News in Brief: Catch up on three recent school events

The annual KSHSAA Regional Solo & Ensemble Festival on April 13 is an opportunity for students around the region to participate in Solo and Ensemble band performances. 

Students present pieces to judges at a middle or high school and are rated on a scale of 1-4. One being the best rating, granting an opportunity for students to attend the state competition and four being the worst, according to Alto Saxophone player and sophomore Eli Moon.

“This is our last thing to really focus and work on because after it’s over we just have the auditions for the district and state bands,” Moon said.

The competition is not for any prize, but instead is something to look forward to and practice for that’s not just what you’re working on in school, according to Moon.

Moon will be performing a solo piece called “Chanson et Passepied.”

“I’ve spent most of my time practicing my piece outside of school because when you’re in school for your band piece you’re going to play at band concerts,” Moon said. “This is more of your own project you work on in the spring season.”

Sophomore Jordin Newell is attending the festival playing a french horn solo, as well as a trio with senior Charlie Muehlberger and freshman Annabel Burkhardt. 

Newell is taking private lessons to practice, and says this is her first year playing the french horn after playing the trumpet last school year.

“I’m excited for the fun opportunity it brings because you can’t really lose anything,” Newell said.

She thinks her trio has a good chance of making it to state, but she really wants to just focus on trying her best. 

“If you enjoy band and you enjoy playing, there’s really no reason for you not to do it,” Moon said.

East’s National Honors Society Chapter hosted a volunteer session on April 6 where students created breakfast kits for Ronald McDonald House.

The junior and senior officers along with NHS sponsor and English teacher Melinder DiGirolamo worked on gathering supplies, booking the SME Commons and advertising the event for over a month, according to junior officer Mae Bledsoe.

“I think it was a really great opportunity for people to gain volunteer hours, but also a great way to support the Ronald Mcdonald House foundation,” Bledsoe said.

The team made breakfast kits with protein shakes, breakfast bars, cereal and other snacks along with kind notes to give out to families in need.

Both juniors and seniors attended and successfully filled all 250 breakfast bags required by the Ronald McDonald house, according to Bledsoe.

Bledsoe was very happy with the successful outcome and appreciated how many people showed up to help.

This event was also a unique opportunity for the new junior officers to experience what it will be like for them next year, according to junior officer Porter Stein.

“It was a great chance to work with the current senior officers and build our skills for the rest of the year,” Stein said.

The Noche De Baile dance took place on March 27 at SM North planned by North’s Hispanic Heritage Program and other Shawnee Mission School District students. 

East senior Yahir Reyes helped promote the event and attended it to get together with other hispanic students. 

“We wanted to host a dance that would incorporate and focus on a lot of Spanish culture and tradition,” Reyes said.

When the time came for the actual dance, Reyes said he had more fun than he expected with so many people showing up, as it was open to all Shawnee Mission high schools.

“I had a lot of people at East come up to me and say the dance topped any school dance East has ever [held] and we really did a good job organizing and planning it,” Reyes said. 

He also said that people complimented the authentic music played, food provided, the DJ’s appreciation for each school and the other fun activities.

“It was a great success,” Reyes said. “A lot of people told us it was super fun and everyone was so supportive. For a lot of people this isn’t their usual culture and seeing them go and experience it was really nice.”

While East promoted the event over the seminar announcements and through Spanish classes, Reyes and his friends also hung up flyers and reposted them on social media to spread the word.

Junior Kate Rose said her first introduction to the dance was when her Spanish teacher Christina Calvano offered extra credit for attending the dance. 

Rose and her friends tried new foods such as chamoy fruits and candy, horchata and bread pudding. They also learned how to do different dances from students from other schools. 
“I attended the dance with some of my friends who wanted to see what it was like and we had the time of our lives,” Rose said. “We danced in the congo lines, ate all the fun foods and met so many new people.”