Schools

BERLIN — Although technically closed for the holiday Monday, the halls of Stephen Decatur High School were by no means empty.  The robotics team, comprised of students from both SDHS and Snow Hill High School had a deadline to meet and, President’s Day or no, they were going to meet it. The students are participating in the Rebound Rumble a robot building competition sponsored by First Robotics that pits teams from all across the continent against one another for what amounts to ore than $14 million in college scholarships. The team is divided into sub-teams ranging the spectrum of what might be called the technical arts. In addition to the physics and mechanics required to put the robot together, there is a planning team and a business team.  The less science-y team members handle logistics, fundraising and promotion, which is an important lesson — science is as much a business as an academic endeavor. It takes funding and coordination and is as relian...

BERLIN — As any racing enthusiast will tell you, pacing is as important as speed. There’s no point in being the fastest car in the race if you run out of gas before the finish. But this year’s youngest Wor-Wic Community College graduate, Tory Vaughan IV still has plenty in the tank as he prepares for the next few year’s worth of schooling and racing. Vaughan’s educational path is as unusual as his prospective career path. Home schooled since he was 17, he budgeted his time between racing — first go carts, then S-10 super trucks — and studying. For him, the key was to prize quality over speed as a way of making sure he got as much from his education as he did out of his pickup. His prudent planning allowed him plenty of time to use his book knowledge as well as his mechanical knowledge to push himself a little harder each year. When it came time for Vaughan to transition into college, he welcomed the challenge of the coursework and the even g...

NEWARK — The nursing program at Worcester Technical High School has been producing graduates with practical skills and knowledge long before moving into the state-of-the art facility it now occupies. The genius of the nursing program is it allows students not only to intern at healthcare facilities all over the county as part of their training but it also is able to confer Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) status upon them as they head into their final year of school. Ocean Pines resident Kelsey Cooper is among the students who will be eligible to work as CNAs before the end of her junior year. She’s currently interning at Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation but after securing her certification will be able to work most anywhere in the area, earning money for college while she’s improving her skills, background and experience. She was attracted to the program after her sister recommended it as a way to get even more from her Worcester County education as well as the ...

NEWARK – One of the first things Gary Mumford had to do before he takes over as the new warden of the Worcester County Jail is leave another position that he has held for the past 12 years – member of the Worcester County Board of Education. At the Board of Education meeting last week, county schools Superintendent Jon Andes not only recognized Mumford on his departure, but also elaborated on just what kind of person Mumford is. “Unwavering integrity, ethical fortitude and high moral values” were three of the descriptors that Andes employed in recognizing Mumford’s service to the public school system.  “Garry is leaving a legacy of advocating for all students who need a strong and steady voice,” Andes said. “He has been instrumental in promoting services and programs, such as our after school academies, which address unique needs.” Mumford joined the Board of Education in 1999. He was selected by the board to serve as ...

SALISBURY – Salisbury University has earned national kudos for its teaching partnerships with Worcester County Public Schools. The university was honored with the 2011 Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award from the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS). Only five campuses across the country were recognized. “The work of the people involved in the Worcester Elementary Cluster has set the bar for SU’s other partnerships and for PDS programs statewide and nationally,” said Dr. Dennis Pataniczek, dean of the Samuel W. & Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education & Professional Studies.  “After spending a couple of hours at Snow Hill Elementary School, I was blown away by the seamless collaboration between interns and mentors.” For over a decade, SU’s PDS network has enabled University students to improve their practice by working with students in public schools across the region. Cu...

PRINCESS ANNE – Dr. Thelma B. Thompson announced today she will retire on Aug. 15 as president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. “I’ve reached a point in my career here at UMES where I am comfortably saying that I have accomplished what I set out to do,” Dr. Thompson said. “The time is right for me to move on to the next stage of my life professionally and personally.” Her decision ends a nine-year tenure at the state’s lone 1890 land-grant university. Dr. Thompson came to Princess Anne in the summer of 2002 from Norfolk State University in Virginia, where she had been that institution’s top academic policymaker. She immediately became a visible and forceful voice for change and unprecedented growth. At that time, UMES was declared a low-performing institution by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The university was in grave danger of losing its ability to receive federal funding. Because over 90 percent of UMES s...

NEWARK – Fourteen Worcester County Public School teachers are being honored as their school’s 2011 Teacher of the Year, each hoping to earn the top-title as the 2011 Worcester County Teacher of the Year.  “Teachers should be celebrated every day,” said Superintendent Dr. Jon Andes. “They hold the key to our future because they help unlock the potential in our children, opening the doors of opportunity and choices. The Teacher of the Year program serves as one recognition program that helps celebrate the enormous impact that exceptional teachers have on our children, on our future.” Each of the 14 Worcester County Teacher of the Year candidates was judged by a panel of six educators on a comprehensive portfolio and a 20-minute interview.  The candidate with the highest composite score from both components will be named as the 2011 Worcester County Teacher of the Year at a banquet on April 1, held at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Ho...

BERLIN – The point of encouraging kids to do art has as much to do with teaching them about traditional approaches, forms and the like as it has to do with helping them get comfortable with channeling a little inspiration into original work.  Last weekend’s Berlin Intermediate School’s 11th Annual Art Fest event, themed Kaleidoscope of Color for 2011, was attended by children from schools all over the county getting creative in all aspects of the arts. BIS fifth-grader, Evan Marlowe came primarily to participate in the drum circle. Run throughout the year as an after school group by school nurse Doris Ludicke the drum circle is not only an after school group, but kind of club that whets kids’ appetites for self expression. While he was waiting for other kids to join for another round of drumming Marlowe got bored and decided to invent a new instrument tentatively called the bottle bell. Since there was soda provided, Marlowe had no trouble finding three ...

BERLIN – When Grace Toulotte graduates from University of Maryland College Park this spring she’ll more likely than not accept a job doing graphic design for her new alma mater. Going directly from the classroom to a paying job isn’t something many college undergraduates have lined up for this spring but Toulotte’s completing a nearly-lifelong mission that ends with her as a graphic designer and runs directly through the Worcester County Arts Council (WCAC). Toulotte was one of only two recipients of the WCAC’s fine arts scholarship last year and has, in fact won it for three of the years she’s been eligible. “I applied for about 60 scholarships and received four,” Toulotte said. She endorsed applying for local scholarships because not only is there a smaller pool of candidates, but there’s also a particular connection to the grants that comes with a little bit of extra pride. When she came in to the WCAC offices recently she w...

BERLIN – My once-in-a-lifetime experience began on July 5 with almost a 24 hour plane ride with several stops in other African countries in order to reach my final destination – Malawi. Besides my dreams, I was carrying with me an amazing assortment of school supplies and sports equipment that had been donated graciously by students at Worcester Prep. Before I embarked on my journey, I set up donation boxes in the school; now items from those boxes were on the way to help supply a new school in Malawi. I traveled with a mission group of nine others from the Presbyterian Church of Easton. We spent the first couple days in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, getting ready for a long and bumpy journey to Embangweni by car. The roads were awful and made me fully appreciate the ones we have in America.  During the time I spent in Malawi, I embraced the culture and enjoyed learning about it. What amazed me most was how happy Malawian people were with what little they have. T...