MISSION
THE Shawnee Mission North Volume 9 Issue 8 April 30, 2018
New Principal 5
Senior Countdown 8-9
Spring Show 11
The bathroom breakdown
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ver spring break, SM North put in new paper towel dispensers, replacing the old ones. Throughout the school there are approximately 140 new dispensers, along with quite a few Dyson hand dryers. We believe that the Dyson hand dryers should be replaced with the new paper towel dispensers. Even though the hand dryers are cleaned every night, they still aren’t as sanitary as plain old paper towels. In a study done by the University of Westminster, it was found that hand dryers spread 1,300 times more germs than paper towels. On top of that, air dryers aren’t as effective as they’re made
out to be. After using these dryers, most people end up wiping their hands on something else, further spreading the bacteria they just collected by usuing the hand dryer. Despite the fact that the new paper towel dispensers may seem unsanitary, (due to the fact that you have to push down) there are many ways to prevent the further spread of bacteria. Those ways include pushing it before you wash your hands and even pushing it with your elbow. Though air dryers provide a lower cost for the school, they aren’t the most effective or the most practical.
Man On The Street What do you think about state testing? “I think state tests lack reliability and validity. I also believe it’s a waste of both the students and teachers time.”
“I treat state testing like any other test. Like I still try and do my best.” Luke Cramer, 9
“I just think that state testing is useless.”
Jillian Clifford, 11
Erin Morgan, 10
On the cover, freshman Ryan Russell performs
his lip sync to ‘U Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer. “Last year when I went to lip syncs, I was like ‘I already know all the words to this song’,” Russell said, “so I just ordered the MC Hammer costume and went all out.” Russell’s lipsync came in third.
CALE CHAPMAN
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RENA LIPARI WRITER/DESIGNER
ZEVA ROSE GEBHARD WRITER/DESIGNER
REECE OLER WRITER/DESIGNER
GRACE ALTENHOFEN WRITER/DESIGNER
NIC ENGLISH WRITER/DESIGNER
MYSTIKA ALLISON-BARNES WRITER/DESIGNER
KAYLA WARREN WRITER/DESIGNER
RILEE MORROW WRITER/DESIGNER
The Mission Newsmagazine is a student-run newspaper that publishes nine issues every year. The Mission is used by its staff as a platform for student expression. The views expressed by The Mission do not represent the views of the entire staff, the adviser and the administration. Some material used in accord with terms from the American Society of News Editors/Tribune News Service. Student submissions and letters to the editors are accepted at themission184@gmail.com
April 2018
Searching FOR Experience
Students across SMSD attend school to occupation transition program
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roject SEARCH is a new program that will be launching here in the SMSD next fall. Project SEARCH is a unique, one-year school to occupation transition program that provides students afflicted by significant intellectual and developmental disabilities with real-life work experience and teaches them independent living skills to help them make successful transitions from school to a productive adult life. Project SEARCH includes an extensive period of training, career exploration, innovative adaptations, long-term job coaching, and continuous feedback from teachers, job coaches, and employers. The program begins with a focus in new employee orientation, hands-on skill assessment, and familiarizing students with the Shawnee Mission Health environment, where the program is held. Students work to develop a career plan to guide them through the internship selection process and individualized job search. Throughout the year students work through their employment curriculum and different internship and worksite rotations. Towards the end of the year, the program switches its focus to refining skills learned earlier in the year, achieving student career goals, and carrying out individualized job placement. Job development and placement occurs based on the student’s experiences, strengths, and skills that they have honed through participation in Project Search. The students get connections in the community that are imperative to students while they prepare to graduate. This program has the ability to help numerous SMSD students have successful and productive adult lives. Story by Cale Chapman
More Information. . . SMSD’s Special Education Homepage: http://specialed.smsd.org/Pages/default.aspx Project SEARCH’s Website: https://www.projectsearch.us/ Johnson County’s Project SEARCH Website:
https://www.jocogov.org/dept/developmental-supports/day-and-employment-services/project-search
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Seniors making a difference
BEING handed the boxes off a truck, senior Cara Petterson volunteered at Heartland Book Bank. “We pulled in boxes of books off a truck and then organized them into stacks of hardbacks, paperbacks and magazines.”photo by Michael Her
Seniors in their English 12 classes volunteer as a new class requirement
S
