Principal's Message - May 17, 2024

Hello ThunderHawk families,

We have a pretty big night tonight - the night we celebrate the Thunderhawk Class of 2024 with our Graduation Ceremony at the Cintas Center. One note for anyone who is planning to attend - the Norwood Lateral is closed. This will cause everyone to use an alternative route, likely via Paddock Road. We encourage anyone attending to allow plenty of time and enter your destination into a GPS app in order to take the most efficient route. 

Final Exams for Underclassmen

Final exams will begin for sophomores and juniors on Tuesday, May 21. The schedule is included in a link below. One reminder regarding exams - students are not permitted to take exams early without documentation of a medical situation that would not permit a student to attend school during exam days. For students with an excused absence from school during exams, these arrangements will need to be made through the administration office, and unless it is a medical situation, students will have to come into school within the first two weeks of summer break in order to make up an exam. 

One additional note that we have not addressed in previous T-Hawk Newsletters that have discussed exams - students are not required to be in the building during NEXUS bells or bells in which they are with a tutor/not in a class that has an exam. We do not need a note for these bells and will assume that students are either arriving or leaving during these times. However, if students are in the building during these bells, they will need to report to their normal location.

2023-24 Second Semester Main Campus Exam Schedule

We have received some calls for clarification regarding our Exemption Pilot. This was addressed in the previous T-Hawk Newsletter regarding exams, and in alignment with our district initiative that #WEarePersonalized, the threshold for the exemption was different from student to student and was based upon metrics that the State of Ohio aggregated for each student based upon past state test scores. Essentially, this is the metric for which the state determines growth, and our incentive was that our students would perform at his/her expected level based upon these metrics. If students met or exceeded their projected levels, they are permitted to exempt their exam. If they did not, they are expected to take it. In all areas except for ELA II, teachers have communicated this with students, and below we address how we will handle English 10 students as we do not receive those results until Monday. 

The most challenging subject area that we will face regarding this incentive will be in the area of English/Language Arts II as we will not officially receive the results until Monday, May 20, and our students take their 7th Period exam on Tuesday, May 21. We will develop a way for 7th period English teachers to communicate with their students Monday afternoon/evening regarding Tuesday’s exam, and we will have all other English/Honors English 10 teachers confirm results and exemptions on Tuesday when they attend their classes. We encourage all students to continue to prepare for exams so that they are not caught off guard in the event that they have to take an exam. 

We understand this process is somewhat messy but we wanted to try something that encourages students to give their best efforts on these important assessments. Our mindset regarding this is that all students are expected to take final exams, and this incentive may provide an unexpected reward of not having to do so.  Finally, even if students qualify for an exemption, they are welcome to take an exam if they believe it might help them raise their grade. It may not be perfect, but we will learn from it and make adjustments in the future based upon what we find. We believe it is both attainable for all students and also a good life lesson for students to understand that there is value in meeting the expectations placed upon them. 

 

Congratulations to Sally Barker 

This morning, the Lakota Local School District recognized East Main Campus Instructional Aide, Sally Barker, at the district’s Breakfast of Excellence. Mrs. Barker was nominated and recognized for the amazing things that she does for us at Lakota East as she serves as our Prom Committee Co-Chair, advisor for the LEHS Veteran’s Network, and as an aide supporting our English as Second Language students. However, it was her efforts in creating and leading remarkable events such as the annual Veteran’s Day Breakfast and Ceremony and the now-annual Naturalization Ceremony that truly made everyone recognize what we see every day - that she is a truly amazing advocate for the staff and students of Lakota East High School and our entire community. Thank You Mrs. Barker and Congratulations!

 

Have a great weekend, 

Rob Burnside
Lakota East High School Principal