunch. He also brought fried chicken to the daycare he works at, bringing it to five of his coworkers to taste-test.

“He brought in food that he had cooked for a food review and had [my friends] try it and make a video about it, and they all thought it was really good,” junior Mary Marsden, Wright’s coworker, said.

Marsden, Austin and Hensley have all noticed the 100 “Join Cooking Club” posters Wright has displayed around the school, smiling about how Wright’s club is growing. They all describe Wright the same way: hilarious.

“He doesn’t hide anything in his videos,” Austin said. “He’s outgoing, he’s very fun and he’s also just passionate about cooking. Carter isn’t filming these videos just to film them. He cares.”

CARTER PRESIDENT: WRIGHT

brainstorms ideas on how to organize monthly meetings The

answers any club-related questions

gets more people engaged in the club through word of mouth

story by AVNI BANSAL

Junior Carter Wright grows his cooking hobby through Instagram and support from his friends

Scan this QR code to join the GroupMe for Carter’s Cooking Club.

SCAN ME GROUPME

chefs behind the SM East Cooking Club

Carter chooses his top three songs from his spotify playlist “Cookinwitcarter Bangers”

Scan this QR code to check out Carter’s cooking Instagram account.

ABOVE Junior Carter Wright assembles his ringlight in order to get the perfect lighting for his Instagram video.

photo by AVA TOWNER

ABOVE Junior Carter Wright’s video materials are ready: seasoned steaks and his phone. photo by AVA TOWNER

ABOVE Senior Willow Austin and junior Carter Wright begin filming a review of the pizza they made in their intro to foods class.

photo by ADDIE CLARK

ABOVE Junior Carter Wright records the medium-rare steak he cooked for his Instagram account. photo by AVA TOWNER

bAlancing

THE

Senior Andrew Bennett is making the most of his senior year with a positive attitude and a busy schedule

BEAT

S SENIOR Andrew Bennett drives to school before the sun rises — a daily routine — he pictures his day: band, school,

Other students may have to be at school or go to after school practices, but Bennett’s energy and work ethic set him

At 6:30 a.m. on a Monday, Bennett is already at school getting ready to direct the marching band as a drum major. After his zero hour, an early morning band practice that also takes up first hour, Bennett finishes his other three classes of the day and heads straight to the locker room to get ready for soccer practice. After two hours of soccer, he can finally head home for the day.

Between varsity soccer, marching band, church events, volunteering and homework, Bennett’s schedule is packed.

Despite minimal free time, Bennett always shows up to every practice, game or performance with plenty of energy and a willingness to work.

“When he’s out [on the field], he’s busting his tail,” varsity soccer

Andrew’s weekly schedule

Andrew’s daily schedule, hour by hour

coach Jamie Kelly said. “He’s doing everything that we ask him to do. He’s out there trying to [play] to the best of his ability, and that speaks volumes for everybody else.”

Bennett’s strong work ethic is one of the main reasons he made the varsity team his senior year and has achieved such success, according to Kelly.

It’s Bennett’s first year on varsity, but that doesn’t stop him from getting enough playing time to make an impact. Bennett uses the minutes he has to step up and prove how good a player he is by scoring goals for the team.

“He’s worked hard every year to try to get to the varsity level and that’s a testament to his hard work,” Kelly said.

Bennett pairs his work ethic with unwavering energy and a good attitude that doesn’t go unnoticed by his peers. This positive outlook stands out during early morning band practices, according to fellow band member, senior Jack Stratemeier.

“Even if you know he had a hard day, he still brings a lot of energy to [practice], which is a good thing,” Stratemeier said.

In addition to soccer and band, Bennett spends time volunteering at his church, Country Club Christian Church, located on Ward Parkway.

“I do try and volunteer a lot with my church and stuff, like mission trips,” Bennett said. “That’s a part of

the church’s experience.”

Bennett has enjoyed multiple mission trips — the most recent ones being Fort Worth, Tennessee, in 2024 and Ecuador in 2023.

