Peek Inside: Teaching and Learning! - Bridging Real World Experiences

Our teachers engage and support students by connecting their subject matter to meaningful, real-life contexts.

See how teachers engage students in learning that extends beyond the classroom, creating active and engaged citizens.

The IHS Chamber Strings and Winds Shines at Carnegie Hall in Unforgettable NYC Experience- Mr. Ken Ponticelli

April 2025, Mr. Ponticelli brought a talented group of young musicians on the trip of a lifetime as they traveled to New York City to perform at the iconic Carnegie Hall. Our IHS students not only delivered a stellar performance but also immersed themselves in the rich cultural tapestry of the city, exploring its landmarks, neighborhoods, and history.

Brooklyn Bridge

Carnegie Hall

Grand Central Station

Saturday (4/5) was filled with enriching experiences, including a Statue of Liberty Cruise, a walk through Lower Manhattan’s historic sites like Wall Street, St. Paul’s Chapel, and the 9/11 Memorial, as well as guided tours through Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greenwich Village. In the evening, students attended a performance by Alisa Weilerstein and the New York Philharmonic.

On Sunday (4/6), students participated in a strings and wind clinic and enjoyed lunch and a musical show at the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem. Students visited the Museum of Broadway and explored Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and the Theater District. Backstage moments came to life during the Radio City "Stage Door Tour," and a thrilling Broadway experience was had at the Tony-winning musical SIX.

On Monday, their journey continued with a visit to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and a stroll through Central Park. The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the performance at Carnegie Hall on Monday night. The ensemble took the stage with poise and passion, leaving the audience inspired and reminding everyone of the power of live music.

The group returned to San Francisco on Tuesday with unforgettable memories and a deeper appreciation for their craft. Their time in New York was more than a performance—it was a celebration of music, culture, and the magic that happens when talent meets opportunity.

Industry Partnership with Deloitte's Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE) Program- Ms. Chau Quach, Academy of Finance

MADE I & II Academy by Deloitte.

May 2023, January 2024, & April 2024

Over the past two years, AoF has been developing an industry partnership with Deloitte as the first high school group to pilot both the MADE Academy I & II. Deloitte's Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE) program aims to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the accounting profession by providing financial support and resources to attract diverse individuals and support them from high school through early college. Academy I began with a career exploration workshop with guided activities and discussion led by volunteers from Deloitte at our school. Last April, 46 students continued with Academy II hosted by Deloitte’s San Jose campus, where they spent a full day participating in workshops to dive deeper into Accounting, learning a career panel, taking an office tour, building their personal brand, networking during lunch, and getting valuable advice from a recruiter. In March 2025, AoF students look forward to returning to Deloitte and completing Academy III, the final workshop in the series.

MADE I

MADE II

“Thank you to all of the volunteers and people at Deloitte for making this field trip possible. I am grateful for the panelist that really opened up my eyes when I came to accounting and business in general. I enjoyed the one-on-one conversations I had that really gave me lots of insight into how workplace life is. I also appreciate the tour of the place which showed how Deloitte operates; lots of collaboration to get the work done. From this experience, I learned that accounting is not just reporting net and gross income on a spreadsheet, but it's more than that. Accounting comes in forms of financial support or funding ventures a business has. During a conversation with an accountant, I learned smart strategies when filing tax. In all, I appreciate the effort you all put into making this possible and for us to experience this.”

-Ashton K. Rufo, 11th grade

NTFE Innovation Day at Ernst & Young- Ms. Chau Quach, Academy of Finance

Friday, November 8th, 2024

Finance Academy Seniors in Economics of Small Business Ownership took a trip to Ernst & Young in San Francisco courtesy of NFTE. Students spent the day networking with EY employees, receiving feedback and support for their World Series of Innovation challenge ideas, participating in a 1-minute pitch contest, and touring the EY campus. Many were reluctant to leave after getting a taste of the corporate life after enjoying a corporate sponsored lunch, access to the employee amenities, and a stunning view of the city. Now, they await the results of their WSI entries.

