1300 Silver Eagle Drive
Tarpon Springs, Florida 34688
Office: (727) 942-5419
Fax: (727) 942-5441

12/3/2023

Good afternoon Eagle Families,

This is Dan Schmittdiel, Principal of East Lake High School, with some important reminders for the week. Looking outside of the academics, our students are always ready to SOAR to success as we progress throughout the school year. This week we continue with Winter Athletics – let’s continue show our school spirit and cheer on our different sports teams, clubs, and performing arts programs this week – a list of events can be found below:

• JV/Varsity Boys Basketball faces Tarpon HS home on Tuesday 12/5, Northeast HS home on Wednesday 12/6, and Palm Harbor University HS home on Friday 12/8
• JV/Varsity Girls Basketball faces Tarpon HS away on Tuesday 12/5 and Countryside HS away on Friday 12/8
• JV Girls Soccer takes on Seminole HS away on Monday 12/4
• Varsity Boys Soccer takes on Sunlake HS away on Tuesday 12/5
• Varsity Girls Soccer takes on Sunlake HS away on Tuesday 12/5
• JV Boys Wrestling compete at Palm Harbor for a JV quad meet on Wednesday 12/6
• Varsity Boys Wrestling complete at Palm Harbor for the Fit2Win IBT on Friday 12/8 and Saturday 12/9
• Varsity Girls Wrestling compete at Tarpon Springs for a quad meet on Wednesday 12/6

We hope to see you there to cheer on the teams and clubs this week, good luck Eagles!

FAST ELA PM 2 (12/5 and 12/6) – modified schedule Wednesday, December 6^th

All 9^th and 10^th grade students will take the FAST ELA PM2 assessment this week. Freshmen will test on Tuesday, December 5^th and sophomores will test on Wednesday, December 6^th. All students will begin testing from the beginning of the school day through 4^th period on their designated day. Teachers are going through testing logistics, including where students will be located during testing, whether it’s in the Media Center or classrooms in upstairs building 3 – locators will also be posted throughout the main hallways Monday morning. We highly recommend your student gets a great night’s rest and has breakfast prior to testing. If your student usually has a release period in the morning past the first period of the day, they’ll need to arrive on campus at 7:25am for the start of testing on their designated day for 9^th (December 5^th) and 10^th (December 6^th). It’s also vital that your student brings their school issued laptop fully charged on their testing day, as they should each day during the school year. Please make sure to remind them of this.

To ensure that all 9^th and 10^th grade students are with all of their teachers at least one of the two testing days, we will be flipping the class period schedule on Wednesday, December 6^th, meaning that we will begin the day with 7^th period and end of the day with 1^st period on Wednesday, December 6^th only. The bell schedule will be as follows:

• 7^th Period = 7:25 – 8:12am
• 6^th Period = 8:17 – 9:06am
• 5^th Period = 9:11 – 9:58am 
• 4^th Period = 10:03 – 10:50am 
• Lunch = 10:50 – 11:20am 
• 3^rd Period = 11:24 – 12:11pm 
• 2^nd Period = 12:16 – 1:03pm 
• 1^st Period = 1:08 – 1:55pm

At the start of the school day on the 5^th and 6^th, students that are testing (9^th on December 5^th; 10^th on December 6^th) will go directly to their testing location. If your student has a Dual Enrollment course in the afternoon that will cause them to be impacted by this change on Wednesday, please reach out to your Assistant Principal.

Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE)

As a reminder, on Thursday (12/7) next week, all students enrolled in US Government Honors and AP US Government are scheduled for the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE). Testing will begin at 7:25am, the start of the school day, and will take place in the Media Center. This assessment can fulfill the post-secondary Civic Literacy requirement.

Semester 1 Exam Schedule and Exam Exemptions

Starting December 18, we will begin our Semester 1 Exam Schedule. Attached to this callout you will find the schedule of exams, which includes one exam on Monday 12/18, followed by two exams Tuesday 12/19, Wednesday 12/20, and Thursday 12/21. Attached is a copy of the bell schedule.

Additionally, exam exemption forms will go out to students that qualify during the week of December 11. You’ll receive a callout this week specific to the exam exemption process, along with PTL request expectations during the week of December 18.

