In academics, the third quarter ended well with 31% of our students achieving Exemplary Honor Roll (all A's) and over 56% of students making the Honor Roll, all As and Bs. We'll be celebrating our juniors who gave their best effort on the SAT last month with a promised incentive (movie afternoon in our Performing Arts Center on Monday, April 29th). Biology ILearn is taking place this week, NWEA will take place next week, and AP testing starts in May. With NHS Inductions on April 17, Academic Awards on May 1, Senior Scholar Night on May 8, and Graduation on June 2, there's plenty to celebrate as we wrap up the 2023-24 school year!

In athletics, spring sports are underway although weather has played a role in concluded with two EIAC team championships, sectional and regional titles, and three State qualifiers in boys and girls swim and dive. Spring sports are upon us, and we're looking forward to continued successes!

Finally, in the arts, the spring ISSMA group contests continue through April, and Percussion and Guard finish out their respective seasons with State qualifying appearances, and Percussion continues this week at WGI in Dayton Ohio!

We continue to celebrate East Central High School turning 50 in August and all class of 1974 graduates!

IMPORTANT DATES

• NHS/College Fair - Apr 17
• Junior Incentive (Movie in the PAC periods 5-7) - Apr 29
• Academic Awards - May 1
• AP Exams - May 6 through May 15
• Senior Scholarship Night - May 8
• Senior Walk/Grad Practice - May 17
• Prom - May 18
  
• Finals - May 21, 22, 23
• Graduation - June 2

WE ARE...EC!

“No leader is worth his salt who won’t set up the chairs.” Peter Drucker

Respectfully,

Tom Black

Thank you to Senior, Lucy Chenault for the commemorative 50th design!

East Central High School is proud to announce Maleighna Mondal as student of the month. Her mother is Stacy Mondal. Maleighna carries a 3.8 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. At school she also participates in Student Ambassadors and is a school and state officer for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). In FCCLA she has participated in the Snowflake Dance for individuals with disabilities and activities for seniors residing at North Dearborn Village.

ECHS Guidance Counselor Mrs. Lisa Tupper stated “I couldn’t be more proud of how Maleighna exemplifies perseverance every single day. I have no doubt she will go on to do great things and continue to have a positive impact on our community. Her radiant smile every morning, throughout the day, and at her innumerable extracurricular activities is a reminder to all to live life to its best each and every day”. Maleighna is a Varsity Cheerleader and is also active in the Student Council and has volunteered several times for the council at the Freestore Foodbank. She enjoys being a member of the Cheer squad, cooking and baking. Maleighna also enjoys spending time with friends and family. Traveling and being outside are also likes of hers. In the fall she plans to attend University of Cincinnati Blue Ash to major in Dental Hygiene.

Maleighna says, “I would like to thank my family for always supporting me and encouraging me to be my personal best. My mom always taught me to have fun while working hard!” She also would like to thank her teachers, especially Mrs. Osman and Ms. McConnell, FCCLA advisors, “for cheering me on and teaching me new things.” She also thanks her peers.

For advice to other students, Maleighna says, “Work hard, stay positive and have fun! High school can be busy but you can make great memories!”

Students will receive their 2024-25 course request schedule the first week of May. Students have until the last day of the school year to request changes. No student/parent requested changes will be honored after the last day of this school year.

Is your child entering grade 6-12 next school year, and looking for personlized, flexible learning, while continuing to be a student at a local school?

The Sunman-Dearborn Online Academy (S-DOA) is for you! In addition, your child would continue to be eligible to participate in clubs, extra-curricular activities, and athletics. S-DOA is free to all Indiana residents!

For more information, go to www.sdoa.us, including the current extensive course list. High school students should contact their guidance counselor if they are interested.

Mrs. Karle will be meeting with eligible students! The deadline for summer enrollment is MAY 10.

Ivy Tech Senior Admission Days coming in April and May.

This is for graduating seniors who plan to attend Ivy Tech in the fall, or for those who are still undecided.

