A Stone's Throw: October Update from Mr. and Mrs. Stone

Responding to a call from the Lutheran Church - Hong Kong Synod, former ILS Manager of Operations, Mrs. Ruth Stone, along with her husband, Lyman, are now serving as missionaries in Hong Kong. Mrs. Stone serves as a missionary and English teaching assistant in a local Lutheran school, and she and Mr. Stone together volunteer their time to support school extracurriculars, church functions and Sunday school classes, Bible study, and evangelism with the Mission of Christ Network.

Throughout the year, we’ll be sharing regular updates from the Stones as they embark on their work in Hong Kong.

Please join us in praying for Mr. & Mrs. Stone as they live and serve in the Lutheran Church-Hong Kong Synod, and especially the children, faculty, and parents in its’ associated school system.

Walk-in-Wednesday: Jr. Kindergarten with Mrs. Laurie Honig

It’s Wednesday, which means it is time to join us for a Walk-in-Wednesday tour, or if you can’t make it in person, to take another peek into our classrooms through our virtual “Walk-in-Wednesday” series on the ILS Blog!

During our school year, we offer families and opportunity to learn more about a classical, Christian education at Immanuel by visiting during one of our weekly Walk-in-Wednesday tours. The joyful sounds of learning will welcome visitors walking through our red doors, as students recite (and act-out!) poems and chant jingles in the lower school, and engage in excellent discussions of literature, history and theology in upper school students. Singing and music ring out from the music room, and the wonderful sights and sounds of students and teachers engaged in learning can be witnessed throughout our campus.

If you cannot visit us in person, or you’d just like to explore more of what you and your child might experience at ILS, we are sharing updates from our teachers highlighting what visitors may encounter when they step into an ILS classroom. Today, Mrs. Laurie Honig shares a delightful look at her days with our youngest ILS scholars, our 4 and 5 year-old Jr. Kindergarten students.

Please enjoy, and join us here on our ILS Blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features! (Curious to learn more? Visit us at an upcoming ILS Admissions Open House!)

Walk-in-Wednesday: Music with Miss Marie Landskroener

Interested in learning more about a classical Christian education at Immanuel? Curious what this looks like in action? We would love to have you join us during one of our Admissions Open Houses, or stop in on week for our Walk-in-Wednesday tour to see for yourself the joyful learning happening at ILS. If you can’t make it for a tour, or just want to experience more of this for yourself, each Wednesday, our ILS blog is introducing a sneak peek from one of our teachers, highlighting what a visitor might observe when they walk into our classrooms.

Enjoy this a virtual tour here on the ILS Blog through our “Walk-in-Wednesday” series, and we hope it provides more of a feel for what you might experience at Immanuel. This week, join us in our music classroom, as Miss Marie Landskroener shares more about some of the delightful moments you may encounter in one of her many music classes every week.

We hope you enjoy, and please visit the blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features!

What we're reading (November edition)...

Fall has finally fully arrived, and it is hard to believe that we have already finished the first quarter of the school year. It is such a joy to watch the ways our students are learning and growing each day. We so enjoyed welcoming parents, grandparents and other ILS friends to our First Quarter Lower School Showcase on October 19th. Our lower school scholars delighted in the chance to share their poems, songs, jingles, projects and other learning from the quarter. We are very much looking forward to sitting down together for first quarter parent-teacher conferences next week as another opportunity to continue our ongoing conversations about student growth and development throughout the year.

As we launch into November, we have once again collected articles and storied for a new edition of "What we're reading..." Our faculty and staff are always reading, and we take this opportunity each month to share with our families some of the things that we have recently read and found to be interesting, intriguing or otherwise thought-provoking.

As we do each month, we’ve compiled a selection of articles on different topics, including a look at the role of leisure in our lives, a reflection on some of the differences between boys and girls (and what that means for schools), news about an exciting discovery in a basement in Italy, several pieces on classical education, and a few great reads on music as well.

Have you read something lately that you think we, or other ILS families, may enjoy? As always, we love to discover new things to read and chances to learn!

Walk-in-Wednesday: 7th Grade Literature with Miss Carissa Davis

This fall, we are sharing a new series here on the ILS Blog designed to offer you a sneak peek of our classrooms from each of our teachers. Each Wednesday, we’re sharing a glimpse of what a visitor might observe when they walk into our classrooms at any given moment.

This week, Miss Carissa Davis, our Upper School Literature Teachers, continues our “Walk-in-Wednesday” series with a peek at the wonderful things you might witness if you were to step into one of her 7th grade literature classes this week!

We hope that you are encouraged by these snap-shots to join us in person to see us in action, and we warmly invite you to visit us for a Walk-in-Wednesday tour. Stepping through our red doors, you will be welcomed by the joyful sounds of learning, from poems and jingles in the lower grades, to great discussions and debates in our older grades. Singing and music ring out from the music room, and the wonderful sights and sounds of students and teachers engaged in learning can be witnessed throughout our campus.

