BV West Spotlight-Dec. 9, 2022

INSIDE:

House Bill 2567 PG. 4 & 5 Fall Play PG. 6 & 7 Environment PG. 12 & 13

Image by: Mackenzie leece

New policies outline gender constraints.

Fall Play

Inherit the Wind.

Lunch

Trays

Styrofoam trays are being replace paper.

New Sport

Students are calling for gymnastics to be brought back to BV.

Pronoun Pressure Winter Sports

Concerns rise about pollution and waste.

Loving our Earth 14

Holiday Spirit

Best Christmas songs and movies.

The best gifts to give this season.

Gift Guide Finals Tips

Helpful ways to prepare for winter finals.

Upcoming contests.

Alyssa Haynes

NOT OKAY

NEW LEGISLATION CREATES DIFFICULTY FOR NON-CISGENDER STUDENTS ...

just honestly hate myself and hate my parents for not being okay with it,” freshman Charlie Smith* said. “The reason why I hate myself it’s just because I feel like I disappointed my family. At school, I don’t feel comfort able when teachers use the wrong pronouns, but I just have to deal with it no matter what.”

Kansas House bill 2567 was signed by Governor Kelly on May 16, 2022. Section 27 states that “a non-academic test, questionnaire, survey or examination containing personal ques tions is not allowed without parental permission.” This section of the law prohibits teachers from having stu dents fill out forms that include ques tions about preferred names and pronouns.

“I could see, mainly in teenagers whose parents don’t support them, especially if they’re already struggling “out” as it is, it can really increase what they might be struggling with,” Smith said. “And then they find out, my parents don’t support me on this, which breaks even more the bond that I have with them.”

Smith has a unique story of how their parents found out they are not cisgender and that they were using different pronouns at school than they did at home. They expressed concern for other students in a similar situation. Some students were able to find comfort at home, those like Smith, found allies in Room 636 with the Gender and Sex uality Alliance.

At a recent meeting of the GSA, student mem bers discussed the difficulties they encounter at school. Without the private communication in a teacher survey, students must initiate that poten tially stressful exchange. Some noted that when they don’t know how a teacher will react to them using a different name or pronouns, it is difficult to start that conversation. Coming out to a teacher was especially hard if the student is not “out” yet. Unfortunately, kids who can use their preferred name and pronouns in the classroom are some times called slurs, laughed at, and given dirty looks quickly and quietly enough for a teacher not to

notice. Others who may want to identify themselves as a part of the LGBTQ+ community see these exchanges and must then summon courage to ap proach a teacher.

The GSA is a safe space for those who are comfortable enough to go to the meetings, but not everyone that needs that comfort is able to get it. Some feel they can’t join because they are burdened with schoolwork that needs to be done during AST. Others are fearful about joining be cause they don’t feel comfortable with so many people knowing, they are a member of the LGBTQ+ community. HB2567 stands up for parental rights; it has complicated life for some teens.

“This legislation prohibits teachers from surveying students about pronouns or other preferences of that nature,” said principal Dr. Katie Bonnema. “But it does not prohibit a teacher from acknowledging a student’s preference if it’s shared with them person ally.”

Many students and staff lack clarity about the school’s policy and believe teachers are required to report any disclosures to counselors who would then be required to call parents. This as sumptions leads to teachers taking inappropriate steps after a student asks them to use a different name or pronoun. The awkwardness, randomness and confusions lead to students feeling unsafe and uncomfortable in school. Student concerns about pronouns and protecting the vulnerable are mir rored by staff members. A counselor* explained the directions the counseling staff hopes teachers will adhere to.

“The direction that we were given as staff, is, if a student comes up and asks to have pronouns or a name that differs from what is in our Synergy system, then teachers are allowed to use that and respect that because we want the students to feel comfortable in our building,” a counselor said.

Although some staff members continue to misin terpret administrative directives regarding requests for unique pronoun usage and name changes, the

counselor added that there were strategies in place to help students feel more comfortable.

“So, there’s a number of things that probably need to be addressed, first would be talking to our staff about our LGBTQ community, and how to support our students in that community,” the coun selor said. “It’s hard with the student population so I would hit the GSA first, just because they know who their friends are that live in those pockets of communities that may not have been able to come ‘out’ yet. Then if teachers know the true intent of the district’s interpretation of the law they can say ‘hey, I know you’re struggling or I know that you’d like somebody to talk to you, here’s what that looks like.’”

The compassion displayed by the counsel ing staff and many staff members benefits kids. Teachers and staff not being able to ask students their pronouns put kids in the awkward position of having to take the initiative to approach adults even when they don’t feel safe. The quandary of the new restrictions leaves both staff members and students looking for workable solutions.

“Obviously we can’t just break the law. But like, what can we try to do? I would like to say talk some sense and that wouldn’t work,” said Smith. “‘Cause if I did anything my dad, still no matter what, wouldn’t accept it, but counselors could give them [parents] stuff to look at, research and access to information on how they see this negatively affecting people.”

