The highlights of August and September 2025 pg. 22
September 11, 2025
STUDENTDESIGNED
MURAL
to replace 32 year old artwork
One of the historic academic wing murals from 1993 is being replaced with greater Kansas City inspired artwork.
The mural, designed by senior Ingrid Bustos, is set to be completed by the end of the 25-26 school year. Despite being in the beginning stages, the blue and brown sketch lines show the faint outlines of iconic landmarks like the plaza fountain, the new ferris wheel and the street car.
“What most inspired me were the signi cant monuments that very much encapsulate what Kansas City is, what makes it unique, stu that really stood out and is signi cant for people who live in Kansas City,” Bustos says. “That’s why I chose every monument and decided to add the street car and things that every day people in the city use.”
Bustos did the bulk of designing in her 2nd hour graphic design class, taught by Ruttan. The process took her four hours from Ruttan explaining the mural assignment to her digital mockup.
“I found images of what monuments I wanted to
use, then I sketched them out in my sketchbook,” Bustos explains. “After I did that, I made a digital design of it, and I chose the colors which made it come to life in a way,”
The mural is being painted by murals club, sponsored by Ruttan, every Friday after school. It provides opportunities for students to get involved in more permanent spaces for student art.
“It’s so cool to know that you have a sense of permanence, you know, you’re not like graduating and walking out,” Ruttan said, “I think there’s
BRIGHT LIGHTS
New lighting in Northwest classrooms gathers mixed response
Over summer break, all the classroom and hallway lights in Shawnee Mission Northwest were replaced. New lights were installed in all ve high schools across the district. According to Shawnee Mission School District building manager Branden Johnson, this is the rst full building-wide lighting upgrade.
One feature of the new lighting is that it is dimmable. Teachers can choose how bright to set the overhead lights in their classrooms.
Northwest’s new lights have created a largely negative response among students. According to a poll by the Northwest Passage, 76% of students responded that the new lights were too bright. Students complain of headaches induced by the brightness of the lights.
“Even when they’re dim, they’re still somehow bright,” senior Sam Schill said.
The new lights also appear cooler in tone, as opposed to the “yellow-ish” old lights.
A study from Ball State University explains that warm toned lighting has been linked to positively impacting alertness, attitude, and energy level.
Johnson said that the school district spent $3,364,769 on new lighting in all ve high schools.
BY GRACE RAU 3141589@SMSD.ORG
opportunities for all kinds of interaction, I think that’d be amazing and there’s lots of ways we could do that.”
STORY BY GRETA GRIST 3090450@SMSD.ORG
Above - New mural in the academic hall Aug 28. Photo by Ali Albertson
Illustration by Grace Rau
STORY
What is
LIGHTSPEED?
Northwest’s Lightspeed filter allows your parents to see what’s happening on your computer
As you scroll Pinterest, watch YouTube, and message your friends on your school MacBook, beware: your parents can see it all.
Northwest has been using the Lightspeed Filter system for six years now. It is used to block certain websites on school computers, such as games and social media. But it also sends weekly emails to parents regarding students’ website browsing history, and gives them the ability to shut o website browsing while not at school.
Sophomore Adalyn Vandervoort’s mother texted her one day, saying she had been receiving emails from Northwest about Vandervoort’s website history.
“I was de nitely shocked,” said Vandervoort.
“I’ve heard of schools being able to see your screens during class time, but I didn’t know they were sending and tracking all the websites and just showing it to your parents.”
The weekly emails consist of how many hosts the student has browsed, the average number of pages visited each day, and the top ten most visited hosts.
When going into the parent portal, parents can see every web address connected to a time stamp
24%
of students say that their parents get emails about their MacBook website history
for each day of the past week. This includes a tab for allowed and blocked websites that their student has visited or attempted to visit.
This parent portal also includes the “pause web browsing” switch, which allows the parent to shut o web browsing while not at school for one hour, three hours, or until the morning of the next day.
STORY BY HARPER WARD 3125091@SMSD.ORG
Kids who are making some poor choices get fagged, and then the district and parents work together and come up with different plans [of restriction].
- Associate principal Britton Haney
How the public media federal funding cut affects KCUR
Public media organizations around the nation are adjusting after Congress approved President Donald Trump’s request to remove funding for public media. On the morning of July 24, the House voted 51–48 to pass the Rescissions Act of 2025, which cuts about $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, also known as CPB. About $500,000 per year of this funding will be cut from KCUR.
This will result in a permanent loss of critical funding for KCUR 89.3, Kansas City’s NPR member station, which rst broadcast in 1957.
The $1.1 billion cut would strip two years of federal support for NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local stations, many of which could go dark. This funding will disappear on October 1.
“This recision of funding does upend everything we’re doing,” said KCUR Interim Director of Content, Lisa Rodriguez, on the podcast Up To Date. “We have to gure out and scramble to continue to o er these services. We will gure it out, but not without the help and support of our community.”
With a yearly budget of $535 million, the CPB has funded over 1,500 local public radio and television stations nationwide.
“It is much easier to shoot the messenger than
to deal with the message,” said Leila Fadel, NPR host of Morning Edition and Up First. “And what we do every day as journalists is report without fear or favor, and sometimes that ru es the wrong
KCUR n.
Started by student volunteers, including some from Kansas City University of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Biosciences, KCUR was the frst universitylicensed educational FM station in Missouri and the second FM station in Kansas City. The call letters came from the university’s short name, KCU.
feathers. It’s easier to say, ‘They’re just biased and you can’t trust them,’ so that you don’t have to deal with the facts in journalism.”
In April, President Trump described NPR and PBS as “radical left ‘monsters’ that so badly hurt our country,” and called for them to be defunded.
“ “ ”
”
IS PUBLIC RADIO DYING?
Some organizations agree with Congress, believing
“These are not honest news organizations,” said Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary. “These are partisan, left-wing outlets that are funded by the taxpayers. And this administration does not believe it’s a good use of the taxpayers’ time and money.”
Some politicians disagree with the move, arguing that public media is a service to the people, not just a resource for information. According to the Senator of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, it’s not just news that will be disappearing — it’s tsunami alerts, landslide alerts, and volcanic eruption alerts.
