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A Message from the Principal
We are excited to boast about another exciting school year at Appoquinimink High
School! We continue to be amazed at all of the great things our students are doing.
Our students are supported and encouraged by a great teaching staff, supportive
parents, family and community members. Our school community remains commit-
ted to Achievement, Honor, and Service. Our students demonstrate this through
their academics, extracurricular activities, community service, senior projects and
athletic programs.
We remind you that while you are relaxing this summer, to take the time to read
the One Book, One School Summer Reading assignment for the 2013-2014 school
year: “The Warrior’s Heart” by Eric Greitens . Our hope is that you will connect
with the author’s message. We hope to have students reflect on the various themes
in the book throughout the coming school year. Look forward to hearing from us in
August with important Back-to-School information! In the meantime, enjoy your
summer!
Gayle Rutter
this issue
Message from the principal P.1 Academic Summaries P.2
News from France P.4 Music Notes P.5 Celebrations P.6 Senior Night P.7
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
On May 19th at the Univer-
sity of Delaware Bob Carpen-
ter Center, AHS celebrated
the third annual commence-
ment ceremony. In the pres-
ence of family, friends, fac-
ulty and staff, 368 Jaguars
received their diplomas!
Academic Achievement
As we celebrate the success of
our seniors, we also commend
our students in grades 9-11.
On May 31st our students
were honored for their great
work in increasing DCAS test
scores. We celebrated with our
first Student Recognition Day
Appoquinimink High School 2012-2013
End of Year Newsletter
From Academic Classes
AHS Earns 1st Place in Science Fair
Connor Driscall, a
freshman in Mrs. Jen-kins’ Physical and Earth science class, won the
fair with his Physics ex-periment. The examina-tion of how laser com-
munication is impacted by atmospheric condi-
tions helped AHS to win first place for the 2nd time since the science
fair has started last year. To create his pro-ject, Connor built a
small laser transmit-ter capable of sending
an 800 Hz test tone from an iPod through its con-centrated beam of light
to a receiver where the sound could be picked
up by a speaker. Connor said his experiment was inspired by a lesson on
Light Waves and Sound i n M r s . J enk i n s ’ class. The student won
an iPad and is enthusias-tically anticipating enter-
ing again next year!
SCIENCE:
This year in Environmental Science, students discovered that the forest behind Appoquinimink High School was quite diverse. They studied everything from the types of soil found, the vegetation that grows there, the insects that feed and live in the vegetation and the birds that call it all home. Students were then given the task of researching why biodiversity is important. How are the components of an ecosystem connected? Dakota Smythe, an 11th grade Environmental Science stu-dent, writes, “It was never really known as to why these things are all different and varied from one an-other, a plant is a plant, but yet they all look so different from one an-other right? That’s because of biodi-versity.” Students were able to make these connec-tions through hands on experiences “in
the field”.
SOCIAL STUDIES
The Social Studies Department had another
successful year. The department continued
to implement Learning Focused Strategies
to help improve student achievement and
learning. Over 100 students participated in
Advanced Placement testing in Psychology,
World History, US History, and Government
and Politics. The department would like to
give special thanks to Mrs. Ashley Whiting
for organizing and planning a student Re-
ward Day to honor the improved test scores
from AHS students. Additionally, a major
highlight of the Spring semester was a
guest appearance from Mr. Phil Gans.
Phil Gans, survivor of the holocaust, spoke
with students at AHS about his experiences
at Auschwitz. He shared many moving rec-
ollections beginning with his teenage years
as a youth in Amsterdam. At age 15, Mr.
Gans reluctantly found himself residing in
Auschwitz, and is the only survivor out of
his 21 family members who were also in-
terred. His sharing was sincere and trans-
parent as he relayed stories about forced
labor, starvation, death marches and the
subsequent gratitude that he felt toward the
American soldiers who liberated him. Many
students commented about how meeting
Mr. Gans made World War II come
alive. Thank you, Mr. Gans for sharing your
story with us.
.
Some of our AHS department chairs highlight the accomplishments of
their departments this year.
Co-Curricular Connections
From Academic Classes continued...
ENGLISH
The ninth grade finished off the year with a third round of literature circles, which com-bined Mr. Rush’s and Mrs.
