Summer Club Trips 10
Northwest sports and programs prep for the new school year with summer trips, camps and practices
PASSAGENW
Life Threatening Floods Sweep Kansas City pg. 04
SMSD Recovers From Funding Freeze pg. 04
Trump has administered a great amount of changes under his presidency over this summer pg. 05
A Good Imagination pg. 06
Stomach Problems pg. 07
A Map of Northwest pg. 08
Oppurtunities pg. 10
PUBLICATION OVERSIGHT
Co-Editor-In-Chief Sofia Ball
Co-Editor-In-Chief Greta Grist
Head Copy Editor Sage McCarthy
Copy Editor Sophia Ragan
Copy Editor Grace Rau
Photo Editor Maddi Roof
Photo Editor Vivienne Wheeler
News Editor Hope Hunt
Feature Editor Harper Ward
Sports Editor Sophia Ragan
A&E Editor Grace Rau
Arts Manager Grace Rau
WRITERS
Grace Rau
Gus Stirling
Hope Hunt
Sage McCarthy
Sofia Ball
Sophia Ragan
Harper Ward
Brynna Emler
Dayla Jertson
Kayla Chege
Avery Cornelius
Cover by Maddi Roof
Genevieve Kidder
Sarah Wellman
Olivia Perocho
Genevieve Kidder
Claire Rogers
DESIGNERS
Bella Alvarado
Kennedy Woolf
Greta Grist
Mary Kate Mitchell
ADVISER
Chris Heady
Shawnee Mission Northwest Highschool, 12701 W 67th St, Shawnee, KS, 66216
Right Where I’m Supposed To Be pg. 11 Beyond the Sidelines pg. 11 Be the Arrow for Your Band pg. 11
Want the newspaper delivered right to your door? BUY A SUBSCRIPTION!
$25 dollars for one copy of each of the 9 issues
email : ChristopherHeady@smsd.org for more information
Growth pg. 10 Summer Media Timeline pg. 12 Green Ribbons pg. 14 Preparing for the Season pg. 15
Photos courtesy of sophomore Tessa Brocker
$25 dollars for one copy of each of the 9
email : ChristopherHeady@smsd.org or 3090450@smsd.org for more
LIFE THREATENING FLOODS SWEEP KANSAS CITY
Heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms cause one of the fourth largest flood events in Kansas City history
Kansas City endured multiple ash oods this summer in midto-late July, both the intensity and scale of these events have shocked media, emergency services and locals. KCTV5 chief meteorologist Luke Dorris said the rst round of ash ooding on July 16 was a “one in 200 year event.” KSHB, a Kansas City news channel, reported 4-6 weeks of rain falling within 24 hours. That trumped the 1968 record for most rainfall in KC over one day.
“It’s certainly abnormal,” Dorris said. “Whenever you have ash ooding, typically it’s over a small spot. This was over half the city.”
Around 7,000 people in Kansas City were without power by 10:50 am on Thursday, July 17, according to Evergy’s outage map. Across Johnson County 6,000 people were also without power.
Dorris said this was the fourth most extreme and rst largest ash ood in Kansas City’s history, including ones that took place in 1977, 1998 and 2017 which claimed dozens of lives and over $100 million in damage.
Some students at Northwest, like sophomore Tessa Brocker, experienced damage from the oods.
“At about ve in the morning there was a big bang,” Brocker said. “I slept through it. But both my sisters came in to wake me up and said, ‘Hey, a tree just fell in our house.’ You could hear my parents going, ‘What do we do? What do we do?’”
The tree fell through Brocker’s dining room on July 17. They called the re department, who said there wasn’t much to be done.
“It was ustered because we didn’t know if we’d be able to stay in our house with how much water was leaking,” Brocker said.
The Brockers left out buckets to catch leaks. They spent their morning picking up branches and sweeping bits of tile and drywall o their wood oors. The hole in their ceiling is now covered with tarps and plywood. No one in Brocker’s family was injured.
On July 21, the oods turned deadly.
A 62 year old woman was killed while walking along Creekside Park Trail in Overland Park when the water swept her away.
On July 25, 18 water rescues were conducted, the majority for swamped vehicles, ooding also impacted storefronts and residential homes.
In early July, Texas witnessed catastrophic oods. After the accumulation of signi cant rainfall in central texas, on July 4, 2025, their were six ash ood emergencies. The Guadalupe River rose 26 ft. in 45 minutes. Over 100 people died, including over two dozen young girls at summer camp. Some are still missing. The devastation caused by these events, gaining national attention, is historic, many are still morning the lost lives of loved ones.
Local meteorologists are unsure if more ash ooding is in the forecast.
“We have weather that can change your life very quickly in Kansas City,” Dorris said. “This event was extreme. Hopefully we don’t see it again for many years.”
WRITTEN BY SOFIA BALL 3092535@SMSD.ORG
SMSD RECOVERS FROM FUNDING FREEZE
SMSD nearly lost one million dollars in funding from the US Dep. of Education
As of July 1, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) withheld nearly 6.9 billion in K-12 funding. These funds include support for migrant education, supporting e ective instruction, English language acquisition, student support/ academic enrichment and 21st century community learning centers.
