St. Michaels Middle High School held their annual Homecoming celebration during the week of October 14 th . The Homecoming Spirit week included Jersey Day, Teacher Karaoke, a Costume Contest, Color Block Day, Throwback Day and Red and Black Day. At the end of the week a pep rally was held, followed by a student tailgate for the Homecoming Soccer Game. The Saints played hard but fell to Easton 2-0. The Homecoming Court was announced at half time, with Seniors Tori Gomez and Nolan Sawatsky crowned as Queen and King respectively.

St. Michaels High School crowned their Homecoming King and Queen during half time at the soccer game on October 18. Top Row left to right: Junior Princess Emily Dobson, Junior Prince Kassan Hernandez, Sophomore Princess Mecala Jones, Sophomore Prince Chandler Dyott, Freshman Princess Mackenzie Fox, Freshman Prince Kelvin Montoya Guzman. Bottom Row left to right: 2019 Homecoming Queen Tori Gomez, 2019 Homecoming King Nolan Sawatsky, Senior Princess Morgan Roe, Senior Prince Harrison Hoover.

Last Saturday, November 2^nd 2019 Wye River Upper School hosted its Candlelit Gala- Lighting the path for bright achievers. With over 215 guests in attendance the school raised over $60,000 in net revenue- a Wye River record-breaking amount. The event featured live music from The Marissa Muro Quartet, a large silent auction of over 25 items, raw oyster bar, Louis Vuitton bag and $1,300 shopping spree raffle prize, meat carving, the area’s best bites from local restaurants and a Glitz in a Glass station where guests played the game of chance by choosing a champagne glass in hopes of winning one of three items of jewelry donated by local jewelers.

Wye River Upper School’s Gym transformed into a lovely ballroom for the evening.

Proceeds from the event benefit the school’s valuable mission to educate bright students with learning differences in a uniquely supportive educational environment. This event highlighted the many paths alumni have chosen after Wye River with alumni stories of success in college and career shared throughout the evening. Matt Cowan, the Director of Education at Wye River, served as the Master of Ceremonies, telling stories of transformation and the positive impact the school has on its students and families as they prepare them for college, career and life.

Chrissy Aull, Wye River Upper School’s Founding Head of School shares: “We are proud to know that a record number of parents, Trustees, staff and friends chose to dedicate time and treasure to come together in celebration of our students and our good work.  I am also pleased for the town of Centreville that we are once again creating memories in this Armory, where so many stories from the past first began.”

Wye River Upper School is in its 18^th year of educating bright students who learn differently. The school enrolls students from nine different Maryland counties and two Delaware counties. Proceeds from the event will go towards changing student lives by:

· providing unique real-world experiences that bring students out of the classroom and into the community,

· making possible generous financial awards that open Wye River’s doors to students from all walks of life,

· investing in project-based learning opportunities that allow students to engage in authentic inquiry,

· supporting the Executive Functioning needs of our students, and so much more.

WRUS Trustee Clay Railey of Chester, Md, WRUS Board Chair Alexa Seip of Easton, MD and Trustee Myron Richardson of Centreville MD

Wye River Upper School shares its deepest gratitude for its generous sponsorships from the following community members:

Lead Sponsor The Halle Family

Diamond Sponsors The Seip Family Foundation Limited, Sciumo, Soistman Family Dentistry & Associates, Wright-Gardner Insurance, Belair Produce Incorporated and Founding Head of School Chrissy and husband Ned Aull

Platinum Sponsors 1880 Bank, Dukes-Moore Insurance Agency, Audi of Annapolis, Clayton A. Railey, III and Donald J. Wooters

Gold Sponsors VFW Grasonville, Accounting Strategies Group LLC, Willow Construction, Inn at Perry Cabin, Debbie and Don Pusey, Peter and Diane Pappas, Myron and Becky Richardson, and The Town of Centreville.

To learn more about how you can support Wye River Upper School contact Emma Beigel- Advancement and Communications Associate at 443-262-8291 or emmabeigel@wyeriverupperschool.org.

Wye River Upper School is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is focused on students who learn differently discovering through innovation, developing with rigor, and celebrating their strengths while preparing for success in college, career, and life.

APG Chesapeake and the Star Democrat have renewed their support for “Mission Possible – Celebrating TCPS Alumni and Supporting Teachers,” the Talbot County Public Schools Education Foundation’s upcoming fundraising event, through an in-kind contribution of advertising.

