This summer, Kaufmann will not only be in a production of Legally Blonde the Musical at Theater in the Park, but she will also journey over 800 miles to spend three weeks at the prestigious Interlochen Summer Arts Camp.

Interlochen, a liberal arts camp in Interlochen, Michigan, has seen notable attendees such as Josh Groban, Norah Jones and Bob Dylan. The camp targets students of all ages, from juniors in elementary school, high school students and an “academy,” or boarding school, where high schoolers can take specific focus classes on their art of choice.

“I am looking forward to meeting so many people that are interested in the same thing as me and people that are as dedicated and want to go into it as a profession,” Kaufmann said. “I’m looking forward to being surrounded with competition so that I know where I fit in terms of when I get there later in life and so I can see where I really shine so that I can be successful.”

Interlochen provides a variety of programs based on length of time and intensiveness. These programs incorporate classes with specific instruction for their intended major from qualified professors like Jason Banks, who has designed lighting for A-List concerts such as Boys 2 Men and Smashmouth or Philip Dikeman, the associate director of flute at The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.
These professors factor into why Kaufmann was interested in the camp.

“My mom has gotten really good this year about researching things for me,” Kaufmann said. “I’m going into senior year and she’s really big on wanting me to have all the credentials to A, get into the colleges that I want, B, get in to the musical theater programs that I want and, C, get the scholarships that I want.”

What sold Kaufmann on Interlochen, other than prestige of the camp, was her voice teacher and alumni of the camp, Melinda McDonald, who convinced Kaufmann to make Interlochen a priority for the summer.
“I went to her and she told me how she went there as a kid and how amazing it is and how much it will help me,” Kaufmann said. “She told me if there was anything else that you want to do to put it after Interlochen, make time for Interlochen, make money for Interlochen, do whatever you can to get to Interlochen.”

Unfortunately, when Kaufmann found out that she could still apply for Interlochen, she was about to embark on a ten day trip to Italy with the East Choraliers.
When she returned from Italy, Kaufmann started right in on her tape. She had to sing two 16-bar songs, one ballad and one more up-tempo Broadway song.

For her audition, Kufman sang the Alto’s Lament, an upbeat song that she has performed for auditions before. For her ballad Kaufmann sang “Simple Little Things” for the musical 101 and the Shade.
Then, since the application encouraged dance experience, Kaufmann used the East dance room and had her mom film a short choreographed dance to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” that showed off all her leaps, turns and fluidity.Within five days the campus administration emailed Kaufmann with her acceptance into the three-week theater program and a merit based scholarship offer for $750.

With her acceptance Kaufmann also found out she would be overlapping programs with fellow junior Emma
Reno, who will be attending the six-week Orchestra and Wind Ensemble summer program for the flute.
While on a family vacation to Michigan, Reno and her mom took a day to visit Interlochen and explore the campus.

“I had never heard of it before, I didn’t realize how prestigious it was,” Reno said. “But after I did all my research on Interlochen and found out it’s kind of a big deal, I was like, OK I need to do this now.”
For her application Reno, like Kaufmann, had to do a video recording of two songs that had to be selected from a list of specific repertoire that Interlochen provided.

Since Reno wanted the best sound quality for her audition she reserved time in UMKC’s White Recital Hall and hired a professional to record her performance. Reno was accepted, but wasn’t given any of the financial aid or scholarships that she was hoping for. So, when Interlochen announced that they were holding an online contest for any accepted student, who hadn’t gotten any financial aid, Reno knew it would be perfect for her. Reno made a video of herself performing “Strength” and added a blues solo that she wrote, naming it “It’s a Blue Day for Pan.”

With votes pouring in Reno thought that she actually might have a chance at winning sound check which included full tuition, travel, uniforms and laundry—over $8,000 total. Reno ended up not winning the Sound Check contest but still wanted to attend the camp.

She now had to figure out a way to pay for Interlochen herself. Combining her life savings, donations from her grandfather and her parent’s friends, plus money she had saved up from working at the Tune Shop in Prairie Village, Reno was able to raise $6,300. Her parents agreed to pay the rest.

With her application turned in, Reno turned to fellow orchestra member junior Ali Felman who attended Interlochen last summer in the six-week Orchestra program for viola.

“I was excited for her when I heard because you know I want people at East to get the same experience that I had,” Felman said.

Felman had heard about Interlochen from a poster in her 7th grade orchestra class. When she got home that day and googled the camp it instantly became a dream.

“It’s really prestigious and I knew that I would learn a lot while gaining that camp experience,” Felman said. “I just kept reading about how it changed peoples lives and I wanted it to change mine.”

After applying Felman was fortunate enough to receive a $1,500 scholarship — something she knows really helped her out.

When summer rolled around and Felman had finally arrived at Interlochen she felt and immediate sense of welcome and companionship.

“Everyone there is so nice and welcoming,” Felman said. “You walked into the camp and felt an instant bond.”

Financially it didn’t work for Felman to go back again this summer but she hopes to return the summer after that or maybe in her college years.