Taylor’s classes. Students enjoyed such titles as Ender’s Game, Perfect Chemistry, and Maze Runner. It was awesome to see them excited about reading and deeply en-gaged in discussions about literature. Tenth grade ELA continued to develop cur-riculum based on the CCSS while improving best instructional practices. Our year is highlighted by school record highs in DCAS ratings with 82% proficiency. We continue to provide a balanced high level education to our learners and we look forward to de-velop our skills as we spread literacy throughout the building next year. Advanced Placement Literature and Composi-tion summer assignments are posted online and include readings from Orwell’s 1984 and Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Pro-fessor, among other assignments. This course is strongly recommended for anyone who plans on studying English in college and anyone who truly wants to grow exponentially as a writer and critical thinker. Please email Ms. Abernethy at [email protected] for any ques-tions and/or recommendations about the course. 12th grade English Language Arts just finished a successful year that included in-depth analysis of both classic (Frankenstein and 1984) and contemporary novels (The Silver Linings Playbook). All classes participated in collaborative literature circle discussions that allowed students access to current, award-winning Young Adult Literature, opening the door for two or three additional novels outside of the curriculum. Students’ skills with writing and analysis were reinforced in self-generated, APA-formatted assignments and presentations to prepare them for their futures beyond high school. Next year, 12th grade ELA is excited to con-tinue with relevance and rigor, connecting in-class skills to students’ own interests and real-world applications. Due to recent projects funded by Donors Choose, additional Frank-
enstein copies are available for study and graphic novels of Macbeth are en route in order to best supplement Shakespeare’s dark tragedy.
Summer Reading
“The Warrior’s Heart” by Eric Greitens
In this adaptation of his best-selling book,
The Heart and the Fist, Eric speaks directly
to teen readers, interweaving memoir and
intimate second-person narratives that ask
the reader
to put
themselves
in the
shoes of
himself
and others.
Readers
will share
in Eric’s
evolution from average kid to globe-
traveling humanitarian to warrior, training
and serving with the most elite military
outfit in the world: the Navy SEALs. Along
the way, they’ll be asked to consider the
power of choices, of making the decision
each and every day to act with courage and
compassion so that they grow to be tomor-
row’s heroes. Sure to inspire and motivate.
Other Good Summer Reads...
"Divergent" by Veronica Roth
"The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey.
The Mathematics de-
partment successfully
finished the second year
of full implementation of
the Integrated math cur-
riculum. Our students
continue to show aca-
demic growth.
Two ninth grade stu-
dents, Matthew Holstein
and Samantha Rosen-
thal, won the DCTM Math
Poster contest for the
Appoquinimink School
District and place third
in the state. Matthew
and Samantha joined
Laxmisupriya Avadha-
nula, Joy Muthami, and
Aric Lu to represent
AHS at the State Mathe-
matics League Invita-
tional Meet in April.
AP courses should com-
plete their summer work
packets. Extra copies
can be found in the main
office.
News à la française…
It was a dream come true! 39 travel-ers from the French Connection Travel Club ventured forth to visit Ire-land, Wales, England and France dur-ing spring break 2013! For nine days, we enjoyed the sights, the fare, and even the dancing of the regions. While it was a record cold season for them, our hearts were warmed by the warm reception we got from our hosts and surroundings. But wait, it gets better! As a follow-up to our tour, eleven students had the ad-venture of a life-time, getting the chance to live with French families for a week! Mme Kalmbach and Mme Wainwright stayed with one of the English teachers, Mme Brigitte Lab, in her beautiful, stone home! While on loca-tion, students attended classes at the high school – La Tour Des Dames – and the town where it’s located – Rozay-en-Brie! Students took trips with his/her “correspondant” to Paris, Euro-Disney, the local shopping hang-outs and even bowling! Among the many highlights were the tour of the local bell tower and a recep-tion with the Mayor. The entire com-munity treated us like royalty. Some of the students have already made plans to visit again this summer! Needless to say, there were many tears on the morning of our departure.
Agriculture Department
This year was another memorable one here in the AHS Ag
Dept! We took students to Nationals in Oct, and States in
March, and Leadership Trainings throughout the year. We took
students on field trips to the Baltimore Aquarium, and Del
State University Aquatic Center. We also recommended and
awarded over 25 students FREE COLLEGE CREDIT through our
Tech Prep Program (techprepdelaware.org) ! We are looking
forward to a great summer of events including: Career Devel-
opment Events in the end of June and State Fair in July where
we will be entering multiple contests and CDEs. Please keep up
to date on all our awesome happenings via out website ap-
poffa.theaet.com or our facebook page Appoquinimink High
School FFA. We hope to see you next year our events like:
Open House, Wags with Jags Dog walk and wash, Plant sales,
Spirit nights and MORE!
We will begin taking MUM orders in August. These mums are
GORGEOUS and HUGE! So feel free to email Ms. Wiener FFA
Advisor/ Ag Teacher for details starting August 1st @
[email protected] and HAPPY SUMMER!
Music Notes!
