On the Home Stretch
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
Hello ECA family,
When the month of August begins the school year, I often wonder where the twists and turns of the new school year will take us. As the weeks have rolled along, these newsletters have hopefully provided you with important information for the upcoming week. But even more importantly, it is my hope that these short messages have helped us all to keep our eyes focused on a loving God who is ready to go through every twist and turn. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
As we start the home stretch, nine more school days, each day will be filled with a rush of unexpected moments. Just like a symphony is composed of many instruments, our school year has been made of many moments. As we enter the home stretch, I pray all of the pieces will come together and our students and families will end the year wiser and closer in their education and walk with God.
Who would have ever guessed there is indeed an orchestral piece called “The Home Stretch.” Here it is in its entirety of about 3 minutes. (Yes, that’s how fast these last few days will go!) Hang on!
And let us hold on to the one thing that will always be a constant as we continue to trust God in our families, churches, classrooms, and school.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” - Hebrews 10:23
Thank you ECA students from the Springfield SDA Church
We were so blessed by our students at this past weekend’s church program at the Springield SDA Church. If you missed it and would like to hear the service, you can follow the link. Our students in grades 5-8 performed special music and children’s story. Mr. Gaylor gave the sermon for the service, “What Makes a Good Story?”
Looking Ahead to our 2025 school year.
As this year winds down and we start to plan for next year, our school continues to work with the conference leadership team to work on filling our grades 1&2 classroom. Names, resumes, and job interests are starting to be discussed and we will keep you informed of the general progress. We will keep the ECA Job Opening Post open through this process.
What else do families need to know as we look to next year? We are starting to get phone calls for new families interested in our school. There is a way you can help too. In the past, we have marketed our school with yard signs. We are in the process of ordering new, updated yard signs for the coming year. Our hope is to have them for you and pass them out at the end of the year. I know I will be placing mine in my yard as I replace the older sign. Thank you for supporting our school as we continue to trust in God’s direction and seek ways to share a strong educational program and God’s love to families in our Willamette Valley.
Tuesday, June 4 - ECA Spring Music Program
ECA will be having their spring music program at the ECA gym on Tuesday evening. Students in grades K-8 should plan on being at school at 6:30 with our program ready to begin at 7:00. Students should plan on wearing clothing they might wear for a special outing or church program. Spring colors are encouraged. We ask that students please refrain from t-shirts and jeans.
Thursday, June 6 - ECA Kindergarten Recognition
ECA will hold their annual Kindergarten recognition program on June 6. This morning program will follow with a short reception for students and families in the homeroom classroom. This will be the last day of school for kindergarten students for the 2024 school year. For students in grades 1-8, there will still be one more week of school.
Thursday, June 13 - ECA 8th Grade Class Graduation
ECA holds a graduation ceremony for the 8th grade class every June. All school families are invited to attend. This year’s program will begin at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 13 at the Pleasant Hill SDA Church across from the school. We are proud of the accomplishments of all of our students; however, it is nice to celebrate the accomplishments of our students as they get ready for high school.
Friday, June 14 - 1/2 Day Friday & Last Day of School
ECA’s last day of school will be on Friday, June 14. The day will begin at 8:00 for students. We will have an all-school awards chapel in the gym at 8:30. This final chapel usually runs a little over one hour. Parents are invited. During this time, school and classrooms awards are handed out. Students are recognized for many different things. Additionally, the school also recognizes student achievement with scholarships for the upcoming year. This year, ECA is giving out over $7,000 in awards and scholarships that can be used to help with next year’s tuition.
The day will end at 12:30. There will be NO after-school program on that last 1/2 Friday. There will also be NO hot lunch on that last day.
Hot Lunch Program
The updated menu for each month is posted at the beginning of every month on the school website. Here is the menu for our last two weeks.
Please place all orders for each week before Monday morning at 8:45.
Simply type your child’s first & last name.
Select the option that fits the order for the week.
Choose your payment method.
Click Submit.
Prices for meals:
students in grades K-2 - $5,
students in grades 3-8 - $6.
Just a reminder… our hot lunch menu is posted on our website.
http://www.emeraldchristian.com
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