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Thursday is Curriculum Night!
We invite and encourage all parents to attend this Thursday’s Curriculum Night. This informative evening aims to answer many of your questions and will feature exciting highlights, including:
- Curriculum and policy updates for the 2023-24 school year, presented by Headmaster Goffos
- Information on Embers’ newest initiatives, including Motor Lab and Love and Logic professional development.
- Time to visit with your student’s teacher & hear about this year’s educational expectations
- Information on our enrichment classes for grades K-5 (art, music, Spanish, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, etc)
Please note that this is a parent-only event.
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Important Parking Note:
Thursday evening may have heavier traffic than normal as OLR is also hosting an event that evening. Please aid our efforts in being good neighbors and refrain from parking in the South lot closest to the church entrance. Our Embers families are welcome to park in the North and West lots only.
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Dear Families,
After a light and fun first week, the students buckled down and worked hard diving into more academic curriculum this second week. The days are feeling longer for both teachers and students, but the joy from the first week hasn’t dissipated. Why?
The first reason is that joy is something our teachers intentionally aim to cultivate at Embers. Whether it’s in the classroom, through planned activities, or spontaneously during breaks, recognizing opportunities to share joy together is a big part of our school culture.
Policy changes can help with this, too. One of the bigger changes we made to the Embers schedule this year involves lunch. Last year, students ate lunch at their desks in their classrooms. But a lunch break within the same physical setting where academic instruction occurs doesn’t allow them the freedom and separation needed to refresh and recharge. Their days need to be balanced with opportunities for unstructured social time. Our hardworking teachers, too, need a break from supervising their students every hour of every day so they can recharge.
Embers doesn’t have a traditional lunch room, but we knew we needed to find a solution to make this happen. Our new motto in the front office is, “Pivot!” The team worked together, trying several different configurations and locations during the first week before settling on our current arrangement, which involves two converted classroom spaces in the South Wing. It’s not perfect, but the students love it. Just ask Peter in First Grade:
“Peter, how was lunch today?” “Mom, it was perfect.”
While serving her once weekly lunch monitoring period, one of the teachers asked me, “Does the noise bother the front office staff since they’re right across the hall?” I took a poll, and their unanimous answer was, “Not at all.” We’re happy to share in the students’ joy.
Sincerely,
Christopher Goffos
Headmaster
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Is Your Medical Info Up to Date?
Because our students are eating in a communal environment, it is even more important that we have all medical conditions on file. If your student has a health concern that our faculty and staff should be aware of, the forms below should be completed. If you have not yet submitted these forms for the current school year – or if you are not sure if you have submitted them – please complete and submit to Mrs. Casaletto in our School Office.
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Respect and Responsibility
Virtues for the month of September
On Friday, our 5th grade class presented our first virtue of the month: the combination of Respect and Responsibility. This set of virtues is historically our first virtue of the school year as we impress upon all students the importance these traits play in a successful school year!
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Columbus Day Weekend
Mark your calendars now! Embers will be closed Friday, October 6 for a faculty in-service day, and Monday, October 9 in honor of Columbus Day. This means a 4-day weekend for our Sparks!
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A Sweet Success
WOW! What a turnout for the Back to School Ice Cream Social. We were thrilled to see nearly 400 of our Embers community in attendance. Thank you to Embers Parents Association for planning such a wonderful event to kick off the new school year! It was greatly appreciated.
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Our fall sports season is flying by! Sparks Soccer competes in two games this week, and Cross Country wraps up their season with a final meet on Friday.
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Soccer:
Saturday, September 16 at 3:00 p.m.
Game vs Mary, Seat of Wisdom | Jaycee Park
Tuesday, September 19 at 4:30 p.m.
Game vs St. Robert Bellarmine | Dunham Park
Cross Country:
Friday, September 22 at 4:00 p.m.
Meet | Resurrection High School
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Little Sparks in the Park
All families and friends are welcome to join us on Tuesday!
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Embers Parents Association Volunteers Needed!
We welcome all families to join the EPA as we begin another year of excitement! There are many different opportunities to volunteer – from holiday events to ongoing school support. Learn more and sign up to volunteer at the link below:
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The Week Ahead:
Saturday, September 16
Embers Soccer Game vs Mary, Seat of Wisdom (3:00 p.m. | Jaycee Park)
Tuesday, September 19
Little Sparks in the Park (9:00-11:00 a.m.)
Embers Soccer Game vs St. Robert Bellarmine (4:30 p.m. | Dunham Park)
Thursday, September 21
Curriculum Night (6:00-8:00 p.m.)
Friday, September 22
Cross Country Meet (4:00 p.m., Resurrection High School)
Upcoming Events:
Monday, September 25
Beginning Band Begins
Embers Soccer Game vs St. Eugene (4:30 p.m. | Divine Savior)
Wednesday, September 27
Embers Soccer Game vs Mary, Seat of Wisdom (4:00 p.m. | Jaycee Park)
Friday, September 29
Embers Soccer Game vs St. Elizabeth (4:30 p.m. | Dunham Park)
Monday, October 2
Embers Soccer Game vs St. Mary of the Woods (4:00 p.m. | Wildwood Park)
Thursday, October 5
Embers Soccer Game vs St. Paul of the Cross (4:30 p.m. | Ni-Ridge Park)
Friday, October 6
No School: Faculty In-Service
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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
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