We are one week out from the start of the 2023-2024 school year, so we are continuing our Meet Us Monday blog series to introduce you to the outstanding new and returning teachers and staff who will be working alongside you and your children each day this year.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Meredith Blankenstein to ILS as 7th grade homeroom teacher and 6th-8th grade literature and language arts teacher. She has experience teaching in both private and public schools at the middle school age, is fluent in French, and also has taught private piano and voice lessons. Mrs. Blankenstein has most recently been working as an assistant business administrator at Trinity School at Meadow View. Her true love is being in the classroom, and she is delighted to be returning teaching.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Blankenstein to ILS!

What is your position at ILS?
I will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Language Arts and Literature.
What are you most looking forward to about working at ILS?
I am so excited to get to know new students, families, and colleagues. The best thing about making new friends is listening to their stories and seeing how God is working in their lives.
What book are you currently reading?
Honestly, I'm re-reading the Odyssey. It has been a while since I curled up with a little Homeric epic poetry.
What was a favorite thing you did this summer?
Our family grabbed Ellie Friddle and escaped to Bethany Beach. Prior to the beach, I passed my days counting, ordering, erasing, repairing, and updating textbooks for Trinity School at Meadow View. My beach week was one of warm sunshine and gentle breeze. I dug my toes in the sand and relaxed, enjoying a brief respite from the hundreds of heavy books waiting to be assigned to new TMV students when I got back to Virginia.
What is one place you would like to visit but have not yet been?
The Loire Valley of France. My husband and I honeymooned in Versailles, and I hiked through Provence in 2017. We even visited Paris this past winter with our daughters, but despite my love of <<le voyage>>, I have yet to meander through the châteaux of the Loire region. I want to walk through the 16th c. royal hunting lodges, the sites where the Huguenots of the Reformation took shelter, and marvel at the largesse of the 18th c. nobility which stirred the people of France into a giant revolutionary mob.
What was your favorite subject/class when you were in school? Who was a teacher who inspired you?
Mme Singer was my high school French teacher and she had the most beautifully fluid accent. Learning French in her class opened up an entire new world; I was able to travel throughout Europe and have real conversations with everyday people. As a missionary in North Africa, the Lord used my French to help keep me and my missionary team safe in a culture hostile to Christians. God can use anything for His purposes.
What was your favorite book as a child?
Matilda, by Roald Dahl. I was at a new school in fourth grade, and I was always getting picked on. I still remember identifying with Matilda from the beginning of the story and finishing the book all in one night.
What is your favorite scripture verse?
"But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob. He who formed you, Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...'" Isaiah 43:1-3