“I learned to much technically about viola and about how to be more professional and how to be a better section leader,” Felman said. “I leaned how music can help people communicate and bring people together.”
All three girls know how much Interlochen will help them in the future.

“Interlochen is not only a great learning experience but is also definitely a good resume builder that can help me get into the colleges that I want,” Reno said.
Both Kaufmann and Reno know that although they might be some of the best for Kansas City, Interlochen will be a good reality check.

“Right now I’m kind of in this bubble where I get parts and I’m considered good,” Kaufmann said. “But when I get there I’m going to realize that this is what the real world is like and what I’m going to be up against on Broadway.”

At Interlochen this summer Kaufmann might be doing theater and Reno might be doing orchestra but in the end they’ll both reap the same benefits.

“I’m going to be at a camp with the world’s best,” Reno said. “And that’s going to be life changing.”

Becoming a senior means several things. It means sitting in the front row at basketball games and choosing the themes. It means being the rowdiest section at the pep assemblies even though all the other sections (excluding the freshmen, of course) are just as loud. Most of all, it means that I will be one of the oldest in the school for the first time since the Mission Valley days. For the past three years, the Class of 2012 has always been there to help me through high school and offer advice. Next year, instead of looking up to the grade above, the grades below will be looking up to me and my graduating class.
My senior status will give me the opportunity to run the school. I can park in the front row of the senior lot without getting tagged, go out to lunch without teachers saying a thing, leave seminar without any chance of getting in trouble and best of all, I’ll have the responsibility of continuing East’s sacred traditions.

On the other hand, senior year means that my time at East is nearly over. In 12 months I will be walking out the doors of East for “the best four years of my life.” Even though I have been counting down the years until I become a senior since my freshman year, I am getting hit with the bittersweet reality that my days at Shawnee Mission Wonderful are very numbered.

With my last year at East, I want to make sure I don’t have any regrets and leave my stamp on the school. Senior year is about giving back to the school that has given you everything you’ve learned the past three years. Whether it’s through Link Crew, SHARE, sports, theater or in my case, journalism, it’s important to remember what you’ve learned the past six semesters and prepare to hand it down to the next class.
If the class ahead of the junior class doesn’t leave behind any of their experience or insight, the next class will just be a step behind, confused and unready for seniority. A senior class is only as good as its predecessors leave it to be, and I think it’s safe to say our senior class did a superb job.

Now, it is our job as seniors to take the torch and run the school like our prede-seniors would have wanted. Whether it’s giving the underclassmen advice on classes or teaching them what Club Baño exactly is, it’s our duty to prepare the seniors of tomorrow. We will be the class looked up to and will be expected to be East’s role models. For some juniors, it will mean stepping up in STUCO; for others it will mean being the captain of the soccer team. For me, it will mean helping incoming writers get the feel for working on the Harbinger, as well as taking over the holy pre-meet rituals in cross-country. No matter what it is, it is important to reflect on what we’ve learned and pass it on.

I can vividly remember the days when I was taken on a tour by my Link Crew leader and when I discovered what would be my home away from home for the next four years. I discovered the hallways I would stumble through every morning in a half-asleep coma. I also discovered the place that would shape me more than any school had before and a class of seniors that taught me what it truly means to be a Lancer. I’ve grown more at East than I ever have before and it is hard to believe that in a few months I will be saying goodbye to the school.

When I look back at high school I’m not going to want to regret any part of it. So, I would like to make the best out of my last year at East because I know I’ll never be able to be a high schooler ever again in my life.

In a couple weeks, I will be throwing my backpack in my car for the last time until the middle of August. Unlike my previous last days, I won’t just be thinking about my summer, but also how I want to spend my last year as a Lancer.

Juan was just a freshman in the backseat of his friend’s car when he went outside of the lane. The driver swerved into oncoming traffic, collided with a car and flew off the road. Juan didn’t know if he would regain control.

“I knew from that second, I might not live from this,” Juan said of the accident.

Juan knows that life is not an individual sport. He has individual goals — goals of making it to state and running under 50 seconds in the 400 meter dash — and he does everything in his power to make these goals a reality. But life is a team sport; he can never forget how the actions of others can impact his goals.

He can’t forget the impact of the tree on the car. The glass on his skin. The way his friends laid motionless in the backseat.

“[The driver]’s body was halfway out and he looked at me, tears and blood mixing in his face,” Juan said.

He can’t forget that. The driver made a mistake and they all paid for it — he had been drinking.

“Because of his mistakes, I’ve got scars on my body that will never go away,” Juan said.

Juan couldn’t feel his legs when he woke up in the hospital two days later. The doctors had put him under heavy anesthesia while they removed each individual shard of glass that had pierced its way into his muscles. He was banged up, bruised, scarred and numbed — but he was OK. He would run again.