eniors in their English 12 classes had a new assignment this year: volunteering at local non-profit organizations in the area. “The volunteering project started when I was approached by some senior English teachers,” Instructional Coach Laura Brogdon said. “They wanted to take their curriculum standards and expand them outside the four walls of the classroom.” Brogdon is in her first year at North and the former SM West math teacher is the first exclusive instructional coach that North has had. “One of the second quarter standards is to get out in the community and learn about experiences with non-profit organizations and we just went from there,” Brogdon said. “Students started researching non-profit organizations, and I got to help with that.” The four places that the seniors chose were Heartland Book Bank, Unleashed, Harvesters and Meals on Wheels. Heartland Book Bank is a nonprofit that gives free books to teachers and other people that need them. Unleashed is an animal shelter close to SM North. Harvesters is a regional food bank in the Kansas City area. And lastly, Meals on Wheels is an organization that provides meals to people who are homebound. Senior Cara Peterson was one of the seniors that went to Heartland Book Bank. “Overall it was just a really great experience,” Peterson said. “Growing up I worked with my grandma in her book store. Being able to help someone organize books to give to students and teachers who can’t afford to have books for learning experiences is really awesome.” While there, Peterson and her classmates organized and counted books. “It’s human connection, really being able to give back,” Peterson said. “Helping out someone who can’t necessarily do it or doesn’t have the motivation to and seeing them smile after is just super rewarding.” story by Reece Oler
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SURROUNDING a worker, a group of North students
learn what they are helping out with at Unleashed Pet Rescue and Adoption. photo by James Cameron
April 2018
Leading the Brick House SM West Associate Principal Jeremy Higgins to be SM North’s next principal
Paper in hand, future SM North Principal Jeremy Higgins talks to SM West counseling office receptionist Alba Gonzales. photo by Caitlyn Braxdale
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ollowing the announcement of the departure of SM North Principal David Tappan, Dr. Jeremy Higgins has been named the new principal of North for the 2018-19 school year. Higgins has been in SMSD for 12 years, first as a science teacher and associate principal at SM East and then as associate principal SM West. During his time at East, he also coached baseball and football. “I’m very approachable,” Higgins said. “I want students to know that I want them to feel comfortable coming up and talking to me.” He also emphasized that his goal is for students to enjoy coming to school every day. “You only get high school once,” Higgins said. “I want those four years to be a magical experience for students. I want them to wake up every day wanting to come to school.” No job listing was posted for the principal position at North; rather, district administrators sought to find a candidate who was already a district employee. “We looked at everyone to see who would be the best candidate,” said Director of Secondary Services Joe Gilhaus. “A large group of administrators were considered.” Higgins will be the third principal North has had
in four years, preceded by David Tappan and Richard Kramer. “It’s like they’ve given up on us,” junior Jolina Justus said. “When you’re principal, kids rely on you. When they leave after a year it feels like they never really cared about students or making the school better.” Despite looking forward to working with a new principal, junior Adrianna Warren feels that the three principal changes make it difficult to get attached to a principal. “It’s like a parent giving up child and replacing them with another child,” Warren said. “People become attached to the principal and it’s pathetic that they all leave.” However, Higgins wants students to know that it is not his intention to make the North principal position a temporary job. “I think my track record speaks to that,” Higgins said. “It’s not my goal to be in for a year and out the door.” North Associate Principal David Ewers said that change in leadership every few years is something inevitable in education. “It happens sometimes,” Ewers said. “There’s turnover, that’s how it goes, but we’re going to continue to build on the great things we’ve established.” story by Grace Altenhofen
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RAISED ROYAL After the loss of key players in the offseason, the Royals enter the 2018 season ready to rebuild
North’s Opinion
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aseball season is back and the Kansas City Royals will be facing a lot of adversity this year following their first losing season since 2012. It was a difficult offseason for the Royals, two seasons removed from their World Series Championship as they lost two key players to free agency. First Baseman Eric Hosmer inked an 8-year $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres and Center Fielder Lorenzo Cain signed a 5-year $80 contract with his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers. While the Royals lost a lot of players during the offseason, they were able to add some talent to the team. They were third baseman Mike Moustakas on a one-year deal after a rather slow free agent market. The team also added outfielder Jon Jay who hit .296 last season with the Cubs. With the loss of Hosmer and Cain, the inevitable rebuild is underway in Kansas City. The Royals are off to their worst start since 2012 with a record of (5-15). The ream is also without key players such as All-Star Catcher Salvador Perez, who is out 4-6 weeks with a grade 2 MCL tear. They are also without Alex Gordon (hip labral tear), Nate Karns (elbow inflammation), Aldaberto Mondesi and Jesse Hahn are also among the Royals that are injured. Since the team is in rebuild mode and