Happy Mother's Day
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
Principal’s Message:
Happy Mother’s Day to our ECA moms,
If you have every watched “The Jungle Book” by Disney, you have a better understanding of the adventures I had as a child. I was fortunate to grow up in the country without bright city lights, traffic noise, or even shoes on my feet on most days. Peeling the day’s dust off of my busy blur, my mom would usually say two prayers a day: a prayer in the morning to keep me safe all day, and a prayer in the evening thanking the good Lord for helping me survive to see another day.
Rudyard Kipling, the author of “The Jungle Book,” wrote this about mothers, “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” I won’t list all of my daring exploits, but needless to say my mom was worthy of sainthood.
I was incredibly blessed to have someone in my life who helped me picture what Jesus’ love for me could look like. Thank you ECA moms for sharing that same love with your children and our extended ECA family.
"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." - Proverbs 31:26
P/T Conferences
ECA will not be having a formal day for P/T conferences this 4th quarter. Instead, individual teachers will be reaching out to families to share MAP results and plan strategies for summer success. Our desire is to give you feedback to help you understand the progress your child has made, and an educational map to show how your child can reinforce important ideas over the summer.
ECA 1/2 Day Friday
This Friday we will be having a 1/2 day Friday. School will let out at 12:30. This school year began with Covid conditions that made getting together challenging. As we come out of the year together, we have already seen a difference in times we can be together. With that said, ECA will be having a “modified” Track & Field Day this Friday after our morning chapel and community service time. Our goal is to have about 2 hours of events.
The weather forecast is predicting low 60s and some rain throughout the day. Our classes will be moving through different events: 100 meter dash, 400 meter relay, 1 lap, javelin throw, shotput, and running long jump.
Parents, if you would like to join us and watch students compete, you are welcome to come early. We are planning for events to go from 9:30-11:45. Lunch and a 12:30 dismissal would follow. Students will be receiving ribbons for events on our final day of school, Friday, June 10. We have an awards ceremony at school on this last day.
Our goal as a school is to provide moments we can get together as a school family. Although Covid placed challenges for us this year, we are excited we can put a modified Track & Field Day back into our school year, and we look forward to having a day-long community planned event next year.
ECA Jog-a-thon
This year, our school has been blessed with an opportunity for donations of up to $150,000 to be matched dollar for dollar. This time period is ending on June 30, 2022. So far, ECA has had close to $130,000 donated.
ECA is planning on investing a portion of the matching funds to our playground. We will be replacing much of the rocks in the playground with a rubberized surface. This surface will help our students have a safer playground experience.
Your child brought home a packet explaining one way we are hoping to raise the last funds to maximize our matching donor’s gift. Please take time and consider ways friends and family could help our school meet this exciting opportunity.
There are prizes for donations received that will be given at the end of this week, next week, and after our jog-a-thon. Home & School has organized this project and provided ways to reward families for getting started early. Ask your child about the jog-a-thon packet for all the details.
ECA Spring Music Program & Expo
As a school, we are excited to be able to share an evening of music with your families on Thursday, May 26. Another ECA tradition our school has hosted has been the Emerald Expo. This “open house” and display of yearly projects has usually been an event we have had in late April. Covid made for difficult planning this year, so we will be having a “smaller” version of our traditional Expo in combination with our Spring music program. Classrooms will be open for families to visit from 6:30-7:00. Our music program will then start at 7:15. Upon completion of our music program, classrooms will again be open for an additional 30 minutes.
In the past, Home & School has provided a meal. This year, there will be no meal provided. We are excited as we prepare for next year to adding our Emerald Expo as an ECA Family Event in April.
ECA Yearly Constituency Meeting
Our school is supported by 6 local constituent churches. Representatives from these churches make up our school board. Once a year, we have a yearly meeting aside from our monthly school boards to share information about the past year, and present our plans for the coming year. This meeting will take place on Thursday, May 19. It will be held in the ECA gym at 7:30. All families are invited to attend.
ECA Outdoor School for Grades 6&7
Students in grades 6&7 will be able to participate in an Outdoor School program sponsored by Mr. Gaylor & Mrs. Thorp on May 20-22. This weekend, parents of students in grades 6&7 received a short survey. Please fill this online form out and return it so we can better plan for needed supplies.
ECA will be hosting a community blood drive through Red Cross
Our school values our community. During the past year, shortages in blood donations have been challenging for health officials. We want to do our part to help. On Thursday, June 2, our school will be hosting a blood drive in our school library from 12:00-5:00. We have 37 time slots we are trying to fill to support our community. You can be part of a school family that makes a difference in our community!
If you have ever considered donating blood, we still have several time slots to fill. Click on the link below to see available times for that Thursday.
Who: This is an invitation to adult friends and families of Emerald Christian Academy.
What: Click on the link to sign up for a time to donate blood at our school.
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=emeraldchristianacademy
When: Thursday, June 2 from 12:00 - 5:00.
Where: ECA Library
Why: We love our community and our mission is to Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
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
ECA Covid Policy
ECA Covid Policy for the Rest of the Year
After-School Schedules for this Week
This week:
Monday - Yearbook
Tuesday - Lego Robotics
Wednesday - Library
Thursday - Outdoor Learning.
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I hope this new week is filled with daily reminders of God’s blessings.
Announcements & Upcoming Events
May 13-16 - 8th Grade Class Trip to Lincoln City
May 20-22 - Grades 6&7 Outdoor School
Tuesday, May 24 - ECA Jogathon Fundraiser
Thursday, May 26 - ECA Spring Music Program & Expo
Monday, May 30 - No School - Memorial Day