Photos by Ron Morris
By Michele Dotson firstname.lastname@example.org
Eleven students from Kingsley College in Redditch, Worcestershire, England got a Big-I welcome on Thursday, October 24 for their first day of a two week school exchange.
Students spent their first day getting acquainted with their peer guides, enjoying breakfast provided by Chick-fil-A, and Krispy Kreme, and meeting their hostess, Ms. Katie Willett, as well as school principal, Amy Dellinger.
Willett, a US History and seminar teacher in Independence High School’s Academy of International Studies (AIS) program, has been leading the exchange for the past four years.
“The Kingsley students are here for two weeks, and we will go over there for two weeks in the spring,” says Willett.
Mark Atherton of Kingsley College has also been a part of the program for several years.
“This is my seventh time visiting Independence,” says Atherton, “but the fourth time we’ve had the exchange.” […]
Students at Independence High School participated in homecoming week from October 14-18. Festivities wrapped up at school on Friday afternoon with an indoor parade and cheering for a Friday night victory against Garinger.
The band marched through the halls led by the varsity cheerleaders on Friday afternoon before school let out.
Games and activities such as Corn […]
By Leah Schmalz
What are rocks? Fourth grade students at Bain Elementary learned the answer to that question last Thursday morning, thanks to a group of students from Independence High School. They spent an hour at the elementary school giving science presentations on rocks.
The IHS students split up into small groups. Each group gave a presentation in a different fourth grade class. They passed out guided notes and presented a slideshow that covered how rocks are weathered, the three types of rocks and how they are formed, and the uses of rocks in everyday life.
In Pam Spilde’s class, IHS freshman Josh Blue passed around samples of coal, gneiss, and mica. He explained that if the stu- dents were able to press the coal hard enough between their hands, they could turn it into a diamond. “Don’t try it, though,” he said.
“What are some of the uses of rocks?” asked fresh- man Ashley Gildersleeve. The students quickly rattled off gravel roads, arrowheads, countertops, and houses. One student jokingly added “throwing” to the list. […]