Dear Friends of Sachem High School East,

Fortunate is the only word that describes how I feel to be the new Principal of Sachem High

School East. I am fortunate to work in a community that supports our ideals of academic excellence. I am fortunate to work for a student body who continually strives to be at their best while contributing so much to society. Lastly, I am fortunate to work alongside the most talented staff of professionals who instinctively put the interests of our students before their own. I am fortunate indeed.

Recognizing that an education is everlasting, our mission is to educate and graduate young adults who achieve personal excellence through the principles of respect, recognition, responsibility, opportunity, belonging, and security. Our students continue to be recognized for superior achievement in art, science, math, and music. As productive members of society, our students “pay it forward” through activities such as our blood drive which was recognized by the Long Island Blood Services for the greatest number of pints donated. Our science research students achieved numerous accolades and many of them are performing high level research alongside renowned scientists at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory this summer. Our sports teams continue the proud tradition of being recognized as scholar-athlete teams. While this is just a general overview, the specific achievements of many of our students were highlighted in the recent edition of the Sachem Showcase and I would encourage you to read about them.

I would also like to congratulate the graduates of the class of 2008 and their parents. I wish you health and happiness as you continue in your life’s journey. Have a restful and safe summer.

Sincerely,

Mr. Manning

Principal

Below are some important messages for the 2008-09 school year:

New Attendance Notification Procedure: The Attendance Office has instituted a new procedure that will inform parents of their child’s absence and lateness to school in a timelier manner. At the conclusion of homeroom, where daily attendance is recorded, an “Unverified Absentee List” is created by the school and parents receive a pre-recorded ConnectEd phone call that informs them that their child is not in attendance. Parents are asked to contact the school’s Attendance Office to verify their child’s absence.

A second phone call is made to students’ homes during the evening to ask those parents who have not already contacted the school to do so within 48-hours to verify their child’s absence from that day. Any absence that is not verified within 48-hours of the date of absence will be recorded as an “illegal unverified absence”. Finally, a phone call is made to parents of students who arrived late to school to not only inform the parent of their child’s lateness to school but also the time of their child’s arrival at school.

A student’s timely attendance at school is crucial to their academic success at Sachem East. We encourage all parents to speak to their children to be in regular attendance at Sachem East to fully take advantage of the many educational opportunities that are provided to our students.

Senior Parking Permits: Students who qualify for a parking permit may obtain them from Mr. Antonetti’s office which is located in room A113. Students are reminded that they MAY NOT legally drive to Sachem East if they have a junior license unless they are accompanied by a licensed parent, guardian, person "in loco parentis," driver education teacher, or driving school instructor. A student with a junior license may drive alone only directly between your home and employment, a work-study program, a course at a college, university, or registered evening high school, a driver education course, or while engaged in farm employment.

Brookhaven Town Hall Parking: According to the Brookhaven Town Public Safety Office, Sachem East students are not permitted to park on Town Hall property during the school day. Those spaces occupied by student cars that are left there for the duration of the school day reduce the amount of available parking for town residents who visit the facility to conduct official business: in some cases, this involves the elimination of upwards of 100 parking spaces each day. Students are advised that public safety personnel will not allow students to enter the parking lot during the school day. Don’t plan on parking in the Brookhaven Town parking lot since your denial of parking may make you late for your classes at East.

Student Code of Conduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates respect for themselves, others, and the educational process at Sachem East. Students who commit disciplinary infractions contribute to the larger problem of disrupting the educational process and they will be held accountable for their behavior by way of a point system. Each day of detention will be assigned a ½ point, each day of an Extended Detention or In-School Suspension will be assigned 1 point, and each day of an Out-of-School Suspension will be assigned 2 points. Students who accumulate 10 points or more during the school year will forfeit privileges to attend all high school social events, including dinner dances, banquets, prom, Renaissance trips, and any other school sponsored events. Additionally, they will not be permitted to participate in school clubs, athletic teams, or obtain a parking sticker. Please note: A maximum of ten points will carry over from year to year. However, a student may earn back 3 points for every marking period that he or she does not receive and disciplinary referrals. It is our hope that by working together with students, parents, faculty, staff, and administration we will continue to provide all of our students with a positive learning environment.

Academic Enrichment Period (Period 9): All student athletes who begin practice at 2:30 P.M. will be required to attend an academic enrichment period (1:45 P.M. – 2:27 P.M.) on those days that they have a team practice or a game. Additional information will be provided to all fall season student athletes immediately after school of Wednesday, September 3rd in the auditorium.

School Resource Officer (SRO): In cooperation with the 6 th Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department, Sachem East will have an SRO assigned to our school. The SRO is a police officer who has completed additional training in this area of expertise and he will spend time in the school during the regular school day to serve as a resource for all members of the Sachem East community.