Job Shadow Day at Franklin Templeton Investments- Ms. Chau Quach, Academy of Finance

Tuesday, November 19th, 2024

Thanks to Junior Achievement, Fifty AoF students had the chance to participate in a job shadow at Franklin Templeton Investments in San Mateo. Students began their day getting to know the company and receiving valuable advice and important questions to reflect on when preparing/presenting for future opportunities from a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner. Many have expressed a serious interest in the rotating internship offered by Franklin Templeton. After the presentation, students selected and joined job shadow groups based on the roles of company volunteers they were interested in, ranging from graphic designers to ETF product specialists to director of corporate treasury.

GAPP- German American Partnership Program, Herr Jamin Lynch

Since 1992, Independence High School and Ravensberger Gymnasium in Herford have been exchanging on a (mostly) yearly basis through the German American Partnership Program (GAPP). Over 700 students have participated in GAPP exchanges between our schools. The powerful lifelong impact on participants cannot be measured by any standardized assessment. GAPP's core values are:

Fostering international friendships
Developing intercultural competence and interculturality
Promoting German / English language study
Gaining perspectives, encouraging empathy, and building understanding

“One of the best things about being an exchange student in Germany is learning about how people live in different parts of the world and seeing how it varies from country to country.” ~Ellissa Cartwright, Junior

“My favorite part about being an exchange student is getting to know [Ellissa’s] family and building the connection because it’s so beautiful to be welcomed into their home, eat their food, see what they love to do, sit in their car, get to know their dog, everything like that…Just the connection you can build interculturally. I love that.” ~Tadeja, Ellissa’s exchange student from Germany

“I want our exchange students to know that San Jose and Independence is mixed culture, where there is a lot of ethnicities, race, and cultures, and this is a really good thing. You don’t have to travel far to meet other people and new ideologies, cultures, and people, and that’s really a good thing.” ~Huyen Ha, Junior

GAPP March 2024_2.mp4

23 of our Independence High School students are serving as host families for 23 German students! Thank you to: Juan Camilo Agudelo, Ayesha Camp, Ellissa Cartwright, Leticia Chen, Jacob Cingolani, Issac De Anda, Katrina Dinh, Huyen Ha, Diep-Van Pham Nguyen, Owen Rosslee, Tyler Tran, Jiachen Tai, Chloe Truong, Oliver Weber, Ashraf Mohammed, Amy Bradford, Angelina Camacho, Ellissa Cartwright, Sebastian Castro, Camille Fuqua, Areli Ramirez, Isabel Reinke, Megan Tran.

*Thank you to Herr Lynch and Ms. Dang (coordinating teachers for GAPP) who traveled to Germany with our students in the summer of 2023 and are currently hosting the German Teacher-Coordinators.

Change Makers: Student Equity Council meets with Associate Superintendent Ms. Marquez

Our students are engaging in community discussion to positively impact the student experience at East Side! On February 27, 2024, Associate Superintendent Ms. Teresa Marquez and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Ms. Martha Guerrero met with members of the IHS Student Equity Council. At this meeting, students learned about ESUHSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and gave input and feedback as to how the district responds to the following:

What are the system responses needed to ensure ALL students achieve at high levels and how do we ensure those system responses are prioritized with funding and resources including the LCAP funding ($20M) allocated for our target populations (Foster Youth, Homeless Youth, ELL, Low-Income)?

LCAP quick bits of information:

LCAP stands for Local Control and Accountability Plan - for more information please visit https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc/
The LCAP is a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities
The LCAP funding allocated to our district is approximately $20 million
Goals and action items are aligned to the following areas:
- College and Career Readiness
- Graduation Rate
- Increased Achievement for English Language Learners, Foster, and Homeless Youth
- Decrease Student Absences
- Decrease Suspensions

LCAP Community Guide (Final).pdf

Based on student, staff, and community input in over 42 data gathering meetings, our LCAP was created for 2025 - 2027.

Construction Academy-- Learning Partnership with Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

On Friday, March 10, Mr. Ellison and the Construction Academy welcomed Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to 3rd and 4th period.

