School’s out for Summer!

On behalf of the entire Independence Middle School staff, I want to wish all of you a safe, restful, and joyful summer break. You’ve earned it!



As we close the year, I also want to take a moment to personally thank each and every one of you. These past seven years have been nothing short of incredible. Serving as the principal of IMS has been an honor and a privilege—one I will always cherish. Together, we’ve built a community grounded in care, growth, and pride, and I’m so grateful to have been part of it.

Thank you for the support, the memories, and the trust. Until next time-Thank you!

-Jamie

State Testing Results

We wanted to inform you that the spring state test scores for Math and ELA (all grades) and Science (grades 5 and 8) have been released. You can now view your child's results through their ProgressBook account.

Official family score reports will be sent home once they are provided by the state.

To view your child's scores online, please follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to your child’s ProgressBook account.
2. Select Menu
3. Click on Assessment Scores
4. Choose the appropriate assessment:

You will also see an option to view Older Scores if you'd like to look at previous years' results.

If you need help logging in or have any questions about the scores, feel free to reach out to the school office!

SPS EZ Pay Update

We want to inform you of an important change regarding our district’s online payment platform. EZPay, our current provider, has been acquired by i3Education, more commonly known as PaySchools. As a result of this acquisition, EZPay will no longer be supported and will officially shut down on Friday, June 6, 2025. After this date, it will no longer process payments for the district.

We are transitioning to PaySchools, a modern and user-friendly platform that is widely used in neighboring school districts. The new system will go live on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. PaySchools will offer enhanced functionality and an improved experience for families.

Please note the following:

Student balances will transfer over from EZPay and will appear in PaySchools Central once

• Do not submit any payments through EZPay after Friday, June 6, 2025.
• Look for additional details and guidance from us soon.

We appreciate your patience and support as we work to make this transition as seamless as possible for our school community. Your cooperation is essential in helping us implement this important upgrade.

Thank you!

IMS PTO

Dear Independence Middle School Families,

The IMS PTO Executive Board wants to hear from you!

As we plan for the upcoming school year, your feedback and ideas are essential in helping us better serve our students, staff, and school community.

We’ve created an online survey to gather your thoughts on what’s working well, what could be improved, and what new initiatives you’d like to see from the PTO. Whether you’re a regular volunteer or haven’t had the chance to get involved yet, your voice is important.

Why take the survey?

• Help shape future PTO events and programs
• Share your experiences and suggestions
• Let us know how we can better support you and your child

It only takes about 10 minutes, and your input will directly impact the direction of our PTO efforts. Click the "Take Survey" link below to take the online survey!

Thank you for being a vital part of the IMS community. We truly appreciate your time and support!

Your IMS PTO Executive Board

Vy Mancini, President

Felicia Buntura, Vice President

Natalie McAllister, Treasurer

Sara Dlugolinski, Corresponding Secretary

Melissa Knezevic, Recording Secretary

Nikita Schmiedel, Ways & Means

Fall Sports Athletes

I am reaching out because we are offering concussion baseline testing to incoming 7th and 8th grade students participating in an IMS-sponsored sport for the upcoming school year. I wanted to send this information out to you since this is a new venture and in case you receive any questions from students/parents. 

This year's concussion baseline testing is this week - Thursday, JUNE 5th - 9am-12pm at IHS. Testing will be in the IHS computer lab. Testing is not mandatory, but optional for students participating in a school-sponsored sport for the 2025-26 school year. We will, however, be making every effort to capture every student participating in football this upcoming fall.

I know this is last-minute and families likely have conflicts and that is ok. I plan to have a second day later in July to catch students who may have conflicts for this week. More to come in mid-July for a testing day likely in the last week of July.

Below is the schedule. Students are welcome to come in at any time from 9am-12pm if their team time doesn't work. There are high school groups coming in every 30 minutes through 11:30am. The schedule just allows us to minimize students having to wait around to test. Testing will take about 45-60 minutes total. 

9:00 AM - Cheer/Girls Volleyball

9:30 AM - Wrestling/Football

10:00 AM - Boys Basketball 

10:30 AM - Girls Basketball

Again, this is new this year, and we are trying it based on injury history and several parent requests. Please reach out if you have questions/concerns.

