News in Brief: Catch up on school and local news

New gymnasium look

Over the summer, the main gym was repainted for the first time in 10 years. The new design features a black statement wall on the south end of the gym with a black board displaying East’s 109 KSHSAA team state championship wins.

According to Principal Jason Peres, the statement wall gave the gym a facelift.

“Our school has so many state titles that should be celebrated at all times,” Peres said.

Athletic director Ryan Johnson collaborated with East father and CEO of Dimensional Innovations Tucker Trotter to design the three-dimensional board.

“No other school that we know of has a piece like that,” Johnson said. “It’s a big deal when we walk into the gym [and] see it.”

Along with the board, the previously all-white ceiling is now black and a 12-foot tall rectangular strip of black surrounds the gymnasium. Above the black strip, the wall is painted white with a stripe of Columbia blue.

The black ceiling contrasts with the basketball court below it and brings energy and focus to the playing surface, according to Peres.

“The black ceiling just makes you feel like you’re on a stage,” Peres said.

Both Peres and Johnson have gotten positive messages about the repainting from students, teachers and district officials.

“People love it and they feel like it’s new and refreshed and truly reflects who we are and what we’re about,” Peres said.

SecurelyPass

The paper seminar passes will be replaced with SecurelyPass — an electronic hall pass — on Sept. 10.

On Sept. 5, seminar teachers will conduct a mini-lesson teaching their students how to create and accept appointment passes and navigate the SecurelyPass website.

According to Associate Principal Tara Mahoney, the main goal of the electronic passes is to ensure student safety by letting teachers know where students are. 

“When you’re in [a] classroom, you’re [that teacher’s] responsibility,” Mahoney said. “Making sure that you’re getting what you need in a safe, respectful and responsible way [are] main priorities as a classroom teacher.”

Along with safety, the passes will collect data about which classes students constantly visit, providing administration with struggling areas for students. The passes are supposed to make sure students’ time is being used correctly, but students will still be able to have freedom when using them.

“We definitely need the student feedback, and not on how we can make it meaningful and purposeful, but also not making it so locked down that you feel that [school is] not an enjoyable place to be at that moment,” Mahoney said.

SecurelyPass will start small, primarily being used for appointment passes, before it extends to making coffee shop, library, nurse and bathroom passes.

Mahoney and her 10-teacher team plan to start using the passes throughout the entire school day if the feedback is positive.

“We really want to tailor it to the needs of our building, the needs of our teachers and the needs of our students,” Mahoney said. “That will mean that we’re taking small steps so that we’re really good at the small steps and have time to reflect and revise.”

PV jazz festival

The annual Prairie Village Jazz Festival will take place from 3-10 p.m. at Harmon Park on Sept. 7. Admission is free for children under 18 and $5 for adults.

The event consists of five acts ranging from 35 to 90 minutes. East’s Blue Knights jazz band is performing the opening number, to be followed by the local bands Sons of Brasil, Back Alley Brass Band, Pete Fucinaro Quartet and Adam Larson Band.

Six food trucks will be available providing dinner options, and alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages will be offered as well.

Special Events Coordinator John Kinney predicts the crowd will be around four thousand people. 

Kinney says the 2011 Jazz Festival was the first Prairie Village event of its kind. The Festival aims to bring together various musical acts that reflect the deep jazz roots that are present in the Kansas City area.

The festival has happened every year since 2011, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

Kinney hopes that the festival will be a pleasant day with neighbors enjoying each other’s company and appreciating the music.

“We’ve gotten wonderful musical acts,” Kinney said. “If we get nice weather, then the park will fill up with people who are just enjoying being outside and being in the community in a lovely setting.”