Being community responsive means to "develop curriculum, pedagogy, assessment that is responsive to the needs of the community. In order to do that, you need to become an ethnographer of the community you serve... You got to talk to the ancestors about the history, the place, and the space where you are really doing the work."
~Jeff Duncan-Andrade
IHS Staff know and care about their students in order to engage them in learning. Our Sixer Spirit is all about understanding who we are as individuals, a campus, and a community. We connect learning to a student’s prior knowledge, background, life experience, and interests. Our staff works hard to engage, connect, and support in order to meet the diverse learning needs of all students. That is the Sixer Spirit!
At Independence, connecting students, families, and staff to build a network of support means fostering relationships and implementing strategies that prioritize long-term success, even if they're not immediately gratifying. Here are a few strategies we use to create a supportive campus environment:
1:1 teacher-student conferences about grades
Parent / Teacher / Counselor / Support staff conferences for student success
Saturday school opportunities to recover a full-day absence.
Let’s support each other. Hear from our own students and staff about how to start the semester off right!
“Don’t let the pressure of last semester weigh you down, it’s a new semester and make sure you stay on top of your studies but also go out and make new memories and experiences and be a part of the community that Independence has to offer.” ~Kaily Nguyen, Senior
“SLEEP! 8 hours of sleep minimum for teens is essential for proper brain function and development. Sleep is more important than ANYTHING else in my opinion. It's just not worth walking around school in a daze, and falling asleep in class, in order to watch one more video, play one more game, etc. You will be amazed how much FREE TIME you end up with if you get enough sleep so that you can pay attention, focus, and be productive during class! Less homework, less panic, less procrastination. If you have trouble getting to sleep, there are hundreds of strategies to try to improve sleep quality. Use the internet for ideas instead of scrolling TikTok and Instagram!” ~Ms. Debbie Huynh, Science Teacher
“When the going seems all uphill, just think of the view from the top.” ~Ms. Helmer, Science Teacher
“Use a planner or sticky notes to keep track of assignments, never procrastinate ever!!” ~Venus Mamitag, Junior
“Plan with the end goal in mind and work backwards from there. That was, if you can break up work into smaller steps, you can often end up working ahead, this will reduce your stress and create a better mindset to learn and be working productive.” ~Ms. Edwards, English and Theater Teacher
“My best advice to start the new semester is to stay on top of all of your work. You don't want to slack off for the first couple weeks because your grades are not what you want them to be. Slacking off will dig you in a hole and it will be hard to get out of that hole.” ~Ryjion Favila, Junior
And, always remember to “Celebrate our student's small victories! Often we expect students to make sweeping change in their lives overnight or correct behaviors immediately. Our children need encouragement and recognition to continue making healthy choices. Leave their old mistakes behind and help them look to the future.”
~Ms. Goltzer, Associate Principal
Independence High School PE teacher, Ms. Kanoe Roberts and her SJSU student teacher, Cole Nguyen hosted an amazing inclusion opportunity for our IHS Orthopedically Impaired (OI) SCCOE class. Our OI students joined Ms. Roberts’ second period PE class for a non-traditional games unit.
“The IHS students were wonderfully careful, inclusive and so friendly to our staff and students. Our students beamed and enjoyed the experience immensely. In fact, my student who typically doesn't prefer physical movement tasks, volunteered to be a "tagger" and actively participated in the whole session!!” ~Gena Gonzales, Adaptive PE Specialist, SCCOE
A big thank you to OI teacher, Mr. Z for his schedule flexibility and ensuring his class didn't miss out on the fun. The students are eager for another session and excited to strengthen this relationship through future opportunities.
PE Inclusion Workshop with K Roberts.movBy Robin E. Edwards, IHS Drama and English educator
Everyone loves a good sports game and the lessons it teaches about teamwork. The only issue with this is at the high school level, not everyone can make the team. In theater, there are places for everyone on and off the stage. Our recent production of Hadestown teen edition, over 80 students participated in making this project come to life.
While we all see the performers onstage, what many don’t realize is how much students contribute to this artform. The Ballet class helped to create the ballet they performed in the show, while Tech 1 students built, painted, decorated the sets and props. Theater Production students created and produced the sound reinforcement, lighting designs, coordinated costumes and engineered elements seen on stage. Volunteers from our band and orchestra programs worked to provide a live orchestra performance. While many other schools use backing tracks, IHS is very fortunate to have such talented and dedicated musicians who enhance the performance.
IHS also participated in the Rita Moreno awards, sponsored by Broadway San Jose. In recent feedback, one of the adjudicators noted after having seen various other high school productions of Hadestown, IHS obviously had a lot of student involvement in the overall production, which made a positive stand out compared to other schools who copied elements of the original production. The reviewer was so impressed she took down information from one of our production students to recommend them for future jobs in the area because of the original designs the student created.
