Indian River School District

John M. Clayton Elementary School Principal Char Hopkins (left)
and School Counselor Jan Bomhardt outside the
Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in
Nashville during the National Title I Conference.

A team of teachers and administrators from John M. Clayton Elementary School in the Indian River School District recently attended the National Title I Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Attending the event, which was held January 21-24, were Principal Char Hopkins, Assistant Principal Sharon DiGirolamo, school counselor Jan Bomhardt, reading specialist Jen Babcock, kindergarten teacher Wendy McCabe and third-grade teacher Nichele Kirchner. At the conference, John M. Clayton was honored for being a 2012 National Distinguished Title I School and received a $50,000 cash award. It was the third time in eight years that JMC has received the award.

Appoquinimink School District

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Middletown is crazy about football. The team just won its second straight Division I Championship with a 12-0 season. Star quarterback, Darius Wade, and split end Chris Godwin are being courted by top college football teams from around the nation. Fans pack the stadium to watch them play. But the school, like others around the U.S., is concerned about the latest reports on head trauma and concussion. That’s why football coach Mark DelPercio has asked his team members and their parents to attend an important new documentary, Head Games, airing at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 28 in the Middletown High School auditorium.

The Appoquinimink School District will be promoting the event to all its families. Coaches from every sport at the school will be encouraging their players’ families to attend. Members of the community are invited to attend the film free of charge and participate in a discussion with concussion expert Dr. Kathleen O’Brien from the Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children afterwards.

The film, by award-winning director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) follows Chris Nowinski, a former college defensive lineman and pro wrestler, who has become an expert on athletes’ brain injuries. Nowinski helps run the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University which specializes in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease that is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head, and that seems to occur with alarming frequency among athletes.

Mr. Nowinski and his colleagues help explain the science behind concussive brain injuries. The documentary focuses on three sports: football, hockey and women’s soccer, looking at the widespread incidence of head injuries that threaten the well-being of competitors at every level, from youth leagues to the pros. It includes relevant information about brain trauma, advice on how to better deal with concussions at all levels, and some of the tragic sports stories that have now been determined to be due to concussions.

Others interviewed for the film include former professional athletes, league officials, journalists and youth sports enthusiasts.

"The research has changed the way I look at the games," explains Coach DelPercio. "I'm much more aware of anything that looks like it could produce a concussion. The next step is to make sure players and their parents understand what’s at stake. We don’t want any young athlete placed in a competitive situation when they’re not 100%. That’s why the state has established new rules and regulations that guide decision making in interscholastic sports.”

The school’s athletic trainer, Colleen Kelley, agrees, "We want all our players and parents to be better informed. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Nemours Foundation to bring this movie to our families. We think it helps put the rules into a context they can understand and support. After it airs, Dr. Kathleen O’Brien, who is the Medical Director of the Sports Medicine Program at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (and a recognized expert in treating concussions) will help us respond to any questions our students, staff or parents may be asking.”

There are so many great things happening in Delaware schools, but too often we don’t hear about them. Whether it is a teacher who finds an innovative way to share a lesson, students who design a creative class project, an administrator whose superb leadership helps turn around a struggling school, parents whose meaningful involvement adds to the classroom, or neighborhood residents who embrace a school community, such good work is happening across Delaware.  And we want to know about it. So if you have Good News to Share!, please send it our way by emailing your news to public information officer Alison Kepner with “Good News to Share!” in the subject line. We’ll highlight the great work on this site as well as in an upcoming print publication, on the department’s facebook page and elsewhere.

Red Clay Consolidated School District’s Cab Calloway School of the Arts

Cab Calloway grad Timothy Millison of Bear received the 2012 Shire ADHD Scholarship for his community service, volunteer and extracurricular activities as well as his response to a personal essay explaining how Attention-Deficity/Hyperactivity Disorder has impacted his life. The scholarship includes a $2,000 monetary award and a prepaid year of ADHD coaching services.  

“We received thousands of applications from inspiring individuals with ADHD who are pursuing higher education,” Michael Yasick, senior vice president of Shire’s ADHD business, said in a press release. “Millison exemplifies the values that Shire associates with the ADHD Scholarship Program—passion, determination and positive attitudes. We’re proud to recognize and provide him with both tuition assistance and ADHD coaching services to help him continue his educational pursuits.”

