The Northwest Passage: Volume 56, Issue 3 by Northwest Passage

No Question

The Northwest football team grows stronger and moves forward despite a devastating loss pg.17

NW PASSAGE

PUBLICATION

Editor-In-Chief Grace Rau

Managing Editor Bella Alvarado

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Copy Editor Sofia Ball

Design Editor Greta Grist

Photo Editor Addison Griswold

Photo Editor Kara Simpson

Online Editor Bella Alvarado

ADVISER

Chris Heady

WRITERS

Grace Rau

Emma Wyckoff

Jesus Lara Rivera

Hope Hunt

Sage McCarthy

Quentin Brown

Sofia Ball

Sophia Reagan

DESIGNERS

Bella Alvarado

Kennedy Woolf

Greta Grist

OUR PASSAGE

The Northwest Passage is a news magazine that aims to provide information to the student body of Shawnee Mission Northwest and amplify their voices. We strive to be a reﬂection of our reader’s interests and relay relevant news about our world and community.

We firmly support the First Amendment and oppose censorship. The content of our paper is determined and created by our staff. When questions concerning word choice, ethics or legality may arise, the Editor in Chief, editor board and advisor will discuss the problem and come to a conclusion. In these cases, the Editor in Chief and editor board will have the final say.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. The Northwest Passage reserves the right to edit for grammatical mistakes, length, clarity and good taste. Letters may attack policy but not people. The Editor in Chief and the editor board maintain the right to refuse any letter.

The Passage publishes nine issues a school year. Subscriptions are available to the community for $20.

Photo by Maddi Roof

Photo by Finn Bedell

The Beginning of E-Hall Passes

Story by Hope Hunt | Design by Bella Alvarado

Shawnee Mission North West has implemented a new hall pass system. In previous years, students were required to request a restroom pass from their teacher, then would take a piece of paper to signify that they were approved to go. This has been happening for many years, but our school has decided to alter the rules.

Next semester, it will be mandatory to send a request online to teachers in order to use the bathroom and or leave the classroom at all.

“The E-Hall pass system is a way to ensure that we know the location of every student here at Northwest. This semester we are just practicing during seminar,” associate principal Britton Haney said.

In first semester, three teachers volunteered to test how using the passes work. Ryan Swift, science and chemistry teacher, was one of the three.

“It’s a good system to use because it will help keep teachers and students accountable for class time,” Swift said.

Swift offered to start using the passes to track how long his students

were out of the classroom. He wanted to know where to go from there, depending on how long they’ve been out.

Some students also agree, thinking that the passes will benefit class time.

“I think that the passes are a good source, because students need to be reported where they’re at,” sophomore Annabelle Pera said.

Sophomores and freshmen are familiar with the passes because Trailridge Middle School used them. But juniors and seniors haven’t used them before.

Junior Halle Gray, thinks that the passes will create distractions.

“It’s just more of a hussle. Kinda frustrating,” Gray said. Haney confirmed that the passes will likely be used in the future. Haney hopes that the transition will be as smooth as possible, since this is a new thing for most of the school.

New math curriculum favors group work

Story by Sage McCarthy

The math department is using a new curriculum this year that’s collaborative, meaning, students no longer work alone, but now work together in groups of two to four.

The new curriculum called CPM educational program, according to their website, is a research-based system that emphasizes collaborative learning. The classes using this program are Integrated Algebra one, Integrated Algebra two and Algebra two, and depending on the teacher, steer away from administering individual tests, quizzes and assignments.

“Math is traditionally what you can do, not what your neighbor

can do, and now we’re going to compare what you can do to your neighbor,” freshman math teacher, Nicholas Walters said. “But research has shown that this curriculum yields better results with the districts who have adopted it and used it for over five years,”

Heather Ogle, the head of the math department at Shawnee Mission Northwest said the change in curriculum was a directive from the district and she likes it. She believes it’s very beneficial for students. “The students who are engaging well with the material collaboratively are able to transfer their learning and do things independently.”

Heather Ogle said.

were

on an integration assignment for AP Calculus BC. “[Working together] helps us because we can check each other's answers,” Miller said. “We don’t want to do one wrong, and keep doing other [problems] wrong.”

Evans

Senior Micah Miller and junior Mason Sogaard collaborate on math homework Sept. 25 in Room B. Miller and Sogaard

working

Photo by Cooper

Story by Jesus Lara Rivera | Design by Greta Grist

Photo by Kara Simpson

Long Lines and Empty Plates

IWhat’s the reason for the lack of food during lunch?

t’s 12:30, the third lunch bell just rang and students from all over school push their way into the cafeteria. In less than a minute, the line has snaked its way from the entrance of the kitchen to the doors to the cafeteria on both sides.

Afer three years of going through that long line, senior Naman Saini is done. Done with the long lines, done with the greasy food, and done with everything having to do with school lunch. And today she would’ve skipped the whole process if she would’ve brought her own lunch today.

Afer 10 minutes of waiting, Saini has a tray and is right in front of the pizza aisle and there’s only a few slices lef. Pepperoni, meat lover and no cheese slices. The veggies and fruits are down to the bottom of the plates and there’s barely enough to ﬁll a decent plate. Aside from that there’s just a lonely tray of a couple white paper bags ﬁlled with fries. With a little bit of hesitation she grabs a slice of pepperoni and a packet of fries.

91% of students answered an Instagram poll and said that lunch supply during third lunch is the lowest, and the lines are way more chaotic than the other lunches, making wait times longer.

The school is required to serve students some kind of lunch throughout the day due to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, signed into law by President Harry Truman all the way back in 1946.

“ “ The school lunch has gotten worse over time, and it’s never improved

- Miguel Enrique Garcia

“There’s got to be a happy medium here,” Shepherd said. “I can’t order 60 pizzas and throw 20 out every day. That’s wasteful and costly, and we cannot afford to do that. So it takes time to figure out where is that happy spot, you know, without having four and five pizzas lef over every day, but not running out halfway through third lunch.”

