By: Amy Baldauf

We are beginning our Junior Counselor program at Smoky Row with the third through fifth graders this September! We had great participation last year, and we're looking forward to another great year of leadership from our youth. Students will participate in a variety of leadership roles and also join a committee. We will meet as a group every Friday at 3:30 p.m., during "2nd Recess." In addition, the committees will schedule times to meet throughout the month. This program is by no means a requirement for students in these grades, but a special opportunity to learn more about leadership and have a say in what we provide here at Smoky Row, from our clubs to site celebrations to our service projects! New this year, students will also help with the maintenance of our new turtles: Dobby, Lilly, and Squirtle.

The application includes a few brief questions for students to think critically about and to rank committee options. The committees are explained on the back of the sheet. The applications are available on the Parent Info Cart at Smoky Row. When students turn in their application, they will need to submit a letter of recommendation from a parent, teacher, neighbor, or facilitator. (If your student was a previous member, please only submit a new application, not letter of reference.) These can be turned in on a revolving basis. There will not be a formal selection process or a cut-off number. However, we would like to have equal participation throughout the committees, so we will work hard to respect students' preferences and special abilities. We have such a great group of kids and would like to honor our older students with this kind of leadership opportunity! If you have any questions about this program, please let Ms. Baldauf know!

By: Amy Baldauf

It's that time of year again... We're several weeks into school, the leaves are changing color, and the dog days of summer are almost over! This can only mean one thing: our Fall Carnival is almost here!!! Make sure to mark your calendars for September 23rd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for our 5th annual event. This will be our first site celebration of the new school year, and it is our way of saying thank you for being part of our ESE family. We enjoy getting to know all of you on a day to day basis within our program, but it's so much more fun to play!

Traditional carnival games will be set up around the Smoky Row gym and cafeteria, including bottle ring toss, a "cupcake" walk, a duck pond, corn hole, and many more. And don't forget the prizes.oh, the prizes! Raffle tickets will also be handed out at the door for a couple of family board games. Our menu consists of chili hot dogs (and veggie dogs!), vegetables & dip, baked beans, and beverages. This event, as are all site celebrations and Parents' Night Out (more information on this coming soon!), is FREE, but we are accepting dessert and individually wrapped baked good (i.e., Little Debbie's) donations! To RSVP for this event, please sign up at the Parent Info Cart by September 19th! We'll see you there!