Vol 76 issue 8

THE

DART

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWS SOURCE OF ST. TERESA'S ACADEMY | KANSAS CITY, MO

WHEN VOLUNTEERING HELPS AND HURTS With the omnipresence of volunteerism at STA, the Dart takes a look at what the impact of service really looks like, from “us” versus “them” to living in right relationship with the dear neighbor.

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P. 6 COMMUNITY MEMBERS FIGHT TO REOPEN SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL

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P. 28 FOOD DESERT OF THE EAST SIDE IS REVITALIZED

CONTENTS

4. PRECAUTIONS TAKEN WITH STA TRAVELS 6. DISCUSSIONS SPARKED AROUND REOPENING SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL

JUNIOR SOPHIE BUNCH COLLECTS REPTILES

10. CHAI SHAI SPICES UP KANSAS CITY 12. STA HOSTS ANNUAL WALK OF FAME AND COLOR THROW

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14. INCLUSION PROJECT ANALYZES DIVERSITY AT STA

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF VOLUNTEERISM AND SERVICE

21. COLUMN: CATS HAVE A BAD REPUTATION BUT ARE GREAT PETS

ON THE COVER

22. COLUMN: CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT A "HOAX"

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23. COLUMN: HOW ONE WEEK IN GUATEMALA IMPACTED MY LIFE 24. STUDENT PRODUCTIONS TAKE THE STAGE

AQUAPONICS SYSTEM INTRODUCED IN FOOD DESERT

25. SEASON KICKS OFF FOR NATIONALLY RANKED SOCCER TEAM

30. TIPS FOR TAKING ON FINALS WEEK

28 Cover design by Lily Manning, photo courtesy of Maggie Miller, Backpage design by Gwyn Doran

April 28, 2017

Letter

FROM THE EDITORS

THE STAFF 2016-2017

Adviser Brad Lewis Editors-in-Chief Linden O'Brien Williams Helen Wheatley

WEB

Hey there reader, As our editorship comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on how far we have come, how far our staff has come, all our accomplishments and memories.

Late sophomore year, there was one moment when we sat at the middle table in the good ol' publications room and stared each other down. Without saying anything, we knew - we had to become the editors-in-chief for our senior year.

We buckled down, worked hard and achieved it - don’t worry, we had our share of fun along the way, too. And here we are now, on our last issue with the Dart, ever.

What can we say but thank you?

Thank you to our readers, thank you to our inspirations, thank you to our advisor.

But most importantly, thank you to our staff - for making this publication what it is, for inspiring us to work harder and OH YEAH, for putting in the work to win an Online Pacemaker! (A Pacemaker is a really big deal, for those of you who don’t spend all of your time geeking out over journalism like we do.)

So, what better way to say thank you than to go out with a bang on our last issue ever? Our centerspread, written by yours truly, explores volunteering and its impact on both those who serve and those who are served. We figure that since our school values service and every STA student has experience, at some point or another, with volunteering, the issue was a vital and interesting one to tackle. Does our volunteering make a difference? Why do we do it?

Also in this issue, on our local news pages, is an update on the potential future of Southwest High School, by Margaux Renee and Gabby Mesa. STA news explores STA’s endeavors with traveling abroad and safety precautions taken.

Make sure you flip to hear about junior Sophie Bunch and her reptile collection on our Star Spotlight pages, and don’t miss Lucy Whittaker’s feature profile on the members of the inclusion project at STA. You may have seen a flood of colorful social media posts recently - we have some more photos from the annual color throw on the features pages for you to gawk at! And as the year comes to a close, rest assured you can finish finals week strong with our finals week tips on our Last Look pages!

Readers, it’s tough to say goodbye.

The Dart has changed our lives and been the single most involved piece of our time at STA. Without the publications department, we would be a whole lot less mature, less weathered, less fun, less ready for the real world. We hope you’ve loved our content this year and we feel confident to hand the reins over to Zoë Butler and Lily Manning, who are equipped as fantastic and beautiful leaders.

Signing off for one last time with love,

Managing Web Editor Madi Winfield Scheduling Editor Katie Gregory Social Media Editor Anna Louise Sih Social Media Team Member Kate Jones Breaking News Editor Victoria Cahoon Multimedia Editor Alex Davis

PRINT

Managing Print Editor Mackenzie O'Guin Visual Illustrator Ellie Grever Photography Editors Cassie Hayes, Paige Powell Page Designers Maureen Burns, Zoë Butler, Gwyn Doran, Ellie Grever, Hannah Jirousek, Julia Kerrigan, Lily Manning, Gabby Mesa, Claire Molloy, Linden O'BrienWilliams, Mackenzie O'Guin, Margaux Renee, Gabby Staker, Helen Wheatley, Madi Winfield

COPY

Features Editor Zoë Butler News Editor Lily Manning Lifestyles Editor Claire Molloy Opinion Editor Gwyn Doran Sports Editor Katie Donnellan Staff Photographers Gabby Ayala, Meghan Baker, Helen Krause, Gabby Martinez, Meggie Mayer, Riley McNett, Anna Kate Powell, Sophie Sakoulas, Catherine Ebbits Staff Writers Cece Curran, Alex Frisch, Annabelle Meloy, Katie Mulhern, Margaux Renee, Isabel Shorter, Sophy Silva, Anne Claire Tangen, Natalie Telep, Lucy Whittaker

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page design by Gabby Mesa

STA NEWS

Editorial Policies Ownership and Sponsorship

DartNewsOnline and the Dart are created by the student newspaper staff and are maintained and published by general operating funds of St. Teresa’s Academy, a Catholic institution sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish opinions that contradict the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic church, whether on a diocesan or world-wide level.

Editorial Policy

The staff of DartNewsOnline and the Dart are subject to prior review by the St. Teresa’s Academy administrative team in circumstances that concern Catholic doctrine, student safety or illegal behavior.

DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish reviews of student work or performances.

Personal columns reflect the opinions of the writer, not necessarily the staff or school.

Letters & Reader Interaction Policy

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage the community to post comments on the website. Letters to the editors can be sent in the following ways: in person to Brad Lewis in Donnelly room 204; by mail to St. Teresa’s Academy, Attn: Brad Lewis, 5600 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64113; by email to blewis@stteresasacademy.org or to dartpaper@gmail.com. DartNewsOnline and the Dart staff reserve the right to edit or shorten letters for publication.

Comment Policy

STA INTERNATIONAL TRIPS UNFAZED BY RECENT

by Gabby Staker | Page Designer TERRORIST Story Photos by Anna Louise Sih ATTACKS Social Media Editor In light of recent events in Europe, the Dart investigates STA’s travel precautions and protocol for dealing with terror on international trips.

Forty people were injured in London, England, March 22, 2017, after knifewielding Khalid Masood, 52, mowed down pedestrians with his car on Westminster Bridge. Masood killed three pedestrians and a policeman before rushing the gates in front of the Houses Father-Daughter Bowling of Parliament. This was the latest of a string of terrorist activities that have struck European countries in recent years: Paris’ November 2015 attacks, where 130 people were massacred, Brussels bombings in March 2016 and the Nice truck attack on Bastille Day in July 2016.

STA has four international trips to Europe scheduled for the summer of 2017. All will go on as planned.

History teacher Mike Egner is leading the London-France trip this summer with history teachers Anne Papineau and Alicia Stewart. They will be taking 32 students from June 12 to June 22.

The 10-day trip will be headquartered in London, with day trips to Cambridge, Oxford, Stonehenge, Canterbury, Dover, Greenwich and the Warner Bros. studio

where the Harry Potter franchise was filmed. They will be taking the Eurostar across the European Channel and visiting Paris, including sites like the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre District, Sacré Coeur, Versailles Palace and Gardens and the Catacombs.

During the summers of 2001 and 2002, Egner took and taught graduate courses at the University of Cambridge.

Each summer since, he has traveled around Europe for two or three weeks.

This will be the fourth trip he’s taken to Europe with students since 2011.

Despite the recent attacks, Egner maintains that his trip will remain as scheduled unless there’s an attack in May or a tourist travel warning is issued from 1 the state department.

“All the trips that I’ve had have come after terrorist attacks that have happened in London and Paris previously,” Egner said. “I was in London-- it may have been 2008 or 2009 when the subways and buses were bombed...The police got on it immediately, they took great pains to

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage readers to comment on all posts. However, DartNewsOnline and the Dart reserve the right to monitor and edit all comments on DartNewsOnline. Comments that disagree with the editorial policy will not be published.

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Photo illustrations are conceptual photos that combine drawing and photography. All photos on the website are free for public use.

If a reader is interested in high-quality copies of photos, please email DartNewsOnline at dartpaper@gmail.com.

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DartNewsOnline and the Dart will publish corrections as soon as possible after the error is discovered.

Students and parents listen to Spanish teachers Julia Amigo, left, and Maria Lopez speak about the upcoming trip to Spain. The trip is set to take place in 2018.

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make sure that every place that was a potential site for terrorism was wellguarded, they found the perpetrators and took care of that very quickly.”

Egner buys cancellation insurance for each trip he leads. Within two or three weeks prior to the trip, if there is a proliferation of attacks, the cancellation insurance will allow him and his students to reschedule or get their money back.

Egner will be working closely with the tourist company to make “snap decisions” about keeping students safe in the event of an emergency.

