Issue 3: The Homework Headache

CROWNED ...................................... 08 ‘TIS THE SEASON TO GIVE BACK 15 THEY SEE ME ROLLIN’................. 19 PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

STORY STARTS ON PAGE 11

THE HOMEWORK

HEADACHE

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Northwest

PASSAGE ISSUE 03 TABLE OF CONTENTS

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MONTH IN HASHTAGS These hashtags have been trending in the past month

CROWNED The city celebrates the Royals’ World Series win

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THE HOMEWORK HEADACHE

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‘TIS THE SEASONTO GIVE BACK

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Why students aren’t doing their homework and how teachers can help

Student Council encourages students to give back to the community as they prepare for Adopt-a-Tot

FORKS DOWN It’s Firehouse versus Planet Sub, see how the hot subs stack up

THEY SEE ME ROLLIN’

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As head bowling coach, Billy Dent plans to teach the bowlers a competitive mindset

WINTER PREVIEWS A look ahead at Northwest’s winter sports

STAFF PUBLICATION OVERSIGHT: Co-Print Managing Editor Grace Gorenflo Co-Print Managing Editor Sophie Flores Web Managing Editor Jack Lynch CONTENT MANAGEMENT: Design Editor Copy Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor

02 NOV . 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

Paden Chesney Paige Eichkorn Addison Sherman Taryn Smith

SECTION STAFF:

SECTION EDITORS:

News Editor News Editor Opinion Editor Sports Editor Feature Editor Entertainment Editor Social Media Editor Social Media Editor

Jack Lynch Grace Gorenflo Sophie Flores Matt Owens Cadie Elder Keegan Dolinar Joshua Sherfy Rebecca Carroll

Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Ads Manager Staff Designer Staff Designer Staff Designer Staff Designer

Carter Adam Ben Becker Kasey Gardner Jackie Sayers Jennifer Silva Maddison Jarman Rachel Bateman Shelby Beaumont Mia McDonald Makaila Williams

The purpose of the Northwest Passage is to relay important and interesting information to the community, administration and students of the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. As a newsmagazine, the Northwest Passage will cater to the interests and concerns of the student body. Outside concerns and activities will only be covered if they somehow affect the school or students. The Northwest Passage is a 24-page newsmagazine. The paper will be distributed every four weeks during second hour. Subscriptions will be available to the community for $25. The Northwest Passage firmly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. The content of the newspaper will be determined and created by

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Spanning the divide

BETWEEN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS T eachers and students rarely see eye-to-eye.

Students often see teachers as people who give them unwanted work rather than people they can learn from.

“I felt like that when I was in high school, like I was stretched too thin, but I am afraid you guys are stretched even thinner,” English teacher Ben Pabst said. “If we’re talking about generational divides, I think that you have so many priorities that you do not know really what your priorities are.”

In this issue, we take a look at homework: how much

AN EDITOR’S NOTE :

the district expects us to do, how much is assigned and whether we actually do it. We investigated the seemingly eternal homework struggle.

You will find statistics on the amount of homework students do every day and how much is reasonable. Are student’s complaints regarding the time homework requires legitimate, or do students just need to focus on managing their time?

Teachers and students give their opinions and we suggest solutions to bridge the gap. We explain how teachers can work to meet students’ individual needs

as well as how students can develop the work ethic that the faculty hopes students gain.

I hope that you read these stories with the mentality of bridging the gap between teachers and students.

the entire staff. When questions concerning word choice, legal problems or ethics arise the editorial board and adviser will discuss the problem to find the solution. In these cases, the editor-in-chief and editorial board will have the say in all decisions. Letters to the editor will be accepted and encouraged. The staff reserves the right to edit for grammatical mistakes, length and good taste. Letters may attack policy but not people. In no way will ideas or viewpoints be changed. The editor-in-chief and editorial board reserve the right to refuse any letter.

- Sophie Flores

NW PASSAGE | table of contents 03

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1. After the game, Coach Billy Dent addresses the players on the JV football team Oct. 19 at SM West. The Cougars lost against the Vikings, and Dent warned the players that they only had one more chance to win this season.

“We started out awful,” Dent said, “In the second half, we picked it up, but we weren’t going to get extra time to fix our mistakes.” PHOTO

2. Sophomore Drake Reynolds runs the football against a SM West defender at SM West Oct. 19. The Cougars lost 12-34.

BY KEVIN THOMPSON

4. Social Studies teacher Sarah

PHOTO BY BRYCE REX 3. Senior Heather Grayson cheers at the SM North District Stadium Oct. 16. The cheerleaders wore pink bows for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

PHOTO BY MADDY MANNING

4 Dent staples links to the Chain of Life Oct. 22 in rm 132. The Chain of Life, sponsored by SADD, is a paper chain with every student’s name on a link. Each link represents a student’s life.

PHOTO BY NICK KAHTAVA 5. Junior Will Hauser receives the ball on a run as he heads to goal at SMAC against Olathe South Oct. 8.

The JV team lost.

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

5 04 NOV . 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

Be nice to your body DIETS SHOULD NOT CONTROL YOUR LIFE +CADIE ELDER

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

Black

Fright-day BLACK FRIDAY IS JUST A WEEK AWAY AND I WILL NOT BE SHOPPING +BEN BECKER

O

ur bodies are not machines.

I didn’t learn this in my health class or from watching TV. It wasn’t spelled out on the cover of any magazine. In fact, magazines tell us the complete opposite. They say that certain diets will make you lose five pounds in a week, or that an actress finally realized her worth because of her amazing beach body.

Nope. I didn’t learn the truth about dieting until I went to a REbeL workshop about mindful eating.

Don’t be fooled by diets; they may promise weight loss, but your health is more important. Eating to reach a number seems pointless when you can be eating to feel good.

I’ve learned that food nourishes our bodies so we can grow and function.

We shouldn’t categorize foods as “good” or “bad.” Cravings are natural and we can’t restrict ourselves from certain foods because our bodies need all types to be balanced.

I realized that being mindful is a healthier way to be happy with my appearance. Mindfulness is being present in the moment. I go into a meal with no judgment of the food I’m eating. I’m aware of my body’s hunger and fullness signals.

Remember when you were a child?

J

You knew when you were hungry and cried until your parents brought you food. You ate until you were satisfied.

We need to slow down, enjoy our food and pay attention to our hunger and fullness signals.

At the workshop, dietitians Jessica Betts and Katy Harvey handed out REbeL’s popular compliment cookies.

We were asked to take one bite of the cookie and eat it very slowly. It was hard for me to do that because 1) I was starving, and 2) I’m used to eating food without thinking about it.

By eating more slowly, I realized all the different flavors and textures in that cookie and also that eating a cookie is not bad.

Something as simple as a cookie taught me a huge lesson: it is okay to eat any food I want in moderation.

Being mindful helped me remember that I don’t need a diet to lose weight, and sometimes I don’t need to lose weight at all.

Is it crazy to think that I could be perfectly imperfect the way I am? And is it crazy to think that you could be perfectly imperfect just the way you are? It shouldn’t be.

