8.21.26 Message from the Principal

Dear Hawk Families,

I think I speak for our entire staff when I say that I am fired up to have students back in the building next week. It has been a ton of fun seeing students at parking lot painting, athletic practices, evening band rehearsal, or just out and about on campus. 2026-2027 is going to be an amazing year!

The return to school rush can be a busy time, so I want to be sure to provide you with all of the important logistical information to ensure a successful and smooth start to the school year. Please take a few minutes to review the details below.

Back to School Info

Class of 2027 Parents: Seniors are invited to a Red Carpet Event before school on Wednesday morning to celebrate their last “first” day of high school with music, photos and a handful of other special celebratory elements. The event will take place outside the Auxiliary Gym/Athletic Entrance between 6:45 AM and 7:30 AM on August 26th. Be sure to remind your child to wear the SENIOR t-shirt! Thank you to our amazing Senior Parent Committee for putting this event together for our kids!

Orientation: Just a reminder that Orientation is scheduled for Monday, August 24th! At Orientation, students will receive a copy of their schedule with locker assignments and get their school ID picture taken. Students will also have a chance to find their locker and classes. We will have a brief presentation in the auditorium at the beginning of each Orientation session.

9th grade: 8 AM-9 AM

10th grade: 9 AM-10 AM

11th grade: 10 AM-11 AM

12th grade 11 AM-12 PM

**New students will meet in the Media Center during the last 15 minutes of their scheduled orientation session.

Our annual Open House is scheduled for Monday, August 24th. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents or guardians to meet teachers, walk through their student’s schedule, and learn more about the content and skills their child will be learning this year. 1st hour starts @ 6:00 PM. Don’t be tardy! It may be helpful to complete this form before arriving at Open House.

Wednesday, August 26th will be our first day of school. As I shared in last week’s email, our start and end time will be slightly later this year (7:45 AM - 2:40 PM). We are so excited to have all of our Hawks back in the building!

Policies and Procedures

We will hold class meetings on Friday, August 28th. During this time, we will review school policies and expectations with our students. Our goal with these meetings is to provide key logistical information and ensure clarity around our expectations.

School hours: Please note that our building does not open until 7:20 AM, and all students (not connected to an extracurricular activity) need to exit the building by 3:15 PM. Students are not able to be unattended in our building before or after school.

Attendance: Regular school attendance is critical for student success. We completely understand that there are factors that require a student to miss school, and as long as we communicate, we can work together to support a student when he/she is absent. If your child is absent, please contact Mrs. Susan Noom at ehsattendance@fhps.net or call 616-493-8836. Any student that arrives after 7:45 AM must check in with Mrs. Noom prior to going to class. All students must check out with her when leaving early. In addition to calling or emailing our attendance office, parents can now report student absences using the PowerSchool Parent Portal. This feature can be used to report an absence for the current day or to schedule future planned absences. Check out this brief “how-to” guide to report a student absence! Also, EHS is a closed campus which means students are not allowed to leave for lunch. If there are extenuating circumstances that may impact your child’s attendance, please contact your child’s counselor.

Morning Drop Off/Afternoon Pick Up: If you intend to drop off/pick up your child, please use the Pettis Avenue entrance. The Knapp entrance is for bus drop off only. When dropping off, please pull up as far as you can (toward the end of the sidewalk). Please ask your child to be prepared to get out as soon as your car safely stops. The drop off/pick up process requires patience at EHS, as we experience back ups due to the high volume of vehicles. We bring almost 1500 students and 200 staff members to the same site, each day, within a 30-40 minute window. That is a lot of traffic to move in a short time! I imagine that the construction on both the Pettis bike path and the Knapp pedestrian bridge may create additional delays. Our School Resource Officer, Deputy Czaika, has put together a brief newsletter highlighting pickup, drop-off, and student driving protocols.

Parking Permits: Any student intending to drive to school must register their car by completing the application and paying the $25 parking fee. Driving to EHS is a privilege. All drivers must follow campus and driving expectations. Students who do not follow expectations are subject to loss of driving privileges and/or disciplinary action. The deadline to purchase is Wednesday, September 9th. Parking Permit Application. Mr. Starling will provide the parking permit once the application and payment are both received.

Senior Parking: Our Seniors had the opportunity to paint a reserved parking space and that space will remain their spot for the year. Please do not park in a painted parking spot between 7:20 AM-3:00 PM.

Celebrations

I want to give a special shout-out to our custodial and maintenance team for their outstanding work over the summer. The Eastern HS/MS campus is looking beautiful, and that is due to the pride and hard work of our custodial and grounds team! Thank you!

We had an amazing couple of days working with teachers this week. Our teaching staff is fired up and ready to have students back in classrooms next week. We have a team full of high-quality educators; the energy, passion, and excitement was tangible this week!

The Eastern HS Auxiliary Field construction project is progressing rapidly. The facility is going to be amazing and will be an incredibly impactful addition for several of our athletic programs. Projects like this are only possible due to the incredible community support and successful bond proposals!

The FHE Athletic Boosters are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the 2026 Hawk Rally Community Event. This event will take place on Thursday, August 27th from 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM. The event is open to the public and is a great opportunity to meet our EHS athletic teams, play games, and celebrate the amazing Eastern community. There will be a handful of special vendors on site, including Kona Ice, Bumblebee Ice Cream, Tony’s Tacos, and our always tasty FHE concessions!

The Hawk Rally date corresponds with our football home opener vs. Forest Hills Northern. There will likely be significant turnout with it being Hawk Rally, a neighborhood rivalry, and opening night. Our athletic director, Mr. Hull, has put together a gameday guide with parking guidance, ticket info, and streaming links. Campus will be busy, so please take a moment to review the FHE vs. FHN GameDay Guide.

Thank you to the members of our band, cheer team, and a handful of other student volunteers who provided assistance at our District Staff kickoff on Thursday, August 20th. This high-energy event was made even more special by the contributions of our wonderful students!

News and Notes

Concessions: The Forest Hills Eastern Athletic Boosters is in need of volunteer concessions help for the fall 2026 season! The FHE Athletic Boosters approved over $75,000 in grants last school year and heavily rely on the revenue generated from concessions. Please consider signing up to help. It is a ton of fun and a great way to give back to the school community!

Senior Portrait Details: The Class of 2027 senior portraits due by Friday, November 20, 2026; yearbook publisher’s deadline! The publisher cannot guarantee late photos will be in the yearbook. Please click here for more information.

Go Fan Athletic Passes: Hawk Fans have the option to purchase electronic athletic/game passes for 2026-2027 school year via the GoFan app. Fans can purchase a Family Pass, Adult Individual Pass, or a Student Athletic Pass. The pass will get you into all home FHPS high school athletic events. The value is really quite great! Click here for pricing and purchase details.

Upcoming Events

• Orientation: Monday, August 24th.

• Parent/Guardian Open House: Monday, August 24th @ 6:00 PM.

• First Day of School: Wednesday, August 26th

• Hawk Rally: Thursday, August 27th

• Senior Retreat: Sunday, August 30th - Monday, August 31st.

• Homecoming Game: Friday, October 2nd.

• Homecoming Dance: Saturday, October 3rd.

• PSAT/NMSQT (juniors only): Thursday, October 15th.

As the school year approaches, I feel more and more grateful to be part of this wonderful community. Eastern High School is a wonderful place and we are going to have a truly memorable school year. Our school team is so thankful for your support, partnership, and encouragement. We look forward to seeing you at Open House on Monday evening.

Have a wonderful weekend and Go Hawks!

Dan McElheny