Our Back to School Fair is this Thursday, August 31, from 3:00-7:00 p.m. We ask that students in our PK classes attend with their parents; attendance is optional for students in grades K-5.

This is a great time for families to drop off their school supplies, meet the teachers, visit our lobby info booths, and sign up for music programs (including instrument selection!).

Individual parent/teacher conferences will not be held during the Back to School Fair. Conferences will be held at the end of the first trimester on Monday, November 20.

Signups are now available for Embers’ Extended Day Program. EDP for the 2022-23 school year begins on Wednesday, September 6th. Please note the following program updates:

• We encourage all our families to enroll their students in EDP to accommodate unforeseen situations where a parent cannot not get to dismissal by 3:05 p.m.
• After school Session I will run 3:05- 4:15 p.m. and Session II will run 4:15-5:30 p.m.
• EDP students will bypass the standard dismissal doors and go directly to EDP at 3:05 p.m. The school office must be notified 24 hours in advance if you will be picking up your student at 3:05 p.m. instead of sending them to EDP on a pre-registered day. If the office is not notified in advance, parents will need to park and come to the Main Entrance to sign their students out of EDP.

Dear Parents,

There is no person more important in the life of a child than his or her parents. They are the child’s first teachers, which is why, inspired by the teaching of St. Josemaría Escrivá, Embers Academy places special emphasis on partnering with parents in all that we do.

After parents, the importance of a child’s schoolteachers is paramount. When evaluating teaching candidates, their prior formation, pedagogy, and knowledge are vital. But most essential is how they live the virtues we want them to model for our students–courage, patience, humility, charity, responsibility, and many others. Our Hiring Committee is confident that this year’s faculty excels in all these areas. 

One way we plan to showcase the particular talents of our teachers is through the division of subjects in Third through Fifth Grade. Last year, in Fifth Grade, Mr. Boville taught math, religion, history, and geography, while Mrs. Ptacek taught reading, writing, and grammar. By teaching two sections each of fewer subjects, they spent less time preparing lesson plans and more time personalizing their teaching for their students.

In Fifth Grade this year, Mrs. Ptacek will continue teaching reading and writing; Mr. Boville will teach religion; and Miss Black will teach math, history, and geography. In Fourth Grade, Ms. Roy will teach math, history, and religion; Mrs. Grandinetti will teach reading and writing; and Miss Kelly Harig, who served as a support teacher at Embers last year, will teach geography. In Third Grade, Mrs. Black will teach math, and Mr. Klatt will teach writing; they will each continue to teach the rest of the subjects separately to their homeroom classes. Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade students will switch classrooms for these subjects accordingly.

This division of subjects in these grades will help us strengthen our commitment to both academic excellence and character formation. These teachers will be able to dive deeper into their subjects and, at the same time, focus more of their energy toward helping our Sparks grow in virtue.

We’re truly blessed to have such a great group, and we can’t wait for you to get to know all the new teachers at the Back to School Fair next week!

Sincerely,
Christopher Goffos
Headmaster

Last year’s Arrival and updated Dismissal Procedures were a hit! We are continuing the same format and have only made minor adjustments:

• Students arriving after 8:10 a.m. must be escorted inside and signed into the front office by their parents.
• The Blue Door (main entrance) will now be the pickup location for families with the last name A-C.
• Pickup for students in grades K-5 is promptly at 3:05 p.m. If students are not picked up at 3:05 p.m., they will be brought to the office and parents will be called. EDP Drop-In Rates may apply.

The school year is fast approaching, and there are two lunch deadlines this week:
Marla’s Brown Bag
The deadline for ordering hot lunch for the following week is every Monday at 12:00 p.m. Our first hot lunch date is Wednesday, September 6, which means lunch orders are due this Monday August 28, by Noon. For more information on registering and ordering from Marla’s, click here.

Milk Delivery
The deadline to sign up for daily milk delivery is this Friday, September 1. To order milk for your student(s), please click here.

Natalie Donado: School Office Secretary
ndonado@embersacademy.org
Uniforms, school supplies, hot lunch, Extended Day Program (EDP) and general questions about the school day.

Sylvia Casaletto: Office Manager
scasaletto@embersacademy.org
Medical and allergy forms, birth and baptismal certificates, and student records.
 

Karen Reardon: Registrar 
kreardon@embersacademy.org
Information and questions about myEmbers!

Lelia Harig: Business Office Manager
lharig@embersacademy.org
Tuition and billing questions.

Christopher Goffos: Headmaster
cgoffos@embersacademy.org