Principal's Message - May 3, 2024

Hello ThunderHawk families,

May has arrived and it’s been beautiful! We enter the final weeks for seniors, and this weekend, we will host a huge annual event with Prom. Details about the event are soon to follow in this weekly update, but the main message that we have for our students is that we care about them and want them to make safe, smart choices. We encourage our families to reinforce that message so that everyone has a great night with wonderful memories. 

 

PROM Parking and General Update

As we have announced repeatedly during the past couple of weeks, Prom ticket sales are closed and we do not sell tickets at the door. This is the case with all big events that we need the focus of our team to be on planning and managing the event rather than trying to manage last minute sales. 

 

Here are a couple of  important reminders for all students with guests - all Prom guests must enter and leave the event with their Lakota East host, and all guests must have a valid ID that matches the submitted guest form in order to enter the event. Lakota East students assume the responsibility for the actions of their guests as part of the privilege in bringing someone from outside our junior and senior classes to the dance. 

 

Students and guests are permitted to leave the dance when they choose to do so, and we will remind them to communicate with their families if they choose to leave early, but our team will not be calling families of students who request to leave. We encourage all students and guests to stay until the end of the event. Once they leave, there is no reentry.

 

Lastly, parking at the Sharonville Convention Center is somewhat choppy. They have several lots that students will need to use to access the building. Our team will consistently monitor all outside areas. Below is a map of the Convention Center area with the parking areas highlighted in blue.

 

Senior Meeting Notes from 5/2

Yesterday we met with seniors to review some items of business and provide some reminders about the importance of making good decisions in the upcoming weeks. The following link is to the slideshow presented to seniors - May 2 Senior Meeting Slideshow

 

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. 

2023-24 Second Semester Main Campus Exam Schedule

 

Brain Health Survey Information

This is a repeated item from last week’s newsletter:

Next week during advisory, we will be conducting a survey of Lakota High Schools students to determine levels of stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression in order to get a picture of overall student mental health and well-being. The results of this survey will be used to help inform efforts at (high school name) High School to enhance student mental health.  The survey is also part of a research project titled “High School Student Mental Health and Stressors” with Stuart Slavin, MD serving as principal investigator, working in collaboration with 1N5, MindPeace and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.  Dr. Slavin is a pediatrician and currently serves as Senior Scholar for Well-Being at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Findings from this study may appear in journals, books, or professional meetings.

Students will take the survey (approximately 15 minutes) later this month.  The survey is completely anonymous; responses cannot be tracked back to individual students. The only risk to students is the possibility that some questions may make them somewhat uncomfortable.  The surveys will be completed in class and the school’s counseling services will be available to answer any student questions or concerns that may arise.  Students will have the right to not answer any question.  Their participation is completely voluntary and they can withdraw from participation at any time. 

Please view the survey here:

If you are not willing to allow your student to take this survey, you may opt your student out by filling out this form linked here.   If you are willing to have your student participate in this anonymous survey, you do not need to take any action. We ask that you opt out by May 3rd, as the survey will be given the week of May 6th.  If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or the study, you may contact Megan Cameron, Student Wellness Coordinator, at megan.cameron@lakotaonline.com, Stuart Slavin, MD at sjslavin1@gmail.com and/or Pearl IRB as listed below.

Pearl IRB
Monday through Friday 9-5 EST/EDT
29 East McCarty Street  Suite 100
Indianapolis, IN 46225
support@pearlirb.com
317-899-9341 (main)    317-602-6554 (fax)
https://www.pearlirb.com/

 

Have a safe weekend,

 

Rob Burnside
Lakota East High School Principal