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: Isabel C., ILS Class of 2020
1. How long have you attended ILS? Consecutively? 3 years! Nonconsecutively? 4 years. I went to ILS for Kindergarten, then my family moved to Moscow for work, and I came back for 6th grade.
2. To what house do you belong, and how have you developed as a person by being involved in it? I belong to House Athanasius. One of the biggest things I’ve been learning about in my house is working under pressure. Probably also working with others! I like to think of Lutheran Schools Week as a prime example of working under pressure. Lutheran Schools Week is a week-long house competition. It is so stressful and jam-packed but fun and rewarding too, especially depending on how your house performs. Completing the Peeps Dioramas is insane, but that’s especially rewarding. When you can see what you’ve actually created at the end of the week, it’s satisfying. It pushes us to multi-task through the competitions, house relationships, school work, and making decisions about so many things in each of those tasks.
3. What was your favorite House competition? Oh, I have to think about this. Last year’s Field Day was at school and my position was the Time-Keeper. I really loved that position, because I was just free to help other people in their stations when they needed it. We helped run carnival-like activities for little kids – my favorites were the face-painting station, tug of war, and obstacle courses. We helped run these activities for the younger kids, and were just able to make things more fun and easier for all of us at the stations. There were water balloon tosses, soccer, and so much more. It was just not as stressful as some of the other Field Day competitions we did, and being on campus made it more relaxing for all of us.
4. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?) My favorite memory at ILS was last year. It was the Friday of Lutheran Schools Week and we had a study hall period in the last hour of the day with Miss C. Davis. We somehow convinced her to take the empty pizza boxes and go sledding down the hill at the playground. It was just such a stressful week with all the competing and then all of us just had the best time ever sledding in the snow. A tradition that will be hard to forget is the silly little things we’ve created for ourselves, like inside class jokes that have lasted since 6th grade…. They’re student-built traditions. For example, when we were studying The Fellowship of the Ring last year, we kept trying to figure out who Tom Bombadil was and someone said “Oh! It’s Mad Bilbo!” Ever since then, when we can’t figure out who a character is, someone will probably say “It must be Mad Bilbo!” I’m not sure if that’s a tradition or not, but those silly jokes are so enjoyable.
5. Which event did you most look forward to during your 8th grade year? That’s hard! I don’t know. Adventure Camp would be a forerunner, and well, I’ve especially looked forward to the Talent Show this year. It’s been the first and only year that I’ve gotten to perform at the Talent Show – I orated 3 poems.
6. What was your favorite class at ILS, and why? Hands down, literature. Number one, I love literature. I love almost ALL of the books we read, especially in the last two years. Number two, Miss C. Davis is amazing. She teaches us everything, but somehow we do all the discussing of everything. She ties each discussion back to real life and history somehow. When we were reading Animal Farm, we discussed communism and the Korean War so much. At the time, it seemed like such big bunny trails to go on in literature class, but it helped me understand the ideas of the book so much better. I like the class overall because everyone is challenged to speak their minds, and your opinion matters. Well, it’s not just opinion based – so many different views can come from one text, but they all have to be based in the text and supported by it. You can however, interpret each text on your own and it’s good to see different points of view. It helps you realize times when you might be wrong, or adjust your own opinion, and draw different conclusions to be closer to the truth.
7. What was your favorite ILS field trip? I loved going to the Dulles Air and Space Museum, but I also LOVE Adventure Camp. It was less structured than science camp and we had a bit more freedom. It was more relaxed and all of us were having a great time, students and teachers. Science Camp was really fun too, but Adventure Camp has a “Let’s make the most of it!” vibe. We did zip lining, kayaking, and canoeing. We were going to take a night hike, but it was too rainy that evening, and because of the rain there was a nearby field that was so muddy- the girls went out and ran around in the mud and the boys joined us. Another school was there, and we all started playing soccer in the mud. Very spontaneous adventure. It was one of my best school memories of all time.
8. Where are you attending High School? TC Williams, Minnie Howard campus (at least, that’s the plan for now). I’m definitely planning on honors courses, and given the chance, doing AP or dual enrollment literature and history courses. If possible, I’d like to work as a writing tutor and take journalism electives. Journalism electives would allow me to take photographs and write pieces, and I love both of those things!
9. What will you miss the most about ILS? I think it comes down to the teachers. I’m really going to miss the Davii especially. To be honest, I did not have a lot of great teachers before I came to Immanuel and thought I didn’t like literature and writing. But Miss C. Davis is such a great teacher that she helped me realize how amazing literature and writing are. I’m going to miss all of them a lot and know they’ve had a big influence on me.
10. What is something a teacher told you that you will never forget? “Your best is all we can ask of you because your best is always enough.” Miss C. Davis said something along those lines to me. At the time she said it, I felt really anxious about school work and was thinking about tests coming up. When she said that, it was a huge help.