Juan has been in the driver’s seat since the crash. His mother, Mary An Joers Pestano Ramos, doesn’t have to tell him what foods to eat anymore. She doesn’t have to tell him that quitting is unacceptable. She forced him into playing football, but no one told him to run track. Juan sets his own goals now. He runs out front during drop out 200s and speedmakers. He rides his bike to the gym because accepting a ride from his mom would mean losing an opportunity to get better. He runs another five miles after an hour long workout and the bike ride home. Juan wants success as badly as he wants to breathe.

“A lot of times, he might not hit his own goals, even when he did great in my mind,” Mary An said. “But to him, it’s not enough. Since it’s not enough to him, I tell him it’s not enough. I know that’s what he needs.”

Maddie Schoemann | Harbinger Online

Juan needs to be pushed. Before moving to Kansas at the beginning of this year, he attended a school less than half East’s size in Hickman County, TN. He didn’t have people pushing him.

“I was the fastest guy at the school and there wasn’t much competition,” Juan said. “But when I got to sectionals, I met a lot of guys who were better. I wound up placing fourth and my time didn’t match up.”

Juan knew that being the best in a small town wasn’t good enough; he would have to be better if he wanted to make state. He got a fresh start when his family moved to the East area. It didn’t take long for him to make an impression with sprinting coach Brie Meschke.

“He came and visited me at the beginning of the year and told me that he had run at his previous school and his times were very competitive,” Meschke said. “I was super excited, but a lot of times you hear about kids and it doesn’t pan out to what you think it’s going to be — but he’s the real deal.”

Juan proved his talent at the very first time trial, running a 52 in the 400, but Meschke saw plenty of room for improvement.

“He had a lot of raw talent, but didn’t have much instruction before,” Meschke said. “It’s been really fun to help him with that.”

Juan was on his own in Tennessee. His coaches expected him to carry the team, but offered little support. And it wasn’t easy being a black athlete on a predominantly white team — segregation is still a reality in Hickman County.

“There was me, my cousin and a Vietnamese boy on the team,” Juan said. “And when we’d go into the locker room, everyone else’s locker would be on one side. Leaving me, my cousin and the Vietnamese kid by ourselves. We didn’t care, because we played our hearts out on the court.”

Juan isn’t just part of the team at East, he’s part of a brotherhood. Along with junior Carter Olander and seniors Joe Lewis and Jack Fay, Juan has achieved great success with the 4×400 relay team. The group of runners quickly accepted him.

“He’s really fit into the track culture,” Lewis said. “He works hard and the team loves him.”

Juan has developed into a far better runner this season because he now shares his goal with the entire team. Lewis begins the race with a quick burst. Olander gains ground on the rest of the field. Juan chases down the leader. And Fay holds onto the lead. Each runner has an impact on the outcome of the race.

“When you run by yourself and you don’t run your best, only you are disappointed,” Lewis said. “But if you run in the 4×400 and don’t run your best, you’ve let down three other people.”

Juan knows all about being let down. He’s experienced the helplessness of freefall and the unforgiving crash of a car. He’s learned from his scars; he’s changed his work ethic, rebuilt himself and taken over the driver’s seat. He knows about the impact that his actions have on his teammates. But he’s doing everything he can to make it positive.

“I think, ‘what if this was my last day?’ Could I honestly say that I gave it my all?” Juan said. “I want to benefit, and have others benefit from my actions.”

McKenzie Swanson | Harbinger Online

It’s probably one of the most commonly portrayed scenes in TeenNick shows. It is a recurring nightmare for many kids before their first days of school. It’s something that you hear about and think, “That’s so stupid! I would never let that happen to myself!” Unfortunately, I let the inevitable happen. Freshman year, I did in fact walk into the boys’ locker room. When I tell people, they usually think I’m just trying to get a laugh out of them.

I’m not joking. It is a true traumatic experience that I had to go through, it’s easy to talk about now but it was a very sore subject for awhile. Here’s how it went:

It was a Friday afternoon in April of 2011 and I was rushing out of school to get ready for this phat rager I was going to (OK, just kidding — I was really rushing home to finish my Conjuguemos before my teacher closed the assignment.) I decided to take a different path than usual. I took the staircase all the way down on the first floor by the weight room, since I knew that it would be the least crowded. Of course, since I was a freshman I didn’t know the school very well yet, and I took a wrong turn: what I thought was the door to the stairwell turned out to be the back door of the boys’ locker room. I took one step in and got a huge whiff of B.O. and Axe body spray. I saw three confused, stubbly male faces staring at me with eyes full of disgust. I don’t know if they were more embarrassed than I was… I mean, they were the half-naked ones in the situation.

Once I finally realized where I was and that I had probably been there for an uncomfortable 30 seconds, which felt way too long, I sprinted my behind out of there. To this day I have still not seen those three boys again (maybe they transferred schools?).

Traffic Jammed

I know for a fact that everyone at one point in their high school career has caused a traffic jam on the stairs. What separates my experience from many others is the fact that I stood in the middle of the staircase, stuck, with about 50 people surrounding me, for almost five minutes.

