Changes at EHS

Alex Dobbins

With a new school year, comes new changes. Teachers come and go. Building improvements are made. Here is a basic overview of a multitude of the changes coming into the 2025-2026 school year.

Phone Ban:

Arguably, the biggest change is the new phone ban. With New Hampshire joining a plethora of other states in banning cell phones from bell to bell, EHS is required to follow this. Students are not allowed to use cell phones in the building from 7:30-2:30. This differs from the red, yellow, and green zone system used last school year, as phones are completely banned. However, EHS has not adopted a system where phones are collected/stored in pouches that are magnetically controlled. It is up to teachers and administrators to decide punishments and enforce the rule.

New Principal/Administration:

Outgoing: Principal Mr. Monahan, administrations Mr. Sawler & Ms. Dovholuk

Incoming: Principle Ms. Neve, administrators Mr. Giampaolo & Ms. Zeller

With Mr. Monahan deciding to retire, Ms. Neve was selected to take his place as principal of EHS. Mr. Sawler, being an unsuccessful candidate for the job of EHS principal, accepted a job as principal of Traip Academy in Kittery, Maine, Kittery’s public high school. Ms. Dovholuk retired. They were replaced by Mr. Giampaolo & Ms. Zeller, respectively.

Attendance:

If you’ve ever missed a class/been marked absent, you may be able to remember being called up to your commons closer to the end of the day to explain why you missed class/were marked absent. This year, that is changing to 4th period/around 10:30am. Just about everyone has been accidentally marked absent from a class, and has had to go explain to their commons administrator. I can vividly recall it being towards the end of the day. I was marked absent from a class that I had dropped (Alma had not updated) and was called up to the commons at the beginning of 4th period to explain the situation. There was no issue, but attendance issues are being sorted earlier in the day.

Add/Drop Policy:

It has passed at this point, but the add/drop policy was tightened significantly - you could not drop a class during the first week, and after that, the add/drop period was the 4-day week after Labor Day. With this, reasons for dropping and adding were limited. You needed a significantly convincing reason to change your schedule during the period, essentially. 

Junior Study Halls:

You might remember junior study halls being in the cafeteria. This year, it appears that the cafeteria is not being used for study halls. A reason for this could potentially be not being able to control the phone policy in such a large space with a lack of teachers. I have seen the multi-purpose room filled with juniors throughout the day instead.

SchooLinks:

This is the first full year EHS is using SchooLinks for college/career pathway management - previously, Naviance was used. The switch occurred during last year, but this is the first full school year that SchooLinks is being exclusively used.

Homecoming is Back:

It has already passed, but with the new principal, a homecoming dance occurred for the first time in over a decade, hosted by Mrs. Morse & the senior class.

In conclusion, this school year has introduced some different changes given the change in leadership. Thus far, it seems that these changes have worked, as the mood at EHS seems to have been lifted just a little. Having a traditional homecoming seems to have been a great move, given that the rationale for punishing classes year after year for events they were not even at the high school for doesn’t make much sense. Overall, things seem to be going well!