However, he understands that many tourist companies are hoping to continue turning profits, especially as Europe approaches tourist season. While he’s wary of companies looking out for their own interests, he believes that security measures may be increased to help protect the tourism industry.

"I don’t think that you can let it consume you, because then you let those bad people win." junior Mamie Murphy “It’s a difficult situation,” Egner said.

“They’re going to do everything possible to ensure and provide for the safety of tourists. Otherwise, they lose a ton of money.”

Overall, Egner believes that the most important protection against terrorist activity is to stay informed. Police presence in London and Paris airports, train stations and tubes triggers a level of awareness.

“I don’t get paranoid, though,” Egner said. “Not even close. Because you know what? We could have terrorist attacks right here in this country. And we have.”

STA principal of academic affairs Barb McCormick is in charge of handling international trip parameters. She works to ensure that teachers are well prepared and following travel guidelines so that students are safe. According to McCormick, teachers go through training with the school nurse and administration to run through protocol for particular incidents when traveling internationally and domestically.

McCormick is leading a trip to Le Puy, En Velay, France, this summer

Spanish teacher Julia Amigo goes through the itinerary for the 2018 trip to Spain with prospective students and parents.

Various apartment buildings line the busy streets of Madrid, Spain.

Students on the trip spent a majority of their vacation exploring Madrid. photo courtesy of Mamie Murphy

A crowded street in Madrid is colorfully decorated for Easter. Students celebrated Easter with a large brunch, Mass and watching a parade. photo courtesy of Mamie Murphy

and believes, like Egner, that safety comes down to being alert, not afraid.

Unless there is an alert status from the government, the trips will continue as scheduled.

“I’m extra cautious about where we move around, the groups we’re in, how much of an exploit we make of ourselves,” McCormick said. “We don’t want to be overly obtrusive in a culture or community so that we bring attention to ourselves.”

Junior Mamie Murphy went on the trip to Spain last year over Holy Week from March 21 through March 28. According to Murphy, they stayed in Madrid and took day trips to Segovia, Avila and Toledo. While the U.S. Department of State did not officially issue a travel alert or warning for Spain, three coordinated suicide bombings occurred in Brussels, page design by Madi Winfield

Belgium Mar. 22.

Murphy says she was not scared, but remembers her parents sending her texts about news channels warning tourists not to travel in large groups and to stay away from religious festivals.

Terror attacks have not dissuaded her from the travel she loves. She hopes to be involved in humanitarian work someday and appreciates learning about other cultures and understanding how other cultures work through conflict.

“I think you have to be pretty vigilant and know your surroundings, but I don’t think that you can let it consume you, because then you let those bad people win,” Murphy said. “You really just have to enjoy where you are and the culture and not be scared of what’s going on.” H

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LOCAL NEWS

Community FIGHTs TO REOPEN southwest high school Story by Margaux Renee and Gabby Mesa | Page Designers Photos by Madi Winfield Managing Editor of Web

Uniting at Southwest is working to reinvent the high school experience for all students in Kansas City, Missouri.

Proud yard signs displaying a bright, colorful “U” are starting to pop up in neighborhoods all around KC. The “U” stands for Uniting at Southwest High School, a local effort to found a new public high school in the old Southwest building.

The former Southwest building, located at 6512 Wornall Road is

currently vacant after being closed by the district in 2016. Community members have begun efforts to reopen the school as a new, innovative high school in the Brookside area.

According to the project’s website, their goal is to introduce a hybrid public school that is rigorous, innovative and welcoming for all students.

The focus of the school’s online presence is to demonstrate community need. A large green banner on the site’s homepage displays the figure 980: the number of completed supporter surveys. Demonstrating need for the school is essential to the project’s success as it aims to coexist with the Kansas City Missouri Public School District.

On Wednesday April 19th, Uniting at Southwest held a meeting at the Bier Station, a local restaurant owned by

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advisory board member, John Couture. The event was open to all and featured volunteer sign-up, examples of project-based learning in action as well as discussions lead by prominent board member, Michael Zeller.

During the evening, Zeller held three talks in which he and other founders of the project addressed the community’s questions and concerns. Zeller explained the unique model the school aims to achieve.

“What we’re proposing is an autonomous school under the umbrella and in partnership with KCPS,” Zeller said. “It could be a KCPS chartered high school. There are other legal solutions that can achieve that kind of compromise.”

The Kansas City Public School district is already home to eight public high schools.

Southeast High School is among those schools, along with Lincoln Preparatory academy.

According to the Kansas City Star, district Superintendent Mark Bedell believes that there is enough room in the city’s existing high schools to provide students with a rich experience, and opening a new school would distract from those efforts.

“My primary focus is, let’s do right with the kids we already have,” Bedell told the Kansas City Star. “Let’s pool resources and make Southeast innovative, diverse and the best it can be.”

The Southwest building is still owned by the school district, but is not listed on the district's website as a property available for purchase. Jason Parson, a member of Uniting at Southwest, explained how the district's willingness to sell the building will impact the advancement of the project. “[The Kansas City Public School District] owns the building,” Parson said. “It still comes down to if they have a desire to either sell the school, or form some type of agreement so that the school could be used for such purposes we describe.”

Uniting at Southwest describes the proposed high school as a place to reinvent the high school experience. One aspect of

the NEWS FEED

by Lily Manning | News Editor

Each issue, the Dart highlights groundbreaking events in the world, US, Missouri and KC.

in the world A garbage dump in Colombo, Sri Lanka collapsed, destroying and burying about 145 homes, killing dozens of people and causing 1,700 others to relocate. The pile was around 300 feet high and neighbors surrounding it had reportedly been asking the government to remove it for years.

2. this re-invention is identified as “projectbased learning” through which students learn to conduct research, develop solutions and establish various skills essential in today’s world.

The Southwest building was built in 1927, but according to Zeller, is still in good shape and could be developed into the perfect place for project based learning.

“Ideally, we would wanna go in and open that building up and create open, 21st century learning spaces,” Zeller said.

“Big, open, kind of work-forts, where kids are building rockets and putting on plays and doing all that kind of stuff. It’s not a box mentality.”

The Bloch, DeBruce, McDonnell and Stowers Foundations, along with interested community members, currently fund the research and development of the new school. The website also details that they are open to accept private donations from others.

Zeller encourages all potential advocates to get involved and show support in ways that are not necessarily financial.

“If you have not taken the support survey, please do...It’s very important to signal to the community at large that there is a movement here, there is a wave of reasonable people trying to come together and collaborate,” Zeller said. “We need to create a presence for Uniting at Southwest.”

Creating this presence is what is helping to get local parents involved such as community volunteer Sara Harms. She first became interested in

1. The facade of Southwest High School, though without students, stands tall in Brookside. The school closed in 2016, but the uniting at Southwest movement hopes to revitalize the campus as soon as possible.

2. A "No Trespassing" sign stands outside Southwest High School's main doors, acting as sentinel for the recently abandoned building.

the movement when she recognized that her son Hudson, who currently attends Academie Lafayette, would engage with the style of learning the Uniting at Southwest has proposed.

“My role is to engage volunteers, help people understand what project based learning is all about and to help the community understand the vision,” Harms said.

United at Southwest advocates, like Zeller and Harms, encourage supporters to spread the idea of this reinvented high school.

“Take yard signs home with you. Share them with your friends and neighbors who you know have this vision,” Zeller said. “This is what it looks like when a community weighs in and tries to share responsibility for public education.”H

the u.s.

The Pentagon is planning to test its ability to shoot down missiles launched from North Korea. They will conduct two tests in May, both of them being major high-stakes tests. The tests are a part of the U.S. military's ballistic missile defense program to defend against North Korean or Iranian threats.

missouri A Missouri church versus state case is headed to the supreme court after a debate over a Missouri playground.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., filed for a state grant to receive recycled rubber for their playground.

The state’s Department of Natural Resources denied the grant on the basis of separation of church and state, but the church sued and the case is now being fought in the U.S. Supreme Court.

kansas city A Lee’s Summit woman is currently in second place in the online voting round of the Miss USA Beauty Pageant.

Bayleigh Dayton is the first African American woman named Miss Missouri USA and is currently second only to Lauren Roush of West Virginia.

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page design by Zoe Butler

STAR SPOTLIGHT

sophie bunch Junior Sophie Bunch loves the animals many of us squirm to touch and see. Read more about her collection here.

Story by Victoria Cahoon Breaking News Editor Photo by Meghan Baker Photographer

How many lizards do you have?

“I have to count, I have five lizards, one newt, three frogs and two tortoises to be exact. So ten animals living in my room.”

Why did you start to collect them?

“I’ve always had a passion for reptiles and amphibians ever since I was little, and I go to reptile expos a lot where they literally just have reptiles and amphibians, and I’ve just acquired so many and I don’t know, I like them a lot.”

How many reptile expos have you been to?

“They’re every other month and I don’t know how many I’ve been to, probably over twenty well actually definitely over thirty. But yeah I’ve been going for a long time.”

What are the expos?

“A reptile expo is an expo that only has reptiles and amphibians, so it’s for nerds like me who love reptiles and amphibians who can go and talk to other people who love the same things and adopt reptiles and amphibians, and yeah it’s a lot of fun.”

would be an archaic gecko because they’re very sweet and very easy to take care of, and I have one and they’re very great.”