This shortage of food isn’t technically violating those laws, but they are risking it. With lunch items still being provided, but not at all times, student meals are getting considerably smaller. Many students are unable to get all four main food groups pushed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“While there’s always *something* there to eat,” Junior Zadie Tenpenny said. “I’m sure that at the beginning of the hour it’s fully stocked, but if you wait ten

minutes like me your options are very limited. There’ll be like one staﬀ cooked entree, no pizza, and a couple sandwiches to choose from. Sometimes they replenish the produce but not always. I don’t remember my underclassmen years being like this.”

71% of the students who answered the poll throughout the school voted that lunch supply has gotten signiﬁcantly worse from previous years. This year the available food budget has dropped and the amount of district spending has

71%

risen compared to previous years.

of students said the lunch supply is less than previous years

Through the public forms it can be seen that the available budget has actually fallen by 1.8% from previous years. Meaning that our district is relying more on students to supply their own lunch rather than relying on the state and federal government.

Unlike previous years the district food spending has actually increased with expenditures for supplies and services rising by 34% from the last four years.

“The school lunch has gotten worse over time, and it’s never improved,” Senior Miguel Enrique Garcia. “They say it improves but it never does.”

Like most kitchens and businesses, the cafeteria staﬀ runs oﬀ numbers. Every day, freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors go through the cafeteria and food choices can change from just one day to the next.

“One thing that people have got to realize, one day we may only feed 820 kids, so we have a lot of food lef over,” Shepherd said. “The next day we feed almost 900.”

Northwest principal Lisa Gruman said this about the topic. “So our kitchen manager, Mr. Shepherd, is very responsive to student concerns. So I would just encourage any student that is experiencing an issue to just see him in the cafeteria and chat with him, because he is always one to listen and work to improve.”

A

? ? ? Simple ? Solution

? ?

The new math curriculum needs to change

Math has been known to be an independent subject. Students learn, work, and think by themselves. It’s all based on what you can do. Right?

Not anymore. At Shawnee Mission Northwest, the math teachers are following the CPM educational program curriculum. It’s collaborative learning. Students learn as a collective, work, and even sometimes in tests, depending on the teachers.

A new curriculum, which was implemented by Shawnee Mission School District this year, follows the CPM educational program. According to its website, CPM is a research-based system that emphasizes collaborative learning. Classes following this program are Integrated Algebra 1, Integrated Algebra 2, and Algebra 2, meaning that they focus on collaborative learning, and depending on the teacher, steer away from administering individual tests, quizzes and assignments. Instead, they have their students work in groups of 2-4.

Next year, all math teachers will be obligated by the district to put this into practice.

So what’s the problem?

It’s awful. And though teachers say test scores are rising, according to students we’ve talked to, it’s mainly because their peers are copying.

Not only that, but this has a direct negative effect on students who work better independently. Students Having to wait while others figure out a problem they already got the answer to 10 minutes ago is counterproductive. It would benefit kids who sit on their phones the whole class doing nothing. Students could definitely help their peers, but at the same time when their peers repetitively ask them what they’re doing after it was explained is quite annoying.

However, it’s not helpful for the students who have to let lazy classmates copy off their paper because it’s a group turnin — they have to let them copy. Meaning, they are a group, they work as a group and they turn in as a group. And if one person in that group isn’t working, it makes finishing harder to do. In the long run, it’s easier to just let them copy.

Even tests are a group thing.

There are many incidents where students will lack in the classroom by sitting on their phones, or asking what they’re supposed to do after the teacher gives instructions, simply because they aren’t listening. This ties into students being annoyed with others copying their paper more than usual, and having one-sided group work, where only one student is doing something. Overall, it encourages cheating and copying their peers’ papers.

But if the class is working as a team, it could also be beneficial.

Many teachers feel it’s helpful because they like seeing their students thrive in helping each other as a team. It can be easier for students who have a hard time working alone, and it gives them an opportunity to get help from their peers, and working with their peers enables more social interactions. It’s also useful for teachers, mainly because they get to see students socialize more, and learn from and with each other, versus multiple students coming to the teacher about the same thing.

But overall, this is not a long-term solution. It could be trial and error, but students will not know what they’re doing if they continue copying their peers’ papers. This program is encouraging students to copy more than ever.

CHECK OUT SOME NW CLUBS

Chess Club Every Thursday after school

Meetings every Friday after school until 3:30 Room 238

Last Tuesday of the month - before school Library Room 7

Project Lit

Tabletop Club Room 239

Meetings every Thursday 3:00-4:30

“Smart Girl”

My rough and very real sophomore year

Sophomore year is freaking hard. No, really. I went from honors world regional studies to collegelevel AP European history. On top of that, I’m taking honors pre-calc and honors English.

And we definitely need a moment of silence for honors chemistry…

And yes, I know that I chose to take every single one of them. But I grew up going to a private college-prep school, so you could say my academic validation runs strong. I’m used to straight As on every single report card, not B-pluses on assignments. And not taking an honors or advanced class would mean failure in my eyes.

I’m so stressed because there’s nothing I can do to relieve that pressure. I’m doing all my homework sheets, the readings and studying for my tests and quizzes, but I have to do all that to pass. It’s not like I can just stop. And dropping is not an option. So I’m just stuck.

What am I if not smart?

My whole life I’ve been labeled the “smart girl”. People didn’t call me pretty or say they liked my outfit, they called me smart. That was the best compliment they thought I could get, I guess. That was my thing. My identity. And now, I’m doing everything the teachers are telling me to do, and I’m still failing. My grades haven’t actually dropped at all, but I feel like they are. It never used to be this hard to live up to my own standards. But I have to because I am the “smart girl.” That’s all I have. Everybody has their thing, and this is my thing. Now my thing is crumbling, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I feel like a hamster running on a wheel.

Story and Design by Emma Wyckoff

Wake up.

Go to school.

Go to work.

Do my homework.

Go to bed.