“We had heard at the very beginning of January that there was a threat of pulling back all title funds,” superintendent Michael Schumacher said. “So we started to do some strategizing around what-ifs, if we were to lose that amount of money.”
The Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) took to social media on July 10 that the district will be losing $992,716 in funds. While nearly 300 thousand is already needed to pay sta salaries, along with bene ts. Over 500 thousand support training and preparations for teachers and admin. Over 151 thousand support programs and activities for student success, about 256 thousand funds the English Language Learners (ELL) program and 40.5 thousand support quality programs for
migratory children.
“We tasked the departments who were going to be impacted, leadership in learning, human resources, [to] take a look at our budgets, and then try to determine what are the musthaves and what are the nice to haves,” Schumacher said.
After about three and a half weeks of planning what the next steps are and what the following school year would look like for all public schools outside SMSD, the USDOE unfroze funds on July 25th.
“It was going to be really bad for some school districts,” Schumacher said. “I think it is important for those of us in leadership to advocate on behalf of all of us. It’s not just Shawnee Mission,but I felt a need to use the strength of our voice because of our size and really advocate on behalf of our peers. ”
WRITTEN BY SARAH WELLMAN 3091881@SMSD.ORG
Photos courtesy of sophomore Tessa Brocker
Big Beautiful Bill
Big Beautiful Bill
Trump has administered a great amount of changes under his presidency over this summer
COLLEGE COLLEGEFUNDING FUNDING MEDICAID MEDICAID HOTLINE HOTLINE
Within the “Big Beautiful Bill”, parts of which were passed on July 3, 2025, if people who work under 80 hours in a month, and are between the ages of 19 and 64, they have the possibility to lose their Medicaid. Aidan Lovely, a writer for “Propel” discloses that there will be more frequent renewal within their Medicaid term. People now have to check their eligibility for Medicare every six months, rather than every year. This will start Dec. 31, 2026. A recent alteration states that some reproductive healthcare providers may no longer take
Medicaid for a year. Meaning, if someone is treated in the facility, they may not be covered by Medicaid during their visit. Financially, people in the ACA expansion program may have to pay out of pocket fees for appointments depending on their eligibility. In order to stay prepared for these changes within Medicare coming up, it’s vital to stay updated with the new policies.
WRITTEN BY HOPE HUNT 3135243@SMSD.ORG
12M 12M
people are projected to lose health insurance because of the Trump administration’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Data from PBS.org
The “Big Beautiful Bill” has now a ected college student loans. According to the “Best Colleges”, written by Mathew Arrojons, on July 1, 2026, students attending college will be limited in how much money they can borrow to attend professional college and or get their graduate degree. In order for a student to receive their student loans the student has to abide by a
minimum postgraduation earnings, meaning the graduates have to earn more money than someone above the age of 18 working with a high school diploma to obtain federal student loans. If a student’s family owns a farm where the family resides, owns a small business and or has a commercial shing business which includes shing vessels they could qualify for
Before July 17, 2025, teens and children were able to press 3 and be contacted with a LGBTQ+ helpline “counselor.” Now that’s shut down. Reported by the “Wbur” newspaper, back in 2020 Trump signed the 988 bill, which was a package that included assistance with veterans, Spanish speakers and helping the LGBTQ+ community in crisis. This went into action in September of 2022. Recently, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced that LGBTQ+ services would no longer be available, but when announcing, they left out the last two letters of the community, referring to them as LGB+. The Administration claims that anyone who calls 988 will be receiving “skilled, caring, culturally
more nancial assistance. Students can now use the 529 college savings plan to give assistance to paying o their educational costs. This program can help with fees, books, supplies and even tuition.
WRITTEN BY HOPE HUNT 3135243@SMSD.ORG
Youth LGBTQ+ part of the suicide hotline shut down
competent crisis counselors.” and that everyone “will receive compassion and help.”, when calling 988.
If you are struggling, or even need someone to talk to you can call The Trevor Project, which is a nonpro t organization that helps the youth LGBTQ+ community 24/7. The number is (866) 488-7386.
WRITTEN BY HOPE HUNT
3135243@SMSD.ORG
Stomach
Problems
How striving to be perfect ended in a bathroom stall
I’m on the ground of the Northwest band bathrooms. Hunched over the toilet. Vomit spilling out of my face.
Sweat pours down my back and onto my shaking legs.
My head is pounding.
Everything swims in and out of focus in the bathroom stall, and my vision fades to black as the side of my head hits the tile oor.
***
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
I jolt up from my bed and see a dark room. The rst thing I notice is how bad my legs hurt from conditioning.
I grab my phone and check the time.
5:30 a.m.
Crap
I had to leave for dance in thirty minutes — I was already behind.
I grabbed my sports bra and black heeled character shoes, then sprinted to the car.
My Schedule For The Day:
Dance Team: 6:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
School: 9:15 a.m. - 2:40 p.m.
