National Merit Scholarship Program Recognizes Commended Students

The 2010 National Merit ® Scholarship Program has named 5 district students as Commended Students. Students include Catherine Geehan and Amanda Winans, seniors at North Kansas City High School; Tara Baumgartner, a senior at Oak Park High School; and Joseph Simmons and Shahnawaz Yousaf, seniors at Staley High School.
>>Read more about Commended Students

Hy-Vee Program "Smiles" on Student, School

Gladstone Hy-Vee awarded one of its Smiles for Education laptops to 1st grader Grace Kennedy during the grocer’s fall promotion. Store personnel drew the name of the Northview Elementary School 1st grader in a random drawing.

Kennedy's name was drawn during Week #7 of the promotion.
>>Read more about "Smiles for Education"

Northtown Cross Country News

The North Kansas City High School Cross Country team competed in the Sectional Championship meet Saturday, Oct. 31. The girls team finished 6th, tying their previous best finish. Charlene Browne and Dannika West qualified for the state meet. From the boys team, Art Vollbrecht qualified for state.

Oak Park Cheerleading News

The Oak Park Varsity Cheerleading Squad competed at regional competition, placing 3rd in the 5A small category. The squad also qualified to compete in state competition Nov. 14 in Columbia. They will be giving a pre-show of their state routine Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the big gym at Oak Park. You are invited to come show your support for the girls.

Maple Park Middle School Announces First Quarter Honor Rolls

Principal Kevin Kooi, Maple Park Middle School, has announced honor rolls for first quarter grades, tallied in October.

Students in the Principal’s Club have earned all A’s. Students on the Principal’s Honor Roll have earned all A’s and one B, and students on the Regular Honor Roll have earned both A’s and B’s during the first six weeks.
>>Read the names of Maple Park Honor Roll students

Celebrating Native Americans

Join the Lakewood Elementary School community during Native American Month to learn more about the many different facets of Native American arts, culture and spiritual beliefs. The school will hold a "Celebrating Native Americans" event Nov. 10 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Troy and Belinda Johanson of Sacred Fire Ministries, along with other members of the Native American Community of Kansas City, will teach the eight traditional values of Thanksgiving through dance, traditional stories and crafts.

For more information, contact Principal Suzanne Boyer-Baker at (816) 413-6570 or e-mail sbaker@nkcsd.k12.mo.us.

Winnetonka Girls Basketball Hosts Craft Fair

More than 90 vendor booths, a pancake breakfast and photo opportunities with Santa: these are a few of the activities you'll experience at the 9th Annual Winnetonka Craft Fair Dec. 5. The event is sponsored by the Girls Basketball team from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the school. Admission is free. Boy Scout Troop 357 will hold a Pancake Breakfast from 8:30-11 a.m. It is $5 all-you-can-eat. The Winter Wonderland will be held from 12-2 p.m., offering a photo opportunity with Santa. Refreshments will be sold and there will be raffle drawings. For more information, please call 453-9417.

From Our Community

Learn About Free English Classes at Fiesta Event
Come to a Fiesta Nov. 10 from 2-4 p.m. in the Welcome Center at Second Baptist Church in Liberty. Learn about the free English classes offered every Tuesday and Thursday at the church located at 300 E. Kansas, two blocks east of the Liberty Square. Free child care is provided.
*Submitted by: Becky Whited

Final Month for E-mail Delivery of North News

November is the last month for North News to be delivered directly to subscribers e-mail inboxes. Beginning with the Dec. 6 issue, the newsletter will be posted online at nkcschools.blogspot.com. Additionally, the district Web site and social media pages will link to the newsletter content.

We understand that change is often frustrating, but the District is moving away from the current newsletter delivery system as a cost saving measure. Whereas the current delivery system is a contracted service the district pays for, nkcschools.blogspot.com is free. Even if you are not a blogger, you can still go online and read about district news and events and have the information you want available to you 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.