Some crash diets have been disguised as “lifestyles,” but those lifestyles are still asking us to follow

ust one day after we celebrate what we’re thankful for, we trample, shove and fight others just to get the best deals and fill our materialistic needs.

Last year, I experienced this first-hand.

I feel no need to ever participate again.

With Christmas only a month away, we start to feel rushed to get the perfect Christmas gifts for our family members.

Not many people have excess money to spend frivolously, so instead they hunt for the best bargain to save as much as possible. Black Friday fills this need perfectly. With crazy deals, shoppers are compelled to go out and buy everything they want.

This can have dangerous repercussions.

According to blackfridaydeathcount.com, a total of seven deaths and 98 injuries have occurred on Black Friday since 2006. Of the seven deaths, one was shot and two were trampled as they attempted to enter a store. This is horrifying.

I took part in Black Friday once before.

Although I didn’t witness any deaths, I did see the insanity some people are willing to display in order to obtain the best deals.

Immediately after entering Target, I was told to get in line and wait until my family was done shopping. I thought that it was crazy for me to stand in line since surely I would reach the register before my family

strict restrictions on food and daily exercise. Why should we do that?

It’s not our fault that we took too many cheat days or didn’t go to the gym enough times, the diets are the ones to blame. When we eat with moderation, those restrictions vanish, and suddenly it is okay to slow down and eat.

People who promote fad diet plans twist our view of a healthy appetite and create an unrealistic standard. They show us testimonials with promising “before and after” pictures, but those testimonials often do not show these people three or four years later.

According to Gary Foster, Ph.D., clinical director of Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania, approximately 65 percent of dieters gain back the weight they lose from diets within three years. Our bodies prefer stability, so our metabolism begins to slow making it more difficult to lose weight.

This twisted perception can lead to many consequences like malnutrition, negative body image and an obsession with food. The people who promote diets don’t tell you about any of this.

Unlike a diet, mindfulness is free.

was done. I was wrong.

The line weaved in and out of aisles, blocking shoppers who continued to plow through anyway. The sounds of people yelling at one another and lost childrens’ screams drowned out the Christmas music oozing from the overhead speakers.

Everywhere I looked, shopping carts were filled to the brim. It was a grotesque display of humans’ materialistic needs.

I admit, the idea of a large sale before Christmas seems like a good idea, but it is poorly executed by most stores. They could at least limit the number of people allowed in a store at a time or put the better deals online so there is no need to go to the store and end up hurt.

The best alternative already in use is Cyber Monday. In recent years, online stores, like Amazon, have started putting Black Friday sales online the Monday following Black Friday, making the shopping much safer. More stores have started switching over to this method, but not enough to keep the injuries down.

I think if we start shopping online more and waiting for the online deals that come just two days after Black Friday, the chaos would be greatly reduced.

Best Black Friday Deals of 2015

Target- free shipping and returns on all items purchased from Nov. 1 – Dec. 25 Best Buy- Free shipping on all items until Jan. 2, 2015 Wal-Mart- Free shipping on orders of $50 or more Amazon- Free shipping on eligible orders of $35 or more NW PASSAGE | opinion 05

NW

10 OCT . 22, 2015 | Vol. 47

SMNW Students and Staff $6 Meal Deal Special Weekdays until 5 P.M. Meal Deal includes a 1/2 sub, regular size drink, and either a chip or cookie.

ALL FOR $6. Present Student or Staff ID. 2015-2016 school year. Not valid with other offers. Good at: 7409 Quivira or 6915 Johnson Dr 913-248-9955 913-232-7424 Order online at planetsub.com

06 NOV . 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

THESE HASHTAGS HAVE BEEN TRENDING IN THE PAST MONTH +BY CARTER ADAM

This Month In

# hashtags #prayforparis

#blackoncampus The recent resignation of the University of Missiouri president Tim Wolfe blazed across the Twitter-verse. Wolfe resigned amid protests by students over growing racial tensions on campus.

In addition to student protests, faculty members threatened to walk out and the football team had refused to attend any football-related activities until the president resigned.

Four terrorist attacks were carried out in Paris, Nov. 15 killing 129 people and wounding 350. The extremist Islamic group, ISIS, is taking credit for the attack, claiming it will carry out others in Washington D.C. “The French people have stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States time and time again,” President Barack Obama said. “We want to be very clear that we stand together with them in the fight against terrorism and extremism.”

#crowned

The Royals clinched the World Series for the first time in 30 years at Citi Field Nov. 1, in New York. It took the Royals 12 innings to seal the 7-2 win in Game 5. The Royals scored their first two runs in the 9th inning with first baseman Eric Hosmer sliding into home plate head-first on a Salvador Perez infield grounder to tie.

#royalsparade The parade celebrating the World Series championship wound through downtown Kansas City Nov. 3, ending at Union Station. An estimated 800,o00 people showed up to watch the parade and 200,000 stayed for the celebration.

The crowds were so large that some fans resorted to abandoning their vehicles along I-35. Only 10 arrests and six medical emergencies occurred during the parade.

#Theforceawakens #theforceawakens Star Wars: The Force Awakens premieres premieres Dec. 18. This is the first Star Wars movie in over a decade and major changes have occurred since the last movie. Disney now owns Star Wars and George Lucas will not be directing this movie. Trailers for the film have caused excitement and the movie has already broken box office pre-sale records for AMC, Cinemark and more.

NW PASSAGE | entertainment 07

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THE CITY CELEBRATES THE ROYALS WORLD SERIES WIN

“K

ansas City was a baseball town through and through.”

“I used to drive three hours just to see a game.”

“The Royals are what made me fall in love with the sport.”

An entire generation of Royals fans had listened to stories from the past. For thirty years, mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers all told the stories of the tremendous teams of the early 80s. They remembered the waves of fans donning their Royal Blue that filled Kauffman Stadium, even on the most mundane days of summer.

It seemed too perfect. Impossible even. All we had seen year after year, season after lousy season, was a team lost in the past. A trip to the ballpark just wasn’t the same. Stadium renovations, coaching changes and

08 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

the beginning of a new millennium wasn’t enough to put the Royals back on the fast track to winning games. But after hosting the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2012, something began to change.

The legendary days of energized crowds and summertime celebration began to appear again. The great George Brett and Frank White, Greek Gods of Kansas City baseball, caught their first glimpse at the new generation of heroes.

The upward trend continued through the next two seasons. The Royals fought their way to within 90 feet of a World Series title in 2014. The City of Fountains had turned blue.

Parents brought their wide-eyed sons and daughters to the ballpark, cheering on the city’s pride and joy, just as they had done some 30 years ago. After

years of mediocrity, the passion for the sport had found its place again.

In 2015, it seemed all that was left to truly cement the Royals’ place as one of the premier teams in the country, was a World Series Crown. After battling through the Division Series and capturing the AL Pennant, it took just five games against the New York Mets to #TakeTheCrown.

