Leaders on the Move
Throughout our district we have leaders on the move taking on new roles and responsibilities. Keep reading to meet some of the new and returning faces at ASD.
Tom Poehlmann — Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Schools
Dr. Ed Gurdo — Executive Director of Student Services and District Operations
Dr. Chrishaun Fitzgerald — Director of Inclusive Learning
Dr. Amanda Conley — Director of Safety, Security, and Operations
Charneise Alston — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator
Nell Jean — Principal of Middletown High School
Nakia Fambro — Assistant Principal of Middletown High School
Dr. Devon Jacob — Assistant Principal of Middletown High School
TaRon Pollard — Assistant Principal of Odessa High School
Shannon Mann — Assistant Principal of Alfred G. Waters Middle School
Nicole Brizill — Assistant Principal of Brick Mill Early Childhood Center
Mark Daliessio — Assistant Principal of Bunker Hill Elementary School
Dr. Kristi Peters — Supervisor of Student Services
Lauren Schroeder — Supervisor of School Nutrition Services
Celebrating our Appoquinimink Adult Education Program's Class of 2024
Please join us in congratulating our Appoquinimink Adult Education Program James H. Groves Adult High School Class of 2024 on their graduation! The program held its 45th annual commencement ceremony on July 11 at Middletown High School. This class was historic too! It was the largest graduating class in the program's history.
Register for Adult Education Program
Registration is open from September 9 - 12 for our Appoquinimink School District Adult Education Program. If you have questions about registering, please email dona.troyer@appo.k12.de.us or call 302-378-5037.
Summer Camps are in full swing
Our summer camps are a great opportunity for students to engage, find a new skill, and meet new friends! At ASD, we offer dozens of camp opportunities including theater, painting, crafting, and more! Pictured below are students participating in a crocheting and STEM camp!
Middletown High's Cory Hafer goes to space camp!
Our district's (and the state's) 2024 Teacher of the Year Cory Hafer recently traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to join other state teachers of the year for Space Camp! It's an annual tradition that is beloved by State Teachers of the Year!
Life Centered Career Education (LCCE) Summer Academy wins at the State Fair!
Students in our district's Life Centered Career Education Pathway (LCCE) Summer Academy attended the Delaware State Fair, and came home with prizes! Four groups of students from Appoquinimink High and Middletown High entered four cookie/brownie recipes. We're extending a special thank you to Cook Family Farms, who served as a sponsor for the groups' entries. Rhonda Cook supplied prizes and gift cards for our students. She also helped facilitate the program's attendance at the fair this year! This was the first year our LCCE students submitted entries to the fair, and were looking forward to seeing more entries next year!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE STATE FAIR COVERAGE!
Make sure to read next month's August Superintendent Newsletter to see how our middle and high school FFA students did at the Delaware State Fair! Spoiler warning: they did AMAZING!
The Last Bookmobile of Summer 2024 is August 14!
Mark your calendars for the summer's final Bookmobile event on Wednesday, August 14!
Our district's tradition of Words on Wheels Wednesdays continues this summer — our Bookmobile will stop at four locations around our district! Find your perfect summer read or build your library by visiting our Bookmobile and its free, gently used books collection. Donations are always appreciated, so feel free to bring your books to add to our collection. Bookmobile is organized and run by our amazing librarians — thank you to our staff for spearheading this effort!
Times & Locations for August 14:
- 12:30 p.m. Olive B. Loss Elementary School, 200 Brennan Blvd, Bear
- 1:30 p.m. Brick Mill Elementary School, 378 Brick Mill Rd, Middletown
- 2:30 p.m. Silver Lake Elementary School, 200 E. Cochran St, Middletown
- 3:30 p.m. Townsend Village Park, 126 Main St, Townsend
AGW's Katelynn Scott & Co. install a Little Free Library
A summertime story from Katelynn Scott, Alfred G. Waters Middle School's Librarian:
A few years ago, I was the recipient of a Little Free Library kit from the New Castle County government, but I did not end up putting it on the Cedar Lane campus. The Cedar Lane librarian, Melissa Grieshober, also got a kit for one that ended up on our campus. So, my dad David Shaw, a paraprofessional at Everett Meredith Middle School, and my daughter, AGW student Eva Scott have built that kit and installed it in my dad's neighborhood. They also built and painted the turquoise friendship bench the little library sits on. It was initially stocked with book donations I gathered throughout the year, and is now available for kids and families in that community!