Musical: 2:50 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Dance Company: 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Homework: 10 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Lay Awake: 12:30 p.m. - 2 a.m.
School was long and boring.
My brain was foggy by lunch. My friends’ faces faded from view; all I could see was my salad. The lettuce swam in front of my eyes until the hunger subsided into an uncomfortable contempt.
This happens when dance gets too intense: my appetite disappears, I only get a couple of hours of sleep and I get tunnel vision.
And right now, I’m barreling into a pitch black cave.
God, I’m not even halfway through the day.
***
The Shawnee Mission Northwest theater has been my home for the past three months, and with “Chicago” growing closer, I have
been here too much.
Clad in my blue sports bra and shorts, I laced up my heels and jumped onto the stage.
This is what you’re good at.
I was the kind of dancer who knew the counts, was always three steps ahead, had the highest kicks and leaps.
I was the rst freshman in memory to become a dance captain.
I couldn’t let everyone down, myself down.
Quitters don’t become great dancers.
Minutes later, our choreographer announced, “We are running ‘Both Reached For The Gun’.”
The hardest number in the show, of course. Four minutes of nonstop dancing in huge reporter jackets.
Halfway through, I was already panting and shaking.
Chasse, run, run, leap
I can’t do this.
Saute, saute, saute I’m going to puke.
I prep into my a la seconde turns.
My mind goes blank. No spotting. No thoughts. Just spinning around myself. When I land, I can’t hear the music.
My friend Alondra’s voice penetrates my daze.
“Harper, are you okay?” I blink for a moment, hearing her but not quite understanding the question.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I respond.
Tears sting my eyes, and heat hits my body in waves.
I crash into the blue stall, lock the door and fall to my knees in front of the toilet.
Hot vomit pours out of my mouth, stinging the back of my throat.
After I stopped throwing up, everything started to spin around me, my eyelids became heavy, and my vision went black as my head hit the tiled oor.
I woke up to the sound of ringing in my ears.
How long had I been out? ***
After sitting in the theater for a couple of minutes, the choreographer and director came over.
“We heard you got sick?” I nodded in response. “Stomach problems?”
No
I wanted to tell them how I’d been running myself into the ground for the past two months, trying to balance everything. I wanted to tell them about the salad and how I hadn’t
eaten a real meal in days. I wanted to tell them that if I didn’t have a break soon, I would explode.
But I didn’t. I nodded.
“Stomach problems.”
They sent me home.
When my mom came back from
– sophomore Harper Ward “ ” “ “
I couldn’t let everyone down, myself down. Quitters don’t become great dancers.
work, she went straight to my room.
“You threw up?” I already knew her next words. “Did you eat?”
She already knew the answer from the salad left in my lunchbox. The salads that had sat untouched for the past week.
“Harper, dance is going to kill you if you don’t take care of yourself.”
The door shut behind her, and my head hit the pillow.
***
BEEP BEEP
BEEP
I woke up to sunlight shining through my window. A warm May day outside.
I checked the time.
5:15 a.m
I grabbed the bags from the foot of my bed and took a bagel for the car ride.
“Newsies” rehearsal consisted of cleaning the dance numbers and doing a stumble through of the show. I didn’t end that rehearsal sprawled on a bathroom oor, puking up my guts. I ended it on the patio at Dairy Queen, looking at my friend’s smiling faces, eating a medium chocolatedipped cone.
WRITTEN BY HARPER WARD 3125091@SMSD.ORG
A Good Imagination
Maladaptive
daydreaming is a part of my life
The sun shot rays of light on every blade of grass. Sweating. With the handmade shed in the left corner and the tree, which turned yellow and orange in the light, stood in my backyard.
I sip pink lemonade and watch a cute brown-haired boy. Older. Wearing navy trousers. A sweater that read Chelsea. He practiced swordsmanship across from me. I’m seven years old, daydreaming about the main character from a movie I couldn’t nish because of a power outage.
I’ve never seen a fencer. I’d never visited Chelsea in real life.
The boy’s not real. It’s all in my head.
Daydreaming wasn’t dangerous then. I wasn’t crying or lost. “Am I a good friend?” I asked Peter Pan one night. He smiled and showed me fairies until dawn. It felt like a superpower.
Everyone daydreams. Future husbands. Weddings. First kisses.
“I like to imagine the neckline of my dress before I walk down the aisle,” my friend Charlotte said while brushing mascara on her eyelashes, preparing for our rst middle school dance.
My friends nod as Stella says she wants a mermaid dress and six-inch heels.
I can relate, sure. I see images in my mind, sure. I think about my future, sure.
But my daydreams aren’t the same as their fantasies.
Ironically, my parents sent me to a therapist named Chelsea.
I spend the most time in my driveway.
Purple kickball in my hand. The ball hits the cracked pavement.
Dogs. Babies. Runners. They all see me quickly snap out of my daydreams as they walk by. They see my lips move, unaware of what I’m saying.
I wave. They wave back.
In fourth grade, I started daydreaming every day.