Colonial School District

Colonial hosted a Technology Night for the community on May 14. The evening was designed to show parents and students how schools use iPod touches, iPads and IPods to improve reading and math fluency; Skype with a Children’s book author; use Smart board tools and educational games; tell stories digitally using Photostory3 software from Microsoft; use Google documents; engage with Edmodo, a social networking educational tool; and how they use RealityWorks Babies, a computerized program that allows students to experience what it is like to care for an infant. They also showed off graphic design and production work from William Penn High School students.

Milford School District

Milford officials presented honorary diplomas in May to 11 former students who were denied access to an education in 1954 after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. The students had to finish their education in all-black schools outside Milford. Those receiving honorary diplomas were: Kenneth Baynard, Alex Leo Blue (deceased), Orlando J. Camp, Charles P. Fleming Jr., Eugene F. Harris, Annie Ruth Thompson McDaniel, Irene Pettyjohn (deceased), Edna M. Sharp, Lillian Simmons (deceased), Ronald Vann and Madalene Staten Young (deceased).

New Castle County Vo-Tech’s Delcastle Technical High School

Delcastle’s Digital Media program held its annual DM/AM/PM Film Festival in April. The festival includes 12 films developed, shot, produced and animated with original music composed in 24 hours. Students in grades 10 to 12 shot footage from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on a Saturday in March, then came back into school studios and completed post-production until 8 a.m. on Sunday. More than 12 teams totalling 60 students were involved. The films were shown at the school on April 19 in the auditorium to more than 400 viewers who paid $1 admission. Proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to a charity. The concept of the films was of a provocative nature about social issues that teenagers experience. Films can be viewed online at http://dmampm.com.

Newark Charter School

Newark Charter School has used a Dow Chemical Company’s DowGives grant to build a Fitness Park featuring a fitness trail with exercise stations that promote muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. Students can exercise at the Fitness Park during their daily 25-minute recess breaks.

Brandywine School District’s Concord High School

Concord High School recently was honored by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association as one of 29 programs from across the U.S. to receive its prestigious Program Excellence Award.  The award is one of the highest honors given to technology and engineering education instructional programs and is presented in recognition of each recipient’s outstanding contribution to the profession and to his or her students. The awards were distributed as part of ITEEA’s first general conference session.

Caesar Rodney School District’s Caesar Rodney High School

Teacher Tim Elmer recently honored by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association as one of 33 teachers from across the U.S. to receive its prestigious Teacher Excellence Award.  The award is one of the highest honors given to technology and engineering education classroom teachers and is presented in recognition of each recipient’s outstanding contribution to the profession and to his or her students. The awards were distributed as part of ITEEA’s second general conference session.

New Castle County Vo-Tech’s Delcastle Technical High School

Aliyah Hodge, a junior chemical lab technology student, was one of 100 students chosen from thousands of applicants to attend the 2012 Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine at Walt Disney World Resort March 8-11. Now in its fifth year, this four-day leadership program exposes a select 100 students to a world of possibilities that inspires them to dream big and to get started on their career paths now. During the program, Dreamers participated in immersive workshops on a variety of subjects, including entertainment, entrepreneurship, the medical field, culinary arts and creative inspiration from Walt Disney Imagineering. Aliyah, a 16-year-old New Castle resident, is a member of the Delcaslte Student Council, National Honor Society, and the Boys Varsity Basketball team manager.  She is also a Girl Scout and volunteers regularly with the Delaware Humane Society.  She returned from Orlando Sunday night. Her on-site report entitled, “What is your Dream,” was featured on the front page of the Academy-produced newsletter. 

Seaford School District’s Seaford High School

Seaford High School Blue-Gold All Star cheer representatives Shanice Cannon, Zoë Laws and Mary Copper collected more than 200 signatures for the national Spread the Word to End the Word campaign.

Delaware Center for Educational Technology

The March 2012 "class" in the Delaware Showcase of Excellence in Digital Learning has been posted on the DCET Website at http://www.dcet.k12.de.us/showcase/march_2012.shtml. 