The staff meetings, school district protocols and teacher strategies discussed by staff members im pact students directly. Yet, teens often know more about this issue than adults. They can be an invalu able resource and consideration should be given to include them in discussions and planning of policies that directly affect them.

“Kids are treated as if they know nothing about their identity until the moment, they turn 18,” freshman Jesse White* said. “A lot of the time, kids will know, or at least have a vague idea of who they are from a very young age, like five-years-old. But they’re still treated like, ‘oh, you’re not 18 yet, you don’t know s***.’ It’s just very harmful because part of growing up is exploring your identity. But it’s just treated like, ‘no, you can’t know anything about who you are’. Yeah, kids are seen as people that don’t know anything about anything. And so, parents end up having more control over their life.”

Teens want to have more of a say in who they are. Laws like HB2567 give parents more control over their child’s identity than the children them selves. To help kids feel safer being their authen tic selves at school, BV West has a no tolerance

for discrimination policy (that touches on gender identity, among other things), but not many teach ers have the knowledge to highlight its importance or are now confused about how to handle pronoun and name changes. Unless discussed with students in classes or Advisory, there is no awareness that the policy exists, or how important it is.

“Well, I am okay, so I asked a teacher that I have recently. And she said, I had to talk to my dad about it,” Smith said. “And he basically just did not approve it. And he was like, ‘oh I’m not going to use those pronouns for you because it doesn’t make sense.’ He even said, ‘I understand people who are trans gender to use those pronouns, but other people who use they/them pronouns for like nonbinary people.’ He does not understand, so I can’t use those pronouns at school, and that’s because he doesn’t approve. So, because my teacher said that I needed at least one parent to approve, and I can’t talk to my mom about it. So yeah, I can’t use those unfortunately.”

While teachers appear to have mixed messages about how to support students when it comes to personal gender information, students are caught in the middle of trying to be their authentic selves and feel protected from judgment at school or at home. Bonnema expressed support for students struggling with communicating their identity in either setting.

“So, if the student is not ‘out’ yet at home but is asking a teacher to refer to them by a different name, or pronouns in a class, that kind of puts them at risk by any one of the humans in that room to be outed,” Bonnema said. “We want to make sure we’re supporting them through that process, helping them connect with family and be able to help them prepare for that hard conversation.”

Some non-binary students appear to be trapped in the very definition of a “generation gap.” Parents can be confused, and even hostile, to the realities of their children not being a stereotypical teenager.

“It’s honestly, stupid. It’s just stupid how a parent has to be approved of it before,” Smith said. “Hon estly, anyone. Parents just don’t understand, espe cially with parents that were taught differently as a kid. This is not okay.”

*Because of the sensitive nature of the topic, some of the sources for this story have chosen to remain anonymous.

Image by: K. Bergeron

his fall, the theater department at BVW curated and perfected a play, titled “Inherit the Wind.” “Inherit the Wind” is a courtroom drama, lightly based upon the real life Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in the early 20s,” said senior Jake Barton.

The Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in 1925, involves a case about the controversy of teaching evolution to students. The relationship between the characters make this play both noteworthy, and relatable for the audience. “...There’s a lot of dynamics between two lawyers who you know they respect each other but this is something that they strongly oppose within their own opinions,” said Barton. It’s one of the most noticeable dynamics that can be observed throughout the scenes. And while the character personalities within the actual play present themselves to be unique themselves, being able to act out these characteristics was no easy task for the cast members here at West.

STUDENT APART OF THEATER PROGRAM DEEP DIVE INTO FALL PLAY ... wind the herit in-

“The first thing I tried to figure out was my character voice. It took a while to figure out what to do with it. Because at first, I had this really low voice that didn’t sound real, so I had to work on it. And once I finally figured out the character voice, then I dove deeper into what the meaning of all my lines were and the themes for all my characters and stuff,” said Senior Mihir Apte. He goes on to describe what the process was like, trying to get into character, and representing all the unique aspects and characteristics of each role within the play.

Apte isn’t the only cast member paying special attention to his role. In fact, each individual appearing in the play prepared their roles in a unique way to touch the full potential of the part. A big help in making the cast feel more comfortable and confident perfecting their roles, were each other.

“I was, you know, on stage playing a best friend with two of my best friends. So it was really easy and it felt very natural. But this was a character I’d never really played before. And I definitely liked playing more lines than I did last year,” said Senior Ellen Kryer. She discusses the unique relationship that the entire cast shares, especially during the production process. The bonds within the cast were crucial as stepping into the roles of seniors was important because mentoring and building relationships with underclassmen on cast were essential in creating the show, and Ellen especially, was a member and friend that was especially easy to relate to.

“My favorite part probably was acting with Ellen because she’s a very great actress and it just elevates me to become better,” said Senior Tyler Masterson. Members felt excitement in working with those around them as they felt connected to each other. Cast members expressed feeling comfortable within their roles while having the excitement of being cast with bigger parts within the program compared to last year as well.

