Ayana Clayton takes center stage at the Preschool at St. Georges, reading a Christmas story to the assembled preschoolers and student teachers last week.
News Journal Highlights District Early Childhood Programs
To read the article highlighting the Early Childhood programs at St. Georges and Hodgson, click here.
NCCVT Students Win 3 Gold and 4 Bronze Medals at National SkillsUSA
More than 5,400 technical education students from across the United States recently competed in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City. Top students received gold, silver and bronze medallions. The high scorers in 86 occupational and leadership areas received Skill Point Certificates. Here is the list:
Gold Medals
John Huhn, from Hodgson Vo-Tech, gold in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration; Ryan Spinden, from Hodgson, gold in Plumbing; Melissa Rubincan, from Delcastle, gold in Food and Beverage Service.
Bronze Medals
Breana Barker, from Delcastle, bronze in Practical Nursing; Rebecca Richardson, from Delcastle, bronze in Medical Assisting; Team B (Jose Lomeli, Rebecca McClain and Paul Toy), from Delcastle, bronze in TechPrep-Agricultural, Food and Natural Resources; Team C (Kiera Gibbs, Geornae Henry and Ada Squires), from Howard, bronze in TechPrep-Health Science.
Skill Point Certificates
Dan Burke, Delcastle, in Electronics Applications; Steven Daniels, Delcastle, in Residential Wiring; Mark Hynson, Delcastle, in Automotive Refinishing Technology; Tiffany Noel, Delcastle, in Advertising Design; Nina Patterson, Delcastle, in Dental Assisting; Rachel Payne, Delcastle, in Commercial Baking; Justin Tuppeny, Delcastle, in Cabinetmaking;
Team G (Malissa McCormick and Samantha Ysais), from Delcastle, in American Spirit; Kurtis Nybakken, Howard High, in Power Equipment Technology; Brittany Stapleford, Howard, in Health Occupations Professional Portfolio.
David Dale, 23, of Bear, works on a dead computer at the Delaware Skills Center.
Tricia Creveling Named NCCVT District Teacher of the Year 2009-2010
Hodgson mathematics teacher, Patricia Creveling, was named NCCVT District Teacher of the Year 2009-2010 at a meeting of the District Selection Committee yesterday. She will represent NCCVT in the Delaware State Teacher of the Year competition this fall. Please congratulate Tricia and wish her luck in the next steps of the process. Congratulations also to the three other outstanding building Teachers of the Year, Jim Berman, Dean Dickerson, and Debbie Tuson.
NCCVT 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year Patricia Creveling
P-Cubed program boosts problem-based learning in math
The "P-Cubed" project is run by the Delaware Mathematics Coalition in partnership with the University of Delaware's Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center (MSERC). P-Cubed (or P3) is short for Powerful Pedagogical Practices and is attended by more than 100 secondary mathematics teachers and principals from all 19 Delaware school districts and one charter school. The overarching ambition of P3 is to "problematize" certain assumptions about high school mathematics. As students, many of us experienced high school mathematics in teacher-centered classrooms. Increasingly, however, research suggests that students learn best when they are able to inquire actively into meaningful problems in mathematics. Classrooms structured around problem-based learning seem to promote deep and lasting knowledge of important mathematical concepts.
District participants with Math Specialist Darnel Grandell are:
Delcastle - Dave Jezyk, Carrie Barber, Lisa Myers
Howard - Mitch Weiss, Fran Smart, Kristy Thompson
Hodgson - Jane Trochimowicz, Rita Fry, Nancy Rudolph
St. George's - Eric Wells, Cathy Kappel, Kathy Wilson
Three or four days a week during the school year, the culinary arts students at Delcastle Technical High School, Hodgson Vo-Tech High School, Howard High School of Technology and St. Georges Technical High School run cafes that are open to the schools' faculty and administration, students' family members and district guests.
Culinary arts student Aaron Rivera serves lunch to (from left) Tunis Foltz, Lewis Ray and Joe Jankowski in the Hodgson Vo-Tech High School dining room.