When did you get started?

“Growing up, I had turtles but then I had to give them away because my dad found out how dirty they can be. So, I took a few years break from them, and then I got my first one of my collection right now, freshman year.”

What’s you favorite type?

“My favorite type, out of my little collection, are my frogs, because everytime I walk into my room they jump on the front glass, because they know I have food, and it’s kinda like they greet me when I come home. So it’s a nice little welcome home from my frogs. Even though they’re being selfish, and they’re just like ‘get me food,’ I like think they’re saying ‘hi’”

Do you have any advice for anyone who might want to start a collection?

“Well, if you’re going to start with a reptile, do not get turtles. They’re very dirty, and they’re not a very good beginner pet even though people think so. I’d say, personally, a good beginner

If you could have any reptile/ amphibian in the world what would it be?

“I want a sand boa so so so bad[ly], but my dad is absolutely terrified of snakes so I’ll never own a snake while I live in his house. Which is so sad.”. H

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THE MONTHLY QUESTION

by Zoe Butler | Features Editor

WHAT IS ONE THING ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

"I wanna get arrested."

- Senior Grace Shloegel

“I want to travel to all seven continents before I die.”

“I want to adopt children from Africa.”

- Sophomore Alexa Crimmins

- Junior Olivia Cook

“Sell my kidney on the black market for $250,000 or best offer.”

- Senior Maya Kalmus

BITS & PIECES

I N S TA G R A M S OF THE ISSUE

by Madi Winfield Managing Editor of Web

This month's theme: Easter

“I would like to go bungee jumping off a bridge with my grandparents in New Zealand.”

- Freshman Renee Fortin

MY LIFE SUCKS / MY LIFE ROCKS

by Claire Molloy | Lifestyles Editor “After having been diagnosed with "mono" for 6 days, I woke up and my throat was so swollen that I couldn't eat or talk. I had to go to the ER and they told me I had tonsillitis and an abscess.

The worst part of it all was that I had to miss almost 2 weeks of school, right in the middle of track season.”

- Junior Sarah Schaefer

“My family absolutely loves to travel! Last Wednesday my mom suggested that me and my dad go on vacation [to Florida]. She had to work over Easter, and we don't have much family that lives in KC. [We] had a great time. We mostly just hung out on the beach... My mom just threw out the idea, and it ended up working!”

- Sophomore Francine Vaughn

@magsmill3r: did i almost make @clairewunderful late to work because i wanted a picture with the elephant? yes, yes i did. (**keyword: almost)

@freely.be: h0ppy 3@$t3R

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID Each issue, the Dart shares entertaining student tweets.

Compiled by Hannah Jirousek Page Designer

Senior Maura Knopke (@MauraKnopke)

Sophomore Margaret Jordahl

“If the guac is good, I’m good”

(@margaretjordahl) “Can someone please lmk why the freshmen choir is singing a choral version of stay by rihanna rn” Junior Sofia Young (@sofiacyoung) “I am no longer count the amount of times people have told me I look like Corinne from the bachelor.”

Senior Molly Burns (@Mollykburns4) “Is it ironic, bad, or a sign that I am online shopping while watching confessions of a shopaholic?”

Sophomore Megan Gallagher (@megangalgherr) “Self love is the best love” page design by Linden O'Brien-Williams

@charlottemckee: Happy Easter

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REVIEWS

SCI-FI THRILLER BRILLIANTLY EXECUTES PREDICTABLE PLOT Story by Mackenzie O'Guin Managing Editor of Copy

"Phoenix Forgotten" relied on a very typical extraterrestrial plot, detracting slightly from otherwise impressive cinematography.

HHH March 13, 1993. Seven unidentified lights are levitating in a v-formation in the night sky of Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands of eye-witnesses bear witness to what is now known as the “Phoenix Lights,” the most widely viewed UFO sighting in history.

It is this true event and the ensuing cultural craze that inspired Justin Barber’s thrilling sci-fi horror "Phoenix Forgotten".Tacking Ridley Scott onto your production credits certainly ups the ante in regards to the science fiction communities expectations for a film, and "Phoenix Forgotten" does not disappoint. The dual plot of the film bounces back and forth between two “documentaries,” the 1993 home films of young Josh Bishop (Luke Spencer Roberts) and friends, alien-enthusiasts attempting to explain the Lights, and the 2013 account of his now grown little sister Sophie (Florence Hartigan) as she retraces that very search for knowledge that led to Josh’s disappearance just two months after the lights materialized.

What she finds is a piece of Josh’s lost footage that exposes his final hours on his expedition, but leaves Sophie (and the audience) with more questions than answers.

Perhaps the movie’s greatest success is its seamless integration of the facts and the manufactured. As with any mock-umentary style film, I was careful to enter the film without actually researching which facets of the film were real and which were fabricated, and I left unsure

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of where reality ended and artistic liberty began.

The genius of the film is in the humanity of the characters. Often times, screenwriters’ biggest downfall in films of this style is writing lines because they’re “the thing to say” (enter dramatic one-liners and eye-roll inducing proclamations), leading characters to sound more like the dramatic Hollywood writers that animate them than actual people. It is not in their moments of grandeur that these actors and the writing they personify shine, but in the passive delivery of more mundane moments that feel more like B-roll than anything substantial.

The sets also carried forth the skillful realism of the acting, giving a convincing context for every scene. The average portrayal of suburban America provided a foil for the characters it housed, but the tastefully intense special effects of more sci-fi moments had the geek in me squealing with glee and wanting nothing more than to have been onset while they were filming just to witness the utter awesomeness. This movie had a range of settings to accommodate but executed them all impressively.

This is where I have to separate the over-generous, detail-loving, “oh-my-goddid-you-see-that-rad-explosion” version of myself from one that can look at the film more objectively in the context of its genre and predecessors. As far as found footage films go, many critics complained that "Phoenix Forgotten" is just a bit too close to "The Blair Witch Project" for comfort. But, to play devil’s advocate, I must point out that almost every found footage film garners this criticism. "The Blair Witch Project" is the April 28, 2017

film that popularized found footage as a subgenre, which beg the question of whether the old “shaky camera filming” and “teens chasing the paranormal” troupes are truly ripoffs of "The Blair Witch Project" or simply just trademarks of this subgenre.

I will, however, agree with another common criticism: "Phoenix Forgotten" shoots itself in the foot by chasing moments of paranoia and thrill with exhausted science fiction cliches. Some plot points surrounding the alleged aliens look especially cheap in comparison with the quality of the production’s other aspects. Blunders like this so discount the film as a whole that I found myself disappointed that such a promising film would make such seemingly careless choices where they could have been the most creative. The beauty of science fiction is that filmmakers get to redefine reality within the confines of their film, and I just wish the "Phoenix Forgotten" crew would have done so rather than falling back on that which is “tried and true” (or, in other words, “tired and blue”).

In all, a film of this quality deserves plot development to match. H

CHAI SHAI PROVIDES INCREDIBLE INDIAN FOOD TO SPICE UP KC

Story by Cece Curran | Writer

Chai Shai is an incredible restaurant with great scenery. The dishes are amazing, and have great flavors.

HHHHH I was in seventh grade when my “health freak” of a dad stumbled upon the Indian restaurant Chai Shai. At the time my sister was a vegetarian, and their menu proved to have some really good vegetarian options. I wasn’t too big a fan because of my lack of interest. I would rather just stick with my frozen pizza and move on with my life. However, coming back to it now with developed tastebuds, I’m in love.

I was reminded of the restaurant by a friend and went in on a Friday night. It’s small, with a bar and several small tables inside. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was by no means busy. The setting is beautiful, with an elegant and clean

design. When you’re ready to order, you go up to the bar and tell them your order.

The dish I tried first was the pakora curry.

It comes with a poppyseed salad, garlic naan and of course the pakora curry served over basmati rice. From what I could see, a pakora is a ball shaped fried food with onions and other yummy stuff inside. The curry was absolutely amazing. It wasn’t too hot and the spice of the sauce mixed so perfectly with the pakoras. It was magical. The pakora gives it almost this creamy-ness and goes great with the curry sauce. I could go on and on about the garlic naan, but all I will say is that it was fantastic. The texture of the soft warm naan with the garlic garnish was incredible. The last thing I ordered to go along with this dish was their mango shake. It was so good, I wanted to suck the entire thing down in one gulp. The cold shake was so smooth and creamy with the mango, and came with mint that really added to the flavor.

I, of course, had to have the dish that their website claims “made them famous.” I took my first bite into the soft,

doughy samosa, and I was sold. It was a veggie samosa with spiced mashed potatoes. The triangle shaped morsel was crispy on the outer most layer and became doughy as I bit into it. Then you hit the mashed potatoes and veggies and it all comes together in one delicious bite. There was a grey, brown seasoning on the samosas that weirdly reminded me of the seasoning that goes on ChexMix. Along with the samosas were two pakoras, and some spiced mangos.

I thought I couldn’t love the pakora combined with anything other than the curry, but I was wrong. Alone, the pakora is a beautiful ball of fried goodness that my mouth just couldn't resist. The spiced mangos were very interesting and I was surprised that I enjoyed them. I bit into it and I tasted the sweetness of the mango, followed by the spice of the cayenne and various spices.