“I’ve never been like the main character before and it was just cool too cuz a lot of stuff Jonathan says I like to connect personally with what he likes, embodies and believes in. So since our beliefs versus playing a character and getting to like, speaking about these things through a different way was just nice,” said Apte.

by: A. Duarte

Members in every scene deep dived into connecting their characters to themselves as they developed from rehearsals to showtime.“So even just like characters big and small, we had to develop a lot of chemistry and dynamics between them all in order to create a very alive kind of scene. and that kind of gives that impression to the audience that these are people, not just characters,” said Barton.

So as the production process finally began coming to a close, emotions on the final pieces of the fall play, have understandably led to a variety of different emotions, especially for the seniors involved. “I could go back and I could change this. But in the long run, you look back and you’re like, I did a pretty good job for what it was,” said Senior Will Prehn. The overwhelming majority of the cast felt positive about their performances following opening night.

The cast and production crew put hours upon hours of work into the production of the fall play, “Inherit the Wind ‘’, and their phenomenal performance has done enough to say what a fantastic outcome and impact they had on all of their viewers. It is undeniably clear the ambience, and relationships formed within the cast has contributed to outstanding results.

Alyssa Haynes

Image by: K. Clark

Image

STYROFOAM waste

LACK OF RECYCLABLE CARDBOARD LUNCH TRAYS WORRY STUDENTS

n past years, BV West students have participated in all sorts of recycling efforts: collecting paper, cans, plastic bottles, and soft plastics, and using water bottle fillers. The school cafeteria echoed those efforts by collecting fruit that might be thrown away and using paper trays. Like schools all around the world, BV West was committed to making a smaller carbon footprint.

This August, students witnessed a transition that took our school in the opposite direction. BV West’s stopped using recyclable cardboard trays and began using environmentally harmful Styrofoam trays in the cafeteria.

Environmental Club President, senior Mira Becker, expressed her concerns about the change in trays.

“I don’t think it’s great for the environment,” Becker said. “When I took AP Environmental Science, we talked about how things in the landfill just sit there under a pile of grass. And that’s pretty much all it does. Or it gets burned and then releases carbon into the atmosphere.”

As an alternative to both cardboard and Styrofoam trays, Becker suggested using an even more eco-friendly option.

“I remember in elementary school, we had the reusable trays, and they just washed, and I feel like those would be a better option because it’s more sustainable and they’re less flimsy,” Becker said. “Or even just giving us brown paper bags would be more sustainable for our school, at least because it’s paper.”

Junior Makenzie Galliart had similar thoughts about her tray of choice.

Millie Reitz

“Definitely cardboard. Probably the main reason would be for the environment because it’s biodegradable, and Styrofoam isn’t safe for animals,” Galliart said.

While Becker was concerned about landfill space, Galliart expanded on her concern for animals.

“I think if it was brought into light, how harmful Styrofoam can be, not only to us, but also, the environment and animals, people would definitely make the change. An example would be like plastic straws,” Galliart said. “People saw how harmful they were to the environment and a lot of places are using alternatives now.”

Beyond the negative environmental impact of Styrofoam, Galliart believes that the message sent to students is inappropriate.

“And if we continue to use Styrofoam, then we’re teaching kids that it’s okay. It should really be brought up how harmful those materials can be,” Galliart said.

Sophomore Heidi Sorensen disagrees.

“I like Styrofoam trays because they just seem less gross to me. If you get something wet or greasy on a cardboard tray it’ll get soggy and gross,” Sorensen said.

Another factor that plays a part in the district’s tray offering is availability. According to Charles Rathburn, the Blue Valley Director of Food and Nutrition Services, “Availability with the fiber trays are hit and miss.”

Rathburn also said that Blue Valley evaluates the type of lunch tray the district will use on an annual basis and that the environmental impacts are taken into consideration. If the change to Styrofoam trays is not to your liking, consider bringing your lunch from home, or writing an email to the Blue Valley District Office regarding your concerns.

Could Gymnastics return to blue valley?

ATHLETES HOPE TO COMPETE FOR THEIR SCHOOL ...

In 1997, Blue Valley Schools won the 6A Kan sas State Gymnastics Championships with a team of combined athletes from the five high school. Could that happen again? The Kan sas State High School Activities Association continues to certify gymnastics as a sport, but Blue Valley no longer supports it.

Several school districts in Kansas offer high school gymnastics programs: Wichita, Topeka, Manhattan, Derby, Newton, Emporia, Shawnee Mission, Lawrence, and Olathe. Blue Valley had high school gymnastics teams, however, in the late 1990’s high school gymnastics programs were combined and then removed.

“Cost of equipment was another factor in the removal of gymnastics programs,” said Janice Baker, who coached high school gymnastics for 36 years and judged for 12 years.

Baker explains that financial cuts are a big reason for this, and a multitude of other factors influenced the decision to drop the sport.