Attention Seniors!! Ivy Tech graduation information will be coming in a few weeks directly to your Ivy Tech email. All students completing a certificate, technical certificate (ICC), or associate degree will be invited. Until then, Save the Date for May 10th!

Mr. Brad Wynn: A-G

Mrs. Lisa Tupper: H-O

Mrs. Murdock: P-Z

• May 2024: Target date to release 2024-2025 schedules to students. Last day to change schedules for 2024-2025 will be May 23rd.

ECHS College and Career Fair will be held in the Cafeteria on April 17th from 6-8pm. Representatives from colleges and local employers will be available to speak with students that wish to gather more information about colleges and seniors that may be looking for employment opportunities after graduation. Please plan to attend this annual event that will begin this year and grow with each coming year.

Biology ILearn testing for students enrolled in Biology will begin on April 15th and will take place in Biology classrooms. This is an accountability test for all Indiana students enrolled in Biology.

Key items per grade:

Seniors:

The FAFSA is open for access at FAFSA.gov The FAFSA has an April 15th deadline for Indiana Students. Additional support is available through the following:

• Facebook Live Stream on April 9th at 6pm to your students and parents who need to file a 2024-2025 FAFSA. Bill Wozniak, INvestEd, and I will be holding a conversation discussing the main questions we are getting right now, filing tips, where to go for help, answering questions, etc.

• Students and families with persisting issues to INvestEd and our Outreach Coordinators. We will work to find possible solutions to support your families encountering issues with filing as they file by April 15th. The following links may be helpful to you all as you continue to receive questions and concerns:

FAFSA Fast News - https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-fast-news

FAFSA Issue Alerts - https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-issue-alerts

FAFSA Updates - https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-updates

FAFSA FAQs - https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-frequently-asked-questions

2024-2025 Federal Student Aid handbook: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/fsa-handbook/2024-2025

Students should be receiving information from colleges on admission decisions. If a student is Waitlisted/Deferred please have the student follow up with their counselor. We can assist them with the required process. Counselors do not have access to admissions decisions and have to rely on information from the students. Students should also follow all deadlines for housing and accepting admission with the college of their choice.

Scholarship applications are continuously sent to students in their school email. Please encourage them to read through all information as some applications are only for EC students. The students that are selected for scholarships are invited to attend the Senior Scholarship Awards program on May 8th at 6:30pm in the Performing Arts Center. Again they will receive an invitation at the beginning of May up until the date of the event if they are selected as a winner for a scholarship from a local sponsor.

Seniors who are undecided about what to study after high school are encouraged to connect with Ivy Tech Community College’s Associate Accelerated Program (ASAP). This program helps high school graduates earn an Associate’s Degree in just 11 months and prepares them to transfer to a four-year college to earn their Bachelor's Degree.

National Honor Society will hold the recognition night for the Seniors and Juniors on April 17th at 6:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center. Students will receive an invitation if they are expected to attend from the NHS sponsor: Mrs. Ketcham.

Juniors:

East Central College and Career Fair is scheduled for April 17th at 6pm-8pm in the Cafeteria. This is a great opportunity for Juniors to meet with College Representatives and Career representatives that attend. This is scheduled on the same evening as the National Honor Society Induction ceremony that is set for April 17th at 6:30 pm in the Performing Arts. Juniors that are being inducted will receive an invitation to attend that ceremony.

Sophomores and Freshman:

Scheduling will be completed by the end of January for the following year with changes accepted until the end of the year. Students should be focusing on grades and career/college exploration.

Biology ILearn testing for students enrolled in Biology will begin on April 15th and will take place in Biology classrooms. This is an accountability test for all Indiana students enrolled in Biology.

As always we are available to meet with students individually to support academic and emotional needs. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Rhonda Murdock

Director of Guidance
rmurdock@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Ivy Tech College Connection Coach

For students working on achieving the Indiana College Core and their Associates Degrees and needing to pick up courses, Ivy Tech has multiple eight-week sessions throughout the school year. These are online, virtual, in-person, or blended classes; students choose whatever works best. As an East Central High School student, there is potentially a full scholarship for these courses and books may be free.

