“Excellence is the Raider way!”
March 16-20, 2015
Greeting Raider parents, guardians, and friends,
PARCC week #3 down, one more to go! We completed our English 10, Geometry, and began our
English 11 tests this week. We additionally completed the English 9 ELA, Algebra I, and started English
10 make-up examinations this week. As we near the conclusion of round #1 of the PARCC, I have asked
all of our staff members to provide me with a summary of their insight into the demands of the PARCC on
their classroom environment. I will be documenting my insight from a building-wide perspective. I plan to
generate a report with the intent of making improvements to best meet our student and staff needs for
future state testing at East.
We will be concluding round #1 (PBA) of the PARCC on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Round #2 (EOY)
portion of the PARCC is scheduled to begin on April 20, 2015. We are meeting as an administrative staff
to discuss the PBA and to develop a plan to possibly test in a shorter duration while still maintaining an
optimum testing environment for our students to be successful. I will share our discussion with the
students and staff as I plan on speaking to the students during lunch next week and with the staff at our
next faculty meeting.
I spoke to all of our spring athletes on Monday afternoon regarding my expectations as a student-athlete
at East. I expect all of our athletes to be reminded of their role as a leader in our school community. Our
athletes are deemed role-models and therefore have added responsibilities compared to other East
students. I explained to them that when they place that jersey over their shoulders, they are agreeing to
the above. I expect them to compete to the best of their abilities, demonstrate good sportsmanship skills,
maintain their academic standing, and to be a positive reflection of East. I am excited to watch the kids in
action, as I could tell they were anxious to get on the field! I wish all of our teams the best of luck!
I recognized Kimberly Liput on Friday as part of our “Respectful Raiders”. Kimberly kindly returned a
lost cell phone to the Main Office. The phone was returned to the owner!
Congratulations to our PLE students for an outstanding showing at New Jersey Model Congress on
Thursday and Friday. East had another successful run at Model Congress, passing 6 out of 7 bills
brought forward by TRE students. Our students performed very well within the Committee and Overall
sessions. We are looking forward to June's Mock Trial.
I was able to get into the classrooms and was pleased to observe our wonderful staff as part of our 180
Days of Excellence. I observed Mr. Steve Ebert on Monday. Mr. Ebert teaches our autistic students,
and he is wonderful with them! Mr. Ebert conducted a science lesson on the Reed Frog, helping the
students with their reading, critical thinking, and communication skills. I really appreciate Mr. Ebert’s love
and compassion for his students. He is patient and very positive. He was very excited to share how the
students have grown over the course of the year! Keep up the great work Mr. Ebert! I observed Mrs.
Cowan and Mr. Lindstrom on Tuesday as they received permission to bring in a Therapy Dog as part of
a lesson. Mrs. Cowan teaches our CI Program and Mr. Lindstrom works with our autistic students. I have
to admit, it was pretty inspiring observing the children’s faces as they learned about the dog and had the
opportunity to pet her (Molly). Mrs. Cowan and Mr. Lindstrom do an amazing job every day meeting the
cognitive and physical needs of their students. I enjoy watching the relationships they have developed
over the years with their students. As a principal, I couldn’t be more proud of them because they love
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their kids as their own! I recognized the work of our Security Officer, Mr. Ed Kayler on Wednesday. Mr.
Kayler is the key component to our Safety Team at East. Mr. Kayler works with the students to help develop life skills and to support school safety initiatives. Mr. Kayler continues to attend professional development seminars to maintain our edge on trends in school safety. Mr. Kayler recently attended a seminar
on ‘Active Shooters’. I observed Ms. Ashley Fitzgerald on Thursday. Ms. Fitzgerald teaches American
History. Ms. Fitzgerald was in the process of presenting a lesson on World War 2 in the Pacific, specifically the Japanese perception of America and our soldiers. Ms. Fitzgerald demonstrated passion for the
subject matter and clearly conducted significant research outside of the textbook to present the content
material. Students were participatory and engaged! Great work Ms.
Fitzgerald. Finally, I recognized
the efforts of Office Secretary, Mrs. Sheryl Middleton on Friday. Mrs. Middleton is new to our staff this
year. She joined our team after one of our secretaries moved out of New Jersey. Mrs. Middleton is doing
a fantastic job keeping pace with assistant principal Ted Gillen. They are a good team. Mrs. Middleton
handles our Homebound and more importantly, can read Mr. Gillen’s
handwriting (with this skill, she
could probably read the Rosetta Stone…no one can read Mr. Gillen’s handwriting!). I enjoy Mrs. Middleton as she provides a friendly face to the office each day, works hard to keep up with the demands of the
position, and always maintains a positive attitude! Thank you Mrs. Middleton!
Issues
Attendance Matters
Please continue to reinforce with your child the importance of school attendance. Below are a few quick
tips:

Establish and stick to the basic routines (going to bed early, waking up on time, etc.) that will help
your child develop the habit of on-time attendance.