Thanks,

Olivia

8th-Grade Parents

Dear Parents and Students, 

I am sending along some information for summer service hours, if interested. Eighth graders attending IHS can start earning service hours for graduation the day after they graduate from IMS. Forms can be turned in to me in the fall, or emailed to me over the summer. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the person listed directly. If you have an event/organization that is looking for volunteers you can email me at kwhitacre@independence.k12.oh.us

Thank you,

Mrs. Whitacre

Community Service Coordinator

iCan Bike Cleveland

iCan Bike Cleveland is looking for volunteers June 9th-June 13th in the Independence Field House. If interested, please Rob Fellinger at robfellinger@yahoo.com  

See attached flyers.

Cornerstone of Hope

Ongoing

Gift Shop Brightening: any day of the week before 4:00pm: GIFT SHOP BRIGHTENING

Baking for our support groups: BAKING!

You can apply to be a Cornerstone of Hope Youth Volunteer at this link: Youth Volunteer Application and Sue will contact you or your parents for opportunities to volunteer at our bereavement center where our mission and goal is “Never Grieve Alone”. To find out more about our organization, please go to Cornerstone of Hope. For questions, call Sue Mackovjak, Volunteer Coordinator, at Cornerstone of Hope: (216) 524-4673 EXT 234.

Summer Playground Volunteers Needed

This six week program is a great way to give back to your community and ensure children (and you!) have a fantastic summer! Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays: June 17-July 24 (8:30AM-2:30PM). Training June 9th, 10th, & 16th. Contact Erin Spencer at spencere@independenceohio.org for additional information.

Senior Resident Assistance Senior residents in the City of Independence are often looking for hig

school students to help with tasks in their yard or around their house.

Hours will be awarded only for service for which a student is NOT paid.

Some of the tasks you may apply for are listed below:

Car Washing

Cleaning Gutters

Decorating for the Holidays

Dog Walking

Hedge Trimming

Lawn Mowing

Leaf Raking

Moving Boxes/Objects

Residents are responsible for providing equipment for task completion

Your information will be given to the resident requesting assistance with the tasks with which you indicated an interest in helping.

The resident will contact you to discuss the task and to make arrangements for task completion.

You will complete the task and ask the resident to sign your Community Service Form.

If interested, contact: Jennifer Zisk-Vitron zisk-vitronj@independenceohio.org

Independence Library:

Play the Summer Reading Game: Color My World

June 2- July 31st

Teen Stop-Motion Animation 2 Day Program Ages 11-18

Wednesday & Thursday June 11^th & 12th: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Age group:  Teens Grade 6-12

Create your own movie using Stop Motion for iPad during this 2-day workshop! Bring a flash drive or we can email your video to you. Bring your own figures to animate or use the ones we have on hand. Registration required.

VolunTeens - Ages 11-18

Tuesdays, June 17th July 22^nd and Wednesday August 6th : 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Age group:  Ages 11-18

Volunteer at the library, earn service hours. We will work on a project benefiting the library or for a need in the community. Please register.

Teen Screen Printing 2-day workshop - Ages 11-18

Wednesday, July 30 & Thursday July 31^st : 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Age group:  Teens (Grade 6-12)

Learn the creative process of screen printing. 2-day workshop. Bring your own plain T-shirts or use a tote bag that we provide. July 30th creating the stencil and July 31st printing day.

Registration required and opens on Sunday, June 1 2025 at 9:00am

Make crepes! - Grades 6-12

Saturday, August 09: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Age group:  Teens (Grade 6-12)

Crêpes are light, flexible pancakes just waiting for you to dress them up with tasty fillings. Join us to learn the art of cooking, flipping and filling these French classics. Bon appétit! Registration required and opens on Sunday, June 1 2025 at 9:00am

Independence Branch of Cuyahoga County Public library

www.cuyahogalibrary.org

6361 Selig Dr. Independence Ohio 44131

216.447.0160

Dottie Louis

BSL I Teen

Cuyahoga County Public Library

Independence Branch

6361 Selig Dr. / Independence OH 44131-4926

p 216.447.0160 / f 216.447.1371

cuyahogalibrary.org