Kansas City is a baseball city. Nearly 800,000 fans celebrated alongside their heroes, as they returned home World Series champions. Cars waited hours on congested highways, and fans staked out places on the parade route before the sun had even risen. A sea of blue in the heart of America had captured our imaginations and reignited a city’s love of the game.

+BYJOSH SHERFY

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1. Kansas City Royals’ shortstop Alcides Escobar holds up a “Thanks Kansas City” pennant during the victory parade Nov. 3 in downtown Kansas City. The theme for the parade was “Thanks Kansas City.” All team members and their families wore merchandise advertising the theme, thanking Kansas City for their support of theteam.

PHOTO BY CHANDLER BADO

2. Junior Alex Oleson films the players as they walk by during the victory parade in downtown Kansas City, MO. Out of the 800,000 people in attendance, many of them were NW students of staff. School was cancelled on the day of the parade due to a shortness of staff. “All the city came together united as one I’ll remember it for the rest of my life, Oleson said. PHOTO BY BRYCE REX 3. Kansas City Royals’ pitcher Kelvin Herrera waves to the crowd. The parade was over two miles long and ended in front of Union Station, where a pep rally was held afterwards. PHOTO BY CHANDLER BADO 4. Kansas City Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez interacts with fans during the parade.

Officials estimated as many as 800,000 people attended the parade.

PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT 5. A fan hoists a replica of the World series trophy above the crowd during the pep rally on Nov. 3 in front of Union Station. Over 200,000 attended the pep rally in front of Union Station, spilling through Crown Center and the Liberty Memorial.

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PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT

NW PASSAGE | feature 09

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10 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

WHY STUDENTS AREN’T DOING THEIR HOMEWORK AND HOW TEACHERS CAN HELP +BY KEEGAN DOLINAR, SOPHIE FLORES, GRACE GORENFLO, JACK LYNCH, & JOSH SHERFY

THE HOMEWORK

HEADACHE

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

NW PASSAGE | feature 11

NW PHOTO BY ILLUSTRATION ADDISON SHERMAN

e h c a d a e H k r o w e m o H e h Tcontinued...

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t started out as another attempt to take a stand against the education system. It seemed that teachers inexplicably unloaded absurd amounts of tedious and tiresome assignments without just cause. Our claim was that homework was assigned simply because it is a necessary evil that had to be dealt with, not because it served a purpose in our education.

The goal was to gain a foothold strong enough to draw attention to what we believed was the most prevalent issue facing the student body. Homework.

What we learned did not provide us the answer we were expecting to receive. Our results may be tough to admit, but they aren’t all that surprising.

Maintaining the balance between extracurricular activities, keeping up with classes, living a healthy lifestyle and following a regular sleep schedule are difficult. Social lives compete with math homework and English essays are never as intriguing as another episode of Grey’s Anatomy. But students continue to readily place the blame on all facets of the education system except themselves.

In order to devise a solution, we must first identify the problem. And as dubious as it may seem, the problem is us. +BY JOSH SHERFY

Average time spent on social studies daily 16 minutes

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Average time spent on all daily elective classes 21 minutes

÷2 x

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104 minutes, Mon 102 minutes, Tues

Average time spent on science homework daily 11 Minutes

74 minutes, Wed

Average time spent on English homework daily 14 and a half Minutes

66 minutes, Thurs

Average time spent on math homework daily 12 and a half minutes

57 minutes, Fri

district recommends: O

ver a two-week period, 60 students recorded time spent on homework in each of their seven classes.

The results below suggest an interesting trend.

Homework totals were higher on Mondays, decreasing as the week went on. Often, procrastination resulted in cramming multiple assignments into one night, creating an anomalously high total for that night.

12 NOV. 201520, | Vol. 47 | Vol. 47 12 20, NOV. 2015

STUDENTS SURVEYED

Hours of homework per night night.

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Q A

lea an dr So m

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way

Q&A with IB and Honors Chemistry teacher Dr. Johnny Winston +BY JACK LYNCH

Q: What are the benefits to your homework system? are places where drilling really is important, where A: “There repeated experience with specific context is necessary to

earn it. There are other places where taking time to sit back nd ponder the ideas is more beneficial. In that case, just rilling over the same problem is not going to be as effective. o I don’t think there’s one way to do homework by any means, I think that it’s very context specific.”

Q: What is your homework system? to try to convince students to choose to A: “Ido like something that they’re not being forced to do

for points, but that if they don’t expose themselves to they’re not going to be as successful in class. I will assign anywhere from 12 to 15 problems and they only have to do five to get credit. But it turns out when you get into the more complicated aspects of chemistry, not trying to work through the concepts and the problems ends up being detrimental.”

Do you ever use the “normal” method of doing homework?

Q: A:

“There’s a couple of chapters over the year that lend themselves to that drilling kind of mentality.

There’s no one formula for homework. Homework should always serve a purpose, it should not just be done as ‘we ought to have homework because we are in school.’ What are you trying to accomplish with it?”

The learning reformation

Flipped classrooms give students an unorthodox way of learning In a different world, senior Reid Thornburg wouldn’t fall asleep listening to a lecture during class, or stare at his homework assignment that evening trying to remember the lesson he heard between dreams. This is the world that former math teacher Randi Platko introduced Thornburg to during one chapter of last year’s honors pre-calculus curriculum.

“I kind of liked it because it was a little different and you could work on the homework during school,” Thornburg said. “However, there was still homework because you had to learn the lesson. I would almost rather learn the lesson quickly [at school] and then also do the homework at school.”

Platko had her students watch a video of her teaching the lesson at home. The next day they would work on the homework in class. The students worked in groups and, if they had any questions, they could ask their peers or Platko.

This system used by Platko and other NW math teachers including Susan Nagel is called a flipped, or alternative, classroom. The idea is that students learn outside of class and then apply the concepts they learn in class while the teacher is there to help and clarify.

In Nagel’s classes, there was no significant difference in grades after she switched to the flipped classroom model.

The system also did not decrease the amount of homework students were assigned. They still had to watch the video for

the next class period and finish whatever part of the work they did not have time to complete in class.

“It would have been more helpful if they had also had to start some of the homework at home,” Nagel said.

“Invariably, the homework wouldn’t get too hard until [students] got about 10 questions in or so. When they didn’t start [until they came to class, we never got to the harder questions that they needed help with. When I do it again, I’ll pick a handful of questions for them to do ahead of time.”

Along with not solving the homework problem, Nagel found other flaws in the flipped classroom system.

Flipped classrooms provide a limited amount of information when students are learning new concepts, and they do not set up students for college, something Nagel says is a main goal.

“College, for the most part, will not be structured that way, so you do have to get used to having the teacher lecturing and keeping up with your notes,” Nagel said. “Also, you lose that opportunity to stop and get more clarification. When you’re going over a hard topic, if you’ve got a certain pocket of students that need more

+BY GRACE GORENFLO

ill not beu w , t r a p t s o o yo he m College, fitohr ftlipped classroomtsh]e, steacher structureed t[ow get used to hawvinitgh your notes” do hav g and keeping up lecturin

“

It’s a pride thing The announcement is read every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.

