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Please Read the Announcement That Follows This Copy of the EPIC.

         The SM West Epic Vol IV No 17  February 4, 1966               

Smith To Be Principal At Junior High in Fall:  Mr. Charles Smith, vice-principal, has been appointed by the Board of Education to be principal of a junior high school, starting August 15, 1966.      According to Mr. Smith, two principalships are now open.  Mr. Smith does not know to which junior high he will go.  Mr. Richard Trast, vice-principal of SM East, has been appointed to a similar position.      Mr. Smith explained that the scheduling of classes, the assignment of rooms, and the editing of a teachers’ manual are among the duties of a principal.      According to Mr. Smith, the difference between junior high and high school is one of size, activities, and maturity level of the students.      “The product is about the same; only it comes in smaller packages,” he said.      Mr. Smith stated that he regrets leaving West, but that he is looking forward to his new job.  He said that just now he was waiting patiently and getting used to the idea.

Philharmonic Tickets On Sale In Office:  The Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra will present a concert here at West Feb. 21 at 8 p.m., in the orchestra’s first appearance in Johnson County in eight years.  Hans Schweiger will conduct.      Tickets are on sale in the office at West.  Shawnee Mission district students, their families and friends, may purchase them for $1.50.  Approximately 1,220 tickets have been made available.      Mr. David Circle, West’s instrumental music instructor, remarked that this concert is to be a “semi-test.”  If sufficient interest is shown in the program, future concerts will be planned.

Deadline Feb. 12 Set For Art Contest Entries:  Emery, Bird, Thayer of Kansas City, Missouri, will again sponsor its annual Scholastic Art Contest.  Entries will be displayed downtown Feb. 28 to March 12.  Deadline for entries is Feb. 12.      “All work entered must be original,” stated Mr. James Wheat, art teacher.  “Only students enrolled in art or crafts may enter the contest,” he said.      Gold achievement keys and merit certificates will be awarded as regional honors.  Regional finalists will  have their work sent to New York for additional exhibition.      National Honors include cash awards, gold medals, and scholarships.  Students also have the privilege of seeing their work displayed at the National High School Art Exhibition.      Special cash prizes will also be awarded.  Hallmark Cards, Inc., offers the Hallmark honor prize of $100 cash for the best painting or drawing from each region.  A $50 Strathmore purchase award is also given.      Entry fields in the contest include painting, drawing, printmaking, design, sculpture crafts and photography.

Tryouts Start Monday For Speech Festival:  West’s speech and drama students are getting ready for this year’s festivals.  On Feb. 7,8, and 9, tryouts for the openings available to West at the eight forensic tournaments will be held in the little theater.      Areas open to participants are original oration, extemporaneous speaking, informative speaking, dramatic and humorous reading, oral interpretation of prose and poetry, due acting, and one-act plays.      Mr. Rawley Farnsworth, drama teacher at SM East, will be the judge for tryouts.  The students will be scored on a contest rating system, and the top ones will represent West.      Fifty-seven West students attended the Speech and Drama Clinic at Baker University last Saturday.  They were learning about Speech and Drama Festivals.      Festival events were presented by high schools and then critiqued.      Debby Young, a senior from West, gave a model extemporaneous speech.

Viking Variety Show Presents West Talent in Four Acts, Skits:  The Viking Variety Show was presented in assemblies this week.  The same acts were presented to all three classes.      The show was sponsored by Mr. Reynold Davis.  Mr. Bill Coplin acted as advisor.      The four main acts were a folk singing group, a drum ensemble, which featured a number entitled “Polyideaism,” Roy Kirkendoll at the piano, and “Jim and the Bitter Ends.”      Seniors Mike Coleman and Mike Cooper acted as masters of ceremony.  They were selected in tryouts held in December.      Thespians did skits between acts to carry out the “Peanuts” theme.  “Jim and the Bitter Ends” wrote a song entitled “Charley Brown” which also tied in with the theme.      Entertainment before and after the talent show was provided by the Vicounts, West’s dance band, directed by Ron Williams.      Thane Vieselmeyer headed the committee which presented the Viking Variety Show.

Carol, Attendants Crowned Friday:  In a half-time ceremony at the West-Washington game last Friday night, cheerleader Carol Cavagnol was crowned Basketball Sweetheart of 1966.      First attendant was Debbie Doak, and second attendant was Leslie Alagna.      The annual Sweetheart Dance was held Saturday night in West’s gym.       The Vicounts played.  Attendance was large, despite the sub-zero temperatures.      Decorations at the dance and coronation were on a red and white Valentine theme.

Extra and Curricular   Personal Relationship Rewarding, says Debate Coach Hayes   by Sue Wyrick:  “The thing I like most about debate coaching is the thing I dislike most!”  This was the confusing statement made by Mr. Michael Hayes, debate mentor who led his charges to victory at State recently.      Mr. Hayes, in his fourth year of coaching debate at West, further explained that being gone on debate trips every weekend gets old, but it gives him a chance to know each debater as a person.      Before coming to West, Mr. Hayes did his undergraduate work at Kansas University, and received his BA degree in Business Administration.  He joined the Army after graduation.      After the Army, he went to Emporia State Teacher’s College to do graduate work in English, speech, and drama.  It was here that he decided to become a teacher.      Again, he emphasizes that the thing he likes about coaching debate is “the personal closeness that is developed with the debaters.”      Mr. Hayes was himself a high school debater.  He did not debate in college at either KU or Emporia, however.