STORY BY DAYLA JERTSON 3129842@SMSD.ORG
To continue offering services, Kansas City PBS and KCUR are asking for community support. You can donate directly by visiting www.kcur.org or www.kansascitypbs.org
Where Do We Draw the Line?
Crack. Pack. Redistrict. Gerrymander.
How are all of these words related? Do you know? Have you heard of the last one at all?
If you’re in the Kansas City area, you want your answer to be yes. They directly concern the outcomes of your elections.
But if your answer was no, you first need some background information.
Each state is made up of a number of congressional districts. The map of these districts is called the congressional map.
The national census establishes the number of residents in each state. It’s released every 10 years and is mandated by the Constitution. The next one will come out in 2030.
Normally, each state’s congressional map is redrawn after every new census comes out. Growth or shrinkage in a state’s population can add or remove a district. This is called redistricting, and it’s done to accurately reflect changes in state populations.
This matters because each district, leaning either Republican or Democratic, elects one representative to the House of Representatives. Along with the Senate (the other chamber of the United States Congress), it has the power to propose legislative bills. A bill you may have recently heard of, for example, is Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” Congress can then pass these bills on to the President, who
Gerrymander: Census: to divide or arrange (a territorial unit) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage
Midterm Elections: elections for the House of Representatives Trump brings gerrymandering over to Kansas City, Missouri a usually complete enumeration of a population
can finally sign them into law or veto them.
Redistricting can add or subtract from a political party’s House seat, which can make it easier or harder for them to pass legislation that affects us. But ideally, this process results in a fair, unbiased representation of a population.
Missouri’s current congressional map, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, gives neither Republicans nor Democrats an unfair advantage. Currently, of Missouri’s eight districts, Republicans hold 6 House seats, while Democrats hold 2.
Despite this, the Trump administration is calling Missouri lawmakers and Governor Mike Kehoe directly, pressuring them to redistrict 5 years early of the release of the census.
What the Trump administration is trying to do is gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing a state’s congressional districts so one political party is unfairly represented over another in the House. Often, this happens through cracking, splitting a party over many districts to weaken its collective voting power, or packing, concentrating a party in a few districts so the opposing party claims more.
This means that even though one party might make up more of the population, the opposing party might control more of the vote, because the way the voting districts are drawn splits the first party up or groups the majority of it into a couple districts. In other words, it leads to elections that blatantly misrepresent the population.
This is exactly what threatens Kansas City.
The Kansas City area’s Democratic-leaning 5th district is suspected to be the target of Trump’s push. If gerrymandered, Republicans could gain up to 7 seats in the state, and Democrats could lose a seat.
Kansas City is one of the most recent targets in the gerrymandering “war” that first started in Texas, when the Trump administration boldly pushed, and received approval on August 23rd, for a new congressional map only halfway through the census cycle that could net Republicans up to 5 more seats.
Now, it’s bled over into other red and blue states alike. California Democrats stirred up redistricting plans of their own in response to the almost-
unprecedented Texas commotion. Gerrymandering, a conversation expected to be stalled until 2030, is now being held in 2025, in states like Utah, Ohio, Illinois, and New York – by both Republicans and Democrats.
As the practice and its consequences loom over Kansas City, I can’t help but feel as though what we’re watching is an unraveling of democracy itself.
Both parties contribute to gerrymandering, but always after each 10-year period, almost as if there’s a silent, sneaky agreement to play by the rules.
But now it’s happening in broad daylight, no holds barred, no intentions hidden. Trump isn’t being sneaky, and neither is anyone responding. This comes up as the 2026 midterm elections approach, and Republicans cling to their ever-soslight majority in the House.
With the transparency—and acceptance—of this more brazen, insidious way of winning an election, I feel as though the notion of American democracy itself is wilting beyond recognition right beneath our noses.
Because if we can sit and watch while they manipulate our boundaries to choose who gets represented and who doesn’t, then who’s choosing who?
Are voters choosing their politicians, or are politicians choosing their voters? Who wins and who loses in the end, when it comes to us and them? Is this democracy? How much of a say do we really get?
STORY BY OLIVIA PEROCHO 3093544@SMSD.ORG
Scan to play Gerrymandr, a game that lets you draw districts and rig elections yourself:
1,068 MILES
Working on my extended essay for IB diploma has led me to one very important niche book
You probably haven’t heard of Mulla Sadra.
That means you also probably don’t know that he’s a 17th century Islamic philosopher who wrote about everything from metaphysics to the human soul.
But I can almost guarantee that you don’t have a copy of his magnum opus, “The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect” on your bookshelf at home. (I know. What a title.)
And I don’t either. That’s because, to get it, I’d have to buy a used copy of a translated edition for $215. And I have exactly $41 in my wallet. So… I was really in a dilemma at the start of my senior year. You see, a few months ago, I didn’t know who Mulla Sadra was either. But since then, I’ve decided to write my IB diploma extended essay on analyzing the literary debate of fate and free will
through Sadra’s work on divine pre-destination. I learned about him through other scholars’ essays and theses. And they were all citing his book: “The Four Journeys.” And to better understand Sadra, that’s exactly what I need to read. I looked for it all summer. It wasn’t in the Johnson County Library. I couldn’t find a PDF online. There was only the $215 used edition. Or one book in the original Arabic that was printed in 1709 for $3,750. Which definitely wasn’t happening…
In one last effort to find “The Four Journeys,” I emailed our school librarian, Mrs. Stigge, the week before school started to explain my predicament and ask for help.
And during my third hour on the first day of school, I opened an email from her titled “Good news!!” Mrs. Stigge found one English copy of “The Four Journeys” — the only copy available in all of the American public library system.
And it was in the Library of Congress.
And they were willing to let me borrow it.
And a few weeks ago, I went to the Central Resource Library and there was a blue book
Why Would Northwest
wrapped in white paper on the holds shelf with my last name on it. The book was heavier than I expected, and 747 pages long. The only one in the country.
BE DIFFERENT?
My experience coming from a private school to Northwest
Iwalk through the doors. Inside waits a giant cafeteria. Grey lunch tables fill up the whole room.