There are nine honorees in March 2012:

Gina Baumgartner, North Dover Elementary School (Capital) Getting to Know You with Graph ClubDottie Burkley, Townsend Elementary School (Appoquinimink) Electronic Weather Pictures

Stephanie Callahan, Cedar Lane Elementary School (Appoquinimink) Insect Research

Lynn Fabian, The Independence School (Other Delaware) Listening Comprehension and Writing Skills using Kidblog (4th Grade)

Kimberly Flanagan, Brandywine High School (Brandywine) Using Edmodo with Minimal Student Computer Access in the Classroom

Jason Kreidler, Middletown High School (Appoquinimink) SMART Response Jeopardy

Cynthia Langshaw, Cedar Lane Elementary School (Appoquinimink) Artifact Trading Cards

Susan Pusey, Laurel Intermediate School (Laurel) Read Across America Video Contest

David Stover, Charter School of Wilmington (Charter) Projectile Motion (Upper Level Physics)

Colonial School District

Books, books & more books! March 2nd was Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday. To celebrate this occasion Nutrition Services purchased books to give away to each Colonial elementary school student who participated in school lunch. There was a wide variety of books given away and each student received an age appropriate book. To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Nutrition Services staff wore Dr. Seuss hats during the day and while distributing books to students. This was a great opportunity to encourage reading for elementary students while promoting school lunch. Nutrition services distribute about 4,500 books in eight schools.


 

Newark Charter School

Newark Charter elementary school students created individual pieces of art work last week which will be shared in order to lift the spirits of another person.   The Art from the Heart community service project encouraged students to create a piece of art work which is heartfelt and which transmits beauty, hope, happiness, peace, love and energy to the person receiving it.  The art pieces will be sent to the Newark Senior Center, Meals on Wheels,  Franciscan Care Center, Helen Graham Center, and Nemours Oncology and Rehabilitation Departments.


Pictured are fourth graders Natalie Polk and Aryan Patel with elementary art teacher, Mrs. Terri Danberg. 

Christina School District’s Brookside Elementary

The 5th grade students in Ms. Erica Varites’ class from Brookside Elementary School visited the National Constitution Center on January 25 to enrich the Social Studies units on the Constitution and due process.  The students started with "Freedom Rising" then toured the main exhibit.  The 5th graders took the presidential oath of office, voted for their favorite President, learned about voting restrictions, and walked among the signers of the Constitution. ABC Action News filmed the students in  Signers' Hall and will be featured in the Constitution Center piece to air on Feb. 21st before the 6am segment.

Delmar School District

The Foundation for Delmar Education’s Delmar Education Community Gala first annual foundation fundraising event took place Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Delmar Fire Department. The semi-formal event included entertainment, food, silent and live auction and raffles.

Delaware Center for Educational Technology

In conjunction with Digital Learning Day on Feb. 1, the Delaware Center for Educational Technology is pleased to announce the February 2012 honorees in the Delaware Showcase of Excellence in Digital Learning: Lindsey Blum, Brandywine Springs Elementary School (Red Clay); Megan Grillo, Etta J. Wilson Elementary School (Christina); Jamie Hudson, North Georgetown Elementary School (Indian River); Kaitlin Pankowski, Talley Middle School (Brandywine); Cindy Price, Southern Elementary School (Colonial); Alissa Quinlan, Smyrna High School (Smyrna); and Terri Sharpe, Central Middle School (Capital). Congratulations! You can see write-ups for each of their digital learning activities at http://www.dcet.k12.de.us/showcase/february_2012.shtml.

Seaford School District

Each year DIAA donates extra tournament balls and other sponsorship items to Tim Lee, Seaford High School driver’s education teacher and soccer coach, to give to Jamaican youth met while he is there on a mission trip.  On this year’s trip, Lee’s group visited eight schools, including elementary and high school levels. They were able to give each school five new balls.  

“These schools have no real physical education programs due in large to a lack of equipment, so you can imagine their joy to have these gifts,” said Lee, who also sits on the DIAA boys’ soccer committee. “It is amazing that something we take for granted can go so far for those who typically have to go without.”

Milford School District

Milford High School teacher Judith Bruns is being honored with the Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher Award from the National Association of Agricultural Educators, winning a new Toyota Tundra truck.

From Toyota:

Bruns has been one of the four agriculture teachers at Milford High School since 2004.  The Milford High School agriculture program offers five complete pathways to its 345 9th through 12th grade students.  These include: animal science, greenhouse management, agricultural mechanics, agricultural structures, and environmental science.  Last year Milford also decided to offer an agriculture course to its 8th grade students, to help spark their interest and hopefully recruit new students into the agriculture program as they enter 9th grade.  This course, Introduction to Agriscience, is required for every 8th grade student during at least one semester before moving onto 9th grade.