“I’ve gone both domestic and international [mission trips], so it’s been super cool,” Bennett said.

Bennett’s ability to spend time helping his community is admirable, according to Stratemeier, and so is his ability to stay positive when his schedule gets busy.

High energy can uplift any group, but Bennett takes it one step further and demonstrates his genuine care for the communities he’s involved in. He is constantly setting up and taking down equipment before and after band practices and helping anyone who needs it, according to Stratemeier.

“He’s at school at 6:15 a.m. in the morning almost every day,” Stratemeier said. “And he stays late and he helps out with everyone else in the band.”

Bennett enjoys staying busy and has gained many important and lifelong skills through his numerous extracurricular activities.

“You always have fun while you’re [participating in extracurriculars], but it definitely taught me a lot of skills like good work ethic and putting time away for working on things,” Bennett said.

HANNAH ROSEMANN

A&E

local spotlight

Paris Baguette’s pastries resemble authentic French cuisine

story by VANESSA BLADES

THE NEXT TIME I dream about going to Paris, France to see the Eiffel tower and taste the delicious food, I’ll go to the dark blue building in Overland Park, Kansas next to Oak Park Mall. This Paris-inspired pastry shop, Paris Baguette opened on June 17 under the ownership of Mike Issa. The inside was filled with people and beautiful pastries. The food at Paris Baguette was served buffet style. You grab a plate and a pair of tongs hanging on a cart, and then walk around and choose from the 25 pastries they have to offer.

Once you finish going through the aisle of pastries, you wait in line by a display case of cakes available to buy. When I came, I was not expecting this unique style of shop, but I found the method to be super fast and worked efficiently.

I got the “crookie” which is one of their most popular items, according to Issa. It’s

half croissant and half a chocolate chip cookie baked together. It was around five dollars. I would give it a 10 out of 10 stars as it was cooked just right, not too hard and not too soft, and tasted amazing,

Next, I got the sugar mochi donut. I found the texture different, almost as if it wasn’t fully cooked or like a gummy candy as it was chewy. I would give it a seven out of 10. It had a very subtle flavor with sugar on top. It wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t get it again, since it was plain and boring.

The last item I got was a medium slice of rainbow cake that came with a strawberry to top it off. I would give this a four out of 10. It tasted exactly like fruity pebbles, no difference, not my favorite as there was too much going on at once in my mouth . It had every color of the rainbow going down in rows with white frosting on top. I would not get this again, but it’s pleasing to look at.

As much as it wasn’t a trip to Paris, Paris Baguette sure made up for my craving for French pastries.

The Wrong Paris

and highly discussed movies

Cast - Miranda Cosgrove, Pierson Fode, Maddison Pettis

Released - Sept. 12

Genre - Comedy , Romance

Summary - An aspiring artist finds herself on a reality dating show very unexpectedly

Unknown Number

Cast - Lauryn Licari , Owen McKenny

Released - Aug. 29

Genre - Documentary, True crime

Summary - A chilling documentary showing how a teenage girl and her boyfriend were harassed by a cyberstalker that’s revealed to be the girl’s mother

I WAS JUST thinking this poor girl –– like how could a mom do that to her kid , and how can she lie about it so easily and for so long. BELLA KELLY JUNIOR

PAISNER

ABOVE Customers browse the pastry selection at Paris Baguette’s counter on a busy afternoon.

ABOVE Pairs Baguette serves a colorful slice of rainbow cake topped with a fresh strawberry.

UPPER RIGHT Freshly baked croissants, rolls and pastries line the display case to the right of you when you enter.

photos by EMMA WEIDMAN

with a foam art flower, was ready at the counter.

Although my first sip tasted only of frothed oat milk, the subtle flavors of roasted peanuts and sweet caramel eventually blended

story by CAROLINE BEAL

PLAYERS’

THE LARGE, OPEN loft-like space of Pitchside Coffee is a welcoming morning atmosphere with natural lighting, a variety of seating options and greenery planted throughout the coffee shop.