“GO TO THE AUX GYM!”
Heading there, I can only think about one thing.
I don’t want to be here.
St. Joseph Catholic School was already bad enough. Why would Northwest be any different?
I walk into the Aux Gym. It is packed with people wearing bright orange ‘SMNW Link Crew’ shirts . The bleachers are packed with hundreds of other freshmen.
I don’t know a single person here.
“Go get your name tag at the tables!”
I get my nametag and sit in the bleachers.
What am I doing here?
A private school kid in a public school. I never talked to anyone at St Joseph, so why would Northwest be any different?
I sit through the assembly awkwardly, not talking to anyone, just listening to Mathew Wolfe talk. We finally get sent to small group sessions. Thank god I am out of the assembly.
Walking through the halls is like walking through a maze.
How do these hallways connect? Where am I even going? Where are any of my classes? St. Joseph was half the size of this. How am I supposed to even manage getting around?
As we go through the activities in the small group sessions, the time feels infinite. Every minute feels like 30.
I don’t want to be here.
I don’t talk to any of the other people in the group unless I’m forced to.
I don’t know any of these people.
I don’t want to start a conversation, they’ll just think I’m weird.
The weird, awkward private school kid. I didn’t have any friends at St. Joseph, so why would Northwest be any different?
I just sit and wonder. Will I ever make friends here?
5:45 wake up. The earliest I’ve been up in months. Normal morning routine: shower, get dressed, eat, brush my teeth. I head to school.
I walk through the same doors I’ve walked through every morning the past 2 years. Inside is a giant cafeteria.
I walk to the main gym. Inside, there are tons of people wearing bright orange ‘SMNW Link Crew’ shirts – including me.
It is also the freshman’s first day of school. I talk to all my friends about the freshman first day and what the plans are for the day.
As I sit on the bleachers surrounded by those I care about and all the friends I’ve made in the past 2 years, I realize … Northwest is different from St. Joseph.
Senior Grace Rau poses for a photo in the studio Aug. 26 in room 151. Photo by Maddi Roof
STORY BY GRACE RAU 3141589@SMSD.ORG
Junior Gus Stirling poses for a photo in the studio Aug. 29 in room 151. Photo by Sofia Ball
ere’s Always Something
Senior year leaves to room for error — or to think
I’ve just nished the busiest summer of my life.
With working two jobs and babysitting on the side, I’m nally ready for an easy senior year.
I purposefully dumbed my classes down to be palatable for my senior year schedule.
I know where and what I want to go to college for. I applied to KU in July and got in ve days later. I’m going to major in multimedia journalism, and become a part of the student newspaper and radio station.
I have it all gured out.
I have a roommate and a theme for our dorm. I have a plan for my job and I have friends that already go there.
So what is there to be stressed out about?
On the rst day of senior year, I’m sitting at my new lunch table.
I nish shaking my salad and place it down on the white table.
There’s no need for awkward small talk, because I was sitting next to one of my close friends.
“So… Do you have a homecoming dress picked out?”
I hear the screech of the brakes in my brain. It’s Aug. 12. Homecoming isn’t until Oct. 11.
I don’t even know who’s going to be in my next class. It’s that early in the school year.
Purple, pink, blue and red.
What color should my dress be?
I know my face is green.
I casually reply with, “Uhh, no, not yet.”
My brain switches from the brakes and slams on the gas.
Should I be worried about my dress color this early?
Does everyone else have a dress already?
What group am I gonna go with?
Which boy am I gonna go with?
Will I even have a date this year?
“ “ “ “
It’s
exhausting always being followed by events and their 20 contingencies.
By the 20th bullet point of all-consuming questions — my brain suddenly becomes green goop. The goop is sticky and swallows me whole. It’s too opaque that I can’t see a way through it. The goop starts to wash away any sense of self I ever had. Now — nothing is more important than the matching jewelry sets and new accent high heels I’ll need to get.
Nothing will ever get done because I will be consumed with who’s going to what after party, and what cheetah print top I’m going to wear to the after party in someone’s nished basement. I sink deeper and deeper into the brain matter of overwhelmedness.
By the time I nd a dress, make reservations,
buy a corsage, try to lose weight and nd an after-party, it’ll already be time to worry about the Sweetheart dance. And then the playo football games, and then the Not So Late Night assembly.
It’s exhausting always being followed by events and their 20 contingencies. Every event is required to include one “what are you wearing” text, at least 10 pictures with the four people you came with, two TikToks, and ice cream afterward. It’s like the 12 Days of Christmas song. Except the nine ladies dancing are from the 10 minutes you’re at homecoming, before you realize you don’t want to spend your Saturday night surrounded by sweaty 15-year-old boys in the school cafeteria.
By the second week of school the new topic of interest is spring break trips. I feel the green goop rising up again. But this time it’s crawling my throat. All of this is just coming so fast, at full speed. Which is what any adult in my life has always said, at any family function, where uncomfortable surface level conversations are required.
“It’ll y by” they say. I can only hope it’ll go by as fast as people say it will. It’s not that I hate highschool, or that drama follows me or that I have no friends.
It’s just that there’s always something. But maybe it’s better to be busy than bored.
Photo by Claire Reed
1. Senior Tyirell Lee-Bradford is laughing as spilt syrup drips down his palm Aug. 15 on the Football Field. Lee-Bradford had to savor every moment with his friends. “It was a different type of energy,” Lee-Bradford said. “Everybody was just glad to be there together.” Photo by Sofia Ball
2. Getting his photo taken, senior Sang Son stands with his friends around a sign Aug. 15 on the Football Field. Son enjoyed hanging out with friends during Senior Sunrise. Photo by Andie Berg
3. Senior Eli Lopez throws a bean bag Aug. 15 on the Football Field. Lopez had a moment in junior year realizing it wasn’t going to last forever. “It’s bittersweet I’d say [and I’m] happy to go on and start my life,” Lopez said. “At the same time it’s different and overwhelming.” Photo by Andie Berg
4. Senior Maggie Lamons tries to catch a pancake Aug. 15 on the Football Field. At senior sunrise students had to catch their pancakes to get them.
