Courtwarming
Courtwarming: Welcome to the Jungle will be held February 28th 8-10:30 pm. Tickets are $10 the 24-26th, and increase to $15 the 27th and 28th. Before purchasing tickets, make sure to check your fines and fees, have your ID with you, and know your dates full name. Guest forms are held in the front office. If you are bringing the same guest as you brought to homecoming, you will not need a new form. Spirit week is the 24-28th. The themes are Monkey See Monkey Do (Twin Day), Explore the Jungle (Tourist/Safari), Welcome to the Jungle (Band Tees), and The Lion Sleeps Tonight (PJ Day). A photo booth will be set up in the commons to take pictures in your spirit wear. Tag @Kpoocabinet on Instagram to feature all of your pictures. The Courtwarming assembly on the 27th with court attendants: Austin Blecha, Dylan Kay, Drew Stone, Boone Shevey, Carter Vienhage, Ethan Arroyo, Grant Maturey, Jacob Hall, and Zach Hamilton.
Winter Sports Updates: Winter Guard
Color Guard is an award winning team on a local, regional, and national level. They will be performing along side of the golden arrow band in the annual Christmas Parade held downtown. On December 14th bands, volunteers, and floats will be marching around Park Central Square at two pm.
This year’s theme is Silver Bells: It’s Christmas Time in the City. The team is directed by Sherri Peterson and choreographed by Haley Davis.
“The groups have been practicing their routines during 4th block, next semester we will transition to winter guard,” Peterson said.
The team has been preparing for the winter sports assembly on December 16th.
“Their routines for winter guard are usually around two minutes,” Peterson said.
As the season approaches, the team hopes to have a successful season after their Emulation team competed in the world championship in Dayton Ohio this year.
Go Caps
` In order to graduate high school, there are many requirements to receive a diploma. The classes and skills are taught to prepare students for higher education, and the work field. One component high school classes do not acknowledge is; soft skills. These skills are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.
With the absence of this teaching, Go Caps has made its way to the Ozarks to fix the issue.
Greater Ozark Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GO CAPS), is a year long education program that specializes in career paths for juniors and seniors. With a morning (8-10:30 a.m.) or afternoon (Noon-2:30 p.m.) session, Students will spend half of their day at their home school, and the other half in the subject area of their choice. In the 2018-19 school year, Kickapoo had six students in the morning session and 11 students in the afternoon session.
“It has been available to all 5 high schools here since it began. GO CAPS is in the middle of recruiting for 2019-2020 school year, which will be its fifth year,” A+ Coordinator Kim Harris said.
The program offers five different strands including Medicine and Health Care, Business and Entrepreneurship, IT and Software Solutions, Engineering and Manufacturing, and teacher education.
Depending on what field is chosen, the location of the Go Caps setting can range from area hospitals, the Efactory, Elementary schools, to Springfields Remanufacturing Corporation.
A drawback to the program is transportation. Although some of the classrooms may be far from home, or homesite school, Go Caps provides options for juniors and Seniors without means of transportation.
“ If an SPS student does not have a car, the Go Caps team will arrange with our transportation department to bus the student from home site to the Go Caps classroom and back,” Education Director Dana Hubbard said.
Along with bussing, students can apply for transportation scholarships if they qualify for free or reduced lunch rates. The scholarship could include a gas card to help out with the costs.
The learning experience is hands on. With a class size ranging from 11-25, Go Caps is able to put students in real life situations.
“At the beginning of the year, you have to learn a lot of procedures, and terms, but once you are past that you get to do job shadows, and watch surgeries. We were able to visit acute care unit, the ER, laproscopic surgeries,” junior Alyson Thomas said.
Classes such as the Project Lead the Way are just a gateway to some of the experiences in the medical strand.
The program drives students to polish their professionalism skills by; learning project management, collaborating with businesses, making connections with future employers, and most of all explore individual interests.
A frequent misunderstanding is the ability to receive credits. The program is a full year, and taking up half of the school day, it may seem difficult to fit it in your schedule.
“Go Caps counts as three elective credits. There are also dual credit opportunities (with MSU) in each of our five strands,” Hubbard said.
If the credits hinder the decision to enroll, there are more benefits to consider. The program’s goal is to pair students with local businesses, and better a resume.
“ Students interact directly with high level industry professionals, and have many opportunities to network and seek out industry mentors. Recommendations from industry professionals have the power to add depth and breadth to a college application and/or to a resume,” Hubbard said
Many upcoming juniors and seniors are uniformed or have overlooked the program.
“Each year, we always have vacant seats in nearly every strand and each year we know there are students out there that are missing out on what can potentially be a life changing experience. We want to fill every seat available” Hubbard said.
The experience can show students a closer look at different career paths, along with narrowing down college majors.
“What a better way to explore than in HS when you are not having to pay for college courses?,” Harris said.
In the next five years, Go Caps hopes to expand the Teacher Education program, as they currently only offer a morning session. Along with a possible addition to the five current strands.