Contact Wendi Karle for more information. wkarle@sunmandearborn.k12.in.is.

Save Time, Save Money, Get a Degree

The Associate Accelerated Program (ASAP) is an 11-month program, which is student focused and designed to support, encourage, and mentor students throughout their first year of college. This program is great for students who prefer smaller class sizes and who prefer to be on a first name basis with their professors. ASAP works with students to build confidence before transferring to a 4-year university to get their bachelor’s degree or going into the workforce. Applications are now being accepted for the next cohort. If you are interested in applying to ASAP, joining one of our information sessions, or would like a tour of Ivy Tech’s campus, email Heather Gard at hgard3@ivytech.edu.

**National Honor Society Tutoring in Room#114

Every Wednesday 3pm-5pm.

**Do you have a study hall? Talk to your counselor about peer-to-peer tutoring during study hall.

**Talk to your teachers. Teachers arrive daily at 7:30am and could possibly help you before or after school.

**KhanAcademy.org Completely free online educational videos in all core classes.

**AskRose.org / (877) ASK-ROSE 24/7 homework help (Ran by the students of Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN).

Roy Johnson - rjohnson@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Eight East Central FFA members competed in the Area 1 Livestock Evaluation CDE at the Decatur County Fairgrounds. Members evaluated 7 classes of beef cattle, swine, sheep and meat goats. They placed those classes and provided oral reasons on 2 of them.

The team of Tyler Stenger, Wyatt Smith, Evan Kramer and Jacob Miller placed 4th overall out of 24 teams.

Other members competing; Acelynn Retzki, Zoey Eicher, Landon Smith and Tug Hornberger.

East Central FFA members will be competing in the Indiana 4-H/FFA Wildlife Habitat Evaluation CDE at the Southeast Purdue Agriculture Center in Butlerville. Members will take a general knowledge test, a wildlife specimen test and they will have a field activity where they will evaluate an actual outdoor area and make recommendations on wildlife management practices to be implemented to the area.

Members competing; Isabelle Leurck, Bryson Dossenback, Peyton Zinser, Kody Schilling, Beckett Knue, Cambryn Botts, Parker Simpson

Krista Hutzel - khutzel@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

BPA

In March, students in the Business Professionals of America club competed at the State Leadership Conference in Indianapolis. Over a few days, students had the opportunity to compete in events, attend leadership sessions, and be a part of general member meetings with all of the Indiana chapters. Hannah Mayer and Amaya Williamson competed in Small Business management and Prestyn Day, Will Lane and Tyler Morris competed in the new event, Visual Design Team. If you are interested in being a part of Business Professionals of America next school year, please reach out to Ms. Posey.

Trojan Exchange News

Get ready for the excitement of our 4th Annual Trojan Toss! Mark your calendars for April 21st at 1 pm. Teams have until April 17th to register on our website, trojanexchange.com. Expect a fun-filled day with carnival games, delicious food from food trucks, amazing prizes, and more surprises! We can't wait to welcome you all!

The Introduction to Engineering and Design classes will be beginning a Model Rocket Project this month. They will be working in groups to recreate a model rocket on Inventor. Their goal is to model it as close to the real thing as possible; they will be using dial calipers and other measuring devices to read and record their measurements. Then they will create the parts on Inventor, share them with their teammates, and finally complete the assembly. Once the rockets are modeled, then the group will get to build the actual rockets, which we will be launching later in the year.

The CAD class has been working with RoboCell and now CNC Motion. The class is learning to write G&M Code, by milling out their initials from a wooden block. After we learn the basics we will move on to designing a container to mill out on our bench mill.

The Aerospace class recently carried out our stability tests for their model rockets that they designed and built. Everyone in the class passed on the first day, so we will be launching them once it warms up. This month, the class will be learning to write programs using VEX V5, then design, build, and program a “Mars Rover” to carry out a number of tasks.

And, in Intro to Transportation, students built and raced in our annual wooden boat regatta.

