I love that I can share my faith with the students as I teach them the skills they will need for life. As Colossians 1:16-17 states, "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth...He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Those verses shape my philosophy of teaching at ICS…
I kept an eye out for open English teacher positions at ICS upon first moving here in 2011, but I found out about the opening after I already had a teaching position with the homeschool Co-op in 2015. After the job was offered, we had to make a quick decision about a major change, but we felt God was leading us to ICS. We are so happy to be a part of the ICS community, and grateful for God's guidance during that time.
“ICS students fulfilled all the roles to operate a Chick-Fil-A, First Security Bank, Merit Medical, and KSL News station, and declared the experience “the best school day ever!’”
“He kept writing, practicing, and competing. By the end of his sophomore year, that stutter had disappeared and, in his senior year, he was a respected and confident contributor in classes. This young man morphed from a quiet and shy freshman with a stuttering problem to a confident young man currently attending college.”
Knowing that the COVID-19 crisis will eventually end, working backward from that point into all of the details, decisions, and attitudes of our lives today helps us determine a realistic, maintainable stride for daily life.
“Teaching Science class through Distance Learning is definitely a challenge, especially when we are studying plant growth!”
“ICS students fulfilled all the roles to operate a Chick-Fil-A, First Security Bank, Merit Medical, and KSL News station, and declared the experience “the best school day ever!’”
Our educators, administrators, staff, and volunteers invest day in and day out to lift up, encourage, push, and reach for each individual student who becomes an ICS Lion.
“He kept writing, practicing, and competing. By the end of his sophomore year, that stutter had disappeared and, in his senior year, he was a respected and confident contributor in classes. This young man morphed from a quiet and shy freshman with a stuttering problem to a confident young man currently attending college.”
“She came to me in early October to ask if MSLT could start a middle school Worship Night at ICS once a month. To be honest, I was a little reluctant about this at first because that would mean two events per month (instead of one).”
What does it look like to practice Sabbath today? While I encourage every reader to consider incorporating a full 24-hour period of Sabbath into his or her weekly rhythm, I honor the freedom Christ gives to interpret the discipline differently. As you ponder how to orient your life around three-fold communion, here are some ideas that have inspired me.
God is bringing more and more international students to study in the United States every year and you have an incredible opportunity to impact a students' life.
We want our students to do everything wholeheartedly, for God’s glory. We want them to take joy in hard work done well. Tess Tally is modeling this through the stage, our teachers are teaching this in the classroom, and our coaches expect this on the courts and fields.
The success of the Speech and Debate program is not necessarily about the high intelligence of the students (although that doesn’t hurt), but it is the way each student is valued as an individual.
ICS did so much for me socially, academically and spiritually, but it also developed in me a love for math and science.
In December of 2007, I took a group of high school band students to Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO. There was a relatively new event for select high school musicians called Best of the West. One of the special components of Best of the West is that CMU commissions a composer each year to write a piece of music for the university’s Wind Symphony to perform. This composer is in residence during the event and works with the high school musicians as they perform one of his pieces for the Best of the West finale concert. It is truly a highlight for our students each year.
This past December during the Best of the West, I was having a conversation with Benjamin Taylor, the commissioned composer for the year. As we talked about various things that directors and composers talk about, Benjamin became more and more intrigued with ICS and the band program here. He then said, “Nathan, can we talk about maybe working together on something soon?!” The following week we spent a little over an hour on the phone talking further about the ICS band program and how it has been able to offer unique opportunities to our students. We went on to talk about the possibility of a direct commission for ICS. After speaking with various supporters of the ICS Music Department, the funds were lined up and we were able to commission a piece to be written for the ICS Symphonic Band. To the average person, a commissioned band piece doesn’t sound like a very big deal. On the contrary, it is a huge deal! When I mentioned to Leon Chodos (Utah Symphony bassoonist), Graeme Mutchler (Utah Symphony bass trombonist), and Josh Reimann (Eastmont Middle School Instrumental Director) that we were commissioning a work for the band they each reacted with great excitement. Leon stated, “Most music students never experience being part of a commissioned work throughout their schooling and even through the university level!” This year, the ICS band students in 5th through 12th grades get to be part of a once in a lifetime experience! One very special aspect of this commission is how Dr. Taylor is going to work through this with our students.
Often, when a band work is commissioned, the composer is paid and then writes the piece of music and sends it to the group to be performed. Not so with this piece! Dr. Taylor is going to do a couple of Skype sessions with our band students during class time this fall to introduce them to the process and give them an idea of how he goes about composing a piece of music. Throughout the fall he will keep us up to date with the progress of the piece. Then, in January, we will have a final Skype session where he will present us with the finished product. Our students will be able to have input on portions of the piece as well as naming the work. We will begin rehearsing the music in January in preparation for our Spring Instrumental Concert on April 30, where we will perform the world premiere of the work. Dr. Taylor will be coming to ICS to work with students on final touches and then be presented for the premiere concert. To learn more about Dr. Benjamin Taylor, visit his website at benjamintaylormusic.com.
By Nathan Hope, ICS Music Director
He washed me with His grace as I entered into a knowing that He’s used ICS, this community, these friends, mentors, and teachers to come alongside him.
My experiences on music tour were the guiding factor in choosing to now be a double major in International Studies and Christian Ministries.
“This past week our family experienced an emotional and unexpected journey. Our oldest son, who is an ICS Alum (c/o 2016), is a Cadet at West Point Military Academy in New York. He was home for our youngest son’s 2019 graduation from ICS and headed back to WP for field training.”
“…college coaches are actually more interested in players who play multiple sports because they have more of a tendency to always compete.”
I learned (as I furiously jotted notes down) about the vision they have for the team and I was left thinking, “man alive, I wish my former soccer coaches had vision like these guys!”
“As a busy parent, who hopes to create a reading culture for your family, you might need to multi-task while read-aloud is happening. Instead of being the voice reading the story, allow an audible device (car, Audible App or CD player) to play that part. While prepping for dinner, folding laundry or driving to dance class, you, along with your children, will have the opportunity to hear exceptional vocabulary and the templates of beautiful language patterns.”