Freshman year was nothing. They babied us. There aren’t any actual AP classes to take as a freshman, and I took all hard core classes. But those hard classes weren’t that hard for me because they had roughly the same difficulty as any normal class in private school. It didn’t prepare me for this sudden increase in my workload. Seven years of private school did. And that’s probably the only reason my grades haven’t dropped. One B plus isn’t gonna kill me, but more than one just might.

If I don’t have work, I’m watching Disney princess movies and TV shows like Gilmore Girls for the millionth time because I don’t have the mental capacity for anything more complex. I just need a break for a couple hours and some cheese before I spend my nights sitting under my yellow kitchen table light doing AP Euro reading, math worksheets, chemistry homework and studying English vocab sheets until 11:30.

On a fourwheeler’s gas tank, there’s this thing called reserve. When you realize you’re low on gas, you go on reserve, which is the last little bit of gas left to get you back to refill your tank. I feel like I’m constantly running on reserve. Have been since August.

I don’t have time to refuel.

I don’t even have time to cry. Or at least I didn’t.

Friday morning, on the drive to Caribou Coffee with my mom before school, I fell apart. I just couldn’t do it anymore; school, my job, homework and the constant

planning. I’m planning group projects, hangouts with my friends, and plans with my boyfriend every weekend because that’s the only time I get to see him. And I want to see him, but every time we hangout I swear I’m asleep 90% of the time, always trying to get as much as possible. Because I sure ain’t getting any during the week.

I’m chugging red bulls and multiple iced coffees to get through each day. I’m convinced the sole reason I’m gonna have a heart attack at 45 is because of sophomore year.

I was sitting in AP Euro, taking my reading quiz. I read the entire topic last night and finished it at 12:35 a.m. I remember rubbing my eyes, struggling to stay up in order to finish. I put in all that work, but I just couldn’t.

I looked around the room and everyone else’s laptops were already closed. Mine was one of only a few still open. The clock was ticking. One minute and 54 seconds left. The answer was word for word in my notes, right in front of me. I even underlined it. And I clicked the wrong answer. I still got it freaking wrong. I did everything, and I still failed.

I’m probably biting off more than I can chew, but I’ve committed so I’m not going back, and I’m not giving up. So if sophomore year means planning a funeral for my social life, then so be it.

At least I’m getting college credit.

A Pit Stop at Homecoming

Senior Will Larsen asks Sahira Bhakta to homecoming: will she say yes?

Story by Sophia Ragan | Design by Kennedy Woolf | Photo by Finn Bedell

His feet pound on the concrete as senior Will Larsen runs with Easton Volk and Aiden Adkins during cross-country practice. Their arms are pumping, legs bounding, mouths gossiping about homecoming — who’s going to take who? What are their plans?

The topic of homecoming has been traveling the school. What have the signs said? How did the ask go? Was it awkward?It’s made its way to the crosscountry team — to Larsen. Who’s Larsen going to take? Who would say yes? Who does he want to go with? Volk and Adkins keep mentioning a girl Larsen had considered asking for a couple of weeks now. A girl he works with and has classes with and has been friends for a while. Sahira Bhakta.

Sure, Larsen’s known Bhakta since middle school, but they’ve never been close until the beginning of this year. And Larsen might not have known it at the time, but Bhakta has liked him for a little while. As they are running, Larsen and his friends go back and forth — debating whether she’s trying to go with someone, or if she’ll say yes — Larsen decides to ask Bhakta. A girl who will be not only his homecoming date but also his girlfriend, and who he will be on homecoming court with.That weekend, he tells his sister, Sophie Larsen who’s also really good friends with Bhakta, who he’s going to ask.

Sophie immediately started helping him brainstorm ideas for the sign, and when and how he was going to ask her. The two of them come up with the idea for a Cars theme. “We’re both Cars fans, so that was kind of our thing,” Larsen said. Both Bhakta and Larsen have diﬀerent movies or shows that they love but the other hadn’t seen. So jabbing each other about not having seen something is a regular occurrence. Like Bhakta loves Oceans 11 but Larsen had never seen it, afer the ask the two sat down and watched it together.

Larsen and Sophie get into his 2006 black Toyota Camry, zooming straight to Target to get a Lighting McQueen toy car to go along with the sign — then right to Bhakta’s house. A movie plays mindlessly in the background as Bhakta sits on her bed awaiting a text from Sophie. Sophie said she would be coming over to give Bhakta a “sweet treat” because she was thinking about her, a normal occurrence for the two who care so much about each other.

Once they arrive at her house, Sophie sends Bhakta a text saying ‘she’s here.’ A ruse Larsen and Sophie had planned out to where Sophie would claim she was coming to bring Bhakta a little treat but really they’re there for the ask. As her phone pings, Bhakta makes her way down the stairs and to the garage. Larsen climbs out of the car and grabs the sign and

Lighting McQueen toy for Bhakta. He stands there, only slightly nervous, as the garage door starts to rise. Bhakta stands on the other side, waiting for the garage door to inch up. Larsen sees the toes of the girl he’s about to ask out to homecoming. They’re good friends, there’s a really good chance she’ll say yes.The door isn’t even fully open when Bhakta sees not Sophie, but Will Larsen standing there — with a sign. She immediately gets excited, jumping up and down and grinning like a little kid. A boy is asking her to homecoming. A boy she likes is asking her to homecoming. Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course, Bhakta wants to go with him. Of course, she says yes.Throughout the next few weeks, Larsen and Bhakta start to prepare for the night itself. What group are they going to be in? What restaurant are they all going to? Where are they taking pictures? Everything. What they didn’t expect was to be on homecoming court, and to be walking partners together. This brought on a whole new level of stress for the couple. The simple planning gets uprooted with court dinner, breakfast and pitures, pictures,

jeweled navy-blue dress sways with every step. It looks like night as a dress. The dark hue contrasts with the sparkle of the sequins and rhinestones. She makes her way to the lef of the ﬁeld and waits for the other candidates to get called. Bhakta didn’t think she would be crowned. She had been chatting about her guesses for the top three for the past week, but Sahira Bhakta wasn’t on her list.