Let me tell you that five minutes could’ve easily been three hours because, being in my position, it felt so much longer.
It all happened because my stupid backpack strap got stuck on the railing of the stairs. It was literally intertwined with that railing — I don’t even know how it got so stuck, but it was like a little boy scout had tied it into one big knot around the railing while I wasn’t looking. I stood there with a face of embarrassment and pain because I was still struggling to unravel myself from that dang railing.
People were starting to get angry. I was being pushed and shoved and scratched. I felt like I was being attacked by a herd of cats — except these weren’t cats. They were just some angry, judgemental high-schoolers. After I was finally released from the railings grasp, I hustled away from my crime scene, because I was still afraid of an after-the-fact shove or two.

Toilet Tunes

I’ve always been quite the song bird.

I don’t think that there has ever been a day that I don’t randomly belt out the oh-so famous masterpieces created by Nicki Minaj. I’ve always looked at my talent of singing as a blessing — but in this case, it was more of a curse.

It was the beginning of the school year, I was getting into the flow of things. One particular day, I left my fourth hour for my routine three-minute roam of the hallways (which I did to keep myself from falling asleep during the lesson).

This day’s roaming session was one of the less interesting ones — until I walked into the bathroom. I hadn’t realized it, but I had been singing a song quietly to myself as I walked, and I kept on singing to myself. Right as I was walking into the bathroom, I reached the chorus of the song “Dance (A$$) Remix.” I guess you could say I got a little overly excited and started loudly singing and shouting each word.

At the time, I assumed I would be the only one in the bathroom, but of course, with my luck, there was a timid little freshman standing in front of the sink. Her face got one of those expressions on it that only comes out when you see a teacher at the grocery store, or when your mom attempts Dance Dance Revolution in front of all of your friends at the arcade. There was no way for her to leave the bathroom without making awkward eye contact with me, so as she walked by I just stood there and smiled at her — I think it kind of freaked her out even more.

At first I just thought to myself, “Wow, that was uncomfortable.” Then I walked out and saw the same girl sitting on the floor, working on a project with her friend, and got a terrified look from both of them. I knew it was one of my not-so-shining moments.

Rising Stares

I always thought that Choir was a place where I could be comfortable and open in front of all of my friends. That thought changed completely after a rehearsal for our spring concert. We were practicing on the risers in the auditorium, which has always been a scary thing for me to do because I have terrible balance and a fear of fainting. We started off the rehearsal by singing one of our fun upbeat songs.

Mr. Foley had said, “I want you girls to end this song in a funny pose.” Of course, my friend Victoria and I came up with this scheme that would help us achieve the most outrageous ending pose — which eventually put me in a bit of a pickle.

The incident went a bit like this: I had conducted a plan for me to jump into the Victoria’s arms since she was standing next to me. It was supposed to look very well-planned and humorous. Right as the end of our song was approaching, I took a big leap off the place I was standing on the risers and tried to swing my legs up high enough for Victoria to catch me. Unfortunately, she forgot our “amazing plan,” and in turn left me on my hands and knees on the bleachers facing a room full of laughter coming from my peers, directed toward myself. Luckily, only about half of the people at rehearsal had seen me fall but I was still mortified.

The only good thing that came of that incident was that I got to sit out of cheer practice after school due to my “injured knee.”

“It’s really a satisfying feeling,” sophomore outfielder Erin McGinley said. “Especially for the seniors, since they’ve been working towards this for so long. For all of us, it’s just a really cool feeling to be a part of something that made history at East.”

The Lancers beat Shawnee Mission West 9-3 and Olathe North 7-5 to qualify. The championship tournament will begin on May 25, where the Lady Lancers will mostly face teams from the Olathe and Blue Valley districts. After beginning their regular season 12-0, the team expressed feelings of confidence and pride going into these championship games.

“At state, it’s a big deal and it’s sudden death,” sophomore left fielder Savannah Bellem said. “But we’re just feeling really relieved to have gotten this far. A lot of the pressure’s off now, actually, and I think we’re going to be playing much more relaxed. We’re just really excited for this experience.”

