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Forget Leawood. !is summer, several students took on the

world through international travel including Africa, Europe, the Middle

East and Central America. Continue reading about their adventures on pages 4-5.

Issue 1, Volume 27Blue Valley North

Overland Park, KSAugust 17, 2012

photo by Erika Brown, taken on an African safari.PLUS:p. 2

Meet the new principal

p. 8

A day at band camp

p. 3

Freshman year: the right way

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NEWS BRIEFSBatter Up! Business Brilliance

Seniors Jenny Phillips and Sarah Evans placed top 25 nationally

in policy debate at the National Forensic League speech and debate tournament in Indianapolis.

Graduates Max Agadoni and Anne Elise Dimas placed top 30 in the nation

in Duo Interpretation.

A! er a tense " nals game against rival Blue Valley

West on May 26, the baseball team became 6A state champions. # e " nal score was 1-0, keeping BVW from

scoring through an airtight defense.

For students, the new school year means a chaotic rush of schedules, last-minute summer

homework and learning how to wake up early again. For David Stubble" eld, it means something even more hectic: a new job. As a young man growing up in Dodge City, Kan., Stubble" eld always enjoyed teaching. He could o! en be found tutoring his peers. “I always enjoyed helping my friends with school, and I was pretty good at it too,” Stubble" eld said. A! er attending college at Southwest Missouri State and Mid-America Nazarene University, Stubble" eld jumped right into teaching. His " rst job was teaching at a school in Missouri. Stubble" eld moved to the Blue Valley school district, where he taught science classes at North and later became an administrator at West and Northwest. Each of these positions taught him valuable lessons that have molded him into the principal he is today. “I love the relationships you build with the students and the school’s community. It’s something I really treasure, and I feel like it’s a strength of mine,” Stubble" eld said. Stubble" eld has two main goals for this school year: to create relationships and maintain the wonderful aspects of the school.

Stubble" eld wants to cultivate an atmosphere where relationships among students, sta$ and the community are strengthened. He feels that the school does not need much improving but more maintaining of an outstanding academic reputation. He plans to keep this reputation going by encouraging rigorous, relevant and engaging courses and by developing the “whole individual” in each student, whether that be through community service, extracurricular activities or athletics. “I want to create an atmosphere where we feel like we are a family,” he said. Stubble" eld’s own family shares his commitment to education. He is the father of three boys, one of whom currently attends KU. His wife, Anna, works at the Lawrence district o% ce. # ough they’re both passionate about education administration, Stubble" eld said that Blue Valley – and North in particular – is where his heart lies. “Everybody [at North] has been very welcoming. It helps that there are familiar faces from when I was last here,” Stubble" eld said. He is excited to start a new school year and to build relationships that will last. “# is is a fantastic building with great teachers, great sta$ and great students,” Stubble" eld said.

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Principal David Stubble" eld was once an Honors Biology teacher at North and is excited to return as a Mustang. Photo by Lindsay Rucker.

Kristen Haug��Staff Writer �

Students who earned recognition at the National

Leadership Conference of Future Business leaders of America in San Antonio were senior Virbin Sapkota, juniors

Emma Worgul and Yarden Tamir, sophomore Emily Levinson and 2012 graduate Heidi Friedrich.

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scoring through an airtight scoring through an airtight

SSLeadership Conference of Leadership Conference of Future Business leaders of Future Business leaders of America in San Antonio were America in San Antonio were senior Virbin Sapkota, juniors senior Virbin Sapkota, juniors

Emma Worgul and Yarden Tamir, Emma Worgul and Yarden Tamir, sophomore Emily Levinson and 2012 sophomore Emily Levinson and 2012

SSGraduates Max Agadoni and Anne Graduates Max Agadoni and Anne

Elise Dimas placed top 30 in the nation Elise Dimas placed top 30 in the nation in Duo Interpretation. in Duo Interpretation.

august

Mustang Stampede 6 - 9 p.m. @ DAC

MAKE PLANS Events of note in the weeks

ahead

19AUG.

20AUG.

22AUG. Last day to make schedule changes

Parent/athlete drug & alcohol meeting 7 p.m. @ PAC

22

24AUG.

29AUG.

30AUG.

31AUG.

3SEPT.

Boys varsity soccer vs BVNW 7 p.m. @ DACMixer 8 - 11 p.m. @ Commons - bring student ID

Varsity girls tennis vs. BVNW 3:30 @ BVNVarsity volleyball vs. Olathe East 6:30 @ BVN main gym

No School - Labor Day

Fall sports pep rally during Advisory

Varsity football vs. Bishop Miege 7 p.m. @ DAC

Contrary to what most incoming ninth graders think, freshman year is the most bearable of the four years. It is

a bit of a leap to move into a larger school, with double the people in your grade and double the opportunities, so instead of À�JXULQJ�RXW�KLJK�VFKRRO�WKH�KDUG�ZD\��OLNH�we did), you can use this short guide to make the transition smooth and simple.