As she waits for the other girls to take their places on the ﬁeld, she ﬁdgets with her dress, her necklace, her hair. When it gets to the moment of the crowning, Bhakta knows who she’s going to hear. She knew it wouldn’t be her.

“Your Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougar homecoming queen second runner-up is…Sahira Bhakta!”

As she hears the speakers yell her name, Bhakta’s jaw drops and she looks at her grandpa, who looks back at her with nothing but pride, as the crowd cheers for her. Bhakta turns and walks to the front of the row of candidates and gets crowned by Lovey Dubbs.

As the ﬁrst runner-up — Cecilia Chen — and homecoming queen winner — Reese Irwin — get crowned next to her, Bhakta smiles so wide for the two other girls. The three winners hug and start to with the rest of the group to talk with their friends and family.

Larsen came down to congratulate Bhakta, hug her, and tell her he was proud of her. “I’m so eternally grateful that I made court… that in itself was a blessing,” Bhakta said. The night arrived. Homecoming 2024.

Everyone’s packed into a mosh pit in the cafeteria. Jumping around to Sexxy Red, Travis Scott, Waka Flocka Flame and so many more. When 9:45 rolls around, everyone makes their way to the main gym. When they announce Larsen, he walks down the middle of the gym. Arms linked with his mom — Lindsay Larsen. He knew Luke Dent and Easton Volk would get ﬁrst and second, but it was a battle for third. Larsen wanted it to be him. Wanted to be crowned by Bhakta. But he just didn’t know if it would happen.

Once every name has been called and every king candidate is in their spot, the crowning started.They welcome Bhakta to the front to crown the second runner-up. “Your Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougar homecoming king second runner-up is… Will Larsen!” Larsen is shocked, but also overjoyed as Bhakta walks towards him with the biggest smile on her face with the giant crown. “I didn’t really think it was actually going to happen, but then it did and I was honestly happier I got third over anything else…just because we got to walk together for that ﬁve minutes,” Larsen said.

Enjoy Every Moment

Story by Grace Rau | Design by Kennedy Woolf

Senior Alondra Haack didn’t need to win a crown to love her experience on homecoming court

Since her freshman year, senior Alondra Haack has wanted to see herself on court. Since then, she’s become involved with so much — dance team, theatre, French National Honors Society, NHS, Link Crew and Latino Student Union— but when homecoming court candidates were announced in the middle of September, she never expected to hear her name on that list.

Haack was speechless.

“As soon as I found out I [was] on court,” she said. “I went dress shopping.”

She bought a glittery, sequined, hot pink gown. It didn’t take long for her to ﬁnd the one — it was like it was made for her.

The next few weeks were a blend of homework and homecoming court activities. Haack couldn’t wait.

“I [was] very excited to be a part of this good group,” Haack said. “I love all the people on court.”

On Oct. 4, it was time for the real festivities to ﬁnally begin.

First came the all-school assembly. As captain of the dance team, Haack ﬁrst suited up in her glittery black leotard. On the ﬂoor of the main gym, dance team performed to “Umbrella” by Rihanna. As soon as their routine ended, Haack grabbed her dress and ran to the girls locker room. She only had 20 minutes to change.

“Other girls that were on court met me there to help me get my dress on, and my jewelry and ﬁnished curling my hair,” Haack said. She was becoming closer and closer with the other girls on court each and every day — they all had each other’s backs.

Not much later, Haack was walking arm in arm with her partner, senior Max Hughes, down the center of the gym. Her pink dress sparkled beneath the bright lights. Haack smiled brighter than ever — her friends in the bleachers cheered.

On either side of her stood her fellow dance team girls, lining the aisle she walked. They saluted her with pom poms in the air and joyous tears in their eyes.

Haack had stood along the aisle many times before in their place, admiring the court girls’ beautiful dresses and radiant faces from afar.

Now she was one of those court girls. It was exhilarating.

“I was only nervous about not tripping,” Haack said with a laugh.

Later that day was the homecoming parade. Haack and Hughes sat in the back of a convertible Buick. She wore hot pink sunglasses and a black dress.

“We were jamming out to music the whole time,” Haack said.

She waved to the Benninghoven Elementary School students she knew from her teacher’s ed class. The younger kids shouted her name as they drove past.

“I was excited to see them,” Haack said.

Haack went home before the football game where queens would be crowned. For the second time that day, she got dressed in her court gown. At halfime, Haack’s parents walked on either side of her. She strode down the ﬁeld and gazed up at the sea of students in the stands. Nerves hardly touch her.

“I was enjoying the moment with all my friends and my parents,” she said. She was so excited for all her friends on court — and, of course, a part of her wanted to be crowned, too.

But, as she stood there, her name wasn’t called. No rhinestoned crown was placed on her head.

But Haack’s night wasn’t ruined.

Becoming queen would have been nice, but then again, it wasn’t everything.

Haack was so proud of her friends who were crowned — they deserved it. She took a million photos with them before racing to change into her dance outﬁt

for the band performance afer the game.

“I think my favorite part was the sisterhood,” she said. “It didn’t really matter who was gonna get crowned or who wasn’t, but we were all gonna be there for each other.”

Later that night, Haack and her parents went to Freddy’s for dinner: she had a burger and fries. It was a good ending to a long day.

Her piece of advice for everyone aspiring to be on court?

“Just enjoy every moment of it.”

Senior Alondra Haack walks with her parents at the homecoming football game Oct. 4 at SM North Stadium.

Photo by Kara Simpson

She can always say ‘no.’

That’s what Senior Megan Chidlow thought as she approached her mom.

This wasn’t in regards to throwing a small party, skipping school or spending the night at a friends house.

This was about applying to be a foreign exchange student. In America nonetheless, which meant leaving her life in Switerland. All at sixteen.

Chidlow’s mom responded plainly and her tone was casual considering the question.

“Okay, let’s see what program is best.”

Chidlow’s parents have always been supportive when it came to big decisions or aspirations, and this was no diﬀerent.