“To restore the program in Blue Valley, the schools must have the support of the community,” Baker said. “The costs of equipment, coaches, transportation, uniforms, officials’ fees, etc. must be determined and put into the budget. If there are enough athletes interested in this, it will take a committed effort by a group of people willing to do the work.”

While some might feel the sport would never get that kind of backing, there may be more people willing to put in the work than believed.

“There’s probably more people than we think that are interested but don’t necessarily want to join a whole team,” sophomore Violet Kempker said.

There are nine local gyms that have a well-developed competitive club program in the area. There are many gym nasts that quit their competitive clubs during high school simply because the number of hours for year-round club gymnastics and high school activities conflict. Having a high school team could be a solution.

“There’s plenty of football teams and clubs for a bunch of other stuff that others do,” Kempker said. “Gymnasts should be involved in gymnastics at school if they want.”

There are others who would not necessarily join the team but would love to support it. According to Baker, a support ive community is essential to the success of any gymnastics team. Getting competitive athletes to join is imperative.

“Pretty much anyone can do it, whether you’ve had back ground or not. And it’s also aimed at older kids,” Shawnee Mission school coach, Sonja Kudulis said. “Whereas some times people don’t have as much fun when they get older in club, so it offers that different sort of space.”

High school teams aren’t often made up of elite Level 10 and other high-level gymnasts. Anyone from any gymnas tics background can be a part of the team.

“So our team this year, we have people flipping Yurchen ko’s and double back flyaways,” Kudulis said. “And then we have some people who are working on front walkovers.”

High school gymnastics gives an outlet to athletes seek ing another option to club gymnastics and those who want to try gymnastics for the first time. When the Lawrence School District sought to eliminate gymnastics last year, students participated in a sit-in to show their support. The teams at both high schools in Lawrence were saved. Could such an effort happen in Blue Valley? If it did, there would be many athletes who would have the opportunity to repre sent their schools and communities.

ON THE FLOOR ...

Practicing a back walk over at her club gym, a high school student perfects a skill that would score points at the State gymnastics meet.

IMAGE BY: A. BOWSHER

STICK STRAIGHT ... With help from her coach a high school student works to add a cast handstand to her uneven bar routine.

IMAGE BY: A. BOWSHER

Aubree Bowsher

UP-

COMING

12/6 @ BVW- 4pm

12/10 @ STMS- 12pm

12/17 @ BVN- 10am

1/12 @ BVW- 4pm

1/14 @ BVSW- 10am

1/17 @ BVSW- 4pm

1/21 @ SMAC- 8am

1/25 @ CTMS- 5pm

1/26 @ BVW- 4pm

1/28 @ TBD- 10:30am

2/3 @ BVNW- 5pm

2/4 @ BVNW- 10:30am

2/16-17 @ SMAC- TBD

boys swim & dive

GIRLS & BOYS

WRESTLING

UP-

COMING

12/7 @ BVNW- 5pm

12/10 @ ONW- 8am

12/15 @ OWHS- 5pm

1/5 @ BSHS- 4:30pm

1/7 @ BVSW- 9am

1/13 @ BVW- 4pm

1/19 @ BVW- 6pm

1/21 @ OSHS- 9am

1/25 @ BVHS- 6pm

1/27 @ BALDWIN JR4:30PM

2/1 @ SMNW- 5:30pm

2/4 @ TBD

2/17-18 @ TBD

2/24 @ TBD

12/7 @ OWHS- 5pm

12/10 @ UHS- 9:30am

12/16 @ BVHS- 2pm

12/17 @ BVHS- 9am

1/7 @ LHS- 8am

1/11 @ ONW- 6pm

1/13 @ BVW- 4pm

1/20 @ BVNW- 4pm

1/21 @ BVNW- 10am

1/25 @ BVHS- 6pm

2/1 @ SMNW- 5pm

2/4 @ TBD

2/17-18 @ TBD

2/24 @ TBD

Nicole Gross

Images by: J. Dooley

images by: k. clark

winter sports preview

* bowling tryouts run until 12/9

bowling

Jan. 17 @ Olathe Lanes

East vs. Aquinas and St. James

Jan. 25 @ Aaron’s (Belton) vs. BVNW & St. James

Jan. 30 @ Olathe Lanes

East vs. Olathe N & BVN

Feb. 2 @ Aaron’s (Belton) vs. BV & Bishop Miege

Feb. 8 @ Aaron’s (Belton) – Blue Valley Champion ship

Feb. 13 @ Aaron’s (Belton) – EKL Championship

12/17 Time TBD vs. TBA @ Hy-Vee Arena 1/6 vs. Blue Valley

@ Blue Valley High School - South Gym 1/13 7:00pm vs. Blue Valley North @ Blue Valley North High School

boys basketball

12/9 vs. TBA @ Joplin High School 12/17 Time TBD vs. Capi tal City @ Hy-Vee Arena 1/6 5:30pm vs. Blue Valley @ Blue Valley High School -South Gym

Caroline Erickson

Images by: J. Dooley

Image by: L. ALAM

girls basketball

ver recent years, the substantial and steady increase of pollution, through air, water, and ground, has reached an epidemic-like high. As of 2020, The World Bank has estimated pollution to be the leading cause in environmental deaths While the effects may seem distant enough, the fact of the matter is, we are seeing the effects of heightened pollution right here in the United States, and even closer; our own state of Kansas. To get a better understanding of what pollution looks like, why there is so little discourse concerning pollution and the environment, as well as what we as a community can do to better help combat pollution, we talked to a few students here at Blue Valley West, in hopes of gaining a better understanding.

