We are counting down to the end of the 2020-2021 school year, and it is a particularly bittersweet time for our 8th grade students as they prepare to graduate. To help celebrate and recognize our ILS Class of 2021, we have again launched 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: Leia, ILS Class of 2021
1. How long have you attended ILS?
“Since 6th grade, so this is my third year. My sister also went here for middle school, so it’s almost like my family has been going here for 5 years total. We first learned about ILS by a google search for Christian/classical education and later from the Abeggs, because we did dance with them. ”
2. To what house do you belong, and how have you developed as a person by being involved in it?
“I’m in Irenaeus. It really teaches us to be humble because you’re not going to win every competition. And even if you win a lot, like Irenaeus, you have to learn not to brag when you DO win. And then within your own house too you must be humble, or else how could you work together for victory? ”
3. What was your favorite House competition?
“Oh, this is really hard. Maybe the Penny Wars from Lutheran Schools Week – there was just so much sabotaged involved. Everyone went home to search for pennies, and then tried to bring in large amounts of money to throw other houses. The Penny War is a house battle: you try to be the house that collects the greatest amount for one of the ILS charities. Anything other than a penny is sabotage money. Each penny is worth a point but if you put a quarter in some other houses’s bin, that’s minus 25 points for them. Someone put a $50 bill in our house’s fund, which was catastrophic. It was a really chaotic competition and a lot of fun. ”
4. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?)
“Last year, Mr. Barnett told us stories about his travels in Europe. He’s so animated and the stories are so funny.
House competitions are probably my favorite traditions – I’ve never seen a house system in a school before and don’t think I’ll get that in high school. You get to compete with other grades, have house captains, and get time out of classes occasionally for them. It’s just really fun!”
5. What subject have you studied that has most inspired you, and how? What subject have you studied that most challenged you to grow or change?
“My favorite class is Literature. All of the books we get to read become my favorites – they are classics. I never liked to read in my free time, but now with all these great books I just love to read. In discussions, I usually want to raise my hand constantly. It’s just fascinating to hear what other people think about the characters and storylines, and everyone has different opnions. It’s nice to hear and compare your own understanding of the story against others and it really does help you create better storylines and understand the book more fully. Miss Davis (Carissa Davis) a great teacher – you can understand what’s happening because she tells us clearly what to expect and she explains expectations so neatly.
I don’t know what the most challenging class is for me – Latin or history. Probably Latin. I can sight read what Mr. Barnett gives us to sight read, but keeping up with vocabulary is hard. You have to learn words, relearn them when you forget, keep up with all the declensions and conjugations. There are just so many cases and genders and so much to manage when you’re parsing or translating. It’s so detail oriented.”
6. Where have you applied to High School?
“I’m going to TC Williams and applied to their STEM program. I’m looking forward to being with my friends – most of us are applying to the STEM program, Swim and Dive, French 1. The coach on TC Swim is one of the Marlin’s coaches and I’m pretty confident that I’ll get to swim varsity. I’m so excited. ”
7. What will you miss the most about ILS?
“Covid has made this year a bit tough because we’ve been so separated from all other grades. Getting to see students from lots of other grades has definitely been one of my favorite things about Immanuel so I’ve missed that a lot this year. And in classes, your teachers really know and connect with you – I know that will be different at TC because all of the grades and classes are so big. I’ll definitely miss the smaller community. ”
8. How has a teacher impacted your life personally in a way you will never forget?
“It’s so hard to say! All the teachers are nice but talking to teachers is not always easy for me – I am really close with my friends most of all! ”