It’s hard for Katie not to feel happy when she’s playing pretend. That’s the way it’s always been. Her mom, Mary Sgroi, still remembers when Katie would play “dress-up” as a stumbling toddler and do different accents. She remembers how one day she tried to act out “Witches from Macbeth” with her babysitter. The dialogue probably didn’t have the right emotional depth and Katie maybe didn’t understand the play’s complexities, but she enjoyed babbling along to Shakespeare.
“Even at a young age when she was playing a character she was always able to stay in character even if I came down to ask if she wanted a snack or something,” Mary said. “She would stay in character even when answering me.”
For Katie, this summer is kind of like coming full circle. She will be acting on stage with the people that taught her growing up. She may even be acting with people she has seen multiple times across Kansas City stages. She’s nervous for the shows. Just like she was in the audition, she worries about how people will receive her. And she has never done anything on this big of a scale: it’s scary for her to imagine going from Dan Zollar’s auditorium for East shows to an outdoor venue that seats thousands.
But, according to Katie, she has a “most definite” addiction to theater. She couldn’t really get away from it even if she tried.
* * *
Katie still can’t believe she got the part. She says she will often go a little while without thinking about her upcoming summer, then she’ll read for Juliet in English or see something about Shakespeare in the paper and it hits her. It makes her feel giddy. Because even though she likes to stay modest, Katie can’t help but get a smile when thinking about her summer.
“It is a pretty big deal…for me,” Katie said. “There was a fair amount of people there at the audition, and for me to be one of them [in the cast], it’s a pretty big thing.”
Katie knows that performing at Shakespeare in the Park on a professional show is impressive. She knows that thousands of people will come to watch her. But she also knows that when she tells people she made the show, they may stare at her blankly and say “Umm… you mean Theater in the Park?”
Katie’s OK with that, though. She likes things that are different. She likes sitting at home and watching “Doctor Who” on Saturday nights. She likes her thick-rimmed glasses and the silver emblem that separates them from everybody elses’. She likes drinking hot green tea in her “Rampallian!”- and “Fustilarian!”-covered Shakespeare insult mug.
Katie’s always been drawn to things that aren’t the norm. And this summer is going to be brand new for her.
“This is close to five or six weeks instead of two or three months,” Katie said. “That’s going to be much shorter and more compact than anything I’ve ever done before.”
This summer, she is going to be performing 30 shows in a little over a month. She’ll have Mondays off to hang out with her friends or catch up on TV. But she may have to rethink family vacations. She can forget about any sort of summer job. She’ll probably have to deny a lot of friends’ requests to hang out.
But Katie can’t wait until that first friend asks her if she can do something on a Saturday, or a Tuesday or even a Sunday. She knows exactly what she’ll say.
“So, [it will be] like, ‘Hey do you wanna go hang out?” Katie says with a smile. “No… if you hang out on a Monday I can see you. Otherwise, no — cause I’ll be doing a show every night.”

The increasingly common approach is to point to teachers — the scapegoats of student and parents alike. However, this method is too easy and too lazy, and it demonstrates the paradox of respect for the teaching profession but not for the individual teacher. Arguments by students and parents with teachers about grades and behavior foster a negative learning environment — one that could be avoided if we students assumed responsibility for our actions.

In a poll of 44 East teachers, 26 believed the number of confrontations in which a student or parent held the teacher responsible for poor grades or behavior was on the rise since they began teaching (13 had not noticed a difference and 5 believed that number had fallen).

Now, not all teachers feel under-appreciated, just as not all students and parents attack teachers on a weekly basis. In the end, however, these confrontations continue to occur — and they harm all parties involved. When conflict arises, it is harder for teachers to teach and students to learn.

To find a better learning approach, we should turn to Europe. Finland’s students consistently top the charts in science, math and reading scores, a fact which Scholastic Administrator Magazine attributed in part to student respect for teachers. Julie Walker, a Finland educational system researcher, compared the degree of respect for teachers in Finland to that of doctors in the U.S.

Some have argued that American teachers receive a similar degree of respect. The 2011 PDK/Gallup Poll concluded that most American parents regard teaching as a worthwhile profession for their kids. In fact, PDK International Executive Director Bill Brushaw and Gallop Senior Scientist Shane Lopez wrote that, “Not only do Americans understand the need for great teachers, [but] they also trust and support teachers who are in classrooms now.”

However, the poll does not address how students and parents act towards teachers. Respecting the profession does not equate to respecting a teacher in the classroom.

Finland, on the other hand, showed that a classroom devoid of conflict and filled with mutual respect fosters successful learning. Clearly, heated confrontations about homework, tests and grades can be easily prevented, but it takes initiative on our part. Here are three simple steps to creating better relationships with teachers:

1. Actually read the course handouts — knowing late work policies and project deadlines prevents any negative surprises. “What does the syllabus say about that?” is a common question teachers ask students who plead ignorance.

2. Meet with teachers before or after school to settle any disputes. Teachers are more flexible one-on-one than in front of thirty sets of eyes, especially when they are not in the middle of trying to explain how to write an FRQ.

3. Keep a cool head. Tone and body language are just as important as speech, so when a teacher calls you out for rolling your eyes, do not claim, “I didn’t say anything.” Teachers are much more likely to listen to a calm, composed high schooler than a stuck-up teenager with a strong sense of entitlement.

If these steps are way over your head, remember this simple rule: empathy goes a long way. Teachers deal with a lot, after all. With public school budget cuts, they have picked up more classes and more students. A new teacher might be unsure at first how to handle a classroom full of kids, and an experienced teacher might be skeptical of your excuses because he or she has heard the same ones for twenty years. Understanding is the first step to preventing unnecessary confrontations.

But why bother improving your relationship with your teacher? After all, we move on after only one year or even one semester.

We should bother, though, because aside from our parents, teachers are some of the most influential adults in our lives. They affect everything from our political beliefs to our communication skills, and that in of itself should demand respect.

