1507 at IMSA

05/03/2024

This month’s update is a double feature! Check out the picture captions for more info!

March:
RSLs from A- and C-Wings collaborated to host a cooking event. The students cooked a wide variety of items for their peers and did a great job!
C-Wing celebrated having the Cleanest Wing on Campus! Thanks to Officer Read for buying us pizza as a reward! Kylea took a trip to the Paramount for Movie Mondays; the students enjoyed a showing of Mulan. Michelle Bemis from Student Life held another Titan Thrift event. This time it was prom themed and students had the opportunity to shop a wide selection of formal attire! Sophomores had their last Navigation session; they wrote letters to their future selves that they’ll get back in their senior year.
Maxwell’s mom, Gina was kind enough to come to 07 and host an egg decorating event! The students loved dyeing and decorating the eggs and we thank her for coming to spend time with us! Several 07 students participated in Battle of the Bands!

April:
07 RSLs hosted Spring Wars. They planned several activities for the week after Spring Break - Key Game, Volleyball, and Ping-Pong Chess. Pride Rock had its official grand opening! Jose has been working diligently on Pride Rock since his sophomore year; it was so great to celebrate his work and the contribution to the IMSA community. Drama put on their last show of the year: And Then There Were None! The students did a fantastic job bringing Agatha Christie’s work to life.
Kylea took a couple of students on a trip to the Aurora Public Library. C-Wing had a spa night complete with silly face masks. C-Wing RSLs hosted a cupcake night. They baked and iced some very delicious cupcakes for the wing.
The entire IMSA community came together on Yare to watch the solar eclipse! Students, faculty, and staff gathered to listen to music, eat snacks, and marvel at the astronomical phenomenon. The students also came together for another culture show. BSU’s Asante was a beautiful celebration of the diasporas of Black and African culture. Our last extended came and went and now it’s time to lock in for the home stretch!

Looking forward:
The 23-24 school year is almost over! Students are in the final stretch of the semester - please continue to support them through the stress they’re under. Seniors! All service hours must be logged and approved by May 21st. Please plan accordingly.
The 07 RSLs have planned an End of Year party for May 16th. There will be food, games, prizes, a bonfire, the whole nine yards! More information should be sent to students soon. They're also planning a study session May 20th to help everyone prepare for finals. If you'd like to donate prepackaged snacks, drinks, or even cash, please feel free!
Refer to the Student Affairs Newsletter for more upcoming events, deadlines, and reminders!

03/02/2024

What an eventful month February has been! It seemed to go on and on (and not just because of the extra day!) Perhaps most notable this month was Clash of the Halls! We came in 6th place overall in Clash and while it may have been stressful at times, the students enjoyed working in the various events and cheering each other on for Talent Show, Pep Rally, and Drill! One of our A-Wing students planned a fun Palentine’s Day Event for the hall, made possible by your generous donations! Thank you again for all of the support for our student-led events and everything else! Amongst the many events for Black History Month, students enjoyed a Read-In and HBCU Informational Panel hosted by the IRC.

For Programming this month, we did a life skills rotation on 2/6 (Resume Writing, Positive Sleep Schedules, All Things Credit, and Cooking) and took the Challenge Success Survey at the end of the month.

A-wing had a Valentine’s Day charcuterie night, and some other treats provided by our wonderful wing parents. A-Wing celebrated a couple of birthdays, as did C-Wing. Kylea took a trip to the Paramount Theatre for a showing of The Princess and the Frog (we love $1 Movie Mondays!) Kylea and Connor also took a special late night trip to Woodmans (11:30pm-12:30am) C-Wing has been recognized as the cleanest wing on campus!!! For their efforts, they are being rewarded with a pizza party courtesy of Security!