Please enjoy, and join us on the blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features!

Meet Us Monday: ILS Student Ambassadors

Immanuel Lutheran School is pleased to announce the selection of seven students to serve as 2018-19 Student Ambassadors. Open to 6th through 8th grade students at ILS, the Student Ambassador program is a highly selective service opportunity for students to engage with visitors and guests to the school throughout the year. Students must apply for the program, and go through an in-person interview process. Student Ambassadors demonstrate an enthusiasm for the school, and the ability to clearly articulate the mission and vision of the school.

Walk-in-Wednesday: Kindergarten with Mrs. Grace Egger

We hope you’ve been enjoying our virtual “Walk-in-Wednesday” series on the ILS Blog! Each week, we are offering a peek from one of our teachers, highlighting what a visitor might observe when they walk into our classrooms. This series continue this week with a look into Mrs. Grace Egger’s classroom for a glimpse at some of the delightful things our Kindergarten students are doing.

Families interested in learning more about a classical, Christian education at Immanuel can join us for a Walk-in-Wednesday tour each week to observe our students and teachers in action and get a better feel for our school and our community. Upon stepping through our red doors, visitors are welcomed by the joyful sounds of learning, from poems and jingles in the lower school, to great discussions of literature and history with our upper school students. Singing and music ring out from the music room, and the wonderful sights and sounds of students and teachers engaged in learning can be witnessed throughout our campus.

Please enjoy, and join us here on our ILS Blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features! (Curious to learn more? Visit us at an upcoming ILS Admissions Open House!)

Meet Us Monday: ILS PE Teachers, Ms. Diane Curcio & Mr. Yonas Mekonen

An Immanuel education aims to nurture the minds, hearts and bodies of students, and as such, movement and physical education is an important part of our curriculum. In addition to incorporating play and intentional movement into our classrooms, espe…

An Immanuel education aims to nurture the minds, hearts and bodies of students, and as such, movement and physical education is an important part of our curriculum. In addition to incorporating play and intentional movement into our classrooms, especially for our youngest scholars, all students in Kindergarten through 8th grade participate in Physical Education classes twice weekly.

Our program focuses in the Lower School on helping students develop a beginning knowledge of sports and an understanding of their bodies in the context of their ability to perform basic athletic movements. As they move into the Upper School, students begin to go into more depth concerning physical activity and movement. Students will practice skills of a particular sport each month, including soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and track & field.

Two outstanding teachers lead our Physical Education program at Immanuel, Ms. Diane Curcio for our Kindergarten through 5th grade students, and Mr. Yonas Mekonen, for our 6th through 8th grades. Both bring extensive experience and passion for health, physical fitness and wellness to their roles at ILS.

Walk-in-Wednesday: 8th Grade Logic with Ms. Katherine Kramer

Last week, launched our new “Walk-in-Wednesday” series here on the ILS Blog with a delightful look into 1st grade with Miss Kirstin Reistad. Join us each week as we share a sneak peek from one of our teachers, highlighting what a visitor might observe when stopping in one of our classrooms for a visit. Through this, we hope to create an image of just some of what a visitor may experience if they were to stop in 1st grade, or 7th grade Literature, or music, or any one of our classrooms at ILS. 

This week, we move upstairs to our Upper School, where Ms. Katherine Kramer, our ILS Assistant Headmaster and 8th grade logic teacher, continues our series with a peek at the energy and delight you observe if you were to step into one of her 8th grade logic classes!

We also warmly welcome you to come by in person any week for a Walk-in-Wednesday tour to learn more about a classical Christian education at Immanuel by viewing our students and teachers in action. Stepping through our red doors, you will be welcomed by the joyful sounds of learning, from poems and jingles in the lower grades, to great discussions and debates in our older grades. Singing and music ring out from the music room, and the wonderful sights and sounds of students and teachers engaged in learning can be witnessed throughout our campus.

Please enjoy, and join us on the blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features!

Update from the Schultz Family

After 5 years teaching at Immanuel, Mr. Aaron Schultz and his family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, this past summer, where Mr. Schultz is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity at Concordia Theological Seminary in preparation for ordination in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Becoming a pastor is something that had been on Mr. Schultz’s heart and mind for more than a decade. After visiting CTS last fall, he felt confident it is the Lord’s will to pursue this vocation.

Throughout the year, we’ll be sharing regular updates, like the one today, from the Schultz family as they live, study and work in Fort Wayne.

Please join us in praying for Mr. & Mrs. Schultz, along with their children, Canon, Ben, Sam, and their baby boy due in November.