due to the fact that the team elected not to sell at the deadline last season there is a lot of specualtion that they will be big sellers during this years deadline. The most likely player to be traded is Pitcher Danny Duffy, while he signed a contract extension last season and he has expressed his disinterest in leaving Kansas City, the team could get a decent package of prospects for him. The next likely player to be traded is closer Kelvin Herrera. He’s in the final year of his contract and while he had a down year in 2017, he has a good track record from the past few seasons and closers tend to hold a high value to contending teams at the trade deadline. Mike Moustakas could also be traded this season. He signed a one year contract in the offseason and is likely to test free agency again in the offseason, it would make sense for the Royals to shop the two-time all star. Whit Merrifield is another possibility, while it is probably unlikely for him to be traded. While the team is off to a rough start this year, it is still a long season. The team will definitley improve at somepoint. And while times could get rough for the Royals throughout the season, it’s a goood opportunity to embrace change and appreciate what this team did back in 2014 and 2015. story by Nic English
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Students thoughts on how the season is going so far for the Royals Brad Barr, 12
The Royals are back to being the team I remember growing up, which kind of feels nice, and close to home. Let’s just hope they can rebuild within the next 5 years instead of 15... Caleb Brooks, 12 I think the Royals have made a lot of off season moves with the signing of some key role players like Lucas Duda and Jon Jay. Even though we lost some major players this year like Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain. But with us signing Mike Moustakas back and still having the best catcher in baseball when healthy Salvador Perez, we will defiantly be able to make a push for the playoffs even though we more than likely wouldn’t make it out of the ALDS. I am excited to see what this team can do when healthy.
Dylan Rule, 12 To be honest I don’t see them winning more than like 70 games this year. It’ll be a down year for sure. I definitely think they need to sell high on some good players at the trade deadline at get prospects to rebuild for the next few years. It only makes sense.
Redefining Librarians As technology increases, librarians take on new role in SMSD libraries
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he SM North media center underwent a large renovation in the summer of 2016, becoming the first Shawnee Mission school to rebuild their library into a learning commons. However, as the school did away with a number of the library’s books, the district also did away with the requirement that school librarians be certified. The renovation, which prompted the storage of a large number of the school’s books, turned the media center into an open space designed for collaboration and group work. This effectively transitioned the space from a traditional library to a more modern learning commons. “We envisioned that space being somewhere where it’s a media center, but it’s also an extension of existing classrooms,” Associate Principal David Ewers said. “Overall, it’s been a positive change. More kids have access to that room now.” However, people hired to work in SMSD school libraries are no longer required to be certified librarians. Parents and librarians raised concerns about this at the board of education meeting on March 26. “A member of the administration when questioned about this new job description said the innovation specialist job title is so librarians will do more than just read stories and check out books,” Ray Marsh librarian Jan Bombeck said. “When I first heard this statement I was angry because I have never just read stories and checked out books.”
Jiwan Biswa, 12 “I think the learning commons is a good thing. You can read online anyway, more technology is an improvement.”
Greta Berg, 10 “I like the learning commons. It’s cozier and there’s more room to hang out.”
North librarian Sherri Crawford agrees that certification should be a requirement for SMSD librarians. “I think every school should have a certified school librarian,” Crawford said. “I was happy to see that Shawnee Mission South is hiring a certified, experienced school librarian next year when their current librarian retires at the end of this year.” However, some feel that the increasing amount of technology in school libraries warrants a change in the job description for librarians. “As that particular role changes, it’s important to recognize that you have the right person in there regardless of certification,” Ewers said. While some feel that certification should be mandatory, others recognize that experience in library sciences can be just as valid as a degree or certificate. “I don’t know if you need that exact degree,” sophomore Ashley Davis said. “But you should have at least some knowledge and experience in the field.” Though library employees currently being hired are not required to hold certification, it remains to be seen whether this will change with the incoming superintendent. “I understand that the new superintendent indicated his support for certified librarians and I agree with him,” English teacher Erin Rivers said. “I think librarians need to be certified. There’s a lot more to being a librarian than checking out books.” story by Grace Altenhofen
Elizabeth Colburn, 11 “The name ‘learning commons’ makes it sound too official. I would change the name back to library.”