This month D- Wing was focusing on bettering their bonds. They worked together to enhance their culinary skills by making homemade Buffalo chicken sliders and Cheeseburger sliders. D-wing really enjoyed cooking and would want to continue to better their cooking skills by cooking together at least 1-2 times a month. Another thing D-Wing did this month is show support to our fellow D-wingers and their band, Lexington Mystery Meat and they had their first gig at Lexington dining hall on February 7, 2024. We would also like to send a huge thank you to Torin's Mother, Robin Schroeder, for making amazing CLASH goodies bags for the wing. We greatly appreciate the support!
Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to reach out anytime with any questions or concerns to [email protected]!

02/02/2024

Happy New Year 1507 students, families, and supporters! Intersession was certainly interesting - we saw extreme weather, winter storms, and two snow days! While we were snowed in, Dana hosted an arts and crafts session and Kylea hosted a Fact or Fiction screening and made Hot Coco and Mulled Apple Cider. After a two-week Intersession, second semester is underway! On the first day of school, students enjoyed a wonderful Martin Luther King Jr. Day Assembly with guest speakers and performances from their peers. The students also put on an incredible culture show; students from all over campus pitched in to make Lunar fantastic!

Kylea took students to Feed My Starving Children so they could earn some service hours (especially needed as we approach CLASH). Speaking of Clash, prep has begun! Drill practices are happening, they’re rehearsing for Talent Show, and we’ve got some cool stuff in the works for Hall Decs! I’m planning on throwing a post-Pep Rally party to celebrate on February 16th. Our Clash color is Red so if you’d like to donate Red bracelets or red snacks or drinks or anything like that, it would be greatly appreciated! Clash is always a super fun time of year and we’d love to have you all get into the spirit with us!

In January, 1507 welcomed Tyson Brown as the new 1507 D-Wing RC! We’re all excited to have a fully staffed hall and look forward to getting to know him! If you’d like to contact him, he can be reached at [email protected].

Looking forward:
Clash week begins 2/12!
Housing Deadlines:
Student Housing Agreement Due: Feb 16th @ 5pm
Senior Housing Forms Due: Feb 23rd @ 10pm
Junior Housing Forms Due: March 1st @ 10pm

12/01/2023

November has been quite an eventful month! Students participated in culture shows, plays, and much more. Drama club put on a great, 70s themed, production of As You Like It. The IRC put on its annual Family Reading Night! Kylea created some stand ins and a craft program and Connor volunteered to work with the local elementary school students attending. Students performed beautifully during the Veteran’s Day Assembly as well. Brotherhood Sister Circle also held a Meet and Greet event - this was a great way for Black and Latinx students to meet each other and Black and Latinx staff and faculty!

Kylea did a couple of trips to Barnes and Noble this month; the students enjoyed spending some time off campus studying and purchasing books they may or may not read.

For programming this month, students participated in DEI programming created by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Seniors watched a documentary and discussed LGBTQIA+ identities and issues and Juniors watched a documentary and discussed African American history and race relations in the United States.

Before the students left for thanksgiving break, IMSA had another culture show, Casa de los Mu***os. There were a lot of 07 students who took part in the show, and they all put a lot of hard work in to make the show a great one.

Once everyone returned from break, we had a Friendsgiving event for the entire hall. The students enjoyed the food you all donated and used the donations to buy more food to cook! It was really nice to share a meal with the 07 community. We would like to thank everyone who dropped off food or donated money for the event, we couldn’t have done this without your help! Now that November has come to an end and winter break is right around the corner, students started decorating for the holidays last night for service hours!

Looking forward:
As a reminder for students, please start communicating with your parents or guardians when your finals are, as you will be required to depart for winter break 24 hours after your last final. Please be on the lookout for an email with more information regarding winter break sign outs.

There is a pop up Thrift Shop happening soon! On December 6th and 7th, students will have the opportunity to enjoy a fun, low-cost shopping experience. Student Life is collecting new or gently used clothing, coats and jackets, jewelry and accessories, giftable items, professional clothing for interviews, luggage, backpacks, items needed for intersession travel, books, arts and crafts supplies, dorm decor, and items approved for use in a res hall room. They are especially looking for men’s clothing, pants hangers, and household items! All proceeds will go towards the Senior prom! Please feel free to drop off any donations in the Student Affairs office or in the 1507 Office by Monday.