Six Talented Twirlers Lead the Band:  The band has six special members to be proud of.  They are six girls who not only represent the band, but all of West.  They are the majorettes, or twirlers.  The EPIC would like for all Vikings to get to know these girls and understand a little more what they do and what they are like.      Cheryl Daily, senior, has been the head twirler for two years.  She has been twirling for seven years, and has twirled at West for three.      Cheryl has been featured several times in the last two years at football and basketball games.  She was featured at a 1964 Chief’s football game, and at a 1965 game with the feature twirler from SM East.      She also twirls in contests, where she has won several awards.      Cheryl is this year’s Pep Club secretary.  She was the 1965 Homecoming Second Attendant.      During the summer she teaches baton.     Cathi Jones, senior, has been twirling for six years.  She has been a Viking majorette for two years.      Cathi won the intermediate twirling award at a clinic in Monnet, Missouri, last summer.      Sometimes she twirls for various groups such as scouts.  She also teaches baton.      How does she like twirling?  “I love it!” she exclaimed.      Sue Carter, senior, has been a Viking twirler for two years.  She has been twirling “off and on since I was about three,” she explained.      Sue likes twirling and, like Cheryl and Cathi, she gives baton lessons.      She was a 1965 Homecoming candidate.      Jacque Fugit, junior, has twirled for West both her years here.  She has been twirling for six years.      Besides twirling for the band, she twirls for Job’s Daughters, a branch of the Masons.      Jacque enjoys twirling,  “I like swimming and other sports, to,” she commented.      Debbie Hertel, junior, has been twirling four years.  This is her first year as a West majorette.      She says she enjoys twirling.  Last summer she attended a clinic at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.      Debbie’s other interests include horseback riding and swimming.      Gerry Tate, alternate, has the big job of learning each girl’s part in every show they do.      “I practice as much as I can,” she said.      She twirls once a week as one of three majorettes for a drum and bugle corps at the Overland Park American Legion.      Gerry has been twirling for five years, and has twirled at West for two.      She is also West’s sports correspondent for the KANSAN, a daily newspaper.      The girls practice each day during the regular band session, fourth and fifth hours.  Now they are practicing for a half-time show at an upcoming basketball game.      The majorettes work together during the summer, too.      “Sometimes I make up the routines,” stated Cheryl “and sometimes we do them together.”      The twirlers are chosen in the spring to twirl the next fall.  Mr. David Circle, band director, conducts try-outs, and selection of the girls.

Banquet Theme To Be ‘From Troy with Love’:  Gods and goddesses, senators, and slaves will participate in the annual Latin Banquet Feb. 22.  Fourth year students will be gods, second and third year students senators, and first year students will serve as slaves.      The theme this year is “From Troy with Love.”      Skits built around the fall of Troy will be presented at the banquet, and the traditional dancers will perform.

Addis Ababian Goes American:  Tuesday, Jan. 25, was not an important day for most people.  It held the usual disappointments, smiles and studies.      For Mickey Khoury, however, it was a very special day.  He and his brother Richard (Rico) became citizens of our country.      Mickey’s family formerly lived in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.  He was born in Cairo and has lived in Athens and Paris.      “My first impression of America was New York.  I remember being scared by the bigness of everything.”      That was 4 ½ years ago.  Since then he has played an active role in school activities.  Whether participating in Student Congress or campaigning for a friend (or running himself) Mickey has shown enthusiasm.      On becoming a citizen Mickey states simply “It feels great!”      In being initiated into the club he was run through a gauntlet including oral and written exams, plus a formal swearing-in.      Every moment is important to someone; the 25^th was Mickey’s.

Wildcats Fall in Wake of Vikings: Doug Jackson Stars with 37 Points:  Doug Jackson led the Shawnee Mission West Vikings to a 68-51 victory over the Washington Wildcats with a 37 point barrage here Jan. 28.      Although Jackson scored more than half of his team’s points, he received valuable help from his teammates.  In the first quarter, Jackson shot in only four points, but Charles Keltner and Steve Nelson took up the slack as they hit on five of six field goal attempts.  At the first quarter mark, West had outscored the Wildcats 20-7.      In the second quarter, it was all Jackson, as he scored 17 of the team’s 18 points, including seven of seven from the charity stripe.      The second half was much the same as the first.  Again Jackson led the scoring brigade, but when the Wildcats sagged in, Leo Harris and Dave Dahl took up the slack with some accurate shooting.

Aquamen Fifth In League Meet:  Viking swimmers took fifth place at the Sunflower League swim meet at Wyandotte.  SM East took first place.      Bob Hines was a double winner, winning the 100-yard and 60-yard freestyle races.  Mike Jardis placed third in the 400.  Medley relay team placed fifth in the medley relay.

Vikettes Perform Tomorrow Night:  Tomorrow night the Vikettes will perform during the halftime at the East-West basketball game.  They will do a marching routine crested by Cindy Houtman, Linda Ledford, and Julie Walsh.      The girls will dance to the music of “Peter Gunn”.  Susy Bohn, Patty Flynn, and Karen Lyerla composed the dance.      The Vikettes have been invited to perform at the University of Kansas basketball game on Feb. 12.      Marching clinics will start about the middle of March.  “Any junior or sophomore girls who are interested in trying out for the drill team for next year are urged to attend these clinics,” stated Mrs. Ditz, drill team sponsor.