Photo by Maddi Roof
LIGHT IT UP
On Wednesday Northwest hosted the Annual Bonfire
Kicking off the fall sports and activities season, bonfire is a much anticipated pep assembly held in the evening. Starting in the gym, the assembly features performances by marching band and cheer, class skits, and fun games that provide lots of entertainment. After this assembly in the main gym, students head outside to watch the bonfire. Everyone gathers in the student parking
lot around the fire while band and cheer perform stand tunes such as “Hey Baby” and “Jai Ho.”
Bonfire used to take place out on the old dirt field, but improving the field to turf in 2018 meant the fire could no longer be held there.
“We were no longer allowed to do it there, so we had something called a Non-Bonfire because we couldn’t have a fire,” said spirit club sponsor Morgan Moberg. “It was not very popular.”
In the following years, a few families from the Northwest community helped to get resources to make a bonfire possible again. Carrying on the tradition this fall, these community members
helped set up a tarp, brought in a thousand pounds of sand, and then brought in machinery to smooth out the sand. After everything was prepared, spirit club members collected wood from the environmental education class to build the fire the week before the event. The night of the bonfire, Shawnee firefighters supervised and started the fire while students enjoyed the festivities.
STORY BY MARY KATE MITCHELL 3134852@SMSD.ORG
-
on,
Emily
holds her phone up in the air Sept. 3 in the Main
At the beginning of the senior skit the lights were dimmed and the seniors pulled out their phones to use as flashlights. “[I enjoyed] hanging out with all of my friends and enjoying my last bonfire,” Esery said. “The end where we took the photo [was my favorite part],” Esery said.
Photo by Emily Wright
shouts
off in a class competition to compete for the spirit stick. “When we got to making the pyramid they told us we had to be on all fours rather than laying down,” Rowan said. “So we scrambled to fix the pyramid and won the round.”
Photo by Gabriel Larkin
Left - Senior Rowan Bartelt excitedly
Sept. 3 in the Main Gym. Students faced
Above
Flashlight
Senior
Ersery
Gym.
Far Left - Cheering, senior Mason Whitmore holds the spirit stick Sept. 3 in the Main Gym. The spirit stick is awarded by judges to whichever class shows the most spirit during the assembly. “It was my first time being there when we won it, I missed the first assembly we won last year,” Whitmore said “It was fun and exciting and I’m just glad I was actually there this time.”
Photo by Gabriel Larkin
CLASS OF
OVID C
The 25-26 school year welcomes the first generation of children born during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Babies born in 2020 are now in kindergarten, entering their scholastic journey.
According to a study done by the National Library of Medicine, “from very early on, children are not simply passive observers, registering the super!cial appearance of things. Rather, they are building explanatory systems—implicit theories—that organize their knowledge.” That means that when children are not around others their age, like during COVID, their development di ers from others.
Working with kindergarteners has been such a eye opening experience. It’s really interesting to watch them learn new things that I’ve already known for years. So I’m really grateful for CCC cause now I get to experience this
- Senior Brielle Moore
The 2020 lockdown caused seclusion which altered the way people carried out everyday tasks. There were no sports, no playdates and no in-person school. Teachers and families are worried about the e ects of isolation on young students. People on social media have had a negative response to the idea of covid babies
being in school.
A trend started a few weeks before school started where parents were posting “Here comes my covid baby! Good luck teachers” over a video of their child exhibiting distributive behavior or out of character at home. This has started a chain of responses from teachers, where they speak about how their students this year are “surprisingly” well acting, and behaved.
“I think that their social skills are actually better than most because of the mandatory lockdowns,” a kindergarten teacher in SMSD said, “They actually had more time with their moms and dads in their own home. So I think that their school social skills are actually better than [in] years past”.
Most of them are actually pretty quiet which I wasn’t expecting. They have these boxes on their desks with play-doh in them and when they’re done with whatever they’re working on they all just quietly take out the play-doh and play until the theacher tells them their next thing. Maybe that’s not crazy but I feel like most kids would get restless
- Junior Yohanna Ayana
This year’s kindergarten class has been told to have acted and performed in a class setting almost “better” than the current !rst graders.
The class before the kindergarteners didn’t get a chance to go to preschool due to covid, and having school beforehand allows the students to learn the routine. They are able to gain skills that
some at home aren’t, like following directions or getting through a lesson with little to no breaks, because they’ve been taught to already.
“Having a routine set into place for the students allows them to have early childhood exposure,” a teacher in SMSD said. “If they don’t have a little bit of practice of that when they’re three and four, when they come to kindergarten at !ve, it takes a little bit longer for them to kind of !gure out this whole schooling thing.”
For the most part, the kids are very sweet and well behaved. I’m very grateful to have an amazing site teacher who manages her classroom very well. The kids work great in groups and often help each other if needed. I definitely look forward to visiting their classroom every week
- Junior Brooklyn Smith
Students at SMNW in the teacher education program, which is a class that allows students to travel to elementary schools and work with classes. The class meets the students, and does tasks the teacher assigns, whether that’s cutting out something for the bulletin boards or grading tests. “I love it, I want to be a teacher so it’s my favorite class. I feel like it helps build a relationship with the kids over time,”Junior Yohanna Ayana says. Ayana is involved in teacher education and works with a kindergarten class.
WRITTEN BY HOPE HUNT 3135243@SMSD.ORG
*Some source names have not been included in this story to protect their privacy
Photo by Andie Berg
opinion VIEWERS LIKEY U
PBS Kids’ federal funding has been cut, resulting audience outreach and budget concerns
“Cat in the Hat,” “Arthur,” “Curious George,” “Sesame Street,” and many more were all pillars of many kids’ development and childhood. I remember not being able to watch anything but DVDs and then PBS Kids. Learning big words for the age I was at while watching “Word Girl,” watching “Arthur,” 10 minutes past my bedtime – it was a highlight of my childhood.
But in the summer of this year, it was announced that NPR, the news outlet that runs PBS Kids, officially lost 1.1 billion dollars in funding.
None of the stations have shut down yet; however, jobs and programming cuts have begun.
The US government voted to take away funding from NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Meaning, these shows and radio stations have a high chance of losing their audience.
