Campus News

Weekly Connections March 10, 2012

Mar 10 / 2012

This was an exciting week at ECDS, starting with the WASC team’s visit and our three sports teams in the playoffs, and ending the week with our heartwarming Jog-A-Thon event on Friday. Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead this weekend, so everyone shows up for school at the right time on Monday!

Principal’s Message

This week marked a major milestone for our school, as the WASC Accreditation Team finished their visit and presented their findings to our parents, staff, and students on Wednesday afternoon. Their findings were in a word, amazing. I have never heard a school community described with the types of superlatives that this team used to describe what we have built here together. Parents should pat themselves on the back, as the team was very impressed with our students and how well they treated each other, how much they valued their educational process, and how respectful and understanding they were of each other. They were also very impressed with our unique blend of using Montessori instructional methods with the traditional curriculum overlay. They felt that we had captured the best parts of both styles and even recommended to us that we contact universities that have teacher credentialing programs so they can study what we do at ECDS to see if it can be expanded into other school communities. They were also impressed with the high level of positive involvement by our parents. I would like to thank every part of our school community for everything you all did to make this event go so well, from the parents who have believed in their children and in us and have worked so hard to make the school better, to the staff and teachers who worked so hard over the past three years during this credential process, and especially to our students who we all know are so very special in so very many ways. We all look forward to the next steps we will implement to continue to grow our school, not just in numbers, but also through the changes we will continue to put into place to make our wonderful school even better. The team will be sending us a finalized hard-copy of the report next week, and as soon as we get it, we will make copies and place them in the office for anyone to read.

ECDS Sports Teams

Congratulations to our Boys Soccer team for their excellent showing in winning the regular season and finishing in 2nd place in the end of year tournament. They won their first playoff game on Tuesday in an exciting penalty shoot-out tiebreaker, and they performed very well in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in the tournament final on Thursday. The Girls Soccer team played well in their playoff game on Tuesday, losing to Horizon Prep’s team in a hard-fought battle. The Boys Basketball team also lost their playoff game on Tuesday, after a valiant effort by this small but determined team. All 3 teams are still young teams with most of the team members returning next year, so we look forward to watching them amaze us next year. We’d also like to thank Coach Bishop (Girls Soccer), Coach Freeman (Boys Basketball), and Coach Piazza (Boys Soccer) for all of their efforts in coaching our winter sports teams this year.

Gift of Life Jog-A-Thon

On Friday, we were treated to seeing our kids at their best as they ran with determined smiles to raise money to help other children in need. It is always so heatwarrming to see our kids at this event helping those unable to help themselves. The kids’ energy at this event is exactly what impressed the visiting Accreditation Team so much this past week, and we look forward to building on it. The results about how much money was pledged at the Jog-A-Thon will be announced as soon as all the pledges are tallied based on the number of laps each student ran. Thanks to Mrs. Shannon Everett and Mrs. Joty Vallandingham for running the Jog-A-Thon again this year, to all the parents who cheered and tallied laps at the Jog-A-Thon, to all the teachers who helped their students make special t-shirts, bandannas, or hats, and most of all, to all of our students who raised so much money towards lifesaving heart operations for 10 children in El Salvador.

— Mr. Lehmunn

Encinitas Blvd. Director Message

Hello Everyone! Can you believe how fast this year has flown by? It’s already time to reset the clock for Daylight Savings Time this Sunday. Next Friday, March 16th will mark our annual St. Patrick’s Day fun-filled day. Also, on Tuesday, March 20, Rada Rabbit will be returning to our campus to educate the children on the importance of eating healthy foods and taking care of your teeth. Spring Festival is coming up at the end of this month on Friday, March 30. Please be sure to ask your child’s teacher for more information regarding times, dates and activities that will be available that day.

Summertime is coming up just around the corner, and it’s usually a busy time for all families. If you are interested in summer programs, please feel free to ask the office at anytime. Also, in case you were not aware, we are available year-round at both Encinitas Country Day School campuses from 7:30am – 6:00pm. Have a great weekend!

— Ms. Safarik

ECDS PTO “Hawk Tawk”

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Jog-A-Thon event on Friday, with special thanks to Shannon Everett and Joty Vallandingham for running the Jog-A-Thon event. It’s always a heartwarming event for our many parent and grandparent volunteers, and you should all be very proud of your children because they ran so many laps on a hot day because they wanted to make a difference in the lives of those 10 children in El Salvador.

March Dine-Out

Our March dine-out event will be on campus featuring the “New York on Rye” Food Truck next Wednesday, March 14 from 3-5 pm. We are excited beacuse New York on Rye is an ECDS family business, owned by Jay Margolin (Dad of Michelle in Mrs. Herriges’ class). You’ll be able to order sandwiches, soup, and other delicious items on their menu, and you’ll be supporting an ECDS family business as well as the PTO because the PTO will receive 15% of all sales. You can find out more at the New York on Rye website .

Spring Hoedown Event

Save the date – our ECDS PTO Spring Hoedown event will be on Saturday, April 28 from 4-7 pm. We’ll have fun for the whole family at our Family-Style Hoedown hosted at our beautiful Manchester Avenue Campus. So, mark those calendars, dust off those cowboy boots, and plan to bring the whole crew! We need volunteers to help with this fun event, and we also need auction items from ECDS family businesses. If you have a business and you would be willing to provide an item for our auction, this is a great way to get exposure for your business to all of our ECDS families. Please contact Donna Spiegel if you can volunteer for the event or if you would be willing to provide an auction item.

Spirit Wear

You can purchase ECDS Spirit Wear for your students at any time through the school year, so your student can show off their ECDS spirit! To see what’s available and place your order, go to the Spirit Wear website. The clothing is produced by a local Encinitas company and the PTO receives a percentage of sales, so you can help your child show their ECDS spirit while supporting our school and a local business.

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