Sometimes when I get in trouble, my parents won’t let me go to the driveway. I get snappy and dgety when I can’t nd the time to allow the thoughts and scenes to ow through my head.
Somehow, I’d nd time to get co ee with my characters or console them on the breakups I made them have.
Getting ready in the morning, I don’t see myself. I see the face of someone else, doing something else.
At Christmas, I thought about how the boy who was older and wore navy trousers and a sweater that read Chelsea would react to unboxing the vinyl I had just opened.
Would he sing along?
Smile slightly and pretend to be grateful?
Or would he realize someone was thinking about him?
Dreaming again…and again…and again…
My daydreams aren’t just harmless ights of fancy. I cry when my characters cry, laugh when they laugh. All in private.
“We thought you’d grow out of it. Going to the driveway,” my mom said over pasta.
My dad nodded. “You didn’t.” He raised an eyebrow.
I rehearse the same scenes over and over, slightly tweaking the conversations.
“She said hello,” I say. First, as a question.
“She said hello,” I say. Now, as a statement.
“She said hello,” I say, perfecting the tone. Fire ies danced through my hair. But is it really my hair?
Age 12, I’m walking through the block party at the corner of my street. A lady stops me.
“I’ve seen you outside your house.” Her lipstick shines brightly. “I’m so proud of you for spending time outside. Makes me so happy to see young people o their phones.” She hands me a bowl of her homemade pasta salad.
“You’re the girl who bounces a ball outside on her driveway,” she chuckles.
I guess that’s who I am.
Daydreaming got too much in seventh grade.
The day my mom drove me home after Chelsea diagnosed me. “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears played on the radio.
Once we’re home, I open my bedroom door, pick out the darkest fabric I can nd — dark purple, left over from a pillow I made — and cut it into a strip, covering my eyes with the fabric and tie the blindfold as tightly as possible.
All I can see…nothing.
Perfect.
Maybe, just maybe, I can stop daydreaming if I stop seeing. One of the issues with daydreams is that they happen in your mind, not your eyes.
A blindfold isn’t gonna do anything.
But I can try.
I searched my room for a journal and a pen. Flipping to the back page, I used my best blind handwriting and wrote a letter to each and every one of my characters, feeling around the paper with my ngers as a guide.
Telling my characters goodbye. Telling them they have to leave. Telling them they’re causing me more harm than good.
Tears leak out from under the fabric. ***
The reason maladaptive daydreaming is called a disorder?
Because the dreaming never really leaves.
Saying goodbye doesn’t make daydreams go away because they aren’t real. My daydreams don’t respond like actual humans.
Maladaptive daydreaming will always be a part of me. There’s no real medication. I’ve come to terms with this condition and I will always have my own passport to my daydreams. But maybe I don’t want to go on vacation.
At 14 years old, I sit down on a bus, turn on my headphones, and look out the window. I see the boy who wore navy trousers and a sweater that read Chelsea. Now he’s the same age as me. Lounging in a chair — o ering me a smile and a wave — just telling me hello.
Photo by Sofia Ball
Illustration by Grace Rau
OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES
StuCo comes back from CADA with a fresh set of ideas
Three days spent in the sun, from sandy coastlines to outdoor events, group dinners, and rallies, StuCo feels ready to practice what they’ve preached at UC Santa Barbara, California over summer break.
Each year, six lucky students on Student Council Exec board at Northwest can y out to California for CADA, a leadership camp where they connect with students from other schools, and brainstorm innovative event planning and management strategies.
This year those students were seniors Kelli Adams, Valentina Maslovaric, Luke Chal!e, Zoe Nixon, Lilli Webber and Sadie Babbler. StuCo sponsor Sarah Dent organizes and leads this trip. This was her 8th year attending.
Dent believes her students gain a lot of applicable skills over the course of camp.
“What it takes to run StuCo as an e ective leader this year - working together, planning, executing the plan, follow through, accountability, etc,” Dent said.
The cost for StuCo members to attend camp, which went from July 6 through July 10 was covered by last year’s spring garage sale
earnings.
“I wasn’t expecting to get so close with other exec members, because we were all pretty close beforehand,” senior Valentina Maslovaric said. “But this trip de!nitely solidi!ed where we stand as a group.”
Upon arriving, the students get divided into 22 councils, which prepare for a speci!c type of event, such as dances, fundraisers, assemblies and more. Council members exchange advice, plans and ideas, and undergo simulations where they are forced to overcome obstacles which may arise in their positions.
“Basically, you get thrown into something and learn how to adapt,” Webber said.
Those who attended said the exec team has come back with a more inclusive, open and adaptable mindset. The immersion aspect of camp has helped them to think of quick !x solutions, communicate e ectively and utilize unique views.
They’re excited to make Northwest “a better place.”
“We had such a great time there,” Webber said. “People being so passionate about their schools is invigorating to see. It makes us a lot more excited to lead class, lead our school and see what this year will bring.”
WRITTEN BY SOFIA BALL 3092535@SMSD.ORG
GROWTH
GROWTH
Dance team expands this year with a new JV team
Dance team is ready to perform before a roaring student section with hair glitter, smiles and high kicks once again.
