Welcome Back to Our New 2025 School Year!

 

At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.

Principal’s Message:

Hello ECA families,

Tomorrow will be our first day of school.

We have 58 students enrolled at ECA.

Kindergarten - 1 student

Grades 1&2 - 16 students

Grade 3&4 - 12

Grades 5&6 - 15

Grades 7&8 - 14

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There are a few things to plan on as you arrive at school tomorrow morning:

  • The front of the school is divided into two areas. There is parking in front of the upper grade wing and there is parking in front of the library and down. As you arrive tomorrow, if you are planning on parking and dropping your child off, try and stick to the parking areas. I understand that many of you have children who are in both lower (K-4) and upper (5-8), so choose what works best for you.

  • Every morning, I will be standing out and checking students into the school. I plan on being out there from 7:45 - 8:00. If you come after 8:00, you will need to check your child in at the front office. The front office doors are locked and you will be able to check in and be let in. Students in grades K-8 will be going to their homerooms every morning.

  • If you are planning on dropping your child off and pulling away, there is usually a line that forms at the library's back door and goes down towards the lower wing. Please be respectful of those parking and walking their children to classes.

  • If you would like to walk your child back to their classrooms, you can do that in the morning. Many parents take first-day photos.

  • We have a wonderful community that we are part of here on Zephyr Way. Our neighbors have asked us to remind you to please keep your speed at 25 mph or slower the whole length of the road. There are several pets that are loved and we want to keep everyone safe.

  • In the next couple of days, our office staff will be sending out emails to verify pickups that are in the AE Connect System. When our office staff prints out reports of who can pick up children from the previous year, it is out of date. In the next couple days, parents will be getting a link to the AE Connect Parent Portal. There should be a place to update contacts.

  • Our school day is from 8:00-3:30. There will be after-school for those who have signed up. For parents picking up their children, we ask that parents of students in grades 5-8 generally park in front of the upper wing, and parents in grades K-4 park in the lower wing. Again, sometimes we have parents who pull up without parking and we send children out to vehicles. Children are checked out from school every day even during general pickup. As we learn about vehicles and drivers, this may take a little time for the first few days. Our goal is child safety.

  • Hot lunch will begin next week. The hot lunch menu will be posted in next week’s school newsletter. Students will still be eating in the lunchroom this week, but should plan on bringing their own lunch this week. There are three microwaves in the lunchroom that are shared among the students.

  • Office hours / staffing are shared this year. From 8:00-1:00, Cali Dunks will be in the office. From 1:00 - 2:00, Doug Gaylor will be in the office. From 2:00 - 4:00, Crystal Williams will be in the office.

  • Also, we had to make a slight change to our calendar. We originally had our Back-to-School Night scheduled for Thursday, but we are needing to move it to Tuesday, September 10. Students in grades 7&8 and upper grade staff will be gone to middle school Bible Camp on that Thursday.

We are excited to start this new year with you, and we look forward to a fun week. This first week is a 4-day, M-Th week.

Christian Counseling Available - Free Resources:

The NAD (North American Division of SDA) has recently shared new resources for children and teens that offer a safe and anonymous place to talk or text. Here is a news release from the NAD.

We’re excited to announce the launch of www.aruggedjourney.org our newest NAD site providing free online mentoring for guys. A Rugged Journey joins www.gorgeous2god.org (for young women) which has grown in its scope and ministry since its beginning in 2017.

These sites, along with their counterparts on social media, provide free help to our teens/young adults in a space they can ask questions without judgment or fear. The questions are answered by a team of dedicated Seventh-day Adventists at AIM on the campus of Andrews University.

In addition to the confidential Q & A, positive content is provided through videos, posts, etc. 

www.gorgeous2god.org/ FB: gorgeous2god/ IG: @gorgeous2god 

www.aruggedjourney.org/ FB: aruggedjourney/ IG: @aruggedjourney

Announcements & Upcoming Events

  • Monday, September 2 - Labor Day, No School.

  • Tuesday, September 10 - ECA Back-to-school-Night, more information coming this week.

  • Friday, September 13- ECA’s first 1/2 day Friday

  • Thursday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 15 - Bible Camp for 7th & 8th Grade students

  • Friday, September 20 - ASB (Grades 5-8) Beach trip to Florence and the Oregon Coast

 
Doug Gaylor