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: Ricky B., ILS Class of 2021
1. How long have you attended ILS?
“Well, uh, let’s see – just since September, so about 6 months or so! My family just moved here from Texas. These have been 6 extremely good months.”
2. To what house do you belong, and how have you developed as a person by being involved in it?
“I’m in Ambrose. We haven’t had a lot of house meetings and I haven’t been here really all that long. Houses are almost like small groups for your school – you work in teams on projects. ”
3. What was your favorite House competition?
“So far, scatter ball in Lutheran Schools Week. Scatter ball is a quick-moving game and you have to stay alert. It appeals to a lot of people because you can have different strategies depending on your skill level and how aggressive you want to be. Also, the rounds are quick, so if you’re out, you don’t have to wait too long until you’re back in. ”
4. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?)
“Lutheran Schools Week is really cool. Basically, the school cancels a class or two every day for a whole week in order to play a game or work on a house competition -they’re really fun. I had a great time. ”
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?
“Probably history is my most inspiring subject. This COULD sound like a bad thing to a lot of people, but Mr. Barnett brings in his perspective on what’s happened in history. This is really helpful because when you’re trying to interpret what happened in the past and put it in context, you need to know your teacher’s perspective. Mr. Barnett tells us what he thinks and what actually happened so that trying to understand everything is simpler and more straightforward. He also has us read lots of primary sources that are A) cool to read and B) show various figure’s actual perspectives. For example, we say that Woodrow Wilson was progressive. But we don’t know that except from what Mr. Barnett told us. So then we read some speeches from Wilson and we could actually look at his positions in his own words – which was progressive!
English is my most challenging subject, or maybe logic, or maybe Latin. I talked about this with my mom a few weeks ago. She was disappointed that I didn’t know more and wasn’t more ready for these subjects at Immanuel – not at me specifically, but just at what I’ve learned in the past few years. Wouldn’t it have been great to have learned this all along? Another example: I’ve studied grammar, of course, but not at this level. It’s been challenging, especially at first. The first few months, I had to really just step back and observe until I could speak in class with more capability. Teachers just expect you to know things by now that I didn’t – like, Miss Davis asked us “What’s the 10th rule of usage?” and I had no idea but I was supposed to know. It’s a humbling process to admit when you don’t know things and ask for help.
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6. Where have you applied to High School?
“That’s a hard one – I’m hoping to go to the Heights but we’ll see what happens. ”
7. What will you miss the most about ILS?
“I’ll miss the people. Everyone is so friendly and nice. Everyone made me feel welcome when I first got here, and they’re still friendly now. ”
8. How has a teacher impacted your life personally in a way you will never forget?
“Miss D. Davis. She has been really friendly and is just everything, everything good. She’s kind and really talented as a teacher. Recently she’s been asking us questions each morning, just to connect, like “Where do you want to travel?” ”