We are looking forward to a great week this week! We have our first late start of the school year. Classes will begin at 8:40 on Thursday, starting with 2nd block. We also do not have school on Friday due to staff professional development.

This Week's schedule:

There is a slight shift in this week's schedule.

9/11- Odd blocks

9/12- Even blocks

9/13- Odd blocks

9/14- First Late start of the school year; Even blocks.

9/15- No School

Please do not hesitate to reach out to the office if you have any questions or concerns. Let's have a great week and Go Bison!!!

September is Suicide Prevention Month and a time to raise awareness and discuss this highly stigmatized topic. In addition to shifting public perception and stigma, this month is also used to spread hope to people affected by suicide. Our goal as a district is to ensure students, staff and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention and to seek help.

• If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 immediately.

• If you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can chat the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.

• You can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

Other links for Suicide Prevention Month:

• https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/mental-health-resources/suicide-prevention-month

• https://988lifeline.org/promote-national-suicide-prevention-month/

• https://www.sprc.org/resources-programs/suicide-prevention-month-ideas-action

• https://afsp.org/national-suicide-prevention-week

• https://jasonfoundation.com/get-involved/suicide-prevention-month/

October 11, 2023- National Testing Day

• Seniors- 12th-grade students will have the opportunity to explore post-secondary options on this day in lieu of attending school. Look for a Google form in a future North News to complete that will excuse your student from attendance on 10/11/23.
• Juniors- 11th-grade students will have a couple of options outlined below.
• PSAT- Students who qualify for this opportunity have already registered.
• ACT- Any junior can sign up to take a practice ACT using THIS LINK. This needs to be completed by Thursday, September 14th.
• Students not taking the PSAT or ACT will have normal classes with a shorted schedule for the 1:10pm early dismissal.
• Sophomores- all 10th-grade students will have normal classes with a shortened schedule for the 1:10 early dismissal.
• Freshmen- all 9th-grade students will have normal classes with a shortened schedule for the 1:10 dismissal.

We have submitted our application to get after-school tutoring up and running for the 23-24 school year. We don’t have an official start date quite yet, but we are hoping to start ASAP. Once we have the approval, we will have tutoring for all subjects in the Learning Commons every Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 3:00-4:20. With this, we will have FREE meals for students who stay. These meals can be picked up in the cafeteria at 2:50 and must be consumed on campus. FREE late busses will also be available to bring students home anywhere in the North attendance area. Busses will leave from the cafeteria doors in the front circle drive at 4:30. Students must have a pass from a staff member to ride the free bus.

The September meeting of the SMN All-Activities Booster Club is on Monday, 9/18 at 6:30pm in the SMN Learning Commons - all are welcome!

You can earn $$$ for your favorite group at North by attending Booster Club meetings. We offer Attendance Grants to any SMN club, group or team that sends a parent, student, or sponsor/coach to our meetings.

If your team or group has someone attend at least 4 Booster Club meetings a year, we will give your group a $100 grant - attend 6 total meetings and receive a $200 grant!

RENEW or PURCHASE your $10 SMN Booster Club Membership for the 2023-24 school year and receive a FREE t-shirt!!

https://shawnee-mission-north-booster-club.square.site/

Volunteers Needed!!

Help sell spirit wear at one of these upcoming events - it's a great way to meet other SMN Parents!

Shifts run from 5:30-7:15pm and 7:15-9:00pm.

Home Football Game - Spirit Wear Sales – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4EAFA62FABF58-help5

Home Football Game - Spirit Wear Sales – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4EAFA62FABF58-help6

Did you know… Each year the SMN All-Activities Booster Club supports student clubs, groups, and teams by funding grant requests from coaches and club sponsors for expenses that are not funded by the school district? Since our organization began, we have given over $250,000 in grants to student organizations & teams at North! We raise funds for our grants through our spirit wear sales, memberships, an Annual Trivia Night & Annual Golf Tournament.