To prepare for the season, over summer break they’ve had dance practice, band camp and NDA Dance camp, an arduous, spirited, and blister !lled three days, held at Emporia University.
“NDA Camp is really hard,” varsity dance coach Christin LaMourie said. “We are dancing all day from breakfast until 10:30pm for 3.5 days. It is exhausting, but a fantastic bonding experience and challenge that allows us to grow together.”
Dance captains, seniors Mallory O’Neal, Ellie Roberts, and assistant junior Ella LaMourie choreographed a dance to be performed by their team at NDA dance camp, which they practiced for the weeks leading up.
Nine varsity dancers attended camp. They had to learn and compete two “individual style routines”, an “elite team dance” and one “home routine.”
According to LaMourie, everyone earned superior ratings, a special
award for technical growth, and ribbons of merit.
“This was a !rst for our team,” LaMourie said.
Another !rst — JV attended an Innovative Camp at Shawnee Mission North in late June.
In July, dance team rehearsed with Marching Cougar Pride Band at band camp for two weeks. They dressed up for spirit days, played games like poison frog and of course, learned steps and polished dances for game season and assemblies.
“It was pretty good,” freshman and JV dancer Olivia Randolph said. “I think we learned 12 sidelines in three days. It was tiring, but I’ll get it down and it’ll be !ne.
This year they have a new JV team, and coach, due to the large group of girls who tried out and made dance team last spring.
“I’m very excited that the dance team has grown and that we are able to have a JV,” JV dance coach Louisa Ruby said. “I have long admired this dance program and to be a part of it in this way is awesome.”
Dance team’s goal this year is to embrace the program’s growth and help brand new dancers feel
WRITTEN BY SOFIA BALL 3092535@SMSD.ORG
BAND‘25 CAMP BAND CAMP
1 - Freshman Kaylin Lopez plays the flute July 25 in the Main Gym. Lopez has been in band since the beginning of 7th grade, but this will be her first year in high school band. “I think band camp is beneficial,” Lopez says. “It teaches you a lot of things that you can use during the year.”
Photo by Lucy Wilson
2 - Dancing, Junior Moira Stewart holds a flag July 25 in the Main Gym. The dance team does a variety of different dances during the annual band showcase. “At band camp, we do a lot of learning as far as routines and the marching show,” Stewart said. “It really gives us a head start for the beginning of the school year.”
Photo by Lucy Wilson
Photo by Lucy Wilson
SUPPOSED TO BE SUPPOSED TO BE RIGHT WHERE I’M
After a week at the Gloria shields workshop, I finally found my passion
April 27, on a city bus in Seattle — talking to Chris Heady, the journalism adviser — that’s when he says…
“If you want to go into news broadcasting — newswriting would be a great way to become a well-rounded reporter.”
He’s comparing the broadcast contest I’ve entered to reporting for the newspaper. I can’t get what he says out of my head.
Two days later, I walk into 151 — Heady’s helping a student on her Macbook.
He notices me and swivels his chair toward me.
Then I say…
“I wanna join newspaper!”
He sends me the link to apply.
The next morning, I’m in.
May 14th, I’m sitting in the Northwest library, 30 journalism students and their parents crowded around library tables.
Mr. Heady reads o the names of each class o ered at the Gloria Shields Workshop. The Gloria Shields Workshop — hosted in Dallas
BEYOND THE SIDELINES BEYOND THE SIDELINES
Varsity cheer tumbles toward another season after summer training success
Northwest cheer has stacked expectations for the new season.
After having time to rest and rebuild their team, they are xated on winning big at the state competition, expanding their knowledge and taking performances to the next level.
This summer they held multiple practices a week, so that returners could work with new cheerleaders, prepping them for games and assemblies, and practicing the new band chant.
On June 29, JV and varsity left for NCA Cheer Camp, held in Olathe. It’s a four day bootcamp where the cheer team spends over 10 hours a day perfecting and performing cheers before judges.
This year at camp, Northwest swept with individual awards, received blue ribbons for superior ranking and a few cheerleaders were even asked to come back and work at next years camp.
“Everyone was uplifting, which is great to see so early in the season,” varsity cheer captain and senior Mary Sanders said. “I did see us take more corrections. Learning our cheers, to performing them on the last day, there was a lot of improvement.”
Last year, varsity placed 12th at the state competition. In
2023 they had placed second. Afterwards the team felt disappointed, overwhelmed and dreaded practice. But it didn’t take long for that to light a re beneath them.
“I would say for the majority of that entire team, this is their redemption,” new competition and JV cheer coach Jennifer Araujo said.
The girls have carried positive attitudes into the season, hoping to bolster motivation and con dence. They’ve found ways to make practice more engaging by playing games, like having hat drawings which determine what goofy interpretation they’ll perform their routine with. These include southern accents or loose arms.
Araujo sees this season as an opportunity to try out new choreography, clean up transitions and implement intricate stunting. She’s ready to bring a fresh perspective, and nurture the individual skillsets of her athletes by emphasizing “collaboration,” “cohesion,” and “accountability.”
