Physical Education

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.

2017 Annual Field Day

Thursday, June 1st, was a gorgeous day for one of our favorite ILS traditions, our Annual Field Day competition at Ben Brenman Park in Alexandria. Coaches Schultz and Able planned a fun-filled day of competitions for all our students, from Jr. Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Students competed in the running long-jump, the distance throw, the water-balloon toss, the standing jump, the softball throw, the 50-yard dash, the 200-yard race, a baton relay, a sponge race, tug-of-war and much more.

Thank you to the many parent volunteers who joined the faculty to make sure all of the events ran smoothly. We are so grateful for your help at this event! It was a wonderful day for everyone as we come to the end of the 2016-2017 school year!

Lutheran Schools Week - Play Together

"And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them" (Mark 10:16 ESV)

With just one day to officially celebrate National Lutheran Schools Week, students were excited to Play Together during a school-wide game hour. We give thanks for our minds and bodies - blessings from the Creator - allowing us to pray, learn, serve, and play. 

Play Together - Mrs. Schmick 

Children + playing = learning. Hands-down, one of the best equations ever. Our days in the Jr.  include a wonderful balance of not only instruction but also play. Whether a student is completing a puzzle inside or participating in a game of tag outside, they are learning. Both surroundings are perfect environments for little minds and bodies to use kind words (Mrs. Schmick, may you please play animals with me?), increase patience (as they wait in line to kick a soccer ball), and build muscle strength and coordination (as they climb steps and ladders and catch footballs).

ILS Soccer Game


Upper School students at Immanuel study a new sport each month in Physical Education classes.  For the month of October, the Upper School students worked on their soccer skills, everything from dribbling the soccer ball, to passing, to shooting, to goal-keeping. To set a goal for our students, a game was scheduled with Alexandria Country Day School on October 29.  Needless to say, with an upcoming game against ACDS, the students’ motivation was high to push harder and learn intently in PE classes. The students knew as well as I did that they had to take advantage of every moment in PE to get ready for their opponent just a few blocks away on Russell Road.