I felt immediately at ease surrounded by the small Saturday crowd and simplistic environment.

Various soccer games from around the world

ROAST

played on the TVs while coffee enthusiasts enjoyed their drinks and pastries. Pitchside Coffee — owned by six KC Current players — operated as a mobile trailer outside the Canadian Pacific Kansas City soccer stadium before opening a physical location on Aug. 31 in the Crossroads of KCMO.

Although the menu initially appeared small as I approached the counter, the variety of five homemade coffee syrups and the 11 coffee and tea options proved me wrong.

They even had special food items brought in from other local businesses like Luca Bagel and Hana’s Donuts, for the weekend.

After I ordered my three drinks — a hot latte with peanut butter caramel syrup, a cold brew with mocha syrup and a chai — my total was almost $20. Although the price seemed steep, I had high hopes that these items would be worth it.

HOT PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL LATTE

in with the hot espresso and milk, making up for the initial lack of flavor. Unlike the overly processed and sweet syrups at Starbucks, this peanut butter caramel sauce is made in-house and tasted like rich peanut brittle.

PITCHSIDE CHAI

The caramel flavor was

underwhelming at first, but the more I drank, the buttery, candied flavor complemented the saltiness of the peanut butter.

This coffee was a delicious blend of salty, sweet and strong espresso flavor, making it easy to finish the whole cup.

FOR $6.25, I was expecting this iced chai to be fantastic , and after my first sip, I was pleased to be right.

Although most of the chai I’ve tasted have been watered-down and overpriced, this one wasn’t.

The smooth oat milk, mixed with the bold flavors of cinnamon, cardamom and other spices, created a comforting combination of gingerbread and pumpkin spice — coincidentally, my favorite flavors.

flavor of the spices while enhancing the taste of the black tea.

Plus, the subtle sweetness from the sugar helped balance the strong

ICED MOCHA COLD BREW

A CLASSIC COLD brew will always be my favorite morning drink, but this $5.75 drink left me increasingly disappointed the more I drank.

Regardless of its steep price, this chai was by far the best I’ve ever had, and I’d recommend Pitchside Coffee for this drink alone.

The bitter mocha syrup — a mix of agave, dark chocolate, smoked sea salt and vanilla — combined with the intense cold brew left a pungent flavor that even drinking a whole cup of water couldn’t even get the vile taste out of my mouth.

NOT ONLY DOES Pitchside Coffee have a unique open environment and a variety of specially crafted recipes, almost all the items I tried actually tasted like they were made with real ingredients, unlike most coffee shops.

Although the prices were set high, I will definitely return to try more of their menu — and the Pitchside Chai is a non-negotiable.

I’d asked for whole milk, but the small splash they’d poured in didn’t do nearly enough to lessen the harsh cold brew flavor.

Although it was hard to determine whether it was the syrup or the cold brew that gave the drink a strange sour taste, by the time I’d taken two sips, I wasn’t going to make myself suffer with a third.

SHOP THE WEBSITE

29, 2025

AHIMCONCIEVABLE HIM WATCH

WHAT IS CTE?

Facts about CTE

CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

CTE is a brain disorder caused by multiple hits to the head

Justin Tipping’s new football-horror film “HIM” is so outlandish it works

It can only be detected when people have died

Symptoms show after 8-10 years

It cause erratic behavior, violence and depression

UT OF THE tens of thousands of films in the world, 60 of them are about American football. Out of those is a horror movie:

“HIM,” released in theatres on Sept. 18, is a fresh footballhorror film that is either genius or god-awful — I can’t decide.

The film follows aspiring proquarterback Cameron Cade, played by Tyriq Withers, after he misses the tryout for the United States Football Federation — the NFL equivalent in the film. Cade was mysteriously attacked and incapacitated by a masked figure right before the event, leaving him desperate for a second chance to get into the

Cade is then invited by legendary QB Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans, to train with him for one week to earn a spot on his favorite team:

is unquestionably the best part of this film. As Cade progresses in training with White, the old-timer quarterback slowly reveals his gruesome methods of success at any cost, which is masterfully alluded to in subtle mannerisms Wayans works into his performance.

