1300 Silver Eagle Drive
Tarpon Springs, Florida 34688
Office: (727) 942-5419
Fax: (727) 942-5441
12/10/2023
Good afternoon Eagle Families,
This is Dan Schmittdiel, Principal at 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 along with our annual PRISM Concert – 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:
- The Performing Arts Academy will put on an amazing show at our 5th annual PRISM Concert Friday 12/15 and Saturday 12/16 in the East Lake High School auditorium – tickets are on sale on GoFan for $12
- JV/Varsity Boys Basketball faces Calvary Christian HS at home on Tuesday 12/12, Countryside HS away on Thursday 12/14, and Gulf HS away on Friday 12/15
- JV/Varsity Girls Basketball faces Largo HS at home on Thursday 12/14, Gulf HS away on Friday 12/15, and Keswick HS away on Saturday 12/16
- JV Girls Soccer takes on Palm Harbor University HS away on Monday 12/11, Mitchell HS at home on Tuesday 12/12
- Varsity Boys Soccer takes on Countryside HS at home on Monday 12/11 and Clearwater HS at home on Thursday 12/14 for SENIOR NIGHT
- Varsity Girls Soccer takes on Countryside HS at home on Monday 12/11, Mitchell HS at home on Tuesday 12/12 for SENIOR NIGHT, and Clearwater HS at home on Thursday 12/14
- JV Boys Wrestling compete at home for a JV quad meet on Wednesday 12/13
- Boys Varsity Wrestling at Gulf HS away on Friday 12/15
We hope to see you there to cheer on the teams and clubs this week, good luck Eagles!
Holiday Theme Week
We will be SOARING INTO HOLIDAY FUN THIS WEEK with a Holiday Theme Week. Each day will have a different dress up theme which can be found in the attached flier. We can’t wait to see all of the holiday spirit this week as we approach midterms and Winter Break!
https://tinyurl.com/2023HolidayThemeWeek
2023-24 PCS Stakeholder Survey
The 2023-24 PCS Stakeholder Survey is live and your voice matters! Your anonymous opinion describing your experience at ELHS provides us with some essential insight that helps guide our constant improvement as a school! The survey window is from November 26 through December 22. Please visit https://www.pcsb.org/survey to view additional information and how to access the survey. For parents, there’s a direct link on that page to access your survey. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey if you haven’t done so yet and THANK YOU to those that already have provided us with invaluable feedback on what’s going well and where we can continue to grow as a school at ELHS.
December Mental Health Lesson – Modified Bell Schedule 12/13
This Wednesday, we will facilitate our 2nd Mental Health Lesson of the school year during 4th period. With that, we will have a modified bell schedule like we did last month. Attached you can find the adjusted times. https://tinyurl.com/3wcexn97
Testing Updates
If your freshmen or sophomore missed FAST ELA PM 2, we’ll have make-up testing beginning Monday in the Media Center. Reach out to your child’s English teacher or Dr. Hatfield, our Assistant Principal over Testing, for more information!
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.
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.
- Christmas Tree Fundraiser The fundraiser continues until they run out of trees – see the flier for more information!
- 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:
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- 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
- 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. 11th 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:
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- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Attached you’ll find a flier for the Pinellas Education Foundation Take Stock in Children scholarship. If you qualify, we highly recommend you apply!
- 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 1st and December 20th. Email her for more information at lightfoote@pcsb.org and please bring cans to room 3-119!
- Cellphones and Dress Code:
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- 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.
- 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.