11/01/2023

October brought a lot of fun events to 07.

A-wing enjoyed some delicious fall treats as well as a wing dinner of pasta, salad, and breadsticks. Huge thank you to the wing parents for your time and effort!

B-Wing celebrating their wing wars victory with a pizza night filled with laughter and fun. Additionally, the office study sessions are back in full swing and filled to the brim with excitement for the rest of this quarter!

At this year's Mental Health Initiative Week Assembly, Jose and Jaz performed an awesome poem about mental health in minority communities. There was also a hypnotist on campus for MHI week, and a few 07 students participated in the show. 1507 also had several students who are a part of the SPARK program that helped out with MHI week and facilitated programming for their peers. Shoutout to Torin, Krish, Olivia, Sreehaas, and Aleks (sorry if I missed anyone)!

For programming this month, the students finished up the series of The Talk programs, we had a discussion about the recent assembly on the increase of bias incident reports, enjoyed a student facilitated Mental Wellness program (thanks SPARK!), and enjoyed some Halloween fun! Kylea took an impromptu trip to Fox Valley mall and hosted a Halloween movie marathon! C-Wing celebrated a couple of birthdays this month too!

Q1 grades went out last week - if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to your students direct RC.

Looking foward:

The November break is fast approaching! We’ll be sending out more information in the coming days similar to the information we sent out for the October Extended. The halls will be closing on Saturday, November 18th and reopen on Sunday November 26th.

10/25/2023

This past week our 07 RSLs hosted the annual Wing Wars competition! Wing Wars is similar to CLASH of The Halls but instead of every building competing against each other, the 4 wings of each hall compete. Your 2023-2024 1507 Wing Wars Champion is B-Wing! Congratulations to B-Wing! 2nd place went to A-Wing, 3rd place to C-Wing, and 4th place went to D-Wing. Thanks to all the students who planned and participated this year.

On Monday, RSLs Aleks and Byrd hosted a Game Show. Participants played Jackbox games and other fun mini games. On Tuesday, Olivia and Aditya hosted Iron Chef. Big thanks to our judges Sam Nehmey, Will Perkins, and Lee Eyesturlid! There were very strong dishes presented that night! On Wednesday, the students spent the day taking pictures for the Picture Perfect photo scavenger hunt organized by Nelly and Nolan. Will and Sreehaas put together fun Field Day activities for Thursday and all of the Murals were turned in Friday. The students also earned points for their wings by dressing according to each day’s theme (Space Day, Twin Day, PJ Day, and Dress Up As Your RC).

No matter who won, we had a lot of fun and Thank You to the RSLs who put in a lot of hard work to make this week possible!

Looking forward:
Halloween is coming up! We’d love to be able to celebrate with lots of candy so we need your help! If you could, please donate bags of candy to the hall before Tuesday, October 31st. Thank you so much!

10/06/2023

Our first full month at IMSA is complete! September included our first culture show Jalsa (!!!) and of course, Homecoming! The students really got into the spirit with their outfits (even the RCs participated in twin day) and the various events.

For programming, the students engaged in a three part series entitled The Talk, facilitated by some wonderful guest speakers from Youth Outlook and Lurie’s Children’s Hospital. Students also learned about toxic productivity and different learning styles!

This month A-wing had a pizza party, game night, and a mall trip! Big thank you to our wing parent Tricia for creating custom hoco mugs for the wing! B-Wing’s Residential Student Leaders (RSLs) planned an ultimate frisbee night. C-Wing RSL Nelly hosted an Arts & Crafts social. Kylea took some students on a trip to Taco Madre. D-Wing RSL Will hosted a Meditation and Movement social. Also, shoutout to Nolan for fixing the TV!

Students have been busy preparing for our first Extended break! Wing and Hall Cleans are underway; we ask that any students who have not signed up for a check-out time for Friday and Saturday do so by midnight 10/5. Students also have room inspections tonight.