For example, White sets up a QB drill for Cade: he must catch a hiked ball with his eyes closed, turn 180 degrees and throw a spot-on spiral to a receiver more than 20 yards down the field, all in a matter of seconds.

Difficult, but not scary.

Except, every time a receiver drops the ball, or Cade is too slow, a willing wide receiver is hit in the face with a football launched out of a throwing machine at 70 miles per hour. Each time the football smashes into his face, he’s slightly less recognizable: all deformed and bloody.

The exercise is White’s twisted way of motivating Cade to be perfect, as Cade does not want to see the receiver get hurt. However, Cade doesn’t protest because everyone else at the facility acts like everything’s completely normal, gaslighting him into believing the same.

Each day that passes in the training camp, the more violent and ridiculous the occurrences become. The film ends with the final day of camp, and while the ending was amusing, I really think it could’ve been improved by seeing Cade actually play the game.

A common motif of the film was the idea that Cade would be taking White’s starting spot on the Saviors, something White wasn’t happy about. White didn’t want to have his spot taken; he wanted to train Cade to become his successor after he willingly retired.

If Cade had entered the league, the back-and-forth mind games between him and White in the game would’ve given the film a lot more room for creativity and

34% of former football players surveyed by Harvard University reported to have CTE 34% 66% *According to NPR

depth. Additionally, the fact that Cade knows about White’s violent tendencies could lead to a very dynamic relationship of blackmail, threats and suspense.

But no, Tipping decided to keep it in the camp, which is fine. For what it is. It’s not wasted potential, just misused.

Wayans’ performance as Isaiah White

EVERY TIME A receiver drops the ball or Cade is too slow, a willing wide receiver is hit in the face with a football launched out of a throwing machine at 70 miles an hour.

The ending is weird, to say the least. In the IMAX theatre, I watched “HIM” in, there were a lot of laughs during the film’s final scene, built up from White and Cade’s conflict after Cade finally calls White out for his wrongdoings. For me, it’s genuinely impossible to tell which parts of the movie are meant to be funny and which parts aren’t. I don’t know if I was laughing at or with Tipping as the film came to a close. Although the film’s direction was misguided, its aesthetics and imagery were unbelievably cool. Nearly every time there was contact between two players, an X-ray scan of the player’s head was put over the clip of the hit. Whenever you saw the hit, you saw their brain and skull get hit too. This effect added to the weight of the situation Cade was in and the “horror” feeling of anxiety while watching it.

Coupled with the real-life dangers and effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy — brain damage — caused by contact sports, the stakes of “HIM” were both very believable and completely arbitrary at the same time, something I found quite fun.

Despite its faults, I can’t applaud the film’s originality enough. It’s ideas like a trippy football thriller that should run Hollywood: original and out-of-thebox scripts, not endless sequels and cinematic universes.

Yes, they could’ve taken “HIM” in a better direction. But the fact that this wacky concept of a film was carried all the way to theatrical release gives me hope for the future of film.

SUCCESS

Career exploration students

at

BELOW Junior Owen Wagstaff points at Principal Peres, asking him if he wants coffee. photo by DARCY KROENING

ABOVE Junior Owen Hill types sophomore Harper Newton’s coffee order into the card reader while in the coffee shop.

photo by SYLVIE DEGALAN

ABOVE Senior Sarah Stein watches as senior Grace Rayfield pours creamer into a teacher’s coffee. Stein and Rayfield were helping out with the coffee cart on the fourth floor. photo by DARCY KROENING

Junior Spencer Thornhill shuts the lid to the coffee dispenser before putting it away for the day. photo by ZAC RUSSELL