“Mission Possible” will be held on Friday, November 15 from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Milestone Event Center.  The purpose of the event is to recognize distinguished alumni, celebrate Talbot County Public Education, and raise funds, awareness, and support for the Education Foundation.

Photo: L-R: Becky Firth, Education Foundation Advisory Board; Betsy Griffin, Executive Director of Advertising, APG Chesapeake, Star Democrat; David Short and Laura Heikes, Education Foundation Advisory Board; Jim Normandin, President, APG Chesapeake, Star Democrat.

“We are most grateful to APG Chesapeake for their very generous support of this event and the Education Foundation’s mission overall,” said Becky Firth event co-chair and Education Foundation Advisory Board member.  “We are looking forward to having the community come together to enjoy a fun evening while supporting our teachers and students,” Firth added. “This is a terrific opportunity to see first-hand examples of the incredible instructional initiatives that the Education Foundation is striving to fund.”

The evening will include a cocktail reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres, recognition of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni from each of the Talbot County High Schools, and a reverse auction benefitting the foundation’s Grants program. “We are so honored to partner with the Education Foundation to share news of events and other progress, and support this excellent work overall,” said Betsy Griffin, Executive Director of Advertising for APG Media Chesapeake, Star Democrat.

To purchase tickets or learn more about supporting the Talbot County Public Schools Education Foundation, please contact Debbie Gardner, Coordinator of Public Relations and Special Programs at dgardner@talbotschools.org or go to the foundation website www.tcpsedfoundation.org.

Back row from left: Nicholas Kellogg ‘16, Colin Ward ‘17, Lily Berntsen ‘17, Lydia Periconi ‘17, Glynis Gardner ‘17, Sydney Nittle ‘17; front row from left: Adie Parish ‘17 and Olivia Hershey ‘17. Not pictured: Lilli Ward ‘17.

On October 29, 2019, nine Country School alumni were inducted into the National Honor Society at The Gunston School.

The Gunston School honored several students, including nine Country School graduates. Inductees have demonstrated achievement in the following four pillars:

– Scholarship: A cumulative GPA of 85, B, 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent standard of excellence.
– Service: Voluntary contributions to the school or community, done without compensation.
– Leadership: Resourceful, good problem solvers, and idea contributors. Leadership experiences can be drawn from school or community activities while working with or for others.
– Character: The student of good character is cooperative; demonstrates high standards of honesty and reliability; shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others; and generally maintains a clean disciplinary record.

These pillars directly align with The Country Schools 9 core values, woven into our curriculum and daily conversations throughout our students’ careers here. It is our mission to graduate students who will continue on to high school as focused, thoughtful, driven individuals with a commitment to service, leadership, and character, and we congratulate these nine students who continue to do their best always.

The Board of Education recognized students who have achieved the status of Advanced Placement Scholar through their performance on AP exams throughout high school. The list includes members of the classes of 2019 and 2020. AP exams are scored on a 5-point scale, with many colleges and universities granting credits for scores of 3, 4 or 5. A score of 3 or higher on an AP exam indicates that a student is considered “Qualified” for college credit and capable of being successful in a college level introductory course in the particular content area.

There are 4 levels of AP Scholar, with definitions as follows:

National AP Scholar – Score of 4 or higher on all exams; completed at least 8 exams
AP Scholar with Distinction – Average of 3.5 or higher; 3 or higher on 5 or more exams
AP Scholar with Honor – Average of 3.25 or higher; 3 or higher on 4 or more Exams
AP Scholar – Score of 3 or higher on 3 or more exams

The following students are Talbot County Public Schools’ Advanced Placement Scholars for the Class of 2020:

AP Scholar with Distinction: James Parkinson, Dillon Prochnicki

AP Scholar with Honor: Ryan Batley, Stephan Luethy, Kyla Mullaney, Rex Nagel, Joshua Newmier

AP Scholar
Madeline Book, William Denny, Abigale Detrich, Michelle Duah, Gardner Edgell, Anna Ewing, Didier Exantus, Georgia Foster, Henry Hills, Taylor Jackson, Kelly Kane, Katherine Kilbourn, Thatcher Knox, Isabella Kuchnio, Willie Lowry, Jacob McDaniel, Sara Park, Zachary Paugh, Emma Poole, Amelia Rank, Sierra Roe, Nolan Sawatsky, John Stinson, Jr.

