A Community Thanksgiving
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
You are Invited!
ECA Thanksgiving Potluck & Holiday Craft Fair is This Friday
Nothing says family and friends like Thanksgiving. You are invited to join us as we celebrate our school and church community this Friday during our annual ECA Thanksgiving meal. For many years now, we have opened our school up to school families, church members, and our school community. Last week, you should have received a REMIND Notice with more information about how each family can help out. Depending on the classroom your child is in, there are different items to bring. The link provided you with a shared sign-up sheet on Google Documents. If you are unable to access the link, you can call the school office to sign up with an item.
Thank you especially to our Home & School, who is providing the main “kid-friendly” entrees. As school families, if we each do a small part, we will have plenty of food for everyone. Please note: Our meal is vegetarian. Please do not send any foods containing meat. Also, please use disposable serving dishes, if possible, to speed up clean-up time. Also, if you notice that a particular food item looks full, you can look at the bottom of the list for an “Other Ideas” list. Food contributions DO NOT have to be traditional Thanksgiving foods; kid-friendly food is always a hit with our elementary, tweens, and youth.
Please note: We are planning on feeding around 150+ (children + church & school community families). For parents picking up their children at 12:30 for 1/2 day Friday, this is an opportunity to come a little early and share in an annual ECA celebration with family and friends. Our school Thanksgiving meal will begin at 11:00. Food can be dropped off in the office on Friday morning. During the morning hours, volunteers will be turning the gym into a Thanksgiving dining hall.
New this year - We will be having a Holiday Craft Fair November 22 in the ECA Gymnasium during the Thanksgiving meal. Lunch will be served at 11 AM followed by a Holiday Craft Fair from 1-3 PM. If you are a crafter and would like to have a table at the fair, please contact Carrie Dunks at carriedunks@gmail.com or 530-632-6441 for more information
A Teacher Shares More About SBL & Her Experience
Andrea Perry, an English and Spanish teacher at Columbia Adventist Academy, has embraced standards-based teaching, learning, and grading. She loves how it shows “why we are learning what we are learning, and how everything builds. Learning is more succinct.” She finds that it gives “clarity and direction in planning. The focus is taken off materials and put on learning.” Andrea has found that standards-based teaching and grading is “not a hurdle to overcome, but a support.”
A huge piece of standards-based learning is the use of proficiency scales. Andrea finds that for the students “proficiency scales are a clear roadmap of where we are starting and where we are going.” They show how things connect. “Students know just where they stand. It changes the conversation from how do I get these points to what do I need to know to achieve the standard. SBL (Standards Based Learning) boosts their self-esteem and confidence.” She also finds that by posting her proficiency scales in Teams and in Renweb, parents can also know what their students are learning and what they need to do to reach proficiency. Andrea has found that competency-based teaching with a focus on standards has given her better direction to design curriculum. “I needed something to hang on. This lit that spark. The standards have given me excellent guidance.” And while she admits that she has “definitely made mistakes,” she is constantly asking herself, “Am I doing this right? How can I do this better?”
Looking at curriculum through the lens of standards and proficiency scales brings a sharp focus to teaching. “I had some activities that were cool, but I had to ask myself, ‘Did they help me get to the standard?’ Are they the best use of our time?” At the beginning, Andrea had some concerns about some of the “pillars” of standards-based teaching, learning, and grading. While she wholeheartedly agreed with the competency-based approach, she was worried that the lack of penalty for late work would backfire, and students would flood her desktop with last minute papers. She was also concerned that students would abuse reassessing when they did not reach proficiency, taking and retaking assessments until they finally got it right. She has been pleasantly surprised. Interestingly enough, the issue of late work is not any different than it was before standards-based learning. In fact, Andrea finds it “much easier to handle because I’m not obsessed with how to grade it. The proficiency scales make grading much easier.”
SBL and proficiency scales support students by giving them the relevant feedback they need to move forward, “what they actually need to do to master the learning objective.” That is why it is important that students get the opportunity to finish their practice. What is placed in the gradebook is all about what students know and are able to do, not when they turn in their practice. Andrea’s fears about continual haphazard reassessment have also dissipated. Because she is a highly organized teacher who is very clear about expectations, her students know that going about the business of reassessing takes some work on their part. When students reassess, “they go through the process of making a plan.” This includes their thoughts on the initial assessment, “a reflection of their learning,” and their strategy to reach proficiency on their second attempt. The plan, along with a signature from the student and the teacher, “protects the teacher’s time” and focuses the reassessment on what the student still needs to do to reach proficiency.
Hult Center Musical Field Trip for Grades 3-6
Grades 3-6 Music Field Trip to the Hult Center
Students in grades 3-6 will be going to the Hult Center on Tuesday, November 19. Parking is very limited, so we will be taking the bus for this mid-day field trip. Students should wear their ECA school shirt if they have them. There is no additional charge for this music program. All seats have been prepaid, so unfortunately, we are not able to bring parents along. Mrs. Harness, Mr. Gaylor, and Mrs. Vojtko will be sponsors for the trip. Students will be leaving school at 11:30 on Tuesday and returning a little after 2:00.
November - No School Tomorrow, Nov. 18
The month of November has a mixture of days that affect our normal school week.
Monday, November 18 - No School - Teacher In-Service Day.
Friday, November 22 - 1/2 day Friday will be on November 22 this month.
Wednesday, November 27 - 1/2 day of school to start the Thanksgiving Vacation. No after-school on this day.
Thursday, November 28 - No School - Thanksgiving Day
November 19-22 - Fall Week of Prayer
We are looking forward to Pastor Ashok’s upcoming Week of Prayer. Pastor Ashok is the current pastor at Storyline SDA Church in Eugene. He is an important part of our area’s youth ministry outreach. Our Week of Prayer meetings will go from 8:20-9:00 Tuesday - Friday this week.
November 22-23 - OR Conference of SDA Youth Weekend
ECA will be hosting a youth weekend in coordination with our conference’s youth program. Here is more information about the upcoming weekend:
AG Program - Monday’s Science Class
Our Monday AG classes will continue at the end of the month. Students will be outdoors doing a variety of things with Mr. Wyatt Johnson. Throughout the year, there may be a few rainy days. Boots and gloves are great things for working outdoors on Monday Science Days. Water bottles are great things to have outside too. Note, there will be no AG classes on Monday, November 11 (Veteran’s Day) or November 18 (Teacher in-service day). Here is a schedule of the days and classes:
Monday, November 25 - Grades 5&6
Monday, December 2 - Grades 3&4
Hot lunch happens every Monday and Wednesday. Additionally, whenever we have a 1/2 Friday, hot lunch will be offered by our Home & School. You can click on the link below to order hot lunch for the week for your child. If you have more than one child, please click the link more than once and turn in one week’s submission for each child. There is a payment option that is included in the form.
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, November 18 - No School - Teacher Inservice Day
Tuesday, November 19 - Grades 3-6 Field Trip to the Hult Center
Tuesday, November 19-22 - Week of Prayer
Friday, November 22 - 1/2 Day Friday & Family Thanksgiving Meal / Holiday Craft Fair