Susan Ketcham - sketcham@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Total Solar Eclipse: Mother Nature’s Pause Button

April 8, 2024 was no ordinary Monday; it was Moon-day! While the moon was stealing the sun’s spotlight for a second, students were catching the views while completing e-learning.

In English 9, students played Gimkit to learn the vocabulary words for Ender's Game and read an Actively Learn article about the science-fiction genre, or read an article explaining the scientific reasoning behind the solar eclipse, how often they occur, and the different safety precautions that they should take to view the solar eclipse. English 10 students studied vocabulary using Membean minutes and polished up their writing skills using NoRedInk, while others continued to investigate incentivizing by completing an EdPuzzle. Honors English 10 students read selections from The Martian by Andy Weir to prepare for a problem-solving activity. In COMM 101, students created audience analysis forms to test classroom attitudes regarding controversial topics to prepare for the Advocacy Speech. In English 11, students read an article written by author Virginia Woolf on her experience during the 1927 solar eclipse. Students in ENG 111 provided peer feedback for introductory flashpoints and read several articles about the eclipse, viewing safety, and the historical significance of the event. In English 12, students read “Indigenous Cultures Honor Tradition During Solar Eclipse” on Actively Learn, while others investigated reliable resources through a media literacy scavenger hunt. Honors English 12 students began writing a reflection paper about the game “Welcome to 1984” in response to the week-long Big Brother simulation. In AP Literature & Composition, students explored character complexity and drafted thesis statements.

Check out some students who were chasing shadows and capturing memories 🌒📸!

Brenda Osman bosman@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Advanced Fashion and Textiles: The Advanced Fashion Students have completed their Coco Chanel “Little Black Dress” and are finishing the year working on a “free choice” sewing project. They are implementing the skills they have learned throughout the year on following the pattern instructions while increasing their various sewing techniques.

Advanced Child Development: The students in Advanced Child Development are operating a Playschool for 3 to 5 year old children during the month of April on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have 15 students signed up for our playschool. This experience allowed the high school students to practice skills used to teach preschool. They had 4 thematic weeks that were carried out including Jungle, Camping, Hawaiian and Under the Sea. The high school students are doing a great job planning and implementing their lesson plans each day! We will hold graduation on Thursday, April 25th. Thank you to all of the parents who brough their children to our playschool.

The East Central FCCLA had a very successful State Leadership Conference. Our students achieved 51 Gold Medals, 10 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze Medal in a wide array of Family and Consumer Sciences Projects! We had 42 students qualify for National FCCLA Competition and 6 students who are alternates to national competition in Seattle, Washington. These results are not easy to achieve. These students worked hard for the past few months on carrying out their projects by building boards, writing portfolios, preparing food, designing, sewing garments and writing speeches. We are blessed to have students that are willing to put the time and dedication into their projects. Also congratulations to the outgoing FCCLA State Officers Alexandra Seubert, Jocelyn Inderhees and Maleighna Mondal and National 1st Vice President Mak Kelley for their dedication and hard work to the organization. We would like to congratulate our new state officers representing East Central High School; Layla Craig, Kayla Craig, Abby Cross and Chloe Offenbacker. We would like to thank the FCCLA Advisers for all of their hard work including; Mrs. Osman, Ms. McConnell, Mrs. Neltner and Mrs. Bonilla. We have all put in many hours in the last few months helping these students fulfill the guidelines of their project. In addition, thank you to our administration, Dr. Jackson, Mr. Black and Mr. Swinney for supporting our FCS & FCCLA Program and attending the conference!

The East Central FCCLA will be holding their annual FCCLA Banquet on April 16th. We will be honoring 22 FCCLA Seniors. We will also recognize all of our Competitive Event Winners from the entire school year. We will end our banquet by installing 23 new chapter officers. Please stay tuned to the East Central FCCLA facebook page for all of the FCCLA News.

The FCCLA Purse Bingo and Raffle Fundraiser will be held this year on Thursday, May 2nd at 6:30 p.m. in the East Central Cafeteria. If you are interested in tickets, please contact an FCCLA Member or Mrs. Brenda Osman for more information at 812-576-4811 ext. 11302 or email at bosman@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us .

