Storing It All
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
January 22, 2023
I know it’s a new year because I have the same question that goes through everyone’s mind this time of the year, “What am I going to do with all of this stuff?” It doesn’t matter if it is your favorite hardware store or grocery store, one thing all outlets have in common is the month of January is synonymous with finding new solutions to store everything. Our generous spirit of Christmas giving is usually followed by finding the best deals to deposit our doodads into depositories to be decided upon at a distant, determined date.
I did a Google search for “storage bins January” and there were over 93 million hits. Some of the more interesting titles were things like “Do we really need to store it all?" or “Time to Undeck the halls.” One thing that I do during the Christmas break is sort through all of the phone pics and movies that have been taken over the previous year and store them on a backup hard drive. I have pictures and movies saved since my girls were newborns. I remember telling a friend of mine about my strategy to keep everything organized. I was surprised when he replied by asking me, “Who is ever going to have time to look through all of that?” It made me think a little. Am I focusing on where I have been and what I have done, or am I focusing on where I need to go and how God can help me achieve that? As we start the 2023 year, I hope we can all see the importance of finding a place for God in our lives.
MAP Testing This Week
We will be having MAP testing this week in the morning hours at school. Students will be tested in language arts, reading, and mathematics. Students will take one test each day. MAP testing is unique in that it uses a computer interface to customize the test for your child’s individual level. Most tests take between 1 - 1/2 hours of testing time. Results will be shared when reports are passed out next week. Thank you to our Home & School volunteers for providing snacks to keep our students’ minds engaged!
AG Program and Monthly Classroom Participation
Mr. Johnston was out last week at a conference. He will be gone tomorrow too. He will be back on Tuesday to resume our after-school AG program. Just a reminder that our school day classroom Agriculture program will start the first Monday next month, February 6. Our first class will be the students in grades 7&8. Make sure they have the necessary attire to spend two hours outside in an area filled with dirt and possible cold weather. Here is a schedule of when your child will be involved in the afternoon class:
Monday, February 6 - Grades 7&8
Monday, February 13 - Grades 5&6
Monday, February 27 - Grades 3&4
Monday, March 6 - Grade K (1:15-2:15) and Grades 1&2 (2:15-3:15)
Students will be outside and working in a garden space. Plan now as you look at the schedule of dates. Boot and gloves should be worn. If boots are not available, students can bring an extra pair of old shoes, but please send a bag so they can be put in the bag and sent home until the next class rotation. Students who already have boots and gloves from the after-school program are all set.
If you have not signed up for the after-school program and would like to do that on a monthly basis, please call the office. The one-time fee of $50 covers all days of the week (M-Th) for all students in a family. There is also a $5 per day option. Just call the office to sign up.
ECA Winter Visitation Day
Our next 1/2 day Friday in February, Feb. 10, will be our winter visitation day. We are excited to see our school grow, and we are always trying to find ways to make our program better to meet our community’s needs. If you have friends in the community who are looking for a change in their child’s education, be sure to share the date. The visitation day will last the entire 1/2 day Friday and visiting families will be able to have a sample of what makes ECA special. There will also be a session time to meet with the principal for a Q&A session. There will be a hot lunch offered that day and visiting families eat for free. Please have families call the school at 541-746-1708 to sign up for the day.
Grade SIX Outdoor School is Coming Up
Students in grade six will be going to outdoor school from February 14-17. Students will be going to Big Lake Youth Camp out of Sisters, OR. If you would like to see more about Big Lake Youth Camp and the facility, just click on the link below to see more about the camp. Students will be staying in cabins. Boys and girls will be separated. Mr. Gaylor will be the boys’ chaperone. Mrs. Raman has volunteered to go up and be the girls’ chaperone. If you would like to join us, it is important to get your background check and volunteer paperwork done immediately so there is time for everything to be processed. There is no additional cost and registration paperwork will be going home soon.
Grades 7&8 Winter Meeting This Tuesday
Families in grades 7&8, plan on attending our Winter Meeting this Tuesday evening at 6:30 in Ms. Lidia’s classroom. We will be discussing the upcoming mission trip to Monterey Bay, California. It is important that we have an accurate count on students and parents that would like to attend this Spring Break outing. If you are unable to attend in person, a zoom link will be mailed out so you can join us.
ECA Winter Survey
I am just putting the finishing touches on the Winter Survey. I will send out a link to the shared Google survey in the next couple days. Thank you for keeping an eye out for it. It should only take about 4-5 minutes to complete.
ECA Winter Ski Day for ASB students in grades 5-8
Packets for the ECA Winter Ski/Snowboarding Program went home last week. They need to be returned by this Thursday in order to lock in our rates and times at Hoodoo. Please be sure to get those packets returned. It is important that we have a returned form for every person in your family that is attending. If you need more forms, students can get extra copies at school or copies can be made from the papers sent home. Remember, ECA will be making ONE payment to Hoodoo for everything that happens on that day. Please make payments for the lift tickets or rentals out to Emerald Christian Academy. This program is for students in grades 5-8. Students in grades 1-4 will have two weeks of swimming lessons the first two weeks of May.
A Thought On Our After-School Program
If your family has been utilizing our after-school program, that is wonderful. We appreciate and respect the commitment you have to Christian education, and we try to provide a safe and nurturing program to help your child grow. We ask that you arrive as close to 5:00 as possible. Teachers who run the program after school often find their “after-school” day is a late day. Many teachers often leave school 6:30 or later on those days as they struggle to rush back to the classroom and get ready for the next day. Thank you for your understanding.
Winter Fundraiser - Extended turn-in date will be tomorrow, January 23!
This is our final day of the Territorial Seed Fundraiser. Orders are due the 23rd of this week. Note: Territorial Seed Company has hundreds of types of seeds. The seeds that they make available to us at a discounted price are not from their entire catalogue. Only seeds from the fundraising catalogue can be purchased at the “fundraiser price.”
Click here for the fundraiser catalogue.
Click here for the fundraiser order form.
ASB Ice Skating Outing this Thursday
We will be taking a school bus to the ice skating rink. Parents can pick up their children at the Lane County Fairgrounds skating rink or at school when the evening is over.
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
January 23-26 - Winter MAP testing
Friday, February 10 - ECA Winter Visitation Day
February 14-17 - 6th Grade Outdoor School for 6th Grade Students
February 23 - Ski/Snowboarding Trip for Grades 5-8
“‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” - Zechariah 1:3