Happy Thursday! It's been another busy week around The Episcopal School of Knoxville with the Fourth Grade field trip to Nashville, Kindergarten through Second Grade enjoying their field day and Eighth Graders continuing their work with robotics! Check out all the happenings in this week's edition of Headlines!

 

TWO DAYS AWAY: 9th Annual Saints' Gala!!

 

The big white tent is up, the tables will be set and the people are coming. The 9th Annual Saints' Gala, "An Evening on the Hilltop, Celebrating the Flavors of Tennessee," will host nearly 300 guests on campus at the May 11th event. The fundraiser is the school's biggest event to raise money for the Annual Fund, which provides resources for the classrooms, technology, athletics, and fine arts.  

 

The scene is almost set for the 9th Annual Saints' Gala! Come rain or shine!

 

 Come at 6 p.m. for the Silent Auction hors d'oeuvres and signature drinks. The food stations will open at 7 followed by the Student Art Auction at 8:15 with dessert and live auction beginning at 8:30. Guests will feast on BLT bites, Benton's Bacon Popcorn, fried green tomatoes, BBQ sliders, grilled cheese, fried apple pies, bourbon pecan pies, and much more. Guests will bid on silent auction items like summer sports camps, a family trip to see the Atlanta Braves, Disney Hop Passes, and a variety of date night packages. Live auction items include a beach house in Little Cayman, a handmade jewelry chest, a condo in South Ponte Veda and the traditional Name the ESK Street Sign. If you would like to buy tickets, please visit https://esknoxville.ejoinme.org/Gala2013. See you there!  

 

A print from Michael Underwood's "Rainy Day People" series will be up for grabs during the Live Auction.

 

K-2 Field Day

Monday afternoon saw the halls of ESK turn into a circus adventure as the Kindergarten through Second Grade students enjoyed their annual field day "Under the Big Top".  

 

Eighth Grader Riley Denton helps Kindergartener Bradyn Hooker at the Stilt Walker station during Field Day.

 

The students had a great time enjoying a variety of games with a circus theme. Due to the rain, the day was moved inside instead of taking place under the large tent in front of Googe Hall but fun was still had by all. Students had their faces painted, listened to circus stories, walked on stilts and along a tightrope, as well as pinned the tail on the donkey, participated in a traditional ring toss and several other classic games.  

 

First Graders Hudson Taylor (front) and Spencer Martin (back) have fun during Field Day. Eighth Grader Nick Lovely assists.

 

A special thanks to Pansie Evans for planning the afternoon and for the Eighth Grade students who did a wonderful job manning each station! What a fun afternoon!

 

Eighth Grader Eleanor Tant shares a circus story with Second Grade students Monday at Field Day.

 

Lunch Menu

For the final three weeks of school, the weekly Lunch menu will be published in Headlines instead of being available on RenWeb. The menu for the week of May 13-17 is as follows:

 

 

Spring Pep Rally

The ESK Spirit Club hosted a Pep Rally last Friday afternoon to celebrate and recognize the spring sports teams. Members of the soccer, softball, track and golf teams were honored. The pep rally was a nice celebration of their hard work this season and fun for all in attendance! The Kindergarten classes won the spirit stick during the traditional competition. Thank you to the ESK Spirit Club for their work at the pep rallies this school year.  

 

Kindergarten students cheer hard for ESK during the spirit stick competition.

 

Parent Participation Party Announced!

The First Grade parents have won the participation award for having 62% participation in the Annual Fund to date! A participation celebration, hosted by the members of the Executive Committee, will be held next Wednesday, May 15. Light hors d'oeuvres and adult beverages will be provided along with childcare in the dining hall of Googe Hall.

 

A very special thank you to all the parents who reached out on behalf of the school to help spread the word during this drive. We have greatly increased over all participation in the Annual Fund to date. Here are the final tallies:  

Your participation in the Annual Fund still matters! The participation drive may be complete, but the Annual Fund drive runs until June 30, so if you have not made a gift or pledge you are invited to do so.