The Music Department took our 4th Music
Department trip this year to Hershey Park,
PA where our music ensembles were adju-
dicated based on their concert style per-
formances. The Symphonic Band received
a “Superior” rating, the Concert Choir re-
ceived their 4th straight “Superior” rating
and the Women’s Choir received their 1st
“Superior” rating in their second year of
performing. In addition, the Orchestra com-
peted for the 1st year an earned a “Good”
rating with only Freshman and Sopho-
mores. Lastly, our music ensembles re-
ceived several compliments for the staff and
adjudicators at the festival for our student’s
professionalism and how well our they
looked and performed.
The AHS Marching Band Camp will be held
on August 5-9 and 12th-14th. Please contact
director Ryan Moseley for more information
on joining the AHS Marching Band and
other summer rehearsal dates.
Please check out the AHS Music Department website found at http://appohighmusic.org/ for all of our upcoming events this school year!
Attention Parents-
Please keep in mind SSP develop-ment is an annual process that takes place each year of your child’s High School career in order for your child to meet the mandatory graduation requirements set forth by the Delaware Department of Education. Although your child may be on summer break, the SSP can be accessed from any computer that has an internet connection and students are encouraged to utilize this resource as often as they wish!
Please encourage your child to util-ize this valuable resource over the summer to assist with their em-ployment, college, career and scholarship needs!
Ms. aQuena Williams
Career Guidance and Placement Counselor
Appoquinimink School District
Positive Things @ AHS
We had a great end of year celebration put on by Mrs.
Ashley Whiting! Kids were rewarded with a day of fun
as a result of AHS receiving a Recognition Award for
improving DCAS scores! Thanks so much Mrs. Whiting
and all AHS staff for making this year so successful for
PBS at AHS. The PBS Committee also submitted a Rec-
ognition Award for all the hard work put into the
committee and building this year. Results will be avail-
able in August so keep your fingers crossed! All par-
ents, students, and staff are welcome to provide input
concerning the Jaguar Pride Positive Behavior Support
Program here at AHS. Please contact Ms. Karen Wiener
@ [email protected] and have a great
summer!
A Message from Guidance
Attention Students- Summer has FINALLY arrived and while you are sure to have plans jammed pack with fun filled activi-ties, below are just a few sugges-tions to assist with career explora-tion over summer break! Freshmen/ Sophomores:
Research Volunteer Job Shadow *Review/ update your SSP
(Career Cruising) Juniors/Seniors:
Research Volunteer Intern Work Attend College Tours Network *Review/ update your SSP
(Career Cruising)
Celebrations @AHS
Appoquinimink High School’s very own Mrs. Wainwright was named the 2014 Appoquinimink School District Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Wainwright repre-sents the best of the best in our school district. Mrs. Wainwright exemplifies excellence in teach-ing and she is a tremendous leader in the Appoquinimink High School and Appoquinimink School District Community. We are very proud of Mrs. Wain-wright and we wish her the best as she represents the Ap-poquinimink School District for Delaware State Teacher of the Year.
Read More @ http://www.appohigh.org/apps/news/s h o w _ n e w s . j s p ?REC_ID=271891&id=0
AHS Sports Wrap Up
The athletics programs at AHS have continued to flourish. In our second full season in the Flight A division of the Blue Hen Conference, our teams’ records continued to show improvement. We had conference champions in girls’ basketball, boys’ lacrosse, girls’ tennis, baseball, and golf. Additionally, Andrew Hughes (’13) was the schools’ first individual wrestling conference champion (he also placed 4th at the state tournament). We had 9 teams compete in the DIAA State Tournament. The Jaguars Track and Field team broke numerous school records and produced a state champion in the 4x8 relay. Team members include: Abigail Heath (’13), Celia, Pascoe (’13), Madi-son Powel (’13), and Piper Freed (’16). Congratulations to all athletes on an-other successful season of Jaguar athletics.
Looking ahead, please make sure to have an updated DIAA sports physical completed (after April 1st) and on file with the school. No student athlete will be allowed to participate without this completed document. Copies of the physical can be found in the main office or at www.jaguars-sports.com .
Have a safe and restful summer.
Go Jaguars!”
Our very own Ms. Payne was named Delaware's
School Librarian of the year!
Her contributions to our district include the crea-
tion of one of our signature events, "Real Men
Read." Christy was also a founding member of
the Summer Libraries Program, has been instru-
mental in the Visiting Authors Program, and this
Spring, assumed responsibility for the statewide
celebration, "Festival of Words" (formerly hosted
by the University of Delaware). She teaches and
mentors new librarians through her work at the
University of Delaware and continues to organize
professional development for Library Media Spe-
cialists across the state.