After trying just these few dishes on Chai Shai menu, I know it will be a place I begin to frequent. I definitely will be back to explore their menu further, and I highly suggest you do too. H

give you so many different feelings.

I will be honest and say my musical knowledge is very limited. So, from my untrained ear, a lot of the songs on "Divide" are different from his normal sounds. He was able to pull together different cultural sounds in his music.

“Nancy Mulligan” and “Galway Girl” show his roots and incorporate Irish music. Sheeran represented African culture in his song “Bibia Be Ye Ye”. The title translates to “all will be well” and throughout the lyrics he speaks of hope.

“Supermarket Flowers” gives me all sorts of feelings. I played this song over and over the first week his album came out. It is a beautiful and touching tribute to his late grandmother.

Ed Sheeran is not afraid to admit his faults. In a couple of his songs, he calls himself out for not being perfect and getting jealous. It is a shameless, highly relatable album. In “New man” when Sheeran refers to his ex, he reveals that

he is “creepin’ a lil” on her Instagram. I think we can all relate to this piece in a least one instance.

Another personal favorite songs is “What Do I Know?”. Sheeran sings about everyone being wrapped up in superficial issues when really “love can change the world in a moment.” He admits that he doesn’t have a college education, but all we need is “love and understanding, positivity”.

The best part of the songs on this album is there is a song for every mood that you are in. If you’re sad, give “Supermarket Flowers” or “Happier” a listen and “Shape of You” is perfect for a good mood. "Divide" is a good album for those of you who enjoy folk and pop genres. There are 16 tracks on the album and it is already on Spotify and costs $10.99 on Itunes.

My advice to you is to do what you need to do to start listening to "Divide" as soon as possible. H

ED SHEERAN'S "DIVIDE" HAS MADE ME A FAN Story by Maureen Burns Page Designer

Ed Sheeran released his album "Divide" March 3 and I have been listening to it every day since then.

HHHHH

I have been listening to Ed Sheeran’s new album "Divide" on repeat for weeks.

The album came out March 3. I have always been an Ed Sheeran fan, and while I was looking forward to his new album, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The songs on "Divide" definitely weren’t it, but I enjoyed it even more than I thought.

Nothing about "Divide" was consistent with any of the songs on the album or songs that he had previously put out.

He combines a Celtic fiddle with rap while talking about a love story. He wrote songs to dance to, songs to sing along with and songs with sweet ballads that

page design by Maureen Burns

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FEATURES

A DAY PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS Photos by Cassie Hayes | Photo Editor

The annual Walk of Fame fundraiser was held April 21. Each grade walked a mile while the others played games and danced, finally coming together behind M&A for the color throw.

[ ] 1. Senior Catherine Parra, left, is held by junior Grace Laird at the annual STA Color Throw April 21.

2. Sophomore Lizzie Concannon shouts to friends. Students gather in a field next to the M&A building, where buckets of colored corn starch are offered to those who participate.

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3. Students throw colored corn starch at each other at the annual STA Color Throw.

4. Senior Lilly McGonigle holds out her hands, covered in colored corn starch, at the annual STA Color Throw Apr. 21.

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5. Senior Lizzy Williams, left, laughs as fellow senior Meg Rohr pours colored corn starch over senior Camryn Gish's head.

page design by Helen Wheatley

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FEATURES

The inclusion project celebrates diversity Story by Lucy Whittaker | Writer

inclusion at STA. This year, its members are creating an interactive Photos by Claire Molloy timeline of when the first student of color Lifestyles Editor enrolled at STA. “We pick projects in the club that hopefully all the girls in the Project can The Inclusion Project highlights the differences of be engaged by and that will have some impact beyond just that year,” Michelle STA students Johnson, one of the moderators for the Project, said.

Sophomore Leah Dorris hikes to the Along with the timeline, the members library with a dozen other girls. She sets are also organizing a Kansas City bus her backpack down and sifts through tour. decades of old yearbooks. Flipping “The other super cool project that we through the dusty pages, she admires are getting ready for is taking a Kansas the old uniforms, the 50s hair and pearls. City landmark bus tour,” counselor Kelly She finally finds what the Inclusion McKee said. “In conjunction with the Project has been searching for: the first Johnson County Library, we purchased African American student at STA. a bunch of copies of the book Some of The Inclusion Project started three my Best Friends are Black and we had all years ago and is a group of students who the girls read them. Basically within his work on some type of project each book he has two chapters that deal with year having to do with diversity and the real-estate practices of Kansas City

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April 28, 2017

Inclusion Project co-moderator Michelle Johnson looks through STA yearbooks from the 60s in search of students of color. Counselor and Inclusion Project co-moderator Kelly McKee (from left), freshman Liv Richardson and sophomore Leah Dorris look through the books with Johnson.

that led to the segregation of our city.

After reading the book, they put together this landmark bus tour and we have a guide that talks about all the various landmarks from the book.”

McKee has been on the Project since its start.

“I worked to coordinate it with [Johnson], I kind of helped with the logistics of it,” McKee said. “We knew that we wanted to increase our diversity initiatives at STA, so we first started with that idea.”

Johnson joined the Project three years ago after she spoke on a forum about diversity at STA. “They approached me because they said that the students were really responsive to me, that I had a background in diversity and in inclusion and that they wanted to start a project,” Johnson said.

According to Johnson, the aim of

Tour de kc: exploring a diverse history Alternative coverage compiled by Isabel Shorter | Writer Photos by Claire Molloy Lifestyles Editor

Co-moderators of the Inclusion Project, Kelly McKee (right) and Michelle Johnson (left) look through yearbooks and review their list of students of color who attended STA in the 1950s and 1960s . When the Inclusion Project meets in the library, Johnson looks through old STA yearbooks with students while McKee records the names of students of color.

the Inclusion Project is to acknowledge and recognize differences of the students at STA. “I think it's important to understand that not everyone is having the same experience at the same place and that it's healthy to acknowledge and recognize those differences. It's important to make all people feel included regardless of their zip code, religious or ethnic background,” Johnson said.

Second-year member of the Project Leah Dorris agrees that it is important to acknowledge the differences of everyone in the STA community.

“People are different; and it’s good to learn about them and their cultures and accept that,” Dorris said. “I think it helps our community grow closer if there’s a lot more people with that mindset.”

Freshman Liv Richardson believes that the Inclusion Project is also about awareness.

“We get our facts together to show the public so they can be aware of what’s going on and our history,” Richardson said.

This is Richardson’s first year on the Project and she is passionate about making STA more diverse.

“I really want to incorporate [the Inclusion Project] into the school, because our diversity is not great,” Richardson said. “Eighty-eight percent of our population is Caucasian and I’m not okay with that."

Along with other girls in the Project, Richardson is striving to make a change in her community.

“I love how it has opened up my eyes to the changes that we can make,” Richardson said. “I want to come back as an alumna and see the changes I’ve made.”

Because of the research Dorris did for the Project, she feels connected to STA. “It bonds us to STA as a whole, it connects us to the history of our school,” Dorris said.

Richardson also feels she has benefited from learning more about the history of STA through the Project.

“Now I know STA’s histories and I can have my facts and get it straight,” Richardson said. “I can see flaws around me and things that I can improve personally.”

According to McKee, the Inclusion Project’s big picture goal is to ensure that everyone at STA has the opportunity to achieve their full potential, regardless of their backgrounds.

“The idea is that we have some diversity in the St. Teresa’s community, and how can we ensure that we all work together and how can we appreciate and value the differences we have?” McKee said.

Johnson’s goal for the Project is to start conversations about diversity without the fear that often accompanies them.

“Once people sit down and talk about [diversity] like you talk about what you’re wearing to prom or the way you talk about the weather, once it just becomes a conversation without fear, it's beautiful,” Johnson said.H page design by Julia Kerrigan

The Inclusion Project took a tour of Kansas City to see some landmarks mentioned in the novel Some of My Friends are Black.

A black and white mural of significant black people in history is painted on the outside of a building near the 18th and Vine District. This part of Kansas City is historically a black neighborhood.

The house Walt Disney grew up in was a stop on the bus tour. It is located in a predominately black neighborhood, but was a white neighborhood when Disney's family moved from Chicago in 1910 when he was 9 years old.

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CENTERSPREAD

volunteering new perspectives: The Real Impact of Service With the omnipresence of volunteerism at STA, the Dart takes a look at what the impact of service really looks like, from "us" and "them" to living in right relationship with the dear neighbor.

Story by Linden O'Brien-Williams | Editor-in-Chief

Helen Wheatley | Editor-In-Chief Photo courtesy of sophomore Maggie Miller Sammy Collins is a kind, well-spoken man with bright eyes and a shock of dark beard. He wears a baseball cap and clean clothes. His hands are etched with lines proving hard work. But Collins’ most striking feature is his gratitude. One Friday morning, Collins takes a few minutes from taking out the garbage to sit and talk life.

His presence is light and welcoming: he speaks of work, ambitions, his past. His most recent feat is securing a part time job working for Morning Glory Ministries, his past includes growing up in West Plains, Mo. But Collins aspires most to a life with permanent housing, a life without homelessness.

Collins’ work at Morning Glory has been “a reason to get up in the morning”. Much of the volunteering at Morning Glory is done by people heading to work later that day, rather than to homeless shelters.

