Dorchester County Public Schools -

This is a reminder that tomorrow, Friday, December 8, 2023, is an early dismissal day for all students! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Principal Gaven Parker of Choptank Elementary School yesterday became the first recipient of Dorchester County Public Schools’ newly launched Administrator of the Month award! To mark his recognition, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jymil Thompson presented Mr. Parker with a compass inscribed “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” (John Maxwell). Hummingbirds, your leader is one to be proud of! Congratulations, Mr. Parker! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The forecast today: bright and sunny 3rd graders increasing their knowledge of science through practical application! Vienna Elementary’s 3rd graders, along with teacher Ms. Katie Holbrook, took a trip to Salisbury last week to add to what they are learning in the classroom in their Weather and Climate unit. They visited Salisbury University’s science department to see and use tools that measure weather and climate data and then to WBOC where they spoke to a meteorologist, toured the studio, and watched a live broadcast of the weather. The long term forecast? Children excited about learning! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Introducing our student artists whose creations were chosen as the designs for the Superintendent’s holiday cards! Recognized last night at the Board of Education meeting were Scarlett Stevens, 4th grade, South Dorchester School, art teacher Ms. Jennifer Parrigin; Savannah Weber, 10th grade, C-SD, art teachers Ms. Andrea Milito and Ms. Bethany Earing; Irene Garcia Aceytuno, 8th grade, Mace’s Lane Middle School, art teacher Ms. Elizabeth Wilford; and Haven Falduto, Kindergarten, Vienna Elementary, art teacher Renee LeMire. Each is holding their winning holiday work – congratulations! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

At last night’s Board of Education meeting, the Board officers for 2024 were elected. The new President of the Board is Mr. Mike Diaz (District 1). Vice-President for the coming year is Dr. Susan Morgan (District 3). Congratulations! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

They may have been last in the line-up in Saturday’s Cambridge Christmas Parade, but they were FIRST in the eyes of the judges! Congratulations to North Dorchester High School for winning 1st place among high school bands! North Dorchester Middle School won 2nd place among middle school bands, plus the Best Band Front award. Mace’s Lane Middle School Tigernettes were the winners for Best School Sponsored Club. We also salute the Choptank Hummingbirds Dance Team, C-SD’s Performing Arts Club, and the staff and students who created DCTC’s amazing float for their hard work and community spirit ,and thank the DCPS staff for making it possible for our youngsters to be part of a Cambridge tradition! Here are just a few looks at DCPS participants (and, yes, it really was that foggy!) #AllHandsOnDeck

Last week was a normal week in our schools . . . except for a visit from an alien! Meet Plory, an alien character in iReady, the online platform used by students to apply and practice math concepts. Plory visited selected classrooms at South Dorchester School, Choptank Elementary, and Vienna Elementary to celebrate their students’ amount of time spent and number of lessons passed so far this year on iReady. Students in grades K-5 keep weekly iReady logs, recording their time working on the platform because more practice means better success and growth between each assessment. The children were excited to show Plory their logs! Parents, ask your student about their weekly iReady log; you may be able to locate it in their school folder along with their step logs for reading. Thirty to 49 minutes of practice on iReady per week and one to two lessons passed is the current target. However, the more time spent, the more likely kiddos are to reach and surpass their personalized targets! Did you know your child can practice math skills using iReady at home? To access iReady on any device, go to www.clever.com, sign in using the child’s DCPS email and password, and choose iReady. It’s that easy! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Dorchester County Public Schools’ new Career Coaches joined the Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce for a Youth Workforce Lunch and Learn session Friday, giving Chamber members the opportunity to find out more about the work-based learning programs offered through the schools, benefitting both employer and student. The focus was on the Maryland Youth Apprenticeship Program, connecting student and eligible employer for at least 450 hours of paid work-based training in a career-oriented area. The program usually begins during a student’s junior year of high school, continues over the summer and into senior year. Employers benefit from the introduction of a motivated young person with an interest and willing to be trained in the organization’s career area, as well as tax breaks. Do you know a student or employer who may be interested? Encourage them to reach out to one of the DCPS Career Coaches: Ms. Sandy Shaw (shaws@dcpsmd.org), Ms. Audrey Roberts (robertsa@dcpsmd.org), or Ms. Shay Lewis-Sisco (lewiss@dcpsmd.org). Photo (left to right): Mr. Dave Bromwell, Superintendent of Schools; Ms. Pam Clay, Maryland State Department of Education; Ms. Shay Lewis-Sisco, DCPS Career Coach; Dr. Jodi Colman, DCPS Director of Curriculum and Assessment; Mr. Bill Christopher, President/CEO, Dorchester Chamber of Commerce; Ms. Sandy Shaw, DCPS Career Coach; Ms. Audrey Roberts, DCPS Career Coach. #AllHandsOnDeck

If you want to know more details about the cultures of Native Americans and European settlers, find yourself a Vienna Elementary School 4th grader! Mr. Sorrells’ and Ms. Todd’s classes have spent weeks studying about and creating amazingly detailed and imaginative dioramas of the lives of these two groups in the 17th century. This is just a small taste of their hard work! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

We love it when our kiddos step forward for student leadership positions, like these Choptank Elementary 2nd through 5th graders who applied and were chosen to be members of the school’s new Safety Patrol. Yesterday they received their belts and badges from Principal Gaven Parker and School Counselor Cherokee Bonilla (“Ms. B”), as well as training from Ms. B as to their duties. They will help the staff monitor the hallways during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal, accompany the ‘littles’ to their classrooms as needed, accompany visitors to their destination in the school during events, and set a good example of expected Hummingbird behavior. Congratulations to these school leaders! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, December 4, 2023, at which time officers will be elected for the coming year. The first Open Session of the meeting will start at 4:30 pm for the election of officers. The Board will then go into Closed Session, with the second Open Session beginning at 6:00 pm. The agenda and related documents will be found online via Board Docs on the Dorchester County Public Schools website at www.dcps.k12.md.us. The public is welcome to attend all Open Sessions. If you are unable to attend but would like to submit comments electronically to be included in the minutes, email them to comments@dcpsmd.org by 2:00 pm on the day of the meeting. The Open Sessions of the meeting will be livestreamed at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe.