LEFT Junior Michael Allen touches the free compliments poster. It was Allen’s idea to create this for Columbia Brew. photo by SYLVIE DEGALAN

To read more about SOAR students and the coffee cart scan here

SCAN ME STORY

work shifts

Columbia Brew during second hour to learn job skills

To purchase photos of Career Exploration students in the coffee shop scan the link for more SCAN ME PHOTO

art by FRANCESCA LORUSSO

SPORTS

SEPT. 30 VS. OLATHE WEST

SEPT. 30 VS. SM WEST

ABOVE

throws the ball up for the jump serve, scoring the point.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Senior Owen Andrews shares how his soccer career started

OWEN ANDREWS STRIKER

SOCCER HAS BEEN around me since I was young, with my mom playing in college, so I began playing at five. I fell in love with the sport and drew aspirations from my favorite players, trying to mimic their playing style.

UP & COMING

Owen’s upcoming games

30SEPT. 2 7 VS. OLATHE WEST

VS. LAWRENCE

VS. OLATHE SOUTH @ ODAC @ LAWRENCE @ ODAC

Senior Macy Sims

photo by DARCY KROENING

ABOVE Junior Miles Attig dribbles the ball around the defender and towards the goal. photo by ADDIE CLARK

photo by CHARLOTTE WALTON

FORMER CROSS COUNTRY

coach Michael Chaffee speeds through the neighborhoods of Mission Hills, searching for the group of girls’ varsity cross country runners on their route of the day. Once he spots them, he will do anything — including lying on the hot asphalt street — to get the perfect picture.

He can’t stand up in one place to take a picture without falling backwards — let alone run anymore due to his age.

“He’s somebody that truly does live and breathe running,” former cross country and track coach Tricia Beaham said. “And even though he may not be able to run himself, [photography] is a way that he vicariously can still do that.”

An East graduate himself, Chaffee was involved in cross country and track all four years of high school before graduating in 1963. He didn’t stop running there — he went on to the University of Kansas cross-country team, and ran multiple marathons.

BELOW Sophomore Will Swan smiles at the camera while running his warm up laps around the track.

Chaffee started coaching alongside Beaham for East in the fall of 2000 and was an assistant cross country coach, along with co-distance coach for the track and field team.

“I was more of a cheerleader than I was a coach,” Chaffee said.

Since retiring from teaching and coaching at East in 2018, Chaffee has no obligation to come to every cross country and track meet.

But he continues to come back.

“Once you’re a runner, you’re always a runner, even if you can’t run,” Beaham said. “And so he really enjoys being able to solidify somebody’s race and showing them the beauty of the sport through photography.”

Chaffee doesn’t claim to be an expert in hitting the F-stop or changing the ISO. In fact, he began photography by taking photos with disposable cameras while still coaching.

“I’m not a really good photographer. I enjoy doing it, but I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve always had a passion for running, and I still have a passion for it.”

He doesn’t adjust the settings unless he needs to correct the lighting. He simply enjoys capturing any scene that comes before him.

In the beginning of his coaching career, he would bring ten informatic cameras — which allow no retakes or viewing the photos after you take them — with ten rolls of instamatic film in total to shoot each meet.

“He always loved carrying the camera, just to capture and to make things a little more permanent,” Beaham said. “Races go fast and they’re fleeting, but yet you have that picture that you can keep in memory forever.”

He didn’t save the limited film his

cameras had for just the varsity runners, but took photos of every athlete from C-team to varsity.

After years of using Polaroid cameras, Chaffee upgraded to a Canon EOS. Even though he still doesn’t edit the photos, this camera allows him to set it to ‘Sports’ mode to capture the fast-moving runners, and view the pictures on the camera itself.

At the end of the season, he takes his SD cards to CVS to print photos for the cross country and track banquet. Even though he doesn’t attend, he wants to give praise to the athletes — the runners and coaches look forward to searching the tables with the selected photos for themselves.