“My mom was just planning everything,” Chidlow said. “But Dad was way more emotional and scared for my safety.”

Chidlow has dark hair, green eyes and a slight French accent.

She describes Switerland as a rich country, where everyone is professional and the culture is reserved. But, speciﬁcally, in the town she grew up in, Le Locle, gossip

A Risk Worth Taking

Senior Megan Chidlow’s exchange year has inspired her to live in America

Story and Design by Sofa Ball | Illustrations by Grace Rau

spread like wildﬁre.

“The people are very nosy,” Chidlow said. “Once one thing comes out, everybody knows. They will talk about you. It’s just a bad atmosphere. No, that’s not my thing.”

Chidlow wanted to leave Switerland before she was consumed by her small town’s misery, and give herself the chance pursue new experiences. Taking a foreign exchange year seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Her dad is British, so she already grew up speaking English, which Chidlow prefers to French anyway.

The only problem was that she knew next to nothing about America.

“Fat people, guns, that’s about it,” Chidlow said.

But this was a risk she was willing to take. So Chidlow spent time talking with her future host family over Zoom calls and packing away shoes, clothes, accessories and charging cords.

Not long afer, she was spending 29 hours at the airport, checking her ﬂight time and being greeted at the gate by her new American family.

endless shopping malls. She’s amazed at the generosity and respect people give. And was not used to a classmate lending so much as a pencil or eraser in school. These gestures were so foreign.

At ﬁrst, she was confused by the electric shopping carts at Walmart, and how students wore pajamas to school. Or how no one said “you’re welcome” and instead just went “mhm.”

But now, she’s used to it.

“They were very nice,” Chidlow said. “We have similar house rules, too: clean your room, no shoes indoors. They are pretty open minded. What’s changed is the diﬀerence in culture.”

Chidlow loves Raising Canes and the

Give it Time...

Senior Kim Mpeck wanders the cafeteria. Cheese pizza, canned pineapple, ketchup packets and

chocolate milk puddles litter the lunch tables. Cougar pride posters are everywhere. The loud chatter mixed with long lines and ﬂuorescent lighting is beginning to

A few weeks ago, Chidlow’s host family took her to Build-A-Bear.

“I’ve never had so much fun in my life,” Chidlow said.

She got a brown fuzzy bear named Clement, and bought little boxers, shorts, a t-shirt and jacket. He now lives on her vanity now amongst other souvenirs.

She doesn’t think much about what family or friends are doing back home, except for Silas, her border collie shepherd, and instead thinks more about making memories with the people she’s met here.

Chidlow and her host family watch old romantic movies and comedies, she’s even introduced them to her favorite show, “The Good Place.”

“I don’t really hang out yet [with friends],” Chidlow said. “But I hope to.”

Lately she’s thought more about living in America, and attending college so she can become a veterinarian.

“Maybe when I’m super old I will move back to Switerland,” Chidlow said with a smile.

Senior Kim Mpeck embraces the All-American high school experience Story by Sofa Ball

overstimulate Mpeck until realization hits. Who would she sit with?

It’s her ﬁrst day at a new school, with new classes, in a new country, but no new

Senior Megan Chidlow helps assemble a model skeleton Oct. 4 in Room 238.

Photo by Finn Bedell

friends…at least not yet.

So Mpeck starts going up to students at random, and introducing herself.

Hi, I’m new here from Switerland, my name is Kim! Can I sit here?

“I felt really vulnerable,” Mpeck said. “And alone.”

Finally some kids in band said yes and so they talked up until the bell.

Then Mpeck was alone once again trying to navigate the Northwest hallways.

Mpeck is a foreign exchange student from Fribourg, Switerland. She had already made the visit to Kansas City in Oct, 2023, and met her host family, so in some ways already knew what to expect.

Fribourg is a small Swiss village with sweeping gothic architecture, medieval churches and impressive mountainscapes. Where Mpeck lived, high school is optional, homework isn’t graded and one to three hour lunch breaks are normalized.

“I personally go home and take naps,” Mpeck said.

But she loves speaking English,

traveling (just check her Instagram) and High School Musical, so choosing America was a no brainer.

“How important sports are here, and the clubs they provide are amazing,” Mpeck said emphatically. “This is so cool, we don’t have it in my school. Right now I am in cross country, basketball, track and ﬁeld, young democrats and republicans and asian student union. I am also in ultimate frisbee club.”

She was surprised at how easy it is talking with and getting to know people, which now makes lunch easier, and how friendly teachers are, but her trip still had its disappointments.

She didn’t get a date to homecoming, because American boys are “shy and immature.” And McDonalds... well it doesn’t quite sit well.

But she’s decided to make these next nine months count by holding her head high and keeping a smile.

“You need to be really patient,” Mpeck said. “Don’t have high expectations. It’s normal to be sad [initially]... just give it time.”

New Perspective

Story by Grace Rau

Senior Jonathan Rothfuchs changes his mind about wanting to become an exchange student in America

Senior Jonathan Rothfuchs didn’t think he wanted to be an exchange student. For years and years, he watched older classmates leave their village of Lutterloh, Germany for destinations all around the world during exchange years. But he never wanted that to be him.

“I actually said, ‘I never will do this. That’s such a stupid thing. Why would you do this?’” Rothfuchs said.

Now, Rothfuchs attends Shawnee Mission Northwest. He eats lunch in the mall, takes AP US History, speaks English every day and plays on the boys soccer team. For nearly two months, he’s been an exchange student in Shawnee, KS.

Last August, he started rethinking his ideas about exchange years. A friend helped convince him that it would be a fun experience, and Rothfuchs began researching how to become an exchange student.

“And then I told this [to] my family and they were really surprised,” he said. “But they support me.”

A year later, Rothfuchs boarded a plane in Frankfurt. He was leaving behind his parents, three younger sisters and dog for his host family. He was trading his small

countryside village of Lutterloh for the sprawling suburbs of Shawnee. He was going to a place where people drove on the opposite side of the road, had wall to wall carpeting and went to school for seven hours a day.