She said the team already holds natural leadership and talent.
“Every single person on that squad has the ability to be great,” Araujo said. “They just have to believe it.”
WRITTEN BY SOFIA BALL
3092535@SMSD.ORG
every year.
SCAN TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
The workshop where journalism kids go to nerd-out for ve days during the summer.
“Specialized writing” Heady reads.
“The reason I went to the University of Nebraska, the reason I started teaching, the reason I hold my co ee mug the way I do, and the reason my classroom is set up the way it is.”
I tilt to the right, whisper to my dad “That’s the class I’m taking.”
WRITTEN BY GENEVIEVE KIDDER 3091881@SMSD.ORG
BE THE ARROW FOR YOUR BAND BE THE ARROW FOR YOUR BAND
By the end of drum major camp, junior Lilly Christy understood the true meaning of being a drum major
Schedule:
Wake up at 6:00 am.
Head to breakfast with the Northwest Drum Majors and directors.
Go outside for the morning session.
Come inside for lunch.
Stay inside for the afternoon session.
The afternoon session was junior drum major Lilly Christy’s favorite — Con!ict resolution.
“Con!ict resolution was taught by Taylor Watts,” Christy said.
During the morning sessions, they were coached on how to march, conduct and physically be better. But afternoon sessions were focused on how to be a better person.
On the fourth day of camp — “it was a ‘choose your own adventure’ session,” eld captain and Senior Malaina Perry said.
Lilly and the rest of the drum majors chose Con!ict resolution with Watts.
That’s when one game changed it all for Christy.
Thumb War.
Watts reminded everyone of the
game’s objective, along with one special rule.
“Get as many points as possible.”
After a few seconds of elbow bouncing and thumb wrestling — they stopped.
He asked them what the objective was.
They repeated.
“Get as many points as possible.”
Watts gathered groups with the most points. He had them stand in front of everyone and show the other groups how they did it.
After the demonstration, he asked them what the objective was.
They repeated.
“Get as many points as possible.”
“The objective of the game wasn’t just about getting the most personal points,” Christy said.
It was about nding ways where both people can win.
It was about being sel!ess and sel sh at the same time.
It was about being able to compromise for a greater good, even if it doesn’t immediately work out in your favor.
“When they announce our show, [the drum majors] names are the ones being said, but it’s not about [us at all],” Christy added. Because that’s what being a drum major is about.
DESIGN BY
SUMMER SUMMER
Summer of 2025 has been very pop culture heavy, consisting of hyperfixations on TV shows, items and music. While the fact that things are happening in general might not seem out of the ordinary their scale of popularity and characteristics themselves are unusual. We decided to cherry pick viral obsessions and dissect their lore.
Brat-Chella
SETLIST OF COACHELLA
Coachella took place Apr. 11-13 and Apr.18-20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Cali. Although she was not the headliner, Charli XCX had an outstanding performance. Charli XCX performed a setlist full of her iconic songs, such as “Vroom Vroom,” “party 4 u” and songs o of “BRAT,” such as “365.” She also brought out Lorde for the “Girl, so
1. “365” (feat. shy girl)
2. “360”
3. “Von dutch”
4. “Club classics
5. “Unlock It”
6. “I might say something stupid”
confusing” remix and Billie Eilish for the “Guess” remix during weekend one. At the end of weekend one, Charli showed a montage that questioned if BRAT summer had died. The end of her weekend two performance con rmed that BRAT summer is o cially over. These two weekends of performances had many fans in agreement that Charli XCX should have been one of the head-
7. “Apple”
8. “Girl, so confusing” (feat. lorde)
9. “Everything is romantic”
10. “Sympathy is a knife”
11. “Guess”
12. “365”
liners of Coachella. Clairo also had a standout performance, playing classics such as “4EVER,” “Bags,” and reuniting with her old band Shelly for “Steeeam,” leading them to later release their follow-up to their rst EP, “Shelly 2.”
WRITTEN BY GUS STIRLING 3161009@SMSD.ORG
13. “party 4 u”
14. “Track 10” 15. “Von dutch” 16. “I Love It”
Started from the Bottom
Wireless festival was held at Finsbury Park in London July 11-13. For the rst time in the festival’s 20 years, the same artist headlined all three nights. That artist was Drake. Night one of Drake’s performances was the R&B night. Drake performed his R&B songs, such as “Feel No Ways” and others o of “Take Care,” such as “Marvins Room” and “Shot for Me.”
1. “Marvins Room”
2. “Teenage Fever”
3. “Virgina Beach”
4. “Feel No Ways”
5. “Passionfurit”
6. “House in Silence”
7. “Shot for Me”
8. “Jungle”
Drake also brought out R&B legends PARTYNEXTDOOR for songs o their collab album and Lauryn Hill for “Nice For What.” Night two was very energetic with Drake performing electric songs such as “Headlines” and “Nonstop.” Drake brought out 21 Savage for songs o of “Her Loss.” Night three was focused on pop hits. Drake performed his iconic radio songs such as “Hold On, We’re
9. “Jaded”
10. “Chicago Freestyle”
11. “CN Tower”
12. “MOTH BALLS”
13. “SOMETHING ABOUT YOU”
14. “SPIDER-MAN SUPERMAN”
15. “deeper”
16. “DIE TRYING”
WRITTEN BY GUS STIRLING 3161009@SMSD.ORG
Going Home” and “Hotline Bling.” These three nights of unforgettable performances solidi ed Drake as a legend in the game, showed his versatility, and proved he is not going anywhere.