Every year, thousands of communities are negatively impacted as a result of waste and air pollution, both as a result of big industries and corporations, as well as civilians and their dayto-day actions. The effects of both, and any types of pollution, have occasionally been catastrophic among these communities.

Oftentimes the countries that are impacted most, are those with high population densities. The more people there are, the more susceptible countries are to seeing an increase in pollution over time. Take Pakistan in recent months as an example.

During September and October this year, the world saw an increase in monsoon-like floods terrorize Pakistanis, in a seemingly abrupt manner. But this was no “abrupt” or “surprising” event that the civilians there experienced. In fact, data analysis by a group of international climate scientists in Pakistan, Europe and the United States, reached the same conclusion that the Pakistani government had been claiming all along; the heavy rainfall was most likely caused by an increase in global warming, as a result of heavy amounts of air pollution. And while this a very much a true fact, Pakistan’s large population has also had an effect, so the impacts of warming cannot possibly be blamed solely on the concept of pollution itself.

ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB MEMBERS SHARE OPINIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT ...

the planet protect

Unfortunately Pakistan isn’t alone. Kenya, Haiti, and Afghanistan all rank higher on the Climate Risk Index than Pakistan, and the same deadly effects could reach them sooner than we think. Believe it or not, even the United States, specifically Overland Park, has experienced many forms of pollution, just at significantly lower magnitudes.

When considering pollution in Overland Park, US-69 Highway, the front of Blue Valley West behind the shrubs, and the medians in the road in and around Town Center all have one thing in common: trash.

“Pretty much any time I am out, I see trash all around the school and Overland Park”, says senior Mira Becker. This is a norm for many. 11/15 students at Blue Valley West said that in their day to day activities, they encounter trash littered across the streets, and even their own school. And while it may seem minute and irrelevant, this is the way that large scale impacts of global warming reach various communities in the long run. Fortunately though, while other cities in Kansas, like Kansas City rank as high as the 62nd most polluted city in the entire country, Overland Park remains relatively safe in the amount of pollution that poses a risk today. But that doesn’t mean that we leave it to Kansas City to address pollution, while we continue throwing QT cups out of the grass at the front of the school.

And while recycling plastic bottles outside our teacher’s rooms seeming to be a good starting point, some, like senior Lauren Meixner feel that they “...don’t know if our students, and the overall community, are concerned about environmental issues past the basics such as reducing and reusing”

One way that we can try to address pollution within our very own community at Blue Valley West, that goes further than throwing plastic bottles into bins, is through joining clubs that are striving to create meaningful impacts, like the Environmental Club.

“An organized club can ensure that if we notice an environmental issue in our school or Overland Park, we have an established group that can solve these issues.”, says Meixner, who is a part of the Environmental Club here at west, run by Mr.Quillin. The club has been able to accomplish amazing tasks, including picking up trash around the school premise at least once a month! Becker also states that “We also take action to protect our environment by doing trash cleanups and participating in environment-related community service.

”From picking up trash and volunteering for community service groups, to joining organizations, and even clubs aimed at creating meaningful change, there are clearly a variety of ways that we as a community can assist in bettering our environment, and reducing pollution, both inside and outside of school.

With all of this information, it is normal to feel overwhelmed with how much the environment, and seemingly small actions like littering contribute to high numbers of pollution and accelerated global warming. So, where do we begin? Becker mentions that “one of the biggest environmental issues is big companies not being held accountable for their impact on the environment”, and Meixner goes on to agree, citing fast fashion as a primary factor in increased levels of pollution.

A way to start on your positive impact on the environment, is to start there. Reducing your consumption of fast fashion brands such as Shein, Amazon, and Forever 21, and switching to more sustainable brands, or thrifting is just one way you can start. But other options like joining clubs and organizations aimed at addressing pollution reduction, as well as participating in forms of community service are all amazing alternatives to helping reduce the negative impacts of pollution on our environment.

Nargis Suleman

HACKS TO HELP PREPARE FOR WINTER FINALS ... study tips

Take breaks in be tween study sessions to clear your head

Create a schedule for yourself and set daily goals

Give yourself enough time to study for your harder classes. Begin studying for your harder classes a few days before you start prep for the rest of your classes

Make sure you have enough sleep before a test. Sleeping right after you finish study ing a topic can help you remember better.

Make review sheets or flashcards with the most important topics for the test

Try joining a study group. They might answer any ques tions you have and give you company to study and focus.

