Skip to Main Content
Whatever you are interested in, we've got it covered.

Inkspot

Whatever you are interested in, we've got it covered.

Inkspot

Whatever you are interested in, we've got it covered.

Inkspot

Meet the 2025 Prom Court

Meet the 2025 Prom Court

Arwen Georgas and Armeen Chatha
Apr 24, 2025

Eight juniors were named to the 2025 Prom Court, nominated by their peers ahead of Saturday’s dance at the Marriott in Uptown Normal. This year’s event—set to a “Great Gatsby” theme—will culminate with the crowning of Prom Royalty, a term NCHS adopted in 2021 to replace traditional gendered...

Continue Reading
Global ‘Hands Off’ protests draw millions, including over 1,000 in Bloomington

Global ‘Hands Off’ protests draw millions, including over 1,000 in Bloomington

The Inkspot captured scenes from the April 5 protest outside the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts [photo gallery]
Malachi McCool, Staff Reporter
Apr 23, 2025

Millions of people rallied across all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than a dozen cities worldwide, on April 5 as part of the “Hands Off” movement—a coordinated pushback against what organizers describe as a growing threat to democracy, fueled by the influence of President Donald Trump and...

Continue Reading
Over 50 of Community's staff members and a handful of retired educators gathered in the fishbowl on March 19 in solidarity, showing support for the Department of Education.
Photo Courtesy of: Mr. Tyler McWhorter

Teachers hold morning walk-in at Community in support of Dept. of Education

[photo gallery]
Inkspot Staff and Lyra Townsend
Apr 7, 2025

Members of the Unit Five Education Association teachers union gathered in the fishbowl atrium on March 19 as part of a nationwide “Walk-In” demonstration to advocate for public education funding. Wearing red and carrying signs, UFEA members joined thousands of educators nationwide in the National...

Continue Reading
Community honors standout student success at Spring Walk of Champions

Community honors standout student success at Spring Walk of Champions

[photo gallery]
Inkspot Staff and Leon Castañeda
Mar 21, 2025

Community recognized student accomplishments across athletics, academics and the arts during the Spring Walk of Champions on Friday, March 14, a tradition that began during the 2023-24 school year.  

Continue Reading
Marine Band rocks the stage: San Diego unit brings high-energy set to Community music students [photo gallery]

Marine Band rocks the stage: San Diego unit brings high-energy set to Community music students [photo gallery]

San Diego’s Marine Band took the Kevin Yale Vernon stage on March 6, performing a rock-heavy setlist for Community music students. Choir, band and orchestra members were excused from their eighth-hour classes to watch “America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization”...

Continue Reading
Dance caps season with annual Guy/Girl performance [photo gallery]

Dance caps season with annual Guy/Girl performance [photo gallery]

Bella Green, Editor-in-Chief
Feb 26, 2025

Community’s dance team closed out its season with the annual Guy/Girl routine, performing during halftime of the boys basketball team’s regular-season finale against Normal West on Feb. 21. The performance served as a farewell for the Iron Dance seniors, marking the end of their seasons. Iron...

Continue Reading
Senior guard Conner Smith slammed down a dunk on the fast break, his teammates reacting and jumping with him. Smith, who averages 6.6 points per game, contributed six points in the game.

Win over West secures Iron’s second straight Big 12 title; teams face off in a rematch in the playoff opener

[photo gallery]
Zachary Knox-Doyle and Bella Green
Feb 25, 2025

Community clinched its second consecutive Big 12 Conference title Friday, Feb. 21, marking just the third time in program history the Ironmen have won back-to-back championships. The title is Community’s eighth since joining the Big 12 in 1983—all earned since 2011. But this championship stands...

Continue Reading
Up close with kidneys: Biology students dissect organs to study urinary system [photo gallery]

Up close with kidneys: Biology students dissect organs to study urinary system [photo gallery]

Lyra Townsend and Bella Green
Feb 21, 2025

Students in Mrs. Sydney Batty’s 6th-hour Molecular and Structural Biology class dissected lamb kidneys on Feb. 19 as part of their unit on the urinary system. The hands-on lab allowed students to explore kidney structures up close, reinforcing concepts studied in class. “In Biology,” Batty said,...

Continue Reading
Cheer competes at IHSA Cheer State Final [photo gallery]

Cheer competes at IHSA Cheer State Final [photo gallery]

Bella Green, Editor-in-Chief
Feb 10, 2025

The Iron’s co-ed cheer team made its first IHSA State Final appearance since 2019 on Friday, Feb. 7, finishing 24th in the preliminary round with a score of 82.90, ahead of Glenbrook North in the 25-team field. Community qualified for State with a third-place, no-deduction routine at the Mascoutah...

Continue Reading
Volleyball builds team spirit with pumpkin painting competition [photo gallery]

Volleyball builds team spirit with pumpkin painting competition [photo gallery]

Bryce Hickman, Senior Staff Reporter
Oct 15, 2024

Iron volleyball took a break from practice on Oct. 17 to focus on team bonding, holding a pumpkin painting competition in the senior cafeteria. The 16-player roster's competitive spirit was on display as the athletes spent nearly two hours perfecting their creations. That was time well spent,...

Continue Reading
The 41st annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival, hosted by the Mclean County Arts Center, brought artists from around the Midwest to Uptown Normal the weekend of Oct. 5-6.

Bailey Kozlen talked to several exhibitors about their work and what brought them to Normal—click the gallery below to check out Kozlen's the interviews and see her photographs. 

41st annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival attracts artists from around the midwest [photo gallery]

Bailey Kozlen, Staff Reporter
Oct 14, 2024

The 41st annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival, hosted by the McLean County Arts Center, brought artists from around the Midwest to Uptown Normal the weekend of Oct. 5-6. The annual event is just one way the Arts Center promotes its mission: to “encourage and promote” art appreciation. 2024’s...

Continue Reading
Activities fair highlights diverse range of student involvement options [photo gallery]

Activities fair highlights diverse range of student involvement options [photo gallery]

The Freshman Mentoring Program hosted its annual activities fair on Aug. 27. Over 35 student organizations and clubs were on-hand to showcase the school’s wide range of extracurriculars during lunch hours in the multi-purpose room. The event, FMP coordinator, Mrs. Tara Pendleton said, aims to help...

Continue Reading
The "jester" and "wench," along with the members of the madrigal choir, lift their medieval tankards in a toast. Guests were offered a glass of wassail (apple cider) when entering the event to participate in the toast. Following the toast, the madrigal choir sang "Gloucestershire Wassail" and "Wassail Song."

Madrigals returns in-person [photo gallery]

The 21st annual Madrigals holiday performance returned live on Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4. With COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting food service, tickets for the Chamber Choir and Madrigal singers’ Christmas concert were $5, their lowest price in years.

Continue Reading
Students wet their arms and hands with copious amounts of water to absorb the heat created when the methane gas was lit, protecting them from burns.

Mad scientists: Chemistry teachers demonstrate Halloween-themed experiments [photo gallery]

Mr. Jeff Christopherson and Mr. Mike Roller demonstrated Halloween-themed experiments for their chemistry classes on Friday, Oct. 29, scaling the annual event back from previous years. In his 5th-hour Honors Chemistry class, Christopherson exploded jack-o'-lanterns, lit students' hands on fire, and...

Continue Reading
Load More Stories
Donate to Inkspot
$695
$3000
Contributed
Our Goal