Upcoming PRISM Concert

Tickets for East Lake's 5^th Annual PRISM Concert go on sale this Monday, December 4^th. Packed with performances ranging from small ensembles to the renowned Marching Silver Sound, PRISM is a yearly favorite. The program showcases the immense talent at East Lake High School! This remarkable and lively performance migrates around the venue with each changing ensemble, creating a one-of-a-kind experience based on your location in the auditorium. PRISM will take place for two nights, December 15^th and 16^th, and we anticipate a sold-out auditorium. Get your tickets Monday on GoFan.co for $12. 

Senior Grad Fees

As a reminder, you’ll need to pay your senior grad fees by December 20 and the payment is $100 on RevTrak. If they are borrowing from someone else, or need financial assistance, please reach out to Mrs. Skinner at skinnerL@pcsb.org.

• ELHS Senior Class | Pinellas County Schools (revtrak.net)

Additional Announcements/Reminders

• Anonymous Reporting: As most of you are aware, Pinellas County Schools has partnered with Sandy Hook Promise which allows us to offer the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System. This allows stakeholders to submit a secure and anonymous safety concern that helps us identify and intervene in a proactive way. Please remind your student(s) that this is in place to assist with addressing a concern and also a way for someone get any help that may be needed – tips are passed alon g to appropriate law enforcement and school personnel. FortifyFL is also another reporting system that is available to report suspicious activity which allows Florida students and the community to relay any safety concerns. Both links can be found below. Our first Mental Health Lesson of the school year will take place on Monday, November 13^th, where students will receive a refresher on the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System as well.
  • Say Something Tips — Sandy Hook Promise
  • FortifyFL (getfortifyfl.com)
• Holiday Candy Grams: Celebrate the holidays at the Lake with personalized holiday candy grams! The junior class SGA will be selling them for $2 from Monday – Wednesday next week. Find them near the cafeteria during lunch and near the senior lot from 2-2:30pm each day. Funds earned will go towards prom and future SGA activities. Happy holidays!

• Toy and Canned Food Drive (Student Services): Student Services is collected new unwrapped toys for our yearly toy drive beginning December 4 through December 20. They’ll also have a canned food drive/non-perishables. Either can be counted as community services hours for Bright Futures.

• National Honor Society: The ELHS National Honor Society is currently collecting a variety of donated items for service hours in room 4222 or 3222. Those include:
  • Canned goods, no-sew blankets, new or gently used socks and gloves, new and unwrapped toys for boys and girls ages 0-16, Holiday Meal in a Bag: canned diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, box of stuffing mix, canned fruit, coffee or hot cocoa mix, Gift Wrapping Kit: two rolls of wrapping paper, g, tags, tape, and a pair of scissors
  • Blessing Bag Meals: 1) Breakfast Bag: orange juice, container of oatmeal, granola bar, and raisins, 2) Snack Bag: dried fruit, granola bar, individual drink mix packets, individually packaged cheese and crackers, 3) Foot Care Bag: thick socks, Band-Aids, nail clipper set, foot warmers, wet wipes, 4) Cold Weather Bag: warm hat, scarf, gloves, poncho, and lip balm, 5) Personal Care Bag: lotion, lip balm, razor, wash cloth, body and hand soap, travel-sized shampoo/conditioner
  • The following in-person volunteer opportunities are also still available:
    • ELHS Football Christmas Tree Lot (fundraiser runs until trees are sold: https://www.pcsb.org/cms/lib/FL01903687/Centricity/Domain/110/ChristmasTreeFundraiser.jpeg  
    • Bring Blankets to the Elderly 12/14, Movie on the Lawn with Brooker Creek Elementary 12/8, Boys Basketball Concessions (Sign-Up Genius), Reindeer Run at John Chestnut Park 12/9, Downtown Dunedin Old Fashioned Christmas 12/9

• US History Review: Any student enrolled in our US History Honors course on campus can and should participate in some of our different review sessions beginning Tuesday, November 28^th through Thursday, December 7^th. These will take place during lunch and after school to cover various topics that will be on the Cycle 2 midterm assessment. Attached to the email is a copy of the flier that outlines the review topics and a Tic Tac Toe incentive for students that participate in multiple reviews.
  • https://www.pcsb.org/cms/lib/FL01903687/Centricity/Domain/110/USHistoryReviewTicTacToeSheet.pdf