Colazzo takes home award at Educators Rising National Conference
A number of our district's students spent the last weekend in June in Washington, D.C. for the 2024 Educators Rising National Conference! Educators Rising is a career and technical education student organization for future educators. Please join us in congratulating Austin Colazzo, a recent graduate of Middletown High School , for coming in fourth place in Impromptu Speaking. Colazzo competed in the varsity division.
Appoquinimink students excel at HOSA-Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference!
Please join us in congratulating Arjun Bharath, pictured left, for his top 10 finish at the 47th annual HOSA-Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference! Arjun represented Middletown High School while competing in the Human Growth and Development competitive event at the conference. Arjun also earned the bronze level of the Barbara James Service Award for completing between 100-174 volunteer community service hours related to health.
We had two Appoquinimink students receive scholarships at the HOSA International Leadership Conference in June!
Please join us in congratulating Adithi Jonnagadla, pictured right, who received a $1,000 scholarship from the HIMSS Foundation! Adithi is a recent graduate of Middletown High School and plans to pursue a career as a health policy analyst!
Please also join us in congratulating June Jang, not pictured, who was the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship from the Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science: an APHL-CDC Initiative! Jang plans to pursue a career in biochemistry.
Stop by the Middletown Farmers Market!
The New Castle County Government Farmer Market in Middletown is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.! The market is open through October in the parking lot near the Appoquinimink Community Library. You can find fresh, locally-grown produce, so be sure to stop by!
Visit newcastlede.gov/farmersmarkets to learn more.
Mark your calendar! Mini-Youth Leadership Conference is August 24!
Appo attends the School Nutrition Association Conference
A few members of our school nutrition team recently attended the annual School Nutrition Association conference! They came back with new exciting ideas and knowledge to share with staff and our students!
Free summer meals through August 15!
Thanks to support from the USDA and the State of Delaware, the Appoquinimink School District is pleased to once again provide a Free Summer Meals Program at Louis L. Redding Middle School, 201 New Street, Middletown, DE.
Tasty, nutritious lunches will be served at no cost to any young person between the ages of 1-18.
The program will operate Monday – Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. No registration or student i.d. is needed. Participants are asked to consume the meal in the cafeteria.
The dates for the Free Summer Meals program are June 17 – August 15.
- What: Free Summer Meals for young people between the ages of 1-18
- When: Monday, June 17 – Thursday, August 15
- Questions: Appoquinimink School Nutrition Office, 302-376-4280
- For information about other sites: Families can call 211; call 1-866-348-6479 or 1-877-842-6273 (for Spanish speakers); text FOOD to 304-304 or Comida to 304-304; or, go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/meals4kids for information about additional open sites in their area.
REMINDER — Register for kindergarten today!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by August 31, it’s time to register for kindergarten!
Registration is completed through an online portal. We have all the information on our district website. And don’t forget: our district offers TWO language immersion programs! Kindergarten immersion programs include Spanish Immersion and Chinese Immersion at certain buildings. Kindergarten students who participate in our immersion programs learn math, science, reading, writing, and social studies in two languages instead of one! We’ll include information below to register and to learn more about immersion.
Norm Abrams sworn in at July Board of Education meeting
Congratulations to Norm Abrams who was sworn in at the July Board of Education meeting as a member of our Appoquinimink School District Board of Education! Abrams won his bid for re-election in May and will serve a four-year term ending in June 2028.
REMINDER: Our 2024-2025 Academic Calendar is live on our website!
Upcoming Events & Meeting Reminder:
- 13 Aug School Board meeting, 7 p.m. at the Marion E. Proffitt Training Center, 118 S. Sixth St, Odessa. Tune in virtually by CLICKING HERE
- 14 Aug Summer Bookmobile: 12:30 p.m. Olive B. Loss Elementary School, 200 Brennan Blvd, Bear; 1:30 p.m. Brick Mill Elementary School, 378 Brick Mill Rd, Middletown; 2:30 p.m. Silver Lake Elementary School, 200 E Cochran St, Middletown; 3:30 p.m. Townsend Village Park, 126 Main St, Townsend
- 26 Aug. New Parent Orientation
- 27 Aug. 9th Grade Open House, 6 p.m.
- 28 Aug. Kindergarten Meet the Teacher, 4-5:30 p.m. & APC Meet the Teacher, 4-5:30 p.m. & 6th Grade Open House, 6:30 p.m.
- 29 Aug. PreK Meet the Teacher, 4-5:30 p.m. & Elem Meet the Teacher, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
- 30 Aug. Schools closed/offices open
- 2 Sept. Schools/offices closed - State/Federal holiday
- 3 Sept. First day of school: Gr 1-9; KN last name A-L
- 4 Sept. First day of school: Gr 10-12; KN last name M-Z
- 5 Sept. First day of school: PreK