East Central

To all EC parents:

If you have not already done so, please take a moment to complete this AdvancED survey regarding EC and Sunmna-Dearborn Schools.

Thank you,
Parent Survey Link

East Central is once again an Indiana Department of Education “A” High School marking 7 years in a row. This is a true testament to the wonderful students and staff at East Central and their commitment to excellence.

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Osman and our Family and Consumer Science Knowledge Bowl Team of Alli Beard, Molly Graham, Eva Grimm, Hayley Lewis, and Hannah Weiler. They placed first in Louisville making them eligible for the National Competition in California this summer.

We would like to congratulate Mr. Johnson and our FFA members that competed in the in the State Forestry competition on Saturday December 8th at Purdue University. The team competing consisted of Alex Dudley, Heath Doll, and Madison Shumate.

EC art students recently took part in the Xavier University Art Show hosting 33 high schools and over 120 entries from the tri-county area. Only 8 winners were selected and three of the 8 were EC's own Katie Priebe, Kaylee Beal, and Karamia Kranzley.

East Central’s own Molly Graham was named the Dearborn County Lilly Scholarship winner. Molly currently ranks first in her class. Additionally, she participates extensively in FCCLA (president), Book Club (president), 4-H, Dearborn County Youth Foundation, National Honor Society (vice president), Academic Team State Champion (captain) and she is a commended National Merit Scholar. Molly's success comes as much from her compassion for people and community as it does from her academic focus and hard work!

Also we would like to extend our congratulations to another East Central standout, Maddie Faller, she was one of the other five finalists for this year's Lilly scholarship. As a finalist Maddie will receive $4000 over the next four years for the college program of her choice.

The philanthropic spirit of the East Central family, something I have spoken about repeatedly throughout fall, continues to shine especially during the holiday season from the Neediest Families of All donations, to our Food Pantry, to our Student Council contributions, to the AOK club...we give and give and give. And, as much as our many successes in academics, the arts, and athletics, make us proud...it is this giving spirit that truly represents who we are as an EC family. And, from our family to yours, we hope that you had a happy holiday season and thank you for your dedication, support, and commitment to Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools.

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

Respectfully,

Tom Black

Rhonda Murdock - rmurdock@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Scheduling:

Parents and Guardians of 8th Grade Students,

East Central High School will host an information night for all 8th grade parents on January 16 at 6:30PM. The event will take place in the Performing Arts Center. Topics that will be discussed include diploma requirements and the scheduling process. Students are invited to attend with parents.

Guidance Counselors will be meeting with these students during the school day on January 15 about scheduling for the 2019-2020 school year. The online course request window will be open for all students January 16 - 31.

We will meet with all students individually after they complete their registrations to make sure that they are on track with the diploma that they are pursuing.

As always the East Central Guidance Department is available to meet with students and parents as needed. Do not hesitate to contact your student’s guidance counselor.

College and Scholarship Information:

November and December are important months for college applications. Email reminders are continually sent to students to encourage them to review deadlines and submit applications, request transcripts from Parchment.com and send test scores. Guidance is available to assist and review applications for students that would like this done with them.

FAFSA:

October 1st was the date that the 2019-2020 FAFSA applications were made available at fafsa.gov. Students and parents have until April 15, 2019 to complete this for the Indiana state deadline. There was a Financial Aid program presented by InvestED in October which reviewed the steps to completing the FAFSA. The power point from this presentation is available on the school website under the Guidance- Resource and Documents.

Rhonda Murdock, MSW, L.S.W

812-576-4811 ext. 11912

**National Honor Society Tutoring in the Library

Every Tuesday and Thursday 3pm-4pm.

**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).

ATTENTION SOPHOMORE PARENTS

Your child will be participating in the ISTEP+, Grade 10 testing. All sophomores are required to take the Math and English ISTEP+. The tests are given in two parts. These tests are extremely important. By state law, in order to graduate with an Indiana diploma, your child must pass these tests. Please encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast on these testing days.