Bridget Ediger, 10 “I feel like having a library and more books would be beneficial. I like libraries better.” @TheMissionPaper
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THE FINAL COUNTDOWN After their final year of working hard in the Brick House, seniors have a few more things to accomplish before they graduate
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he biggest thing on seniors’ minds right now is most definitely graduation. But walking across the stage and getting their diploma isn’t the only thing that the seniors have to do at the end of the year. The administrators have put out a list of the activities that seniors need to know about for the final weeks of their senior year.
Graduation Speaker
After Nathan Darrow, 1994 SM North graduate and professional actor, rescinded the offer to speak at graduation, the committee has picked 1988 graduate Brad Fanning, co-host of The Drive on 610 Sports Radio, to speak at graduation. Fanning graduated from Emporia State University in 1993 with a Bachelor in Fine Arts Degree in Communication; Cognate Area Journalism. He decided to pursue sports media as his career. Fanning has been a television sports anchor/reporter in Lawton, OK at KSWO-TV, Wichita Falls, TX at KFDX-TV, KSAS/KSN-TV in Wichita, KS, WUPW-TV in Toledo, OH and KCTV-5 in Kansas City. Fanning has also been named the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters Best Sportscaster twice.
Senior Breakfast
The senior breakfast was held on April 19 in the auditorium. Seniors and their families were able to attend. During the breakfast they watched a slide show of memories from their senior year in the auditorium and then eat a pancake breakfast. They also announced scholarships that some students earned. ART (Advanced Repertory Theater) also performed in the auditorium. “My favorite part was definitely seeing Luke (Goff) perform in ART,” senior Reese Sila said.
Pancakes in hand, the class of 2018 attends the Senior Breakfast on April 19. photos by Emma Jones
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April 2018
TIMELINE OF EVENTS The list of events that administration has deemed most important for seniors to know for the end of the year
April 23-27 - Senior English visits for exam exemption AP & IB only April 23 Identify NHS students for program handouts April 24 Soloist/Musical auditions April 25 Senior Oration Tryouts, Senior Graduation Committee and LA committee selects recipient April 26 & 27 Senior Surveys
April 30 - Row Assignments (auditorium) for seniors posted Note cards for row numbers/chairs Check quantity of diploma covers, diploma boxes, Alpha signs, gloves, big pic signs
April 30 - Faculty Graduation responsibilities Auditorium row assignments, row leaders Handicap assistance, Men/Women in Blue
April 30 - Catering for graduation reception Staff hosts & food order
May 1-2 - Follow up on purchase orders
Senior English visits for graduation expectations (handout), ticket distribution in English classes (English teachers), class rosters with initialing for receipt, SKYWARD explaining responsibilities, tickets to BTC, Horizons, Sem. Grads
May 4 - Invitation prepared to all students
Class president, senior oration, roll readers, alum into All participants speaking Performing (choral/band) on the stage to attend practice at 1 p.m. on May 16
May 8 - Faculty meeting
Covering graduation responsibilities Pass/fail procedures – counseling, financial obligations
May 11 - Senior Graduation Practice
Practice/rehearsal procedures- Auditorium and FH Device check-in, group photo, yearbook signing, picnic
May 11 - Graduation Practice Task
Pull diplomas/students didn’t meet SMSD requirements, notify top 10 at graduation practice, top 10 reception invitations handed out
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Get
to
Know
your
Prom
King & QUEEN Jack Denebeim Q: How did it feel to win? A: It’s pretty special getting recognized by your classmates and peers like that. At the assembly when me and Dulcinea walked out everybody went crazy, and when Dulcinea put the hat on me everyone went crazy. And at Prom when I got crowned people went crazy. Q: What Club did you represent? A: Yearbook Q: What made you a prime candidate for Prom King? A: I think I’m a good guy, I feel like I’m nice to people. I try to lead by example, so I try to do the right thing when nobody’s looking at me. Q: What’s next for you? A: I’m ready to graduate. I’m going to JCCC probably and I’m going to do my best to become a sports writer. Q: How did you celebrate? A: I went home and slept, I was pretty tired after Prom. Q: What does the title mean to you? A: It means I have good friends, people that vote for me. It’s special, getting recognized by your classmates and peers is a good feeling.
