Graduation 

The 2014 Graduation ceremony is Friday, May 23, at 10:30 a.m. in the Kline Gymnasium. Graduating eighth graders should report to school by 9 a.m. Following the ceremony, students in grades K-7 will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m. and graduates, with their invited guests, are asked to stay for a special lunch prepared by the seventh grade parents. All parents are welcome to attend our graduation exercises.

Baccalaureate

Members of the Class of 2014 were honored Thursday in ESK's annual Eucharist service for 5th-8th graders. Each graduating boy received an ESK alumnus tie, and each girl a charm bracelet. Teddy Colocotronis, last year's SGA President and rising sophomore at McCallie School addressed the graduating students. As part of an ESK tradition, members of the Sixth Grade class presented each graduating Eighth Grader with a handmade clay mug.

Portfolio Project Awards were also presented during the service. A number of well-deserving students were honored. For Outstanding Research: Alexis Hartwig - Adventure Swimming, Lauren Reed - Domestication of Cats, Addison Jones - 20th Century Fashion, Elizabeth Hethmon - How to Write a Novel. For Outstanding Service: Sydney Broussard - Autism Awareness, Tim Monroe - Clinch Raptor Center. For Artifact: Aaron Young - Sports, Andrew Natter - Sports, Addy Bonovich - History, Witt Spiller - Global Awareness, Steven Busby - Technology, Casey Majors - Popular Culture, Tristan Stouffer - Wildlife. Facutly awards went to Tori Schrubb, Grace Taylor and Ethan Johnson. Hallie Longest was the Student Choice and Jamie Hickling was awarded Distinguished Portfolio.

Father Hill introduced a new service award that recognized two students in each grade level. The inaugural winners of the James Jay Secor, III Servant Leader Award were Zach Gilbert and Grace Taylor in Grade 8; Paige Gleason and Lindsey Webb in Grade 7, and Leoni Kunz and Ashton Mayo-Beavers in Grade 6.

Sports Banquet

A capacity crowd attended The Episcopal School of Knoxville Annual Sports Banquet on Monday evening. Participants and coaches of every Middle School sport were recognized. Winners of Sportsmanship Awards were: Sixth Grade, Ali Pensky and Davis Clem; Seventh Grade, Anna Spates and Riley Schumaker; and Eighth Grade, Grace Taylor and Ethan Baughman. Special thanks go to Travis Turley and Blair Kline for providing the delicious barbeque for dinner.

Lower School athletes gathered in the Middle School Dining Hall last Friday afternoon to celebrate the 2013-14 season. Students enjoyed pizza and ice cream sundaes while members of the cross-country team, Saints League basketball and dance teams were recognized for their participation.

K-2 Field Day a Success

Friday afternoon saw the ESK campus turn into Arendelle, the land from "Frozen" as the Kindergarten through Second Grade Students enjoyed their annual field day. The students had a great time enjoying a variety of games with the theme: "ESK Students are Worth Melting For". Students had their faces painted, sang songs from the movie, bowled and "ice" skated, as well as pinned the nose on Olaf, Ring Sven (ring toss), the match game and several other classic games. Students also enjoyed snow cones and played "hot potato" with a frozen ice ball. 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!

ESK Breaks Ground on Lower School Addition

The Episcopal School of Knoxville broke ground Friday for a new 5,000 square foot Lower School addition slated to be ready for use by August 2014. Father Josh Hill officiated at the 8:00 a.m. ceremony in front of The Brewington Lower School, which was attended by all 340 students and 75 faculty, staff and parents. The building will house two Fifth Grade classrooms and a Great Room for the Lower School as ESK expands to make room for the first class of Junior Kindergarten students in the fall. Fourth Grade students participated in the service, as they will be the first Fifth Grade class to use the building.

Guidance News

From the School Counselor:

This last week of school has been a good time to reflect on all of the blessings of this ESK community. In some of our lower and middle school Guidance classes, we had the opportunity to practice one of our Tribes Agreements, "Appreciations and No Put-Downs." Students passed a Koosh Ball to a classmate and shared a statement of appreciation. It's times like these that help me realize the power of the Tribes process and make me so thankful that it is part of who we are. If you want to know more about Tribes and the research behind it, click on the link here for a great article.

Numbers Tell the Story of Academic Excellence at ESK

Did you know that in order to qualify to participate in any of the Duke TIP programs, students must achieve in the top 5 percent of their grade level? This year, that high level of achievement was reached by 46% of fourth graders, 64% of fifth graders, 67% of sixth graders, and 45% of seventh graders! Six seventh graders qualified for State Recognition in Nashville, seven qualified for the Academy for Summer Studies, and one qualified for the Center for Summer Studies. In order to qualify for State Recognition, seventh grade students had to take the ACT or SAT and score at or above the 50th percentile for juniors and seniors taking the ACT or SAT.

Library News

Scholastic Book Fair Earns $3000 for the Library

Much appreciation goes to Chrissy Faught, Amy Smotherman, Stephanie Bonovich, Laura Browning, Allison Kelso, Elizabeth Campbell, Kim Yount, Peggy Vermillion, Jennifer Tramontana and Kae Wrinkle for helping with the Spring Scholastic Book Fair. Over $5500 in sales generated a $3000 profit for the libraries and got students excited about their summer reading! Thank you to all the volunteers and shoppers for making the fair such a success.

Please plan ahead and help encourage your students to complete their required summer reading and math books. You may access reading lists via Academics on the ESK home page. Several books from the lists were available during our Book Fair or can be borrowed from the Knox County Public Libraries.

Technology News

Apple Recycling Program

Parents, as you choose technology devices for your children, make note of Apple's Recycling program. They offer a trade-in option for customers wanting to upgrade or change devices. You'll receive an in-store credit toward your new device when bring in a working iPhone 4 or up, or and iPad 2 or newer. Feel free to call the Apple store at West Town Mall at 865-824-2507 if you have questions about specifics of the program.

Student News

Brownie Bridging Ceremony

Four members of Brownie Girl Scout Troop 20450 have moved up to the next level of scouting. Fiona Stapleton, Zoey Halsey, Emma Yount and Jennica Ullrich are now Junior Girl Scouts. As rising 4th graders, once the girls completed the requirements, they were eligible to make the transition. Last Saturday, Fiona, Zoey, and Emma participated in the bridging ceremony held at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church and were awarded their Junior vests.

Daisies Bridging Ceremony

Nine members of Daisies Girl Scout Troop 20298 bridged from Daisies to Brownies during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon. Members show in the picture on the right include: Front row (left to right): Nancy Tant, Lily Egner, Elizabeth Khym, Amelia Fielden. Back row: Tolleigh Hillard, Greta Whitt, Avery Burgess, Mary Campbell Doss, Rhian San Gil.  

UPDATE - Minecraft Camps

Minecraft Camps will be held the week of June 9-13. Due to multiple requests, rising 2nd grade students will now be able to attend the morning introductory session. For more information, please visit http://www.techtutortime.com or contact Julie King at king@esknoxville.org.