Gathering
This week Les Helmuth, development director at VMRC, spoke to us during Gathering.  He shared several stories with us, Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, a story about Dirk Willems saving the life of his pursuer, a story about a Jewish woman whose life was saved by someone she barely knew, and he also read, As the Doorbell Rang.  All of these stories exemplified following Jesus’ example by being good neighbors to all people.

Next week, Paul Leaman, principal at EMS, will read a story and speak to the students.  Parents are welcome to join us Wednesday mornings from 8:50 – 9:10.

Basketball
Here is the game schedule for this coming Saturday, March 6. ALL GAMES AT CORNERSTONE
11:10am   EMES K-2 vs HM K-2C
11:10am   BRCS 3-5B vs EMES 3-5A
12:15pm   EMES 3-5B vs CCS 3-5B

Because we had to cancel some of our basketball games, here is the makeup game schedule for Saturday, March 13th. All games will take place at Blue Ridge Christian School.
9:00  BRCS B vs CCS A
10:05  EMES A vs CCS B
11:10  BRCS 2nd grade vs EMES K-2
12:15  BRCS C vs EMES B

Book Fair
Thanks to everyone who participated and helped with the book fair.  We sold over $2000.00 worth of books.  Our school will receive over $1200.00 worth of books and teacher resources for the classrooms.  It was a great success!

We want to thank Crystal Jackson for coordinating this project.  She worked many extra hours during the past several weeks preparing for this event.  Also thanks to other volunteers who helped out during the book fair hours and the ice cream social.  Your support enabled the event to be so successful.

Soup and Arts Fest
Mark your calendars for March 13, when the PTF of EMHS will sponsor the annual Soup and Arts Fest!  Gourmet Soups, provided by 20 local restaurants, will be featured in an “all you can eat” buffet from 5:00-7:30.  This event will include an art gallery featuring artwork from students in grades k-12, a gift shop, local artisans demonstrations and live entertainment provided by students of EMS.  All proceeds will benefit the Fine Arts at EMS.  Tickets will be sold at the door:  $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children age 6-12, and free admission for children age 5 and under.  For more information, visit the EMHS website.

Rice and Bean Meal for Haiti
Haitian guest, Ker Ferdinand, will share about his childhood years in Haiti during Gathering on Wed. March 24th in preparation for our Rice and Bean Meal on Thursday March 25th. During gathering we will listen to Ker’s stories plus discuss rice, the second most widely cultivated grain in the world and a staple food for over ½ the world’s population. We will learn how to soak dry beans and discover that 1 cup of dry beans yields about 3 cups when cooked.  We’ll also compare prices of canned beans we buy in the store to bagged dried beans.  

On Thursday, the students do not need to pack a lunch.  The school will provide rice and beans (a $5.00 donation per student is suggested).  Please have your child bring his/her donation on Thursday.  Much like the “Jingle Jar” we used in December to raise money for Roberta Web Childcare Center, the children should bring their cash donation themselves so that they can drop it in a jar before the meal.  If you would rather send a check please make it out to MCC. 

In conjunction with the donation gathered on Thursday, the Third Grade class will present the Relief Kits, sheets, and comforters that they have collected over the past month to an MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) representative.  MCC delivers these kits through MCC Haiti.  Before long these Relief Kits will be in the hands of the Haitian people.

To continue our Haitian awareness activities The Bowl of Good restaurant will host an event for the whole family to experience more tastes, sounds and customs of Haiti.  More details and a date about this opportunity will follow shortly.  

If you have any questions feel free to call Kathy Yoder at 434-7981 or Lynette Mast at 896-7797.

New EMS Website
A new Eastern Mennonite School website has arrived! Please visit easternmennoniteschool.org to see the new site and to become familiar with the new navigation. Visit often as additional content will be added in the coming weeks and school news will be updated regularly. If you have feedback about the website, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your suggestions, comments and ideas. As of today, our old website will no longer be accessible; if you are looking for specific information from the old site and cannot find it, please email.

Note that we do have a new domain name, easternmennoniteschool.org. This new name more accurately reflects our organizational structure as a K-12 school and will be used in all school materials. For the foreseeable future, emhs.net will still redirect you to our new site, but it would be good to change any bookmarks or favorites in your web browser. Teacher email addresses will still function with emhs.net, but will be publicized with the new domain name.

Upcoming Events
Friday, March 12 – 3-5 to Library
Saturday, March 13 – Soup & Arts Fest
Friday, March 19 – Pajama Reading Day
Thursday, March 25 – Rice & Bean Meal for Haiti
Friday, March 26 – No School – Teacher Work Day
Thursday, April 29 – Dessert Theatre
Friday, May 14 – 3-5 Field Trip to DC