faculty

Meet Us Monday: Mr. Anthony Kimbrough

Our Meet Us Monday blog series is back with another ILS faculty introduction!

We are delighted to welcome Mr. Anthony Kimbrough to the ILS faculty as our new substitute teacher. Mr. Kimbrough is a retired Air Force officer who started teaching after in Florida before his family returned to the Alexandria area. Mr. Kimbrough and his wife are parents to two daughters at ILS, one in 7th grade and one in Kindergarten, and were previously a part of the Immanuel community when they were last stationed in the area and their older daughter was in the Lower School.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Kimbrough to the ILS faculty!

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Meredith Blankenstein

We are one week out from the start of the 2023-2024 school year, so we are continuing our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Meredith Blankenstein to ILS as 7th grade homeroom teacher and 6th-8th grade literature and language arts teacher. She has experience teaching in both private and public schools at the middle school age, is fluent in French, and also has taught private piano and voice lessons. Mrs. Blankenstein has most recently been working as an assistant business administrator at Trinity School at Meadow View. Her true love is being in the classroom, and she is delighted to be returning teaching.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Blankenstein to ILS!

Meet Us Monday: Mr. Sasha Kandybin

We are one week out from the start of the 2023-2024 school year, so we are continuing our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

We are pleased to welcome Mr. Sasha Kandybin as our Music Teacher. He is an accomplished violinist and conductor with a B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music and just completed his M.M. from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has experience conducting and teaching music in the public schools as well as teaching in private lessons.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Kandybin ILS!

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Cheere Helton

We are counting down to the start of the 2023-2024 school year, so we are continuing our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Cheere Helton as our 4th Grade Teacher. Mrs. Helton comes to ILS from Providence Christian School of Texas (Dallas). She and her husband are parents to 3 ILS students.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Helton to ILS!

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Crissy Stubbs

We are counting down to the start of the 2023-2024 school year, which means it is time to bring back our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Crissy Stubbs to the ILS faculty as our 1st grade teacher. Mrs. Stubbs has been a part of our Immanuel community for many years as a parent, and she
previously taught first grade at Fayetteville Christian School in North Carolina.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Stubbs to her new role at ILS!!

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Kathryn Friddle

We are counting down to the start of the 2023-2024 school year, which means it is time to bring back our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

As a parent to two recent ILS graduates, as well as two current ILS students, Mrs. Kathryn Friddle has been a part of the Immanuel community for many years. She now joins the staff serving as Interim Assistant Headmaster.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Friddle to her new role at ILS!

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Karen Gorr

We are counting down to the start of the 2023-2024 school year, which means it is time to bring back our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

Mrs. Karen Gorr will be joining the faculty as our 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Gorr previously taught for 8 years at ILS. She and her husband are parents to two children attending ILS this year.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Gorr back to ILS!

What We're Reading - December

Blessed Advent! Advent, meaning "coming," is a season during which Christians observe a time of repentance, waiting, and quiet prayer. We pray for the reappearing of Christ and anticipate the upcoming celebration of Christmas, when we recall Christ coming to earth to dwell among His people. We also give thanks for Christ's presence in His Word and Sacraments.

At ILS we follow the Church Year calendar as a way to teach the Good News of Christ. We give thanks for these intentional rhythms and the opportunity to be united with Christians from times past and in the future.

ILS parents are warmly invited to join us for our December First Friday Coffee, which will be held on Friday, December 9th at 8:30am. Join us as Upper School Literature teacher, Miss Carissa Davis, leads us through a discussion of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens as a glimpse into how our students engage with literature in the Upper School at Immanuel. Our ILS 8th grade students read A Christmas Carol each December as part of their year-long exploration of the theme of redemption.

If you would like to order a copy of The Trinity Forum's short reading selection of A Christmas Carol, please complete this form today! Limited selections of teacher recommended books for children and parents, perfect for Christmas gifts, will be available for purchase during the Coffee.

Thank you for the many ways you participated in our ILS Month of Service throughout November. Together we collected food for and prepared 62 Thanksgiving Meal Kits to share with neighbors in our community through Christ House. Additionally, you shared more than 2,000 non-perishable food items to refill the Christ House food pantry.

Please take a moment to enjoy our December"What we're reading..." blog. It is always our hope that these articles spark on-going conversation and engagement with our community as we work together shaping and nurturing our culture at school and at home.

Are there things that you have read that you think others in our community may enjoy? Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!