Bruns is the main teacher for the pathway of animal science.  Her goal is to get students interested in the world of animal science, push them to think critically, question, and apply what they already know.  She makes sure to incorporate chemistry, biology, and government into her lessons.  Teaching animal science without an animal facility on site is challenging.  Bruns must use hands-on activities that simulate what her students would be doing in a real life situation.  An example of a simulation that has worked well for her students is milking a cow.  She has students take latex gloves, fill them with stuffing, and poke holes into the bottom of the fingers to act as teats of the cow.  She then measures out a certain amount of water and pours it into the opening of the gloves and students must “milk” the water out of the fingers of the glove.

Appoquinimink School District’s Appoquinimink High School

On January 25, Frank William Abagnale, Jr., a world-famous security consultant whose life story was inspiration for the 2002 feature film Catch Me If You Can, and a 2011 Broadway musical by the same name, visited Appoquinimink High School to talk to students from our Business, Finance and Marketing Education Pathway.

Abagnale first gained notoriety in the 1960s when, as a teenage runaway, he passed $2.5 million in meticulously forged checks across 26 countries over the course of five years. Between the ages of 16-21, he became “a wunderkind of a con man,” assuming no fewer than eight separate identities including: airline pilot, doctor, U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent and lawyer.

Abagnale served prison time in France, Sweden and the U.S. (where he was considered a youthful offender) before starting to work for the federal government as an expert advisor on fraud. More than 35 years later, Abagnale continues to be a top consultant and lecturer at the FBI and runs Abagnale & Associates, one of the most respected financial fraud consultancy companies in the nation.

This opportunity was made possible through the efforts of Business/Banking Teacher Veronica Marine, who teaches and directs the Bank In School Program at AHS and MHS.

Sussex Technical School District’s Sussex Tech High School - Students’ Philanthropic Efforts Help Local Charities

Thirteen seniors in the Health Professions Technologies elected to use their philanthropic talents to help area charities and use the process as the subject of their senior projects. The seniors adopted various local non-profit organizations, organized, and produced various fundraisers to support their charities.
Students and their projects include:

• Tasha Esham (Millsboro) – A.I. Dupont Children’s Hospital, $1,300 raised through a bake sale, donations, carnival and Home Decorations fundraiser.
• Megan Hayes (Greenwood) – Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, $200 raised through hot chocolate jar sales
• Tori Heimerl (Millsboro) – American Heart Association, $70 raised through a Jump Rope for Heart tournament
• Rebekah Hufford (Ocean View) – Sussex Consortium, $55 raised through donations
• Amber Leight (Georgetown) – Children and Families First, $250 raised through a Red Mitten campaign
• Marissa Leslie (Millsboro) – American Cancer Society, percentage of proceeds donated by Coastal Dance Academy for ongoing dance camps and classes taught by Marissa
• Elizabeth Marshall (Millsboro) – Fair Trade Equal Exchange through United Methodist Committee on Relief, $600 raised through a dinner fundraiser
• Christy Nagle (Milton) – Play for Pete, $3,200 raised through a softball tournament played for a cancer victim
• Courtney Ruiz (Seaford) – Bear Hugs for Babies, donations of baby supplies bought from money put in piggy banks in classrooms by students
• Lydia Sampson (Lewes) – American Heart Association, $223 raised through Hoops for Heart tournament
• Morgan Swain (Seaford) – Wounded Warrior Association, $500 raised through bake sale and yard sale
• Isabel Wharton (Laurel) – Sussex Technical High School, $1,000 goal to buy an AED for the school with help from donations from teammates on the track team
• Logan Wharton (Frankford) – Day Care Centers, $177 raised from a Zumba Night which bought oral supplies for the children

Sussex Technical School District’s Sussex Tech High School

Sussex Tech junior Priyen Patel won an award at the
National U.S. BioGeneius Challenge and was featured in an article in
Going Green on Delmarva magazine written by 2009 Sussex Tech graduate Rachel Southmayd (inset).

Sussex Tech junior Priyen Patel won an honorable mention award at the National U.S. BioGeneius Challenge, a nationwide competition for student-created and operated biotech research projects. Priyen’s project studied how to remove prescription drugs in Delaware’s waters.
Priyen tainted water with two over-the-counter drugs – ibuprofen (found in anti-inflammatory drugs such as Aleve) and acetaminophen (a pain reliever in drugs such as Tylenol). He then tested how much of the drugs could be removed using four different kinds of water filtration systems. Priyen concluded that water distillation was the most effective method.
The experiment was first entered in the Sussex County Science Fair, winning the category and receiving the Tidewater Utility Award. The experiment went on to win state competition and qualify for regional competition at the Delaware Valley BioGeneius Challenge. After receiving first in the medicine and health category at Delaware Valley, Priyen was selected with two other Delaware finalists to advance to the national level.
Besides receiving the honorable mention designation at the national competition, Priyen also won a special contest and got to discuss his project on 14 different radio stations around the country.
Seaford School District’s Seaford High School
During the MLK Day of Celebration at Seaford High School on Jan. 16, Delaware New Tech students Jair Moore and Richard Lamontange chatted with Gov. Markell as Delaware New Tech Director, Chandra Phillips beamed with delight. Gov. Markell gave the boys business cards with the governor’s appointment secretary’s information so that he can come and visit Delaware New Tech.