“He doesn’t like to get attention or praise for things,” current head coach Mallory Dittemore said. “I think he knows that we’re all gonna [praise him] and I don’t think he wants that at all. I think he wants to kind of fly under the radar.”

From being part of the first coaching squad at East to implementing a nocut policy and coaching around 300 runners for one cross country season, to starting the tradition of taking the runners on a trip to Colorado, Chaffee’s legacy extends far beyond his photography.

Throughout his career he led by example. Even though he cannot physically run himself, he continues to show up for the runners, showing his lifelong love for the sport.

“[Chaffee’s photography] shows everybody, especially the kids, somebody that really cares,” Beaham said. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re the first on the cross country team or the threehundreth.”

ABOVE Coach Mallory Dittemore and Coach Rikki Hacker pose for a portrait shot

ABOVE The girls cross country team does laps around the track for their warm up set before doing long distance.

Photos Micheal Chaffee has taken recently of the cross country team

story by ADDY NEWMAN

GAME.

story by GRACE PEI

FRESHMAN ELEANOR GIBBS

hits were getting lazy.

After an hour of rallying the tennis ball back and forth with her dad at McCrum Park in the 80-degree heat, her hits had no spin and were too easy to return.

Her dad called out to her.

“Swing the ball more! You can do it.”

“Don’t shake your head at me, I know you can do it.”

Eleanor was at one of her weekly summer practices with her dad and SM East head tennis coach

Andrew Gibbs as he helped prepare her for school tryouts.

She hoped to make the top 32 out of 200 players. But she didn’t expect to make varsity — with less than 10 other players.

“I guess a lot of people think that I’m

only on the [varsity] team because I’m his daughter,” Eleanor said. “But I work just as hard as everyone else to be where I am.”

Eleanor and her dad have also grown closer through their shared interest after car ride conversations about breakfast on their way to tennis matches or milkshakes after a 90-minute practice.

Both of Eleanor’s older sisters, Audra and Emilia Gibbs, were on the blue and white team as juniors and seniors. Eleanor is the first of them to take tennis seriously, making varsity her freshman year.

“I think [Eleanor] just connected with the sport way more than Audra or I did,” Emilia said. “She just kind of instinctually understands how to win.”

Not “Dad.”

“If I’m emotionally neutral, it helps [the team] to better respond to their frustrations,” Andrew said. “It helps them to reflect their excitement when things are going well. And so I try to do that same thing [with Eleanor]. It’s a little bit harder as ‘Dad.’”

On the other side, he tries to keep tennis feedback conversations on the court. Whether it’s at dinner time or during homework study sessions, Andrew tries not to bring up tennis.

I GUESS

A

lot of people think that I’m only on the [varsity] team because I’m his daughter. But I work just as hard as everyone else to be where I am.

While Emilia took lessons for one semester in elementary school, Eleanor has been taking lessons since the age of 8 with her dad and his close friend, former assistant tennis coach Jedd Behr.

ELEANOR GIBBS

FRESHMAN

Now that she’s playing on the varsity team at SM East, Andrew tries to remain neutral as a coach, separating his role as both her dad and coach. On the court, he’s “Coach Gibbs” or “Mr. Gibbs.”

“[At home is] not a time to rehash a match,” Andrew said. “The other piece is letting her direct [what she wants to do], because bottom line, I want her to enjoy playing.”

Despite having to constantly find the balance between coach and dad, Andrew believes he’s doing a good job of keeping his roles separate while also trying to put less pressure on Eleanor.

“I feel a little bit of pressure from him, just because he’s my dad [and] he’s my coach,” Eleanor said. “I know he wants me to be good, but he’s really good at making people feel comfortable.”

ELEANOR’S TRADITIONS

Fun traditions that Eleanor has had over the years

THE JELLY BEANS:

She used to receive six jelly beans every day after each lesson

TENNIS BALL PIE:

She would stack as many tennis balls as she could onto her racket

ON BROCK

MEET HIS HERO

Senior star football player Brock Rider recovers from his torn meniscus and hopes to return to the field this season

story by BRIDGET DEAN

BAM.