“Need study tips for your next math test? Are you stumped on your homework? NHS students are here to help! Meet with the same students weekly to work through concepts. We will be in the library: Tuesday mornings and Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Come by and see us!”

Every Tuesday and Thursday after school, tucked in the

explanation or need some remedial information, you lose that opportunity to get that [information] to the students right away.”

From Nagel’s experience, flipped classrooms aren’t much of a solution to anything. It is just a change in the routine.

“I’m not sure that it helps significantly in terms of people learning any better,” Nagel said. “It’s just a different way to do things.”

corner of the library, NHS member John Chapple waits. For his service project, he hosts tutoring sessions every week, focusing on physics, math, grammar and study skills.

To date, not one person has shown up for help.

“I think it is more of a pride thing,” Chapple said. “The people who actually do need help are too afraid to lose their pride to come in for the help, it seems.”

With students struggling in math classes all around the school, Chapple is surprised to see nobody coming in for

help, week after week.

Chapple does not want students who need help be deterred by their pride.

“NHS wanted to have relationships between students and their tutor,” Chapple said. “So I am here every Tuesday and Thursday of every week.”

+BY KEEGAN DOLINAR

NW PASSAGE | feat NW PASSAGE | feature 13

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NW

PHOTO BY ILLUSTRATION ADDISON SHERMAN

Throughout the history of education, I think that teachers would wish their students would work as hard as they can. I don’t think that when I was a student I worked as hard as I could. But isn’t that an elemental dynamic? We’re asking you to work, you’re trying to work, there’s going to be a gap between expectations and reality.”

- Ben Pabst, English teacher

n io t a lu a v E e r n io Educat

“

“[Students]need, and I can’t emphasize this enough, they need to read. They are going to attend classes in college and professors are just going to expect you to read. My kids need to know how to read and interpret not only the text, but documents, and charts and graphs, one for their own enhancement, but two, to understand information on presented on tests.”

-Matthew Wolfe, Social Studies

ame for the rs share the blER he ac te d an ts FY en Stud ache +BYJOSH SH homework head

A

s hard as we may try, we can’t run from homework.

Homework waits until late Sunday evening to crush morale and put an unwanted strain on our lives that are already being spread too thin. But homework isn’t destructive. It causes stress and, on occasion, ruins our day — because we let it.

In a survey conducted by KidsHealth.org, stresses related to school work trumped social status, appearance or self image and extracurriculars to become the leading cause of stress in student’s lives. The emphasis placed on grades and academic achievement is immense, and results on the ACT, SAT or mandatory state testing may have life-long financial implications. In a world focused so heavily on scholastic success, it may come

Last call for your senior add in the 2016 year book!

Dont be left out of the 2016 yearbook! (were extending the third deadline until Dec. 18th ) Remind your parents to dust off those scrapbooks and old photo albums. You may want to help them find those toocute pictures of yourself (and avoid those nakedbaby-on-a-rug shots).

Make sure you will have a senior ad in the 2016 yearbook. Get your best deal now.

Questions? Contact Hadley Sayers or Emelia Battles at smnwbabyads@gmail.com or email Susan Massy at nwmassy@smsd.org

14 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

as a surprise that students are spending relatively little time on school work.

SMSD’s Philosophy on Student Homework states that students in 9th to 12th grade may be assigned up to three hours of homework per night. At first glance, the number appears staggering. But, from an academic perspective, it isn’t unreasonable.

A survey was given to 60 students of varying ages, gender, and class difficulty, to understand just how close students are to meeting that three-hour threshold.

On average, students spent 74 minutes on homework, falling far below the district policy’s standard. But that 74 minutes does not necessarily represent all of their assignments. Students also admitted to regularly not finishing their work. The obvious disparity between stress levels and the amount of time spent on homework can easily be explained.

Procrastination is an epidemic. Students are quick to protest when presented with burdensome homework, particularly over a topic they do not understand. But a theme that has become evident within our school system is this: students who are in need of academic

assistance neglect opportunities to gain extra help from a teacher or tutor. When a particular subject proves difficult to understand, students often choose to wait until the last minute to complete the assignment, or consciously decide not even to attempt the excercise.

One thing that people at all levels of the education system can agree on is that the current method is not working. A growing disconnect between students and teachers must be bridged. Alternative classrooms and optional homework are being put to the test in hopes of discovering a better connection between students and curriculum. Students who wish to achieve academically are riddled with extracurriculars and social and technological distractions. Teachers must be willing to adapt to a generation far different from their own. Education will be forced to become something far more engaging than reading text from a page if it is to maintain the focus of this fast-paced society.

Students must become more committed and focused on their schoolwork, and the education system must evolve in order for the homework headache to be resolved.

WESTGLEN

WESTGLEN

Andrea Beatty, O.D. Eric Beatty, O.D.

Andrea Beatty, O.D. Eric Beatty, O.D.

E Y E C A R E

drbeatty@wgeyecare.com 16202 Midland Dr. Shawnee, KS 66217

E Y E C A R E

16202 Midland Dr. Shawnee, KS 66217

p: 913.962.2010 f: 913.962.2013

p: 913.962.2010 f: 913.962.2013 e: drbeatty@wgeyecare.com

www.westgleneyecare.com

www.westgleneyecare.com

PHOTO BY SARAH DEAN

1

‘Tis the Season

to give back STUDENT COUNCIL ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS THEY PREPARE FOR ADOPT-A-TOT +BYJACKIE SAYERS

C

hristmas will come early for underprivileged preschoolers visiting Northwest Dec. 4. It will be a day when teachers and students will choose to give rather than get.

Student Council has begun preparations for the day by reaching out to the Head Start program, which assigns a child to each participating class.

“Head Start is a state-run preschool education program for students identified by the state as lower income,” StuCo sponsor Sarah Dent said. “We know that these students are the ones who need assistance.”

For Dent, the best part about Adopt-ATot is giving students the opportunity to see the effect charitable giving can have.

“I think getting to see Adopt-A-Tot in action is so important in encouraging students to be future donors and

contributors to worthy causes,” Dent said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to see it in action — one that you just can’t recreate.”

English teacher Fran Koenigsdorf admires how the Adopt-a-Tot program also gives students the chance to think less about themselves, and more about how they can help those in need “It lets me and others see how giving students really are, how compassionate our students can be toward people who are less privileged,” Koenigsdorf said.

Junior Courtney Jones, the Adopt-ATot chairperson, appreciates the benefits received by everyone involved.

“This experience gives the students a sense of accomplishment,” Jones said.

“They’re giving back to the community and seeing that they’re doing something not just for themselves, for Christmas, but also for other people around them.”

2

PHOTO BY SARAH DEAN

3

PHOTO BY SARAH DEAN

1. Three-year-old David Sanchez plays with his new toy firetruck and dinosaur in Ben Pabst’s fourth

hour IB English 12 class on Dec. 6, 2013, in room 155. Sanchez received the firetruck along with many other gifts.