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Dulcinea Herrera Q: How did it feel to win? A: It was cool, it was a fun experience. Q: What Club did you represent? A: Forensics and Equality Club Q: What made you a prime candidate for Prom King? A: I just try and be nice to everyone so maybe that had to do with it. Q: What’s next for you? A: I’m going to miss North but in the fall I’m going to the UMKC School of Dentistry, so that’s what I’m looking forward to. Q: How did you celebrate? A: I saw my dad cry and then we went home and they cooked a dinner for me the next the day. Q: What does the title mean to you? A: I think it’s cool that I could be a big part of North and it’s going to be a really good memory to hold for the rest of my life.
Drill Team Presents:
MAGIC N
SM North’s Drill Team performs their final show of the year
orth’s Drill Team performed their final show of the year, The Spring Show, on April 13. Consisting of multiple dance numbers featuring everyone on the team, all the dances were student choreographed. “It’s been amazing, being captain, I couldn’t have asked for a better team to be captain of,” junior Brooke Howard said. “They’re all so understanding, they have great listening skills, and everyone’s nice about taking correction so they’ve made it easy for me” This year’s Spring Show was called ‘Magic’, which for the team symbolized a ‘full circle’ since their first performance of the year was ‘24K Magic’ by Bruno Mars. “It’s been such a fun and amazing experience, I’ve met so many new people and have learned so many amazing things.” junior Johnny Dinh Phan said. Dinh Phan is the only boy on the dance team, and after finishing his first year on Drill Team, he said, the biggest thing he has learned is a lot of teamwork skills. “Practice is always so relaxed and so much fun,” Dinh Phan said. “It’s a very open and safe environment. I’m never scared to make mistakes.” For Dinh Phan, Drill Team feels like a family. “In the past, I’ve faced some challenges with people being judgmental,” he explained. “For the most part I try to not let it get to me and I try to ignore it.” “Before the show I just practice a lot, any time, any place,” he said. “I’ll just stare at myself in the mirror and go through all my routines.”
The show offered an opportunity for students to see the Drill Team in their own show, “I feel like students should go to the Spring Show because it shows an aspect of the drill team students don’t get to see at the basketball games and pep assemblies,” Dinh Phan said. Dinh Phan plans to be on Drill Team again next year. “I love the experience so much and I definitely didn’t want to stop,” he said, “I want to keep on learning and keep on performing.” Senior Aubrey Spears said she enjoyed her time on the team this last year. “It’s actually been a lot more fun than I expected it to be,” Spears said. “I was kind of nervous because I knew it’d be a lot of work, but in the end, once you finish performing, its all worth it. This was Spears first time dancing for a team. “A lot of dancers start when they’re young, and I’m trying to catch up,” Spears explained. Spears also said shes learned new skills since joining Drill Team over the last year. “I’m a much better planner and better organizer,” she said, “but the biggest thing is that I’ve become a lot more confident in myself.” Spears said that dance coach, Sarah Juenemann helped her grow as a dancer along with the whole team. In one word, Spears sums up their final show, “They can expect a lot of Magic, since that’s the name of the show.” story by Zeva Rose Gebhard
Performing her solo, Dancing to the song
Nightingale by Demi Lovato, “I was doing turns and seconds, before I did a center leap out of it,” sophomore Emma Jones said. “It was my first solo in the Spring Show, so I was pretty nervous.” she said, “Being in the Spring Show for a second time this year I was a lot more calm” photo by James Cameron
junior Olivia Ducey can be seen dancing. “I was doing point, which is an advance ballet,” Ducey said. ”You use Pointe shoes and go on your toes.” This technique of dance isn’t new for Ducey. “I’ve been doing Pointe for a couple years so it didn’t feel difficult but, I remember when I started it was pretty difficult to do.” photo by James Cameron
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STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS Student-elected Presidents and Vice-Presidents share how they feel about being selected
Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
President, Gathel Giesbrecht
President, Keagan Stiers
President, Isabella Hamm
“It feels pretty good to be voted into the position. I’m truly honored to be voted Class President again and I am grateful for the opportunity my class has given Kaleb and I. Now that I have a year of experience as well the privilege of being able to observe the responsibilities of the Senior Class President, I feel prepared and will be making as much change and impact as I can.”