FRESHMAN SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE

Myth #1: You can’t walk through the senior locker area.

Myth #2: You’ll get lost and be late for class.

Myth #3: You have to drink and party to ! t in.

Myth #4: You won’t have any friends at lunch or in your classes.

Myth #5: High school is all fun and games.

����� You will eventually have to. ! e seniors don’t care as long

as you stay out of their way. ! ey won’t bite.

You might get lost. But it happens to everyone. Teachers are usually lax about it early in the year, and they’re happy to give directions, too.

You might get lost. But it happens to everyone. Teachers are usually lax about it early in the year, and they’re happy to give directions, too. ����

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Everyone " nds his or her own group. ! ere will be people who will go out all the time and drink and party, but you don’t need to be one of those people. High school is about " nding people you’re comfortable around.

Most of the time you’ll " nd a friend or two, but even if that’s not the case, you can easily make new friends as long as you’re open. Find mutual friends or people you’ve never talked to and start a conversation. You’ll be surprised by how much you have to talk about.

Some people go into high school with the mindset that this is their time to let loose. While this may be true in some ways, acadamics are a huge part of the high school experience. ! e mixers and dances are more than balanced by the late night study sessions. You’ll have fun, but you’ll have to work hard too.

Our best advice: ! ings probably won’’t go exactly as planned. Try to roll with the punches. No single bad test grade, " ght with a friend, breakup or embarrassing moment is life altering. We all know it, just keep it in mind.

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Faryal Jafri��Staff Writer �

Sakshi Mahajan��Staff Writer �

Ram Sivakumar��Staff Writer �

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,7$/<As a member of Latin Club, senior Amy Sevcik

made her journey to Italy on a club trip sponsored by Latin teacher Jonah Baldwin.

Noting cultural di! erences from diverse food to a daily two-hour a" ernoon “siesta” – a period of relaxation and napping – Sevcik said her favorite part of the trip was the Italian architecture she saw and toured. “# e most memorable moment was when we were in the cathedral in Florence,” she said. “We found a bell tower that was attached to the cathedral and climbed to the top. It was so cool because we were the only people there and the views of Florence are amazing.” # ough Sevcik thoroughly enjoyed her time in Italy, she cherishes the valuable lessons she learned from her trip. “I learned to be more appreciative of other cultures and their way of living,” she said. “We’re always busy, busy, busy, and [in

Italy] they take time to stop and enjoy things.”

%(/*,80On a search for her roots, senior Isabel Keleti

traveled to Belgium to reunite with relatives. # e trip included several Belgian towns including Hasselt, Antwerp and Brussels. “My mom was born in Brussels,” Keleti said. “All her side of the family lives in Belgium. It was cool to see how they all still lived within walking distance of each other.” According to Keleti, Belgian food was a major perk of her trip. “Food is a lot better quality there,” she said. “Everything is really fresh. # ere was lots of good Belgian chocolate and Belgian wa$ es.” Keleti found deep connections in the European nation and was educated about her heritage. “It’s important to know where you come from and be close to your family,” she said. “It felt like we belonged there, and it was

so cool to meet all those people a" er so many years and reconnect.”

.(1<$Senior Erika Brown found her adventure in the

grasslands and villages of Kenya, Africa. A family trip, her journey showed her a new side of nature. “In Africa, nature is everywhere,” Brown said. “We saw lots and lots of animals – elephants, lions, gira! es, gazelles, zebras, monkeys... the list goes on.” While a safari provided excitement on the trip, the main focus of Brown’s journey was mission work in Kenya’s struggling schools. “# ese kids had nothing,” she said. “We visited a school where three kids would be crammed into one desk, their clothes had obviously been donated, they didn’t have paper, but they were so gracious and grateful for everything that they had.” To combat the sub-standard conditions in Africa’s schools, Brown’s family donated clothes and school supplies and built relationships with local families from Kenyan villages. “I saw people who had nothing,” she said. “I learned to be thankful for everything I had.”

1,&$5$*8$For junior Ethan Hughes, summer was about much more than relaxation and personal gain. In fact, Hughes volunteered a week of his

summer for a mission trip to Nicaragua through Lord of Life Lutheran Church. “We spent our time there painting schools and churches that couldn’t a! ord paint themselves,” Hughes said. While volunteerism and service were large components of the trip, manual work wasn’t the only part of the trip that emotionally a! ected Hughes. “I saw a kid that was pretty beat up,” he said. “He had a bloody nose and was crying for water. It really hit me. When I gave him my water, he just took two sips and shared it with others even though he didn’t have any.” Spending time in a largely impoverished country also a! ected Hughes’s attitude toward greed and American lifestyles. “In Nicaragua people live o! of nothing,” he said. “Fi" y percent of people make less than $2 a day, and they don’t feel like they’re in need. # ey make do with what they have.” # rough helping a community in crisis and meeting the people who lived in it, Hughes says he learned valuable life lessons. “I learned we have way more than we need,” he said. “Since we are given so much, we have to help others that don’t have as much.”

