Join us in congratulating our 2024 Secretary of Education Scholars
Each year, Delaware’s Secretary of Education honors select students from the current graduating class for their exemplary work ethic, dedication, and accomplishments both in and out of the classroom. These Secretary of Education Scholars maintain qualities critical to making a significant difference in their lives and also the lives of others. Students are chosen by their principals for their academic records and community service. The number of scholars from each school is based on enrollment. This year, our scholars from Appoquinimink High School are Meghan Virani and Aarush Goyal. Our scholars from Middletown High School are Adithi Jonnagadla and Ananya Kambhampati. Finally, our scholars from Odessa High School are Tejasvi Gottipati and Josselyn Reader. Open this story to learn more about our district's scholars.
The only high school in Delaware to do so, Middletown High School was selected by Broadway Licensing to premiere Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, High School Edition! MHS is one of 27 schools in the nation to offer this magical experience to its students and the community. Stay tuned for more information. The show will open in mid-November 2024!
Brittni Piser named a finalist for Delaware School Counselor of the Year
Brittni Piser was named a finalist for School Counselor of the Year by the Delaware School Counselor Association. Stay tuned — the winner will be announced at the DSCA Spring Conference in April! Piser is the counselor at Bunker Hill Elementary School, which was in the news recently as the recipient of the Delaware Sapphire Award for Excellence in School Counseling! The Sapphire Award recognizes school counseling programs that are comprehensive, data-informed, and designed to serve all students. Photo caption: Brittni Piser, center, is pictured with Mindy Adams (Milton Elementary) and Monica Wheatley (Millsboro Middle School). All three were named School Counselor of the Year finalists by the Delaware School Counselor Association!
Brandy Timpson named Delaware State Education Association’s All Stars in Education Teacher of the Month
Join us in congratulating Brandy Timpson, who was named Delaware State Education Association’s All Stars in Education Teacher of the Month for January 2024. Timpson is an agriculture teacher at Appoquinimink High School.
Appoquinimink Foundation is accepting applications for its 2024 scholarships!
Attention all seniors! The Appoquinimink Foundation is now accepting applications for 2024 scholarships! This year, the scholarship fund has increased to $10,000. One senior from each of the 10 district pathway "schools" will be awarded $1,000 to help fund their post-graduation plans. You can find more information, including the scholarship application and details on how to apply, here.
Please join us in congratulating Ryan Duker on being named Transportation Employee of the Month! Duker drives bus 224 (previously 235) for Silver Lake Elementary, and also is a substitute driver for any high school or middle school routes that might need coverage. His peers voted for him to receive this recognition. Of note: Duker went “Delaware-viral” when we announced his win on ASD’s Facebook page earlier in the month — the post got more than 1,000 likes!
AHS’s Mia Trotter is a finalist in a playwriting competition
Mia Trotter, a senior at Appoquinimink High School, has been named one of five finalists in Delaware Theatre Company’s 2023-2024 Delaware Young Playwrights Festival! Mia’s entry is a play, “Frame 313.” The other entries are “You Remind Me” by Amara Harrison of Charter School of Wilmington, “Splinter” by Emily Howard of Charter School of Wilmington, “Hatshepsuts Djed” by Valentine Logan of William Penn High School, and “Best Friends” by Darby Ann Tisdel of MOT Charter High School. The finalists will participate in a series of playwriting workshops with professional theatre artists from Delaware Theatre Company to further refine their writing and ready their works for a public showcase performance on March 21, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. on the DTC stage. Please join us in congratulating Mia on this accomplishment!
2023 New Castle Conservation District Poster Contest winners announced
Appoquinimink School District had four winners in the 2023 New Castle Conservation District Poster Contest! Posters were judged on the 2023 theme, “One Water,” and a total of 86 posters were submitted. Rafael Ostrea, a fifth grader at Crystal Run Elementary School, came in first place in the grades 4-6 category. Rayzel Joseph, an eighth grader at Everett Meredith Middle School, came in first place in the grades 7-9 category. Maya Zhao, an eighth grader at Louis L. Redding Middle, came in first place in the grades 7-9 digital posters category. Finally, Genevieve Frisch, an 11th grader at Appoquinimink High School, came in first place in both the county and state level in the grades 10-12 digital posters category. Congratulations to our students for a job well done!
Beauty and the Beast is Odessa High School's spring musical!
Get your tickets now and join us before the last petal falls — Odessa High School's spring musical is Beauty and the Beast! Show dates and times are March 1 and 2 at 7 p.m., March 8 and 9 at 7 p.m., and March 9 at 2 p.m. More than 60 OHS students comprise the cast, crew, and pit of this enchanting Disney Musical. The beautiful set, extravagant costumes, and show-stopping musical numbers bring the childhood classic to life.
Prom is Middletown High School's spring musical!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Join the cast and crew at Middletown High School as we dance the night away during Prom, the school’s spring musical. Opening Night is March 15 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances on March 16 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m.
Third Annual Black Student Summit is March 23 at AHS
Mark your calendars! The third annual Black Student Summit is Saturday, March 23, and this year it will be held at Appoquinimink High School. The summit is from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. with doors opening at 9 a.m. The summit will be a full day gathering to connect and uplift members of Black student unions, and associations, along with advisors, school administrators, and the allies that support them as they fight for equity and just. All races and ethnicities are encouraged to attend.