17. “OMW”
18. “SOMEBODY LOVES ME”
19. “PIMMIE’S DILEMMA”
20. “NOKIA”
21. “Nice for What”
THE SUMMER I TURNEDPRETTY PRETTY
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has had a comeback for the last three summers. The show, based on books written by Jenny Han, is about Belly (Isabel) Conkiln and her two love interests. The book series has three parts, “The summer I turned Pretty”, “ It’s Not Summer Without You” and “We’ll Always Have Summer.” Belly has gone to her mothers best friend’s
beach house every summer since she was born, and she’s known two boys her entire life. Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher are the sons of Susanna Fisher, her mom’s best friend. The story is known for its twists and turns, and cli hangers. Belly goes back and forth between both brothers throughout the entire series. Episodes come out once a week on Wednesdays.
Love Island Season 7
“Love Island” is a reality TV show that has aired since the summer of 2005. However, this show has really picked up over the last two seasons, seasons six and seven. The drama is between 10 people, ve girls and ve guys who get to know everyone. These people stay in the villa without their phones and contact with family for six
Sonny Angels
Sonny Angels are little collectable gurines. Much like Labubus, Sonny Angels also come in “blind boxes.” Sonny angels were launched in 2004, but became a huge hit in 2023 on TikTok. They were originally created to be a companion, with the slogan of “he may bring you happiness.” They are designed to look like babies, and they come in two di erent styles: hippers, which attach to other things, such as phones or rear view mirrors, and the original, which stands up like a doll.
WRITTEN BY SAGE MCCARTHY 3141656@SMSD.ORG
weeks of summer. Love Island’s initial idea is to help young people nd love. Throughout the show, contestants are put through challenges that determine whether or not they stay in the villa. Viewers over the past couple of years have been taking the show “too seriously,” sending online hate to the people in the villa, knowing they don’t
Viewers of TSITP dive deeply into the show and create conspiracies. Jenny Han does a great job at using color analysis to get the viewers thinking, she uses the colors blue and red to portray Belly’s conicting emotions.
have their phone. During season seven, the hate got severe enough that producers decided to bring out Megan Thee Stallion as a guest star to remind viewers that the people in the villa are still humans.
WRITTEN BY HOPE HUNT 3135243@SMSD.ORG
Labubus
Labubus have been a huge hit, especially this summer. Some viral videos and trends have been involving them: ‘the one and only 24k gold Labubu’ lady, who is now canceled, and the 102 year old woman who loves her Labubu. They come in “blind boxes,” which are mystery boxes where you don’t know what you’re getting. The origin of Labubus comes from storybook characters created by the artist Kasing Lung.
WRITTEN BY SAGE MCCARTHY 3141656@SMSD.ORG
Matcha
Matcha has been a huge hit. In 2015, it began to grow its popularity. It’s made of a Japanese green tea leaf that’s grounded into a powder. When people see a green drink, they initially think it’s healthy, and it adds to the ‘clean girl’ stereotype. But yes, there are health bene ts to drinking it, such as helping cell damage, and lowering the chance of diseases.
WRITTEN BY SAGE MCCARTHY 3141656@SMSD.ORG
Photo courtesy of Prime Video
How Kenley Dearing deals with the passing of her best friend
She walks past the rows of gravestones, where his headstone would soon join. The weight of her best friend’s casket in her hands.
She walks through the field of green, dewcovered grass in a green dress and a green ribbon in her hair.
She arrives at the place where she is meant to leave him forever.
No more 1 a.m. McDonald’s runs, fighting over Xbox games, trips to the mall or 4th of July cookouts. There is only one place they will see each other now. The Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.
Kenley Dearing and Ovet Gomez Regalado met in a finance class in middle school
“On the first day, he looks at me and he’s like, do you know what pantyhose are?”
Dearing said. “We just became best friends after that.”
- Sophomore
Green Ribbons
around the tennis court to honor Ovet.
“I was still in shock and I wasn’t accepting it,” Dearing says.
For Dearing, the next few weeks were a blur. She followed her routine. She went to school because she had tests to take. She sent streaks to her friends. Even Ovet.
“I have our streaks still alive,” Kenley said. “I’ve been buying them back ever since.”
Aug. 26, 2024, was the last day they saw each other. In his casket was the stuffed shark tucked in next to him. A little piece of their friendship for him to hold onto forever.
Eight Months later, Dearing is still finding ways to deal with the loss.
“She definitely has a void of a best friend,” Candie said. “He won’t be replaced ever.”
