Veterans Day Service

The Episcopal School of Knoxville held a special Veterans Day service on Tuesday morning to bring recognition to the men and women who have given or are currently giving their service to the armed forces. The service began with a flag raising by Fifth Graders Marley Spears and John Rogers, along with Security Guard Rick Silvis, Lt. Doug Harter and Lt. Brandon Williams. The students and staff joined in singing "America" and the "Star Spangled Banner" before being led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Mr. Jones' advisory. Lt. Doug Harter and Lt. Brandon Williams are representatives of the 253rd MP Company out of Lenoir City. Service members were honored with a round of applause.

The morning began with a special treat as Lt. Harter and Lt. Williams arrived on campus in a Humvee. Headmaster Jay Secor was riding in the Humvee when it made its arrival on the lawn in front of Googe Hall. Many students had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the Humvee while Fifth through Eighth Grade students had the chance to sit inside.

Third Grade Food Drive

The Annual Third Grade Food Drive to benefit FISH Hospitality Pantry began Monday. Third Grade will be collecting food and supplies for the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break. In addition to the regular class collection this year, students will have the opportunity to participate in 2 different ways:

Friday, November 14: Free Dress Day -- Bring 5 or more items and wear free dress.

Thursday, November 20: Pajama Day -- Bring 5 or more items and wear your pajamas to school!

ESK appreciates and accepts all donations, but to ensure that we provide the FISH Pantry with a variety of items, we have assigned certain items per class. Here are class assignments.

Jr. K- peanut butter, canned soup, or other canned vegetables/fruit

K: paper products (paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, etc.) or canned fruit (pull open top preferable)

1st: canned vegetables

2nd: canned fruit (pull open top preferable)

3rd: dried goods (beans, pasta, rice, etc.)

4th: hygiene products (toothbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, hair/body soaps, detergents)

5th: canned meat products or canned vegetables

Middle School: canned meat products, peanut butter, or other canned vegetables/fruit

LS and MS Offices: Canned fruit or peanut butter

Third grade and FISH thank you so much for your support!

Sixth Grade Dinner Theater

The Sixth Grade Dinner Theater performance of "No Body to Murder" was a rousing success. All the cast members did a great job! Thanks to music teacher Deb Sousa for directing the play and to the kitchen staff for the wonderful dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. It was a great evening all around!

Thanksgiving Assemblies

The Thanksgiving holiday will begin Friday, Nov. 21, 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.

The Scholastic Book Fair Ends Tomorrow

ESK will host the Scholastic Book Fair from Nov. 10-14 in both the Jane L. Pettway Library in Googe Hall and the Clayton Family Library in the Brewington Family Lower School. The fairs will run from 7:45 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. each day. Information regarding students shopping during class time was sent home in an email this week.

Scholastic Book Fairs get our students excited about reading, as well as supplement our library budget. It is also a great deal for customers because there is NO TAX on book fair purchases. You might consider making some of your holiday gift purchases here, and we will be happy to get your books to you discreetly.

If you are unable to come to the fair, you may also shop at our online Book Fair. Online purchases are subject to sales tax; however, there is no shipping charge. Your purchases will be shipped directly to ESK, where we are happy to hold on to them until the holidays. Follow the link here.

ESK Christmas Programs

The Middle School band will hold their Christmas concert on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. in Googe Hall. The String Band will be playing Christmas carols at Winterfest on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Please mark your calendars for Lower School Christmas program to be held on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 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. 

First Grade will hold their program at ESK on Thursday, Dec. 11, 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. 

The Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten Christmas program will be Friday, Dec. 12, 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 Evening Prayer and Carol Service will be presented on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. at Church of the Ascension on Northshore. Students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade choruses will present an evening of Christmas music in the lovely setting at Church of the Ascension. 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!

Make-a-Wish Fundraiser
Mrs. Slatery's and Mrs. Teffeteller's Middle School advisory classes will again be selling Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits during morning carpool to students, parents, and teachers, tomorrow morning from 7:30 a.m. until 8 a.m. All proceeds from the weekly biscuit sales will go toward granting a wish for a child through Make-A-Wish. Biscuits will be sold for $3 each or 2 for $5. Save some time on Friday mornings and avoid the long drive-thru lines, by enjoying a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit from ESK's morning carpool.

Chess Team Excels

At the Secret City Scholastic Chess Championships this past weekend, ESK's 4th through 6th grade chess team won the division championship. The team is comprised of Sixth Graders Austin Rhea, Phil Spates and Fourth Grader JP Quigley. Phil also placed first individually in his under 1000 rating group

First Grader Jack Quigley and Third Grader Anthony Schmitt finished in 2nd place in the K-3 division with Jack finishing 2nd overall individually in K-3.

Brownie Plant Legacy Garden

ESK's Second Grade Brownie Girl Scout Troop #20298 planted a legacy garden on November 10 in honor of the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low. The girls chose naturalizing bulbs of crocus, daffodils, and iris to plant beneath purple pansies with the hope that their garden would become a legacy for them to enjoy throughout their future years at ESK.

Girl Scout Troop Has Busy October

The girls of Troop 20450 have been very busy during October. Guest speakers from the organization Girls Outside helped the girls earn their Hiking badge. The guides taught troop members the principles of outdoor ethics known as Leave No Trace. They also helped prepare for a hike by learning all the essentials to carry in your pack. The girls impressed the leaders with their knowledge of what to do and not do to care for special outdoor places. The meeting was concluded with a hike on the beautiful school nature trail while enjoying trail mix snacks.

The last meeting for the month was a celebration of all things Girl Scouts as the troop worked on the Girl Scout Ways badge. October 31 is the birthday of Girl Scout founder, Juliette Gordon Low. The girls have been exploring the history of scouting in the United States, have created troop prayer flags to show our collective sisterhood, and learned classic Girl Scout songs. The celebration included a recent field trip to the Museum at Daisy's Place at the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachian's council office. The girls enjoyed seeing vintage scout uniforms, tracing the origins of Girl Scout camping in East Tennessee, and watching a vintage recruitment film from the 1920s.

PA News

Winterfest - Saturday, December 6  

Let's get your Jingle on at ESK's Winterfest -- December 6th -- 8:30-11:30 a.m.  

Be there with Bells on!

The ESK Parents' Association launched its annual fundraiser last week. This year, the PA is joining with Vienna Coffee to create a simple stream of monthly revenue for the ESK PA and, at the same time, show support of a local coffeehouse!

Here's how it works:

Eighty percent of the parents at ESK drink at least 1-2 cups of coffee each day. Why not have those coffee drinking habits help support our school and our students! Instead of buying coffee from the local grocery or Starbucks, you can now buy the highest quality coffee from www.viennacoffeeco.com and $3.00 from every bag of coffee purchased will be given back to the school. If you, your spouse, or your company, are coffee drinkers, this is a great opportunity to buy coffee AND SUPPORT ESK.

Go to www.viennacoffeeco.com and support ESK PA today! Click here for video with step-by-step directions for ordering. If you have any questions, please contact PA President Katherine Fielden at kikifielden@gmail.com.