Staying on Target!
At ECA, our vision is that school families Love God, Value Learning, and Serve Others.
Staying on Target!
Lars Andersen holds several world records for archery achievements. On his website, he makes claims to the following:
The world's most famous archer
120 million YouTube views
Hollywood trainer
Museum exhibit artist
Painted royalty
Author
World records
MrBeast Winner
Book Lectures and company seminars
The attention to detail and practice needed to get to this level of mastery is amazing. As life-long learners, how can we use similar goals to succeed in school and in setting personal goals. Well, the quick answer is “it doesn’t come easy.” For all of us, it begins with the desire to learn and understand, not just to finish the assignment. What does the Bible say about not giving up?
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” - 2 Chronicles 15:7
“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” - Psalm 20:4
John Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy Survey
Next week, a link will be sent out to take part of our Fall school survey hosted by John Hopkins Institute. The School Culture Survey is scheduled to open on Monday, November 3, 2025, and will close on Monday, November 17, 2025. Here is a letter from the program specialist with more information about the test:
Dear Parents/Guardians,
In the following weeks, 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:
Dr. David Steiner, d.steiner@jhu.edu or 410-516-7896
Johns Hopkins IRB office, hirb@jhu.edu or 410- 516-4820
For general questions about the survey, contact:
Dr. Kecia Jackson, Kjackson18@jhu.edu
Dr. Carol Macedonia, Kjackson18@jhu.edu
November - Important Days are Coming Up
The month of November has a mixture of days that affect our normal school week. Additionally, our normal 1/2 day Friday will be on November 21 this month. Here is a list of modified school days this month:
Thursday, November 6 - 1/2 Day of school with afternoon set for P/T Conferences
Friday, November 7 - P/T Conferences
Tuesday November 11 - No School - Veterans’ Day
Monday, November 17 - No School - Teacher Inservice Day
Friday, November 21 - ECA Annual Thanksgiving Potluck for school & church families
Wednesday, November 26 - 1/2 day of school to start the Thanksgiving Vacation.
Thursday, November 27 - No School - Thanksgiving Day
Picture Day - Wednesday, October 29
Just a reminder about picture day that will be on Wednesday, October 29. 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. Although we do not have a set appointment time for the studio’s arrival, it should be in the morning. This is the day for students to put a little extra effort into their attire and appearance for their photos. Student portraits will also appear on a student ID card they will receive once pictures are completed.
P/T Conferences Next Thursday & Friday
Click Here to Sign Up
Every fall and spring, we schedule time for parents and teachers to get together for conferences. These fall meetings will be next week. Because we are needing to schedule time for all of our familes in two days, next Thursday will be a 1/2 day. School will be let at at 12:30. We will NOT be having an afterschool program on that day. P/T conferences will then begin at 2:00 and go into the evening. Conferences will resume the next day, Friday. If either of these days do not work for you, please contact your homeroom teacher to schedule a time.
The best way to sign up for a time is to click on the box above. You will be taken to a shared Google document where you can put in your family last name for a desired time. Here are the times you can sign up for:
Thursday 2-5 (9 blocks), 6-7:40 (5 blocks)
2:00 2:20 2:40 3:00 3:20 3:40 4:00 4:20 4:40 6:00 6:20 6:40 7:00 7:20 7:40
Friday 9-12 (9 blocks), 1-3 (6 blocks)
9:00 9:20 9:40 10:00 10:20 10:40 11:00 11:20 11:40 1:20 1:40 2:00 2:20 2:40
November 21 - ECA School Family Thanksgiving Meal
I know Thanksgiving seems a long way away, but ECA is getting ready for our annual ECA Family Thanksgiving Potluck. More information will be going home in the coming weeks. Know this - your family is invited to join us on Friday, November 21 to have lunch with your child and all of the other school families. Grandparents are invited too. We also invite families from our constituent churches.
AG Program - Monday’s Science Class
No AG Class this week. Mr. Wyatt is gone this week. There will be after-school all this week by teachers.
Our Monday AG Class will resume NEXT Monday, November 3 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, November 3 - Grades 5&6
Monday, November 10 - Grades 3&4
Monday, November 24 - Grades K-2
Hot Lunch for the Week
SBL - 3 important ideas about grades
“First, grades must have meaning. Indicators, marks and/or letters should provide students and parents with information related to their strengths and weaknesses, separating out non-academic behaviors. Second, classroom-grading systems must incorporate multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding based on feedback. The final principle of standards-based grading is separating academic indicators from extraneous factors such as homework completion and extra credit.”
The following information was taken from short research paper. If you would like to read more about the three points, you can find the paper at the following link:
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, October 29 - Picture Day at ECA
Sunday, November 2 - Daylight Saving’s Time - Fall back one hour
November 6, 7 - P/T Conferences
Tuesday, November 11 - No School - Veterans Day
Monday, November 17 - No School - Teacher Inservice Day
Friday, November 21 - ECA Annual Thanksgiving Potluck
Wednesday, November 26 - 1/2 day of school
Thursday, November 27 - Thanksgiving - No School
