Weekly Update - December 8th, 2023

Dear ECS Family,

Next Friday, December 15th, at 6:00 PM is our Christmas Program at South Ridge Church in Fairmont. Students should arrive by 5:15 PM. Students should wear their “Sunday Best,” and acceptable colors include gray, black, white, and red (it is, after all, Christmas). Boys in 5th grade and up should plan to wear a tie. There is no admission fee, however we will take up a voluntary love offering to help cover our teacher Christmas bonuses.

Thursday, December 21st, is our last day of school before Christmas break. We will return to school on Wednesday, January 3rd. We hope this is a time of forming rich and deep memories for you and your family as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Last week’s Winterfest Parade was an outstanding success, our Cheer Team and Pep Squad, Boys Basketball Team, and other students represented our school exceptionally well. A special thanks to our coaches and parent volunteers, as well as volunteers from Emmanuel Baptist Church, for making this such an excellent way to present our school to the community.

Many students have expressed interest in a chess club. I plan to capitalize on that interest. We will have a meeting on Wednesday, January 10th, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM in the EKids room (1st floor, beside Mrs. Phillips’ room). I am working to get into contact with the US Chess Federation to become an affiliate club, and my intention is to have our club participate in recognized tournaments where they can earn an Elo rating. Students do not need to already know how to play chess in order to join the club. Students who do know how to play may consult the book "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess” by Bobby Fischer and begin working through it. Because we want to participate in tournaments, this club will likely have membership dues to help pay for the cost of tournament-legal supplies.

That’s all for this week, God bless!

Headmaster Batten