Some of the new features that accompany the nkcschools.blogspot.com online newsletter is the ability to comment on content, RSS subscription to the page and newsletter archives. Readers can dialogue about articles or easily find older articles. Newly posted information will automatically appear in your RSS reader if you choose to subscribe to the newsletter feed. Learn more about RSS Feeds and how to make them work for you in this online tutorial from Press Feed.

Last, but not least, if you have a personal Facebook or Twitter account, be sure to become a fan or follow the district on these social media tools. Not only will updated blog postings be linked directly from these sites, additional photos and videos highlighting district activities will be shared. And don't forget about the district Web site, your one-stop-shop for all things North Kansas City Schools. Make it a favorite!

Join North Kansas City Schools online now at:

Facebook

Twitter

Brick Yard Fundraiser

Help celebrate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the District Football Stadium in North Kansas City by purchasing a commemorative granite brick. Proceeds from the granite bricks will help create a permanent history display in the building that will feature more than 80 years of North Kansas City Schools history and current student accomplishments.
>>Read more about Northtown Brick Yard

Police Dept., Hospital Partner with High School to Supply First Aid Bags

North Kansas City High School just became a little safer through a program sponsored by the North Kansas City Police Dept. and North Kansas City Hospital. The Medical Bag Program is designed to supply each classroom in the high school with a medical supply bag. Many students and staff have been trained to use the bags and to perform CPR and other emergency response techniques. The police department provided the bags while the hospital provided contents for the bags.

The accompanying photo was taken by Northtown senior, KayLynn Howard. Those in the photo are (left to right):

• Jon Brady, district safety and security coordinator


• Chad Evans, assistant principal/activities director


• Charlene Browne, Northtown student council president


• Rob Russell, COPPS/DET


• Michael McNamee, Northtown school resource officer


• Glenn Ladd, North Kansas City police chief

Lady Hornet Tennis Has Perfect Season

The North Kansas City Lady Hornet tennis team had an amazing season this fall:

• Captured a conference title for the first time since 1992, going undefeated (6-0) in conference play.


• Completed their season undefeated, going 16-0 for the year.


• Placed 4th as a team at Districts, qualifying for state competition.

Individual players also achieved impressive milestones:

• Katy Lehenbauer (junior) and Thao Le (senior) qualified for state in Doubles and placed in the top 10 at state competition.


• Thao Le tied the school record for "Career Varsity Wins" with 123 wins to her name. This also placed her 11th all-time in the state for "Career Varsity Wins" and 14th in the state for all-time "Career Single Wins" with 56.


• Katy Lehenbauer, Thao Le, Sara Tuncten (sophomore) and Andrea Johnson (sophomore) each earned 40 wins in a single season. This has only been accomplished by one other student in school history. These ladies were selected to the All-District team as well.

Additionally, every Varsity player was selected to All-Conference teams. Quite the amazing season!

Winnetonka's Annual Haunted House Oct. 31

Winnetonka High School will host its annual Haunted House event on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1-2:30 p.m. in the lower gym at the school. The haunted house will feature spooky lights, eerie sounds and ghostly characters. There also will be games including a cake walk. The haunted house is sponsored by student council. The event is free but canned food donations are appreciated. The food will be used in the Winnetonka pantry that shares food with needy students.

Celebrating Native Americans at Lakewood

On Nov. 10, Lakewood Elementary will host a reading celebration titled "Celebrating Native Americans" from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the school gymnasium. The evening will include storytelling activities and food. Bring your family and enjoy an evening of fun learning experiences. For more information, please contact Lakewood at 413-6570.

Future Hornets Cheer Clinic

The North Kansas City High School Cheerleaders will host a "Future Hornets" cheer clinic on Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Fieldhouse. The clinic will consist of cheers, jumps, stunts and a dances. The future Hornets will then perform their routine Jan. 28 during halftime of the Varsity basketball game. The clinic costs $30 and includes a T-shirt. For more information contact cclemens@ncksd.k12.mo.us.

Registration forms can be e-mailed or mailed to you. You also can also find the form on the home page of the high school Web site under "Cheer Clinic".
>>Print registration form for "Future Hornets" Cheer Clinic