Students from all four NCC Vo-Tech High Schools - Howard, Delcastle, Hodgson, and St. Georges - represented themselves and their career programs with honors by earning an impressive 161 medals in annual SkillsUSA competitions held across the state in early March. Of the 161 medalists, 66 students were first-place winners and will be eligible to represent Delaware in the national SkillsUSA competition this summer in Kansas City.

The Delaware Department of Education sponsors approximately 80 different competitive events that make up the annual state SkillsUSA contests. SkillsUSA is a national organization that promotes quality educational and leadership experiences for students enrolled in trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations. The annual competitions are designed to provide students the opportunity to showcase their occupational and leadership skills.

Another 17 NCC Vo-Tech students won first, second, or third place medals at the 2009 Delaware Business Professionals of America competitions. Students who study in the Business Technology, Business Software, and Academy of Finance career programs participate in individual and team competitions each year. This competition involves participants from nearly every high school in Delaware.

The exhibit is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Delaware Humanities Forum. The mural served as a backdrop for the exhibit, which explores the importance of fences in defining American history. Students painted several images depicting Delaware City's unique flavor, including the Fire Hall, Crabby Dick's restaurant, park benches, a Fort Delaware soldier, and the Edwin Reybold house. The Arts Center exhibit, located at 60 Clinton Street, officially opened March 21 and will run through May 1.

Career Advisory Committee members from all 43 career programs of study offered by NCC Vo-Tech High Schools will gather for the school district's annual Career Advisory Dinner and Meeting Thursday, April 23, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Highlights of each career program and student accomplishments will be shared as part of the evening's general meeting.

School committees have selected their candidates for Teacher of the Year for 2009. The school district is pleased to announce that Culinary Arts teacher Jim Berman has been selected as Delcastle's Teacher of the Year; Engine Technology teacher Dean Dickerson has been selected at Howard; Math teacher Patricia Creveling will represent Hodgson; and Math teacher Debbie Tuson will represent St. Georges. One of the four will be selected to represent the school district in the state Teacher of the Year competition this coming fall.

The new St. Georges Technical High School Biotechnology Career Program will host an open house Thursday, April 30, from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. to showcase student skills in this field of study for potential employers and business partners. Instructor Florence A. Malinowski, who has more than thirteen years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry, is seeking summer internships and co-operative education placements for her upper level Biotechnology students.

The three-year Biotechnology program offers high school students opportunity to master basic lab techniques necessary for entry-level positions in the biotech industry and to prepare for post-secondary education.

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact the school at 302-449-3600. Information on items for auction can be found by visiting the school website at: http://stgeorges.nccvt.k12.de.us/.

Howard Teacher Chosen to Present
At National Council of Teachers of English

Nicole LaMonaca, an English teacher at Howard, has been selected to present at the 2009 Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English November 19-24 in Philadelphia. Her presentation will focus on how to adapt common reading strategies to help students become critical readers of their own writing, to improve their revision techniques for student papers. It was selected from over 1,200 presentation proposals submitted to the conference. Ms. LaMonaca teaches English 9 and 11 at Howard, where the school instructional focus goal is to have students show measurable growth in reading through the implementation of research based reading, critical thinking, and problem solving strategies by all staff.