Leasure Elementary Fifth Grader Wins
State InvestWrite Essay Contest

Shirin Faqiri, a 5th grade student at Leasure Elementary School, is the winner of the InvestWrite Essay Competition for the State of Delaware.  InvestWrite is open to students involved with their school’s Stock Market Game. The Stock Market Game is a school-based activity where students start with a virtual cash account of $100,000, and strive to create the best-performing stock portfolio using a live trading simulation. They work together in teams, practicing leadership, organization, negotiation, and cooperation as they compete to be the top investor.  

For the essay contest, students were asked to write on a hot topic in investing.  Students at Leasure Elementary School voluntarily do this assignment in addition to playing the Stock Market Game.  Essays are submitted online and expert judges from around the country pick the best ones.  Faqiri’s essay was picked out of all the elementary, middle and high school essays that were submitted statewide.  Faqiri and her family were invited to attend an awards reception at the University of Delaware to honor her and the team division winners in the Stock Market Game.   It is quite an honor to be chosen, as there are thousands of essays submitted. 

Faqiri read her winning essay to a room full of adults and students. Dr. Jim O'Neil, Director of the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware, stated that even he learned some things from Faqiri’s essay.  She wrote about investing in stocks and bonds and how bonds are a safer investment.  She also wrote about General Electric (GE) as a company that returned a decent dividend. 

Faqiri received a trophy and a certificate for her efforts. Her enrichment teacher, Timothy Werbrich, remarked how impressive her essay was and congratulated her on how well she had represented herself and Leasure Elementary School. 

State Approves Partnership Zone Plan for Bancroft Elementary
Harold Ingram Is Confirmed as Bancroft Principal

The Delaware Department of Education officially approved the Partnership Zone plan for Bancroft Elementary School on January 23.  

At the Christina Board of Education’s regular January meeting on January 10, Harold “Butch” Ingram was confirmed as the Principal of Bancroft Elementary School, following a portfolio review process. Ingram has served as Principal of Bancroft since August, 2010, and has previously served as principal of Douglass Alternative School, as an assistant principal at Christiana High School, and as assistant principal and dean of students at Kirk Middle School, where he also served as an English Language Arts and social studies teacher and alternative education teacher. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in education from Wilmington University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate degree from Wilmington University. 

Ingram stated, “I am excited to have this opportunity and I am fully committed to providing opportunities for students to be completely successful at Bancroft.” 

Bancroft’s Partnership Zone plan will focus on the consistent implementation of four essential Learning Focused Strategies (LFS), and will expand the school’s current focus on integrating the Arts into the curriculum by establishing an Academy for Arts Exploration. Both focus areas are designed to accelerate student learning in math and reading, as well as other core subjects such as science and social studies.  more

Three Community Information Sessions Scheduled
on Student Code of Conduct

• February 2, 6:00-7:30 pm, Community Informational Session
  Sarah Pyle Academy, 501 N. Lombard Street, Wilmington, DE 19801
• February 9, 6:00-7:30 pm, Community Informational Session
  Newark High School, 750 East Delaware Avenue, Newark, DE 19711
• February 23, 6:00-7:30 pm, Community Informational Session
  Leasure Elementary School, 1015 Church Road, Newark, DE

For more information, please call the Christina School District School Discipline Office at 552-2703.  The District's current Student Code of Conduct is available online at the following address:  www.christina.k12.de.us/CodeofConduct

Maclary Elementary Celebrates Cultural Diversity with the Help of
Visiting Japanese Teacher Sachiko Ikeda

Maclary Elementary was honored to have Japanese teacher Sachiko Ikeda visit the school for two weeks in January.  She was assigned to Maclary through the ELI program at the University of Delaware.  Sachiko was selected by the Japanese Ministry of Education to participate in the University’s language program.  She has been in the United States for five months, and will be returning to Japan the first of February.  Upon returning to Japan she will be sharing her experience and knowledge with other teachers.

While Sachiko was at the school, she planned and executed a wonderful unit of Cultural Diversity with every student at Maclary.  The first week she shared her culture with Maclary students during Mrs. Hall’s library classes.  In the second week, she taught a Japanese song to the students during Mrs. Dobroski’s music class.  Mrs. Varsalona-Fox’s class was able to learn calligraphy and origami. 

Sachiko also had time to observe many classrooms and learn teaching strategies that will enhance her professional endeavors when she returns to her teaching position in Japan.  Maclary principal Meg Mason thanked the coordinating teachers for making Sachiko’s experience so worthwhile, and shared that Sachiko was thrilled with her time at Maclary.         