District Meal Benefits Available Throughout School Year
The New Castle County Vo-Tech School District offers free or reduced-price meals to any student who qualifies. To apply for these benefits, a Meal Benefit Form must be completed. Forms are available online, in the Guidance Office, or from the school cafeteria manager. Forms should be completed and then returned to Guidance or the Cafeteria. You will be notified by mail with the results. You may apply at any time during the school year should your income change or should you become unemployed. Please remember in this changing, stressful economy, that these meal benefits are available through our school district. Thank you.
Delcastle's Bonnie Lane Named National Health Education Professional of the Year
Congratulations to Bonnie Lane, Health and PE instructor at Delcastle, who was named the National Health Education Professional of the Year by the American Association for Health Education. The AAHE "seeks to recognize those who enrich the depth and scope of health-related activities" and to reward outstanding contributions in the health education field. Bonnie will receive her award at the AAHE national convention in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, April 3rd. This is a huge honor and a great deal of work! Congratulations, Bonnie!
National Health Professional of the Year - Bonnie Lane
Delcastle Digital Media Students on GMA
Lights, camera, action -- 40 students from the Delcastle Digital Media program traveled with their teachers Sept. 30 to New York City to observe the live broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America. One student was invited onto the production floor to film GMA with the camera men. Students met the crew and cast, and were given tips from the crew on lighting, camera angles, and production. Following their GMA experience, they traveled uptown to tour NBC studios, where they visited the sets of Saturday Night Live and Conan O'Brien. "We wanted them to see how sets were designed and constructed, and also to experience a live broadcast," said teacher Gary Phillips. Digital Media students are preparing to begin live broadcasts of the school's morning announcements each day, which will be carried over the internal television system.
Delcastle Students in New York City
St. Georges Principal Invited to Submit Article on Vision 2015 Activities
The News Journal ran six short opinion pieces in the Sunday, Sept. 21 edition focused on improving education in Delaware. Terri Villa, St. Georges principal, was invited to submit an article on how participation in the Vision 2015 initiative will make a difference in student learning. To view the article, entitled St. Georges teachers sharpen skill, go to:
St. Georges Construction Trades Students Help Refurbish Middletown Home
St. Georges construction trades students help makeover a downtown Middletown home for a needy family and got some valuable work experience for their resumes. Read more in a News Journal article published 11/22/09:
St. Georges students John Young Jr. and Cheri Harmon, both 16, hang shutters that were repaired and painted in the school's wood shop.
The Science of Fun
Delcastle Technical High is the only school participating from Delaware in MARBLES, which stands for Minority Achievement for the Robotics, Biomedical Leadership Engineering Sectors. Read more about it here.
Delcastle Technical High School student Edwin Francois drills a hole in a robot as (from left) Ariel Morgan, Jermaine Brooks , physics teacher Dan Hailey and Keithan Harris watch.
Delcastle Trio Designs Winning Poster
Delcastle Graphic Arts students designed a Disability Awareness poster to be used in schools across Delaware.
If you are interested in using the Disability Awareness poster designed by Delcastle Graphic Arts students, please click to DOWNLOAD (7.05 MB PDF - opens in new window).
At Howard camp, students explore potential career paths
Every summer, middle schoolers fill the classrooms of Howard High School of Technology to explore future careers. The campers spend four half days in their chosen areas and seem to have a common complaint: "It's just not long enough."
Open to all Howard High male students, the Gentlemen's Club meets every Wednesday during the three lunch periods in the cafeteria, working on time management, social skills, etiquette and appearance. Read more about this program here.
Members of the Gentleman's Club at Howard High School of Technology learn how to tie a necktie from football coach and para-educator Alhesia Booker, the group's adviser.
Learning to be Paramedics
Read about St. Georges Emergency Medical Services career program here
Treating a dummy patient are (from left) Erica Jones, 17, Ashley Davis, 16, and Ahron Flowers, 17, students in an EMS class at St. Georges Technical High School.
News Journal Spotlights St. Georges Biotechnology Open House
St. Georges Biotechnology career program held an Open House for potential employers and post-secondary educators to learn more about the skilled training students obtain in the program.
