| Number of Schools Managed |
49 |
3 |
| Number of Students Managed |
29,466 students |
585 students |
| District Total Revenue |
$249,027,000 |
$5,590,000 |
| District Expenditure |
$256,589,000 |
$5,459,000 |
| District Revenue / Student |
$8,451 |
$9,556 |
| District Expenditure / Student |
$8,708 |
$9,332 |
| District Graduation Rates |
92% |
n/a |
|
- Shawnee Mission North High School is a fully-accredited high school located in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. Shawnee Mission North was founded in 1922 in order to help educate the increasing number of students due to the emerging population of Shawnee Mission.
- History
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Shawnee Mission Rural High School opened September 12, 1922, having cost $950,000 to build. It had 12 faculty members and a senior class of 1,200. There had been a vote on September 21, 1921, on a "proposal to organize a rural high school district."
- In 1922 the east building was completed and in 1936 the west building, housing a gym and auditorium, was connected to the east building. In 1941 the shop wing was constructed to house agriculture and auto mechanics; it was connected to the west building by a concrete walk. In 1950 a large addition was made, including the south academic wing, the cross hall/offices, library, Field House and music rooms. After 30 years all the buildings were connected by hallways.
- The swimming pool and science wing were built in 1969, the Developmental Center in 1978, the Little Theater in 1984 and the "lunch dock" remodeled in 1993. In the summer of 1997, the new library was added as well as air-conditioning. In 1998 the cafeteria and kitchen were remodeled.A key project at SM North was the demolition of the original stadium and reconstruction beginning in 2005, followed, in 2007, by the addition of a new auxiliary gym, fresh tennis courts, pool and auditorium remodeling, the additions of two Biology rooms, and a significant enlargement of the band and Choir Department.
- The school was named Shawnee Mission Rural until 1948, when senior Robert F. Bennett was sent to Topeka to petition the legislature for a name change to more accurately reflect the school's suburban status. Later elected Governor of Kansas, Bennett was named North's first 'Distinguished Alumnus' by the class of 1975. It was thus named Shawnee Mission High School until 1958, when East opened and Shawnee Mission High School became SM North. The student body of Shawnee Mission High had petitioned the school board to name the new school anything other than "Shawnee Mission East" in an attempt to avoid a renaming of their school. Shawnee Mission West opened in 1962, Shawnee Mission South in 1966, and Shawnee Mission Northwest in 1969.
- Extracurricular Activities
- Athletics
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The extracurricular activities offered at Shawnee Mission North are many and varied due to the school's large size. The Indians compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the KSHSAA. Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission North has won many state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.
- State Championships
- Traditions
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There are always two mascots, one is an Indian princess, and the other is an Indian warrior. The students acting as an Indian princess and warrior are always a male and female senior. The outfits they wear while playing these parts were modeled off of the Shawnee Indians of Oklahoma. The Indian warrior originated in 1975 with a student's Halloween costume, which proved so popular he joined the traditional Indian princess as mascot. The 2006 population of SM North was 1,966. The mascot is an Indian, and the school colors are cardinal and black.
- During the alma mater, students stand and hold up their right index fingers while singing. The Indian head time capsule (in front of the main office), which was gifted to the school by the class of 1965, is roped off and not to be stepped on. The day before homecoming, Shawnee Mission North stages a large parade. Different clubs, groups, and alumni create floats to parade down Johnson Drive.
- SM North is located in northern Overland Park and serves much of northeastern Johnson County. The SM North area has a population of approximately 52,000 and includes the communities of Merriam, Mission, northern Overland Park, Roeland Park, Countryside and Eastern Shawnee.
- SM North puts out three publications, a magazine known as "The Mission", an art & literary magazine called "Indian Lore", and a student-created yearbook known as "Indian". Indian has won numerous publishing awards, including national competitions.
- Every year around February a senior male is selected by his fellow classmates as "Northman". This title is much like "Homecoming King" at other schools. Originally called "Big Man on Campus", the winner was crowned at the annual "Women Pay All (WPA)" dance. In 1979 the title was considered outdated and changed to Northman. North has won 5 state championships in football (1969, 1970, 1971, 1974) under the coaching of Larry Taylor. Recently, North's NJROTC program has ranked first nationally in the Drill (in 2007 and 2009) and in the Armed Regulation (2008) divisions.
- Alma Mater
-
Shawnee Mission, Shawnee Mission,
Here's our toast to thee
We will cherish and respect thee
Pledge our loyalty
We will honor, we will love thee
Send our colors forth
Proud and brave our alma mater
Shawnee Mission North!
- Fight Song
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(tune: "On Wisconsin" – University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Onward Shawnee! Onward Shawnee!
Fight for victory!
Press 'em harder, ever harder!
Show them we can fight, fight fight!
Onward Shawnee! Onward Shawnee!
Fight for victory!
Fight, Indians, fight, fight, fight!
We'll win tonight.
- Notable alumni
- Robert F. Bennett, 39th Governor of Kansas, 1975-1979
- General Richard B. Myers, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Dr. Phil (1968), television psychologist and host
- Darren Lynn Bousman, American film director
- Michael McShane, actor
- Jane D. Hull, 20th Governor of Arizona
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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