“Over the last weeks, we have been working through how best to manage the impact of loss of federal funding,” PBS Chief Executive Paula Kerger wrote in a memo to station
managers shared with NPR News. “Just like every single public media organization in the country, we are being forced to make hard choices.”
While PBS Kids is attempting to move
NUMBERS
58% of American households tune into PBS every year BY THE
60% of PBS’s audience lives in rural communities 15% of PBS’s yearly budget is federally funded
to digital platforms, such as Amazon Prime. There is a doubt that things will play out well. There’s chances of losing content, and this may affect children in rural areas who watch PBS Kids.
“Those in rural and poor areas in particular rely on CPB grants,” NPR news claims. “With its nightly PBS News Hour and children’s programming, such as “Daniel
Tiger’s Neighborhood,” PBS gets around 15% of its revenue from federal money, as do its member stations on average.”
At this moment, soon, it will no longer be free for kids to watch, according to CBS News. PBS has continued to advocate for keeping funding for its services and fight for public media access. NPR is strongly suggesting that the more wealthy donors donate to the stations in rural areas.
The drive and intention of PBS Kids is to teach and educate, especially for kids in need of the most support. What does that mean for kids who don’t have the finances to afford to watch PBS Kids?
Well, it’s an educational show that soon, only wealthy families can afford to watch. Meaning, those kids in rural areas won’t get to experience watching shows their older siblings watched, and they won’t get to potentially have the same understanding of things. PBS Kids not only touches on education, but it also focuses on empathy and the outlook on others. For me, at least, I was shown by the shows what is and isn’t okay, in the sense of how you talk to your neighbors, your friends and your family.
WRITTEN BY SAGE MCCARTHY 3141656@SMSD.ORG
Photo by Sofia
Ball
Photo illustration by Greta Grist
Little
Students Post High and social workers handle changes that come with the clothing closet
On Aug. 21 at 1:29 p.m., the heavy duty black door to room J creaks open.
Fluorescent lights icker against the chipped, sage green wall paint.
Plastic hangers spill over metal racks.
Three Post High students are helping special education teacher Stacie Anderson get the clothing closet ready for students.
The clothing closet is a space at Northwest where students can pick out things they might need, like clothes, shoes, spirit wear, suits and more.
“We call it our little Savers,” social worker Mellisa Osborn said.
This year the closet moved from room K to J so that Post High — a program easing the transition from education to employment for young adults with disabilities — would have more space to implement new resources that their program needed, such as their latest edition — a kitchenette for practice with home/life skills.
“Blank Space” by Taylor Swift pours out of Anderson’s iphone speaker as they work diligently.
One boy hangs an orange plaid button up.
A quiet girl gently wipes down scu ed shelves.
Strewn on the oor is, a bucket of plastic toothbrushes, leather pumps, trash bags of donations and more hangers.
Anderson stands, hands on her hips, with pink highlights in her hair.
She scans the snug basement room.
“I want more kids to utilize the closet,” Anderson said. “I’ve seen so many students who desperately need clothes or formal dresses and don’t have the money for it. I can’t imagine not being able to a ord a prom dress.”
Anderson eyes the array of coral, scrunched satin gowns and ashy beaded bodices with tissue skirts — the really nice ones are wrapped in plastic.
Donations typically come from parents, teachers and students. They can drop them o in social workers o ces, Special Ed. Classrooms and Room J — the clothing closet.
Students using the closet typically nd out about it through recommendations from social workers or a school nurse. It could be because they don’t have
THE CLOTHING CLOSET IS OPEN 7:40-2:40
MONDAY-FRIDAY
Contact a social worker or admin and head on down!
SAVERS
clothes at home, bled through their pants and need a change of jeans or “if they just want a cute top.”
“It started with meeting the need for formal wear,” Osborn said. “At rst all we really had were ties and
Anderson said, her face lighting up. “I’m kind of excited.”
Most students didn’t know that the clothing closet moved, or that there are probably people
What’s Your
Counselors are flooded with things to do during the back to school season
Back to school is arguably the busiest time of year for anyone in high school.
There are brand new classes to nd, new friends to make and a new sleep schedule to adjust to. The rst thing on any student’s mind is their classes. The only people in charge of making those changes are counselors. O ces opened for counselors on July 16th.
“I changed 75 schedules,” counselor Zach Cash said, in reference to his rst day back. “Then, that following Monday when the freshmen came back, I had 100 emails about schedule change requests.”
Each counselor is assigned a certain number of students, based on the rst letter of the students’ last names.
Cash is assigned 400 within the rst week of school, Cash reported that “half the kids wanted some form of schedule change.”
Surrounded by phone calls, emails and walk-ins — counselors agree that this time of year is really hard.
“You have 100 people needing something, and it all needs to get done in a timely manner,” Cash said.
Counselors show up to school 10 days before teachers do, making them some of the rst people to prepare for the new school year.
“Our workload slowly starts ramping up — with phone calls and emails,” Cash said. “Then kids come back. That’s when it gets really exciting.”
With only ve days to change as many schedules as they can, Northwest counselors feel lucky they even get this opportunity. Many schools in and out of the district don’t allow any schedule changes. “It gets super busy, but it’s nice to see everybody,” Cash said.
“We try to put [students] in a situation where [they’re] challenged academically, but also in a comfortable space for that semester,” counselor Barbara Legate adds.
August schedule changes fade into January enrollment day, when the counselors are handed a new set of tasks. They have to check up on the seniors halfway through the year to see if their credits are coming along slowly but surely. And on top of that, they have to enroll the rest of the student body in their classes for the upcoming school year.
As winter turns into spring, graduation is on everyone’s mind. Not only is it an important milestone for the graduates and their parents, it’s a heart-warming moment for the counselors.
“Getting to celebrate that— is beautiful,” Cash said.
“It’s like proud parents watching your own child cross the stage,” Legate said. “ [you get to see] the accomplishment and the pride on their face knowing how hard they worked for that,” Legate admits.
WHY?
Counselors go from watching the freshmen enroll in their rst foods class, to then taking a leap of faith and taking their rst honors class.
