Week 19: December 15-19, 2025

The purpose of this newsletter is to keep all of our Eagle families connected to what’s going on around campus, to deliver important information, and to have a place where everyone can come to get the information they need.

Want to see something different in the newsletter? Email Katie Rogers.

Important Dates

Date	Event	Impacted Groups
December 15-19	EOC & CTE State Testing Week	All Students & Staff
December 19	Early Dismissal (12:00pm)	All Students & Staff
December 20-January 4	No School – Winter Break	All Students & Staff
January 5	Semester 2 Begins	All Students & Staff

Midyear Graduate Information

Last week, students who will be midyear graduates received their Midyear Grad Checklist from Mrs. Rogers. This checklist must be filled out in its entirety with proper signatures and turned in by no later than December 19th.

Please join the Class of 2026 TeamReach using Join Code East2026 if you have not already, as access to Google accounts will go away on December 20th. TeamReach will keep midyear graduates connected to the happenings for the remainder of the year, including things like senior picnic, graduation rehearsal, graduation, Project Graduation, etc.

Final Exam Information

Testing schedule with dates and test types

Teacher-made final exams will be given during class on Thursday and Friday, December 11 and 12. Please note that the daily schedule—attached to this email—will be slightly revised on both days to accommodate the giving of final exams. Remember, final exams count for 20% of a student’s course grade, and all students must be in attendance on December 11 and 12.

In the state of North Carolina, high school students take state final exams in Math 1, Biology, English 2, and Math 3, as well as certain CTE courses. Students enrolled in any of these state-tested classes will take their required exams during the week of December 15 through 19. These state exams also count for 20% of the final course grade, so attendance is required for the scheduled testing session. The schedule for state testing week is included in the attachments to this email.

Please reach out to the school if you have any questions.

Eagle of the Week

Dance concert participants on stage in EOTW frame

This week, our Eagle of the Week goes to our amazing dance classes. They just wrapped up their end-of-semester concert and absolutely showed out. Every group and individual brought something different to the stage–energy, personality–and it came together in the best way. From learning choreography to rehearsing and finally stepping on the stage, they showed up with confidence and gave it everything they had. Their dedication and passion were displayed beautifully. Amazing job to our dancers and Ms. Williford! East couldn’t be more proud.

Last Week in Eagle Country


On Tuesday, our dance classes put on their performance to highlight all their hard work this semester with Ms. Williford. The theme of the show was “The Y2K Experience,” and the variety of group and solo performances really delivered!

Mr. Wallace’s art students put on their show “Trust the Process” all week long in the library, putting our Eagles’ talent on full display. This semester’s show was full of incredible work, and we are very proud of our students and their leader!

As always, our Winter Extravaganza was a fantastic show highlighting the talent of our band, chorus and orchestra. We are thankful for the hard work of Mrs. Morris, Ms. Cullen & Mrs. Quinn to prepare the students for such a special performance, and to Mr. Gaitskill for coordinating all of the holiday lights to go with it.

Last week, we celebrated the 90 Workkeys Scholars from the Class of 2026. These students scored a silver or better on their Workkeys test in November and earned a spot on the ACT/Workkeys Incentive Trip in the spring. We are so proud of these Eagles!

Mrs. Quinn brought a string quartet to Hillandale last week to bring some holiday music to their holiday lunch for students and their families.

Mr. Scott joined Mrs. Wodzicki’s chemistry students on Friday to complete a titration with special helpers Jade & Skyley.

A familiar face surprised F hall with some beautiful holiday saxophone music on Friday – Mr. Smith! We always love seeing him back on campus!

On Friday, our basketball team surprised Hillandale students as elves and even Santa Claus for Project Santa Claus. East student-athletes brought students Santa letters and read them together, sharing some holiday cheer and getting these future Eagles excited about being at East one day.