Art
Students in grades K-8 attend art class once a week. The art instructor, Linda Nemergut, teaches students about the elements of art-line, color, value, shape, form, space and texture. Art projects-including mobiles, collages, paintings and sculptures-are designed to expose students to as many art materials and techniques as possible.
Ms. Nemergut holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Western Connecticut State University and a B.S. in Applied Arts from Charter Oak State College in Newington. She's taught watercolor painting at the Washington Art Association in Litchfield County, and has served as an instructor at Artspot in Brookfield. Linda has exhibited her work throughout the state.
Music
All students in grades K-8 attend music class once a week. Students are exposed to the sensory as well as technical elements of music (i.e., rhythm and notation, music symbols and terms) and to various periods of music. They learn to express themselves musically through movement and singing; to read music and create their own; to play music on handbells, recorders and percussion instruments in class, or through our elective Band program; and to participate in music performances during church services at Christmas and in the spring.
Spanish
Starting in the four-year-old preschool program, all students attend Spanish classes taught by Maria Adriana Rago. In kindergarten, Spanish is taught three times a week, and older grades attend Spanish class four times a week.
Señora Rago has 20 years of experience in education, including science, Spanish and bilingual programs. Her most recent professional experience includes teaching in the bilingual program at Rogers Park Middle School in Danbury and teaching Spanish at Immaculate High School in Danbury. She was also an E.S.L. tutor at South Street Elementary School and a Special Education tutor at Hayestown Avenue Elementary School, both in Danbury. She received her B.S. degree from Dr. Adolfo Alsina Teachers College in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Physical Education
Students in Grades K-8 have physical education each week. Daily recess is also an integral part of our students’ physical well-being. During their PE period, students receive age-appropriate skill- building exercises and sports activities. The emphasis through the grades is on good sportsmanship, team building and care and respect of one’s body, a gift from God. As students learn good stewardship of the miracle of their bodies through a balance of learning, movement, good nutrition, play and rest, glory is given to our Creator. Learning and practicing good sportsmanship helps us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Library
Schoen Memorial Library holds nearly 12,000 books, making it the largest elementary school library in Danbury. The books are appropriate for readers with skills from the preschool through 12th-grade level. The library also offers a wide selection of computer disks in the popular Accelerated Reader program, allowing students to read a book at their own pace and then test their own reading comprehension via a computer quiz. The library is funded through perpetual memorials, including that of Robert Kuba, who gave 6,000 books to the school.
Band
Students in grades 3-8 have the opportunity to participate in Immanuel Lutheran's band program. Six instruments are available for study: flute, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, trombone and snare drum. Each student chooses his or her instrument of study after being given a demonstration of each one.
Roberta Cappelli, a local music teacher who holds a degree from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, conducts the weekly classes. Students receive individual attention in a small group setting as they grow in their love of music and form the basis of a lifelong skill.
Computer
Students at Immanuel Lutheran School have access to computer technology in the classroom and in our computer lab. In the lab, students receive weekly instruction in computer skills building. This program is a collaboration between the technology teacher and the classroom teacher. We take into account national standards for technology (NETS) as well as Lutheran guidelines and state standards for classroom learning. Students practice technology skills (keyboarding, research strategies, online safety, etc.) as they complete projects that complement their learning in the classroom. For example, technology projects for younger students may include alphabet books, animal calendars, "Mad Lib" paragraphs, and sorted lists. Projects for older students require original research and presentation of various topics using slide shows, spreadsheet diagrams, and annotated reports.
Extracurricular Activities
In addition to the enrichment classes and opportunities listed above, throughout the school year Immanuel Lutheran students participate in such activities as:
* Music concerts for parents and during church services
* Science Fair
* Education Fair
* Annual schoolwide ice-skating party at Danbury Ice Arena
* Annual Veterans' Day Assembly, where students pay tribute to local veterans
* Brownie Troop 311 and Junior Girl Scout Troop 523
* PTL-sponsored social events, including Movie Nights, Spring Social, Costume Party and Talent Show
* Geography Bee
* Danbury News-Times-sponsored activities (4th-8th grades)
* St. Jude's Math-a-Thon
After School Clubs
ILS' s goal is to provide an education in which the whole child is enriched. By providing after-school clubs, the children have a chance to explore areas that they do not always get a chance to during the regular school day.
Clubs offered throughout the school year include:
* Origami Club
* Choir
* Art Club
* Girl Scouts
* Scrap-booking
* Yearbook
* Chess Club
* Track and Field
* Flag Football
* Basketball w/ Christian Life Academy
Field Trips
A wide variety of field trips are offered during the school year for all grades. Students at Immanuel Lutheran have taken fun and enriching day trips to such locations as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Conn.; the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.; New Pond Farm in West Redding, Conn.; and the public library, fire stations, pumpkin patches, theaters and more. In addition, the middle-school classes take a yearly overnight trip in the spring. Past destinations have included New York City; Boston; Mystic, Conn, and this year Space Camp in Canada.