Senior Awards Night
Our faculty celebrated the accomplishments
of our seniors on the evening of May 16 at
the Senior Awards Night. Each department
recognized excellence in Achievement,
Honor and Service. Co-Curricular awards
were given to students to recognize their
participation and commitment to organiza-
tions and
clubs
that
meet
beyond
the nor-
mal
school
day. Appoquinimink High School is fortu-
nate to be part of a generous community
that recognizes and supports the out-
standing efforts of our students. Many local
organizations and business awarded our
seniors scholarships totaling more than
$35,000 in scholarships. The total amount
of scholarship money including local, state,
national awarded to our seniors is a grand
total of approximately two million dollars.
Principal’s Achievement Award
Adrienne Johnson
Principal’s Honor Award
Alicia Johnson
Angela Johnson
Principal’s Service Award
Lauren Camp
Salutatorian
Joseph Hasse
Valedictorian
Jayant Rao
Check out graduation photos by view-
ing the Middletown Transcript Online
Photo Gallery:
http://www.middletowntranscript.com/section?
template=photogallery#axzz2Wi2YEOZg
Graduation DVDs & Yearbooks
National Honor Society
This last semester has been
very exciting for National Honor
Society! We started with raising
$555.78 for The Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society. We were
able to do this because of kind
donations from our students
and the JROTC/NHS fair which
was held in early April. On May
3, the American Red Cross
came to the gym and drew
blood from 59 donors! All of this
will help the Blood Bank of
Delaware. Also in May, we
helped Jack Price with his sen-
ior project Wags for Jags. We
sold baked goods and drinks,
all benefiting our Relay for Life
Team. For the final event of the
year, Relay for Life, we were
able to raise $580.50 so far!
Next year should be
another great one filled with
fundraising, academic excel-
lence, and FUN! During the first
couple weeks of school, invita-
tions will be sent out to 11th and
12th grade students who meet
the 3.5 cumulative GPA re-
quirement for NHS, so be on
the lookout! Have a restful and
fantastic summer!
You can still order your graduation DVD. Order forms are available online or in the main office. You can also contact Ms. Hatton.
If you are still interested in purchasing a 2012-2013 yearbook, contact Ms. Hatton or the main office.
Summer Reading
ASD and AHS continues to follow an initiative called One School, One Book (OSOB). The goal is to focus our common energies on one con-cept or idea and interpret the les-sons it imparts throughout the year. It not only poses a do-able goal for all reading levels, it fosters a sense of community through literature. With an entire school reading the same story, the buzz and excite-ment is going to be much higher. When students return in the fall, we’ll be engaging them in OSOB activities designed to complement our normal schedule and enhance the benefits of the learning experi-ence. Our book for this summer is The Warrior’s Heart by Eric Greit-ens. A brief summary was on page 3 of this newsletter.
During the summer the school office is open: M-W 7-5, Th 7-4:30 and closed on Fridays.
Teachers do not return until August 20. Please call ahead if you need to meet with a guidance
counselor. Please continue to check the website and listen to Alert Now messages re-
garding important updates throughout the summer.
Summer Hours
We will send the back to school newsletter at the beginning of August. This will include impor-
tant information for the start of the school year. This will include reminders, updates and
changes occurring at AHS.
Back to School Newsletter
The Department of Education in collaboration with the Division of Public Health, has proposed
to change the regulation which requires students entering 9th grade to provide a current
health examination. The 9th grade health examination is required for the 2013- 2014 school
year.
9th Grade Health Examination Recommendations for 2013-2014
We will send an alert now message when schedules are accessible in HAC. Schedules will be
released closer to the first day of school. Students will be able to request schedule adjust-
ments when school reopens. If you need to speak with a counselor, please call ahead as our
counselors are not in daily during the summer.
Student Schedules for the 2013-2014 School Year
Important Information To Know...
Appoquinimink High School
1080 Bunker Hill Road
Middletown, DE 19709
302.449.3840
www.appohigh.org
The Appoquinimink School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, disability, marital status, national origin, or other legally protected categories in its educational programs, activities, employment, or student admissions policies or practices. Inquir-ies regarding compliance with the above can be directed to:
Section 504
Contact Kittie Rehrig, Supervisor of Student Services, Appoquinimink School District, 313 South Fifth Street, Box 4010, Odessa, DE 19730-4010. Telephone (302) 376-4111
Title IX
Contact Matt Fallis, Director of Personnel,
Appoquinimink School District, 313 South Fifth Street, Box 4010, Odessa, DE 19730-4010. Telephone (302) 376-4275
DIAA Sports Physical If your son/ daughter would like to participate on any of the AHS athletic teams, you will need to complete a DIAA Sports Physical (found on AHS Website nurses’ page). These forms must be dated after April 1, 2013. There are 11 signatures required, including 3 from the athlete, 2 from the physi-cian, and 6 from a parent/ guardian. Please turn in completed forms to the nurses' office as soon as possible. During summer hours, forms may be dropped off at the main office.
