Hello to the 2027 School Year!
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
Seeing God’s Amazing Handiwork
This summer, my wife and I spent a few weekends camping. One weekend, we joined OMSI and members of the Oregon Astronomy Chapter for an evening of telescopes and looking into our Milky Way Galaxy. Looking into the evening sky, we saw craters on the moon, orbiting space stations, and twinkling stars that all testified to God’s amazing wonders in the universe. As we start this year, the staff at ECA hope you accept God’s promise to draw his children unto himself as we love God, value learning, and serve others all year long!
“He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” - Job 9:8-10
Our Year Begins…
We are beginning school this week on Wednesday, August 26. Our 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 homerooms are ready for a new wave of students for the new year. Together, along with our STEAM program, music program, AG program, and after-school program we are looking forward to a year filled with adventures!
Staying Connected…
Every Sunday this year, ECA will post a newsletter for the upcoming week. Each newsletter will have a short worship thought, followed by important information. Another way to stay connected to each homeroom classroom is to click on the “classroom pages” link on our website. Teachers will be updating their website page with communication and resources throughout the year. If you are still needing classroom supplies for this Wednesday, be sure to click on the “classroom pages” link. Earlier in the month, an email went out to parents with the temporary classroom password. You can also call the school office if you need the password.
School Staff Training
As a school, we focus on our school mission that our families love God, value learning, and serve others. We want every day to be filled with moments that happen in a safe, learning environment. Our staff are involved in training before school begins that covers several areas. We discuss our school mission, our plans for meeting academic goals, and how we can work towards helping our school community grow stronger. Here are some specific trainings / courses our staff have been trained in:
First Aid Certification
Concussion Awareness
Common Myths About Active Assailant Events
How to Recognize a Potential Attack is Imminent or Underway
Warning Signs and Pre-attack Indicators
Ways to Think About Threats
How to Protect Yourself and Others if An Attack Occurs
Sexual Harassment: Student Issues & Responses
Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Prevention
Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting
Optional Parent Class Available to our School Families
As a parent of Emerald Christian Academy, our school’s conference Office of Education would like to extend the offer of SafeSchool online safety training programs to you. We have available Child Abuse and Concussion Safety Videos. This is optional for all parents. If you would like to participate, please call the office at 541-746-1708 or email us at office@emeraldchristianacademy.com and we will send you a pdf with information that will allow you to login to watch the videos. There is a registration code that needs to be put in along with a simple form to create a username and password for Vector Solutions (the company that offers the videos).
Upcoming Calendar Updates for our School Year
Most of the school calendar has been finalized for the year and is available on our school website. It can also be found at the end of every weekly newsletter. There are a few extra things that will be happening during the first quarter that we will get on the calendar this week before school starts. For September, these include our Back-to-School Night, September Track & Field Day, and our first ASB (grades 5-8) outing - September Beach Trip.
Check back next Sunday, August 30, for more details.
Hot Lunch this Year at ECA
One change that will happen this year is our hot lunch will only be on Wednesdays. Our first weekly hot lunch will be after the Labor Day holiday, Wednesday, September 9. Monthly hot lunch calendars will be posted at the beginning of each month and can also be found online. Meals can be ordered and charged to your credit card that is on file. You can click on the hot lunch order link in the weekly newsletter, or can be ordered through the website in the student life tab.
Thank You to Our Volunteers at our August Workbee.
A special thank you to Connie Dunks and Kim Black, our AG program leaders, for organizing our first school workbee. Today several volunteers came and helped clean and prepare our AG program area for the upcoming year. We are excited to start getting our hands dirty in the soil and looking forward to growing lots of new things in our outdoor and hoop house growing beds.
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
Wednesday, August 26 - First Day of School