All-School News

ESKamp

Looking for something to do this summer? ESK has just what you're looking for: ESKamp! During the month of June, ESK will be offering a number of enrichment summer camps ranging from technology and art to musical theater and dance. Registration has been open for several weeks! Reserve your spot NOW! The camps will run from June 3-28 with a morning and an afternoon session. All camps, except for the all-day Music Theater camp, will be $150 per student. Online registration is now available at eskamp.org.   

Friday, May 10

Dear Parents, Please note that tomorrow, Friday, May 10th, is a full day of school, not a 1/2 day for parent conferences as was previously scheduled. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Middle School Fine Arts Celebration

Please join us on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. for the Middle School Fine Arts Celebration. Artwork by all Middle School students will be displayed. The Chorus will sing at 6:10 p.m. and the Band will play at 6:30 p.m. Claymation projects will be shown at 7 p.m. All parents and students are invited to attend. Band and Chorus students are required to attend their performances! Thank you for your support of the arts at ESK!

Athletics Banquet

The ESK Athletic Department is excited to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of all its sports teams Monday evening, May 13, at the 2013 ESK Sports Banquet. The event runs from 6-7:30 p.m. and will take place under the tent in front of Googe Hall. The cost is $12 for each attendant, including athletes. Please RSVP to athletics@esknoxville.org or contact Laurie Coburn for more information.

Yearbook Orders

The 2012-13 ESK Yearbook will be delivered on Monday, May 13. There's still time to purchase one! Fill out an order form (available online and in the LS and MS offices) and return the form to Communications Director Melissa Anderson. The cost for a yearbook is $40. If you plan to charge the cost of a yearbook to your ESK account, this must be done by Friday, May 17, after which only cash or a check will be accepted as payment. You can order up until the final week of school!

BoxTops Update

The ESK community has now collected over 6,600 BoxTops and earned $665, well above our $500 goal this school year for the Parent's Association! The money went toward the purchase of instruments for Dr. Sousa's music room. We will be submitting one final batch of BoxTops for this school year, so if you have any please send them in to school with your child. And don't forget to keep collecting them over the summer!

Softball

Coaches: David Spates, Pansie Evans, Cayla Wilson

Members of the ESK softball team pose for a team picture following their first win of the season Tuesday night.

The inaugural season of the ESK softball team came to thunderous conclusion Tuesday night at Lakeshore Park. The Saints rallied in the late innings to earn its first-ever win. The Saints topped Concord Christian School 12-10 for the victory. The Saints were down early in the game, but ESK struck for go-ahead runs late. The Saints held off a determined CCS squad with brilliant defensive plays from eighth-grader Bevin Coburn and fifth-grader Gaia Winston. Anna Spates turned in a solid four innings of pitching. This game was, without a doubt, the team's best all-around performance with timely hitting and aggressive base running from Hannah Nye, Natalie Dawkins, McLean Stooksberry, Erin Wallace, Lindsey Stallworth, Veronica Killeffer, Christa Jane McFarland and Eleanor Tant.

Golf

Coaches: Deb Sousa, Tom Jones

ESK golf team members (l-r) Elizabeth Hethmon, Buchanan Underwood and Christa Jane McFarland during a round at Dead Horse.

On Friday afternoon, May 3rd, the ESK golf team and assorted parents and grandparents, hit the links at Dead Horse. It was a gorgeous afternoon and a great day for golf. ESK's nine golfers enjoyed a great round and parents and grandparents alike enjoyed the special time together!! Next spring, ESK will field a golf team, as we will have the required five players to compete. Think about joining us next year!! Dr. Sousa and Mr. Jones can't wait to see everyone out on the course!

Track

Coaches: Marsha Brophy, Tanner Rice

The ESK track team will close out its season this afternoon with the KISL Championship at CAK. Go support your fellow Saints!

