|
|
|
Photo Galleries
Independence, MO —
As student council president at Van Horn High School, Trey McNally did not have much of a choice of whether to participate in the 2012 Project Shine event. Both the student council and National Honor Society organizations had a large contingency of students volunteer.
But that would not have mattered.
“I love going to Van Horn. I love my school,” said McNally, who will be a senior this fall. “It is amazing to see how far this school has come in five years. It is terrific to see how many people in our community care about the students. They want to make sure we get a good education and have the right place to do it in. This amount of participation shows how united Independence truly is.”
More than 1,200 volunteers participated in the fifth annual Project Shine Saturday. Just as the name suggests, volunteers painted, cleaned and “shined” five different schools during the daylong event. This year’s selected schools were Thomas Hart Benton, Santa Fe Trail and Spring Branch elementary schools, Hanthorn Early Childhood Education and Van Horn High School.
The event began as Extreme School Makeover in 2008 when Three Trails, Korte, Fairmount and Sugar Creek elementary schools along with Nowlin Middle School and Van Horn High School came into the Independence district from Kansas City. More than 2,000 volunteers pitched in that first year, and interest was high again this weekend.
“We have a great turnout this year from the churches and civic clubs to the community members,” Superintendent Jim Hinson said. “When we started this four years ago, we had no idea we would do it on an annual basis. But after that first year, we had so many volunteers asking for us to do it again. It is beneficial to us, and it is great to see the community so engaged.”
Projects included painting, general cleaning and exterior landscaping at all of the building sites. Something new this year was the large amount of student support during Project Shine, especially at Van Horn. Almost half of the 250 volunteers at the high school were students.
“I think every one of these students takes pride in their building, and they want to show it by participating in events like Project Shine,” assistant superintendent Jason Dial said. “They want this to be a great place.”
Chasty Kindelan, who will be a senior this fall at Van Horn, said she wanted to be involved because she likes helping in her community. She said it makes her feel good to see so many people working together for Independence students.
As student council president at Van Horn High School, Trey McNally did not have much of a choice of whether to participate in the 2012 Project Shine event. Both the student council and National Honor Society organizations had a large contingency of students volunteer.
But that would not have mattered.
“I love going to Van Horn. I love my school,” said McNally, who will be a senior this fall. “It is amazing to see how far this school has come in five years. It is terrific to see how many people in our community care about the students. They want to make sure we get a good education and have the right place to do it in. This amount of participation shows how united Independence truly is.”
More than 1,200 volunteers participated in the fifth annual Project Shine Saturday. Just as the name suggests, volunteers painted, cleaned and “shined” five different schools during the daylong event. This year’s selected schools were Thomas Hart Benton, Santa Fe Trail and Spring Branch elementary schools, Hanthorn Early Childhood Education and Van Horn High School.
The event began as Extreme School Makeover in 2008 when Three Trails, Korte, Fairmount and Sugar Creek elementary schools along with Nowlin Middle School and Van Horn High School came into the Independence district from Kansas City. More than 2,000 volunteers pitched in that first year, and interest was high again this weekend.
“We have a great turnout this year from the churches and civic clubs to the community members,” Superintendent Jim Hinson said. “When we started this four years ago, we had no idea we would do it on an annual basis. But after that first year, we had so many volunteers asking for us to do it again. It is beneficial to us, and it is great to see the community so engaged.”
Projects included painting, general cleaning and exterior landscaping at all of the building sites. Something new this year was the large amount of student support during Project Shine, especially at Van Horn. Almost half of the 250 volunteers at the high school were students.
“I think every one of these students takes pride in their building, and they want to show it by participating in events like Project Shine,” assistant superintendent Jason Dial said. “They want this to be a great place.”
Chasty Kindelan, who will be a senior this fall at Van Horn, said she wanted to be involved because she likes helping in her community. She said it makes her feel good to see so many people working together for Independence students.
“This is my first time to volunteer, and I am having so much fun,” she said. “I think it is good to help others, and this (Project Shine) helps so many students have a nice place to go to school.”
Cindy Skeen, a 1975 graduate of Van Horn, had not been back to her alma mater since she graduated. She said nothing could have prepared her for the “beautiful and amazing” building.
“I am shocked and amazed by what they have done here over the last few years,” she said. “People used to call this the factory, because that is what it looked like. I hated it when people called it that. But the district has done so many good things to it. It is gorgeous.”
