Seniors should meet at HHS  at 6:15 p.m. and will be shuttled to the ceremony.  Seniors will not be allowed to drive to HMS due to limited parking.  Seniors may ride to the ceremony with parents with prior approval from Mr. Campbell.

Goodbye to a few select Harrisonville fast food restaurants: McDonald’s, Sonic, and Dairy Queen. Harrisonville has some bomb fast food. Except for the Burger King here, they screw everything up.

Goodbye to the nice lunch lady who washes the trays. She always says “thank you”, even when it’s spaghetti-bake day and my tray looks like I used it to pick up roadkill.

Goodbye to my Southern belle Rebekah Lokits. Good luck in Virginia and someday when you’re a doctor and have loads of money feel free to rub it in my face.

Goodbye to the newspaper staff and thanks for dealing with how weird I am sometimes and putting up with me constantly flirting with Nick Bowers at the beginning of the year…even though I never admitted to it then. Thank you Sasha for convincing me to join the staff on a whim because it was one of my better ideas of my high school career.

Goodbye to Mrs. Wickstrom, you were one of my favorite teachers even though you wouldn’t let me have “Chile” as my Spanish name last year and I refused to use one after that.

Goodbye to Mrs. Cummings, I appreciate your sense of fashion almost as much as I appreciate your late work policy.

Goodbye to Hannah Alessi. Next year we’ll go to rival schools but you’re so irresistible that I won’t be able to help being friends with the enemy.

Harrisonville, although your small town charm will soon be overridden by my big city dreams, I will always admire your aesthetic pastoral landscapes, amiable people and simplistic manner of living.

HHS, it’s been real. In the wise words of N’Sync: “bye, bye, bye.”

I might be having mixed feelings about  graduating, but I can say that I’m entering a new chapter in life and would like to make sure I say goodbye to a few special — and not so special– people.

First off, I would like to say goodbye and thank you to my friends (I’ll let you as a reader decide if you belong in that category). Thank you for listening to me rant, making me feel sane again after a few mental breakdowns, and admitting to the world that yes, you do associate yourself with someone who creates collages of cat photos for her Mac wallpaper.

To my family, I just want to let you know I love you. One day I’ll thank you for letting me drive a death-trap of a car, using all of the hot water, and eating all of my snacks (I’m looking at you, Dustan). But today is not that day.

To all my teachers, especially Mr. Lewis, Mrs. Foss, Kathy Eckert (formerly known as Momma), and Mr. Mathew, thank you for teaching me. I have learned more than just how to score a 32 on the ACT, I have learned life lessons.

And now for the specifics.

Hannah Alessi. We’ve been best friends for a solid six years now, and if we’re not napping or eating pudding, there’s a 96 percent chance I’m laughing so hard I’m crying. I am in denial about the fact that you’re going to be 168 miles away from me next year. And yes, I checked GoogleMaps for that one. Be prepared to receive at least three cat photos per week from me.

Kayt, thank you for getting me through this year I would not have survived without you. You are a fantastic Editor-in-Chief and it was a pleasure hating all of the same people with you. I  cannot wait to sleep on your and Mary’s dorm room floor when I end up with a creepy roommate that watches me sleep.

And last of all, I would like to say goodbye to the newspaper staff. I wish you the best of luck next year; you know Kayt and I are only a phone call away. Also, meow meow meow. Meow.

Well HHS, in the words of Lady G, ‘you’ve left me speechless.’

Girls from the dance team, PLEASE keep working your butts off.  I know that I may have gotten mean during some practices but it was only because I want you guys to be better and I love all of you. I will miss hanging out with Syd, Alyssa, Mel, and Em, we have been the fantastic five at dance for four years. Good luck to the senior dancers. Lead the team well and work hard every day.

To my fellow mentors this year, Cody, Ariel, and Bryant, you guys have been so fun to work with . Monday during 5th hour is the time I laugh the most, and that’s because of you guys. Talking about poop together makes my day!

To the newspaper staff, I hope you try to top our newspaper parties from this year. Maria, you will be a fantastic Editor-in-Chief, don’t ever doubt your abilities. To the rest of the staff, be the kind of reporters that care about your publication.