8.

Don’t study for the same class for a long stretch of time. Switch it up

Listening to calm ing music helps concentrate better

Nayva Bandaru

HOLIDAY SEASON

HOLIDAY

TRADITIONS TAKE VARIED FORMS FOR STUDENTS ...

ow that December is here, everyone is starting to feel festive. Although Christmas is a common holiday, many students celebrate other holidays that don’t always take place in the winter. Every one uniquely celebrates the holidays in their own way during this time. For se nior Aleeza Saeed, traditions with her family have always been important to her. Saeed celebrates the holidays with her family by participating in Islamic traditions.

“There’s a holiday called Eid, it’s very similar to Christmas where all your family gets together and opens gifts and have a good meal.”

Along with Saeed, many people in our community celebrate holidays other than Christ mas during this time of year.

Sometimes traditions can evolve. “Usually we go to the mosque but recently we’ve just been celebrating at my grandma’s house.”

The mosque serves as a place of prayer for followers of Islam. Now Saeed’s family prefers to celebrate Eid in her grandmother’s home rather than the mosque.

Eid is typically celebrated with fami ly and friends.

“In the morning on Eid, we always go to my grandmas, and eat her bagels, spend the day together, and eat dinner which my grandma cooks.”

Saeed’s family spends the whole day together on Eid to cherish family time.

After Eid is over, it is then followed by Ramadan.

“Ramadan is a month of fasting every day, with no food or water till the sunsets.”

After Ramadan, Eid is observed to mark the end of Ramadan. Additionally, it’s a chance to catch up with loved ones and friends.

Two Eids are observed each year to honor and remember two different occasions that are important to the history of Islam.

“They’re both similar but not the same. One is less festive and smaller whereas the other is very important and everyone gets super excited.” Although not traditionally celebrated, Saeed still enjoys Christmas activities.

“I usually do celebrate just for fun, but usually our religion doesn’t celebrate Christmas.”

Saeed and her family cele brate Christmas to bring joy to her and her family, even though it is not something that is partici pated in her religion.

“Eid is very important, we make sure to start getting everything ready and planning ahead of time. We are always super excited when the time comes around.”

Traditions and special occasions are always something to look forward to and are very exciting for Saeed and her family.

Saeeds religion affects what her family eats for the holidays, “due to our religion we don’t eat pork but we usually just eat any traditional dish my grandma will make,” said Saeed.

The holidays are different for every family, but similar to many, the holi days will always be an important part of her family’s traditions.

Alyssa Eilers

JAG

GO JAGS... Sophomore Maddie Mudge was performing in one of the stunts during the assembly on Nov. 4.

IMAGE BY: M. Cohee Check Please.. Sophomores Eric Kim and Hana Obaideen perform in the Rep ertory Theatre show, Check Please.

IMAGES BY: E. Kahrs

Red Bag... Juniors Abigail McClune and Rebecca Flores walking their Advisory’s Red Bags, to be delivered to the children of Red Bags KC.

IMAGES BY: M. Turner It’s Signing day.. Senior Reece Walrod grins at the Signing Ceremony, Nov. 9 where she signed to play soccer at K-State University.

IMAGE BY: A. Schrader

Jazz Band Fun... Sophomore Alex White was all smiles during the Jazz Band performace at the Chili Cook Off. IMAGE BY: K. Nissen

Thank You For Your Service... BV West’s very own Mr. McMillen shares his inspiring story of time spent in the United States Navy during the Nov. 9 Veteran’s Day Assembly.

IMAGE BY: A. Mehra

Jingle Jazz... Junior Ishaan Buddharaju played his saxaphone in the Jingle Jazz Band concert on Dec. 1.

IMAGE BY: E. Kahrs

Cheer Showcase... Junior Ashlyn Vistuba was giving her all during the BV West Cheer performace showcase.

IMAGE BY: A. Mehra

Lexi Reeder

Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022 at her Scottish estate. She was the lon gest-serving monarch of the UK. She died at the age of 96 after reigning for 70 years.

2 Jeff Dahmer

On Sept. 21, 2022, a se ries came out on Netflix called Dahmer. It told the story of the experience of his victims. The series became very popular through TikTok.

4 Roe V Wade

8 Will Smith slaps chris rock

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27 after a joke Rock made about Will’s wife’s bald head.

9 New Top Gun Movie

After a big breakup between Kim and Kanye West, the Kardashian star shocked fans when she announced her new relationship with Pete Davidson. The Supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade ruling there is no constitutional right to abortion.

3

Pete and Kim

Remembering 2022 5Stranger Things Season 4

The trial that massively blew up on social media was the Depp v. Heard case. Depp was sued for $100 million for sexual abuse and Heard was sued for $50 million by Depp. The jury ruled that Heard’s allegations were false.

7 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

6 War in Ukraine

The invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24, 2022. Russian forces at tacked major cities across Ukraine. Thousands had to leave their country.