Those volunteers may not find the same kind of salvation in a nonprofit that Collins did, but the impact is widespread nonetheless.

The effects of volunteerism are widespread, but vary greatly in their nature. Can motivations affect the outcome of service, or is all volunteering the same? Where is a line drawn between selfishness and right intention? Could volunteering really be the best way to combat considerable need? Every volunteer approaches these questions, and their answers can affect everything.

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Sitting in rose-colored desks made for high schoolers in a nearly empty classroom, theology teacher Mike Sanem and Service Coordinator Meredith Snyder reflect on their histories with service, with nonprofits, with charity. And with these backgrounds, they form a definition of service -- which immediately is juxtaposed with “volunteerism.” Service, for them, goes beyond volunteering.

“Volunteerism can have a negative connotation as something you do in your free time to make yourself feel better, or a big charity fundraiser or something, that, speaking for myself, [can sometimes] be a subtly disguised form of selfishness or narcissism, frankly,” Sanem said.

Service, rather, to Snyder is something with deeper connotations, with human interaction. It is the crossover between the position of being able to offer oneself to service, and the world of “the other” - the marginalized peoples in need of service.

“Service is an intersection of worlds, those intersections are chaotic but also very life giving if you let them be, just because those are two very different things colliding,” Snyder said.

In the STA community, service is easily classifiable into a short list of different types of commitments. A first of these is donations. Another to consider - mission trips - traveling abroad to complete a certain project for people of a marginalized community. What is possibly most familiar, however, is the type of April 28, 2017

service the STA service project entails - on site volunteering at a service agency, most often affecting a marginalized group.

Every year, STA sends its juniors and seniors off to a list of around 45 different agencies, all specializing in helping groups such as the homeless, elderly in hospice care or children in inner city schools. STA’s upperclassmen are the only students with required service, and Snyder attributes this to the over 60 zipcodes students live in, along with the sheer task of finding service for 300+ students across the city in the same week. Over the course of their junior and senior years, STA students are expected to complete 90 hours with the same agency, in three separate stages.

The minimum service hour requirement is a common feature of most private schools in the Kansas City area, especially those with religious affiliations. The concept is present, too, in organizations like National Honors Society or International Baccalaureate programs in both private and public schools.

At STA, although there is a required number of hours, Snyder does not want students to see the service project as another requirement to fulfill.The hours, for Snyder, are just a “quantifiable way to administer the program”.

“I think everybody… agrees that it’s not good just to have service just to say we’ve done service hours,” Snyder said. “That’s why our junior/senior service project is so intensive; it’s 90 hours but it’s not

Sophomore Paige Sopyla digs a hole in Guatemala over spring break. A group of STA students traveled to Guatemala over spring break on a service trip.

17 page design by Mackenzie O'Guin

CENTERSPREAD really about the hours. It’s about having a sustained and intensive agency and the people that that agency is serving.”

As he patrols the old-gymnasium-nowcafeteria that hosts Morning Glory Cafe, Director Nate Smith greets volunteers and guests in the same ways - a high five here, a hug there. He interacts with a core group of consistent volunteers, along with irregular or one time individuals and many high school groups coming in to fulfill service requirements. Smith is in agreement with Snyder - volunteering just to say hours have been completed is not what he would hope for with his volunteers.

Smith speaks of an ideal dynamic between those who serve and those who are served - he doesn’t want volunteers “to just serve our guests. I want them to talk to our guests, to get to know their names… ask them about their life, listen to them.”

What’s important to Smith is that volunteers “take off [their] blinders and take off everything [they] know and see people for people.” And usually, Smith says, this is exactly what happens - even those who come in at first to fulfill hours often return of their own accord.

For high school students, motivations to volunteer may include requirements from high school service programs, resume builders or something often called the “happiness effect”, the idea that helping others kindles positive feelings about the self. Junior Reilly Atkins believes

that serving with genuine intentions to help others is better than serving for yourself, but that serving to feel good isn’t necessarily bad.

“To an extent, it’s okay [to volunteer to feel good], because you’re still helping someone,” Atkins said. “If that’s the sole reason you’re volunteering, that’s not great. But if you’re doing it because you want to have an impact on your community, an impact on people, if you want to make human connections, I think that’s a better reasoning, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with [trying to feel good] being part of your reasoning.”

Smith is a “firm believer that even if you start out because you want to feel good, it won’t end that way.”

But the intentions behind volunteering can often manipulate the act into that kind of selfishness that Sanem sees. For him, it appears often in our culture: in broadcasting our own service, in Mark Zuckerberg’s very public donation of much of his fortune; even, arguably, in writing donations off on our taxes.

“Service should displace the ego,” Sanem said. “It shouldn’t grow the ego.”

This growth of ego found through donation and charity is even used as means to alleviate guilt, Sanem believes.

Although trying not to pick on rich people, he stipulates, it’s still problematic to ignore society’s structural problems with money.

“There is an element to which we turn a blind eye to structural injustice and

VOLUNTEERISM BY THE NUMBERS The Dart examines service statistics and contributions within STA.

Alternative coverage by Hannah Jirousek | Writer

51NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS SERVED BY STA'S JUNIOR/ SENIOR SERVICE PROJECT

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alleviate our own guilt through charity and service,” Sanem said. “The two arms of love are charity and justice. Justice is what love looks like in public.”

Smith, who works regularly with those affected by volunteerism of all kinds, has found that even those who donate perhaps to relieve guilt are still a necessary part of the machine.

At Morning Glory, help for people who are homeless comes in the form of food and in “emergency assistance” - help with obtaining proper identification, hygiene products or clothing. In order for all of these to be in operation, Smith says, someone has to donate money.

“You can’t point at the people who have money and say, ‘You’re doing this to feel good,’ because if they’re not giving the money, where are you going to get that money from?” Smith said. “It’s not my job to determine why they’re giving or where their heart is. It’s my job to thank them for giving.”

But the really troubling aspects of service, both Snyder and Sanem agree, are the industries and agendas surrounding poverty. This kind of system occurs when a group’s needs are identified by outliers, and then a system surrounding fulfilling that unnecessary need is put in place. Snyder puts it simply: people are capitalizing on altruism. Those practicing a selfless concern for the well-being of others are then manipulated.

That’s the kind of “paternalistic,

30 STA MISSION TRIP

SERVICE HOURS COMPILED ANNUALLY FROM JUNIOR/ SENIOR SERVICE WEEK

PARTICIPANTS IN 2017 April 28, 2017

top-down system” Sanem and Snyder have a problem with-- the “dark side” of volunteerism. Both stress to the utmost degree that this does not discount the importance of service.

“There is nothing wrong with volunteering,” Snyder said. “We have a responsibility to cultivate a spirit of desiring to care for the dear neighbor.”

Volunteering is so important, in fact, that Snyder is always exploring what the next step really looks like: how to authentically interact with the impoverished. Snyder maintains that the best way to be of service to others is less complicated than we may assume.

Simply being there for others, living in right relationship with people creates the kind of change that fulfills real need.

Smith agrees - oftentimes, he says, the poor are poor in more ways than one.

“The biggest need amongst the homeless is not always food and shelter,” Smith said. “A lot of these people just want to be dignified, they want to feel like a human being. So just knowing their name or shaking their hand or giving them a hug means so much to them. A lot of them may not have any interaction so if you give them a hug, that might be the only hug they get for a couple days.”

Dignifying people, however, does not always come naturally to volunteers.

Smith notes that his volunteers can make a distinction between “us” and “them” out of false impressions.

“I think a lot of people who have never spent time with the homeless are scared of them,” Smith said. “They see the people panhandling who are aggressive and they’re afraid of that or they see the way they’re portrayed in the media, so there is a disconnect.”

In volunteering, especially with the homeless, Smith notes the importance of treating everyone with the same respect.

While volunteers are often likely to draw the “us” and “them” distinction, when Collins was asked if he felt a distinction between himself and the volunteers, his answer was immediate and instinctive “it’s just people.”

“I don’t try to judge anybody and the way they treat us here is awesome,” Collins said. “It seems like they’re just like us but they’re just so welcoming and warm and everything... When I get that then I just can’t help but give it back.”

For Atkins, who volunteered at the Halo Foundation, doing art projects with homeless or underprivileged teens, treating her peers from STA and the teens she served the same came naturally. She, like Collins, felt no “us” and “them” - just friends.

Aside from the standard influence between volunteers and beneficiaries, often the impact can be shaped to prune and cultivate the humble qualities of good leaders. This may include Snyder’s idea of ideal service: living in right relationship. So while the impact isn’t quantifiable in these

43 PRESIDENTIAL VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD WINNERS THIS YEAR

80 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AT

cases, the influence seeps into other realms of livelihood.

“We are aware we are trying to shape servant leaders for the future, people who will encounter the other in an authentic way and remember that as they move forward and as they choose careers and live the rest of their lives,” Sanem said. “We want to make a positive impact on you which would create a positive impact on your community.”

However, the kind of quantifiable impact we do measure has helped Collins get back on his feet: employment. That particular impact has even translated into a general effect on emotions. Collins feels mostly that his work at Morning Glory is a blessing. The impact itself has been “tremendous”. But he feels that it’s a blessing. And that feeling has been an overwhelming quality of Collins’ story.