Ten Christina Schools Named State Title I Distinguished Schools
Christina Has Received a Total of 17 National and State Recognitions in the Past 5 Years

Ten Christina School District elementary schools, Brader Elementary, Downes Elementary, Gallaher Elementary, Keene Elementary, Leasure Elementary, Marshall Elementary, Maclary Elementary, McVey Elementary, West Park Place Elementary and Wilson Elementary, have been named State Title I Distinguished Schools by the Delaware Secretary of Education and the Delaware Title I Office. Delaware recognizes schools in the state that have used their resources to meet the needs of children. The purpose of the Delaware Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition program is to identify schools that are taking extra steps to ensure that all children have access to effective instructional strategies and challenging academic content. The award also recognizes that a school has demonstrated success in ensuring that all children, particularly those who have educational or social challenges, make significant progress towards learning that content, and ultimately succeeding in school.

In 2010, McVey Elementary School and Wilson Elementary School were designated as State Title I Distinguished schools. In 2009, Maclary Elementary School and McVey Elementary School were designated as State Title I Distinguished schools. In 2008, Gallaher Elementary School was named a National Distinguished Title I School, and in 2007, Wilson Elementary School and McVey Elementary School were both named National Distinguished Title I Schools. This year’s recognition of 10 additional Christina schools brings Christina School District’s total national and state Title I awards to 17 in the past five years.

To earn the designation as a State Title I Distinguished School, a school must demonstrate a significant decrease in the number of students not meeting the standards, a significant increase in the number of students in disaggregated populations that are meeting the standards, a poverty level of 40% or greater, and data supporting the effectiveness of their programs.

Representatives from the Delaware Department of Education will visit each of the schools beginning in February, 2012 to present the awards. The schedule for the school presentations is provided below:

Newark High School Strings Quartet Visits
Shue-Medill Middle School Strings

On January 19, four members of the Newark High School (NHS) Orchestra visited Shue-Medill Middle School to perform for the string students.  The varied program included Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as well as Cold Play’s Clocks.  In addition to “talking up” the orchestra program at NHS, the quartet advised students about setting goals, preparing for college, time management, collaboration, and talked about the great activities in which they participate at Newark (music, athletics, AP/Cambridge, BASSU).  Three of the quartet members are former Shue-Medill Middle School students.

Christina's School-level Geography Bee Winners
to Be Recognized on February 8

On February 8 from 5:00-7:00 pm, a Geography Bee Reception will be held to recognize all 4th through 8th grade students in the Christina School District who won their school-level Geography Bee.  The reception will be held at the Christina Early Education Center, 620 East Chestnut Hill Road, Newark.  Students will receive a certificate and medallion, and will be given an official send off as they enter the state-level Geography Bee contest.

Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National Geography Bee using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.  Students in grades four through eight are eligible to compete in an entertaining and highly challenging test of geographic knowledge. The Delaware Geographic Alliance provides the volunteers (and leadership) necessary to conduct Delaware’s statewide qualifying event.

Registered schools hold a building-level contest (following national rules) to name a school-wide winner.  A teacher then administers a written qualifying test.  The student’s answer sheet is submitted to GeoBee headquarters in Washington, D.C. for scoring.  The top 100 students (selected based on test scores) qualify to represent their schools and compete at the state level.  In March, participating schools receive notification if their building-level winner is qualified to represent his or her school at the state level.

To compete, invited qualified students must be present at the state Bee on the assigned day, March 30 at the Dover Sheraton hotel,  and at the assigned time.  After a challenging oral elimination contest, one winner will be named to represent Delaware.

Delaware’s winner, together with one winner from each state and territory, will advance to the National Competition, held in May in Washington, D.C., where they will vie for scholarships in the amount of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000.  The final round will be carried on the National Geographic Channel (check local listings).

Leasure Elementary School Students Participate in
Martin Luther King Day of Service

Leasure Elementary School had approximately 40 students stay after school recently to work on crafts and posters for the residents at Governor Bacon Nursing Home.  They made a Valentines Day craft for each of the 82 residents there.  Each student placed their hand prints in red and pink paint on a large banner for the residents to enjoy.  The hand-made posters of thoughtfulness and words of caring will brighten up the hallways at Governor Bacon.

On Monday, the MLK Day of Service, about 20 students and their parents went to Governor Bacon Nursing Home to play Bingo with the patients.  Students called the Bingo game, helped residents with their cards, distributed prizes and made conversation with the residents.  The students and residents all laughed and had a great time.  Afterwards, every one of the students wanted to go back and visit the residents there again in the future.