Rothfuchs spent the ﬂight chatting with friends who were also going on exchange years. Nine hours later, they touched down in Washington D.C..

“[My] ﬁrst impression of America was basically the hotel in Washington,” Rothfuchs said, laughing.

Soon he was on another ﬂight, this time heading to KS.

The ﬁrst few days weren’t too overwhelming for Rothfuchs — he made friends fast. His host family brother helped introduce him to new people.

Today, he’s settled into a routine of school, soccer and friends. English has become easier to speak — he even thinks in English sometimes. He likes how American schools have clubs, friendly teachers, school spirit and football games.

His least favorite thing about American school: “You have really long days.”

He misses his family, friends and club soccer teammates back in Germany a little bit. But he isn’t too caught up in missing

what he had in Germany. Rothfuchs wants to see everything America has to oﬀer.

“I never experienced this before, and it’s really, really cool,” Rothfuchs said. “I’m really, really happy that I did the exchange here.”

Senior Jonathan Rothfuchs plays soccer on Sep. 26.

Photo by Maddi Roof

Senior Kim Impeck waves to parade viewers Oct. 4 on 67th Street.

Photo by Finn Bedell

Saturday Aug.

No Question

After losing one of its own, the Northwest football team has started the season 3-2 by growing together

A single balloon was released during a celebration of life for Ovet Regalado-Gomez

17. -Photo by Kara Simpson

Story by Grace Rau and Sofia Ball

No Question

The NW football team grows stronger and moves forward despite witnessing loss

Story by Sofia Ball & Grace Rau | Design by Greta Grist

The bus ride to Shawnee Mission North Stadium is nearly silent.

On Oct. 4, the varsity football team, dressed in black, barely says a word. With hoods up, and headphones on, they listen to music, stare ahead and scroll on their phones. In less than two hours, they will play Olathe East High School at Northwest’s homecoming game.

On the field, players stretch in a circle and practice tossing footballs back and forth. Senior Logan Morley listens to jazz as he walks up and down the sideline. Eyes closed, he envisions himself, the quarterback, throwing a perfect pass. He clears his mind.

He tries not to think about Ovet Gomez Regalado, his teammate who passed away nearly two months before on August 16.

Ever since Ovet’s medical emergency during football conditioning, the team has been forced to deal with the fragility of life. They want to make every turnover, touchdown and field goal for Ovet.

“A lot of peoples’ eyes have opened from it,” senior and fullback Ray Gomez Regalado –Ovet’s older brother – said. “We have to play as hard as we can because you never know when your last game is gonna be.”

Ovet was a sophomore — he played on the freshman team last year, but likely had a junior varsity season ahead of him. The football team is finding ways to move forward because living in the past is not an option. They still want to win games and make it to state, but that doesn’t mean forgetting Ovet.

In the days following his passing, coaches wanted to give players a break. But the team showed up to practice anyway.

“We use practice as a way to grieve,” senior and defensive lineman John Harris-Webster said.

“In a way, it’s become my therapy,” Ray said.

After every practice or workout, the team prays for Ray’s family and their health.

There was no formal discussion, but instantly, players say everybody showed up with a new determination. They ran drills, took ice baths, stretched, lifted weights and drew up plays. They were able to work through their emotions out on the field. It became a second home.

“Ovet wanted to get better for us,”

Senior Harper Engel hugs Ray Regalado-Gomez before a football scrimmage early this year.

Photo by Kara Simpson

Harris-Webster said. “Seniors knew what a season demands of the team. I don’t think compromising our ability to play by taking off football would have been what he wanted.”

So they kept practicing.

Football is a hard contact sport: players slam into one another. Parents yell at referees, referees yell at coaches, coaches yell at players. It’s what Harris-Webster likes to call “tough love.” It isn’t for the weak of heart. Yet to them, it’s an outlet.

They play to get their frustration out. They play to see themselves grow. They play to feel something.

Football isn’t just a sport.

“In no moment does football leave my mind,” Harris-Webster said. “We go to school to play football. We push through, 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m., to play football.”

Football is a way of life. It’s how the team processes one of the hardest things they’ve ever been through.

Two wins, two losses, no ties. That’s what their season amounted to before the homecoming game.

Players shake off nerves. They crowd beneath the giant inflatable cougar, its paws creating an arch for them to race through.

The clock strikes seven.

Over a year ago, Ray was excited to see his little brother, Ovet, rooting from the sidelines at varsity games.

Now, even with hundreds of people watching, chanting and screaming, the stadium feels empty without him.

“When I first started going to school or practice, it was mentally draining,” Ray said. “It’s still hard. But I know everyone out there cares about me so I’m more comfortable playing.”

Not only that: Ovet’s loss helped the team

create stronger bonds.

“Obviously we could delegate wins to him, but more so we live our lives like Ovet,” sophomore and defensive end Noah Lee said.

It inspired Harris-Webster to become a role model for younger athletes. Whether that’s through playing video games together, cracking jokes in the locker room, giving advice and encouragement or watching college games at Johnny’s Tavern on weekends.

“We all became family,” Harris-Webster said.

After practices, teammates and coaches pulled Ray aside, asking how he was and what anyone could do to help.

“They were always my brothers,” Ray said. “But it just became so real seeing everyone rally around me.”

Coach Bo Black still calls and texts him to check in almost every day.

“In my opinion, it’s about giving to others,” Black said. “There hasn’t been a day we haven’t mentioned [Ovet] in reminding each other that football is bigger than we are, and life is bigger than we are.”

Black runs the field. He’s been coaching for 29 years, and has been at Northwest for 10 of them.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Black said about the team’s work ethic.

Ray’s presence alone was enough to motivate the team. If he could leave that hospital and still show up to class on time, then so would everyone else. If he could go to his brother’s funeral and still give 100% at practice, then so would everyone else.

“That he showed up to workouts has really encouraged the rest of us,” senior and linebacker Owen Barth said.