,65$(/“Standing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem,

knowing that my ancestors stood in this same spot centuries ago, was an emotional experience that le" me feeling truly connected to my Jewish identity,” junior Allison Ullman said. # is summer, Ullman had the opportunity to travel throughout Israel with 46 other teens from the Midwest through a program called # e Jerusalem Journey. “We hiked Masada, tubed in the Red Sea, % oated in the Dead Sea, visited the Hall of Independence, shopped in several markets and tried Israeli foods such as falafel and shwarma,” Ullman said. Despite her busy itinerary, Ullman found the relationship-building aspect of her trip to be the most impactful. “I went with a lot of my close friends. However, I met so many other people and created friendships that will last a lifetime. # ere’s something special about traveling in Israel and being able to share that with your friends,” she said.

“Adventure” took on many forms this summer as students set out to & nd jobs, relax with friends, and get the perfect tan. Some, however, sought their summer adventure on a global level. Passports & led and vaccines up to

date, they set out internationally for purposes ranging from family visits to mission trips. From the cathedrals of Italy to the coasts of Israel, follow & ve Blue Valley North students as they set out on a worldwide adventure to gain a global perspective.

Sydney House��Staff Writer �

Sarah Evans� Co-Editor-In-Chief �

...in 83 daysAround the World

Mallory Bodker��Staff Writer��

character to appear onscreen in a long time. His child-like innocence is contagious; his naïveté makes you root for him. As Je! rekindles a romance with his ex-girlfriend, he realizes that he wasn’t yearning for her all of these years – he was yearning for what his life was like at the time when they were together. It’s as if visiting her was his own attempt at time travel. " is is pretty deep material for what comes o! as a simple subplot. Romance also buds between Darius and Kenneth. " e pace of the movie quickens, and we learn that government o# cials are a$ er Kenneth. Could this mean he’s actually on to something?

06“W anted: Somebody to go back

in time with me. " is is not a joke. You’ll get paid a$ er we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed.” " e premise of the “Safety Not Guaranteed” is simple: three employees of a Seattle-based magazine venture to Oceanfront, Wash., to meet the man who placed this classi% ed ad in a local newspaper. If he’s serious, well, that makes for a good story. If he’s not, then they got a nice diversion from work. Each character has a unique backstory. Intern Darius (Aubrey Plaza) wants a break from her troubled life. Writer Je! (Jake Johnson) wants to reconnect with a high school girlfriend. Arnau (Karan Soni) is a socially awkward college student just along for the ride. " ese actors are terri% c in their respective roles. Plaza is subtly hilarious as a cynical reporter and Soni’s awkward timing is perfect. In search of their story, the trio sets out to meet the man who placed the ad, an o& eat guy named Kenneth. Played by Mark Duplass, Kenneth is the most genuinely kind-hearted

Part of the fun of the movie is that it’s a grab-bag of genres. It’s science-% ction, it’s romance, it’s comedy. It never delves into the science of time travel or the logistics of it. “Safety Not Guaranteed” poses the question of whether or not time travel is possible, but it doesn’t rush to % nd the answer. " e audience is forced to speculate until the last minute of the movie, but the ending is more than satisfying. “Safety Not Guaranteed” proves that not all comedies released in the summer have to be big name blockbusters to leave you with a smile on your face.

A “Guaranteed” crowd-pleaser(QWHUWDLQPHQW�����$XJXVW��������������1�����

I ’m not generally a fan of anthologies. " e stories always

seem to have either too much or too little information. Despite this, when I was given a copy of “Cornered: 14 Stories of Bullying and De% ance”, edited by Rhoda Belleza, I decided to give it a try. “Cornered” contains 14 stories about kids facing some of the worst situations imaginable. Some are being tormented by former friends, some by parents; there is even one story dealing

with bullying by a teacher. And just like in the real world, there are no

easy answers. Like any anthology, this book has its ups and downs. Some of the stories are realistic % ction; others lean toward fantasy. A$ er a while, the realistic stories start to feel repetitive, with many of the bullying tactics and characters’ reactions remaining almost the same from story to story. Having said that, there were several

things the authors do well. " ey don’t try to

7KHVH�NLGV�FDQ¶W�EH�³&RUQHUHG´preach in their stories, and they don’t shy away from the topic of suicide as it relates to bullying. " ey refrain from turning the bullying victims into martyrs or making them seem helpless. Many of the victims in this book can – and do – % ght back. All of these decisions make the book considerably more believable and more powerful than your typical teen sob story. “Cornered” is not a happy book. Its very premise prevents this. But with teen suicide attempts on the rise and bullying becoming a bigger issue than ever before, this is an important book for high school students to read, to see the real consequences of kids being “cornered.”