ASD’s annual STEM Showcase is March 23
You're invited to see 250 students from across Appoquinimink School District present their STEM Fair projects at the second annual STEM Showcase! Following the success of last year's event, the STEM Showcase will see science fair projects from all of our elementary schools in one place. The showcase is open to all ASD students and their families. Come for grade-level challenges, interactive STEM activities, chemistry demonstrations, and meet senior engineering students from ASD's high schools!
Middletown High School celebrates 10 letter signings
In early February, we celebrated 10 Middletown High School seniors who signed letters of commitment to play their sport at the college level. Those students were Akendre Matthews, Aviyon Matthews, Owen Ketzner, Maximus Mullins, Ava Little, Cara Cimo, Austin Troyer, Tyler Bolden, Ronnell Davis, and Tristen Graham. Open this story to read more about each student’s accomplishments.
New Troop 9 Honorary Commander named!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Edmond Gurdo, director of Equity and Student Services, who was recently inducted as the 2024 Troop 9 Honorary Commander!
District’s first Girls in Sports Day is a resounding success
In early February, we hosted our first Girls in Sports Day! It was an awesome opportunity for our younger students to try different sports and learn from the best — student-athletes from our secondary schools! This event was open to girls in grades K-5 in our district. We’d also like to give a special shoutout and thank you to our secondary students who volunteered at Girls in Sports Day! They did an awesome job introducing sports to a new generation of Appo athletes!
Spring Meadow Early Childhood Center celebrates the Lunar New Year!
In celebration of the Lunar New Year, our Chinese Immersion students at SMECC welcomed their families into their classrooms for a Chinese New Year Celebration! Students and their families learned how to use chopsticks, created Chinese characters using Play-Doh, completed a paper-cutting activity, and colored Spring Festival-themed patterns!
Seventh graders deliver speeches at the University of Delaware as part of Project Soapbox
Please join us in congratulating the seventh graders who participated in the Mikva Challenge’s Project Soapbox, hosted in partnership with the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. On Friday, February 1, a group of seventh graders from all of our middle schools traveled to the University of Delaware where they delivered speeches they wrote in their social studies class. They joined more than 100 seventh graders from New Castle County school districts in presenting their speeches. Special congratulations to Cantwell's Bridge Middle School's Zoya Hussaini, who was selected by her peers and the civic partners at the event to showcase her speech to an audience of more than 250 people!
February Board of Education Recognitions
Top row, from left:
- Students from Alfred Waters Middle School were recognized for being selected to participate in All State Choir this year.
- Students from Cantwell's Bridge Middle School were recognized for being selected to participate in All State Choir this year.
- Students from Appoquinimink High School were recognized for being selected to participate in All State Choir this year.
Middle row, from left:
- Students from Middletown High School were recognized for being selected to participate in All State Choir this year.
- Students from Odessa High School were recognized for being selected to participate in All State Choir this year.
- Brian Endlein, band director at Odessa High School, and Kendra Moritz Rosner, STEAM coordinator at Lorewood Grove Elementary, earned BEATS Maker awards.
Bottom row, from left:
- Students from Lorewood Grove Elementary School, alongside their teacher Kendra Moritz Rosner, were recognized for the cafe they recently started at their elementary school.
- Mondaria Galloway, Director of Inclusive Education, was recognized as Psi Iota 2024 Educator of the Year.
Celebrating National School Counselor Appreciation Week
We can't thank our district's school counselors enough for the work they do to support our students each day! Superintendent Matt Burrows stopped by two of our elementary schools to say thank you to Stephanie Horsey, Crystal Run Elementary School's school counselor, and Pam Broomall, Olive B. Loss Elementary's school counselor, for everything they do.
Guiding Paws guide dogs practice theatre manners at You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown
Upcoming Events & Meeting Reminder:
- March is Delaware’s “March for the Arts” Month, Music in our Schools Month, and Theatre in our Schools Month!
- 1 March No school for students / high school staff PD Conferences: Gr PK-8
- 1-2 March OHS Spring Musical, 7 p.m. at OHS
- 3-9 March National School Social Worker Week
- 6-7 March Conferences: Gr 9-12, evening only
- 8-9 March OHS Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 3/8 and 3/9 and 2 p.m. on 3/9 at OHS
- 10 March Daylight Saving Time beings
- 12 March School Board meeting, 7 p.m. at the Marion E. Proffitt Training Center, 118 S. Sixth St, Odessa. Tune in virtually by clicking here.
- 15-17 March MHS Spring Musical, 7 p.m. at MHS
- 18-19 March Fairview Campus Grade 3-12 Instrumental Event, school day
- 20 March SLE Art Night, 6-8 p.m. at SLE
- 20 March Spring SAT day – no school Grade 12
- 21 March Tri-M Induction Recital & Ceremony, 7 p.m. At OHS Black Box Theatre
- 21-23 March AGW Spring Musical, 7 p.m. at AGW
- 22-23 March BHE Musical, at 7 p.m. on 3/22 and at 2 p.m. on 3/23 at BHE
- 22-23 March TES Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 3/22 & 2 p.m. on 3/23 at EMMS
- 23 March STEM Showcase, time 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at OHS
- 26 March District Honor Band/Orchestra Concert, 6:30 p.m. at AHS
- 27 March Asynchronous day: Gr PreK-8 End of third marking period
- 28 March Asynchronous day: Gr 9-12 No school for students Gr PK-8 / staff PD
- 29 March- April 7 Schools / offices closed – Spring Break (Note: the Presidential Primary Election is April 2)
- April Occupational Therapy Month
- 1-5 April National Assistant Principals Week (tentative)
- 3 April National Paraeducator Appreciation Day
- 4 April National School Librarian & Library Aides Day
- 8 April Schools reopen