Principal's Message - April 5, 2024

 

Hello ThunderHawk families, 

Thunderstorms and snow flurries within a 48 hour span, oh Southwest Ohio, how we love your weather! On a serious note, we are thankful that our area managed to escape the worst of what was predicted. Tuesday was an interesting day as we monitored the local conditions, so it was a great relief to move past that day and finish another great week of this school year. That leads us to other items of business and celebrations. There are several sections of this newsletter that share some of the things we are celebrating this week, both showcasing accomplishments of our students and recognizing some of the ‘unsung heroes’ of our building - our paraprofessionals and instructional aides as well as our assistant principals. However, we will begin by recognizing two of our seniors who merit special recognition.

 

Congratulations to Jeffrey Zhu and Kyle Smith, Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the Class of 2024

Lakota East High School is proud to announce two distinguished members of our graduating class. The Valedictorian of the LEHS Class of 2024 is Jeffrey Zhu. Jeffrey has attained this honor while being heavily involved in several activities and extracurricular events, and he will continue his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also been recognized as a Commended Scholar by the College Board in the prestigious National Merit Scholar competition.

Kyle Smith has been named the Salutatorian of the Class of 2024. He has also been heavily involved in many activities during high school, and he has been named a finalist by the College Board in the National Merit Scholar competition. Kyle will continue his education after high school at either Princeton University, the University of Notre Dame, or Miami University as he has been accepted at all three of these institutions.

Congratulations to both of these outstanding young men on their accomplishments as Thunderhawks, and we look forward to following their bright futures. 

Testing Schedule Week Two

Week One is in the books, and it went very smoothly. Kudos to our staff and students for the great job of managing the logistics of EOC testing!

Next week, students who are in geometry or Algebra I classes here at Main Campus will take these tests. Please notice that EOC tests will take place on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, so we will not run our usual Modified Block Schedule on those days but will follow the testing schedule instead. Students who are testing will report to school at their normal times and report to their testing locations; students who are not required to take tests will have late arrival at the times indicated on the schedule provided in the following link: LEHS Week 2 OST Test Schedule 2024

 

Nerf Wars

This is our annual reminder announcement regarding Nerf Wars - this is not a school-sponsored event, and we want to remind our families and students that no activities related to Nerf Wars are permitted on school grounds at any time.Students who are caught participating in any activities on school property that disrupt any aspect of school function or safety will be subject to disciplinary actions per our student code of conduct.  We also want to remind everyone that we cannot support our students with regard to any consequences that arise from taking part in these activities off school property. Our only response when we receive phone calls from residents expressing concern about our students participating in Nerf War activities is that we advise them to call the Butler County Sheriff’s Department to report concerns. 

If you follow the local news, you may have heard about incidents and injuries that resulted from Nerf War activities in other Cincinnati-area districts. We believe that participation in such activities can be very risky, and we strongly discourage participation. There are stories all over the country that are similar to these, and shared below are links to a couple recent  local stories that steer us in having this approach with our students.

Harrison Crash Injures 3 Teens

Anderson Township Shooting Leaves High School Student Injured

 

Mamma Mia Next Week!

For all ‘Dancing Queens’ who want to “Take a Chance on” great entertainment, the time has arrived…and we promise the show will be much better than the cheesy intro line to this section referencing two classic ABBA songs!  On April 11-13, the T-Hawk Players will present this year’s spring musical when they present the high school version of the broadway hit Mamma Mia! Tickets are available via the QR code or on the theatre website.

 

Have a great weekend,

Rob Burnside

Lakota East High School Principal