Talk to your child about why going to school every day is critical and important unless they are sick. If
your child seems reluctant to go to school, find out why and work with the teacher, administrator or
afterschool provider to get them excited about going to school.

Come up with back up plans for who to turn to (another family member, a neighbor or fellow parents)
to help you get your child to school if something comes up (e.g. another child gets sick, your car
breaks down, etc.).

Reach out for help if you are experiencing tough times (e.g. transportation, unstable housing, loss of a
job, health problems) that make it difficult to get your child to school. Other parents, your child’s
teacher, principal, social worker, school nurse, afterschool providers or community agencies can help
you problem solve or connect you to a needed resource.

If your child is absent, work with the teacher to make sure she or he has an opportunity to learn and
make up for the academics missed.
Behavior Matters
Congratulations to all of our students that have recently received their driving license! I know how
important this monumental task is for our students (maybe not so much for our parents…hang in there!).
However, please be reminded that although a student may receive a driving license, they do not automatically have the right to park on campus. We have LIMITED spots available for our students. Regardless
of how we feel about the LIMITED spots, we have LIMITED spots. Students that park on campus without
the approved permits may be towed at the owner’s expense. We spent considerable amounts of time
dealing with parking related issues in the previous years. We remediated the problem by providing
permits to assigned parking spaces. We reduced parking issues, vandalism, inappropriate behavior,
class cuts, and many other concerns through this process. Please be respectful of our limitations as we
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try to accommodate our student and staff needs to the best of our abilities.
This Week at East
Our Committees are re-convening this week. Our Community Outreach, College and Career, and School
Improvement – Curriculum Committees will meet after school in the Main Office Conference Room
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, respectively. The Committees are now open to our students for
input. Please encourage your child to attend these very important meetings!
We are finally wrapping up the PARCC testing! We are all looking forward to getting back to a state of
normalcy around East.
Our school play, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, is opening this Thursday at 7:00 PM.
I cannot wait to see the play. I know Mrs. Reimertz and her staff have been working very hard to make
this a memorable performance. Our students are talented and are looking forward to the opportunity to
display their skills and efforts! I hope to see you at one of the performances. Call the Main Office for
advance tickets.
We are scheduled to hold our monthly safety drill this week.
The AHSA testing is underway this week at East.
Information
Below is the remaining schedule for PARCC:
Grade 11
Monday, March 23, Day 3 ELA
Tuesday, March 24, Day 1 Algebra II, Math 11
Wednesday, March 25, Day 2 Algebra II, Math 11 (end of week for these test takers)
Paper based testing and Large Print will still begin on Monday, March 16th.
ESL at the High School will still begin on Monday, March 9th.
Below is the remaining make-up schedule for PARCC:
Grade 10
Monday, March 23, Day 1, 2, 3 ELA 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Tuesday, March 24, Day 1, 2 Geometry/Math 10 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Wednesday, March 25, Day 1, 2 Geometry/ Math 10 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Grade 11
Thursday, March 26 Day 1, 2, 3 ELA 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Thursday, March 26 Day 1, 2 Algebra II/Math 11 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Friday, March 27 Day 1, 2, 3 ELA 7:30 – 9:30 AM
Friday, March 27 Day 1, 2 Algebra II/Math 11 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
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Please be reminded that normal school attendance policies regarding absences, lates, cuts, and early
dismissals will be in effect throughout the testing window (March). I am very focused on providing the
best possible testing environment for our students for their respective benefits. I will not tolerate behavior
that deters from the testing and safe operation of school activities.
We are hosting the OC DART Coalition on April 14, 2015 at 12:00 Noon. Community members are
invited to attend. The objective of this group is to reduce substance abuse. Our Lead and Seed group
(mini DART coalition) is working hard to promote awareness on the abuse of marijuana in our children.
The group consists of students and teachers at East. If you child is interested in supporting this worthy
cause, please contact Mrs. Dawn Aulisi ([email protected]) for more information.
Please check out our website later this week for information regarding the OCPGA Spring Fair Ms. Carol
Ann Salvaggione is running on the 22nd of April at the Pine Belt Arena. Our goal is to get our college
bound students more exposure to representatives from various colleges/universities. The information will
also be disseminated at our Junior Parent Night on the 31st of March.
Our next PTO meeting will be held in the Main Office Conference Room on Monday, March 30,
2015 at 7:00 PM. I hope you will attend!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!
Mr. Thomas, Principal
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