Disrespect from students should not just be “part of the job;” instead, students need to take initiative. Grades are usually based on merit, but our relationships with teachers are based on effort.

Who wants to deal with angsty teens all day? Honestly, I annoy myself. Kids in my classes bother me, with their constant bickering and petty problems. And group discussions are the worst.

Not to mention all the grading. In my class, I would either a) never give homework or b) give everyone, except the people that I didn’t like, an A.

And seniors? No way. I would never want to deal with their senioritis. Just because they’re leaving doesn’t mean they can act like they have no cares in the world.

Because, unlike them, I would have cares.

I would care that they were leaving, and that the possibility existed that they would forget about me. I would care that I might never see them again, or that we would lose touch. I would care that they had a future, a life, a career ahead of them.

I would care about whether they learned as much as they could from me, if I did my job as well as I could and if I was one of those teachers that they would always remember. I would care about them seeing me cry. I would care about saying goodbye.

But mostly, I would care about the changes, about the new group that I would have to say goodbye to, the new memories that I would make and worry about forgetting.

I can’t be a teacher because I couldn’t deal with losing them every year. Although the impact of one person may seem small and insignificant, it has meaning. For me this year, it meant a new passion for journalism. It meant a new sense of humor, a new perspective on music. It meant friendship.

I admire teachers for their perseverance, their courage, their acceptance. Because, quite frankly, I could never be one of them.

The Lancers defeated the Pembroke Hill Raiders 5-4 in sudden death overtime to win the Lacrosse Association of Kansas City metro title.

Pregame Show

Game

Anna Danciger | Harbinger Online

“Life is such a little tease, I mean none of us really get what she’s playing at. We try to personify her, put her into like terms, measure this and that and see if it adds up to life.”

Dubois flutters her eyelashes and shakes her head. Her voice rolls up and down smoothly, growing in intensity as her first stanza comes to an end. She looks up when she pauses, trying to connect with the judges and the audience. Over two hundred attentive parents and students fill the atrium at Horizons High School, listening and watching Dubois’s performance.

Prior to the District Slam on Sunday, May 6, Dubois got the chance to perform her own poem in front of a smaller crowd at the East Poetry Slam the previous Thursday. Dubois was one of five students who competed in the third annual East Slam. About 25 students attended the East Slam in the library, hosted by librarian Kathi Knop and English teacher Laura Beachy.

The East Slam was smaller than in past years; only five students competed compared to the 20 poets from last year.

“I think the timing was crazy and it’s just a busy time of year,” Beachy said. “Another problem was we were going to do it during seminar and then we switched that to after school.”

The five students that did compete in the East Slam are senior Elizabeth Mergen, sophomores Georgia Dubois, Hannah Swanson and Christopher Rodriguez, and freshman Cheyanna Atwell. A judge panel consisting of Beachy, Knop, English teacher Spring Gehring-Lowery and three students selected four students to move on to the District Slam: Mergen, Dubois, Swanson and Rodriguez.

The small numbers were encouraging to Mergen, who was competing in the East Slam for her second year.

“I try to stay as open minded as possible but there were only five people and four go on to districts so I was really hoping I would make it,” Mergen said.

At districts, the four East representatives ran into stiff competition from the other district high schools. None of the East poets continued on to the second round of the District Slam. In comparison, last year four East poets, graduate Chris Melvin, seniors Wil Kenney and Andrew Beasley and Mergen made it to the second round at Districts.

Kenney and Beasley were unable to participate in the East Slam this year due to International Baccalaureate testing. Beachy believes that the combination of a small turnout at the East Slam and different judges led to no East students qualifying for the second round at Districts.

“The judges are always really really different from year to year,” Beachy said. “They may be looking for different things, different things may move them so who’s to say.”

The Common Core was created by the U.S. Board of Education in an effort to create voluntary national standards in math and reading.

Teachers in Kansas have been attending meetings about the Common Core curriculum. For English teachers across the nation including Shawnee Mission East’s Laura Beachy, this means that their class curriculum will include less novels and have a bigger focus on nonfiction and rhetoric material.

“The big issue that a lot of teachers have with it is that the tests for the Common Core aren’t written yet,” Beachy said. “So if they aren’t written yet, then how can we teach it?”

Next school year, teachers are going to try and incorporate it into their lesson plans, and by the 2013-2014 school year it will be required.

Although the prices for regular meals are going up, the free and reduced meals will stay the same. Members of the Food Services Department are unsure of whether or not this will happen again in years to come, but it depends on the budget.

“Everything is government related,” the SMSD Food Services Department said. “The prices are going up because they are starting to require more vegetables and fruits in school lunches.”

Pawnee Elementary School teacher Laura Gray is unhappy with the changes because cumilatively the amount she spends will have a large impact on her family. She rarely brings her own lunch to school and neither does her daughter, junior Liz Gray.

“This has come as complete news to me, and I think it’s a big problem,” Laura said. “I don’t mean to sound like a nagging school teacher, but especially since we haven’t gotten raises in a few years, I’m going to have to be counting every penny.”

