Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Ashley Palmer

It’s our final countdown 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 are 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!As we count down to the 2022-2023 school year, our Meet Us Monday Blog series returns to introduce you to the outstanding new teachers joining our ILS faculty this year.

Mrs. Ashley Palmer will be our Jr. Kindergarten Assistant Teacher. Mrs. Palmer has been a part of our Immanuel community for many years as a parent to two ILS current ILS students, and we are delighted to have her join the faculty this year!

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Palmer!

What We're Reading - August

We hope that our ILS students and families have been enjoying a restful and relaxing summer. While it is certainly quieter on campus, our faculty and staff have kept busy - participating in the CCLE summer conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and continuing to work on may projects for the upcoming year. We are delighted that a number of our families have joined us in our ILS Summer Book Club as we’ve enjoyed Anthony Esolen’s “Life Under Compulsion: Ten Ways to Destroy the Humanity of Your Child.” (We’d love to have you join us for our final conversation on Thursday, August 18th!)

Next month our hallways and classrooms will again be filled with the delightful sounds of children and teachers as we kick-off the 2022-2023 school year! We are all looking forward to seeing all of our returning families and welcoming many new faces to our Immanuel community. September will be a busy month with Back to School Nights, Constitution Day, Oktoberfest, and more!

Returning families will be familiar with our monthly "What we're reading..." blog series. Each month we share a brief selection of articles with our community. As we think about and work together at shaping and nurturing our culture together at school and at home, we hope that these articles may be inspiring, intriguing, encouraging, or thought-provoking, and that hopefully they will spark further conversations and dialogue.

What are you reading this summer? Are there things that you have read that you think others in our community may enjoy reading? Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!

Thank you for your continued partnership, and for engaging with us!

ILS Summer Book Recommendations

Happy Summer! We are already missing the joyful sounds of students filling the classrooms and hallways, but we do hope that students and families are able to enjoy a fun and restful summer break.

As it is throughout our school year together, we hope that reading continues to be a regular part of the summer routine and summer schole for both students and their families. Parents are welcome to join us in reading our Summer Book Club selection: Life Under Compulsion: ten ways to destroy the humanity of your child, by Anthony Esolen, and join us at one or more of our book club discussions.

Looking for some additions to your child’s summer reading (or your own)? We invited faculty and staff to pass along their suggestions for books for students and parents this summer.

Additionally, our ILS teachers have compiled a list of suggested readings for both Upper and Lower School students as a resource for families to help select books that students may enjoy, both reading books from their own grade level, or listening as parents read aloud from more challenging texts. Looking for even more recommendations? Check out a couple of our past summer reading blog posts filled with ideas and favorites from ILS faculty past and present!

What is on your own summer reading list? Are you checking out something new, or re-visiting an old favorite? Let us know in the comments!

What We're Reading - March

The first hints of spring are in the air, and we looking to warmer days and Spring Break just around the corner!

Ash Wednesday (March 2nd) marked the beginning of the penitential season of Lent. As we received the cross of ashes on our forehead and heard the words "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return," we were reminded of our sinfulness and the life and hope we have in the crucified and risen Savior.

In February, we very much enjoyed holding admissions meetings with families who applied to ILS for the 2022-2023 school year. It was wonderful to hear more about what attracted them to Immanuel, and so much of what they shared centered both on the type of culture and community we have here at ILS, as well as the emphasis we place on the role of parents in the education of their children. We are excited to welcome a number of new families to join our Immanuel community in the upcoming school year!

Every month, we compile a "What we're reading..." blog post with a selection of articles that we would like to share with our community as we think about shaping and nurturing our culture together at school and at home. These are pieces that our faculty and staff have found recently to be inspiring, intriguing, encouraging, or thought-provoking. Are there things that you have read that you think others in our community may enjoy reading? Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!

Thank you for your continued partnership, and for engaging with us!

What We're Reading - February

January was quite the busy month between our return to school following Christmas Break, our final Admissions Open House of the year followed by our admissions application deadline, the March for Life, some snow days, and National Lutheran Schools Week!