1 Queen Death 11Soccer world Cup

After a long wait Stranger Things season 4 came out on May 7, 2022. Netflix released its status as the sec ond most popular title the stream ing service has ever released with 188.2 million hours watched between July 4 and July 10.

After 30 years the new Top Gun: Maverick premiered on April 28, 2022.

Megan Walters

The couple faced major backlash from fans after it was revealed Machine Gun Kelly embedded the engagement ring with sharp spikes so that when Megan took it off, she’d bleed.

10 MGK and megan fox ring

The World Cup is the most prestigious soccer tourna ment in the world. It only happens every four years with 32 teams compete across 64 matches. It start ed on Nov. 20.

1 Chiefs returning to Super Bowl

The Superbowl is planned to start on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 in Arizona.

What to look forward to in 2023

One thing that will always be a relief is starting grades over into the new year with a new semester coming up.

2 Starting Grades Over 3 Basketball season 6 Sweetheart

Basketball season is always a time high school ers look forward to. A basketball event planned to happen in 2023 is the NBA Finals from June 1-18 and the FIBA Basket ball World cup from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.

4 Graduation

Many 2022 seniors are looking forward to graduation in May of 2023 and ending their high school careers.

5 FIFA Women’s World Cup 7 U.S. Gymnastics Championships

The women’s FIFA world cup is planned to be start ed on July 10 and last through August 20th of 2023.

Students of Blue Val ley West are already looking forward to the upcoming school dance, Sweetheart, on February 4th, 2023.

The US Gymnastics Cham pionships is planned to start on June 15 and go through to June 18 of 2023.

q&a with

the principal questions

“Has the powderpuff tradition been discontinued?”

“Are there potential provisions that could be met to reinstitute powderpuff?”

“If we wouldn’t have a football powderpuff might there be a new tradition to begin a replacement such as another sports game?”

“In the last month, there seems that there has been an emphasis on students coming into school late has this been a problem with students in the past?”

“Are there going to be further enforcements for students coming in late?”

“Did the experiences that you had at Blue Valley Northwest and the District Office have an impact on the decisions that you make here at West?”

*Dr. Bonnema also noted at the end of our interview that she’s always more than happy to answer any questions that any student may have.

answers

“I’m not sure if tradition is the right word, because, to my knowledge, there hasn’t been a consistent game. It’s been there and then it’s not, like it’s always been on and off”

“So I would want you or others to know nobody has come to me to ask about pow derpuff. So I am aware that there’s a group of students that are interested in having a powderpuff game this year. Yes, I am aware that they have discussed that with Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Brutto and that they were given some feedback on their plan. It is possible for the students perception was that it’s a hard no, my understanding is they were told these are things that need to happen and they were given some feedback on their plan. Nobody to my knowledge has come back to say, ‘okaywe tookcare of this’or‘we talked about this,’ nobody has pushed it beyond that first conversation”

“Yeah, I am always interested in hearing student ideas and helping them to figure out how to make things like that happen. So if students came forward with an idea they would have to be open to some feedback but absolutely, I’m always open to new ideas or things like that ”

“In the last few years there’s been a huge increase in students and students are struggling to be at school consistently. I think part of that is an aftereffect of COVID and part of that is just culturally like in our society, like honoring timeliness and punctuality we’ve noticed is a growth area for students. I can see it this front Rotunda in the morning after the bell has rang and there’s literally some days hun dreds of students who are late.”

“I do think it’s an issue, but my priority is I don’t want students first interaction in the morning to be a negative one so you’ll hear me say things like, ‘hey, let’s be back to class. I’m glad you’re here today,’ instead of like, ‘why are you late again today?’ with an angry tone of voice. And if I do that, It’s often with kiddos that I interact a lot with, like kind of like teasing and sarcasm.

“So our first plan is communication and awareness. The second plan is to have some really targeted conversations with kiddos to say for example, ‘kelsie you’ve been to school 50% of full school days this school year’ right let’s say your in that ballpark.”

“Is it a high ball park?”

“It is more than you think. So for kids in that realm, it’s a really focused conversa tion with one of our office support people to say like, ‘what’s going on?’ Like, is there a reason. We’ve learned that we have kids who don’t have a way to get to school, what can we do to fix that?--We’ve had kiddos with mental health needs or, ‘you know what? I kind of just don’t love school and I don’t like coming.’ Okay, I get that. But A, you’ve gotta be here here, and how can we make that better, and like, I’m watching you alright? So I’ll get some plans in place to say, ‘okay kelsie you’ve been here over 50% of all school days, in the next two weeks. I want you here for at least 75% of the days. I’m gonna watch, and then we’re gonna follow up.’”