He recalls a moment from his past: sitting at Union Station, eating a bag of chips he’s purchased. A couple approaches and offers him a bag of food and hygiene products. He accepts, now calling that feeling “uplifting”. His voice is soft, summoning all of the emotions that have been a part of his story: welcomed, blessed, uplifted. Impacted he is, but he is almost moreso influenced. And in his work at Morning Glory, he inevitably returns that- to people who will feel welcomed, blessed, uplifted. H

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STUDENTS IN STEAM VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES IN AREA GRADE SCHOOLS

THE FRESHMAN RETREAT page design by Mackenzie O'Guin

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MAIN ED

Why you should

VOLUNTEER ANYWAY

Most STA students volunteer to meet requirements, but you should volunteer anyway because it could turn into something more.

5 of 8 editors voted in agreement with the main ed.

At STA, service influences us every day. Upperclassmen are required to complete 90 hours of volunteering in partnership with a specific service agency. Juniors and sophomores may need hours for National Honor Society and students of all grades complete service for the Presidential Service Award. With all this time dedicated to “serving the dear neighbor,” it’s important to ask whether or not we actually gain anything from our extensive service.

There is a difference between volunteering and service. When you volunteer, you typically do so because you need the hours, you want to build your resume or you want to feel like a good person. Though volunteering to raise self esteem isn’t always a bad reason, it shouldn’t be the sole reason you volunteer. To serve is to want to make an impact on your community.

You want to make a difference in someone’s life, not just fill the requirement.

Students may be volunteering to ensure graduation but, whether they want to admit it or not, they actually gain something from their service.

Some may learn something new about themselves, some may enjoy the feeling

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of helping someone else or they may just leave knowing that they’ve positively contributed to society. No matter what you get out of service or why you’re volunteering- even if it’s for the “wrong reasons,” you should do it anyway.

“Volunteering” could quickly turn into “service.” You may find a fascination for something that you never knew you would like.

Everyone has a type of service that’s right for them; it’s important to find what you’re interested in and target service in that area.

Otherwise, you will be bored with it and become disappointed with the entire aspect.

Looking at service as something you have to complete isn’t the best way to approach it. It’s hard to go into the service with a bad attitudeand expect to enjoy it. If you April 28, 2017

pick a field you’re enthusiastic about, you will enjoy it much more and actually get something out of it. Not every single person needs to devote their life to service, but it is something enjoyable from time to time if you pick the right kind for you. H

PERSPECTIVES

WHY HAVE CATS ALWAYS HAD SUCH A BAD REPUTATION? Story by Cece Curran | Writer

I love my cats so much and they are such amazing animals. This leaves me wondering why so many people aren't the biggest fans of the feline species.

It was a sunny spring day when I got my beloved cats. After a delicious lunch at Cafe Europa, my two sisters, my mom and I made the trip to Wayside Waifs. Our plan was to go home with one orange tabby cat, but plans changed. It took all of five minutes before my mom spotted “the ones” and we asked the volunteer to take them out so we could hold them. They were two little orange tabbies, and the best part was that they were brothers. They looked scared out of their minds, but their sweet paws and little pink noses had me sold. My mom insisted she only wanted one, but the volunteer convinced us that because they were brothers, it would be best if we didn’t separate them. They were taken out of an abusive situation and taken to the shelter just a few months before.

On the way home, one of them stuck their

tiny head out of a small hole in the box.

My sister freaked out and attempted to help to coax the cat to stick its head back in. We took them home, and kept them in my sister's room for a while until they were ready to go around the whole house.

We were so excited to experience our first kittens, but little did we know, we were in for some crazy adventures. We settled with the names Lionel Richie, after the iconic singer, and Hibiscus Clover, after the flower. Truly strange names, but they end up making a great duo...most of the time.

In my eyes, cats are a true gift in my life, so when people claim they “hate” cats, I’m slightly perplexed.

Cats are known to be cold, unfriendly animals, whereas dogs are better companions and far more lovable. This view of the feline species has been formulated through past historical such as the Salem witch trials. Heretics suspected of witchcraft were often identified by the fact that they owned a cat. Thus, on Halloween or in general, cats are seen as bad omens. I don’t think these past claims made on cats should be a reason to believe they are not lovable, amazing animals.

My cats honestly make me so happy, whether it's Lionel’s weird need to hold my hand or Hibiscus’ skittish behavior. I cannot explain how happy they make me when I come home from a long day at school and they sit down next to me while I plow through the endless amount of homework.

In my mind, the worst part about owning a cat is when you get home, and they’re in the same spot as when you left, still fast asleep.

Don't get me wrong, cats are loved by many, but I do think some of the past myths about cats should not be taken into account today. After all, everybody loves a good, amusing cat video from time to time. After having my cats for several years now, we’ve been through several incidents including a loss of Hibiscus’ tail, Lionel’s incident that ended with a hole in his stomach and an attempt to dogsit with them around. Through it all, they have become such blessings in my life, and even though they can be irritating just like any other pet, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. H

OTHER COLUMNS ONLINE THIS MONTH Your headress isn't cute, just disrespectful

PDA needs to stay away

by Zoe Butler | Features Editor

By Gabby Martinez | Photographer page design by Hannah Jirousek

Confessions of a former girl scout

by Lucy Whittaker | Writer

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PERSPECTIVES

A LETTER TO GUATEMALA Story by Riley McNett Photographer

How one week spent in Guatemala changed my perspective on life itself and why everyone should experience some form of service in their life.

Dear Guatemala, Your fascinating beauty and landscape, community, faith and joy are so extremely hard to put into words. When first thinking about going to your amazing country, I was hesitant and frightful about what would come of the trip and had thoughts if I should’ve gone to a glorious beach instead. However, this trip was better than I ever could begin to imagine.

The vans were crowded, and nausea from jet lag, combined with the chaotic driving like New York City began to force its way down my throat. Two hours pass and we pulled off onto dirt roads into a small close-packed community.

Stray dogs covered and piles of garbage piled into the streets. Everyone began to get up and work as children began to appear one by one, fascinated by the Americans. The day of arrival, we were welcomed into Florencio’s family with open arms from the mother, Miriam, and kids Vanessa, Oscar, Robin, Michelle and Diego. From day one to the end of the trip, we were treated with such warm hospitality and spoiled with great home cooked meals, dance parties to Shakira music, and playing soccer with Diego four times a day. The bond that was shared with the family and between ourselves was a bond I would have never thought could ever happen. Although there was a strong language barrier, we laughed, cried, danced, sang and made tons of memories.

Over the course of the week, I learned what true hard work means. The first full day we had in Guatemala, we started on our projects we would continue to work on throughout the whole week: building pig pens. Although I struggled with hammering nails into the wood,

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doing anything construction wise and hesitant to hold a squealing pig, the smile and joy that came across the families’ faces changed my perspective on the world we live in. I realized how ungrateful we are for our necessities in life, from the smallest measures like our cell phones to enormous ones like shelter and a house to come home to every night. I went to Guatemala hoping to make an impact on someone else’s life, but what I didn’t know is that it would be my life that would be changed the most. I know that we couldn’t change the world by going on a mission trip to Guatemala for a week, but as our host, Juan said, “We can enhance the joy in people’s lives by our presence, being in the moment, and showing we care.”

Also, our group was able to have the extreme pleasure of visiting about 15 families in the village throughout the course of the next week. We talked with these families, learned about the struggles they face everyday, and how they survive in these conditions. Most of these families have lived in their same house made of planks of wood their whole lifetime, never seen Americans, are very malnourished, are abandoned and struggling to survive, but manage to greet people with open, loving arms. One story that struck everyone in the group, is a question we asked every family we visited: “What do you enjoy or like about living here?” One of the women, we asked responded with “nothing.” I think this struck a lot of us because most people we asked would come up with something like the “beautiful landscape” or “being with my family.” This story really touched us because I think we like to tell ourselves everyone is so happy and joyful to make ourselves feel better, when that is not always the case. These families in the village have almost next to nothing, but managed to wake up everyday, put a smile on their faces and face their challenges.

April 28, 2017

In the end, this mission trip taught me a lot about myself and who I want to be. The most impactful thing that has changed in my life is to remind myself to live in the moment. These beautiful, joyful people in Guatemala never look at what is coming next because they have learned to live and survive in the moment. I constantly worry about the future, the unknown and what it entails, but I have since learned to be in the moment with what I am surrounded with whether it be family, friends or nature.

There is no better way to learn more about yourself, faith, and build relationships than submerging yourself in a foreign culture and serving the people that live there. These mission trips are labeled as trips where missionaries are doing all the serving, but what I have learned looking back is that the people we served, willingly served us right back. For instance, the families who had almost to nothing, willingly gave us twenty of the pears they were growing on their tree. All of the people in Guatemala let us into their lives with open arms, loved me and exceeded any expectation I had of them. They saw no limitations in being with us and took every moment to engage with us whether it be cooking in the kitchen, having a dance party, or playing a good ole game of soccer.

You can hear stories about mission trips and how “wonderful” and “impactful” they are, but those adjectives are just words until you experience them first hand. It’s hard to put into words or explain how great a mission trip is, that’s why the most common response is that “It was fun.” The best part about a mission trip is no matter how far you go, whether it be seven miles or seven hours, it is the pleasure of building relationships, serving the poor, and learning about yourself that makes it all worth it.