ISTEP+ Part One

MATH Monday, March 4

ENGLISH Tuesday, March 5

MAKEUP Wednesday, March 6

ISTEP+ Part Two

MATH Monday, April 8

ENGLISH Tuesday, April 9

MAKEUP Wednesday, April 10

**Junior & Senior students that have not yet passed the ISTEP+ will be re-testing the week of February 25.

2019-2020 SCHEDULING INFORMATION

Grade 10-12 Form

Grade 9 Form

2019-2020 Curriculum Guide

Did you know that students can achieve college credits at ECHS? Do you know what the Statewide Trasfer General Education Core (STGEC) is? Please click on the following link to see the courses that ECHS offers to satisfy the STGEC: STGEC

TRADITIONAL 4-YEAR COLLEGE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!
Over 2 million Hoosier adults need additional skills to compete in the 21st Century Workforce. To help more Hoosiers gain these skills, Indiana has created a new financial aid opportunity for working-age adults: the Workforce Ready Grant.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Workforce Ready Grant pays the tuition and mandatory fees for eligible high-value certificate programs at Ivy Tech Community College, Vincennes University or other approved providers. The grant is available for two (2) years and covers up to the number of credits required by the qualifying program. The grant does not cover courses that do not directly apply to the student’s certificate program. Program-specific fees and equipment are not covered.

QUALIFYING PROGRAMS

The qualifying high-value certificate programs were selected based on employer demand, wages, job placements and program completion rate. These programs are aligned with Indiana’s highest demand sectors:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Building & Construction
• Health Sciences
• IT & Business Services
• Transportation & Logistics

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for the grant, students must:

• Be age 18 years or older
• Be an Indiana resident and U.S. citizen or (eligible non-citizen)
• Have a high school diploma (or equivalent) but less then a college degree
• Enroll in a qualifying program at an eligible training provider
• File the FAFSA**
• Enroll full-time (typically four courses) if you are a Dependent Student**
• Enroll at least half-time (typically two courses) if you are an Independent Student**
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress**
• Meet any other minimum criteria established by the Commission

**Credit-Bearing programs only

HOW TO APPLY

• Visit the Next LevelJobs.org to connect with an eligible training provider
• Submit a complete and corrected FAFSA (please allow 5-7 business days for processing).
  • Applicants do no need to meet the April 15th deadline for state financial aid
  • The Workforce Ready Grant is not limited by family income

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

EC FFA competes at State Forestry CDE

3 members of the East Central FFA chapter competed in the State Forestry CDE on Saturday December 8th at Purdue University. The competition consisted of identifying leaves, wood, and seed samples, as well as completing a general knowledge exam. The team competing consisted of Alex Dudley, Heath Doll, and Madison Shumate. They placed 38th out of 55 teams. Alex Dudley was the top individual representing EC, placing 117th overall.

Picture bottom left (L to R): Madison Shumate, Heath Doll, and Alex Dudley

East Central FFA Competes in District XII Chapter Meeting CDE

On December 11th, the District XII Chapter Meeting CDE was held at North Decatur High School. East Central’s FFA Chapter had two teams that participated in the contest. The contest consisted of conducting a chapter meeting by using parliamentary procedure. East Central’s senior team placed 5th. The team consisted of Bailey Grunkemeyer, Amelia Hartman, Heath Doll, Alex Dudley, Madison Shumate, Maddie Dawson, Kayla Miles, Nicole Cooper, and Chloe Webb. East Central’s junior team also placed 5th. The team consisted of Brady Hornberger, Kylee Starost, Kylee Weber, Bradley Kolb, William Scudder, Evan Kuhn, and Bryce Knue. Great Job to all those who competed!

Photo bottom right (L to R): Bailey Grunkemeyer, Kayla Miles, Madison Shumate, Chloe Webb, Maddie Dawson, Amelia Hartman, Alex Dudley, Nicole Cooper, and Heath Doll

Kelly Pettit - kpettit@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

The Trojan Exchange had an amazing response to their Winter Warmth Sale! Thank you to all of our customers, we really appreciated the business. The store did order extra items (sherpa’s, ¼ zips, beanies, stadium seats, etc.) and those items are in stock while they last. Simply ask one of your children to stop by the store during lunch Monday through Thursday to purchase your item, or you can email our CEO, Claire Walters at waltersce@sdstudents.us and we can fill the order. We will make arrangements for you to pick up your item at door 12, from Mrs. Ecksteins desk.

Mrs. Hutzel has been busy at the Drop Zone. It is a new semester, students have changed classes, and the Drop Zone has seen a slight increase on Chromebook maintenance. The Drop Zone crew prides their service on dependability and speed. If your student is experiencing any trouble with their Chromebook, simply have their teacher write a ticket, the Drop Zone staff will pick it up from the student, fix it, and return it to the student. It is that easy!