“Plan 9 From Outerspace” will be adapted as a play for the fall and will be done entirely in black and white. Often called “the worst movie ever made,” “Plan 9 From Outerspace” is a science fiction film about aliens who try to conquer the world by raising people back from the dead.

The musical is “The Drowsy Chaperone.” A show within a show, this comedic musical stars an old man reflecting on his favorite musical, which is about a woman who is the star of a show but is planning on getting married. Her directors and producers try to convince her not to get married so she can continue acting, while others try to steal her role.

“Epic Proportions” will be performed for the spring play. It tells the story of two wacky brothers who take an adventure to Arizona and through a strange series of events, end up starring in and directing the film.

“This is the first season I’ve been really excited for in a long time,” Cappello said at the banquet. “I’m always excited for our shows, but this one will be fun.”

The administrators are waiting for the Shawnee Mission School District to issue a statement before speaking about the incident.

Nervously walking up to your manager, asking when you are supposed to pick it up and where, until they lead you back to their office and hand you a piece of paper with the magic numbers on it. You leave the building feeling slightly older, more responsible, more adult-like than you felt when you got there.

I’m 17-years-old, and I got my first paycheck about a month ago. It was $60 and I was as happy as a toddler on Christmas morning when I got it. I held it in my hand, thinking to myself, This is my money that I made on my very own.

It’s kind of sad, actually. My brother got his first paycheck at the age of 14, three years earlier in his life than I did. He teases me for being so old when I got my first job. But better late than never, right?

So here’s my message to you: You work when you work. Who cares when Betty Lou or Sally got their first jobs? It’s your life. And when the time comes for you to receive your first paycheck, treasure that moment. Be proud. And don’t be afraid to act a little younger than your age.

]]> http://smeharbinger.net/opinion/blogs/blog-bringin-in-the-dinero/feed 0 http://smeharbinger.net/homegrown/featured-artist-addie-hotchkiss http://smeharbinger.net/homegrown/featured-artist-addie-hotchkiss#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 19:39:24 +0000 Anna Danciger http://smeharbinger.net/?p=50494 Name: Addie Hotchkiss

Grade: 11

Beginning: “I started playing cello in seventh grade. I had previously played violin, since fourth grade, but then I switched in seventh. I was ready for a change. The violin is high and squeaky and the cello is a luscious sound.”

Accomplishments: “I made All State chair last  year and this year I got fourth chair. All State is an All State Orchestra and we audition for chairs once we get there. It’s basically how prepared you are with the music and how good of a player you are and your ranking, overall, in the state.”

Favorite Aspect: “I think my favorite part is being able to connect with different people who play instruments and being in orchestra and connecting with people through music.”

Future: “I want to do music in college, but not with the cello. I want to do music education, so that’s not necessarily specializing in cello. I definitely still want to play, but maybe in an orchestra, not as a performance major.”

Featured Artist: Addie Hotchkiss

Individual awards include:

-Chris Carey/Jack Mitchell- second in Duo Interpretation
-Sam Bernard / Alec Armer- fourth in Duo Interpretation
-Chris Carey- third in Humorous Interpretation
-Bridgette Beasley- fourth in Humorous Interpretation
-Hanna Bautz- fourth in Oral Interpretation of Poetry
-Justin Armer- sixth in Oral Interpretation of Prose
-Ali Dastjerdi- fifth in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking
-Jayden Robert/Nick Kraske- semifinalists in Duo Interpretation
-Liam Murphy- semifinalist in Humorous Interpretation
-Anna Danciger- semifinalist in  Dramatic Interpretation
-Alex Ritchie- semifinalist in Dramatic Interpretation

Participants contributing to sweepstakes:
-Brian Philipps in Informative Speaking
-Jayden Robert in Original Oration
-Ada Throckmorton in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking
-Henry Walter in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking
-Melanie Fletcher in Dramatic Interpretation

By the time you reach the end of your high school career, try as you might, you still won’t know anything. Sure, you might know how to conjugate a Spanish verb in the past tense or that a2 + b2 = c2. But what do you really know?

When you’re finishing high school, you’re beginning life in the real world. People will look down on you like the naïve infant you are, but this time, they won’t coddle you and help you out when things are rough. They’ll shrug their shoulders and look for someone who’s got a handle on things. Someone with experience, who’s figured it out.

You may think you’ve seen it all during your time in high school, and maybe you did. Maybe you had a life altering experience while traveling abroad. Maybe you found Jesus. Maybe you broke a leg and had to quit track, only to discover that painting was what you were looking for all along.

But what has that taught you?

No one has it figured out by the time high school ends. The only thing I know for sure, is that I really don’t know that much. But this isn’t a bad thing! All it means is that you shouldn’t freak out if you don’t have any idea what to do with yourself after high school. Just relax and see where life takes you. You’re going to figure it all out eventually, you just need to live a little first.

High school is the time to realize that you’re not as smart as you think you are; you have the rest of your life to change that.

