Showing Our Spirit in December
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
How do you show your Christmas Spirit?
At ECA, we have a mission that students and families love God, value learning, and serve others. We are excited to support Jasper Safe Center again this year by purchasing gifts for their students. Christmas is a wonderful time to remember it is better to give than to receive. The Bible is filled with guidance on the importance of service for others:
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. … You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” - 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7, 11
ASB Spirit Week is this Week
ECA is excited about our ECA Spirit Week. Our ASB officers have been planning a fun week that will end with ECA’s annual trip to Target to purchase presents for children at Jasper Mountain Safe Center this Friday. We will be traveling by school bus following chapel and shopping in big brother/sister groups. Our school has been providing gifts for all of the children at this live-in facility for 16+ years. We are excited to carry on this tradition of giving this year. Below, you will see a flyer explaining more. During our Spirit Week, we will be having a fundraiser to raise money to purchase the gifts for the children. If everyone can help out a little, our drive will be a success. Each day of the week will have a theme. Here are the daily themes!
Fundraiser for this week’s Target Trip to support Jasper Safe Center
Below you will see an overview of how we will be raising funds for our Target Trip. Jasper Safe Center has 13 students that we will be purchasing Christmas presents for. The children at Jasper Safe Center live at the school and vary in age from 7 into early teens. Our big brother and sister groups will shop for these children this Friday following chapel. Our hope is to raise funds for these gifts for the thirteen children this week in a fun class competition. As you can see, there are ways to help your class, and there are ways to “sabotage” another class.
Safety is important to ECA. We are making plans to keep your children safe while we are out in the community. Students will be paired with their big brother and sisters. There will be staff at all times with students and standing by the front entrance. If you would like to join us and help supervise, please call the office and let us know. Our plan is to leave school around 9:30 and then return by 11:30.
ECA Christmas Program - Wednesday, December 17
ECA will be having our annual Christmas program on Wednesday, December 17. This week we will be having music on Tuesday only, so plan on having your child here for sure on Tuesday as we are down to our last full week before our program. All families and friends are welcome.
Our Christmas program will be at the the Pleasant Hill SDA Church, across the street from the school campus. The program will begin at 7:00. Students should plan to arrive by 6:30. Here are some things to take note of:
Where do students go? Students in grades K-4 will go down the left hallway upon entering the church and meet in the youth room. Students in grades 5-8 will go down the right hallway and meet in the Teen room. Teachers will be there to help them as they line up for their entrance.
Where do parents go? Parents can go straight into the main sanctuary.
How long will the program last? The program tends to be between 60 and 90 minutes.
What happens after the program is over? Home and school works together to provide drinks and cookies after the program.
Will there be school after the program is over during the rest of the week? Yes, even though our school program will be next Wednesday night, there will be school on Thursday, December 18.
AG Program - Monday’s Science Class
This week’s AG program is for grades 5-6 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. Here is a schedule of the days and classes:
Monday, December 15 - Grades 3&4
Monday, January 5 - Grades K-2
Monday, January 12 - Grades 7&8
Monday, January 26 - Grades 5&6
Hot Lunch for the Month
What is a proficiency scale?
Proficiency scales are a way that students can take ownership of their learning. Students who reach level three show mastery of learning goals. At ECA, teachers are learning to work with proficiency scales for grade-level standards. Each learning goal has levels with content. As you can see below, when a child is just learning a concept and needs a lot of help to explain and understand it, they are just starting the path to mastery. As they move up, the learn more, show mastery, and continue their progress. Instead of a student just completing assignments to get an “A” students can take ownership for their learning and truly understand why things are important to learn.
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
December 8-12 - ECA Spirit Week
Wednesday, December 17 - ECA Christmas Program at the Pleasant Hill SDA Church