We have added yet another UC Bearcat fan to our faculty and staff; Mr. Alex Noble is back in the ECHS Business Department for Semester Two. He has done a great job learning the ropes around here. His teaching schedule includes Prep for College and Careers, Introduction to Accounting, Advanced Accounting and Computer Applications. Prior to teaching in our building he attended the University of Cincinnati where he earned his Economics degree. We are very pleased to have Mr. Noble in our Business Department!

Tom Boyd - tboyd@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Introduction to Engineering Design students practiced their 3D modeling skills by making modifications to a toy car. The first picture is the winning student design rendered in the Inventor software program. The second picture is the ABS plastic 3D print of the toy car design created with our MakerBot Replicator 2x printer.

IED students also designed 3D modeled holiday ornaments for cutting on our 60 watt laser machine.

Principals of Engineering - AJ Tillman broke the standing record of 3 years of a distance of 367' with a distance of 466' 7"

Erik Perkins and Andrew Toney broke the previous record of 466' 7" with a distance of 520' 6"

Shelly Anderson - sanderson@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Show What You Know

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s always so great to see what our students know after their first semester of English class. In English 9, students created presentations about Elizabethan times after having read Romeo & Juliet. English 10 students got their debate on, using the rhetoric and research they learned all semester. Juniors got to venture out into the real-world and became primary researchers for their I-Search paper. With topics including everything from careers in the medical field to veterans to unconscious bias, this year’s juniors did not disappoint. AP Language studied Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe and combined the two into some fascinating presentations and videos. Finally, English 12 wrote conspiracy papers, created artistic representations of characters, and/or created videos after reading Macbeth. Overall, it was a great end to 2018, and we are looking forward to an equally amazing 2019!

Ashley McConnell amcconnell@sunmandearnborn.k12.in.us

Intro to Culinary Arts & Hospitality:

In December of 2018 students in ICAH began learning about Quick Breads & Yeast Breads. Students learned the difference between the muffin method & the biscuit method when making quick breads. They used the muffin method to make mini Banana Bread loaves & the biscuit method to make White Chocolate Blueberry Scones. Next we moved on to learning about Yeast Breads. The students learned the difference between the conventional vs quick mix methods when making various yeast breads. They used the conventional mixing method to make soft pretzels & the quick mix method to make pizza!

Nutrition & Wellness:

Nutrition students began learning about MyPlate in December 2018. The students learned about the dietary guidelines, the 5 food groups, and what foods they should be eating more/less of. Students completed the following labs in order to try some new foods from each food group: Fruit Pizza, Veggie Pizza, & Omelets. Next semester in Advanced Nutrition & Wellness students will learn more about the dietary guidelines.

ProStart 1 & 2:

Students in ProStart have been busy learning about candy making while completing their Holiday fundraiser. The students made buckeye, oreoballs, & turtles. Thank you to all who supported us here in the FACS department! It's very appreciated :) Money raised is used to take students to the state FCCLA/ProStart culinary competition! For the ProStart final students had to do a small cooking competition on their own. Students were given 1 chicken breast and any other ingredients they wanted to make a dish. Students had to choose a cooking method/recipe and prepare the chicken on the day of their final. You can see photos of the results below!

Brenda Osman bosman@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Introduction to Fashion & Textiles

This past month students learned some basic mending skills including how to correctly sew on a button. They also completed a recycling and redesign project. Students chose a product that they could bring in from home and turn it into a new product. Several students turned old sweaters into new gloves. Some students turned an old pair of jeans into an apron while others used fabric scraps to create soup bowl cozies. The students finished their projects prior to the holidays and many were using them as a gift for a family member. This project allowed students to put their sewing skills into practical use.

Child Development

Students finished the Child Development Quilts. They also finished the semester learning about the medical care an infant receives immediately after birth. The students will begin this semester learning about infant care.

Education Professions I

The cadet teachers are doing a great job assisting teachers this year at North Dearborn Elementary, Sunman Elementary and Sunman Dearborn Middle School. The cadet teachers will read to the students or the class, work individually with students while practicing spelling, sight words or math facts, help students with worksheets, make copies, manipulatives, overheads, flash cards, etc. They are experiencing many aspects of the teaching profession while learning how to work with children of various ages.

The East Central FCCLA Chapter and the Sunman Dearborn Middle School FCCLA Chapter along with Mrs. Dennis’ 1st Grade Class went Christmas Caroling together at the North Dearborn Village and St. Andrews Nursing Home. Over 75 students entertained the elderly with our festive carols.