Purchase SMN Spirit Wear and BC Memberships at our online store (click on the link or use the QR code below) We have tons of NEW gear in stock!!

https://shawnee-mission-north-booster-club.square.site/

• The Parent/Teacher/Student Association (PTSA) and the All-School Booster Club are great ways for parents and guardians to get involved with our school!

• Join PTSA by clicking on this link!

• Join Booster Club by clicking on this link!

• All proceeds raised by both organizations directly benefit SMN students!

Shawnee Mission North has been selected to take part in a pilot study for a new curriculum to assist with teaching our students the Cornerstone Standards. The curriculum we will pilot until October 31st is called Character Strong. Our students in grades 10th-12th will have opportunities for these lessons through BRICK times on Tuesday mornings already scheduled Advisory sessions. We invite you to read more details in this Introduction Letter, and reach out if you have additional questions. Surveys will be given to students, staff, and families in early November when the pilot is complete.

We would like to provide the opportunity for families and students to nominate a staff member for Staff Member of the Week. Please use this form to nominate someone and we will try to honor as many nominations as we can!

Celebrate your senior's graduation with a Senior Ad in the 2024 yearbook.

The first deadline is Sept. 15

There are three due dates for ads, with prices increasing after each deadline.

After the first deadline on Sept. 16, the prices increase.

You will purchase your Senior Ad online.

To pay with a credit card and/or submit all your photos go to www.yearbookforever.com. Choose SM North. You can upload all of your photos and pay here.

After you send your Senior Ad in, you will receive a proof via email by Feb. 9. Not all will be done by then, but a majority will be. If you haven't seen yours by then, please call 913-993-7012 or email notate@smsd.org and check on the ad..

Thanks so much for supporting the Brickhouse yearbook. We look forward to designing your senior’s ad.

If you have any questions, please contact yearbook advisor Becky Tate at 913-993-7012 or at notate@smsd.org .

Please check out the Class of 2024 webpage: https://smnorth.smsd.org/students/graduation

This school year (2023-2024) the Shawnee Mission School District is once again utilizing the Panorama Social-Emotional Learning survey to assess student’s perseverance, grit, determination, school culture and student-teacher relationships. The Panorama Social-Emotional survey takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete and will be administered during the first semester. 9th and 10th graders will take the survey on October 17 and 11th and 12th graders will survey on October 24th. Parents/Guardians must consent for their student(s) to participate in the Panorama survey; this would have been done during the 23-24 registration process. Survey data will be reviewed at the district and classroom level to determine areas of strength, as well as areas where more instruction and/or support is needed. Once survey results are returned, parents/guardians are welcome to see and discuss the results with their students’ teachers, social workers, and counselors. Sample survey questions can be found here and here.

We encourage you to visit the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) website to learn more about how Social Emotional Learning benefits your child and their environment. All data is maintained by SMSD and will remain confidential. Please visit this site for more information about the Panorama SEL survey.

Are you interested in working at the Brickhouse? SMN has a number of para-educator positions and an ELL Aide position available. If you are interested, please apply online at www.smsd.org or contact Mr. Dustin Jamison for more information. 913-993-6900.

If you are interested in food services positions in the SMSD, please see the image below.

College Now enrollment through Johnson County Community College is now open. College Now is the concurrent enrollment (or dual credit) program at Johnson County Community College. High school students who participate in the College Now program take high school courses that also bear college credit. According to the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), concurrent enrollment students gain exposure to the academic challenges of college while in their supportive high school environment.

If your student is interested in earning college credit through JCCC, please have your student apply to JCCC where they can earn college credit while attending SM North for the following classes.

AP Chemistry

AP Calc AB

AP Calc BC

AP Literature

AP Government

AP Stats

Spanish 4

AP Bio

AP Environmental Science

For more information, please visit https://www.jccc.edu/admissions/early-college/high-school-concurrent-enrollment/or contact Britt Sherer – BrittSherer@smsd.org

Enrollment deadline is September 15th, so enroll today!

YMCA: Part Time Youth Development Leader Positions Click here for more information

Freddys: Click here for more information

Montessori Asst. teacher