To my flute section: Rachel, I know you will be a great section leader, I wish you luck with you know who… And to everyone else, please listen to Rachel because I know she is going to work really hard to help all of you. I will come back and visit!

Last but not least, this is to any underclassmen girl: looks aren’t everything, you don’t have to put on layers of makeup and dress in extremely short clothing to get noticed. Worry about being beautiful on the inside first, and the outside beauty will shine because of that. I wish I could say I will miss high school but I am pretty much ready to move on with my life, so stay classy, HHS.

Madi, I freaking love you to death, despite the fact you are my sister and I’ve had no other choice but to live with you for 15 years, I sincerely mean this when I say it- you are truly my best friend and I’m going to miss you more than anyone. Though we’ve only had one year of highschool together, it’s undoubtedly been my favorite. Being able to see your wonderful face in the hall made my day. I’m going to miss everything from fighting with you over clothes to singing our hearts out for all the neighbors to hear. You’re my baby, don’t you ever forget I’m the first person you tell everything to. EVER. I love you buttercup.

Mary, it was clear that when we thought we were twins as kids we were going to be the best of friends. We’ve been through nearly everything together since we were two and being able to start the college chapter of my life with you excites me more than anything. I know we disagree all the time and are possibly the most sarcastic and rude people in the world, but I wouldn’t want us any other way. I love you, I can’t wait until August 15 when we start our own lives.

Abbey, I would not have been able to make it this year without you. I’m so glad that we’ve become so close, you’re extremely entertaining and you’re the only person I know who loves cats more than I do. I respect that. Next year is going to be so much fun, and overwhelming I’m glad I get to share that with you… especially the stress. J-school, here we come!

Luis, we’ve been through so much together and you are an extremely important part of my life. I was lucky to have you right there whenever I needed someone, no matter what time it was. That’ll be a little hard since I’ll be two hours away, but I guess it’s a good thing we have phones.

Alison and Crystal, you are seriously two of the funniest, most entertaining people in the world. I love you both to death and I’m going to miss spending a good majority of my day with you.

Ryan, the past year and a half have been crazy and at times we’ve hated each other, but none the less you’re still one of my closest friends.

To my staff, I love you all. Each one of you has made this year memorable and I will never forget all our drama, work nights, chair races down the halls or our fabulous parties. Maria, you’ll be excellent next year and if you ever need anything call me. Mr. Lewis, you’ve helped me so much throughout the years and have played a big role in my choice to continue pursuing this crazy idea of getting a journalism degree, and I sincerely thank you for that.

For everyone else, I’m sure you’ve made some impact on me somehow. Have fun with wherever you go, or end up doing. I truly hope that highschool is not the time of our lives, I hope there is so much more, but it’s been fun while it’s lasted.

It’s hard to believe you are actually leaving us and going off to college. We are going to miss you so much. You are our editor-in-chief, the best one in fact. Next year, the staff will not be the same. You always come into the room with a smile on your face and ready to work even if you don’t feel good. You are the one who everyone runs to for help or even someone just to talk to. You are more than nice and also amazingly beautiful. Do you remember when we had chinese for a work night dinner and we collectively spent almost 75 dollars just on food, not even counting the sonic drinks?! Man, our staff can eat a lot!

Thank you so much for putting up with all of us. You are there for us through thick and thin, and help us out whenever we need it. You never give up on any of us even when we were stressed out. You manage to fix all the mistakes, even the smallest things. We all love you and will never forget you, and the great memories we all have with you, in and out of the room.

We all give you the best of luck for your BIG freshmen year at MU. You will do great.

Love always and forever

- The Pride Staff

Victoria   News Editor

We all are going to miss the girl sitting at her computer making random comments about how much she hates boys. If you ever have any boy problems do not hesitate to give us a skype call and we will all be your Dr. Phil even when you can crush on boys without acting on it. You even said it yourself at a work night. No one will ever take your place, Tory. You are loving and amazingly sweet. You always bring color and brightness into the room even on the stressful days. You always have a smile on your face and never have a bad thing to say unless it was simply the truth. You know what you are doing when it comes to the news in the paper. Everybody will miss your delicious baked cookies on random days. (and you of course.) By the way we are all glad that you finally know where you are going to college. It drove us all crazy when you didn’t want to tell us.