Please note: Friday, December 8 is an Early Dismissal Day for all students. This is to allow report card preparation for elementary teachers and professional development for secondary teachers. There has been some confusion as our online calendar correctly has December 8 as an Early Dismissal Day but our printed calendar does not, and we apologize for that error. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Superintendent Dave Bromwell will be visiting schools over the next few months, holding open forums for parents to learn more about plans for where Dorchester County Public Schools is heading and to ask questions. The first will be at Maple Elementary School next Wednesday, December 6, at 6:00 pm, with Choptank Elementary School following on Thursday, December 7, at 6:00 pm. The final Forum before the holiday break will be at South Dorchester School on Wednesday, December 13 at 6:00 pm. More Forums at more schools will continue in 2024. Parents and the community are encouraged to attend! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

“Caroling, Caroling Through the Town” was the theme of the Festival of Trees at Easton’s Tidewater Inn, a fundraising event for Talbot Hospice, and it was North Dorchester High School’s Chorus who provided the carols yesterday afternoon! The afternoon’s voices were those of Landen Andrews, Jacey Chillog, Jayden Coleman, Ava Collins, Jaden Condon, Ryan Dodd, Makayla Faulkner, Alex Fonseca Gonzalez, Jevon Gibbs, Aniyah King, John Lankford, Manny Reyes Dominguez, Erin Rideout, Hayden Ruark, Elijah Smith, Makayla Smith, and Megan Williams. Hailey Stivers provided a saxophone solo for one piece. The Chorus is led by Ms. Karen Mercer. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

It's almost time to fa-la-la-la-la! Here’s the calendar of Winter Concert performances for our schools: • C-SDHS – Tuesday, December 12, 6:00 pm, at the school • Choptank Elementary – Tuesday, December 19, 6:00 pm, at C-SD • Hurlock Elementary – Tuesday, December 5, 6:00 pm, at NDHS • Mace’s Lane Middle School – Wednesday, December 6, 6:00 pm, at the school • Maple Elementary School – Thursday, December 7, 6:00 pm, at C-SD • North Dorchester High School, Monday, December 11, 6:00 pm, at the school • North Dorchester Middle School, Tuesday, December 12, 6:00 pm, at the school • Sandy Hill Elementary – Friday, December 8, 6:00 pm, at the school • South Dorchester School – Wednesday, December 6, 6:00 pm, at the school • Vienna Elementary – Wednesday, December 13, 6:00 pm at NDHS • Warwick Elementary – Thursday, December 14, 6:00 pm at C-SD #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Suppose your teacher wasn’t actually who you thought they were? Students in Mrs. Susan Thomas’ 5th grade class at Vienna Elementary have been exploring just that topic! Having read the novel, My Teacher is An Alien, students embarked on creating their own narrative where they suddenly discovered Mrs. Thomas wasn’t a human! Each student has been writing their story and working at home to create a bottle buddy, coinciding with their teacher’s identity. Is Mrs. Thomas a human, or is she a master of disguise? Perhaps her class will solve this mystery! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

We all know about Turkey Trots, but what about a Wild Goose Chase? This has been an annual tradition at Warwick Elementary School since 2017, and this year was no exception. Helped with her friend Miss Stephanie, that tricky goose was everywhere, from chasing children approaching the finish line, to roosting on the roof, to making a few new friends among the Huskies! This year the runners in the Final of the Wild Goose Chase represented their Houses – congratulations to overall winners Brooks Daniels and Aubrie Mills, both from the House of Altruismo! Kudos, too, to the several runners who gave up their own chances in the Final to help a fellow student who fell. Great Husky sportsmanship! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

On this Thanksgiving Day, please take a moment to pause and think about all that is good in your life and the people who help make it so. That’s what 2nd and 3rd graders in Ms. Messick’s and Ms. Brant’s classes at Choptank Elementary School did this week, and – even better – they wrote it down to let these people know. Moms and Dads were high on the list, as were grandparents and other extended family. Sisters, brothers, pets, teachers, and House friends were often mentioned. Who are you thankful for? Take the cue from Kadence, Charlee’, Jamontae, Tay’lor, Trenton, Ma’leih, Aubri, Ke’Miyah, Ja’Mari, Ja'Naysha, and their classmates and let them know! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

This morning (Wednesday, 11/22/23) at around 9 a.m. Dorchester County Public Schools will begin conducting mass notification testing at the C-SD campus, DCTC, NDLA, and Maple Elementary. This test is for our new outdoor loudspeaker system that will notify students and staff of an emergency inside or outside of the buildings. The tests will be on and off throughout the day today. Do not be alarmed, there is no emergency – but this will help make us ready should there be one! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Congratulations to the C-SD Viking football team on their decisive win in the quarterfinals, setting them up for the semi-finals of the Maryland 1A State Championship! The team is heading to Fort Hill High School in Cumberland to play the Fort Hill Sentinels this Friday, November 24, at 6:00 pm. Play like a Viking! #goldpride #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS