Happy Thursday! Welcome to the Thanksgiving Edition of Headlines! The Thanksgiving holiday will begin Friday, Nov. 22, at noon for kindergarten students and at 3/3:30 p.m. for everyone else. Please note the events planned Friday, including our Kindergarten Feast, Kindergarten Performance in Googe Hall and our annual all-school assembly at 1:45 p.m. We are so grateful for our school community! At Thanksgiving, we give thanks to our students, parents, faculty and staff for their devotion to our school.

10:15 Kindergarten Performance in Googe Hall

10:45 Kindergarten Feast with parents in MS Dining Hall

1:45 Thanksgiving Assembly

3:00/3:30 Dismissal for Thanksgiving Holiday

School resumes on Monday, December 2! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

DECEMBER EVENTS AT ESK

12/2            Preschool Story Time - 8:15-8:45 a.m.

12/5            Middle School Concert and String Band Performance - 6:00 p.m.

12/6            Spelling Bee - 2:00 p.m.

12/7            Winterfest - 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

12/10          Lower School (2nd-5th) Christmas Program - 6:00 p.m.

12/12          PA Christmas Open House - 9:00-11:00 a.m.

12/13          K/1st Grade Christmas Program - 8:45 a.m.

Middle School Life Policy

Sixth, Seventh and Eighth grade students signed an agreement pledging to live by the Tribes Agreements in Chapel on Tuesday morning. This annual event sets the tone in Middle School by which all students and teachers live and relate to one another.

Math Olympiad

Fifth through Eighth Grade Math Olympians at ESK took their first contest challenge consisting of five math problems to complete within 26 minutes. Math Olympians across the United States and in 11 countries competed in the first contest. Scores were entered and results should be available soon!

An example of the types of problems on the contest includes: a palindrome is a whole number, which reads the same forward as backwards. The number 17571 is a palindrome while 1234 is not. Find the least sum of two palindromic years after the year 2013, such that the sum is not a palindrome.

Annual Fund Phonathons a Success

The Development Office at ESK would like to thank all those who donated during the recent nights' phonathon calling. Nearly $40,000 has been raised towards the school's goal. A special thanks goes out to the volunteers who gave up their time to make the phone calls and to the nightly chairs (Rhonda Rice, Cate Biggs and Cynthia Gibson) for their work to make the events possible.

If you'd like to make your gift to the Annual Fund today, you can do so by contacting Director of Development Ryan Sparks or by visiting our online giving site and making an online donation.

Snow Closing Policy

If we experience rough winter weather, please remember our snow closing policy. We do not follow the public schools' snow day schedule. Based on hazardous road conditions, we may be closed for the day or may open late. School closings or late opening announcements will be made via our Parent Alert text, Twitter alerts and voice mail system as well as on local radio and television stations by 7:00 a.m. If road conditions deteriorate later, the school may announce that it is closed for the entire day. Therefore, it is important to keep listening for updates.

Eighth Grade Farewell Ads

Information regarding the purchase of Eighth Grade Farewell ads for the yearbook was emailed to Eighth Grade parents prior to Fall Break. Please remember the first deadline for submission is Friday, December 20, with the final deadline on Friday, January 10. For additional info or with questions, please contact Director of Communications Melissa Callahan via email at callahan@esknoxville.org.

For all the latest on all ESK sports, be sure to check out the athletics update section of Headlines. Click here to read all about this week's competition and to see pictures from all the action.   

Music News

ESK Christmas Programs

Lower School Christmas Program: Please mark your calendars for this festive event to be held on Tuesday, Dec. 10th at 6 p.m. at St. John's Cathedral downtown.  Our students in Grades 2-5 will present a beautiful evening of traditional Christmas carols in the sanctuary, with a cookie and punch reception to follow in the Great Hall.  Students should wear dressy holiday clothes- no jeans or sweatshirts please. 

Kindergarten and First Grade will hold their program at ESK on Friday, Dec. 13th at 8:45 a.m. in Googe Hall.  Children will present a variety of Christmas carols and secular holiday favorites for their families. Students may wear holiday clothes. 

Middle School Holden Evening Prayer and Carol Service will be presented on Tuesday, Dec. 17th at 6 p.m. at Church of the Ascension on Northshore.  Students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade chorus will present an evening of Christmas music in the lovely setting at Ascension Church.  The Chorus will be accompanied by piano, flute and violin.  All are invited to attend this beautiful evening worship.  A reception will follow. 

Please contact Dr. Sousa at sousa@esknoxville.org with any questions regarding our Christmas programs.  Thank you! Families are not asked to bring cookies this year for the post-concert receptions.

Winter Band Concert

The ESK Band will host its winter concert on Thursday, December 5, from 6:00-6:30 p.m. in Googe Hall. Both the String and Concert Bands will perform.

Library News

Scholastic Book Fair

Please remember that Online Book Fair shopping continues until Tuesday, November 26. Parents, friends, etc. may visit the online book fair and shop an extended selection of books. We still receive our profit share, and the purchased items ship for free to ESK. Librarians Miranda Clark and Mary Lovely will distribute the individual shipments to the appropriate student. You may visit this link to shop online.    

Sustainability News

Thanksgiving Tip 

November means Thanksgiving is upon us. Check out these tips from Live Green Tennessee. The site includes tips for enjoying this wonderful holiday while practicing sustainability at the same time. Director of Sustainability Brett Tannhauser hopes that you'll think about incorporating some of these into your holiday traditions this season.  Thinking about living green isn't enough...we have to actually take the steps to do so! We hope you'll share these tips or give us a few of your own.  Happy Thanksgiving and keep living green! 

Alumni News

Subtle Clutch in Concert

Everyone is invited to see Subtle Clutch (featuring ESK alums Briston Maroney, Devin Badgett and Eli Fox) play Saturday night at Vienna Coffee House (212 College Street) in Maryville. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. Come show your support!

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