2. Sanchez hugs Santa’s leg during Ben Pabst’s fourth hour IB English 12 class. Sanchez attends Don Hester Elementary School. “I think it’s nice that we can give back to children who are less fortunate than us and make their holiday special,” former senior Heidi Forland said.

3. 2014 graduate Phil Shamet and Sanchez open gifts during Ben Pabst’s fourth hour IB English 12. class. Sanchez recieved a dinosaur along with other gifts.

NW PASSAGE | feature 15

NW

Spectre

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROXYTHEATRES

Spectre is the 24th official James Bond film and the series is starting to show its age. After the superb Skyfall, Spectre is a let down. The acting is good as is the cinematography, but there is just no real heart to this movie.

The cinematography is breathtaking. Spectre opens with a Dios de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) celebration in Mexico City, which looks like the Royal’s World Series parade if everyone wore skeleton costumes.

Throughout the film, every location offers its own beautiful views, whether it is the Austrian Alps, Rome, Morocco or London. As usual, Daniel Craig turns in a great performance as the steely-eyed Bond, but Christoph Waltz steals the show.

Waltz’s role as Ernst Stavro Blofeld is almost exactly the same as his role of Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds, minus the Nazi uniform. His ability to instill fear and, in an instant, make you laugh, despite the situation, is astounding. The rest of the cast delivered solid performances but nobody broke away from the pack — not even M (Ralph Fiennes) or either Bond Girl.

Speaking of Bond Girls, this is 2015 and still, for a moment, you are concerned Bond is about to take advantage of the drunken Dr. Swann (Léa Seydoux). The

other Bond Girl, Lucia (Monica Bellucci) is on screen for all of four minutes. In those 240 seconds she yells at Bond for hitting on her after her husband’s funeral, nearly gets assassinated and has sex with Bond. She is never seen again. The blatant sexism and portrayal of women as sex objects is a remnant from a time where this was acceptable, but it’s not anymore.

One of the other big problems with Spectre is its repeated references to Craig’s other Bond films. To fully understand every reference, you’d need to binge watch Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and then Spectre.

Even then, some things would probably be missed.

Finally there is no umph. There is no heart or soul to this movie. It seems less like the spy thriller it should be and more like a barrage of scenes stolen from films like The Fast and the Furious, Bourne and even The Expendables franchises.

This is the type of movie that someone would watch on a lazy Saturday night if it’s on HBO, but I wouldn’t buy until it is in Barnes and Noble’s $14 or less section.

+BY JACK LYNCH

Paranormal Activity: the Ghost Demension Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension does not offer viewers anything they have not seen before. The found footage-style of today’s horror movies is overdone and, at this point, boring.

Ryan (Chris J. Murray) and Emily Fleege (Brit Shaw) move into their new house with their seven-year-old daughter, Leila (Ivy George), just in time for Christmas. While decorating for the holiday they stumble upon an old VHS camera in the garage.

The camera has an unusual feature: strange apparitions appear when looking through the lens. The camera becomes useful after Leila encounters a demon who becomes her imaginary friend, “Toby.”

Throughout the Paranormal series, movies have ended abruptly, leaving questions unanswered. The main question throughout the series, “What does Toby look like?” is finally answered in Ghost Dimension. Toby ends up being a Venomesque (from Spider-Man) character who vanishes before the characters catch a glimpse of his inky appearance.

Toby is not the only character who is underdeveloped and ultimately replaceable.

Ryan’s brother Mike (Dan Gill) and Emily’s friend Skyler (Olivia Taylor Dudley) visit the family just in time

Burnt

Burnt is overdone, literally.

I’ve seen this type of movie too many times before.

Bradley Cooper plays Adam Jones, the guy who had it all and then lost it. He was a top chef at a London restaurant until substance abuse consumed his life. As punishment, Jones forces himself to shuck a million oysters in New Orleans. He then returns to London a changed man, determined to earn the top rating from the Michelin Guide.

While looking for chefs to fill his crew, Jones runs into every person in the cooking business who hates him. They are all in one town just waiting for him. I guess. He recruits Helené (Sienna Miller), my favorite character, to be his sous chef.

Jones and Helené end up falling in love. Shocker. The fact that, in the movie industry, whenever a man and a woman spend a decent amount of time together they fall in love shows how cliché this movie really is.

Burnt gives little insight into what it actually means to be in the kitchen. I do not need step-by-step directions on how

16 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

to experience the supernatural force that enters the house.

It seems their only purpose is to scream and run around frantically. These naive and oblivious characters add little depth to the movie. They conveniently respond to any supernatural occurrence without much reasoning.

Ghost Dimension retells an overused-story: a family moves into a new suburban house and is immediately greeted with horror, of course, including a camera of some sort.

I normally expect the final movie in any series to rely on old tricks, but this movie does show more creativity compared to the last few installments. When the brothers watch some old video footage, they experience some sort of time-bending communication between the sisters in the video. Leila is also seen staring into a portal that opens through a wall in her room. Those creative moments mixed with creepy 3-D effects distracted from the poor execution, but they seem like nothing more than a shot at revitalizing a drawn-on series.

The most promising part of the Paranormal series is the video game that is expected to come out Spring 2016. Players will be able to experience the Paranormal series in a more personal way.

Coming Soon: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 In theaters Nov. 20

Secrets in their Eyes In theaters Nov. 20

Creed In theaters Nov. 25

+BY CADIE ELDER

The Good Dinosaur a meal is cooked, but I want to see the passion. The chefs would taste whatever dish they were making and then add the special ingredient to fix it, but I want to know what’s wrong.

Do they need to add more salt? Is it overcooked? Details like those would’ve shown the struggles in the kitchen, as well as the victories. This was portrayed better in Jon Favreau’s movie Chef, which is basically the same movie.

Jones has this bad boy persona that is supposed to make me take his side when he finally succeeds, but I don’t. He has overcome his addictions but takes his anger out on the other chefs. He throws pots and pans the majority of the time he is in the kitchen. Jones scolds other chefs and makes them feel like they need to walk on eggshells, pun intended. Does this remind you of someone? You guessed it. Gordon Ramsey was one of the consultants for this movie and his influence is evident in Jones.

This movie is Burnt — to a crisp.

+BY CADIE ELDER

In theaters Nov. 25

Krampus In theaters Dec. 4

Star Wars: The Force Awakens In theaters Dec. 18

Forks

Firehouse Subs

Planet Sub

Firehouse Subs TRUE TO ITS NAME, FIREHOUSES SUBS ARE PRETTY FIRE It’s just pure luck that a sandwich shop as good as Firehouse Subs is located on Quivira, no more than five minutes from Northwest. Firehouse is a great open lunch option for seniors wanting an affordable lunch but unwilling to waste gas.

Founded by firefighters, the restaurant’s bright red walls give the impression of a firehouse.

Firehouse offers a variety of sandwiches, and each one seemed to have their own little surprise. I ordered their turkey sandwich, and I’ll admit I did not expect to be amazed by what I thought would be a plain sub. Little did I know, this would become one of my all-time favorites.