Jennifer Jaje (right) and Amy Rhee of the Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biology in Newark watch Shawnequa Rollins work on an experiment during the open house at the school's biotechnology lab
Hodgson's Art Club Creates Mural
Hodgson's Art Club spent several Saturdays at the Delaware City Arts Center designing and painting a mural for their Between Fences exhibit. The exhibit, located at 60 Clinton Street, officially opened March 21st and will run through May 1st.
The Between Fences Exhibit is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Delaware Humanities Forum. The Art Club mural featured several images depicting Delaware City's unique flavor...the Fire Hall, Crabby Dick's restaurant, the park benches, a Fort Delaware soldier, the Edwin Reybold house, etc.
The mural served as a backdrop for the exhibit, which explores the importance of fences in defining American history. The Arts Center will host several lectures and events to further explore the Between Fences theme in the coming weeks.
Participants in mural: Shakena Corbett, Taylor Murphy, Anna Henry, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Stumpf, Jillian Ousey, Kelly Boyle, Erin Foraker, Bryana Hahn, Gloria Hahn (advisor), and Rolinda Roper (advisor).
Hodgson's Art Club Members and the mural they created for the Between Fences exhibit
Delcastle Culinary Arts Students
The extensive community service efforts of Delcastle's Cooks and Bakers Club are featured on the cover of the March 2009 Chef Educator Today magazine. The article details recent club activities including the Cookies for Cops baking project, the Gingerbread House Construction Tour, and the Edible Celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday at local libraries. To read the full story, go to www.chefedtoday-digital.com/chefedtoday
Click March 2009. Click Pages at the top, and select page 22.
Delcastle Wins 2009 State Girls Basketball Championship
Congratulations to the Delcastle Technical High School girls basketball team for winning the 2009 State Girls Basketball Championship Friday, March 13. The Lady Cougars beat Middletown High School 70-55, capturing the school's first state title since 1984. To read more about the win, click on more info.
Howard Students Create Special Day for Their 'Wildcat Grandparents'
For the last 4 years, Howard students have volunteered at the annual Sweetheart Ball for residents of Luther Towers I and II on Harrison Street. This year's event, held Feb. 11, was one of the best.
Howard students dance with Luther Towers residents at the 4th Annual Sweethearts Ball.
Delcastle Students Bake Cookies For Police Officers
"Bake the Night Away" was an overnight effort by Delcastle's culinary arts students designed to make 500 dozen cookies for hundreds of police officers statewide. The 6,000 cookies were contributed to "Cookies for Cops," an annual program sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving as a holiday thank you to police for trying to keep impaired drivers off the highways. Read the New Journal article by clicking on More Info.
Competition judge Tom Hannum, of the Hotel du Pont, watches Tim Barker and Binta Bah of St. Georges Technical High School, prepare a chicken dish during the culinary challenge.
Delcastle Graphic Arts Wins Poster Contest
Congratulations to Delcastle Graphic Arts students who were winners in the Delaware Department of Natural Resources Conservation Youth Poster Design Contest, New Castle County division. Emily Hunter won 1st Place; Tiffany Noel, 2nd place; and Ammon Hutt, 3rd place. The students were recognized in an assembly on December 16 and received certificates and cash awards. Emily's poster can be viewed at the DNREC web site by clicking on More Info.
Hodgson's Chef Gerry Treese Wins Ice Sculpting Award
Temperatures hovering below 30 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 17, made for ideal ice-sculpting weather for three carvers on Saturday morning, January 31st on the Boardwalk outside the Atlantic Sands Hotel.
Chef Gerry Treese, a culinary teacher at Hodgson Vocational School, started with a 300 lb. block of ice and transformed it into an airplane in just a couple of hours.
To read more about the contest, click on more info.
Hodgson's Dental Assisting Clinic Provides Free Dental Care
As part of a special arrangement between Brader Elementary School and the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District, Hodgson's Dental Assisting students learn workplace skills while under-insured children receive free dental care. Read the News Journal article by clicking on "More Info..."
Budding chefs at St. Georges Tech cook, serve, and clean up for free
High school students usually don't get the chance to host a holiday party for a giant department store -- and learn while they're doing it. But that's precisely what happened Wednesday at St. Georges Technical High School. Read the article by clicking on "More Info."