Melissa Gulasy - mgulasy@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

The annual East Central High School Art Show is scheduled for Sunday May 5th from 1PM to 4PM in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center. The art show is a celebration of all the success the art students have had during the school year. The show will showcase drawing, painting, digital design, 3-D Art, printmaking, ceramics, and photography. Collaborative efforts from the students enabled them to do a fundraiser where they were able to raise $2000 towards prize money for this year’s art show.

Congratulations to ECHS art students Iris Weckenbrock for winning Best of Show in the Dearborn County Highland Arts Council Art Show for the high school division and runner up was given to Leah Kubitiz.

The Dearborn Highland Arts Council Student Art Show in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This annual exhibit emphasizes the value of art education for all students and to encourage support for quality art programs. Students had the wonderful opportunity to share and highlight their talent and creativity. In addition, students participated in the Southeastern Indiana Arts Guild Student Art Show in Aurora, Indiana.

Ann Bovard - aebovard@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Algebra 1 students have been working hard this year to master algebra concepts, getting them ready for Algebra 2. They have been manipulating algebraic expressions using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to rewrite them in equivalent forms. They have been finding and describing the solutions of algebraic equations, specifically quadratic equations. When they are finished with studying quadratics, the students will have knowledge of how to find solutions of a quadratic, graphically and algebraically. They will be able to describe the relationships among a solution of a quadratic equation, a zero of the function, an x-intercept of the graph, and the factors of the expression. Algebra 1 students will be able to explain that every quadratic has two complex solutions, which may or may not be real solutions.

Algebra 1 teachers come up with unique ways of practicing skills by using online platforms, individual white board activities, and scavenger hunt group work.

Donna Tanner - dtanner@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Drama Department

The drama department will be producing the Lion King this summer. Auditions are open to any student in the school district. Auditions will be May, 15th ,16th 17th from 3:00-5:00p in the choir room.

Choir News

The choir department will be competing at the ISSMA large group contest on Saturday, April 20th at Seymour High School. We will be presenting our spring concert on Sunday, May 5th. The students are excited to present their productions.

East Central Indoor Percussion

Congratulations to EC Indoor Percussion for earning 5th place at the IPA State Finals with their show "Methods of Movement." They will move on to WGI Prelims in Dayton this coming Thursday, April 18th in Dayton.

East Central Winter Guard

Congratulations to the EC Winter Guard for finishing out their season with their show "The Curse" this past Saturday at the MEPA finals. They received a final score of 72 points--this is a HUGE point increase to close out their season.

Reds Opening Day Parade

Your EC Marching Trojans represented at the Reds Opening Day Parade on March 28--they did great!

Upcoming Dates:

Saturday, April 13: HS Band at ISSMA Contest at Franklin Community High School (gym), 2:40pm

Monday, April 15: Indoor Percussion/Winter Guard Showcase in ECHS Main Gym, 7:00pm

Monday, April 22: 2024 Marching Trojans Parent Information Meeting/Uniform/Show Reveal in ECHS Band Room, 6:00pm

Monday, May 13: High School Band Spring Concert in PAC, 7:00pm

Sunday, June 2: HS Graduation

Rhonda Beck - rbeck@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

The PE classes have been taking advantage of the warmer spring-like days. Both classes have been outside playing flag football, kickball, and ultimate. On the cooler days, the boys have been competing in spikeball, nine-square, and table tennis. The girls showed off their football skills while sinking many buckets in flickerball and knocking down strikes in fowling.

The Strength and Conditioning class spent the end of quarter maxing out. There were a lot of PR’s recorded as the students showed growth in all areas. Will Kemper and Gavin Osterman joined the “1000 Pound Club”. Will had 345 on bench, 440 on squat, and 280 on power clean. Gavin hit 315 on bench. Blake Wubeler PR’d with 235 on power clean. Standouts on squats include: Troy Randolph 315, Emmit Trent 335, Cody Riehle 425, Lily Ford 260, and Riley Perkins 225. Kaitlyn Smith, Tatum Johnson, Alexis Watkins, and Sarah Albrink all maxed out at 200. Outstanding job!