The enthusiasm and compassion of the Leasure Elementary School students showed the true spirit of Dr. King's message through service to others.

Downes Elementary Students PTA Reflections Award Winners

Elbert-Palmer Elementary Hosts Career Fair
for 4th & 5th Grade Students

Christina School District Teacher Leaders

Christina School District Teacher Leaders donated puzzles, toys, kitchen supplies, food, games and cleaning supplies to the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware.  The donations will be put to excellent use helping seriously ill children and their families while they are residing at the Ronald McDonald House.  The Ronald McDonald House of Delaware serves as a “home away from home” for nearly 3,000 families a year and more than 25,000 families find respite in the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at three area hospitals.  The generosity of helping these families is part of this organizations vision of supporting families to reach the hope of tomorrow from the challenges of today.

CSD Teacher Leaders included:  Lisa Ali-Turner, Secondary ELA Curriculum Specialist; Melissa Brady, Elementary Social Studies Curriculum Specialist; RJ Carcillo, Secondary Instructional Coach; Andrea Collins, Graduation Guide; Christine Getugi, Graduation Guide; Vernon Hanby, Elementary Instructional Coach; Catherine Houghton, Secondary Science Curriculum Specialist; Kathy Kelly, Elementary ELA Curriculum Specialist; DJ Kingery, Elementary Instructional Coach; Alyssa Moore, Technology Instructional Coach; Judi Newman, Elementary Instructional Coach; Lavern Robinson, Secondary Instructional Coach; Tracy Soisson, Secondary Instructional Coach; Maggie Sites, Elementary Instructional Coach; Angela Still, Graduation Guide; Bree Tees, Elementary Instructional Coach; Portia Tyson, Secondary Social Studies Curriculum Specialist; and Kelly Wells, Secondary Instructional Coach.

Smith Elementary 2nd Grade Ranked 70th in the Nation
for the First in Math Program

Spring Sports Try-Outs Begin on March 1st
High Schools to Hold Spring Sports Info/Meet the Coaches Night
Wednesday, February 15, 6:00 pm

Glasgow High School Business Students and Junior Achievement

Glasgow Business Students Open JA Companies
Glasgow students in the Business and Entrepreneurship Academy opened the doors to their Junior Achievement companies on January 3, 2012.  Over the next several weeks, students in the Entrepreneurship Class, taught by business teacher Ed Smith, will be executing their business plans to their targeted markets through the selling of various products and services to their friends, family, and classmates.  The ultimate goal is to make a profit, satisfy the customer, increase shareholder value, then liquidate their companies.

The students hold company management positions in human resources, finance, public relations, production, and marketing.  Each area has its own plan of action and is merged into the master business plan.  The capstone assessment of running their businesses is promoted through the use of the JA Company Program curriculum.  JA of Delaware, Interns from the University of Delaware and WSFS Bank will allow the business students to execute their business plan in a real-world setting.

The JA Company Program encompasses business, entrepreneurship, and economics curriculum for high school students.  Students use innovative 21st Century thinking and skills to engage the business skills learned, support positive attitudes, and explore and enhance their career aspirations.

Glasgow Business and Entrepreneurship Academy Partnering with JA
This year at Glasgow High School (GHS,) Junior Achievement's (JA) comprehensive work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy curriculum, developed in partnership with educators is reinforcing and supplementing student experiences in Glasgow's new Business and Entrepreneurial Academy (B&E.)  JA allows GHS students to envision the possibilities of what they can become by demonstrating the value of staying in school and pursuing post-secondary education.  The interactive curriculum engages and excites students, leading to stronger critical thinking and decision-making skills and more confidence.  In longitudinal studies, JA students were significantly more likely than their peers to believe that they would graduate from high school, pursue post-secondary education and graduate from college.

Local business volunteers and interns from the University of Delaware's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies are playing a key role in bringing JA lessons to life.  By sharing their personal and professional experiences and skills with students from the community, they help them make the connection between what they are learning in school and what future GHS grads will need to succeed in work and life.

JA president Rob Eppes says, "With guidance from these interns and volunteers, Glasgow B&E Academy students have completed three programs, JA Business Ethics, JA Success Skills and JA Economics."  Today, several student-run businesses are now starting up and will soon be selling stocks to other students and teachers at GHS.  For a few dollars you can become a shareholder in these JA Companies.  The shareholders will be paid a dividend at the end of the school year.  For more information about how to invest in these young entrepreneurs, contact Mr. Smith (smithe5@christina.k12.de.us) at GHS or Rebecca Fisher (rebecca@jadel.org) at JA.