If your student is taking the ATC Shuttle, Downstate Bus, or leaving with any adult that is not on their Powerschool permissions list, please email [email protected] expressing your permission for them to do so.

Looking forward:
1507 will be having Wing Wars the week the students return from Fall Break! Our RSLs have been working hard to plan out a week of fun, light-hearted competition. Events include Iron Chef, a Field Day, a Mural competition, and more! There will be a different dress up theme and activity everyday Monday-Thursday and the winner will be announced Friday night! RSLs will be sending out more information to the students soon.

Please remember to email [email protected] with any questions or concerns.

09/06/2023

We’ve had quite the start to the new school year! IMSA welcomed a new class of sophomores and 1507 welcomed a new RC. The students had a busy welcome week full of meetings, information sessions, and opportunities to get to know each other. We had a fantastic convocation featuring wonderful speakers (and everyone looked so nice!) It was great to see parents and families come together on campus for carnival. Here’s a quick list (and pictures) of some of the highlights this month:

Kylea and Connor volunteered with the sophomores for Day of Service and went to Feed My Starving Children. All in all, the morning group packed 254 boxes!
The 07 RC Office has been host to many card games this last month; we’ve seen some pretty passionate competitors (Mr. Monopoly himself even made an appearance).
The students really appreciated Noah and his family for having a pizza party on his birthday. If you ever want to arrange a hall or wing dinner, please reach out! The students love any food that didn’t come from Lexington.
Dana took some students outside to witness the Super Blue Moon on August 30th.
Our 07 RSLs gave a presentation about Wing Wars to get the students excited about the upcoming festivities - stay tuned for more information!

The 1507 community has been off to a strong start this year. It’s been great to see all of the students connecting and spending time together. Students - please keep an eye on Presence.io for club happenings and upcoming events around campus.

Looking forward:
Students will have their first room inspection this Thursday, 9/7. The expectations for this have been communicated and they all have a list of the tasks they need to complete.
RCs will be conducting sophomore 1:1s soon. Sophomores will have a short introductory meeting with their RCs so their RC can get to know them. RCs will be reaching out to sophomore families as well.

As a reminder, you can always reach us at [email protected]. You can also email Kylea, Dana, and Connor individually as well but that is the best way to reach an 07 RC.

06/08/2023

06/08/2023

Hello 1507 Families!

The year has come to an end (some of you are already a couple weeks into summer!) Here’s one last update of May and June and a plethora of photos!

May was, as you can imagine, a very long month, jam-packed with activities, events, stress, relief, and fun! Forgive me if I forget to mention an event, there were so many! There were spur-of-the-moment trips, student band performances, dodgeball games, and so many celebrations. 07’s own Devarsh Shah helped organize a Cultural Festival with the help of the IMSA Innovation Grant to help build community at IMSA. Students had fun playing different cultural games and enjoying delicious foods. It was so cool seeing the seniors (and some lucky juniors) all dressed up for prom! They all looked wonderful. With some additional funds from the Academy and the remainder of 07’s budget for the year, we were able to organize a trip for students to go to Funway in Batavia and enjoy bowling, rollerskating, and arcade games at no cost to them! Then we had a big pizza party for the hall when we got back. C-Wing enjoyed a Taco Bar prepared by Kylea for one of the last Tuesday programs. Seniors had a blast at Six Flags and Senior Banquet. Sam and Kylea had fun at Six Flags too. Kylea was lucky enough to attend Senior Banquet and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of baby pictures. So adorable! Graduation was bittersweet as we said goodbye to a third of the hall. 34 07 seniors walked across that stage and received their diplomas! Some of us may have ugly cried just a little.

Thank you to anyone who donated funds or food to our Spring Finals Dinner! It was much appreciated!

All in all, it was another great year to be a Titan. Thank you for the opportunity to work with your students; there is never a dull day at IMSA. These students are incredibly talented, funny, and Interesting to say the least. We can’t wait to see where our seniors (now alumni) go next. We wish them luck in their future endeavors and hope they’ll stay in touch. As for our rising juniors and seniors, see you next year. It’s gonna be lit!