“It nice. I don’t really know how it feels yet because I haven’t done anything, but people keep congratulating me and I’m really excited. My job will to be to help with fundraising and activities we have, but the biggest thing I have to do is help plan prom.”
“It feels pretty great that I got voted into my position. I’m glad I ran for it. Well, I’ll be the sophomore president so of course I’ll have to take leadership and action to do well with this. My job would probably be to make sure I show up to all the meetings and come up with the plans for certain events.”
Vice President, Kaleb Young
Vice President, Allie Dowd
Vice President, Molliemae Brooks
“It feels great to be elected in to my position as senior class vice president I really enjoy being involved with my school and being able to make a difference”
“It felt pretty cool to get voted in, but I mean no one ran against us so we already knew that we were going to.”
“It feels great! I want to be involved as much as I can here at North. My job will include decorating for dances, decorating the halls, helping the President when I can and basically anything StuCo does to help the school!”
content by Nic English
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InA review Case Y ou Missed The Music of the new albums released in March and April The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy,
The Weeknd is incredibly great at two things: creating passionate, heart-wrenching love ballads and extremely catchy club anthems. While his previous album “Starboy” seemed to showcase the latter, his most recent project “My Dear Melancholy,” is all about love and all the feelings one has after it’s gone. Featuring only six songs, this project doesn’t suffer due to its short length. Each of the songs holds it own if they don’t completely illuminate The Weeknd’s best qualities. One of the most appealing aspects of the whole EP is how honest he gets about his previous public relationships, notably Selena Gomez
and Bella Hadid. One of the already famous lines from the opening track “Call Out My Name” reads, “I almost cut a piece of myself for your life”. Some speculate that this line reveals The Weekend’s previous plan to give Gomez his kidney after her complications with lupus. It’s this insightfulness and vulnerability that makes this 21 minute EP so compelling. This project captures The Weeknd at his most desperate and broken. It’s lyrically good, even great at times. And his vocals continue to get better over time. But with all that, he seems to be torn between the intensely emotional vibe of his early works and the electro-pop stylings of his newer catalogue. It’s occasionally conflicting, but the small and sometimes mighty EP is something that The Weekend can be proud of and his fans can play over and over. Rating: 4/5 Best Songs Call Out My Name Try Me Wasted Times
Lil Yatchty - Lil Boat 2
First things first, this album has nothing to do with its predecessor “Lil Boat” except for the name and the artist. This is actually a total rebranding for Yatchty as this is a rap-heavy album void of the melodic tunes he’s known for. Unfortunately, Yatchty is not a good enough rapper to rely on this for the whole project. Not only does he have subpar bars and no wordplay, but every song is basically a clone of the other. And it doesn’t help that there are 17 of them. All of the songs on “Lil Boat 2” share the same message: he’s rich. The entire project is Yatchy proclaiming how rich he is or how much wealthier he is compared to others, the
only differences being the featured artists and the beats. He does a good job engineering his tracks and making his voice and cadences fit the track but the instrumentation itself is basic, lazy, or simply unfinished. His many collaborations are a nice touch to the album, although he sometimes loses his individuality trying to match the style of his fellow artists. These changes still manage to work as his more experienced counterparts never out-rap him. That and the fact that so many big names are also attached are the only good things about the album. His effort to sonically change the focus of his music should be noted and appreciated but we also can’t ignore how extremely underwhelming “Lil Boat 2” was as a result of this shift. Bottom line, Yatchy should stick to what he does best. And that’s not this.