WT IHS March 2023.mp4

Whiting-Turner hosted three station rotations that allowed the students to learn about construction management and the scheduling process, virtual design, ask questions about the industry, and hear stories of how younger employees experienced different pathways from high school to construction management.

At the end of the workshop, students participated in a “Plus/Delta” evaluation feedback session, a practice that the company uses after all events and milestones, as well as heard some advice on how to stay involved in school and community activities to keep developing skills that employers look for in prospective employees!

Academy of Finance Mentorship Program

By Chau Quach, Academy of Finance Coordinator

The Academy of Finance at Independence High School kicked off the third year of their mentorship program in January! Finance Academy juniors and seniors who sign up for the program get paired up with volunteer mentors from a variety of professional backgrounds in the local community (sometimes even from the East Coast!). Pairings are made based on student interest in a certain profession or based on student needs if possible (depends on volunteer availability).

Mentor sessions are completely virtual and total about 6-7 sessions. Students meet with their mentors for about 1-1.5 hours each session. An agenda and activities are provided for each meeting and focus on topics such as self-esteem, smart goals, career explorations, job shadow experience, resume and mock interview support.

Our mentors have ranged in professions such as chief finance officer, accountant, small business owners, product design engineer, art director, product manager, nurse, scientist, architect, lawyer, chef, and more. Companies represented by our mentors include: Google, Apple, Excite Credit Union, Microsoft, Cradlepoint, Meta, Deloitte, Levi's, Nike, Paving Your Way Forward, La Papillion, and more. Since 2020, we've had 70 students and 70 mentors participate in the program. Several pairs have reported back that they still keep in touch with each other.

As an added bonus, we have a few Sixer alumni (Jessica & Jocelyn Yu, Chelsey Cartwright (Prewitt) , Sabrina Truong, Lam-Anh Le, Kathryn Coehlo, etc) return to participate and give back to their community each year!

IHS Solar Suitcase Club present the Water Walk 2023 and 2024

waterwalkad copy.mp4

Mr. Stone and 2 former IHS students, Amy Hua and Kyle Mondina, traveled to Kenya in 2017 to deliver and deploy solar suitcases. In the village that they were living in, they had to carry HEAVY pales of water (33 pounds!) for MILES back and forth every day IN THE HEAT with the women in the village. This created a massive impression on Mr. Stone and the 2 students because here in the U.S., we can easily get fresh, usable water right out of the tap. And yet in other countries around the world, people still struggle to get the essentials they need, especially water.

IHS Solar Suitcase wanted to bring this same experience back home by creating the Water Walk. The Water Walk serves as an educational event spreading awareness of the scarcity of water and the importance of teaching others about water conservation and drought. We aim to give students and teachers alike an experience to walk in solidarity with almost 2.2 billion people around the world aiming for one necessity everyone needs to survive: WATER! All proceeds at the event go straight back into constructing and deploying Solar Suitcases to developing countries in need of energy.

Participants at this event walk a mile course around campus carrying buckets of water. Throughout the course, participants have to memorize facts about water conservation and drought. To complete the course, and prove they have learned something, participants will take a test on the water facts and have a chance at receiving PRIZES! After completing the course, participants will enjoy food, games, performances, and other activities at the Water Resource Fair!

All to share a crucial message: WATER IS LIFE!

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Thanks to everyone who documented this event, who aided in the preparation of the event, those who sponsored the event with prizes, and to all who participated! We hope that next year's Water Walk will be even better!

~ IHS Solar Suitcase 2021-2022, Check out the 2021-2022 Video HERE.

Photos by Darrell Salinas and Inde ASB; Videos by Darrell Salinas and Kyle Mar; Drone Footage by Matthew Guardiano

Ms. Romo's Government class field trip to San Jose City Hall

Outside SJ City Hall Rotunda

The Council Chambers

Meeting the Mayor

Ms. Romo has been able to take her Government classes on field trips to San Jose City Hall. What better way to learn about local government than to visit your own? Students toured the facilities with a guide, learned about how decisions are made at the city level, and even got to meet (now former) Mayor Sam Liccardo!

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