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Not present for pictures:

Kathryn Peterson
Grade: Freshman
Experience: None
“Dancing every single day as a class will be awesome. Hopefully it improves my technique a lot and I’ll get to meet some great new friends,” Peterson said. “The best part of tryouts is either the senior mock tryout or when it’s all done. Even if you messed up you feel a sense of accomplishment. I look forward to just having fun doing what I love – dancing.”

Lauren Blackburn
Grade: Eighth
Experience: None
“I love how good and put together their performances are,” Blackburn said. “Learning flags was great. It was new and I like new things. The freshman experience and learning so much more about dance is what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Lizzy Hall
Grade: Freshman
Experience: One year on JV team
“I love being a part of a team, meeting new people and doing what I love to do- dance,” Hall said. “Hearing the judges’ critiques and learning what I can improve on is the best part of tryouts, along with challenging myself. I am looking forward to learning even more and continuing to support SME school spirit.”

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

\Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Stefano Byer | Harbinger Online

Not present for pictures:

Elizabeth Cox
Grade: Freshman
Experience: One year on JV team
“The opportunity to possibly go to nationals in March,” Cox said. “Lancer Dancers is one of the best drill teams in the area. The mock trial was my favorite part. I love watching the seniors, and it’s going to be great making new friends and progressing as a dancer.”

Madison Stottle
Grade: Sophomore
Experience: Two years on JV team
“Lancer Dancers are my family,” Stottle said. ” I can’t wait to have fun with my friends.”

Peri Ogg
Grade: Sophomore
Experience: Two years on JV team
“I love dancing and having fun times with the team,” Ogg said. “I also love performing at basketball games and spring show. Tryouts are really stressful, but I loved practicing with Audrey and eating food. I am really excited to perform at basketball and football games. It will be really fun to bond with the team and get to know them better.”

You can find the JV results here.

Luckily, I have this blog to compensate. Here are a few tricks of the trade about how to live high school, and life in general, to the fullest.

***

Do something you are bad at. You are going to be bad at things, especially in high school. But guess what? Growth and change are part of the struggle. I am the last chair in symphonic band’s trombone section, lacking skills in almost every aspect of music, but I am surrounded by people that are good. I am surrounded by passion and dedication. I have a front row ticket to the future of instrumental music almost daily. Who cares if I didn’t get a division I rating in my solo?

You are the least important person in your life. You have your whole life to spend with yourself. Take some time and talk to new people and maintain the relationships you have. Other people have stories too, and more often than not, these stories will help to shape you.

People are horrible, but love them anyway. Like the rest of you, not all of my interactions with the human race have been positive. I have learned that second chances aren’t always opportunities for you to realize that you were wrong all along and that people are great after all. What I have learned is that it isn’t worth it to stay angry at someone. Occasionally, people will do their best and those are the moments you should remember.

Live under a rock. I fear technology. I am scared that we will all end up addicted to our iPhones and Kindles and when they are ready, they will awaken their inner states of being and destroy us. So in order to act like I am capable of avoiding my computer that wants to enslave me, I give up my electronics for an afternoon, day or week. You will be shocked by how much you can accomplish, how few excuses you have and how easy it is to live freely.

People want to kill you. We go to what I see as the best high school in the country. I don’t care how many people say otherwise. We have the best programs, the best staff and the best students. We don’t have the highest test scores but we have the highest drive and a sense of inquisition that I haven’t seen in a secondary school. Do you know how lucky you are to have this? I know from some experience that we are rivaled by more schools. This loathing is proof that people would almost literally kill for what we have. Education is your key, and with the best resources, there is no excuse not to try.

Remember what you wanted to do when you were four. Before you were exposed to the pressure of your peers and standardized testing, you were cool. You ate bugs and asked questions. You could do anything. You wanted to be an astronaut? What would the current you say to the dreams of your childhood? “I couldn’t do that now. My ACT survey said that I should be a….” No. Rediscover that you that loved to inquire and loved to learn. It’s easier than you think to apply worm races to physics.

***

This blog can’t hold the messages to the hundreds of people that I ought to thank for making my time at Shawnee Mission Wonderful as great as it has been. This blog can’t show you all of the memories I have made, the tears I have shed or the friends I have gained. Heck, this blog can’t even allow me to relive all of these moments.

The point is that unless I turn into that person that never leaves high school, it will all end on Thursday night and a new class of seniors will emerge. After that, a new class, and so on (at least until we all are overpowered by my iPod.)

After Thursday, my mark will be made and it will be someone else’s turn. Leaving a legacy, being at the top, looking out for yourself; that isn’t what high school is about. High school is a raw, crude thing but you should remember that it is up to you to make it count. No one can do it for you. Make it fun. Give it value. Make me want to fly back from Oregon and live it all over again. And when it is your turn to walk across that stage on a May evening, with bugs nipping at your ankles and Dr. Krawitz beaming at you, make sure you don’t have any regrets when it’s time for you to give your final say.