Rating: 2.5/5 Best Songs BOOM! ft Ugly God she ready ft PNB Rock 66 ft Trippie Redd
Artist To Watch: Cardi B New York rapper Cardi B has already been taking off on the charts before her debut album Invasion of Privacy’s released. Her first single, “Bodak Yellow” is certified five times platinum and her following 21 Savage assisted single, “Bartier Cardi” spent 14 weeks and counting on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Cardi’s commercial success set her up for a highly anticipated album. She came out of the gate swinging with “Get Up 10”, which did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the album. It chronicles her life story, details her struggles as a person and as an artist, and updates us on where she is now. This is basically what the rest of the tracks do as well. Her lyrics are, for the most part, slightly above average and the heavy trap influences throughout the project keep it exciting. This excitement is further carried by the collaborations she does with Migos, 21 Savage, Chance The Rapper,
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SZA, etc. But that’s also where we start to hear the downfalls. She loses her individuality adopting the sound of whoever she’s on a track with. And her lyrics become quite repetitive. But the sound is still good. Her rags to riches story might be compelling, and her hardships might make her bragging seem well deserved, but that doesn’t mean that as a whole it’s not boring. Now individually, almost every song shows promise to become another one of her Billboard hits, despite an over-repetitive hook or two. This promise, along with Cardi’s fun, carefree and occasionally emotional attitude makes Invasion of Privacy a very solid debut. This is why Cardi B is definitely an artist to watch. reviews by Mystika Allison-Barnes
April 2018
Play
Eat
content by Kayla Warren
A monthly look at places around town
Chipotle
Chipotle opened in 1933, with part of their goal being to show that “food served fast didn’t have to be a fast-food experience.” That is partially related to their mission statement: Food With Integrity. Chipotle is a pretty popular spot, especially among students. It is often considered a “healthy” alternative to the traditional fast food establishment. They serve what you would expect, like tacos and burritos, but their most popular menu item is the burrito bowl. Chipotle is perfect for a night out, or a last minute dinner.
Location 6864 Johnson Dr Mission, KS Hours Mon - Fri 10:45 a.m. - 10:00 pm
Dollar Tree
Park Lanes
With everything being a dollar, Dollar Tree really can’t be beat. There are may “Dollar Tree esque” places, but none of them are what they seem to be. Most dollar stores have everything a different dollar amounts (ex. $3, $5 etc.). Dollar Tree has everything from meals and makeup, to school supplies and kitchen utensils. If you’re looking for a cheap gift, or a place to look around when you’re bored, Dollar Tree is definitely the place to go.
Park Lanes is a family friendly bowling alley that offers many things. They have something called “Glow Bowling”, where you bowl with the regular lights off and special effects lighting. Not only do they have regular and glow bowling, but they also offer almost 20 leagues. They have 10 mixed leagues, four youth leagues, one senior, one family, one classic, one men, and one women’s league. These leagues range from ‘Margarita Madness’ and ‘Women Bowling With Wine’, to ‘Hump Day Bowlers’ and ‘High School Classic’. Overall, Park Lanes is a pretty good place for fun with family or friends.
Location 6620 Martway St Mission, KS
Hours Mon - Fri 10:45 a.m. - 10:00
Location 7701 Renner Rd Shawnee, KS Hours Mon - Fri 10:45 a.m. - 10:00 pm
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[1] FEET OVER the half court line, seniors Cameron Peck, Eric Kyle, Rowan Jones and Ike Diggs lose in a game of tug-a-war to the new Pep Club for next year. In the Spring Assembly, the 2017-18 Pep Club challenged the new 201819 Pep Club to decide which team was the best. “The future is looking great for Shawnee Mission North Pep Club,” Peck said. “They are all super cool individuals and I am sure there are going to be some awesome things that come out from them working all together.” Photo by Michael Her [2]INSIDE THE White House Decision Center at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum, senior Ella Kim stands at the Presidential podium. The White House Decision Center is a venue that allows students and adults to participate in a simulation of events during President’s Truman term. “I enjoyed the interactive role play,” Kim said. “Especially since I’m thinking about going into international relations/political science.” Photo by Skyler Anderson [3] LOOKING forward with her hand on her hip, sophomore Emma Jones leads the Dance Team and the children in a dance. On April 6, the Dance Team hosted a kiddie clinic. “The kiddie clinic went really well,” Jones said, “All the kids learned to dance and had lots of fun while doing so.”Photo by Michael Her [4] ON HIS knees, senior Jack Denebeim is crowned with his beanie by senior Dulcinea Hernandez. Both Denebeim and Hernandez were crowned on prom night for prom queen and king. Photo by Sam Goldman [5] IN HER seminar class, junior Priscilla Aguilar cries tears of joy. Aguilar received her letter of acceptance into Medical Science 2. “I felt shocked and it brought tears to my eyes,” Aguilar said. “I have accomplished something so big and it definitely was something I will always remember.” Photo by Michael Her
April 2018