We have reached the end of the 2022-2023 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 2023, 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 share interviews 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: Avery, ILS Class of 2023
1. How long have you attended ILS?
“Since Junior Kindergarten – a decade!”
2. What house are you in and was your favorite House competition?
“I’m in House Augustine. The Peeps Diorama is so much fun and definitely my favorite competition. My sister Emma and I get so competitive with it. Our basement after the Peeps Dioramas competition always ends up getting so messy that you can’t see the carpet underneath. I’m a captain for House Augustine, which means you have to take responsibility for everyone in the house, take care of the people in your house, and you also have to listen to them. You have to listen to them and still have the confidence to do what you know is right in the end even if they don’t all like it. You just have to encourage them, get to know them and who they are, and then find the ways to help them succeed. And respect- that goes both ways. The house needs to listen to their captains and respect them, but that won’t happen unless captains respect their houses.”
3. What is your favorite ILS memory? (Or, which ILS tradition will you remember the most?)
“Oh, I love Lutheran Schools Week – those memories are always a highlight of each year. It’s a break from everyday normal life, so much fun, and you get to do so many different kinds of projects. It’s a great way to bond with people too. One of my favorite school traditions is when we get to have movie nights at school with Miss C. Davis after reading the Lord of the Rings books. It’s just so much fun to spend time with Miss Davis when we’re out of school mode.”
4. What will you miss the most about ILS?
“I want to say everything. It’s so hard to pick just one thing because they’re all so interconnected. If you say, “I’m going to miss my friends” then you have to say “I’m going to miss my teachers” because they help form us as friends. ILS is a whole memory for me and I don’t want to leave anything out of it. The only thing I might want to forget is final exams!”
5. How has a teacher impacted your life personally in a way you will never forget?
“Everyone’s impacted my life! Every single faculty member has always helped me through whatever I needed help with. Miss C. Davis helps me with my friends and sports. Miss D. Davis helps me understand the culture …. and math. Ms. Kramer shows me how to argue truly and for what’s right. Mr. Egger has taught me to just go for it and be willing to have confidence in myself. Mr. Hageman has taught me that not everything new is good – maybe old music is better and maybe the newest technology is not always the best.”
6. Do you have a favorite Hymn of the Year or Verse for Memorizing?
“I will say the passage I’m probably never going to be able to forget is:
“The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” ”