As we count down to the 2020 ILS Auction, we have invited the community to share their stories about Immanuel. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day. Today, Mr. Aaron Schultz, one of our former Upper School teachers, shares some of his favorite ILS memories and the impact that ILS had on him.
In Your Own Words: ILS Impact
As we count down to our 2020 Auction and celebrate our 150th Anniversary, we have invited our community to share their stories about Immanuel Lutheran School. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day for our school. Today, one of our ILS 4th graders shares some of what he is enjoying learning about this year and some off what he loves about ILS!
In Your Own Words: ILS Impact
As we count down to our 2020 Auction and celebrate our 150th Anniversary, we have invited our community to share their stories about Immanuel Lutheran School. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day for our school. Today, one of our ILS alumna shares some of what she loved and remembers most about her time at ILS.
Running the Race
We have passed the mid-point of the school year! Our Lower School students and teachers recently celebrated the 100th Day of School, but we also recognize that all of our students are facing some of the hardest work of their school year. Upper School teacher, Mr. Shawn Barnett, recently shared encouragement for parents and students as we push forward, keeping up our stamina and maintaining good habits through the remainder of the academic year. We hope that his words encourage you and your students in the weeks ahead!
I often liken the school year to a long-distance race. This time of the year, students have hit the half-way point, but the finish line isn't quite in sight. At this point, however, bad form and a poor stride really start to flag one's stamina. It gets hard to lift the knees and push off the toes, but bad footing can lead to a nasty fall. So it is with bad habits. This is the time of year when they really start to show. The temptation for many students is to rely on their memory instead of keeping a record of upcoming assignments and assessments. Some students content themselves with mediocre work that's good enough to get a passing grade.
As parents, you can't run the race for your kids, but you can do more than cheer from the sidelines. Once place to start with encouraging your children and keeping them accountable is the red folder, aka the "parent communicator." Students should be taking their work home on a weekly basis in their folders and, ideally, they should be discussing it with you. Looking back at returned assignments can be useful for students in recalling to mind what they have learned, correcting misunderstandings and errors, and for evaluating how to improve.
In Your Own Words: ILS Impact
As we count down to our 2020 Auction and celebrate our 150th Anniversary, we have invited our community to share their stories about Immanuel Lutheran School. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day for our school. Today, one of our 3rd grade students shares some of what she loves about ILS and her favorite memories.
Save the Date: ILS 2020 Auction!
ILS parent and 2020 Auction Co-Chair, Mrs. Sandy Andrews, shares a bit about this year’s auction, scheduled for Sunday, April 26th, at the US Patent and Trademark Office. We hope you will join us for a wonderful evening in support of our school!
What We're Reading - February 2020
It was such a joy to finish the month of January celebrating Lutheran Schools Week together! It was a delightful and spirited week of fun traditions, special time of fellowship, and giving thanks for this wonderful ILS community and for being a part of the broader community of Lutheran schools across the country. Thank you to the PTL for launching the week with a wonderful Chili Cook-off on January 25th., We loved seeing the great literary character costumes our students and teachers selected on Monday along with the Bible characters on Thursday, and delighted watching the Lower School students decorating their classroom doors all week. The competition was fierce as Upper School House teams worked on their Peeps Dioramas, and participated in the Academic Bowl. Seeing the Lower School students enthusiastically participate in their House Teams was so much fun, and we all enjoyed a change of pace with Teacher Swap Day on Wednesday. Your generosity was tremendous as you supported our 4 missions throughout the week in the Penny Wars. And we loved watching the community come together to conclude the week with both the Lower School Showcase and the Upper School Talent Show.
As the new month begins, we’re bringing you our latest "What we're reading..." feature with a new selection of articles and features that we hope will inspire and engage you in our ongoing conversation about how we shape our culture together at home and at school.
We give thanks for each of our families, and the wonderful opportunity to partner with you in the important work of educating and nurturing children. Thank you for engaging with us in these ongoing conversations and for sharing items you have read that may be inspiring to others in our ILS community! Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!
New Year's Update from Pastor John Bombaro
As we kick off 2020, we are sharing updates from the Bombaro and Schultz families - the recipients of this year’s ILS Chapel offerings. Pastor John Bombaro and his family are back in Alexandria, and Pastor Bombaro was our special guest at Chapel this morning. He shared an update on upcoming missionary work in Latvia. (Please forgive the background noise due to the construction work underway on our chancel.) You can also view the latest newsletter from the Bombaro family with more information on their work online.
Learn more about our ILS weekly Chapel Services and 2019-2020 Chapel offerings.
What We're Reading - January 2020
Happy New Year! We pray that all of our families enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and a restful break. It was delightful to see everyone return this week and hear fun stories about travel, traditions, time with family, and celebrations of the season.
Kicking of the new year, we will continue our work to support and inspire intentional discussions on culture-building and culture-shaping within our school and homes. Our monthly "What we're reading..." feature includes articles and other resources that we hope you find of interest.
2020 also marks that 150th anniversary of the founding of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School. Throughout the year, we look forward to sharing more about the school’s history in Alexandria, and together looking forward to the future. We are inviting ILS alumni and their families, as well as former teachers, to share their stories and photos from your time at Immanuel. Please contact us if you have pictures or stories you would be willing to share!
We give thanks for each of our families, and the wonderful opportunity to partner with you in the important work of educating and nurturing children. Thank you for engaging with us in these ongoing conversations and for sharing items you have read that may be inspiring to others in our ILS community! Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!
New Year's Update from the Schultz Family
As we kick off 2020, we wanted to share some quick updates from the Schultz and Bombaro families - the recipients of this year’s ILS Chapel offerings. This week, the Schultz family checks in and shares an update from Fort Wayne, where former ILS Upper School teacher Aaron Schultz is pursuing his Master of Divinity at Concordia Theological Seminary.
Learn more about our ILS weekly Chapel Services and 2019-2020 Chapel offerings.
“I’m in my second year of seminary. This April we will find out where we will be going for vicarage. And then sometime in the summer, likely July, we will leave for vicarage. Vicarage will last for a full year, and then we’ll come back to Fort Wayne for me to complete my fourth and final year of seminary. Katie is still at home with our three youngest. We don’t call it “home school”; instead, Benjamin decided to call it, “school home”. So, Katie is doing school-home with Ben, who just turned 5 years old. Benjamin loves art and gymnastics. Canon (7) is still at Redeemer Classical in Fort Wayne. I teach at Redeemer once a week, and I thoroughly enjoy getting to still be in the classroom. Canon, like his father, loves math and is about to start his basketball season. Samuel (2) and Augustine (1) are also home with Katie. Sam lives up to his nickname quite well: Wild Man SamBam. We are currently in the throes of potty training with Sam. Auggie is pulling himself up to a stand and should be walking in no time.”