She was still in shock when she reported the news to the faculty.  Advisory Council Member and English teacher Laura Beachy’s e-mail explanation reported the district superintendent’s latest decisions from the latest meeting. Just like always. She e-mailed it to the entire staff, just like always. She got replies, just like always. Usually, she would receive some thank you notes and one or two comments on the latest updates.  When she read them though, something was different.  This time, few people could believe the news: ... Read More

  Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz will be teaching a course next semester called ‘Personal Leadership.’ Twenty-eight students that applied were accepted after Krawitz reviewed their applications. In the application, students described their strengths, weaknesses and goals for the future. These applications will help Krawitz put the students into groups when they work as teams.  “[The application] gives me an understanding so I know where [the students] can work together cooperatively,” Krawitz said. “Because people have various strengths, it’s good that a team recognizes a ... Read More

  As junior Jake Fleming pushes through the third floor hallway he feels his pocket vibrate and he quickly reaches for his phone. Instinctively he looks around for a teacher, but remembers East’s rule allowing phone use in hallways and in the lunchroom. After his quick text, he slips the phone into his pocket and walks into his English classroom.          Later in class Fleming feels the short vibration on his thigh and he slips the phone out of his pocket, ... Read More

A recent grant by the East foundation has given the science department a key tool for the science students. The Vernier Labquest was recently given to the science department as a part of a grant that gave twenty-eight Labquests to the department at an estimated $35,000. The final decision was made by teacher Steve Appier and the head of the science department Cole Ogdon. “We had the decision to make between a Pasco version and the Labquest, and ultimately decided on the Labquest due ... Read More

  The chairs that line the nurse's office wall are empty. There's no row of sickly students waiting to call their parents after finding out they have a low-grade fever. The normally hectic room is quiet; instead, it's the attendance office that's dealing with the crowd. At the beginning of each school year East students sign a paper torn out from their planners. One of the guidelines they agree to is that  students who are ill are required to see the nurse before checking ... Read More

  Seminar can be a place for time to catch up on sleep, listen to an iPod or work on class work.  But for junior International Baccalaureate students, seminar is once a week for the course Theory of Knowledge. But with this change comes the possible issue of failing to meet requirements. The class has been pressed for time as assemblies, presentations, early releases and late starts occupy seminar.  If it doesn't meet the International Baccalaureate Organization requirements for the class the students will not ... Read More

Creative writing is nothing new to East students, but having an open format to submit and show their work to the public definitely is. The latest attempt at a student-run literary magazine is titled The Freelancer.  The one-time release will be a notebook-sized publication featuring poems, short stories, and a new addition for literary magazines at East, artwork. Work can be all submitted by students. ™We're looking for people with real vision, something to say about our school, the times we live in, whatever,∫ ... Read More

A Leawood restaurant caught fire Tuesday morning, and was believed to have suffered significant damage. The fire at McDonalds, located at 3860 W. 95th Street, forced an evacuation after the building caught flames after 9 a.m. The cause of the fire was unknown, police said. The sight of the flames were thought to have ignited from the storage room, according to a construction worker who was laying tile when he saw the flames. Leawood and Overland Park firefighters could be seen breaking in ... Read More

The faint pulsing beat from a nearby listener’s iPods has become a routine sound no matter where people are, which comes as no surprise. Over the last seven years, the device has become the most profitable and best selling personal music player to date. It may be time to turn the volume down though, according to new information out of Brussels, Belgium. In a study for the European Union, researchers discovered that people who listen to mp3 players for five hours a week ... Read More

Thomas Edison was called annoyed by one of his elementary teachers. John Lennon failed all of his General Certificate of Education O-level exams, the high school academic qualification exams in the United Kingdom. Both of these men were very bright, but were never considered to be exceptionally talented at younger ages. With stories and situations like this, psychologists are wondering whether kids can actually be identified as ‘gifted.’ According to a recent article in Education Week, psychologists are now learning that academic skills ... Read More