Special thanks to Ms. MC, Mr. Ponticelli, Tina Bustamante, Quyen Vu, Francesca Truong, Alleha Le, and Ms. Dodd for all of their support in helping us get this production to the stage.
Yes, theater is called a 5,000 year old dying art form, but it is a place where everyone is welcomed and everyone can be a part of the collaborative team.
Originating in 2023 with an idea by alumni Nicholas Bui, the Calculus Bee is a student-organized academic competition, in which 32 participants solved calculus problems to progress through a bracket.
“This event is important to continue because it encourages school spirit and involvement. After the pandemic, class participation dropped. With this event, we tried to encourage people to come out on their own.” ~Vincent Nguyen, Senior
Shoutout to student organizers: Tony Dang, Vincent Nguyen, Haoyun Snow Luo, and Dan-vy Nguyen
Congratulations to our winner Wes Le and all the students who participated including: Prajwal Agrawal, Kevin Castillo, Isaac De Anda, Ojas Gandhi, Keith Ha, Katie Hion, Robert Ho, Nelle Huang, Q-Tang Huynh, Quang Huynh, Cruz Jimenez, Leo Khong, Brian Le, Chris Le, Tanish Kumar, Andy Mai, Ryan Matlob, Muntazir Mohamed, Ashraf Mohammed, Alexander Nguyen, Justin Phan, Chloey Serafica, Ajay Singh, Jaichen Tai, Danny Tat, Andre Tran, Kaylee Tran, Aldrin Udasco II, Oliver Weber, Ivan Xian, and Kendrick Yen.
The Sixer Spirit is all about working together to make our student-interests happen! Thank you to Ms. Trudl Wink and Ms. Usha Saraswathy, our staff members who supported this event.
Calculus Bee 2024.mp4Click HERE to hear to see the competition in action,
along with student reflections and lessons learned!
The corn hole platforms were constructed by the construction academy and Mr. Ellison.
The murals on the platforms were artistically created by the art students and Ms. Hart.
The bean bags were sewn by the Sewing Club!
We are so excited to have our PE students having fun with movement and all that made this happen!
"If there is joy in your classroom, then all sorts of stuff can happen. If kids are joyful, they're real, and they feel good about being there, it's a better existence for me and them."
Mr. Ryan Pryor, social science teacher, started doing student self-recorded videos similarly to the way an exit ticket or a quickwrite is given- as a way for the students to convey back information learned in class. Students ask an adult they know about a topic that was learned in class. They could ask a parent, teacher, or someone else-- anyone who brings them joy.
In class, students share their home videos in small groups. One student shared a video of his Dad, who happens to look just like him. His friends thought that was hilarious. The student also shared with his table that he really loved his family. His table chose his video to share with the whole class.
"The thing that inspired everyone in my classroom is that he loved his family.
Everyone thought that was amazing."
According to Mr. Pryor, "The parts where they are showing their family. It's just so sweet and cool. When [one of my students] shows her table her video, and [her classmates] see her dog, and her laughing with her dad, that's the best part of the whole video."
Mr. Pryor will start his classes off next year by doing these family engagement videos in the very beginning because 1) he get to see their faces, and 2) he gets to hear them talk because in class they don't often feel like they can talk a lot.
Thank you, Mr. Pryor, for sharing an amazing instructional strategy that builds classroom community, engages family, and helps students solidify content knowledge!
December 2023 - January 2024
Our Theater Department spread the Sixer Spirit through performances in the greater Bay Area, as well as with next year’s incoming freshman from Orchard and Sheppard Middle Schools!
In December, a few students produced and performed an original work entitled “The Christmas Cookie Show” for the Dickens Fair of San Francisco.
On January 20th, they performed “Carina Comes Out" at the Northern CA, International Thespian Society One Act Festival where they made a lot of new friends from other schools. Simon Gomez won outstanding performer in a One Act!
On January 25th, we invited 8th grade incoming students from Orchard and Sheppard Middle Schools. While visiting IHS, middle school students participated in Dance, Acting, and Technical Theater workshops.
To our students on stage and behind the scenes, we are proud of your Sixer Spirit!
Over the winter break, our 76er Cavalry Marching Band & Color Guard, our band director Mr. Ken Ponticelli, band boosters, families, and alumni traveled to London, England to represent Independence High School in the 2024 London, England New Year’s Day Parade!
In true Sixer Spirit, our students collaborated with Oak Grove High School to represent the East Side Union High School District in London. The 76er Calvary Marching Band continues to connect people in community- across our campus, across our district, across generations of IHS students, and now across the world.
It took a village of support to make this trip– a learning experience of a lifetime– a reality.
View photos of their trip HERE. Thank you to Joey Jam Flores, IHS Drum Instructor and Production Coordinator, for sharing the photos!
Watch the entire London Parade HERE, or forward to 2:55:01 - 3:00:00 to watch Independence and Oak Grove High School marching together in the parade!
