We are counting down to the end of the 2021-2022 school year! 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 2022, 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: Emelyn, ILS Class of 2022
1. How long have you attended ILS?
“I have been attending ILS since 5th grade, so I have had the whole Upper School experience. ”
2. To what house do you belong, and how have you developed as a person by being involved in it?
“I am proudly in House Irenaeus (the best house). This is my second year as House Captain. It was already super fun before being a captain. You have the chance to learn about other people in the Upper School you wouldn’t see normally in your classes. It’s fun to have House Captain meetings, and there is a lot of team bonding in house meetings,
I never saw myself as a captain; I’m a quieter person. I didn’t see myself leading everyone, but in 7th grade I decided to run and it’s been an amazing experience with getting to know other captains, pumping up the team in competitions. It’s been really great.
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3. What was your favorite House competition?
“This is a very hard question.
My favorite House competition is peeps diorama, which we have every year during Lutheran Schools Week. Each scene has a certain theme, and the characters in each theme are peeps. It is fun to listen to all the ideas – some are original, some are tried and true. Some are wacky and amazing and turn out great. I’m an artsy kind of person so I like this competition.
Last year one of Irenaeus’s Peeps Dioramas was Peter Rabbit, which was very cute since it was already rabbits-themed, and the peeps worked well. We had them all around Mr. McGregor’s garden trying to steal his vegetables. It was great. ”
4. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?)
“We haven’t done it in a couple of years, but the Talent Show was definitely a highlight of the school year. Students audition to be featured in the show. We gathered and had a stage, an emcee, and everything. It was amazing. Each House participated in helping in some way. It was a nice time for the whole school to gather and show off talent.
I’m sure everyone is saying this also, but Science Camp is always something I look forward to. The whole experience is with your friends and everyone returns knowing one another better. Even though you have been in the same class with these people for years, you always can learn more.
This year we did a lot of team building with the 8th grade at camp. It took a long time, patience, and teamwork but it was really fun. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the things we had to do together that day.
I also want to share the time we confetti-bombed Mr. Hageman after Logic class. Ms. Kramer and the Latin IV students plotted together to figure out a prank for Mr. Hageman. Ms. Kramer smuggled huge confetti bombs into our desks. It was amazing – we had a signal for the bombs to go off, and it was a mess. He had no idea at the time that Ms. Kramer was his Secret Santa. ”
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?
“Literature has pretty much been my all-around favorite class. Not just because we read classic, good books, but it has also challenged me to think deeper and beyond just what is written. It’s impacted me when I read by myself – I think about symbols and typology, which I don’t think I would have done if I wasn’t in this class. Each year starting from 6th grade, we read one part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Tolkien is definitely my favorite author. I had already been introduced to Tolkien before coming to ILS, but rereading and finding out the deeper meanings in classes at ILS has helped me love them more. ”
6. Where will you attend High School?
“I am attending Ad Fontes Academy in Centerville. It is a classical Christian K-12 school. I shadowed there and everyone was fun and welcoming. I won’t have any trouble adjusting to the academics and the community because it is very similar to ILS. I like that because I don’t really want to leave Immanuel. ”
7. What will you miss the most about ILS?
“I will miss my friends and the teachers. I have never been as close to the teachers at any other school as I have been at ILS. They are not just hear to teach you and help you to grow in academics, but they also help you grow in morals and life lessons. I have a lot of fun talking to teachers. I never thought I would enjoy myself having one-on-one conversations with teachers, but I do. ”
8. How has a teacher impacted your life personally in a way you will never forget?
“Once, Pastor Esget during a Theology class said we should “find joy in the simple things.” I wrote in down in my notes because he really emphasized it. Now that I am thinking about it, I think it is really true. Things don’t have to be showy and big for you to enjoy and find pleasure. Now I sound like a Magnolia magazine, but it’s really true, and I think I will apply it to my life.”