On another evening, the East Central FCCLA chapter also decorated the Christmas Tree at the North Dearborn Village after serving them a meal of Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Vegetable Medley, Rolls and then decorated sugar cookies with the elderly. Both the residents and the chapter members had a great time with these holiday traditions. The January FCCLA Chapter meetings will be January 8th and 22nd from 3-4 p.m. in the sewing lab. New members are always welcome.

In January, FCCLA members will begin preparing for state competition with STAR Events. Competitions range from community service activities, culinary, fashion, child development, hospitality and tourism and so much more. All students are welcome to participate.

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

Digital Design: Photoshop with Shun Kurumado

In the digital design classes, we got the newest Adobe programs, and students have learned many useful Photoshop tools that can modify photos and drawing in varied ways. They also learned how to refine designs by analyzing artwork with consideration of the Elements and Principles of Design. Below are some examples of the artwork they created this semester.

Next semester, the students will learn how to use Adobe Illustrator, in addition to more advanced Photoshop techniques such as Masks and Channels.

If you want us to design something such as your department logos, posters, and flyers, contact me. I’ll have my students work on designing them!

Jill Martin - jmartin@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Juanita Reinshagen - jreinshagen@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

The Math Department wishes our East Central students, families, faculty, staff, and community a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope the new year finds everyone healthy, safe, and prosperous.

This month we are showcasing Ms. Jansing and Mrs. Janson.

Ms. Jansing is one of our Algebra I and Algebra I Lab teachers. Ms. Jansing used to split her time between English and Math. Fortunately, for our Math Department, we have her as a full-time Math teacher, even though her classroom is still located in the English hallway. Ms. Jansing strives hard to prepare her students for the ISTEP+ test given in the Spring. In her Algebra I Lab class, she has many students that are not in her Algebra I class, so she does a great job keeping track of their progress, not only in her Lab class but in their regular Algebra I class too. Ms. Jansing is another teacher in our department that always strives for her students to be successful!

Mrs. Janson is with the Special Education branch of our Math department. She teaches Algebra II/Geometry Lab, Math 10, and team teaches with Mrs. Noeth. Mrs. Janson has 3 daughters, all of which graduated from East Central. Mrs. Janson works extremely hard to not only teach her classes, but keep track of her students’ progress in all their classes. If students are falling behind, she works with them to get them up to speed. Unfortunately for us, Mrs. Janson is retiring at the end of the first semester. We hate to see her leave, and she will be missed greatly!

Stay tuned for next month!

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

Choral News:

The choir department is gearing up for ISSMA solo and ensemble contest on Jan. 26th at North Decatur High School. The department will be sending 50 soloists and 10 ensembles. Looking forward to some outstanding performances.

The show and concert choir will be performing at the Harlem GlobeTrotters game here at ECHS on Jan. 17th. Come out and enjoy the entertainment.

Drama News:

Rehearsals for the spring musical High School Musical will begin Monday Jan. 7th. Performances are schedules for Friday, March 15th at 7:30, Saturday, March 16th at 7:30p and Sunday, March 17th at 3:00p. Tickets will be available for purchase at the box office before all shows.

Mark Foster mfoster@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Fred Boger fboger@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

You will see physical education students actively participating during the school day with activities like table tennis. Did you know if you come before school you will also see physical education students getting in a workout? This year we have a zero hour elective that occurs before school and they can usually can be seen in the weight room.

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

Students in Mr. Maluvac's Human Anatomy & Physiology classes recently completed an in-depth study of the human skeletal system. Students learn that the skeletal system provides support, facilitates movement, and protects our internal organs. The skeletal system also is the main storage system for calcium in the human body. These students were taking a lab practical to identify various skeletal bones and bone markings found within the human body.

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

The Social Studies Department closed the semester on a strong note. A few of the classes finished with semester projects that the students embraced. In Mr. Owen's ACP U.S. History class, students had to examine two primary source documents and illustrate the concept of "change over time" between the two documents. Many of the projects were enlightening and insightful! In Mr. Lewis' ACP Intro to Political Science class, students had to create their own political parties and run a campaign. One of the fun parts of the project was that the students had to create a campaign commercial. The groups produced some funny but high quality commercials! The Social Studies Department is looking forward to the spring semester!

Julie Ernst - jernst@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

Don Stonefield - dstonefield@sunmandearborn.k12.in.us

https://ectrojansathletics.com/

Students and parents, download the REMIND app and text @weareec to number 81010 for messages and alerts from the high school. (This is NOT for school closings and delays.)

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