Newark Charter School

Rumi Khan, a seventh grader at Newark Charter, has written and released an iPhone Application.  His creation, Dare to be Square: The Adventure of the Red Square, can be played on iPhones and iPads.  The entire game was coded and produced by Rumi.  It is now available on iTunes
Dare to be Square is an intriguing, puzzling, energetic, and entertaining adventure game where the main character, a Square, tracks down an evil Emperor in search of his lost memory. The players engage with several enemies, navigate through multiple and dangerous walls, and defeat tough adversaries.  With dramatic graphics and catchy music, this is a game for young and old alike.
In the past two months the game has been downloaded by users in over forty countries.  Rumi has also launched a game developing company called Grabby Arm Games.

Lake Forest School District’s W.T. Chipman Middle School

W.T. Chipman Middle School in Harrington teamed up with AARP's Drive to End Hunger campaign. Chipman collected and donated more than 25,000 canned goods to the Food Bank of Delaware in a little more than a year's time. The school recently was recognized for the efforts by Jeff Gordon, NASCAR superstar and Drive to End Hunger spokesman.  This was inspired by the Rachelle's Challenge, a nationwide school outreach program for the prevention of teen violence.

Colonial School District’s Pleasantville Elementary School

Pleasantville Elementary School is Reading into the New Year!  The Fall Accelerated Reader (AR) Challenge ran from October 10th through Dec. 21st, and 167 students, grades 2-5 were invited to the AR Dance with DJ Amaze on Jan. 6 to celebrate making it into an AR Club.  The students must have met their AR goal by maintaining an 85% correct on their AR quizzes and have reached their Fall Challenge goal.  According to the school, Accelerated Reader is helping to keep students reading books they enjoy and comprehending text through the quizzes: “All in all, we are seeing kids develop a love for reading!”

Capital School District

William Henry, Central Middle and Dover High swim teams recently were recognized for raising $1,250 for the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition!

Cape Henlopen School District’s Cape Henlopen High School

On Dec. 22, the AVID program at Cape Henlopen High School hosted its first AVID Affair. This program was created to showcase the graduates of the AVID program from Cape who are now enrolled in college.  These 2010 and 2011 graduates participated in an open forum discussion about “Life After High School, Making the Transition to College.”  The 14 graduates that spoke were:  Johnesha Warren (Mercyhurst), Joshua Hackney (Delaware State University), Domere Crump ( Private 1st Class US Army/Campbell University), Ciarra Williams (Delaware State University), Jazmine Queen (Howard University), Novia Watson (Hampton University), Iya Jones (Delaware State University), Breashia Hazzard (Seton Hall University), Taylor Harris (UMES),Capri Murray (Delaware Tech),  Michael Tucker (Clark Atlanta University), Janae Taylor (Wesley College), Karlene Hazzard (Columbia College), Alexus Duffy (University of Delaware), Dwaynne Sheppard (Virginion Union University).  It was an outstanding real world experience for the 114 students currently enrolled in the program, the school said.

Appoquinimink School District’s Middletown High School

Wreaths Across America stopped by Middletown High School on their way to Arlington Cemetery in December. Read more here

Christina School District’s Kirk Middle School

 

The Salvation Army named Kirk Middle School in the Christina School District The Best Donor School in Delaware for the second year in a row!  The school community recently collected 1,061 canned food/nonperishable goods.

Charter School of Wilmington

David W. Brown, chair of the computer science department at the Charter School of Wilmington, recently was named one of three Leader of the Year winners by Tech & Learning magazine.

“Although he’s been at CSW only 15 months, Brown has already revamped the computer-science department and curriculum and written and received a $50,000 co-authored grant from ING Direct Bank to upgrade the math and computer science departments’ technology programs,” the magazine wrote. “With some of the grant money, he also installed a computer-science lab in which students can conduct research and work on higher-level technology projects.”