“ “ “ “
I still call him on accident, trying to tell him stuff, I always text him every morning to tell him how I’m doing
Kenley Dearing
On Aug. 14, 2024 Regalado passed out from a heat stroke at preseason football practice. Regalado ended up in the hospital that day, his parents and siblings were the first to be notified, Dearing was the second.
The next day, they arrived at the hospital. Dearing sits down next to Regalado, a little stuffed shark sitting on the bedside table next to him.
“They used to always give each other sharks, like stuffed sharks,” Kenley’s mom, Candie Dearing, says.
Kenley sits holding his hand as the nurses remove him from life support, seeing his heart monitor flatline.
“We talked a lot about it, Candie Dearing said. “This is going to be very hard. This is not going to be easy. But she was adamant that she wanted to be there for him.”
Kenley and Ovet were best friends; her battle with grieving her favorite person is an everyday one. Sometimes the grief hits her like a ton of bricks. Some days it’s lighter.
Aug. 17 was especially heavy.
Dearing met with the Gomez Regalado’s and showed up to the Northwest fields along with hundreds of students, teachers, friends, family and community members, all dressed in green, tying green and orange balloons to fences
Dearing still follows her routines. Going to school, going to softball or wrestling practice, hanging out with friends and family. Only now, that routine doesn’t include Xbox tournaments and McDonald’s drivethru visits.
“The things that they used to do together, she holds pretty near and dear to her heart,” Candie says. “I don’t even know if she has yet to play on the Xbox with anyone.”
But just because he’s gone doesn’t mean he has stopped being her best friend.
“I still call him on accident, trying to tell him stuff,” Dearing says. “I always text him every morning to tell him how I’m doing.”
Regalado’s favorite color was green, so since his death, Dearing has worn green ribbons in her hair for her softball games and wears them on her school backpack every day.
“That’s something that’s going to stay with me,” Kenley said.
“I probably won’t ever [take them off]”
She continues to put ribbons on her friend’s backpacks as well, to keep his memory alive.
It’s now many games into the softball season, and they are losing 12-1. She walks up to the plate, taking a chance, and swings at the incoming ball. She hits far into the left side of the outfield, immediately dropping her bat and runs. A green ribbon attached to a braid at the base of her head flies in the wind as she runs the bases.
“The one that I wear for softball is the one I wore to his funeral,” Dearing says.
WRITTEN BY CLAIRE ROGERS 3124411@SMSD.ORG
Photo by Vivienne Wheeler
PREPARING FOR THE SEASON
PREPARING FOR THE SEASON
This past summer Micah Baker trained for the upcoming cross country season
While most teenagers were asleep over the summer at 7:15 a.m, sophomore Micah Baker was hitting the hot summer pavement with her cross country teammates by her side.
What started out as soccer conditioning in eighth grade turned into a serious passion for Baker, who is now entering her third year of cross country.. She stuck with the sport and continues to improve each season, , most recently running junior varsity and was an alternate for varsity her freshman year. This upcoming season Baker hopes to make varsity this year.
“My favorite memory was definitely the last meet, because I PR’d [personal record] quite alot” Baker said.”
But that didn’t happen by surprise; every weekday during the school year the cross country team had practice. Practices involved two to four miles a day, plus hill workouts, speed workouts, and interval training. Routes varied through neighborhoods, tracks and trails.
In addition to running, the cross country team spends time in the weight room a few days a week, focusing on core and leg strength to build endurance through long courses and steep hills.
Summer training is optional, but most runners show up consistently. Every Monday through Thursday, the team meets at Little Mill Creek Park, getting an early start in order to beat the summer heat.
Even though early runs can be tough, Baker looks forward to meeting people in the morning and bonding before her day begins.
“The hardest part of cross country training is staying motivated,” Baker said.
“Just because during cross country season you see your times and make those times better. But during the summer, there’s not any time you’re comparing to. It’s just you motivating yourself for the season.” Not every run is the same for Baker. Some mornings, every step is a struggle. Other mornings, the miles pass with ease. On tough runs, Baker tells herself: “This is just one bad run.”
She believes it’s just something she needs to push through. On harder days, she focuses on her surroundings, or thinks about anything to distract herself.
Mentally, cross country as a sport can be hard. With no scoreboard or immediate feedback, cross country athletes have to push through and find their own motivation.
“Cross country is an individual sport. It’s a lot easier to blame yourself,” Baker said.
This season, Baker’s personal goal is PR. But as a team, their goal is to get a full girls varsity team. Coaches have been encouraging more girls to join, and the team’s chemistry has only gotten stronger.
“Seeing everyone in the morning makes me so excited to compete this season with my team,” Baker said.
Photo by Sofia Ball
N P W
I keep my mind on one goal and and one goal only and that is to get a perosonal record in every
-Trai Woodruff
Senior Trai Woodruff lifts a 305 pound power clean Aug. 30 in room I. One of Woodruff ’s goals for max off week was to get his elbows up during power cleans. “(After a successful power clean) I feel like I’ve accomplished a goal especially if it’s a personal record,” Woodruff said.
Photo by Maddi Roof