• Scholarship and Community Service Opportunities: Does your student need money for college? There are multiple applications available today and an additional FAFSA Completion Night coming up! Attend East Lake's FAFSA Completion Night Jan. 11^th starting at 5:30. Financial Aid advisors from local colleges and universities will be on hand to help. Students AND their parent/guardian should each bring:

• • Social Security Number, Alien Registration Number (if applicable), 2022 federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned, Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable), Net worth of businesses & farms (if applicable), Records of 2022 untaxed income (if applicable), Child support received from last complete calendar year (if applicable), FSA ID (must create one ahead of time athttps://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
  • Register here: 
    • https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=BZM8c9c5GkaGb_3ye_PH_3JlEDd9DiZPs6_wCkpnROJUQ1BTU0dQMlhQWTQ4M1Q3M09ZNEgxRko0WC4u&origin=QRCode
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  • Students who qualify for a Bright Futures scholarship need to complete the Florida Financial Aid Application. It’s an easy application that can be completed in less than 15 minutes. Please encourage your student to complete it over break. For more information surrounding Bright Futures, have your students speak with Natasha Gallaty, our College and Career Coordinator, when we return from break.
    • https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=home
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  • The Pinellas Education Foundation provides over 100 different college and technical school scholarships to more than 300 high school seniors throughout Pinellas County, based on criteria established by the Foundation and sponsors. Varied as the sponsors who fund them, scholarships range in focus from the arts to science and math, sports, and community service. Many are based on financial need. Scholarships may be either one-time awards or renewable scholarships for students who continue to meet the scholarship qualifications throughout college. For more information, use the hyperlink below.
    • https://pinellaseducation.awardspring.com/
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  • Attached you’ll find a flier for the Pinellas Education Foundation Take Stock in Children scholarship. If you qualify, we highly recommend you apply – see the attached flier for more information! 
    • https://www.pcsb.org/cms/lib/FL01903687/Centricity/Domain/110/TSICApplicationFlyer20232024.pdf
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  • Key Club is running a canned goods drive to donate to a local food pantry for the holidays. Please drop off your items to Mrs. Lightfoot’s classroom between December 1^st and December 20^th. Email her for more information at lightfoote@pcsb.org and please bring cans to room 3-119!
    •  https://www.pcsb.org/cms/lib/FL01903687/Centricity/Domain/110/FoodDriveFlyer.pdf 

• Cellphones and Dress Code:
  • Parents, please continue to remind your students about our cellphone expectations at ELHS (appropriate use during passing time and lunch is permitted). Teachers may utilize them for academic purposes within the classroom but they must be off and put away all other times. Additionally, please remember that if you need to get in touch with your student during the school day, call the office, not their cellphone. We will ensure that they receive the message or call them down to the office at that time if needed.
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    • Please make sure to review dress code with your student – it can be found on page 56 of the Student Code of Conduct (2023-2024-Student-Code-of-Conduct.pdf (pcsb.org)). If a student is out of dress code, they will be sent to the office for a change of clothes, which could also result in a disciplinary referral. These and other discipline incidences are addressed using both the Student Code of Conduct and our ELHS Discipline Matrix throughout the year. Thank you for your assistance and support!

• Free and Reduced Lunch:
  • Parents, if you haven’t done so already and your student received free lunch last year or you believe you may qualify, fill out the free/reduced lunch application at www.myschoolapps.com. Not only will this impact lunch for those that qualify, it will potentially qualify your student for free SAT and ACT testing for college admissions and Bright Futures testing and more. For more information, please reach out to our College and Career Coordinator Natasha Gallaty at gallatyn@pcsb.org.

We look forward to continued great things ahead at East Lake High School! If you have any questions at all, as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Assistant Principal or Counselor. Always remember that Life is Better at the Lake, have an amazing rest of your weekend, stay safe, and GO EAGLES!

Dan Schmittdiel, Principal

East Lake High School

SchmittdielD@pcsb.org

Our Vision 
100% student success

Our Mission 
The community of East Lake High School will develop productive and responsible students who are prepared for post-secondary education, the workforce and citizenship.