Updates & Announcements

Get the latest Downes news from Shark Bites. You can also read news from the Parent Information Center of Delaware.

Catch Kids Shark Club
We're working in partnership with the Newark Parks and Recreation and the Nemours Foundation to sponsor an after-school homework and physical activity club called "Catch Kids Shark Club". The program begins April 19th and ends May 26th, and will be held on Monday and Wednesday afternoon from dismissal until 5 pm. Students will meet in the Art room for a snack and them some will begin their homework and others will move either to the gym or the playground for their physical activities. Teachers for this project will be hired by Newark Parks and Recreation. Downes staff from grades one through four will be nominating five students from their classrooms who are either at risk academically or need to increase their physical activity. If your child is nominated, please return the registration to the school office. The price of this venture will be $80.00 for the 6-week program. Students who are on free or reduced lunch will be offered full or partial scholarships. Thanks and looking forward to this joint venture with our friends from Newark Parks and Rec and the Nemours Foundation.

Task Force examines discipline policies
The School Discipline Task Force, created by the Delaware legislature, was formed to examine how House Bill 85, passed in 1993, and other legislative initiatives have affected the school learning climate, education of students, school codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures. The objective was to create a safe and positive school environment through House Bill 85, which mandated reporting of all in-school incidents and set uniform punishments for infractions. After years of putting the legislation into practice, the negative impacts on the educational system became apparent. Students have been expelled from school and criminally charged for infractions that upon closer review did not merit such punishments. However, the law provided no ability for administrators or justice officials to address these situations on an individual basis. The task force was charged with reviewing the existing legislation and resulting codes of conduct and identifying ways to create a disciplinary system that fairly dispenses justice without negatively impacting the school environment. Read the rest of the task force's report here.

Mrs. Deshon awarded for Excellence in Science Teaching
Dr. JoAnne Deshon has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching for 2009. She will be honored at the White House in the fall where she will meet President Obama at a reception for all Presidential award winners from the across the country. This is a very prestigious honor and is another illustration of her commitment to her profession during her 30+ year career as a teacher in the Christina School District. Mrs. Deshon has been a staff member at Downes for over 25 years and received her doctorate from UD. We are proud of her accomplishments and know that she would like to extend a big thank you to all of her students and families that she has touched throughout her career. Way to go, JoAnne. We're so proud of you!

Students honored at CEEF awards banquet
On Wednesday, May 13th, several students, staff, and families attended a Christina Education Enrichment Fund banquet to honor students for good citizenship, scholarship, and musical ability. Winners from Downes were: Alexis Bedford, Grade 4 (Price/Cantara Award for Citizenship); Claude Mitchell, Grade 4 (Metts Award for Special Needs’ Students); Bryanna Tyre, Grade 1 (Kwapinski Award for a student that works very hard to achieve results); Maggie Dogget, Grade 4, and Nolan Moss, Grade 3 (Friswell Award for Delaware Aerospace Academy); Nic Peterson, Grade 5 (Visual and Performing Arts Award for students who have shown commitment to education and who show an interest in the arts). Congratulations to these outstanding students and their families. Click here for photos.

Mr. Ambrosino recognized by the Delaware Geography Alliance
Mr. Joe Ambrosino was the recipient of the 2009 Delaware Geography Alliance’s Distinguished Teacher Award for his portfolio on the Chinese New Year Unit. The award is for outstanding teaching of geography and Mr. Ambrosino combined geography, culture, and music in his portfolio that he taught to our students. Congratulations, Mr. Ambrosino.

Our borders are expanding
Our borders will be expanding in 2009–10. Downes will include developments along Rt. 72 in Newark. Many of these families have been attending Maclary, so we look forward to welcoming some new families to our school. If you have choiced your child, you will be notified about your choice invitation in mid March. If you have any questions about this process, please call 552-2665.

Outside Links:

Updates & Announcements

John R. Downes Elementary School • 220 Casho Mill Road • Newark, DE 19711 • Tel. (302) 454-2133