Instructor Jermaine Williams oversees the party prep
6th Annual Great Gingerbread House Construction Tour
Every year, Jim Berman and his students "pack up their culinary equipment and their edible supplies and take them on the road to libraries, hospitals and elementary schools across New Castle County." Read the article on Delcastle's Cooks and Bakers club and their annual Gingerbread House Construction Tour by clicking on "More Information."
"Dollar Wi$e" Campaign Kicked Off at Howard's Academy of Finance and Business
Students from Howard's Academy of Finance and Business and their instructors, Mr. Matt Kane and Tim Johnson, hosted the kickoff of Howard's participation in Wilmington's "Dollar Wi$e" Campaign last week. Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker, the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League (MWUL), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Citigroup announced Wilmington's participation in this national program - a collaborative effort created by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to help citizens achieve better financial security through a series of free financial literacy training classes. The campaign targets Wilmington residents of all income levels and urges citizens to be financially literate and save for the future. The free financial literacy classes will be co-hosted by MWUL and the Delaware Money School.
You can watch our students in the WPVI-TV piece by clicking on the link:
Howard Pioneers Structural Steel Detailing Program
Howard started a structural steel detailing program four years ago and is one of the only schools in the country -- if not the only one -- with such a program. Other schools might have a detailing class, but not a three-year program like the one at Howard High, said Patrick Mulhern, who teaches the trade at the school. To read the News Journal article, click on More.
Instructor Pat Mulhern works with a student in class.
Howard Cosmetology Students Featured in Sunday News Journal Article
If you thought the only connection between hair and furniture would involve the action of a vacuum cleaner, think again. Howard cosmetology students are working with a famous designer, incorporating their braided creations into furniture. The project was featured in a story published in Sunday's News Journal entitled Tech Students Make Furniture with a Twist. To view the contents on www.delawareonline.com, go to:
On Wednesday, October 8th, the Culinary Arts students of Hodgson Vo-Tech High School visited Port Penn to learn how local watermen and trappers catch and prepare seafood. The students learned about the relationship of the marshes, river, and land to the food they eat from Laura Lee, Division of Parks, at the Port Penn Interpretive Center. They then walked to the home of Gail King, a female commercial crabber and fisherman, who showed them live crabs, her boat, crabbing equipment, and explained how she makes a living both in the retail and wholesale business. The students then met Clyde Roberts, one of the last fishermen in Port Penn who fished for sturgeon, and he discussed what that industry was like from an historical perspective. Finally, the students walked to the Augustine Wildlife Area where they met Victor Bryson, who showed them how to kill and clean a snapping turtle while explaining his business to the students.
All of these activities are related to our Marshland-A-Fare fund raiser that will be held on Saturday, October 18 at the Port Penn Fire Hall from 11 AM to 2 PM. The Hodgson Vo-tech Culinary Arts students volunteer at this fund raiser and get community service hours, a requirement to graduate.
To read the News Journal article on the field trip, go to:
DOVER, February 11, 2004 - Two-time national medalist Tiffany Baranowski has won silver and bronze in the Dental Assisting competition. "I think to win a national medal, you have to love what you're doing and have a passion for it", she says.
Baranowski graduated from the dental technology program at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Del., last summer. "I think I won twice because I wanted it. I wanted it with everything I had," she adds. "I studied hard, practiced hard and gave it my all."
Her advise is simple: "Try."
You can't win if you don't try. Just give it your all and if you don't win one year, try again the next. Never give up. I didn't."
Hodgson Students Learn How to Install Solar Panels
GLASGOW, DEL. - May 29, 2008 (WPVI, By Laura Wilson) -- Students at Hodgson Vo-Tech High School will have one up on other newcomers in the electrical trade industry.
Thanks to a company that specializes in renewable industry, and a $10,000 grant from the Delaware Department of Energy, these kids installed solar panels to a portion of their own school. The students learned about solar energy by reading books supplied by the General Electric company, and by doing their own Internet research. "I think we're the first people in the nation to install that in a high school. To me, it's kind of a great experience," said junior Brian Ksiazek.
As for why this project is so important, junior Steve Lebischak said "we're going to run out of fossil fuels sooner or later and we're going to need some way to power America."
