Sussex Tech

Principal's Letter Jan 2012

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Dr. John Demby - PrincipalWelcome back from the holidays. We have almost completed half of our school year. Second quarter assessments will be held on January 17, 18, 19 and 20, and report cards will be issued on February 2. The second semester will begin on January 24. Much took place before we adjourned for the winter break.

I would like to commend our music department for producing two wonderful concerts. Mrs. Sarah Rose and her choral students performed an inspiring vocal concert at Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth. She was followed a few days later by Mr. Harvey Bullock and his band members putting on another great concert performance in the school gym. The band was extremely busy during December. They marched in the Georgetown and Seaford holiday parades before boarding airplanes to fly to Hawaii to participate in the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I have heard several comments from both students and adults who accompanied them as to how inspirational the ceremonies were and how proud our students were to be part of observing such an important event in our nation's history.

Electronics classes were challenged to adopt an angel from the Angel Tree sponsored by Sussex Tech Adult Division and purchase gifts for children participating in the Family Literacy Program (Even Start). Students donated whatever money they could to tally the $20 maximum limit, then went shopping to purchase the gifts, gift wrapped them, and presented them to the Adult Division for distribution. Junior and senior classes adopted one child each, but the sophomore class adopted three children.

First year Raven Battalion JROTC cadets participated in LET 1 Drill Competition at Seaford High School. The new cadets brought home third place finishes in Armed Regulation Drill and Inspection. The Battalion also hosted a holiday pancake breakfast at Applebee's in Seaford. Several cadets played "elves" and did the serving duties during the three hours of service. Thank you to everyone who supported these young cadets, and thanks to Applebee's for donating a portion of the proceeds to our JROTC program.

Business, Finance and Marketing Technologies students hosted Homecoming events during October. They took the proceeds from the bonfire and divided it among two area charities. Students used part of the money to purchase toys for needy children by donating the toys to Toys for Tots. Justin's Beach House also benefited from the bonfire. BFM students purchased day-to-day items families need during their stay while dealing with cancer.

Seven of the 10 Delaware youth selected to participate in the National 4-H Youth Congress in Atlanta, Georgia were Sussex Tech students. Bethany Killmon, Stephen Mervine, Joe Anderson, Nathan Bradley, Mary Catherine Lagano, Hunter Murray, and Isabel Wharton were chosen for their leadership skills. At the Congress, they were given the opportunity to learn about community involvement, culture diversity, and service to others.

Junior Priyen Patel won an honorable mention at the National U.S. BioGenius Challenge, a nationwide competition for student-created and operated biotech research projects. His experiment included water tainted with two over-the-counter medications -- ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Patel tested how much of the drugs could be removed using four different kinds of water filtration systems. Patel also won a special contest and got to discuss the project and the program on 14 different radio stations around the country. Media broadcasting 2009 graduate Rachel Southmayd wrote an article about Patel's honors that was published in GoingGreen on Delmarva magazine. Rachel is currently doing an internship at 60 Minutes in New York City.

Not only have our students been busy, but our staff has been working very hard also. University of Delaware Professor Sharon Walpole has been providing professional development sessions to our teachers on "Literacy." Electronics teacher Dennis Smith participated in a state forum centered on career and technical education and DCAS (Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System). Information techs have launched two new sites on our webpage. One site is for our teachers' use. BlackBoard.com will be very helpful for teacher collaboration. The other site is directed toward students and their families. RavenEyes ( http://www.sussexvt.k12.de.us/raveneyes/  ) offers school activity photos for sale. The sales will be managed by students in the Business, Finance and Marketing Technologies. And, construction workers are finishing up the new Environmental classroom and lab. Mr. G.L. Jefferson should be moving his students into the new building very shortly.

I would like to inform families of all juniors and seniors about an upcoming Scholarship Fair on Saturday, Jan. 14. Sponsored by the Delmarva Education Foundation, the Fair will be held at the Centre at Salisbury Mall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. You can learn about the many scholarships available in addition to obtaining information on financial aid, FAFSA, and other education resources. In these hard economic times, it is imperative to be able to find resources that will help provide post-secondary education for our students. Guidance counselors and financial aid officers will be available to assist you. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity.

Winter sports have begun. I invite everyone to come out and cheer on our wrestlers, basketball players, and swimmers. Having a cheering section in the bleachers really does make a difference to our athletes.

Hope to see you soon.