We are counting down to the end of the 2019-2020 school year, and it is a particularly bittersweet time for our 8th grade students as they prepare to graduate under very unusual circumstances. To help celebrate and recognize our ILS Class of 2020, we are again launching our “Meet Us Monday” blog series to introduce you to the members of this year’s graduating class.
Each week, we will be sharing interviews that we have done with each of our 8th grade students, in which they share more about their favorite ILS memories and traditions, words of wisdom they’ve received over the years, and other reflections from their years here with us at ILS. We hope that you will enjoy these reflections, and join with us in congratulating and celebrating these students!
Meet Us Monday: Eamon L., ILS Class of 2020
1. How long have you attended ILS? This is my third year at ILS, and I was in my local public school before. I like a school like Immanuel where you have attention from your teachers and everyone knows you. It’s also great to learn about God in a smaller environment like this.
2. To what house do you belong, and how have you developed as a person by being involved in it? I’m in House Augustine. In Augustine, we’re very focused on being creative. If we have an idea that we heard someone else might try, we’ll most likely scratch it in favor of something more unique. Augustine expands my creativity and helps me think outside the box. Being in my house also introduced me to students from other grades – our Augustine 5th graders are pretty cool!
3. What was your favorite House competition? Well, I really like the middle of Lutheran Schools Week’s engineering challenge. We’ve built bridges to certain specifications using only popsicle sticks and glue, and then see what bridge could hold the most weight. One year we only had marshmallows and toothpicks, and raced to build the tallest structure that could stand up on its own. I don’t even remember if we won. I REALLY look forward to that. Those specific competitions are so technical but also creative. It involves working in a team and rushing against the clock. Miss Malcolm, our house sponsor, gives great advice as we’re working. It’s really rewarding to see what you create and fun to see what other houses do also.
4. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?) My favorite ILS memory was on February 1st, 2019. That was the day of the Talent Show, and the last day of Lutheran Schools Week. For the last period of that day, we were supposed to have a study hall and be quiet. But it was so hard to focus! So, we convinced Miss C. Davis to take us outside. It was also pizza day, so we took the empty pizza boxes, broke them down, went to the snowy hillside on the playground, and spent the rest of the day sledding with her. Miss C. Davis even sledded with us. It was completely silly, and I never would have thought we’d have times like this when I applied. I really thought ILS would never deviate from any plan, which is mostly how it goes. But this was a great deviation. We destroyed the pizza boxes, we were wet and so messy at the end, but it was so worth it.
My favorite tradition is the Ides of March. THE CHARIOT RACES! We raced actual chariots, and I will definitely come back when I’m in high school for this day. When Mr. Barnett started it, I was a little skeptical at first… but it’s so wonderful and I greatly enjoy it. We really focus on the classics at Immanuel, and in Latin classes, we obviously talk a lot about Roman culture. Everybody’s heard of Julius Ceasar and knows all about his death – “Et tu, Brute!” Mr. Barnett has turned this to a really big celebration each year and we spend an entire afternoon celebrating. We all dress in togas that day, which is fun, and have chariot races. Then a group of students watch some of the younger Upper School kids re-enact the death of Caesar from Shakespeare’s play. It’s actually really hysterical because all the 5th graders turn into these murderous brutes who kill Caesar and there’s lots of fake blood. After that, the top Latin 3 students participate in a certamen, which is a competition. We have a March Madness style bracket until the best students are proved and they get laurel crowns but especially bragging rights. We have other students give speeches for and against the republic, and the crowd cheers. Whoever speaks and gets the loudest cheers, wins. I always scream pretty loudly for all the speakers just for the fun of it.
5. Which event did you most look forward to during your 8th grade year? Definitely graduation. I’ve seen the ceremonies before and was really looking forward to being really sharp in a tuxedo or 3 piece suit or something impressive. It’s really wonderful because the whole school community comes to an evening service, where students perform, there’s a message from Pastor Esget, awards are announced, and then all the 8th graders graduate in a super formal process. It’s awesome to be recognized and I hope we can do something like that. It’s just special to have the whole school see who we’ve all become in our time at Immanuel.
6. What was your favorite class at ILS, and why? I’m sure people generically say “PE” pretty often and to be honest I do really enjoy PE. However, my favorite class is actually science. Miss D. Davis is super sharp. She really knows her stuff, and you can always tell that she’s really well prepared. When people have questions, she’s never frustrated by them. I like learning with hands on projects, and Miss D. Davis has a lot of that in science. We take these household supplies and just go to town. In one project, we determined the acidity, or PH level, of all these household foods and objects. It seemed super professional, but she didn’t make us feel intimidated. We also determined the velocity of hot wheels cars a few times. Miss D. Davis is somehow both down to earth and very, very smart. I don’t even get bored with taking notes – it’s all interesting. She makes us create human examples of topics we’re studying, which is helpful when we’re talking about all sorts of things in physics.
7. What was your favorite ILS field trip? Does science camp count? Because it’s science camp for sure. In 6th grade in the spring, we packed up a bunch of camping supplies and we drove all the way to this camp in Pennsylvania, and I was in Mr. Gorski’s car with a bunch of my buddies. We talked about 9/11, and scary stories, and girls, and all sorts of things on that car ride. Really fun. Once you’re there, you can play in the creek where I lost my croc, play laser tag, identify animals and plants, and so much. One night we went down to the creek and it was just with my class. We went swimming, but I had no bathing suit, so I just took off my shirt and jumped in.
8. Where are you attending High School? I’m going to TC Williams. I just found out yesterday that I got into their STEM program and Health Sciences Academy. I’m really excited. I have a Zoom call coming up to talk about my classes next year. I’m going to hopefully get into their robotics club, and get to join them on competitions that take us all over the US and world.
9. What will you miss the most about ILS? The people. I have grown really close to some people especially – Parker and Luke are my buddies. But I’ll miss all my classmates – I just kind of doubt we’ll ever get to experience something like this again. I’m going to miss the teachers too.
10. What is something a teacher told you that you will never forget? I really enjoy Miss D. Davis, but I don’t have a specific saying from her. Before Immanuel, I never thought I’d be saying this about teachers, but she is just a really good person. She always tolerates my questions, no matter how weird my questions about viruses get, and she’s interesting to talk with. She’s a teacher but she’s also approachable and interested in us.