The sandwich includes lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese melted on the turkey and ranch dressing to top it off.

At first, I was quite hesitant because I’d never had a turkey sandwich with ranch. Luckily, I tried it anyway, and I can now say that it was the

best combination I’ve had on a sandwich. Not to mention, the bread was warm and soft, unlike Planet Sub’s thick, hard bread.

As a first-timer at Planet Sub, I had heard good things about the restaurant but found out for myself that it wasn’t all that great. I waited on a simple turkey sandwich for about 10 minutes only to be let down. I opened the aluminum foil wrapped around the six-inch sandwich only to find a plain, no-better-than-homemade turkey sandwich.

Firehouse subs are superior not only in taste but in price. A six-inch sandwich with a drink and chips rounded off to about $9 at Planet Sub. For almost the same price, I got a foot-long with a drink at Firehouse.

I must say, my decision was not hard to make.

+BY JENNY SILVA

PHOTO BY MIO UEKI

Planet Sub PLANET SUB IS GALAXIES AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION Nestled between a Starbucks and Great Clips, Planet Sub sits on Quivira, drawing little attention from those driving by. In fact, when I arrived, there was only one other customer, who took his sandwich to go. It may appear that no one wants to eat here, but since the chain has been around for 36 years, I don’t believe that’s the case.

I ordered the classic turkey sandwich, which comes with turkey, lettuce, tomato and mayo, all on Planet Sub’s house-made bread. Just like Firehouse, Planet Sub specializes in hot subs, but that seems to be the only similarity between these two sandwiches.

While Firehouse uses typical sub sandwich bread — a choice of a white or wheat sub roll — Planet Sub’s made-from-scratch recipe produces what I like to call “real bread”: crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Both of these stores offer their version of a toasted sandwich, but Firehouse’s bread is too soft, causing the sauces and melted cheeses to overpower the bread and leave it soggy.

Although the bread at Planet Sub was satisfactory, the roasted turkey was dry compared to the the

sliced deli turkey I am used to, but the mayonnaise helped with this. The basic turkey sandwich also did not come with cheese, which was disappointing, but it could be added to the sandwich.

Both restaurants offer additional items including drinks, chips, cookies and salads. Planet Sub has a variety of soups and will prepare any sandwich as a romaine or tortilla wrap. Both of these are healthier choices from their menu for anyone who isn’t feeling carbs.

Not only does Planet Sub offer healthier choices, they also provide more creative options. Along with all the classic combinations of deli meats, they have tuna and crab sandwiches and several veggie options for non-meat eaters.

Along with the real bread and the realistic prices, Planet Sub has always had quick and friendly service with a calm atmosphere, causing it to remain my favorite sandwich place.

+BY GRACE GORENFLO PHOTO BY ALEXA STYERS

NW PASSAGE | entertainment 17

NW

Nail Art

Student Discounts Phone Number: 913-962-nail (6245) Email: huywhcaolong83@gamil.com Shawnee Location https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nail-Art/163449557016954

When I say “good,” you say “neighbor.”

Patricia Lyles CPCU, Agent Now that's teamwork.

11954 W 63 St CALL FOR A QUOTE 24/7 Shawnee, KS 66216 Bus: 913-631-4770 pat@patlyles.net

P097314.1

18 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

State Farm Home Office, Bloomington, IL

They See Me Rollin’ +BYMATTHEW OWENS

PHOTO BY NATE THOMPSON

As head bowling coach, Billy Dent plans to teach the bowlers to have a competitive mindset

T

The next time sophomore Alaina Burris rolls her bowling ball down the lane — watching as the spin of the ball pulls it away from the gutter, hitting the pins in the perfect spot for a strike — there will be a new coach cheering for her.

“I’m really looking forward to the new season with Billy Dent,” Burris said. “From what I’ve seen so far and what I asked him about bowling, he’s really ecstatic and looking forward to working with the team.”

Dent, who also advises KUGR and coaches football, is taking over from former head coach Marcus Fryatt.

“It’s nice being able to follow two good coaches: Mr. Haney [and] Mr. Fryatt,” Dent said. ”I hope to be another in a line of successful coaches who has a mix of knowing the sport, relating to kids,

What has Dent done?

ADVISER OF KUGRCURRENTLY

making it enjoyable and holding [the players] to a competitive standard. And, quite honestly, bowling has a short enough [season] that my wife would let me do it.”

Dent’s love of the sport stemmed from bowling with his family as a child.

“Growing up, I really enjoyed the sport of bowling,” Dent said. “I never competed [in a league], but I liked bowling, and I was pretty good at it. [My family] went to all the different Cosmic Bowling [events].”

Dent’s experience as a football coach will help him the lead the bowlers. He expects them to be accountable for their actions and to control their attitude.

“I would like [the team] to learn how to compete,” Dent said. “If you have fun competing, that doesn’t always translate into winning, but you have the right mindset. Something we talk about in football all the time is to be accountable for what [the players] do and to control their attitude and effort.”

Working alongside Dent is third-year junior

FOOTBALL COACH FOR 10 YEARSCURRENTLY

BASEBALL COACH FOR FIVE YEARSRETIRED

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varsity coach Debra Brewer, who says she prefers to focus on team building over technique. She acclaims Dent’s appointment as coach.

“Number one: he has coaching experience, so he knows how to manage a team,” Brewer said.

“Number two: he has participated in the facultyagainst-student bowling tournament every year and has bowling skills. I know he will be able to help the kids’ average scores.“ Coaching styles differ from sport to sport, but the fundamentals of coaching are universal.

When Dent first started teaching in 2005, the C-team baseball coach quit a week before the season started. Dent was asked to coach the team, although he had not played baseball since his freshman year of high school.

“I was learning the game as I was coaching,” Dent said. “The kids didn’t know what to think.

But the fundamentals of coaching and getting kids to compete at a high level transfer across all sports. You can coach and teach kids to get the most potential out of them.”

SPONSOR OF ULTIMATE FRISBEE CLUBCURRENTLY

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NW PASSAGE | sports 19

state

NW

PHOTO BY LUCAS SILVA Senior Sarah Smith performs her floor routines for the JV invitational in the main gym on Oct. 24 at SM West. This was Smiths first year on the gymnastics team.

Flips, Jumps, and Trophies The girls’ gymnastics team finishes third at the state competition

As the gymnastics team walked onto the mustard yellow floor of Newton High School sporting their tie-dyed, state-bound t-shirts, they knew that the competition would be tough and that they would have to leave it all on the floor to get on the podium.

“Seeing the girls’ hard work pay off the last two weeks of practice leading up to state, I was so proud of their hard work and team effort,” head gymnastics coach Susie Munoz said. “Something I kept reminding them at practice was our team placed first at district, so I told them to practice like district champions.They had their minds set to do it and we did exactly that.”