The following members of the Class of 2019 also earned Advanced Placement Scholar Recognition:

National AP Scholar: Lucas Joshi, Benjamin Rieck

AP Scholar with Distinction: Oliver Bauman, Layla Berry, Susanna Bruce, Rachael Chansler, Minahil Cheema, Alexis Clark, Jared DeGuzman, Jackson Hutchison, Daniel Kulp, Alex Matsche, Dharti Patel, Michael Rahilly, Emily Redmond, Sarah Robinson, Catherine Sauter, Mary Sparks, Mackenzie Wilson

AP Scholar with Honor: Steffani Beakley, Christopher Gutierrez, Francis Kane, Hanna Marchetti, Natasha Panduwawala, Natalie Ross, Lydia Shreves, Marco Verteramo,

AP Scholar: Joseph Bryan, Camden Harrison, Sabrina Davis, Pheobe Fisher, Brandon Foy, Keely Hanes, Nyaja Jackson, Caroline Kilbourne, Sophie Molloy, Heather Principe, Emma Quigley, Aidan Steinly, Savannah Stewart, Josie Stockman, Eve Yacopino

“I congratulate all of these outstanding students on this very high level of academic achievement,” said Dr. Kelly Griffith, Superintendent. “Advanced Placement courses provide our students the opportunity to experience the rigor of college level courses, and many qualify for college credit based on their scores. We are grateful to have been able to expand our Advanced Placement offerings and will continue encourage all students to try AP!”

Benjamin Tilghman

Benjamin Tilghman, assistant professor of art history at Washington College, will present the third and final talk in Washington College’s 2019 lecture series in Talbot County on Nov. 7 with a discussion about how artworks from the past can inform our own ecological future.

The talk at Talbot Country Club, “Greening the Old Masters: An Environmental Art History,” begins at 6 p.m. Co-sponsored by Washington College and Talbot Country Club, it is open to the public for a fee of $15, which includes a reception that begins at 5:30 p.m.

In his talk, Tilghman will discuss how it is helpful to consider the legacies of cultures that have come before us as we all think more carefully about how we interact with our environment. Within art history, a small but growing number of scholars are looking again at artworks from the Middle Ages and Renaissance to consider how they shaped a vision of the natural world. This talk will consider what we might learn from art of the past as we look to reimagine our ecological future.

Tilghman’s scholarly research has focused on early medieval manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and Lindisfarne Gospels, but he has also written on the art of medieval Spain and the Italian Renaissance. A member of the Material Collective, a collaborative working group of medieval-art historians that explores innovative and more humane modes of scholarship, he is working a new project that examines stillness as a feature of art and the natural world in the early Middle Ages. As a curatorial fellow at the Walters Art Museum, he organized exhibitions on The Saint John’s Bible, miniature manuscripts, and Hubble Space Telescope imagery.

All events are at 6142 Country Club Drive, Easton, Maryland. The $15 fee pays for the reception and admittance, and is payable by credit card or check to Talbot Country Club at the event. Washington College is not accepting payments. Please RSVP by Oct. 31 to Victoria Corcoran at 410-778-7805 or vcorcoran2@washcoll.edu.

About Washington College
Founded in 1782, Washington College is the 10th oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 39 states and territories and 25 nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Will Tsosie

In honor of Native American Heritage Month in November, Washington College is welcoming Will Tsosie, Tribal Archaeologist for the Navajo Nation, to campus on Nov. 7, when he will sing the Navajo Blessingway, a series of song-prayers performed to promote health, well-being, harmony, and success.

The public is invited to the event, which begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Underwood Lobby of the Gibson Center for the Arts, where Janice Toya, a Puebloan, will prepare native foods to sample. Tsosie will lead the Blessingway in Hotchkiss Recital Hall starting at 6:30. The event is free, although donations are accepted to support a Navajo charity.

One of the oldest and most important ceremonies for the Navajo people, or Diné (meaning “the people” or “children of the holy people”), the Blessingway tells of Navajo origins and the Navajo people’s place in the universe. “It’s a rare opportunity to learn first-hand about Navajo language and culture and to experience the chants that are central to maintenance of community well-being for the Navajo Nation,” says Aaron Lampman, associate professor of anthropology, who takes students to the Navajo Nation as part of the Southwest Seminar.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the William James Forum, and the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows.

About Washington College
Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 39 states and territories and 25 nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.