Senior and defensive lineman Brock Rider smashed into one of his teammates during a tackling drill at summer football camp. He limped off the field, pain shooting from his leg near his knee cap.

“There’s an offensive guy and there’s a defensive guy,” Rider said. “I went and made a cut, and as I was making the tackle, my foot got caught in the ground. As I was turning my body, my knee bent in a way it obviously shouldn’t have.”

Both Rider and the coaches could tell it was a severe injury as he could barely walk off the field. They were correct. A couple days later Rider’s diagnosis of a torn meniscus confirmed that he was going to be out for at least the rest of the summer.

Despite his surgery on Aug. 26, he will still be sidelined until late in the football season. The coaches had to work with underclassmen to fill in for Rider, who was a keystone player.

Going into his third year as a varsity starter, Rider was looking forward to his senior season, until he injured his leg at summer football camp. Working with athletic trainer Dakota Orlando has helped Rider through his recovery process, as a resource for any assistance he needs throughout his rehab.

come together to support Rider through his recovery.

Senior and quarterback

Jack Reeves has been by Rider’s side since freshman year football camp. Reeves was at the camp this past summer when Rider got injured, though he didn’t see it happen. Reeves, as well as their other teammates and coaches, have done their best to help lift Rider’s spirits since his injury.

“We were always checking on him, texting and making sure he was all right,” Reeves said. “We would have some team meals with him, and we would just try to make him feel as positive as possible.”

Rider came to school the Friday after his surgery in August, feeling confident about his recovery and return to the field later in the season.

The Commons filled up quickly after school as the varsity football players gathered for the start of practice. After everyone took their seat, Rider stood up and gave a heartfelt speech regarding his torn meniscus.

“I watch it every day,” Rider says. “Ray Lewis has been my role model, I know about his own injuries and what he had to go through, and having surgery and all that. To hear his perspective and hear his advice on something that I’m going through, it’s helped me tremendously.”

Rider is still in shock that his role model, favorite linebacker, the reason he wears the number 52 on his jersey and long-time idol made him a personalized video message.

Simoneau was also shocked that his players were able to get a Lewis cameo. Simoneau only knew about the video right before he showed the team and was grateful it lifted everyone’s spirits.

WE WERE ALWAYS checking on him, texting and making sure he was all right. We would have some team meals with him, and we would just try to make him feel as positive as possible.

JACK REEVES SENIOR

“It was a special moment for our program and for Brock, and it’s just an example of how our team has come together,” Simoneau said. “Sometimes when you have something like that happen, whether it’s injury or whatever, it forces your team to get closer.”

Rider’s teammates were shouting and cheering for him when head football coach Mark Simoneau pulled a video up on the screen.

Silence spread among the players and coaches as a face appeared on the Commons’ screen: retired NFL hall-offamer Ravens player Ray Lewis.

Simoneau is hoping for Rider to return to the playing field in their fifth or sixth game. Rider believes his recovery will take three to three and a half months.

Three facts about Rider’s idol, ex-NFL player Ray Lewis 1. 2. 3. Lewis had a 17-year career as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens.

“I’m helping him make sure he’s doing his rehab, or answering any of his medical questions that he has concerns about,” Dakota said. “If I don’t know the answer, I reach out to his medical team that did the surgery, and they get the answer for us.”

He was sidelined for most of the 2012 NFL season due to a triceps tear.

His 31 intercepts stand as the fifth-highest total by a linebacker in NFL history. *according to wikipedia.org

Orlando and the coaches are doing their best to keep Rider excited and hopeful for his senior year on varsity football, despite having to spend the majority of the season on the bench. His teammates have also

Simoneau pressed play on the video and Lewis began to speak about Rider and gave him advice on his football career.

“Brock Rider, keep being who you are, kid,” Lewis said in the video.

