Blog

The October monthly contest had 182 entries submitted. The school earning the most awards is Shawnee Mission East High School with a total of six awards.  Maize Career Academy came in second with five total awards.

Video News

• 1st Place: Natalie Partridge, Stahley Sears, Spencer Rich, Adrian Sanders from Maize Career Academy
• 2nd Place: Mason Sajna from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 3rd Place: Maleigha Harris from DeSoto High School

Video Production

• 1st Place: Ava Williams from Blue Valley Southwest High School
• 2nd Place: Taylor Roetzer, Andrew Percival from Maize Career Academy
• 3rd Place: Abby Jamison from Blue Valley Northwest

News Page Design

• 1st Place: Grace Logan from Shawnee Mission Northwest H.S.:

• 2nd Place: Chloe Miller from Mill Valley High School

• 3rd Place: Gracie Brown, Caleb Chacon, Annie Self from Olathe West High School

Academics Photography

• 1st Place: Casey Cunningham from Mill Valley High School

Working on a group project over the novel “The Scarlet Letter,” sophomores Hailey Smith and Meg McAfee check their Google Slide presentation on sophomore Callie Cahoy’s computer Thursday, Oct. 20 in the media center. The project involved researching the author of the novel and analyzing three characters based on their reactions to the reading.

• 2nd Place: Kate Pedrotti from Bishop Miege High School:

Performing with the Treble Choir, senior Polly Ayala plays “Undivided” for the Fall Concert. Ayala has played the violin for 13 years and is the only person who plays for the choir. “Everyone’s talents are put to use which makes the whole group a lot stronger,” Ayala said.

• 3rd Place: Maya Mason from Marysville High School:

Dakota Slupianek holds a posterboard near the camera obscura aperture in photography class to capture the image from outside. Carly Bohlken and Noah Halbert were posing outside so that students in the room could observe what it is like to stand in a black box that is like the interior of a camera on Oct. 14.

News Writing

• 1st Place: Tessa Collar from Lawrence High School
• 2nd Place: Lena Palmieri from Blue Valley Southwest High School
• 3rd Place: Armando Duran from Salina Central High School

Photo Illustration

• 1st Place: Chloe Highsmith from Salina Central High School

• 2nd Place: Kaila Burnside from Gardner-Edgerton High School

• 3rd Place:  Elliot McCurdy from Maize Career Academy

Sports Writing

• 1st Place: Greta Waller from Shawnee Mission South High School
• 2nd Place: Camilla Simmons from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 3rd Place: Caroline Reiser from Shawnee Mission East High School

Sports Photography

• 1st Place: Julie Dean from Blue Valley Northwest:

Hugging teammate, junior Lainie Douglas, senior Akayla Kador grieves the team’s devastating loss against Mill Valley at volleyball sub-state, Oct. 22. “I was extremely sad because it was the last time I would get to be on the court with that team, which really hurts because they are all my favorite people,” Kador said. “It just really hurt to lose that game because we all wanted the win so bad.”

• 2nd Place: Evan Johnson from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

During the team’s pre-game huddle, sophomore Omarion Dilunga, junior Brooks Borgman, senior Jack Groebe, junior Caleb Munshayakham, junior Lucas Taitt and senior Nestor Reyes shout Oct. 13 at Gardner Edgerton High School. While the Cougars were huddled, they performed their “Boom Boom” chant before the match. “The pre-game huddle gets us locked in and focused for the game,” Groebe said. “Our chant has been a tradition for years and gets us pumped up to go out and win the game.”

• Third Place: Bryn Simpson from Mill Valley High School 

At the end of the match against Wichita Northwest, the team reacts to a block by senior outside hitter Madeline Schnepf. The Jags beat WNW, 2-1, and advanced to the semifinals of the 6A state tournament Friday, Oct. 28 in Salina. On the first day of the tournament, the team beat WNW and Lawrence Free State and lost to Blue Valley North, finishing second in their pool. In the semifinals, the Jags lost to Washburn Rural and to Blue Valley North, finishing fourth place. It was the program’s first 6A state tournament in school history.

Infographics

• 1st Place: Kinsley Morrison from Maize Career Academy

• 2nd Place: Greyson Imm from Shawnee Mission East High School

• 3rd Place: Ana Gajewski, Delaney Johnson from Bishop Miege High School

Multimedia Storytelling

• 1st Place: Seville Skinner, Alonnah Gage, Abby Warren from Mill Valley High School
• 2nd Place: Alden Parker-Timms from Lawrence High School
• 3rd Place: Sam Suarez from Blue Valley Southwest High School

Yearbook Layout

• 1st Place: Zara Thomas from Derby High School

2nd Place: Morganna Haaga, Maya Smith from Lawrence High School

• 3rd Place: Andie Rau from Olathe West High School:

Yearbook Copy

• 1st Place: Jordan Pindell from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 2nd Place: Kate McGuire from Bishop Miege High School
• 3rd Place: Anna Punswick, Josie Peters from Blue Valley West High School

Portrait

• 1st Place: Lauren U from DeSoto High School

Hitching a Ride Sophomore Jackson Adair gives his little sister Kaiya a lift during the Startside Elementary Walkathon on Oct. 14, 2022. “I just wanted to go for my sister. She wanted me to go, so I went,” said Adair. Students from Mrs. Friday’s Teaching as a Career class as well as her Leadership Service in Action Class attended as volunteers.

• 2nd Place: Leah Brown from Maize Career Academy

Governor Laura Kelly visits Maize South High School and listens to students speak in-depth about their mental health and how they have grown with the help of staff members from Maize High and Maize South High School. The Governor ended the visit by saying, “Each one of you has really inspired me into expanding the mental health department.”

• 3rd Place: Myles Morant from Olathe South High School:

Senior Daniel Palacio celebrates after a big win over Gardner Edgerton on Oct. 21. South scored in the final minute of the game to take the lead and secure the third seed in the playoffs. “I was so excited to beat Gardner at home on senior night,” Palacio said.

Feature Writing

• 1st Place: Sadie Babler from Shawnee Mission Northwest H.S.
• 2nd Place: Veronica Meiss from Shawnee Mission Northwest H.S.
• 3rd Place: Ayesha Khan from Blue Valley High School

Student Life Photography

• 1st Place: Bryant Siemens from Marysville High School

Blaise Kraemer gives junior Summer Seamatter a peck on the cheek at regional tennis. Blaise’s sister Shea Kraemer won the singles title and Marysville finished second on Oct. 6, advancing to the state tournament.

• 2nd Place: Maison Flory from Lawrence High School

Fighting for the ball, senior Jackson Martin participates in a game of waterpolo in IPS. IPS plays waterpolo once every quarter as a bonding activity. “It’s fun to see all your friends and getting to play a team game,” Martin said.

• 3rd Place: Sebastian Vigil-Benitez from Trinity Catholic High School:

With the help of Mrs. Bergkamp, Carlos Martinez (9) paints a pumpkin as part of a Key Club community service project. The pumpkins were delivered to various nursing homes throughout Hutchinson in October. “I painted a fuzzy panda on my pumpkin. Pandas are one of my favorite animals because of the way they eat food and they are also very cute,” Martinez said.

Opinion Writing

• 1st Place: Larkin Brundige from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 2nd Place: Ashling Bahadursingh from Blue Valley High School
• 3rd Place: Liz Coenen from DeSoto High School