To then dropping out of chemistry at the semester, to nally earning their last credit hour of English.
Like a carousel, students walk across the stage, one by one. As the counselors sit back and get to watch all that hard work come to fruition,” Cash said. They watch the graduates trickle through a single- le line year after year.
After graduation they are right back in the o ce refreshing their inbox and awaiting the slew of new requests.
“It’s important to just stay focused on the why,” Legate said.
Each counselor’s ‘why’ can look di erent.
Maybe they want to see a struggling student of theirs walk across the stage at graduation.
Maybe they want to treat their students how they would want their child to be treated in a counseling o ce.
Maybe they just want their students to push themselves a little bit harder.
Or — maybe they want their student to “leave here, being a well-rounded Northwest student, who has a plan,” Legate adds.
“This is why we do it,” Legate said.
WHO’S MY COUNSELOR?
A-F Mr. Cash zacharycash@smsd.org
F-K Mrs. Legate barbaralegate@smsd.org
L-Re Mrs. Cole katherinecole@smsd.org
Rf-So Mrs. Andrade jessicaandrade@smsd.org
Sp-Z Mrs. Landis jordanlandis@smsd.org
WRITTEN BY GENEVIEVE KIDDER 3091881@SMSD.ORG
Photo by Maddi Roof
GOIN’ DOWN TO
Season 27 premiered on July 23, to much controversy
After the series premiere of season 27 of “South Park,” the White House released a statement the next day.
“The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end — for years they have come after “South Park” for what they labeled as ‘offensive’ content, but suddenly they are praising the show,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Variety. “Just like the creators of “South Park,” the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.”
The premiere of season 27 comes after cocreators Trey Parker and Matt Stone struck a $1.5 billion contract with Paramount to produce 10 episodes per year, and have “South Park” exclusively streaming on Paramount+.
The Trump administration has had harsh reactions to the premiere.
“The show hasn’t been relevant in over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,” Rogers said.
Season 27 premiered on Wednesday, July 23 with the first “South Park” episode in over two years. It centers around Power Christian Principal bringing Jesus Christ into school. After learning Jesus is at the school, along with finding out that president Donald Trump is suing anyone who speaks out against him, Randy, Stan’s father and the other citizens of South Park protest.
The episode pokes fun at Trump — showing him in bed with Satan, along with Paramount — South Park’s airing company.
This comes about one month after it was announced that “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” was getting cancelled by Paramount after Colbert went on a rant about President Trump, and his airing company Paramount.
Trump sued Paramount over the editing of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris “60 Minutes,” with Trump claiming that “60 Minutes” deceptively edited the interview to interfere with the 2024 election. Paramount settled with Trump for $16 million.
On air, Stephen Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe” while telling the
president to “go **** yourself.” This is what led to the show getting cancelled by Paramount.
Episode one speaks on the cancellation, with Jesus telling citizens of South Park to not protest because of what happened to Stephen Colbert. The recent episode of “South Park” has sparked immense controversy among fans and the media because of its crude humor and pokes at politics.
This isn’t the first time “South Park” has faced controversy.
Episodes “Super Best Friends,” “201” and “202” were all taken off air because of their depiction of the prophet Muhammed, which according to Hadith, an Islamic record of traditions and stories about the prophet
“ “ “ “
The show hasn’t been relevant in over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention
- White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers
Muhammed, is strictly prohibited. This led Parker and Stone to receive bomb and death threats.
Season 27 continues on with two more episodes dropping.
Episode two concentrates on Mr. Mackey, the school counselor, getting fired because of funding cuts and becoming a Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, while also attacking Kristi Noem, director of Homeland Security.
Episode three focuses on Towlie visiting Washington D.C., continuing the pokes towards President Trump. Episode four touches on the Labubu craze with the students of “South Park” buying Labubus and freaking out about the tariffs on them. New episodes for Season 27 premiere every other Wednesday night at 9 pm on Comedy Central and stream the next day on Paramount+.
Paramount has not responded to any comments over “South Park’s” recent controversies, however some fans predict that censorship is not out of the question.
South Park
1 | WRITING
Fall Bucket List
Monday, September 22, is the first day of fall. Here are 25 activities to add to your fall bucket list!
Go to a football game - Free with ID
Go to SMNW trunk or treat - Free
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Free
Matching pj’s with a friend - Free
Watch your favorite fall movie - Free
Go to the scarecrow festival on Oct, 4 - Free
Eat something pumpkin-flavored - Free
Go on a fall walk - Free
Make a fall playlist - Free
Read a book - Free
Bake a fall treat - Free
Go thrifting - Price Varies
How to make a:
Pumpkin Spice Latte
1 - Heat the milk. Start by pouring your milk of choice into a small pot and heat over medium low heat until it is hot and almost simmering. Be careful to not boil the milk.
2 - Mix the ingredents. Mix in pumpkin puree, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until well combined.
3 - Make your coffee and pour it into a mug.
4 - Wisk milk until foamy. Pour into the mug on top of the pumpkin-coffee mixture.
5 - Spoon the extra foam on top.
6 - Sprinkle it with a little extra pumpkin spice or cinnamon and enjoy!
Photo by Sofia Ball
Pick out the perfect pumpkin - $5.50
Pick apples - $8
Go to the Kansas City Renaissance fair - $67
Make Pisbury pumpkin cookies - $4
Drive-in movies - $10
Go to a haunted house - $20
Go to the farmers’ market - Price Varies
Try a new fall drink - $6
Haunted hay ride - $40
Go to Deanna Rose - $10
Have a picnic - Price Varies
AMAZON
MORE PERSONAL
Junior Bo Bronson chose volleyball in third grade and stuck with it ever since. As she’s grown up with the sport, Bronson’s played in school and club as well as working out daily for the sport.
“It’s nonstop every day,” Bronson said. “It goes high-school season, club season, and club season overlaps with pre-season for high school.”
Bronson started getting emails from schools her freshman year. Schools can send out emails to athletes, inviting them to visit and attend their camps, but they can’t put out a formal offer or express that they’re interested until June 15.
On June 15, Bronson woke up to a video and text sent at 12:19 in the morning.
will take it all in stride and enjoy the process and the amazing opportunities ahead of you,” said University of Northern Iowa(UNI) coach Kim Davis.
