April 19, 2017 e-Newsletter
A FOND FAREWELL
Congratulations to our longtime faculty and staff members who will be retiring from Independence after the school year.
CAROL BERGNER
Admission Coordinator
27 Years of Service
From Open Houses, to school tours, to inquiries, to data entry, Mrs. Bergner so ably coordinated the Admission Office for all these years and did so in a seemingly effortless manner. She has always been ready and willing to take on more, and we will miss her kind, smiling face and calm, unassuming demeanor.
TONI WRIGHT
Fourth-Grade Teacher
22 Years of Service
Mrs. Wright started her career at Independence as an Early Childhood Aide and also taught first grade before landing in her current fourth-grade position. In this role, she's been able to hone her love of Delaware history and now U.S. geography, as well as all things mathematical as our lower school math curriculum coordinator. She can also add Solomon Scholars, a program that she created herself, to her list of accomplishments.
DIANE FINOCCHIARO
Middle School Math
20 Years of Service
Mrs. Fino joined us from the college level and has certainly succeeded in making math meaningful for our middle schoolers, both as a teacher and moderator for Math League. Students will certainly never forget her hula hooping skills and passion for the Philadelphia Phillies!
DEBBIE DEGLIOBIZZI
Early Childhood II Aide
15 Years of Service
Mrs. D's personal goal throughout her tenure at Independence has been to make sure that the children in her care have a productive and happy day, that way she knows they will want to return to school the next day. We can safely say that she achieved this very goal day in and day out!
We sincerely thank all four of these wonderful women for a combined 84 years of service to Independence, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
ON OUR WEBSITE
- Eighth graders wow crowd on Capstone Project Night (with gallery)
- Seventh & eighth graders earn 4th-place team finish at Science Olympiad States
- Fifth-seventh graders combine for 19 medals at Science Olympiad States
- Recent graduate Neel Anand hosts #firsthack coding event at Independence
- MATHCOUNTS team places 2nd at states; 7th grader Parth Rustagi advances to nationals
- "Indy Insights," the official Independence blog
REMINDERS
2017 Parent Survey
Every two years, we ask our parents to provide us feedback about our school. You have recently received an email from Independent School Management (ISM) with a survey link that we hope you will complete. Your input helps us grow!
May Fair tickets
This year's "May Fair" will take place on Sunday, May 7, from noon-4 p.m. Advance tickets are now available, either by clicking here for the sales form or by purchasing them online.
"SPIRIT WEEK" 2017
(April 24-28)
Daily Themes
MONDAY: Indy Spirit
Wear Indy colors or gear.
TUESDAY: Mismatch
This is the day for stripes and plaids and other mismatched outfits.
WEDNESDAY: Disney
Wear your favorite Disney gear or spend the day dressed as your favorite Disney character.
THURSDAY: Color Wars
EC – red K – orange 1st – blue 2nd – pink 3rd – purple 4th – yellow
5th – green 6th – rainbow 7th – tie-dye 8th – black
Faculty & Staff – blue
FRIDAY: Pajama Day
Has the week of fun worn you out? Go comfy in your PJs.
Have fun with the daily themes! You may choose clothing out of dress code that fits the theme, but please remember that those choices must be appropriate for school.
UPCOMING EVENTS
4/19 - Family Fun Night: "Math Mania" from 6:10-8 p.m. (Gore Auditorium & Fasick Gallery) -- click here to register!
4/20 - Class Picture Day
4/21 - 39th Founders' Day
4/24-28 - Spirit Week
(all school)
- Monday: Indy Spirit
- Tuesday: Mismatch
- Wednesday: Disney
- Thursday: Color Wars (by grade)
- Friday: Pajama Day
4/27 - First-grade field trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square from 9:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
4/27 - Spring Choral & Stage Band Concert at 7 p.m. (Gore Auditorium)
5/1-5 & 5/8 - ERBs
5/7 - "May Fair" from noon-4 p.m. -- click here for advance ticket sales form or purchase them online
Click here for the 2017-18 calendar at a glance.
For the full 2016-17 school calendar, click here.
Preschool Playtime is as popular as ever, and we have added an additional session on April 25 to accommodate those on our waitlist. Please click here if you're interested in registering for the April 25 session of this FREE program.
Did you know that Extended Day offers a variety of special programs throughout the school year? Click here for all the details.
Click the logo above to visit the spring "Teams & Results" page, where you can stay up-to-date on all the latest news and recaps about Patriot athletics!
CELEBRATING ALL THINGS LATIN
On April 11, our seventh- and eighth-grade Latin students traveled to Upland Country Day School in Kennett Square for "Latin Day." The students celebrated all things Latin by competing in such events as Chariot Racing, Capture the Golden Fleece, the Golden Apple Race, the Herculean Holdup, the Stygian Stomp and the Three Sisters' Eye Toss.
After a quick break for lunch and some Latin-themed cake, there was a costume contest, followed by Certamen, a Latin Quiz Bowl competition. The event concluded with an awards presentation, where each student received their laurels for participating in the day's activities.
HANDS-ON SCIENCE
On April 11, sixth graders visited the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore and learned about every branch of science! Each exhibit is interactive, which gave them hands-on experiences with various scientific theories. Students had the chance to lie on a bed of nails to test weight distribution, and they also capped their study of the sun by observing different satellite images and by watching a planetarium show called "Solar Quest." The planetarium presentation discussed the upcoming solar eclipse on Aug. 21, perfectly tying in to Mrs. Copeland and Mrs. Ferrell's eclipse lesson the week of the field trip.
MAKER AND MARKETPLACE
On April 7, fourth grade visited the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library for Maker and Marketplace, which served as a supplement to the Economic & Entrepreneurial Education (E3) and history curricula. Local and global economies, geography and history were studied as the students explored the roles of craftsmen and shopkeepers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
GREAT SCHOOLS, CLEAN STREAMS
Please help us continue promoting environmental awareness at Independence! New Castle County's "Great Schools, Clean Streams 2017 Pledge Drive" is wrapping up, and we're asking you to take the online pledge to keep harmful cooking grease and oils out of Delaware's waterways. By doing so, you will also be helping our school to potentially win money! Spread the word and click here to go online today to sign the pledge. The contest ends this Thursday, April 20, so please don't delay!
Registration is live on our new Summer at Independence website!
Please visit www.SummerAtIndependence.org and browse our diverse variety of camp options in one of three easy ways:
- By category
- By grade level
- By week
Don't delay on planning your child's 2017 Summer at Independence!
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