Tim Maluvac - tmaluvac@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Biology I students are beginning to discuss Biomes and the various organisms that inhabit each of the 8 major terrestrial biomes and also the various aquatic biomes.

Chemistry I students finished up learning reaction stoichiometry and are now investigating variables that impact the behavior of gases.

Chemistry II students just finished learning about kinetics and rates of chemical reactions. Students performed a variety of experiments testing factors that influence rates of reactions and calculated the rate law of the iodination of acetone.

AP Chemistry students a finishing up acids/bases unit by studying how buffer solutions are made and their biological importance. Students will begin preparing for the May 6th AP Exam over the next few weeks.

Anatomy and Physiology and Biomed students spent some time at Beacon orthopedics to do a bioskills lab in which they learned how to suture, remove free bodies, and identify structures on the knee of a cadaver.

Biomedical Science students are comparing and contrasting normal cells and cancerous cells by correctly comparing the division, morphology, size, nucleus and their arrangement. They are also able to simulate the adaptive immune system by correctly creating a model of the organelles responsible for immunity and can identify different types of bone cells by correctly identifying the role, etymology and a visual representation of all 3 bone cell types.

Physics students are applying fundamental wave concepts to the application of light in general and specifically geometric optics.

Integrated Chemistry/Physics students are covering two units involving fluids and heat/temperature. Students will begin a bridge building project in the next few weeks.

Biology II students are learning about invertebrate species. The students are learning the basic anatomy of over 10 invertebrate organisms along with their basic life cycles and interactions within their environments.

Steve Lewis - slewis@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

In Mr. Stonefield's Economics classes, EC students are competing in an investment challenge against other schools across Indiana. Students are divided into groups and given $100,000 in fake funds to invest in actual companies based on real-world stock prices. The competition lasts for ten weeks, and with just a few weeks remaining, EC is leading the way with three groups occupying the top three positions out of 913 groups! Way to go Trojans!

In Mr. Lewis' Intro into American Politics classes, students will create a political party. They will create a party platform, film a commercial ad for their candidate, and run in an election.

In Mr. Owen's American History classes students are studying the role of the United States in the Second World War, and continuing to work on their semester project - "A Ranking of the American Presidents".

In European History, we are comparing and contrasting the rise of totalitarian governments in the 20th century. Students are working on Final Projects (A Prediction of European Societies in the year 2046) and prepping for the AP exam in May.

Ask your student about this local example of Post-Modern architecture!

hmzins@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

2024 Unified Track

Kevin Moore - kmoore@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Phone #: (812) 576-4811 ext. 11916

For all sports related news, schedules, updates, please visit the following locations:
Website: www.ectrojansathletics.com

Facebook: East Central HS Athletics

Twitter: @ECTrojanSports

Become an Official

The IHSAA is continually looking to for licensed officials. If you or someone you know is interested

please visit: https://www.ihsaa.org/become-official

Beacon Physical Opportunity:

On Wednesday, May 9th, we will work in conjunction with Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine to provide student-athletes an opportunity to get their 2024-2025 physical taken care of. As a reminder, the physical needed to compete in HS sports must be completed on or after April 1st, 2024.

Summer Camp Chart:

The head coaches have worked together to plan summer camps so that they aren't overlapped which allows our community youth athletes to participate in as many of the summer camps as they'd like!

New Head Coaches:

*Recently we hired (2) new head coaches to lead our volleyball and girls golf programs. Please stop by the Athletic Office if you'd like to get in touch with these new coaches.

head!

https://twitter.com/tblacksunmande1

https://twitter.com/EastCentralHS

https://www.facebook.com/sunmandearborn.k12.in.us/

https://www.facebook.com/ECHSTROJANS

https://www.instagram.com/eastcentral_connect/

Email: tblack@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us
Website: https://echs.sunmandearborn.k12.in.us/
Location: 1 Trojan Place, Suite A St. Leon, IN 47012
Phone: 8125764811
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunmandearborn.k12.in.us/
Twitter: @EastCentralHS