The team placed third in the competition, scoring a total of 101.325 points, a season high. That score is the sum of the four disciplines: 26.100 on vault, 23.000 on bars, 26.300 on balance beam and 25.925 on floor routine.

“The team has good, consistent scores,” freshman Zoe Kopp said. “That’s what makes us place well as a team. We always have solid scores, and we were honestly just really pumped up.”

Senior Leah Steinacker earned the highest NW individual all-around score (when a single gymnast competes in balance beam, floor routine, vault and bars), a 34.000, which earned her tenth place at the competition.

“Because this was my very last meet, I went into it with the mindset that I would do every routine without holding back,” Steinacker said. “I focused on making my floor and beam routines as pretty as possible. Especially on floor, I focused on making every movement as big as possible and just having fun.”

+BY MATTHEW OWENS PHOTO BY KAITLYN MOORE Freshman Zoe Kopp performs on the bar on Oct. 24 at SM West. The Cougar gymnastics team placed 3rd overall in the state competition.

20 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

expectations

The final shot

The varsity soccer team finishes short of the state tournament

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN Sophomore Jack Lammers crossed the back on Oct. 29 at ODAC. The Cougars varsity boys soccer team lost 4-5 in penalty kicks.

After 110 minutes of two evenly matched teams battling on the pitch, the boys’ varsity soccer team finished their season with a 5-4 penalty shootout loss to the Olathe North Eagles at the 6A sub-state championship.

Following such a closely-played game, this loss was especially difficult for senior Nate Jones.

“I was kind of heartbroken,” Jones said.

“That was my last soccer game, and I felt like we could’ve done a lot better. But I guess that’s what penalty kicks do, they kind of favor a team, in a way.”

The team finished with a record of 12-4-2, and improved a great deal over the course of the season according to varsity coach Todd Boren.

“Overall our team defense improved, so I think we were better organized on the defensive side of the ball,” Boren said. “Our possesion play also increased a great deal, and I think our ability to counter attack with a purpose, not just playing direct in the hopes that something would happen, very much improved.”

The team’s close loss to Rockhurst at the beginning of the season was a turning point that allowed coach Boren to see his team’s potential.

“We competed with Rockhurst for a majority of the game, and when you can compete with a good team like Rockhurst, I think that shows that you have the ability to compete with anybody on our side of the state,” Boren said.

“And so that was a game that helped us realize that we could compete, even though we lost.”

As the team began to trust and rely on each other more, they found more success.

“Early in the season the whole team struggled to finish the ball, so all of the games were very low scoring,” senior Wyatt Gunter said. “But the more we worked and practiced, we began winning by much more.”

The close relationships the players developed over the course of the season was one of the major things senior Bailey Jarrett attributed to his team’s success.

“Toward the end of the season, one of our biggest strengths was that we started to work not for ourselves, but for each other,” Jarrett said. “You would just bust your butt to help the guy next to you, and so we began to play as a team, rather than a bunch of individuals.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS

back on track

Boys’ cross country makes it to state for the first time in two years

PHOTO BY NATE THOMPSON Junior James Lang leads the boys creoss country team in the start of the race signaled by a gun start. The boys cross country team ran at state on Oct. 31 at Rim Rocks farms.

After a third place finish at the regional meet, boys’ varsity cross country was eligible to compete in the state cross country meet for the first time in two years, earning 11th place.

“I feel as though we could have done better,” varsity runner Eric Maxon said. “I could have run a better race by starting out slower and pacing myself. That could go for everybody else as well.”

Head cross country coach Van Rose shared Maxon’s disappointment.

“If you look at the history of NW cross country over the last 40 years, we’ve not qualified for state maybe three times,” Rose said. “We’ve never finished worse than fourth in all those previous years, never.”

Although the team wasn’t satisfied with their 11th place finish, it was an accomplishment for them to make it to the state championship.

“This year we made it to state because the upperclassmen who have been before wanted it,” Maxon said. “They instilled that in the lowerclassmen, making us work harder.”

Next year Rose wants to see a more focused commitment from the team.

“We need more athletes ready run yearround,” Rose said. “[They need to] really commit themselves to being the best that they can be.”

+BY BEN BECKER

Born to run

Girls’ cross country extends state streak to a third year

PHOTO BY CHANDLER BADO Sophomore Molly Born is told by head coach Van Rose that Born has broken the fastest time record for a high school girl at Rim Rock Farm.

Born received first on Oct. 31 and the girls cross country team received 6th5overall.

The girls’ cross country team competed at the state championship at Rim Rock Farm for the second year in a row, earning a sixth place title, one place behind last year.

“I was was satisfied with our sixth place finish because it was a very competitive meet, and we all did our best,” varsity runner Camille Henderson said. ”Hopefully, in future years, we can place better as a team.”

Sophomore Molly Born led the state 6A girls’ runners, finishing nearly 32 seconds ahead of the next competitor and breaking the course record for girls.

“I was really excited, I didn’t know that I had broken [the record]; I knew that it would be close,” varsity runner Molly Born said.

“Everyone overall gave it all they had and tried their hardest. I think sixth was a really good

place for us.”

Head coach Van Rose has entered the girls in tougher meets to train them for the state championship since the beginning of the year.

“Coach has us run in some some big meets this year, so we were used to high pressure situations,” Henderson said. ”Over the course of the season, he plans our workouts so we peak around state. He has state in mind all throughout the season.”

This year’s team has a strong bond and went into the race with confidence in each other.

“As long as we keep improving for next year, we’re just going to keep getting better and better,” Born said. “Above all, it’s a lot of fun to be running with your teammates. It’s just the end of all our hard work.”

+BY BEN BECKER NW PASSAGE | sports 21

NW

Winter

sports

Wrestling

PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT Waking up every morning at 5:20 a.m. to get to 6 a.m. weights, sophomore Jared Habben is conditioning for the upcoming wrestling season.

“I really wanted to make [morning weights] a school thing where it’s open,” head coach Howard Newcomb said. “I opened it up this year to all NW athletes to come in and basically prepare like a champion.”

Prepare like a champion.

These words have echoed through the wrestling room for 15 years, since Newcomb became head coach for the 2000-2001 season.

The mantra continues to echo today. “[Preparing like a champion means doing] everything you can to be the best you can be,” sophomore Jared Habben said. “[We do this by going] to weights and [working our] butts off in practice.”

Last year’s varsity team placed second in the regional tournament and fourth in the Sunflower League. Despite losing some heavy-hitters, they hope to continue that success.

“We did have a lot of state qualifiers last year,” junior Tyler Tummons said. “We had a lot of people in the upper weight classes graduate last year so we are lacking a little bit in the upper weight classes. But I think we have some people we can pull in [to] fill those weight classes [and] we’ll do really good this year.”

The team mainly consists of players in the 106-170 weight ranges. According to Newcomb, the team has been bonding well during morning weights and they have the potential for greatness.

“This team this year has the potential to exceed last year’s goal,” Newcomb said. “Our weight classes are solid. “We have several juniors and seniors that are coming back from last year’s team and [we are] just real happy with what those guys could do this year.”