The homecoming game is a back and forth battle. Northwest scores first. Teammates

smack one another’s helmets and shoulder pads as they come off the field. On the sidelines in between plays, they cluster around a TV screen to rewatch their mistakes. Drenched in sweat, they drink from Gatorade bottles, spit and wipe their faces.

It’s tied up, 14-14.

The stands are crowded: a sea of red, white and blue. Students wear glittery cowboy hats, tutus and drape American flags over their shoulders. Screams and cheers ring out.

A day earlier, the team saw a much different scene. It was Oct. 3.

Ovet’s birthday.

Ray and some teammates went to visit his grave site. They all sat, talked and ate food. Reminiscing felt good.

“That’s all we can do,” senior and defensive end Harper Engel said. “Is be there for [Ray].”

The stadium lights blot out stars. Even with the score at 28-14 in Northwest’s favor, they don’t get comfortable. Coaches shout at players.

“We’re making f***ing excuses!”

“Are you satisfied?”

“This is not over! We’re still at war.”

Olathe East scores a touchdown and makes their extra point.

It’s 31-21 with three minutes left on the clock. But the Cougar’s defense holds.

As time runs out, players rush off the field to jump onto one another and give celebratory handshakes.

Shawnee Mission Northwest wins, 31-21. And now, the bus ride back home is anything but quiet.

Players dance in the back rows, blasting rap music. The wind whistles through open windows. They shout and laugh and sing.

There’s no question as to why any one of the players on that team was at the game. There’s no question as to why they kept showing up to practices as opposed to pausing the season. There’s no question as to why they still run drills and watch film for hours. It isn’t because they’ve forgotten about Ovet, but instead found a way to grow stronger and keep pushing themselves to be better.

“Now we play with purpose,” Ray said. “I play for my brother.”

The Northwest football team prays after a win against Olathe East Oct. 4 in the SM North locker room.

Photo by Finn Bedell

Fall Reviews

I Smell... Fall

My review of the Netfix show, Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is an American comedy drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino that premiered in October of 2000 and is available on Netﬂix. It stars Lauren Graham, who plays Lorelai Gilmore, and Alexis Bledel, who plays her 16-year-old daughter, Rory Gilmore.

Lorelai had Rory when she was that age, and the show is about their close mother-daughter relationship and each of their lives in their small town in Connecticut, Stars Hollow. Lorelai is a funny, sarcastic and “messy” single woman who runs Independence Inn and wants to ﬁnd love for herself someday.

The show starts in September, with Rory starting at a new private school, Chilton, her freshman year of highschool. That last season ends afer she graduates college and starts her career as a journalist, so it’s basically a story of her adolescence.

I love this show with my whole heart. I feel like I see myself in Rory’s character: struggling with school, learning about boys and just trying to ﬁgure things out. I love how the show illustrates how people can change, and it doesn’t hide the struggles that people go through. Whether it’s romantic, academic, ﬁnancial and more. This show contains the good, the bad and the ugly.

I also like the simplicity of Gilmore Girls. It’s not so simple that it lacks character and is boring. No, it’s just simple enough for me that I can watch it to wind down afer a long day or just ﬁll my time with something enjoyable. The plot and humor hooked me from the pilot episode, and I think both represent the authentic character of Gilmore Girls.

The show is perfect for fall time because it starts in September, the start of fall, playing “There She Goes” by Sixpence None the Richer. Lorelai, Rory and her best friend Lane are already wearing beanies, scarves, jackets, sweaters and jean jackets in the ﬁrst couple episodes. Their styles reﬂect fall with the dark red lipsticks, vanilla and toasted marshmallow lip gloss, dark brown boots with their jeans and many maroon accents.

The show does cover many years, including all the seasons multiple times throughout its seven seasons. But the intro that plays near the beginning of every episode features red, orange and brown colored trees. The cinematography gives oﬀ autumn vibes with a red tint and digital camera feel.

I’ve heard some say Gilmore Girls is slow and boring, but I

Story by Emma Wycoff | Design by Kara Simpson

disagree because each and every episode has unique comedy and interesting drama that always sucks me in. Each episode has its own plot, but all the episodes seem to connect to the larger story about Lorelai and Rory’s lives.

The comedy and many references Lorelai uses throughout the whole show are so funny and plentiful, I could watch the show a million times, and it’d never get old.

Photo courtesy of Google

The Thing About The Thing

Here’s The Thing: Reviewing the many versions of “The Thing” Story by Quentin Brown

Imagine a movie that makes you question the humanity of every person in it, even its protagonist. Not their morality, but whether or not they’re actually human! Imagine being put into the place of someone who isn’t even fully sure if they’re human, let alone the people around them. This is the plot of the 1982 ﬁlm “The Thing.” I dare you to try to ﬁgure out who’s human in that movie, you won’t. The movie makes you question each individual in it. No person is safe. Each adaptation of this movie puts you into the positions of characters unable to rest and incapable of telling who’s real. They’re all tense movies (and a novella) that keep you questioning until the very end (and for some, even beyond). I hope that one of these reviews will inspire you to pick up and watch (or read) one of these movies (or novella).

“Who Goes There” is the novella that (loosely) inspired the 1951 movie “The Thing from Another World” and “The Thing.” The novella was published in 1938 and follows a large crew of 37 people in an American Antarctic research base isolated from the rest of the world by a swarm of blizzards during the winter months. The characters are much less in depth in the novella than in its later adaptations. The book focuses much more on the general feelings of paranoia and restlessness the characters in the camp feel toward the situation they’re in rather than going in depth with the personalities or feelings of any individual in the camp. It also shares some of the themes of the 50’s movie it inspired. It deals with the dilemma of scientiﬁc discovery in the face of what could be found out in the universe. I think this book is a solid read and it could easily be ﬁnished in one sitting.