National Coalition of Core Arts Standards

The National Coalition of Core Arts Standards named two Delaware arts educators as National Standards writers in dance and music. Lynnette Young Overby of the University of Delaware is on the dance writing team, and Thomas Dean of Mount Pleasant High School in the Brandywine School District is on the music writing team.

Christina School District’s Keene Elementary

Keene Elementary in the Christina School District has an excellent Girls Mentoring Program. Founded and run by first grade teacher Kathy Eckerd, the program has grown each year since it started about four years ago. The group recently enjoyed a holiday cookie/hot chocolate lunch and is gearing up for a spring mentors’ tea with real teapots, cups and goodies (hats are optional)!

Christina School District’s Maclary Elementary

At Christina’s Maclary Elementary, third-grade teachers are working collaboratively during their shared planning period – also called a Professional Learning Community or PLC – to dig into student data to improve reading instruction.

“As a team, we analyze student data on reading skills and then plan our instruction based on students’ needs,” said teacher Cara Shelton, who is serving as data coach for the group. “One highlight of our instruction is that we explicitly teach students comprehension strategies and our students reflect daily on their understandings of reading strategies.  In doing this, students are better equipped to apply the strategies as they are reading independently. 

“Our formative data shows that our instruction is profound and our students are growing by leaps and bounds!  As teachers we are also expanding our pedagogy as we meet in our PLC’s and are eager to learn more,” Shelton said.

New Castle County Vo-Tech School District’s Delcastle Technical High School

Health teacher Bonnie Lane receives the Blue Apple Health Award

New Castle County Vo-Tech School District’s Delcastle High School won the Blue Apple Health Award, recognizing it as the best health education program in the country. Sponsored by healthteacher.com, the awards committee is composed of leading university health teachers across the country. 

Christina School District’s Newark High School

For the past two years, Newark High School has been proud to have earned the highest number of Delaware Volunteer Credits in the state. The school encourages students, who must volunteer at least 60 hours to graduate, to get involved and makes it easy for them to find places to plug in. On November 10, Newark High School hosted a Volunteer Fair in the school library. The students in grades 9 – 11 came with their math teachers, while the seniors who had not completed the requirement were given invitational passes. Many students filled out applications or signed up to work at different organizations.

New Castle County Vo-Tech’s St. Georges Technical High School

Students at New Castle County Vo-Tech’s St. Georges Technical High School are learning and getting involved in the community at the same time. Check out these photos from Chef Freeman’s chefs club. The students visited Appoquinimink Library, where children from the community joined their reading corner to decorate cookies and try their skills in painting pumpkins. “It is a great learning experience, both for my students and kids from the community,” Freeman said. “We have found that linking food and reading seem to go hand in hand.”

Cape Henlopen School District’s Cape Henlopen High School

Cape Henlopen High School’s Cape Chorale presented a concert at the National Christmas Tree in Washington in December.  The group is made up of 24 select students from grades 10 to 12. “Each of them could be a featured soloist,” choral director Louise Foster said. “It [was] quite an honor to be able to sing at the National Christmas tree site.”

Cape Henlopen School District’s Milton Elementary School

Milton Elementary School fifth-grader Agnes Patterson won the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild Young Writers Contest in poetry for in her age division (10-13) for her poem is titled, "I Am." The contest received 96 entries from nine states, and Agnes was the youngest entrant, according to her mom, Kristin Patterson, who told school leaders, “Milton has been a great environment for her and her creative writing skills.”

Brandywine School District’s Concord High School

Congratulations to Concord High School for being named the Delaware Program Excellence Award winner by the Delaware Technology Education Association and International Technology and Engineering Educators Association! 

Brandywine School District’s Harlan Elementary

Harlan Elementary School in Wilmington has become the first elementary school in Delaware to earn the distinction of being an International Baccalaureate Programme World School, offering the rigorous and acclaimed Primary Years Programme.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.  The program offers a balance between learning about a subject area and learning beyond it to measure its global significance, allowing students to connect what they learn in the classroom with the world around them.  Students are afforded the opportunity to construct meaning by connecting new knowledge (what they learn in the classroom) with prior knowledge (personal experience). 

Additionally, students in the PYP are required to begin a study of a world language.  At Harlan, all students are learning Spanish, starting in kindergarten. 

In addition to Harlan Elementary, the International Baccalaureate Programme is offered in Brandywine at Talley Middle School and Mount Pleasant High School.