As the team readies itself for the upcoming season they have one four word saying on their minds: Prepare like a champion.

+BY JACK LYNCH 22 NOV. 20, 2015 | Vol. 47

Boys’ Swim

PHOTO BY BRYCE REX No offseason exists for the boys’ varsity swim team.

That is, there is no part of the year the boys aren’t practicing diligently.

“We’re working very intensely to prepare for this season,” junior Josh Plagge said. “Our offseason work will get us ready in the water so we can hit the ground running when our season starts.”

Preseason conditioning provides an opportunity for individual swimmers to get a head start on competitors who won’t start swimming until the season officially begins.

“Our preseason work gives us an advantage over the teams that don’t work as hard,” junior Brandon Harrell said. “It also gets us used to swimming in the pool every day.”

After losing key team members to graduation, the team is now looking for younger swimmers to step up and perform at a high level.

“In the past, we’ve had some underclassmen move in and that’s helped us out a lot,” head coach David Pfortmiller said. “It’s exciting to just see these kids improve, and [I] have high hopes for state each year.”

Each swimmer has his own personal goal or expectation to improve on this season, and Pfortmiller wants to see his swimmers focusing on that goal.

“We just need to work on getting everyone to try hard in practices,” Pfortmiller said. “You get out what you put in at practice, so we just need to set the goals and work toward them.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS

Girls’ Basketball

PHOTO BY NICK KAHTAVA As the horn sounded last March in Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, the varsity girls’ basketball team walked off the court with a fourth place finish in the state tournament.

“It was heartbreaking,” said junior Emmalee Rose. “It was so hard to look into my teammates’ eyes and watch the tears roll down their cheeks.”

In order to avoid experiencing the same defeat, the team is determined to bring home a state title this season.

“It’s really just next girl up,” varsity head coach Tyler Stewart said. “I think we have some girls who’ve bought in, want to get better, and have improved to where they have a chance to contribute at the varsity level.”

For the team to make it back to the state tournament this year, returning lettermen will need to show exemplary leadership to the underclassmen.

“We will definitely have to have some underclassmen step up to fill in some roles,” senior Shelby McClain said. “Between the other seniors and the rest of the returning girls, we will help get everyone else prepared to be just as successful as we were last year.”

The loss of four seniors, two of whom went on to play college basketball, is providing the girls with the motivation to prove doubters wrong.

“Right now everyone is counting us out so we’re using that as motivation,” senior Brenni Rose said. “I think we will be strong again this year.”

The team doesn’t want their success in the last couple seasons to be a fluke, but rather a longstanding tradition.

“We’re really looking to sustain excellence,” Stewart said. “We don’t want it to be a one- or two-year deal where we make it to state and have a good year. We wanna have another good year. We have the pieces that we want to develop and put us exactly where we were last year — competing for a state title.”

+BY REED WILLIAMS

Previews

Boys’ Basketball

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN It’s no secret that last year the boys’ varsity basketball team didn’t have a winning season.

With only three wins, the team left plenty of room for improvement.

After working especially hard in the offseason, the players and coaches are feeling confident heading into this season.

“After our rough rebuilding year, we can only get better,” junior Alex Oleson said. “I think everyone will be ready to score and play defense.

We’ve worked a lot on that in practice.”

According to senior Dylan Dirks, the team’s determination during practice will produce successful results for this season.

“We’ve put in a lot of work this off-season,” Dirks said. “I think the result is we will look a lot better both offensively and defensively than we did last year.”

Once the season starts, the workouts and daily practices will only become more intense as the team continues to refine aspects of their game.

“We’ll need to work on a lot of things, particularly our defense,” varsity coach Mike Rose said. “That’s going to be one of the big things we have to improve.”

Although Oleson knows the beginning of the season will be tough, he is excited to see what the upcoming months hold for his team.

“Playing as a well-oiled machine is something we will really need to work on at the beginning of the season,” Oleson said. “Right now everyone’s confidence is so high that sometimes we neglect the smarter or easier pass. Once we get the ball in our hand, and start playing for the name on the front of the jersey that won’t be an issue.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS

girls’ bowling

PHOTO BY KATY TERRY With a new coach and few returning varsity members, the varsity girls’ bowling team has their work cut out for them.

“I have never coached bowling,” head coach Billy Dent said. “I have recreational bowling experience and that’s basically it.”

While he has never coached bowling before, his experience coaching football and baseball gives the team hope for the season.

“I think he’s going to do great,” assistant coach Debra Brewer said. “He knows how to motivate kids. He knows how to get them to do what they need to do.”

Although the team has little time to prepare before the first tournament, Dent and Brewer will make the most of every practice they have.

“We have a week of practice and then [the first tournament] is the following week,” Brewer said.

Only two varsity players are returning to the team this year: sophomore Alaina Burris and junior Katy Doleshal.

“I think that while we did lose a lot of seniors, we have a lot of young talent,” Brewer said. “Some great freshman and sophomore bowlers, so I’m not worried in the least bit about losing the seniors. In fact, it was a young team that we took to state.”

While Brewer is not concerned, that doesn’t mean players are not nervous about the upcoming season.

“There’s me and one other girl, and she’s a junior this year,” sophomore Alaina Burris said. “[We] were the only ones left [from last year’s varsity team], so a lot of JV will come up to varsity and I don’t know if we’ll do as well as last year.”

Despite some players being anxious about the upcoming season, they will have two coaches who can drive them towards improvement, though not in the same way. “[Dent] has what I don’t have,” Brewer said.

“He has the coaching experience. I’m the touchyfeely; I can give the hugs and I can joke around, but when it comes to the hammer, that’s his job.”

sports

boys’ bowling

PHOTO BY ATALIE BLACK Junior Colton Kinsella walked into the state bowling competition last year by himself. This year, he wants the whole team to join him.

“I know the level of competition, and I gained more confidence at state [last year],” Kinsella said. “Hopefully I can go to state with my team [this season] and I think with my team there we could perform at a higher level.”

Last season, the team was composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores. With seven returning varsity bowlers this season bringing the experience necessary if they want to have an opportunity to go to state. “[Prior experience] will help a lot because most people know what we’re getting into,” junior Liam Mays said. “Most of us now know each other on varsity. I think we will be a more supportive team. I hope that will be able to push us into state.”

Along with the team’s experience, new head coach Billy Dent will be helping the team out.

“We should have more winnable matches and get higher overall team scores,” sophomore Jalen Pak said. “With the new coach, I am excited to see how different the overall atmosphere is and how the practices go. We always have a fun time.”

The coaches work with the team on technique, both physical and mental, in order for the team to have success in the upcoming season.

“I look forward to just interacting with the kids,” assistant coach Debra Brewer said. “Our goals for the team are to improve their individual games and work together as a team to go to state.

That is always the goal.”

+BY MATT OWENS

+BY JACK LYNCH

NW PASSAGE | sports 23

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

NW

It was hard to think I would never play on that field again. After the last note, it was just over.� senior Gage Oberheu