The Mission

Be a Goldfish

Kristen LeBeau, Copy Editor ’26 • March 25, 2026

My dad and I circle the island display of mystery bags in Vintage Stock while As It Was by Harry Styles plays softly over the speakers, overpowered by the loud whirrs of an industrial heater working to...

Cafe Gratitude Review

Lyra Johnson, J1 section editor • November 13, 2023

All plant based and organic restaurant, Cafe Gratitude is located in the Crossroads District of Kansas City, Missouri with few other locations in California. The Kansas City location was opened in 2012...

Secret Invasion Review

Olivia Robinson, Writer/Designer • August 25, 2023

Secret Invasion is a 2023 Marvel miniseries, the most recent of nine -- so far -- Disney+ shows that follow the main MCU storyline. This one follows everyone’s favorite (and former) S.H.I.E.L.D. director...

Day 8

Gage Chapman, Writer/Photographer • December 11, 2020

“The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) has identified your child as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive individual.” These are words no one ever wants to see, but just...

Goodbye letters from the editors

Grace Altenhofen and Cale Chapman, Editors-in-Chief • May 9, 2019

Hello everyone, For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of being co-Editor-in-Chief of the Mission, alongside my friend Cale Chapman. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, but I’m grateful to have...

SMSD Board of Education should better handle requests for data

Staff Editorial • April 25, 2019

During the public comments section of the March 25 SMSD Board of Education meeting, community member Liz Meitl stood up and made a simple request. Concerned with discipline practices in the district, Meitl...

Letter to the editors: Freshman’s response to ‘Taking the boy out of Boy Scouts’

Zach Setzkorn, Guest Contributor • April 4, 2019

To whom it may concern, As a member of the Boy Scouts of America for going on 10 years, I am quite knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the program and the details. Recently in The Mission,...

Privacy is a right, even for high schoolers

Grace Altenhofen, Editor-in-Chief • November 8, 2018

As high schoolers, we have many responsibilities, and therefore many privileges. Students have the option of driving to school; seniors have open lunch; we get to choose which electives we take. Why...

Teachers deserve better

Grace Altenhofen, Editor-in-Chief • October 3, 2018

In the days leading up to the start of the 2018-19 school year, teacher contract negotiations were still underway between the Shawnee Mission School District and the National Education Association (NEA)....

Don’t Even Try It: Netflix Needs to Stop Showing Ads

Mystika Allison-Barnes, Opinion Editor/ Writer • August 25, 2018

We don’t want your ads, Netflix! As you may already, annoyingly know, Netflix is “experimenting” with new video promos for their original content. And similar to YouTube, these advertisements are...

The fight for student journalists’ rights

Grace Altenhofen, Writer • May 15, 2018

If you had googled my name a few weeks ago, the only pertinent result would have been a photo from the county spelling bee in 6th grade. Now I’m mentioned by name in a multitude of articles from news...

College Experience in High School?

Michael Her, Photographer • May 10, 2018

Michael Her Throughout my high school career, I took a total of five and a half Advanced Placement (AP) classes, four College Now classes, and two online classes through Johnson County Community College...

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