Lower School News

Kindergarten Tech

During Technology time last week, Kindergarten students used the app "Cimo Spelling" to work on their sight words. The students listened to the word and if they spelled the word correctly using ice cubes with each letter in it, that would allow a penguin to walk across the water. If they spelled the word wrong, the penguin fell into the water. The students really seemed to enjoy it!  

Kindergarten student Will Anderson enjoys working with the "Cimo Spelling" app.

Third Grade Chickens

Mrs. Jenkins' Third Grade class has seven chicken eggs in an incubator in the classroom. Students have been learning about different classifications of organisms with a specific look at the animal kingdom. The class is hopeful that the chicks hatch on May 17. Students will also be dissecting eggs in the class to look at all of the parts.  

Third Grade students (l-r) Griffin Conti, Leah Busby and Sean Grace show off their chicken eggs.

Nashville Field Trip

Fourth Grade students spent a couple of fun-filled days Tuesday and Wednesday exploring Tennessee's Capital city, Nashville. The trip is a culmination of their yearlong study of the history and story of the state of Tennessee. While on the trip, students had the opportunity to visit the Capitol, hear about the Civil War at the Tennessee State Museum and take in a show at the Grand Ole Opry. The trip also featured stops at the Parthenon, Hermitage and Opry Mills Mall along with meals at The Rainforest Café and Cracker Barrel.  

Fourth Grade students at the Tennessee State Capitol Building in Nashville, Tenn.

Fifth Grade Returns from Williamsburg

Last week, the ESK Fifth Grade returned from a three-day, two-night trip to Virginia as a part of their study of American colonialism. The students visited historic Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. Highlights of the trip included visiting period-accurate demonstrations of wig making, silversmithing, barrel construction, apothecary services and a tour of the Williamsburg governor's mansion. The trip to Virginia is one of the two three-day field trips that the fifth-graders take every year. They also go to Tremont in the Smokies during the fall.    

Fifth Grade students while on their field trip to Williamsburg, Va., last week.

Middle School News

MS Field Day

Middle School families - please mark your calendars for Friday, May 17! Sixth through Eighth Grade students will enjoy field days from 12-3 p.m. Parent volunteers will be a must to make these annual events a success! Please contact Red Waller or Marsha Brophy if you would like to volunteer!

MS Talent Show & Dance
An SGA sponsored Talent Show and End of Year Dance will be in the Kline Gymnasium on Friday, May 17. The Talent Show will begin at 6 p.m. and parents are invited. Tickets for the dance are $5. Parents can enjoy two hours of freedom from 7-9 p.m. while the children celebrate a fantastic school year at the dance!

Interact Club

Rotary District Governor, Jack Bailey, presented a Peace Through Service Presidential Citation from Rotary International to the ESK Interact Club. Out of 60 East Tennessee Interact Clubs, ESK's MS Interact club was one of only four to earn this honor by completing all of the club requirements for service work this school year. Congratulations!

Members of the 2012-13 ESK Interact Club.

Robotics

Eighth Grade students in Mrs. Busby's science classes have spent the last six weeks working with the Introduction to Mobile Robotics curriculum from Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy. Students start by learning basic robot building instructions, programming and movement then move on to working with sensors and more complex robot behaviors. The students prepared for the robotic project by studying low-tech engineering processes and creating prototypes.  

Eighth Graders Riley Denton, Madison Howell and Florentin Kunz work with their robot.

6th Grade Presentations

On Wednesday afternoon, Sixth Grade students in Mr. Bower's Literature class were presenting their Gods and Goddesses projects. The students were individually assigned an Olympian God to research and present to the class, to help us recognize the mythological figures in our current book The Wanderings of Odysseus.

Sixth Grader Frances James presents her Gods and Goddesses project on Apollo.

Latin Club

On Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m., the Latin Club will be hosting the annual Cena Romana (Roman Dinner). At this event, the club will celebrate their study of Latin, recap this year's Latin Club accomplishments, and several members will receive National Latin Exam awards. Please contact Latin Club sponsor Curtis Bower via email at bower@esknoxville.org for more details.