The video is available to watch on Rider’s football Instagram account @brockriderfootball.

Rider plans to play football in college and is continuing the scouting process throughout his injury. Though he wasn’t able to attend college camps over the summer, Rider continues to work harder every day to get better and stronger, faster.

“ I’ve had to switch directions in my recruiting,” Rider said. “But I know it’s still all gonna work out.”

ABOVE Senior Brock Rider wears jeans and sneakers to a football game. He can’t play due to his torn meniscus, but still comes to games to support his team.

UNUSUAL HOLIDAYS IN

Explore interesting holidays in the upcoming month

OCTOBER

MEAN GIRLS DAY

DAY

Start the month off with a global holiday celebrating coffee. The holiday was established by the International Coffee Organization to promote the millions of coffee farmers around the world. Enjoy the holiday by drinking your favorite type of coffee.

HARRY POTTER BOOK DAY

A holiday created by Bloomsbury Publishing to celebrate J.K. Rowling’s series. Fans can celebrate by rereading the books or get a free themed kit from Bloomsbury. This year’s theme is Friends and Foes.

06 08 13 15 22 01 23 26 27 30

Avogadro’s Number, 6.02 x 1023, or commonly known as a mole, is any chemists’ favorite number. On Oct. 23 at 6:02 AM, SM East chemistry students will celebrate this vital holiday with a competition among the classes. Even if you are not a chemistry student you can still commemorate the day by getting up a little bit earlier than usually.

Set alarm for 6:02 AM

“It’s October 3rd.” The famous line from the 2004 classic film has made Oct. 3 the official day for all things “Mean Girls.” It’s the perfect Friday night to pop open a bag of popcorn and curl up to watch the nostalgic film.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

-Wear pink clothing -Recreate the classic line -Watch Mean Girls

A celebration to honor the global popularity of noodle. Noodles are a staple in many different cultures. Celebrate by trying to make noodles at home or go out to eat a traditional noodle dish.

TYPES OF NOODLES

Vietnamese - Pho Japanese - Udon

Italian - Spaghetti

Thailand - Pad Thai

Brighten up your day by bringing your teddy bear to school. On Oct. 8 you will be able to cuddle with your fuzzy friends all day long.

National Kick Butt Day is the day to try something new or complete a goal you already have. Be inspired and achieve something you always wanted to do.

LIFE GOALS

Sky dive

Climb Mount Everest

Travel to all seven continents

Run a marathon

A day to celebrate the beloved fall staple, pumpkins. Whether it’s for decorations or baking, pumpkins make for a festive fall day.

TO DO

-Make a pumpkin pie

- Carve a jack-o-lantern

-Go to the pumpkin patch

If you always love to complain or if you see the glass half empty, today is the day for you. On National Grouch Day all complainers are celebrated. It’s the day to be grumpy, complain about everything and be your least joyful self.

Be like Oscar the Grouch

NATIONAL KICK BUTT DAY NATIONAL GROUCH DAY NATIONAL MAKE A DOG’S DAY

All dog lovers favorite holiday, National Make A Dog’s Day, was created by Subaru to raise awareness for pet adoptions, particularly for older or disabled dogs. Even if you don’t adopt a dog you can still show your love by volunteering at an animal shelter or treating your own pet for a fun day.

MISCHIEF NIGHT NATIONAL NOODLE DAY NATIONAL BRING YOUR TEDDY BEAR TO SCHOOL DAY

CAT

It is a common superstition that if a black cat crosses your path it’s bad luck. Unlike this misconception, on National Black Cat Day we celebrate these furry creatures.

ORIGINS

It began as a English tradition where the night before May 1 young people would play pranks to celebrate May Day. Over time the tradition moved to when it is now, the night before Halloween.

The unofficial holiday, Mischief Night, or Halloween Eve is the perfect night to celebrate all things evil. Traditionally, people celebrate by playing pranks such as egging houses or dingdong ditching. Get into your spooky spirit and participate in Mischief Night.