The 1951 movie is very diﬀerent from the novella that inspired it. The crew of an Antarctic research station struggles to defeat a monster discovered in the ice. Half of the group attempts to communicate with it and learn from it while the other half tries their best to kill it. The monster in this movie is very diﬀerent from the alien in the other two movies. It is a nearly indestructible monster that rampages throughout the research camp searching for the human crew relentlessly. It’s a heavy inspiration for many

slasher ﬁlms afer its creation (being cited as an inspiration for “Halloween,” which has the same director as the 80’s “The Thing”) and it’s a fun watch. I’d say it holds up.

The 2011 movie “The Thing” is essentially a reboot of the 1982 film as it follows many of the same plot beats as the original. It’s framed as a prequel to the original movie following the fate of a Norwegian crew found early in the original movie. It uses CGI instead of practical effects making it age much more poorly than its predecessor, “The Thing.” The Thing in this movie is much more aggressive and impatient than in the 1982 version. It reveals itself ofen and at nearly any chance it gets, even the smallest advantage or suprise over the Norwegian crew provokes it. This makes finding the monster in this movie less urgent than being prepared for when it would reveal itself. The ending of this movie is fast pace and watching alongside the 1982 version gives it a tense opening. I would recommend watching this movie before the 80’s version.

The 1982 version of “The Thing” is arguably the best of each of these adaptations. The movie places you into the shoes of its characters perfectly by giving you next to no information about who to place your suspicions on. The characters in this movie are thrown into the middle of the afermath of the 2011 ﬁlm, being forced to ﬁnd out who and what The Thing is without any prior planning or information. The characters in the movie act rationally and keep as much of an upper-hand against the alien as they can get, making few mistakes throughout the course of the movie. The ending of this movie is bleak and leaves much to the viewers imagination, which cannot be said for the 50’s movie or the novella. I cannot stress how well this movie puts you into the place of the characters in it. It keeps every last bit of tension up until the end, lingering with a viewer even afer its end.

Again, I hope this has persuaded you to pick up at least one of these movies or the novella. They are each incredible pieces of media that deserve a lot of praise.

Autumn Melodies

Story by Hope Hunt

Fall is approaching, which means it’s time to bring out the cozy playlist

Leaves have turned orange, and a breeze has hit the air. When I imagine fall, it’s pouring outside and I’m listening to my favorite playlist. A playlist that feels and sounds like the season. Here are my top three songs for the autumn time.

“Five String Serenade” by Mazzy Star is a cover of the song from Aurthur Lee and Love the band. Though Mazzy Star didn’t write this song, she sang it beautifully. The lyrics portray someone who yearns for their last companion. A violin plays sofly in the background, making you feel immersed in the song.

“Cemetry Gates” by The Smiths. This song tells a story of two people who are meeting together to mourn the loss of strangers at a cemetery. They talk about how upsetting it is to see all of these people who have passed, and not knowing their backstory. It makes you think about their lives. One of them continues to quote poetry

claiming it as their own, which it’s not.

Scan for the playlist!

While the lyrics in this song are sorrowful, its background music has an upbeat tempo, which can be overwhelming. It generates a lot of conﬂicting emotions, because, on one hand, they are talking about this upsetting day, but on the other, they talk about how lovely it is to think about all of these lives lived.

“Show Me How” By Men I Trust is a mellow and stillful piece. The song itself has a melody that could just put you to sleep. Emmanuelle Proulx, the vocalist, has a peaceful tone. The highschool band sings about the connection you build in a relationship, how you grasp the other person’s perspectives.

Fall music is supposed to be calming, more of a background noise. All of the songs on this fall playlist feel comforting. If you agree then I think this playlist will be great for you!

MONTH IN

2. During Club Day, senior Easton Volk plays the drums Sept. 12 in the Mall. Marching Cougar Pride walks around the Mall during the Club Day. “We [walk the Mall] about four to ﬁve times a year,” Volk said. “We like to do it on game days and the ﬁrst day of school.

Photo by Cooper Evans

3. Seniors Reese Irwin and Alex Houghtlin sit on a bench Sept. 23 in the Auditorium. Houghtlin played the character Charlie in the play Crazy 8’s. “She unfortunately lost her mom and has to deal with going to therapy,” Houghtlin said. “[She] has to balance taking care of her family and also taking care of herself.”

Photo by Cooper Evans

1. Freshman Violet Ridgway holds a stuﬀed bear Sept. 23 in the Auditorium. Ridgway played Nefarious Lizard in the Daves Documentary Show in the Crazy 8s play. “The Nefarious Lizard was so fun to play, I love the way Marie wrote this character,” Ridgway said. “Just everything about it is just so hilarious and perfect.” Photo by Maddi Roof

4. Senior Amelia Roberts talks to her friends Sept. 7 at Belton High School. Many sports such as cross country are often considered to have a welcoming environment, and for Roberts, this is deﬁnitely true. “The thing I like most about [cross country] is the family-like environment and the fact you can focus on your [self progression],” Roberts said.

Photo by Jack Pischke

IN PHOTOS

7. Signing up for Step Club, junior Sara Tewelde writes down her number Sept. 12 in the Mall. Step Club is a club where students can participate in step dancing. “At my old school they had a step club, then I moved here and they didn’t,” Tewelde said. “I was talking to [my friend] about how we should make it a thing then I saw [the table].”

Photo by Cooper Evans

6. Junior Emily Craften and Presley Borgman golf on Sept.12 at Tomahawk Hills Golf Course. Borgman was waiting for the rest of her team to hit as Borgman started laughing. “We were laughing at Coach Bam,” Borgman said.

Photo by Ali Albertson

5. Senior Emily Larsen jumps along the bar Sept. 10 in the Main Gym. The move Larsen performed is called a “wolf jump.” “It’s just a simple jump with no twist, so it’s deﬁnitely easier compared to everything else I do,” Larsen said. Photo by Finn Bedell

N W P “ N W P “

I think I [was] going into shock. I’m really grateful and happy.- senior Reese Irwin

Posing for a photo, seniors Cecilia Chen, Reese Irwin and Sahira Bhakta hug Oct. 4 at the SM North District Stadium. Chen and Bhakta celebrated after Irwin was crowned the 2024 Homecoming Queen. Photo by Finn Bedell