Dear Eastern Elementary Families:

The start of the school year is here!

This is my 20th year in education, 15th year as a principal, and 9th year as Elementary Principal here at Eastern. Prior to becoming a principal here at Eastern, I spent 5 years as a classroom teacher in grades 4, 6, and 8. I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work in this wonderful community and with our awesome children on a daily basis.

Eastern Elementary has made some staffing changes moving into the 2024-2025 school year.  Mrs. Lloyd and Mrs Dixon will both be teaching in first grade this year instead of their previous assignments. Mrs. Jenny Wheeler will be teaching transitional kindergarten. Mrs. Durham will be teaching the cross categorical special education class.  Eastern Elementary would like to welcome Mrs. Kristina Higgins in Kindergarten, Chelsey Roberts in grade 4 Intervention, and Breanne Bowman in grade 3 Intervention. Mrs. Higgins previously taught Head Start here at Eastern through Pike Community Action. Ms. Roberts previously taught grade 5 intervention at Western Elementary. Mrs Bowman is coming to Eastern from South Central Educational Service Center. We are excited to have these 3 individuals working on our team here at Eastern.

Students in grades 3-5 were given the Ohio State Assessments in April and May of 2024. The results of the assessments are not finalized, but it appears Eastern Elementary will once again be at the top of Pike County scoring 1st in 5 out of 7 assessments. Finalized Results should be released in September of 2024. Initial results show Eastern Elementary scored at or above the state average in 4 of the 7 tested areas. We look forward to seeing the finalized results and celebrating these results with our students, families, and staff. 

Eastern Elementary will be implementing Second Step Social Emotional Learning Curriculum this school year into our general curriculum for all students. This curriculum will focus on goal setting, empathy, problem solving, and emotional intelligence. Delivery of this content will take place weekly in the general education setting. We are excited to be providing this extra layer of support and education for our students. Families will receive materials and communication about what is taking place during these lessons. 

Eastern Elementary PTO has been very active in recent school years. I encourage anyone who wants to get involved in helping out to please volunteer. Last school year we had some great family fun and learning activities. Information about the first meeting will be distributed at phase in day meetings with families. 

We will continue to use the elementary gym area door #23 for all a.m. drop offs. This area will have staff on duty starting at 7:15 a.m. No exceptions unless prior arrangements are made. Pick up will be conducted in “flights” at different times and locations like previous years. We ask that all parents stay in their car and create a line just like previous school years. We also ask all families at pick up times to not communicate with students who are at recess during this time. 

I would like to encourage all families to connect to the Seesaw Learning program that our school will once again be using. This “app” provides a way for your child’s teacher to communicate with you as well as post pictures of activities taking place throughout the school year. I will also be using this program to send school wide messages when information needs to be distributed to families. This program is super easy to use, can be a way for you to help monitor your child's progress, and see many of the great things taking place at Eastern Elementary. 

Lastly, Please visit our website and also download our app to stay up to date with everything taking place in the Eastern Local School District. 

Today is a Great Day to be an Eastern Eagle!

Sincerely,

Matthew E. Hines

Eastern Elementary Principal