We know you will be successful at everything you do.

Love always and forever

- The Pride Staff

Hannah & Sasha  Staff Writer & Copy Editor

While preparing for his big date night, the average senior boy would rub his blue eyes then head to the shower, where he would be careful not to hit his head on the shower curtain since he stands 5’10”. While washing his luscious brown hair, he reminisces on his childhood dream of becoming a professional athlete. After he gets out he slips on his favorite t-shirt- blue of course. In a quick panic he realizes he has no idea where to take her! He frantically calls his favorite teacher Mrs. Snowden, who recommends the senior boys’ favorite restaurants, Longhorn or Mongolian BBQ.

Girls-

In order to look perfect for her date, the average senior girl spends a great deal of her time styling her shiny brown hair. She then puts on the perfect amount of make-up to make her blue eyes pop. To make sure she has a fantastic outfit, she calls her favorite teacher Ms. Twidwell. She finally settles on a dress of her favorite color- purple. Her cat walking by reminds her of how much she wanted to be a vet as a child. When the doorbell rings, she slips on some heels since she only stands 5’4”, then runs out the door hoping he takes her to her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden.

The team has sixteen total players and three seniors: Brett Bearden, Thaddeus Messer and Marcus Roberg. Their current record is 3 and 10. Despite the rough start, Head coach Jade Samborski feels the team is making progress.

“They’re doing a good job of working together as a team, and are learning to play hard together,” said Samborski.

Junior Tanner Foerschler feels the team has room for improvement.

“The potential is there. We just need to stay focused. When we buy [into the game], we play fine,” said Foerschler.

The team’s next game will be a home against Grain Valley tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

Grumbling stomachs at the end of the day, the rate at which money disappears from many lunch accounts, and vocalized complaints prove that school lunch portions are not enough for many students.

Senior Garrett Streit describes school lunch portions blatantly.

“It sucks,” said Streit.

For many students, purchasing extra food takes a heavy toll on their lunch account balance. Junior Tanner Foerschler spends around $4.50 on lunch every day after purchasing extras like PopTarts, tator tots and Gatorade.

‘“I go back [through the line] like four times a day and get more food,” said Foerschler.

Senior Austin Chase, who spends about $5.00 a day after purchasing a normal lunch, a large milk, and a bag of chips, says even his mom complains about the serving sizes of school lunch.

“My mom says she’s paying too much for too little. I have to bring food from home [to eat along with my lunch],” said Chase.

Junior Bryce Youngblood also feels that students do not get enough food for what they pay.

“I’m tired of spending so much money every day,” said Youngblood.

Even if school lunches provide a decent amount of food, certain items are often deemed unsavory or inedible by students, such as the mystery carrots or the extra-crunchy tator tots which cannot be smashed even by a fist.

Senior Madison Kusmec feels many students are left hungry after lunch because much of the food served is not appetizing enough to eat.

“I only eat parts of it. I don’t eat the vegetables because they look like baby food,” said Kusmec.

Senior Austin Chase agrees, but eats all the food regardless of its taste.

“Even though it tastes bad, I eat it because I’m hungry,” said Chase.

According to the National School Lunch Program, school lunch nutrition and portion requirements are made at the federal level, but it is up to the school to decide what is served and how it is served. Meals must have a certain number of calories, provide one-third of the recommended daily value of certain vitamins and minerals, and be limited in fat.

The requirements will be changing next year, and minimum calorie levels will be adjusted from 785 to 750-850.

Jody Gilbert, the food manager of the high school cafeteria, says the lunch portion sizes are beyond the school’s control.

“We’re required by law to serve a certain amount- no more, no less. We’re a portion controlled kitchen,” said Gilbert.

Until changes are made at the federal level, students will have to make do with the portion sizes they receive.