Thank you Guatemala, again, for changing my heart forever. H

WE CAN'T JUST NEGLECT RISING TEMPERATURES Story by Anne Claire Tangen | Writer

Climate change is not just a suggestion.

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I’m lowkey a tree hugger.

Within the past year, I’ve started to care about the environment a lot more, and have realized the calamities to come if humans don’t start taking care of the Earth. One pressing environmental issue as of late is climate change- "a change in global or regional patterns due to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels," according to Google define.

Nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2000. In 2012, Arctic summer sea ice shrank to the lowest extent on record. Global average sea level has risen nearly seven inches in the past 100 years, according to NASA. If that doesn’t scare you, maybe I could tell you that climate change isn’t just affecting the cute little polar bears far away in the Arctic Circle, it affects most species on Earth- which means the human race- which means you. Poor air

quality and extreme heat are expected to increase the risk of illness and death, with the frequency and strength of natural disasters inflating.

Climate change causes species to change their behaviors and move north or into deeper waters to survive as their habitats shift. Birds are nesting, breeding, and migrating earlier due to the early arrival of spring. Some fish species are trying to swim upstream to avoid the warming stream temperatures. Species are even undergoing genetic changes in an attempt to adapt to the climate.

The alpine chipmunks of Yellowstone National Park have actually experienced the shape of their skulls changing due to climate pressure.

It baffles me that with the extent of the rock solid scientific research, people continue to ignore climate change and see it as a suggestion. The current administration has called global warming a “hoax” and claimed that the Chinese fabricated climate change. Donald Trump signed an executive order March 28 that seeks to undo much of the work done on climate change by the Obama administration. The order strikes

CLIMATE FAST FACTS Alternative coverage compiled by Hannah Jirousek | Page Designer Source: Environmental Protection Agency GLOBAL WARMING: The recent and ongoing global average increase in temperature near the Earths surface CLIMATE CHANGE: significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time, including major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns page design by Hannah Jirousek

down mandates from Obama aimed at reducing carbon emissions and helping the country prepare for climate change's worst impacts.

Although current leadership has failed to show any sign of protection against climate change, this is what you can do to help: Reduce energy use- simply turn off lights and electronics when you aren’t using them. Make every drop of water count- challenge yourself to speed shower, turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth, drink the last bit of water at the restaurant. Recycle! The smallest things are overlooked when recycling- plastic can be recycled!

It may sound as if I’m preaching to the choir- yes, you already recycle, but, as privileged young adults, we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to see that the Earth is left greener than it was. Remember kids, climate change is not just a suggestion- it’s actually happening right now. So, next time you’re thinking about driving to the park, take a walk! You’ll work off that doughnut from Thursday morning and be saving the planet. H

Earth's average temperature

1.5°F increase over the past

century

0.5°F

to

8.6°F rise

expected over the next hundred years

23

A&E

Seniors create two unique plays for student productions Story by Annabelle Meloy | Writer Photos by Sophy Silva | Writer

Seniors Mary Kate Randolph, Jeannie O'Flaherty and Maura Knopke bring plays to life in this year's Student Productions.

A night of singing and dancing, laughter and a whole lot of girls in guys outfits will come to STA Saturday, April 29 in the form of Student Productions.

These short, one act plays written solely by seniors give students the opportunity to participate in performances created by the student body itself.

Students will showcase their creativity as seniors will personally write and direct their own plays commencing in everything they’ve learned about productions in their four years at STA. Shana Prentiss, head of the theater department, believes total student involvement is what makes the plays so great.

“I think they’re so fun,” Prentiss said.

“They come up with things that I would never in a million years be able to come up with, so it’s really cool just to know that they have done everything.

Every aspect of it has been done by the students, so I love them.”

Student Productions are open to all students, and no one needs previous experience to be a part of them.

“It’s great for freshmen because if they’ve never been on stage before, it’s a great opportunity,” Prentiss said. “Even the directors are sometimes brand new to it.”

Senior Mary Kate Randolph and writer of one of the plays this year thinks Student Productions can be different in a really enjoyable way for students.

“I think because you’re just working with your one cast, and it’s a little bit smaller than if you were in the musical or the play, you get a different experience, ” Randolph said. “It’s very collaborative.

Last year, when I did it with one of my friends who was directing it, she let us play around with our characters a lot.”

Senior Maura Knopke wrote a play this year with Senior Jeannie O’Flaherty and agrees that everything flows a lot smoother when everyone

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Junior Maura Graham, left, sophomore Lauren Daugherty and senior Olivia Jackson perform a scene from a student production written and directed by senior Mary Kate Randolph.

is calm and just having fun with their characters.

“I have been in two student productions, freshman and junior year,” Knopke said. “The thing that is different is that seniors are in charge, and it is more of a fun relaxed environment. Because they are so short, it takes less time to prepare and is more relaxed and about having fun.”

Prentiss believes that if students want to pursue directing, acting or production of any kind, they’ll be able to get that experience without going into something totally unprepared later life.

During Student Productions, students are able to get the full theater experience and one that’s not offered in many places.

“It’s just kind of one of those things that’s unique to St. Teresa’s,” Prentiss said. “There are other schools that give directing opportunities to students, but it’s not usually their own work. It’s not usually their own script that they’re producing. I think it’s a very unique process and opportunity and I love them.

I want students to participate, and I want them to be excited about it.”

This year has been especially difficult to get people interested and enthusiastic about Student Productions as it falls right near [Rockhurst High School] prom.

Prentiss believes it’s difficult for some students to take on a heavy load during such a big dance.“There’s a lot going on in April and it’s hard to make that time

commitment,” Prentiss said. “I had a couple people early on that said, ‘Ooh, I’m going to submit something,’ and then life gets in the way and it just doesn’t happen. It’s hard to know for sure what it was.”

Yet directors and actors alike are still working hard to bring great shows to the STA community. “[My play] is a little sappy, but it has funny moments, and it has sad moments,” Randolph said. “I kind of want [the play] to be the ideals of what a good friendship looks like. I think that’s kind of the point I’m trying to get across.”

While Randolph went for a heartfelt story about good friendships, Knopke and O’Flaherty decided to write for more of a comedic mood instead.

“Our play is a Barbara Walters talk show with a bunch of famous characters being interviewed,” Knopke said. “I'm excited to have people watch, I love it and laugh every time, but I hope other people will also think it is funny. Comedy is hard to do.”

Prentiss really wants students to take advantage of the unique opportunity they’ve been given and to make the best of it.

“I encourage people to submit scripts, it’s open to any STA students,” Prentiss said. “You do not have to be a member of my classes, it’s just a great creative writing opportunity, and a chance to do something different.”H

page design by Margaux Renee

Players on the varsity soccer team rest while their coaches talk with them during halftime. The varsity soccer team played during the "Pink Out" game April 18.

SPORTS

KICKIN' IT: STA HOSTS PINK OUT GAME Story by Katie Mulhern | Writer Photo by Gabby Martinez Photographer

The STA varsity soccer team doesn't only excel in their sport, but also inclusion and friendships.

As they stand on the sidelines ready for their next game, the STA soccer team, known to be one of the best in the nation, gathers in prayer and comradery, completing handshakes and laughing. As STA senior Macy Trujillo rushes the field, she knows exactly what is expected of her team. They are expected to win.

“Our coaches always talk about

Sophomore Lily Farkas tries to beat her opponent to the ball. The varsity soccer team played during the "Pink Out"

staying focused at practice because at the end of the season we all want State.”

Trujillo said. “It’s like everyone is on your back. Everyone wants to beat you so the pressure is always on.”

The STA soccer team has created a legacy of excellence after winning the state title two years in a row along with currently being ranked eigth in the nation and plan on continuing the tradition of superiority throughout the 2017 season.

“We aren’t doing bad so far this season but we’ve had to make a lot of changes in the backline,” Trujillo said. “We’re making improvements because we lost a lot of really big players and one of our center backs just tore her ACL again”.

Even with the loss of talent on the team, the girls' playing technique and

Junior Natalie Kistler looks for the ball as her teammate kicks it. The varsity soccer team played during the "Pink Out" game April 18.

page design by Claire Molloy

natural skill makes them a team feared by their opponents. Sophomore Lily Farkas knows how her opponents feel and match the same amount of anxiety when entering the game.

“Getting on the field is pretty nerve wracking for me,” Farkas said. “I just try to play my best and hope the other girls do too.”

The team’s success hasn’t only brought them titles and recognition, but friendship, too. Throughout the season inside jokes develop along with a bond that is noticeable on and off the field.

“We’re a pretty close knit group of girls,” Trujillo said. “We all mess around with each other. I think some girls are closer than others but we do a good job of including everyone.”H

25

SPORTS

BEHIND THE PERFORMANCE: AN AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE DYNAMIC OF DANCE TEAM

1

1 Story by Lily Manning | News Editor Photos by Paige Powell | Photo Editor

STA’s dance team’s season starts with tryouts in April and ends with a state competition in February.

Below is the Dart’s exploration of the ins and outs of dance team.