She had also been in contact and got offers from the University of Nebraska Omaha, Lipscomb University, Dayton University, and DePaul University.
“I was shocked that schools would reach out to me that early, and it was extra special for UNI as they sent a video,” Bronson said.
After a couple of weeks of deciding, Bronson verbally committed to a full-ride at UNI over the other schools.
“UNI made it more personal when I had my first call with them,” Bronson said. “They were really nice, and it just kind of clicked because I felt comfortable
THE ROAD TO 364mi ECKERD ECKERD
Senior Lilli Weber committed to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, in June.
“I want to experience something new,” Lilli Weber said. “I want to play the game I love, and get money off my tuition so I can go into grad school later on and not have to worry as much financially.”
“I know this day might get a bit crazy for you, but I hope you
Left - Photo by Jack Pische
Photo by Natalie Shinabargar
Photo by Reese Irwin
Junior Bo Bronson verbally commits to Division One school, University of Northern Iowa
Photo by Natalie Shinabargar
Webster is all-in as the new head football coach
Kurt Webster walks onto the field for the first football game of the season, joining the other coaches on the sidelines, and puts his headset on — all with a smile on his face.
Previous head football coach, Bo Black, contacted Webster two years ago, offering him a job as the offensive coordinator.
“Coach Black called me when I was the head coach at Chapman, and he asked if I’d be interested in coming [to Northwest],” Webster said. “He said, ‘You can come up here and do what you do on offense, I’m going to be retiring soon, and if that’s something you’re interested in, you can apply for the job.’”
After last year’s football season ended, Webster entered the application process.
He put together a packet of his core values, program philosophies, schematics, and what the program would look like under his control. Webster then went through an interview with the administration, other NW head coaches, and previous players’ parents, against the other applicants.
“I felt really comfortable in there, because I knew the people in there wanted the same things that I want,” Webster said.
Dr. Lisa Gruman told Webster he had gotten the job during wrestling season that year.
Before Northwest, Webster was the defensive coordinator at Emporia High for a year, Shawnee Mission West for three years, and head coach at Chapman High School for seven years before coming to coach at Northwest.
“I went to Shawnee Mission West, and I loved the area and always wanted to come back,” Webster said.
During his time at SMW, the team won the 6A state title in 2012. While he was at Chapman, the team had two seven-win seasons, going to and winning the playoffs in each.
Because he was the defensive coordinator last season, Webster has gotten to know most of the team and worked with almost all of them, giving him a small leg-up going into this season that a brand-new coach wouldn’t have.
“It’s been really exciting,” Webster said. “A dream come true. And it feels like a great fit, like my personality fits with a lot of the kids.”
Now, Webster enters the season without Bo Black, but with his core values intact.
“When I took over the job, I wanted to make sure that we keep everything that coach Black did that I really like, we’re not trying to tear down anything good – they’re in place for a reason,” Webster said.
STORY BY SOPHIA RAGAN 3097001@SMSD.ORG
OPPORTUNITY OF A DREAM COME TRUE
LIFETIME
Heath Wilson’s first steps as the new athletic director at Northwest
Heath Wilson walks into the middle of the Northwest gym, surrounded by chattering high school students, the last note of Cougar Fight still hanging in the air. As he approaches, the only thing running through his head is the schedule.
The schedule.
Not the thousands of teenagers sitting in the bleachers. Not his new job.
The schedule.
This was his unofficial debut in the world of Northwest, and he couldn’t be more thrilled.
Wilson’s love for sports started with T-ball, soccer and eventually, football.
“I would say football in particular really impacted my life pretty early,” Wilson said. His coaches, in particular, his high school coach at Wagnor High School in Wagnor, Oklahoma. inspired him to become an educator.
“I always appreciated how he saw my potential and treated me as who I could be, versus what I was at the time,” Wilson said
He then went on to play football at Pittsburgh State, where he also earned his bachelor’s in physical education, master’s degree in educational leadership, and doctorate
in district-level leadership.
His ultimate goal: become an athletic director.
“I knew I always wanted to get into that space, again, because I know the impact coaches have on students,” Wilson said.
He began his career at Mill Valley as an assistant principal and activities director.
“My primary duties were pretty much everything that wasn’t a sport,” Wilson said.
Still, he was waiting for the opportunity to be an athletic director.
After three years, it presented itself.
Shawnee Mission Northwest’s athletic director, Angelo Giacalone, had just retired, and they were on the hunt for someone new.
After his first interview, Wilson was hooked.
“I was very, very excited because I was super impressed with the district administration team, super impressed with Dr. Grumman,” Wilson said.
This was his opportunity to finally achieve what he had been working at for years.
“I really was hoping I would get the job.”
After the third interview came the offer.
Now he is a part of the future of Northwest and is looking for his next steps.
“I’m really looking forward to watching the students succeed and win and lose in the right way,” Wilson said.
25 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Below - Coach Donte Collum talks with players Senior Jacob Stirling and Junior Tyler Hook Sept. 5 at SM North District Stadium. SMNW football won against SM North in the first game of the season. Photo by Lucy Wilson
Below - Junior Finn McCaffery takes a water break Sept. 5 at SM North District Stadium. SMNW won the first game of the season against SM North. Photo by Lucy Wilson
COUGARS WIN FIRST GAME, 55-27.
A wave of neon yellow, orange, green and pink lled the guest side of the stands at Shawnee Mission North Football Stadium on Sept. 5.
Senior Trai Woodru set the tone with a 50-yard touchdown in the rst quarter. That ended the quarter 210, which ended up being 55-27 in a Northwest win.
“We’re doing what we’re supposed to do and executing when there’s an opportunity for some pretty explosive plays,” head football coach Kurt Webster said.
After the rst half, Cougars were ahead 48-14 against the SMN Bisons.
“[SMN] defense was pretty stout up the middle, which kind of made us go to more perimeter runs,” Webster
said. “We thought they’d be very well prepared, which they were, and it’s always a headache dealing with a quarterback that’s a scrambler and has as good speed and playmaking ability.”