Danny Rosenberg��Entertainment Editor �

Emily Levinson��Staff Writer �

As you embark on the search for that elusive free reading book for CA, check out “Cornered”, which looks honestly at issues as diverse as homoesexuality and suicide. Photo from Amazon.

“Safety Not Guaranteed”’s quirky characters head o! for their trip back in time. Photo from http://www.safetynotguaranteedmovie.com/photos.html

REVIEWS

The North Star staff! e North Star is the o" cial publication of Blue Valley North High

School, an open forum distributed to all students nine times a year. ! is publication may contain controversial material. Kansas law prohibits the suppression of a student publication solely because it may contain controversial matter. Blue Valley Uni# ed School District No. 229 and its board members, o" cers and employees may disclaim any responsibility for the content of this publication; it is not an expression of school policy. Student authors and editors are solely responsible for the content of this publication.

Letters to the editors are encouraged from students and non-students alike and should be less than 500 words. All letters must be signed and turned into room 411 at least one week prior to publication. All letters require a signature. Names will be published. ! e North Star reserves the right to edit with regard to libel, without changing the substance of the letter. ! e North Star will not publish obscene or libelous material.

! e North StarBlue Valley North High School

12200 Lamar Ave.Overland Park, KS 66209

(913) 239-3116

{ EditorsSarah EvansJessi GlueckEllie Holcomb

Second year writersHayley BergerMallory BodkerDanny RosenbergAshley RubenChris Shanklin

Photo editorLindsay Rucker

Business managerAshley Ruben

{PhotographersErika BrownAustin FultzDaniel Traub

Sta! writersSakshi MahajanFaryal JafriKristen HaugRam SivakumarRachel StrohkorbSydney House

AdviserMelinda Gilman

I’ve never exactly understood the concept of senior privileges. What, other than age, gives a senior the

right to have # rst choice? What are we rewarding them for? ! e school may as well be saying, “Congratulations, you didn’t drop out of high school. We are so freaking proud of you.” I’ve also never really understood why freshmen are considered to be lesser beings. What did they do to us? ! ree seconds of eye contact isn’t exactly enough to pass judgment on

“If we could step off the upperclassman pedestal, we might À�QG�WKRVH�WKDW�ZH�

view as inferior to be surprisingly human.”

the # rst day. As a new kid, I had a hard time # guring out BVN’s class system. I’d gone to a place where class T-shirts didn’t exist and where no one sat in segregated areas at assemblies. Courses were an assortment of di$ erent grades, and the most heated class battle was a water balloon # ght between

the juniors and seniors at the end of band camp. In this system it was perfectly acceptable for seniors to

befriend sophomores, for juniors to hang out with freshmen. My lunch table had representatives from the freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

But at BVN I found it awkward and a bit challenging to even speak

with people outside of my class. I was disappointed at segregated assemblies full of seniors screaming out their superiority to their classmates. ! ere were so many people that I was unable to befriend. Unfortunately, at North this division has been institutionalized. It isn’t easy to alter how things work here. But if we could change our attitude, step o$ the upperclassman pedestal, we might # nd those that we view as inferior to be surprisingly human.

Bridging the class gap071��������$XJXVW��������������2SLQLRQ

Rachel Strohkorb��Staff Writer �

A senior’s thoughts on upperclassman privilege

BAND CAMPEnduring blistering summer heat for the excitement of

making music and building community, 207students gathered on the football !eld for two weeks in August for an intensive band camp. Here’s a peek at their e"orts.

1. Commanding the !eld. Senior Harrison Campbell oversees band members as they learn the hal!ime shows. Campbell is one of three drum majors. 2. At ease. Junior Zach Wilson rests his tuba on the "eld while waiting for instruction. #is is Wilson’s third year in marching band. 3. Wave your "ag. Juniors Caroline Adams and Emily Moore practice the $ag routine as the band rehearses. #e 30 dance team members provide additional visual display to the hal!ime shows. 4. Drink Up! Band members line up their water bottles before taking the practice "eld. With temperatures reaching triple digits, staying hydrated was integral to their success and health. 5. Setting the beat. #e drum line balances their instruments while learning the sets to the opening of Maya, one of the two shows they will perform. #e "rst performance is Monday, Aug. 20 at Mustang Stampede.Photos by Austin Fultz. Page design by Daniel Traub.

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