Class of 2026 Information

Senior Families - FAFSA Night at EMHS at 5:30PM on October 14!

EMHS is partnering with St. John’s College to host a FAFSA Night to help you complete your forms! You must check in to the event between 5:30 and 6:30PM on October 14th so that forms can be submitted by 7:30PM. In previous years, the FAFSA has taken approximately 30 minutes to complete.

The 2026–27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form will open on October 1 at fafsa.gov. Students who plan to attend college, career school, or trade school between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, should fill out the FAFSA form right away to be eligible for as much aid as possible.

What is the FAFSA: The FAFSA is your application for grants (free money), work study (money you earn), and loans (money you pay back). Every student should complete this application, regardless of their family's financial status. FAFSA information determines the amount each student is eligible to receive from a broad range of financial aid, including federal and state grants, federally-subsidized student work-study, and/or loans. Some scholarships and college admissions require students to submit a FAFSA.

Every senior should plan to complete the FAFSA! 

Read about how financial aid works:

https://studentaid.gov/h/understand-aid/how-aid-works

A Google Form with an RSVP has been sent to all Seniors and their families.

Seniors, turn in your 3 photos for the Graduation Slideshow by 11/21

Pictures are due on Friday, November 21st to Mrs. McKnight at dmcknight@eastmountainhigh.net

1. CHILDHOOD: Please choose a favorite picture from your childhood.

2. SENIOR: Senior pictures in the slideshow must be from Amigos Sports Photography, the EMHS contracted photographer. We will automatically use the senior picture that your senior chose for the yearbook, so you do NOT need to submit a senior picture. However, if you would like to use a different senior picture taken by Amigos, please send the new picture to Mrs. McKnight. If you did not take a senior picture, your junior year school photo will be used. Senior photo session appointments can still be made. Amigos can be contacted at 505-830-2281 or http://www.fullcontactphotography.com/.

3. MEMORABLE: The memorable photo can be a photo of the student's choice (individual or group). This photo can be another senior photo from a different photographer or a personal photo that is meaningful to your senior year.

Please mark your calendars for the Class of 2026 Graduation Ceremony on 

Thursday, May 28th, from 2:30 to 4:30

at the Kiva Auditorium

in the Albuquerque Convention Center.

**Seniors will need to arrive at 1:30 to rehearse in the Kiva. Guests can enter the auditorium for seating at 2:00.

To make the graduation ceremony more personable and give an opportunity for students to share their best, we are asking parents/guardians and seniors to work together to complete several items, including: Childhood, Senior & Memorable Pictures, Individual Quote, Graduation Program Template, Senior Statement/“Blurb”. As your student walks across the stage at the graduation ceremony, the senior statement/“blurb” will be read aloud and their childhood picture, senior picture and memorable picture and favorite quote will appear on a large screen. As you work on these items with your senior, please understand the EMHS Administration has the final approval for all pictures, blurbs, quotes and items highlighted in the program.

Several of the following items are meant to be worked on simultaneously, but are listed below in order of “due date” for your information.

QUOTE: The individual quote should represent the senior and be from a “famous person” and not something a friend or family member says. Seniors must enter the final draft of their quote with the author in the shared Google Form by March 3rd.

SENIOR STATEMENT aka “BLURB”: The “blurb” is the statement read aloud as your senior walks across the stage to receive his/her diploma at the graduation ceremony. The statement should be no more than four (4) sentences long and typically includes a special thanks and/or post-secondary plans or goals. Copies of blurbs from years past are available in the Guidance Office if a student needs ideas. Students must enter the final draft of their blurb in the shared Google Form by April 1st.

PROGRAM TEMPLATE: The Guidance Office will be asking students to enter their information directly into the document for the program. The final graduation program will be based on the information students provided. The Guidance Office will enter information for each student regarding the Timberwolf Diploma of Excellence and Dean’s List. Students and parents/guardians should work together to fill out the Accomplishments/Awards, Activities, Athletics, Scholarships and Post-secondary Plans sections. Seniors will also receive a copy of previous graduation programs so they can get ideas and see how things are formatted. The deadline for the Graduation Program information is Tuesday, April 1st. The Scholarships and Post-Secondary Plans sections may be updated in late April/early May 2024 after students receive scholarship offers and make their final post-secondary plans by emailing Mrs. Millea.

COMMUNITY SERVICE: Each year, students are expected to complete 20 hours of community service, for a total of at least 80 hours by the end of a student’s senior year. This is a graduation requirement in our charter. Therefore, any student who does not have their required community service hours recorded will NOT be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. Please contact Ms. Marcelain at tmarcelain@eastmountainhigh.net as soon as possible to check on recorded hours or to obtain community service ideas. All community service hours must be entered in the student’s x2VOL account accessible through EMHS’s website by April 25th.