An Important Message from Child Nutrition Services
Concerning Upcoming Cafeteria Changes

Beginning February 3, 2012, Christina School District cafeterias will be converting to a new cash register system powered by Cyber Soft.  Cyber Soft offers an easy-to-use way for parents/guardians to securely and conveniently pay for school meals through Parentonline.net.  Parents/guardians can also view account history including purchases that were made at school.  Automated payments and low balance alerts help parents make timely payments, ensuring that their students have sufficient funds to purchase meals at school.  The secure Parentonline.net website enables payments to be made from any internet-enabled computer at any time.

As the District transitions to the new system, please note the following:

• Students PIN numbers will change to their Student ID numbers

• Parentonline.net will be our new online payment system and will be operational beginning February 3, 2012.

• Parent/Guardians will need to set up new accounts on the Parentonline.net system

• Effective January 20, 2012, PayPams will no longer accept online payments, therefore, cash or check payments must be sent to your child's school cafeteria in the interim (from January 20-February 3)

• Students current balances will transfer to the new system

Should you have questions regarding the new www.Parentonline.net system, please contact the Christina School District Child Nutrition Services Department at 302-454-2400 x249.

Newark High School Students Awarded
2011 DuPont MLK Team Service Award

The students of the Delaware Career Association at Newark High School Chapter have been awarded the 2011 DuPont MLK Team Service Award for grades 9-12.  Throughout 2011 the students performed 6,123 community service hours for various organizations throughout the Newark and Wilmington communities.

The students were guests at the DuPont MLK Day of Celebration January 16 at the Hotel DuPont. The students were called onstage, received certificates and had their picture taken with the Keynote Speaker, Actor, Role Model and author of the New York Times Best Seller “Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest your Destiny” Hill Harper.

The students received $150 to donate to the Organization of their choice and will be provided a pizza party at a later date.  Congratulations to all the JDG/DCA students. 

Christina Awarded Early Childhood Literacy Grants Totaling
$85,478 Benefitting 37 Programs in 10 Schools

The Delaware Community Foundation has awarded Christina School District $85,478 in grants from the Fund for Children’s Literacy to programs.  The Fund for Children’s Literacy awards early childhood literacy grants to public school teachers who have developed projects and programs to advance children’s literacy.  Christina's grants will benefit 37 programs in 10 district schools.

Funding focuses on programs for children who are in the early years of learning to read -- kindergarten through grade three -- and may be struggling in school.  Special emphasis is given to helping students who are disadvantaged because of conditions such as limited access to print publications, lack of adult support or parents who are not literate.

This year’s grants support different programs, such as family literacy nights, Accelerated Reader and PAWS for Reading. Grant recipients will display their programs at a reception on Thursday, May 17, 4-6 p.m., at Arsht Hall at the University of Delaware’s Wilmington Campus.

Training Test Available for Students and Families
to Practice the DCAS Test

A training test for the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS,) the statewide student testing program, is now available.  Students and their families may try out the online testing system at the following link: http://de.portal.airast.org. 

To use the training test, you will need to install a free Mozilla Firefox browser on your home computer. The latest version of Adobe Flash must also be installed on the computer. A link to download the browser can be found on the website with the training test. Practice tests are available by subject and grade level. Students will see sample items, prepare to take the tests, and learn how to use the test tools by taking these practice tests.

Community Partners

Delaware Association of Financial Aid Administrators Financial Aid Night
Wednesday, February 15, 7:00 pm
Newark High School Auditorium
The Delaware Association of Financial Aid Administrators will be offering a financial aid night at Newark High School on February 15 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium.  The event is free and open to the public.  For questions, please contact Shirin Skovronski at 302-631-4700 x14313.  More information on this and other financial aid nights in Delaware is listed on the DOE website at www.doe.k12.de.us/news/2011/1129.shtml

Girls Get Your Money Straight...College Planning Seminar
Tuesday, February 7, 6:30 pm
Brandywine Hundred Library
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. - Delaware invite you to the third in a series of four educational seminars to help you "Get your money straight."  These seminars continue the theme of the My Sister's Keeper Empowerment Summit in November.  The seminar will be presented by Theda Jackson, a Certified Financial Planner.  Light refreshments will be served.  To sign up, please visit:  www.eventbrite.com/event/2687932679?ref=elink

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