Just a nerve-racked eighth grader at the time, Anna Moore climbs out of her mom’s car and steps onto STA campus for a tryout that will decide her next four years. It is late April 2013 and Moore is trying out for STA’s dance team. She has been training her whole life for this, starting at a studio dancing at five years old, and has been through years of jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip-hop and tap dancing.

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Flash forward four years and Moore is now a senior dance team captain, a title that has brought a heavy workload, but also an enriching experience. As captain Moore’s responsibilities range from ‘cleaning’ routines to picking out the outfits the team would wear. “[Being a captain was] a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it was really fun,” Moore said. “Basically, if the coach wasn’t there to make a decision, we made a decision.”

This year, the dance team was made of eight freshman, seven sophomores, no juniors and five seniors. This made for what Moore called a “super rookieheavy” year, which was a different kind of balance to what Moore has experienced in her past years on dance team. But by the end of the long season, Moore said the team had really grown together.

“I think at first it was probably a situation where the freshmen kind of April 28, 2017

stuck together and the seniors kind of stuck together,” Moore said. “By the end of the year, though, it was super mixed, and now I am super close with all of them.”

As a second semester senior, Moore is just weeks away from handing over the reigns of dance team to a current sophomore. Because of the make-up of the team, a junior will be the team captain next year. “[Preparing the underclassmen to lead the team next year] is really just a bunch of talking to them,” Moore said. “ I think you really just learn from example. I’ve learned from past years just by watching what captains have done and I think they are totally prepared in that way.”

Each year, dance team tryouts are held in late April. Following this, the team is chosen and all will spend the summer learning the majority of the dances they will perform in the coming school year.

In the summer the entire team goes to a

2

3

4

camp, where Moore says they will learn the pieces they generally perform at games. These pieces tend to be shorter, energetic pom dances.

As for competition pieces, Moore says creating those are head coach Christina Rellergert and assistant coach Stephanie Scott’s responsibilities. “[The coaches] will pick the music and then choreograph to it,” Moore said.

“Then in the summer, we will have one day where we will go to our coach’s dance studio, where there are mirrors all over, and here we are able to have a four hour practice where we will learn the entire dance.

These competitions pieces have more of a jazz aspect than others that the team will perform. The team does not use their poms in them, and they have are more fluid, similar to what you would see at a dance studio, Moore said.

The day of a competition, the team arrives a few hours prior to their

1. The STA dance team dances during halftime of the STA vs. Sion game.

Jan. 24. was also senior night for the dance team.

2. Freshmen Sadie Shugart, left, Maggie Thompson and Carley Donnelly scream and cheer before the STA vs. Sion game Jan. 24. Shugart, Thompson and Donnelly are all members of the STA dance team.

3. Senior Molly Coble hugs her dance coach while members of the dance team clap for her. Jan. 24 was the dance team's senior night.

4. Sophomore Caroline Armstrong flips in the air during halftime of the STA vs. Sion basketball game.

The STA dance team performed at halftime.

performance time. During this time they will help each other with makeup, hair touch ups and run through their dance a few times.

This year, the team placed best at their first event. When they traveled to St. Louis, MO., for the state competition, the competition was bigger, the stakes higher, and the team did not place as well as they hoped, but brought home the fifth place trophy in the Jazz Division. “[At state] we got moved up to the next division because of how many people go to our school, because we are an all girls school and also because we are a private school meaning we could potentially recruit,” Moore said. “Because of all this, we compete at state with really big schools, and we didn’t place that well.”

As for the atmosphere at competitions, Moore says there are distinct differences between performing at home versus away.

“Performing in front of huge gyms page design by Claire Molloy

full of people is usually pretty nerve wracking no matter where it is,” Moore said. “It’s not as nerve wracking as when we perform at the Sion games or when we perform at the Rockhurst football game, where we have a bunch of our own friends and family watching, but it’s really fun when you have a crowd that’s cheering instead of just having empty bleachers.

This year, Dance team held their tryouts April 8 through the 21. Moore hopes the incoming freshman experience something similar to what she had in her time on dance team, especially in the unique tryout process.

“I hope they like it,” Moore said, with an excited smile on her face. “I know they will be nervous, but in the end I think it’s a really good experience.”H

27

COMMUNITY

NILE VALLEY AQUAPONICS OPENS TO COMBAT KC FOOD DESERT Story by Katie Donnellan | Sports Editor Photos by Riley McNett | Photographer

Plants surround the pathway in Nile Valley Aquaponics. Aquaponics is a unique, synergistic growing technique in which fish and plants are grown together, mimicking a natural ecosystem.

Nile Valley Aquaponics builds community while bringing fresh food to the East Side.

G

rowing fish on the East Side of Kansas City, Nile Valley Aquaponics aims to tackle the food desert of the East Side. The project is located at 2904 Wabash Kansas City, Mo., 64109.

According to the USDA, food deserts are defined as “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas because of a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and healthy food providers”.

Males to Men Mentoring and Kansas City Keys partnered with the project to help build a model that can provide quality chemical free food, mainly fish and vegetables, to help change the pattern of unhealthy food in the community.

Dre Taylor, the great-grandson of a Mississippi sharecropper,

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came up with the idea. People initially thought the idea was crazy, but it worked.

Starting with one big trench, the idea has expanded to three trenches each 120 feet long, 6 feet deep and 4 feet wide.

These trenches follow the aquaponics technique to growing food.

According to AP Environmental Science teacher Maddie Lueke, aquaponics is a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture.

Hydroponics is growing plants in water alone. Aquaculture is growing fish.

"It’s not a desert if you got water.”

Dre Taylor Aquaponics combines fish and plant growing techniques. Fish are put in the tank or trench and they are given food.

These fish produce waste which is food for beneficial bacteria which then becomes food for plants. The plants grow as a result without pesticides or herbicides. Due to this process, aquaponics is relatively self-sustaining April 28, 2017

once the initial investment is made.

According to Lueke, aquaculture on its own produces waste, but by combining it with hydroponics, the waste cycles back through. Hydroponics allows people to grow food more densely and grow year around. This is something people can do on an individual level as well.

“It requires a lot of upkeep, and I think that's what worries people sometimes and the overall shock factor of starting it up,” Lueke said. “It’s the same time as installing a solar roof, the upfront cost is scary, even though over time it pays off.”

Hydroponics pays off both financially and environmentally. The method helps combat the world overfishing problems.

“Through hydroponics we can harvest and grow fish and not have to take fish from the ocean and get produce out of it,” Lueke said.

HOK architecture firm now plans to help expand the aquaponics system by adding several buildings to double the harvest to 120,000 pounds of food a year. This is part of Nile Valley Aquaponics’ new fundraising campaign. H

A sign sits in front of Nile Valley Aquaponics that reads "Nile Valley Grand Opening March 25."

Nile Valley Aquaponics is a 100,000 pounds of food green house project in the urban core of Kansas City,.

A plant at Nile Valley Aquaponics sits in front of the rows of other plants being grown for food.

Dre Taylor, founder of Nile Valley Aquaponics, feeds the goats at the farm April 11.

Taylor started the project in October of 2015.

Chickens stand in their coop at Nile Valley Aquaponics farm April 11.

page design by Gabby Staker

29

LAST LOOK

5

top tips FOR STUDY

SUCCESS Story By Katie Gregory | Scheduling Editor of Web Illustrations by Ellie Grever | Visual Illustrator

1

CHEW GUM

One of the easiest ways to remember the material that you studied when taking your tests is to enlist your senses for some help. A super simple way to do this is to buy a pack of gum, preferably in a flavor that you don’t normally chew, and chew it both when you’re studying and taking the test. It sounds weird, but taste will quickly link you to specific memories and can help you do better on your finals. Just don’t forget that chewing gum may not be allowed in certain testing places.

2

RECORD YOURSELF

This is a very common method that a lot of people employ in order to memorize speeches, but it works just as well for regular course content. If you record yourself speaking the information you need to remember out loud, you can listen to it instead of music, which will help you remember the information two-fold - both in that you’re speaking it out loud and that you’re listening to it.

Multi-task during downtime! Listen to recorded notes while releasing endorphins through exercise or while preparing some brain food.

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April 28, 2017

3

REVIEW BEFORE BED

This one may be a little unpleasant, but if you force yourself to review your note cards right before you fall asleep, you are more likely to retain the information and, possibly, to dream about it. This will reinforce the ideas you’re studying in your memory and can help you remember them in the middle of your final. Just be careful! You don’t want to be falling asleep during your test.

Finals Week: MAY 22-24 AP Exams begin MAY 1

Day 1

Day 2

Morning

Social Studies

Theology

English

Afternoon

Math

Science

World Language

4

WRITE IN COLOR

This is a technique that a lot of students learn about early on in life, but never employ. Color helps you remember information better than boring black or blue ink.

If you find yourself writing hundreds of note cards in a neutral color, you’re doing something wrong. Break out your highlighters and colored pens and get to writing!

5

TAKE

Day 3

5!

No, you’re not dreaming.

Taking breaks can actually help you in the long run. Don’t feel bad for taking a 5 or 10 minute break to scroll through Instagram or get a snack. It’s better than working yourself to the point of exhaustion!

page design by Ellie Grever

Remember to return your Surface Pro and all texbooks! Surface Pro collection will take place on Monday at the Help Desk on 3rd Floor Donnelly, and in Goppert Gymnasium Tuesday-Thursday.

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