“I think it’s important to note that I was also here as an assistant principal. So just so you know, this is my second year as principal. I was at district office for two years, I was at West as an assistant principal the two years before that, and then at Northwest the six years before that. I would say all of those experiences have helped me in just having a broader view of what is possible, what we want to be known for, and what we want to take pride in. Just like I mentioned, every experi ence you have helps to paint a picture of what it’s possible to carry your perspec tive moving forward.”

politics modern

STUDENT SHARES VALUE OF BEING INVOLVED IN POLITICAL WORLD ...

ow much do you currently know about the 2022 midterm election results? How about the majority party of the house? If your answer to even one of these is “I don’t know”, then you aren’t alone. In fact, as of 2021, the Harvard Institute of Politics reports there to be approximately 36% of adolescents who are likely to be politically engaged, even in knowledge alone. And while this is a significant increase compared to former decades, it is still worth noting that less than half of adolescents eligible to vote don’t have much of a sense of political awareness.

The benefits of being politically aware, whether that looks like registering to vote early before the next election, or even keeping up to date on your political surroundings can assist young people in becoming a more informed and educated participating member in your community. And while this is the case, the spectrum of politically aware adolescents, specifically students, varies greatly for different reasons, depending on the individual.

Political awareness can often be referred to as the sensitivity or awareness that one has concerning policy, agendas, planning, and relationships occurring within the government, or political “squo.” Being politically aware doesn’t necessarily entail being knowledgeable on every single amendment and what alterations have been made to them, but rather having at least some sort of political awareness, even if the concept is only known to an individual because it is of interest to them.

For adolescents, political awareness and engagement has shown an increasing urgency, as we are ultimately the leaders of the future. Being aware of the political surroundings can all help people determine the role they will play in what the leadership of the future looks like. Additionally, the Harvard Institute of Politics states that an increase in political awareness can help anyone better understand the type of voter and participant in

democracy they want to look like. The participation and awareness of political surroundings and what is happening in the world, can better assist citizens not only in terms of knowing what is happening within the government that can affect individuals, but knowing what the future could look like as well.

Many students at BV West feel as though they are disconnected from the world of politics, and don’t see the real impact of what it means to be politically aware.

“I had never really seen a necessity for me to know about politicians or whatever was happening in the government”, said an interviewee, who asked to remain anonymous.

They go on to talk about how no one in their friend group, or in their family ever placed much of an emphasis on it, so it never seemed to matter to them, even later on.

“After the overturning of Roe v Wade, and stuff like politicians and campaign slogans started popping up on my Tik Tok for you page, I think that’s when I started taking a little more interest in politics,” they said.

They aren’t alone. In the past two years, the Harvard Institute cited earlier, reported that there has been a significant increase in political activism and involvement in adolescents across the nation.

“I think that it’s really important for people to get out there and learn about what is going on in our world, and how people are leading the country we live in. I regret not becoming more aware much sooner,” they said.

Whether young people identify as a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, or anything in between, the urgency to become more aware of political surroundings could be seen as now more important than ever, as this generation is the next to fall into leadership. Political awareness is a spectrum that all citizens, fortunately, have a choice in determining where they place. Deciding to become more politically aware is up to each person to decide, and remember that they decide what the future could, and will, look like.

Photo by Alli Kushner

CAPTION THIS ...

Tear off and bring to Room 233. Winner and prize will be announced on @bvwspotlight.

CAPTION THIS ...

Tear off and bring to Room 233. Winner and prize will be announced on @ bvwspotlight.

Image by: K. Bergeron

Image by: K. Nissen

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Address: 16200 Antioch Rd, Overland Park, KS 66085 Phone: (913) 239-3700 Email: bvwspotlight@gmail.com

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Spotlight is printed at least six times per school year for BV West students and the community. Its goals are to inform, entertain and interpret through bylined articles, opinions and editorials, while providing an open forum of communication for the diverse stu dent population. Spotlight aims to be fair, accurate and impartial. The content of the print publication, online news site and social media accounts is deter mined by its student editors as determined by the Kansas Scholastic Press Act and may contain con troversial subject matter as the staff exercises their First Amendment rights. (Spotlight does not neces sarily reflect the opinions of the faculty adviser, the administration of BV West or USD 229.)

OUR COVER

Do all students feel accepted in the BV West community?

Sophomore Teagan Prater posed for a photo shoot answer ing that question with photographer Macken zie Leece. Unfortunately, the Kansas Legislature may have made the situation more difficult by passage of House Bill 2567 in May 2022. Read freshman Mallory Love’s story on pages four and five.

STAFF

Editors in Chief

Managing Editor

Writers | Designers

ALYSSA HAYNES NARGIS SULEMAN NAVYA BANDARU ALYSSA EILERS CAROLINE ERICKSON KELSIE-JANE GANA NICOLE GROSS ALEXIS REEDER MEGAN WALTERS

Guest Writers

AUBREY BOWSHER

MALLORY LOVE MILLIE REITZ

All staffers write and design the print edition. Spotlight media personnel also maintain a website, bvwnews.com and post to social media accounts as @bvwspotlight.

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Bon voyage to the members of the Red & Silver Brigade as they travel to London, England to march and perform in the New Year’s Day parade on Jan. 1, 2023.

We are proud of you and are so happy to have you representing BV West to the rest of the world!