2024-2025 Important Calendar Dates

• December 18 – Lesson and Carols (8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.)
• December 19 – December Birthday Free Dress
• December 20 – Noon Dismissal (No Extended Day)
• December 23 – January 7 – Christmas Break
• January 8 – Fruit of the Spirit Chapel (first – fifth grade)
• January 10 – December Shout Out Free Dress/Beach Bash Tickets on Sale!
• January 14 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• January 15 – Chapel (first – fifth grade)
• January 16 – Parent Association January Meeting via Zoom
• January 17 – Spirit Dress
• January 20 – MLK Day (No School)
• January 21 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• January 22 – Eucharist Chapel
• January 23 – Family Open House (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.)
• January 28 – Class Picture Day (Wear Maroon)/Pre-K/K Chapel
• January 29 – January Birthday Book Chapel
• January 31 – January Birthday Free Dress/Parent Coffee with Elise Fallucco (after Friday Flag)
• February 3-7 – CTP 5 Testing (third – fifth grade)
• February 4 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• February 5 – Fruit of the Spirit Chapel
• February 6 – Parent Association February Meeting via Zoom
• February 7 – January Shout Out Free Dress
• February 11 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• February 12 – Chapel (first -fifth grade)
• February 13 – Daughter Dance (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
• February 17 – Presidents Day (No School)
• February 18 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• February 19 – Eucharist Chapel (first – fifth grade)
• February 21 – Spirit Dress Day/Noon Dismissal/Trimester 2 Ends)
• February 25 – Pre-K/K Chapel
• February 26 – February Birthday Book Chapel and Head of School List Recognition
• February 28 – February Birthday Free Dress/Beach Bash Parent Social (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.)

2024-2025-Key-Dates-Beaches-Campus-v-2024-02-06

Faculty will participate in professional development on Friday, August 30. Early Dismissal is at 12:00 p.m.

The Eagle Afternoon Program will be open until 6:00 p.m. for pre-registered students. Please contact Melody Harding at [email protected] for questions regarding the Eagle Afternoon Program.

Let us know that your student is coming by signing them up here.

Students who celebrated birthdays in July or August are welcome to dress down on August 30th for school. Examples of dress down would be play clothes or non uniform clothing. 

With chapel coming up next week, please be mindful of St. Paul’s by-the-Sea church members and do not park in the church parking lot on 4th Street on Wednesdays.

We understand parking is tight this year, but we ask your help in being good neighbors!  Please do not park in front of Jacksonville Community Pet Clinic, Beaches at 335 11th Avenue N.  Pet parents need to have easy access to this facility, especially in times of emergency.  Thank you for being considerate!

In observance of Labor Day, the school will be closed on Monday, September 2nd.  We look forward to seeing all of our students back on campus on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Dear Beaches Campus Parents,

For the upcoming school year, the PA has organized activities that will enrich our students’ school experience and support our faculty and staff. It is our goal to create school spirit and a joyful sense of community, organize appropriate events, and honor Beaches Campus traditions.

MEETINGS:

The Beaches Campus PA will hold its first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year, via Zoom  September 5 at 9:00 a.m. 

Upcoming Parent Association Events:

• Boo Bash – Friday, October 25, 2024 | 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Daughter Dance – Thursday, February 13, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.
• Son Event – Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Laura Smith
2024-2025 Beaches Campus PA President

We are pleased to announce our visiting author for the fall semester – Victoria Piontek. On Friday, September 6, Victoria will join fourth and fifth grade students for an interactive presentation of her book, Better With Butter. We are so excited for Victoria to share her book with the Lower School community!

About the Book:

A girl with anxiety disorder finds an unlikely friend—and emotional support animal—in the form of an adorable fainting goat.

​Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything-amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone. Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared.

But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal. Only Butter isn’t any old goat. She’s a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs-her.

Soon, Butter and Marvel are going everywhere together, and Butter thrives under Marvel’s support. Butter also helps Marvel. Everything is easier for her with Butter by her side. But just when Marvel starts to imagine a life in which she can manage her anxiety, instead of letting it control her, Butter’s owner shows up to claim her. Will Marvel find a way to keep her friend? Or will she revert back to the anxious, lonely person she used to be?

About the Author:

Victoria Piontek is the author of The Spirit of Cattail County (Scholastic Press, 2018), a ghostly story of magic and friendship set in the Everglades. The Spirit of Cattail County was a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year (2019) and selected for the Sequoyah Children’s Masterlist (2019-2020). She is also a Literary Associate for Executive Agent Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Prior to her current roles, Victoria had a myriad of other jobs, from waitressing to sales, but her favorite occupation was teaching middle school children in New York City as a Teach for America Corps Member. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hollins University, and an MST in Education from Pace University. Her forthcoming novel, Better with Butter, is about a twelve-year-old girl struggling with anxiety and the fainting goat that changes her life. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking in California, where she lives with her husband, three children, bunny, and  fluffy dog.

Students who received a Shout Out at Friday Flag in the month of August are welcome to dress down for school on September 6.  If your student received a shout out, you will be contacted by their teacher.

Spirit Day is Friday, January 17, 2025! Don’t forget to wear your ESJ Spirit Shirt with athletic, denim, or uniform bottoms!

Beaches Campus Dads,

You are invited to attend the Beaches Campus Dads’ Club Meet and Greet on Thursday, September 19th at 6:30 p.m. at Southern Swells Brewing Company in Jacksonville Beach, FL.

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet other Beaches Campus dads in an informal and relaxed setting. All dads are welcome and don’t forget your ESJ nametag.

If you plan on attending, please RSVP here!

Sincerely,

Beaches Campus Dads’ Club President
Patrick Aland

School is closed on September 20, 2024 for Parent – Teacher Conference Day. Childcare will be provided during your scheduled conference time.

Please be on the lookout for an email to sign up for Pre-K 3 – fifth grade parent-teacher conferences.