Walk-in-Wednesday: Jr. Kindergarten with Mrs. Laurie Honig
It’s Wednesday, which means it is time to join us for a Walk-in-Wednesday tour, or if you can’t make it in person, to take another peek into our classrooms through our virtual “Walk-in-Wednesday” series on the ILS Blog!
During our school year, we offer families and opportunity to learn more about a classical, Christian education at Immanuel by visiting during one of our weekly Walk-in-Wednesday tours. The joyful sounds of learning will welcome visitors walking through our red doors, as students recite (and act-out!) poems and chant jingles in the lower school, and engage in excellent discussions of literature, history and theology in upper school students. Singing and music ring out from the music room, and the wonderful sights and sounds of students and teachers engaged in learning can be witnessed throughout our campus.
If you cannot visit us in person, or you’d just like to explore more of what you and your child might experience at ILS, we are sharing updates from our teachers highlighting what visitors may encounter when they step into an ILS classroom. Today, Mrs. Laurie Honig shares a delightful look at her days with our youngest ILS scholars, our 4 and 5 year-old Jr. Kindergarten students.
Please enjoy, and join us here on our ILS Blog each week as we share additional “Walk-in-Wednesday” features! (Curious to learn more? Visit us at an upcoming ILS Admissions Open House!)
Six Questions with Mrs. Schmick
Each week on the blog, our Six Questions Series introduces you to one of our wonderful faculty members. Whether you've known some of our teachers for years, or are meeting some of them for the first time, we hope this feature provides a fun opportunity to learn more about the talented and caring faculty faithfully serving our students and our families each and every day. As you see each of these teachers around campus throughout the year, please be sure to say hello!
Today's blog features Mrs. Jenny Schmick, our excellent Assistant Teacher working with our youngest students in our Jr. Kindergarten class. Enjoy!
Lutheran Schools Week - Play Together
"And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them" (Mark 10:16 ESV)
With just one day to officially celebrate National Lutheran Schools Week, students were excited to Play Together during a school-wide game hour. We give thanks for our minds and bodies - blessings from the Creator - allowing us to pray, learn, serve, and play.
Play Together - Mrs. Schmick
Children + playing = learning. Hands-down, one of the best equations ever. Our days in the Jr. include a wonderful balance of not only instruction but also play. Whether a student is completing a puzzle inside or participating in a game of tag outside, they are learning. Both surroundings are perfect environments for little minds and bodies to use kind words (Mrs. Schmick, may you please play animals with me?), increase patience (as they wait in line to kick a soccer ball), and build muscle strength and coordination (as they climb steps and ladders and catch footballs).
Lutheran Schools Week: Life Together in Christ
Although our full schedule of Lutheran Schools Week activities have been hampered by the snow, ILS and her families still join the nearly 2,300 LCMS preschools, elementary schools and high schools throughout the country celebrating this week. This year’s theme, Life Together in Christ, provides the opportunity to acknowledge that Christ is the creator of our life together and has sustained the our community for more than 70 years.
The theme verse for the week:
"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Cor. 1:9 ESV)
...focuses our attention on the joyful fellowship we have with one another, centered on Christ crucified.
Music Program Creates Unique Opportunities for Students
Immanuel Lutheran School students have begun the new school year enjoying a variety of musical opportunities, including live performances by local area musicians as well as the chance to travel off-campus to hear live professional performances.
On Friday, September 25, the entire school was treated to a special bagpipe performance by Frank Lucchetti. Mr. Lucchetti is a sophomore at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. In addition to sharing with students the history of the bagpipes and how the instrument is played, Mr. Lucchetti performed a variety of music, including both Amazing Grace and the theme song from Star Wars, much to the delight of the younger students.
Additionally, this is the fourth year in a row that ILS students have attended a performance of the Washington Bach Consort Noontime Cantata Series at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C. On October 6, students enjoyed the featured Cantata, Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95, along with a solo performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548, performed by J. Reilly Lewis on the recently restored Æolian-Skinner organ. Following the performance, students had an opportunity for Q&A with the musicians.
The music program is an important part of the classical curriculum at ILS. All students are taught music appreciation through the study of Compositions and Composers of the Week. Each week, the entire student body listens to and studies a classical composer, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonin Dvorak, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Students also learn singing and have the opportunity to perform in a number of programs throughout the year. Beginning in third grade, students also begin playing the recorder and hand chimes, and students in the upper grades have the opportunity to learn the hand bells. Additionally, ILS Upper School students are this year participating in a vocal masterclass with Ms. Stephanie Lange.
Students are looking forward to a harp demonstration from local musician Sarah Meirose on Friday, November 13th, as well as their own upcoming evening choral service in December.
Reflection on Leisure by Mrs. Honig
By Mrs. Honig
Leisure. The mere word evokes meaning and images from a quiet retreat in nature to taking time apart from work to spend time with family and friends. The word “leisure” comes from the French word “leisir” meaning “to be allowed”. I was instantly struck by this definition. Do we “allow” ourselves the opportunity to experience wonder and beauty only during inactivity or can we find leisure in work.
A Pedagogy of Beauty
How is your summer going? Leisurely?
Thanks to the ILS PTL and board, I was privileged to attend this year’s Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education conference in Dallas, where the singing was loud as the ‘ya’lls’ were resplendent. Aside from wonderful Matins and Divine Service, there was very little leisure. There was, however, good work to be done, tenets of classical Lutheran education to be remembered and challenging ideas to be discussed.
Latin Camp - And the Importance of Language Learning
Older Blog Posts
For older ILS blog posts, please visit this link to access these posts on the Immanuel Lutheran Church website.