Woodru had seven carries and ran for 206 yards. Senior Ty Newton rushed for 149 yards.
“We want to try and get their focus on the opponent that we’re playing and nothing else, and just take it one game by one game,” Webster said.
Cougars will play next week Sept. 11 at 7 pm in the SMN stadium.
Story by Sara Wellman 3092222@SMSD.ORG
To see more photos and order them, check out smnwphotos.com!
Senior Blane Harris shows the football team their positions Sept. 5 at SM North District Stadium. Photo by Lucy Wilson
GYMNASTICS
SCHEDULE
Sep 13, 2025
10:00AM Away vs. Lawrence Lawrence High School
Sep 17, 2025
5:00PM Away vs. Olathe-South Mill Creek Center Olathe
Sep 20, 2025
10:00AM Away vs. Multiple Schools
Shawnee Mission Northwest
Sep 22, 2025
5:30PM Away vs. Emporia Emporia High School
GIRLS TENNIS SCHEDULE
Sept 16, 2025
9:00a.m Away vs. Gardner Gardner Edgerton High School
Sept 22, 2025
3:00 p.m. Away vs. Lawrence Lawrence High School
Sept 29, 2025
3:00 p.m. Away vs. Olathe East CBAC
Oct 2, 2025
9:00 a.m.Varsity Sun ower League CBAC
Sep 23, 2025
6:00p.m. Away vs. OlatheNorth Mill Creek Center Olathe
Sep 27, 2025
10:00a.m. Away vs. Lawrence Free State Lawrence High School
Oct 1, 2025
District 5:00p.m Multiple Schools
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
GIRLS GOLF SCHEDULE
Sep 15, 2025
8:00AM Away vs. Olathe Northwest Hoots Hollow
Sep 22, 2025
1:00PM Away vs. Lawrence Free State Lawrence Country Club
Sep 24, 2025
3:00PM Away vs. St. James Academy Sun ower Hills Golf Course
Sep 29, 2025
1:00PM Away vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf Club
BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE
Sep 11, 2025
7:00PM Away vs. Olathe East CBAC
Sep 16, 2025
7:00PM Away vs. Lawrence Lawrence High School
Sep 18, 2025
7:00PM Away vs. Olathe Northwest CBAC
Sep 23, 2025
7:00P.M. Olathe South Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex
7:00PM Olathe North Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex
Oct 6, 2025
6:15PM Away vs. Spring Hill Spring Hill High School
Oct 7, 2025
7:00PM Away vs. SMN Shawnee Mission North Stadium
Oct 9, 2025
7:00PM Away vs. Gardner Edgerton Gardner-Edgerton High School
To see more, visit the Shawnee Mission Northwest Athletics website!
month in photos august
Above - In the air, senior Olivia Perocho is tossed up by other journalism students Aug. 22 outside the CAA. During kickoff, students competed to see which team got their food first before each meal. “They liked throwing me around a lot, and I was okay with that,” Perocho said. Photo by Ali Albertson
Right - Senior Beale Bondurant huddles with his team Aug. 29 at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex during the first SMNW soccer game, the team was up by 1 point and huddling around the coach to get prepared for the last half of the game. “We were hungry to win that game,” Beale said “We are hungry to prove everyone wrong about last season.”
Photo by Andie Berg
Right - Freshman Kinzley Williams pops a balloon behind her back Aug. 11 in the Aux Gym. During the assembly, freshmen from the crowd participated in team relays, such as popping balloons between two people. “I was kind of bored just sitting and listening, so I wanted to get up and do something,” Williams said. “It was definitely more difficult than I thought it would be.” Photo by Finn Bedell
smnw.com
Left - Posing, sophomore Harper Ward does the splits Aug. 23 in the Auditorium. Ward was a part of the Las Vegas team in the journalism program’s yearly Kickoff event. “[My team] was really nice and they all wanted to have a lot of fun, but also be competitive and try to win the games and the lip sync,” Ward said. Photo by Finn Bedell
Photo by Sofia Ball
Left - Shouting, senior Zoe Nixion celebrates her volleyball team winning a point Aug. 22 at Pflumm Bichelmeyer Park. Nixon’s team had just reached the score 7-6. “[I celebrated] because we were down originally and we got back up,” Nixon said.
Photo by Finn Bedell
Aug. 15 in the
Going on people’s shoulders wasn’t allowed. “I didn’t know we weren’t at first but we wanted to get the crowd more hype and engaged,” Nadeau said. Photo by Andie Berg
Above - Senior Lily Weber holds Mia Nadeau on her shoulder
Cafeteria.
Above - Senior Valentine Nielsen plays Giant Jenga Aug. 15 on the football field. At senior sunrise, students have the option to play a litany of games including cornhole, frisbee, spike ball, and more. “It was super worth it,” Nielsen said. “It was so much fun getting to have quality time with my friends.”
N P WALKOUTWALKOUT
Above - Shouting, Senior Roman Fent participates in a protest Sept. 5 on 67th street. The students organized a walkout to peacefully protest against the use of firearms. “ I’m standing here with a borrowed sign and the brightest shirt I own,” Fent said. “All that matters is that we achieve change.”
by Vivienne Wheeler
- Sophomore Mia Weltmer yells during a protest Sept. 5 on 67th Street. Students prepared for the protest by making signs and coming up with chants. “My favorite part was seeing everyone come together,” Weltmer said.
“Just seeing how much effort everyone put into it all at once was good.”
“Enough is enough”: Northwest Students Protest School Shootings in Nationwide Walkout
a protest
publicizing this protest. “This kind of effort from other students, all coming together to support one cause, is really nice to see,”
protesters Sept. 5 on 67th Street. SMNW students protested against gun violence because of the recent shooting in Minneapolis. ”
- Sophomore Ollie Adams makes a sign during the protest on Sept. 5 on 67th St. Adams’ sign was a last minute effort after seeing others signs. “It’s scary how guns are protected more than living human beings,” Adams said. “I think the protest was a push to get us in the right direction and stop gun violence.”
Photo
Above - Sophomores Emily Wright and Joley Nickerson yell a chant during
Sept. 5 on 67th street. Wright ran the Instagram account