As we meet with families applying to ILS as part of the admissions process, it is wonderful to hear more about what attracted them to Immanuel, and so much of what they share focuses both on the type of culture and community we have here at ILS, as well as the emphasis we place on the role of parents in the education of their children. It is a delight to meet so many families who share these values and desire to see their families become a part of this community.

Every month, we compile a "What we're reading..." blog post with a selection of articles that we would like to share with our community as we think about shaping and nurturing our culture together at school and at home. These are pieces that our faculty and staff have found recently to be inspiring, intriguing, encouraging, or thought-provoking. Are there things that you have read that you think others in our community may enjoy reading? Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!

Thank you for your continued partnership, and for engaging with us!

National Lutheran Schools Week 2022

It was a delight to again celebrate National Lutheran Schools Week alongside fellow Lutheran schools across the country. At Immanuel, we enjoyed many of our favorite NLSW traditions: Drop Everything and Read Day, dress as a favorite literary character day, engineering competitions, door decorating contests, Peeps Diorama challenges, the Bible Bee, dress as a Bible character day, Teacher Swap, and more! Thank you to students, teachers, and parents for helping make this week one of the highlights of our year. Enjoy some of the photos of all the fun from the week.

What We're Reading - December

Happy December and Blessed Advent!

Sunday marked the first day of a new Church year, and the beginning of the Season of Advent. Advent wreaths around the school are helping mark the time we wait to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, and our waiting for the final coming of our Jesus, who will bring us into His kingdom.

We are beyond thankful for all the ways our Immanuel community participated in our ILS Month of Service throughout the month of November. Your generosity abounded in supporting our Thanksgiving Meal kits and food collection for Christ House. Families generously shared their time in participating in our Salute to Veterans program, along with serving as recess volunteers, classroom readers. And of course the ILS teachers and staff were incredibly blessed by the incredible Thanksgiving lunch shared by so many families before the Thanksgiving holiday.

At Immanuel, we truly believe that parents have the primary role in the education of their children. This is why we fundamentally believe that the relationship between home and school is so vital in the education and nurturing of children. It is a joy and a privilege to work so closely together with our families as we share in this important endeavor. Together with you we engage in the work of shaping our culture at school and at home. Each month, we compile a "What we're reading..." blog post with a small selection of articles that our faculty and staff have found recently to be inspiring, intriguing, encouraging, or thought-provoking. We always love to hear your thoughts on these or other things you’ve been reading as well.

Thank you for your continued partnership, and for engaging with us! Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!

Meet Us Monday: The Barnett Family

We are continuing our Meet Us Monday Blog series - now re-introducing two former ILS teachers who are now pursuing studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This year’s Chapel Offerings are supporting the Schultz and Barnett families.

Today, we are introducing you to Mr. Aaron Schultz, his wife, Katie, and their four boys, Canon, Ben, Sam, and Gus. Mr. Schultz was the Upper School Math, Science, and PE teacher, as well as the ILS Athletic Director from 2013-2018. The Schultz’s oldest son Canon attended Jr. Kindergarten at ILS in 2016-2017 and Kindergarten in 2017-2018. Mr. Schultz in in his final year of studies at the Seminary.We are continuing our Meet Us Monday Blog series - now re-introducing two former ILS teachers who are now pursuing studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This year’s Chapel Offerings are supporting the Schultz and Barnett families.

Today, we are introducing you to Mr. Shawn Barnett, his wife, Molly, and their two children, John Ambrose and Elise Adair. Mrs. Barnett taught fourth grade and piano lessons at ILS from 2013-2019 then only piano lessons from 2019-2021. Mr. Barnett taught Latin, History, and Theology from 2017-2021.

Meet Us Monday: The Schultz Family

We are continuing our Meet Us Monday Blog series - now re-introducing two former ILS teachers who are now pursuing studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This year’s Chapel Offerings are supporting the Schultz and Barnett families.

Today, we are introducing you to Mr. Aaron Schultz, his wife, Katie, and their four boys, Canon, Ben, Sam, and Gus. Mr. Schultz was the Upper School Math, Science, and PE teacher, as well as the ILS Athletic Director from 2013-2018. The Schultz’s oldest son Canon attended Jr. Kindergarten at ILS in 2016-2017 and Kindergarten in 2017-2018. Mr. Schultz in in his final year of studies at the Seminary.