The Colors of Fall

 

At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.

Seeing Change All Around Us


This weekend was a reminder about what is so great about the Willamette Valley. A Saturday filled with the warm sunshine was followed by the refreshing rain that keeps our valley so vibrant and alive. As we see the changes of color in the next few weeks, it reminds me that our God works in our lives in all of the seasons - yearly and as a journey as we grow with him. I hope you see God’s power to change lives as we see the changes of color all around us!

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:22

K-4 Field Trip to Johnson Farms

This Monday, our students in grades K-4 will be going to Johns Farms Pumpkin Patch. We will leave school at 9:30 and should return by 12:00 for lunch. Please plan on muddy trails, boots, and bags to bring a pumpkin home.

Johnson Farms

ASB Barn Party

Students in grades 5-8 will be going to the annual ASB Barn Party at Pastor Greg Middlesetter’s home this Wednesday. We will be leaving school a little after 4:00 and should be returning to school later that evening at 8:00. It will be a little late in the evening on the school night, but we needed to schedule this event on a Wednesday evening to best accommodate everyone’s schedule. Food and treats will be provided for students.

The Great Shakeout of 2025

The Great Shakeout 2025 was last week, on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Students at ECA practiced what to do in the event of an earthquake. Our school joined thousands of schools across our country at 10:16 a.m. local time, encouraging our students to practice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" wherever they were.  Students also have monthly fire drills and secure campus drills throughout the year.

John Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy

ECA partners with John Hopkins Institute to help with creating anonymous and family-driven survey data that we use every year to help us grow as a school. Think of it as a chance for you to give honest feedback on how our school is meeting your family’s educational needs. This survey is taken by three groups: school staff and board members, students in grades 3-8, and one survey per family household. Below is a letter from John Hopkins Institute to explain a little more about the procedure.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Beginning in November, students in grades 3 through 12 will have the opportunity to participate in a 15-minute survey about the overall culture of the school. 

The surveys will be completed online and during school time, at no cost to you. The results will provide valuable information to school leaders and may help your school community improve in meaningful ways. 

The areas the survey explores are: School Climate, Academic Climate, Civic Open Classroom Climate, School Mission & Vision, and Social-Emotional Competencies (optional). The primary purpose of the survey is to help your school understand its culture better. The secondary purpose is to provide the field of education with new insights into how various stakeholders in schools perceive elements of their school culture, using anonymous data for secondary research.

The survey was designed by educational researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Education Policy.

All responses are anonymous and will be analyzed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. School personnel will not have access to individual responses. No names, birthdates, addresses, student IDs, or IP addresses will be attached to any responses.  

Participation for your child is completely voluntary. 

If you DO want your child to participate, you do not need to do anything. If you DO NOT want your child to participate, please advise your child to answer “NO” to the first question on the survey. 

There are no penalties for not participating or withdrawing from the survey at any time. If you want to see the questions beforehand, please ask your principal/head of school or any member of the Johns Hopkins team. Their contact information is below. 

Thank you for participating in our survey. Please know that we are listening to your input.

Respectfully,

The team at Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy

For questions about research, contact:

For general questions about the survey, contact:

 I hope you have a wonderful day.


Best regards,

Dr. Kecia L. Jackson, Ph.D.  

Program Administrator

School Culture 360™ and Teacher Survey of Curriculum Use

Picture Day - Monday, October 27

Last week, your child brought home a packet for ordering pictures. We will be having a studio come and visit our school on Monday, October 27. If you would like to order pictures, that can be done online by following the information in the picture packet. Even if you do not order pictures, we will still be taking pictures of all students for our yearbook. If you did not receive a packet or if it was lost, you can stop by the office for a replacement, or call the office and we will send another packet home with your child.

Hot Lunch for the Week

Order Hot Lunch for the Week

Ag Class This Week.

This week, our AG class will be for grades 7&8. As you start to plan, remember that rubber boots and gloves are appropriate materials for AG Class. We do have racks for keeping boots safe. Labeling items with names helps keep things organized and safe!

Fall Classes

October 20 - Grades 7&8

October 27 - No AG Class this Week

November 3 - Grades 5&6

Supporting our students and the AR Program

Students in grades K-8 are part of the Accelerated Reading program. This program sets quarterly reading goals for our students. At the end of the year, we celebrate success with a school trip for students who have reached classroom goals. You can support this with our October / November fundraiser for the end-of-the year event. Students brought home packets last week with more information and order forms. Thank you for considering this fundraiser as you talk with family and friends in the upcoming weeks.

SBL - What is it and why is it so important?

SBL stands for Standards Based Learning. One of the key components to SBL is understanding critical things to teach for each grade level.  These are called priority standards.  Teachers build their curriculum around these concepts and they are the building blocks of proficiency scales. We will be sharing these standards and showing you how the scales work during our first p/t conferences on November 6 and 7.

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, Oct. 20 - K-4 Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

  • Wednesday, Oct. 22 - ASB Barn Party

  • Thursday, Oct. 23 - 1st quarter ends

  • Monday, October 27 - Picture Day at ECA

  • November 6, 7 - P/T Conferences

 
Doug Gaylor