and staff. After 15 years of faithful service to our school as the Admissions Coordinator,

and Administrative Assistant to our headmaster. Mrs. Kim Connell will be leaving us,

moving to Dover to be nearer to her husband, Scott’s, place of business.

All of us who have had any contact with Kim, especially as you have

enrolled in our school, have come to love and respect her for the professional

and personal manner with which she welcomes folks into WCS.  She has also been

instrumental in setting up and developing our International Student Program that has

blossomed and benefited our school culture in a marvelous way.  We will miss her

and all that she has added to our school.  God bless you, Kim, for all the blessing

you have brought into our school’s life.

At the same time, we are delighted to announce that Mrs. Carol Allston-Stiles 

has been hired to fill that position.  Carol brings a multi-faceted gifting

and personality to our school.  She is the parent of junior, “AJ”, served

on the school board for eight years, is a graphic designer by training, worked

in admissions at Houghton College, and . . . was the very first graduate of 

Wilmington Christian School.  We anticipate all that she will bring to the

admissions process and presentation, as well as helping with the promotion

of our school.  We pray God’s blessing on her as she makes the transition,

picks up where Kim has brought us, and moves our school’s admissions

operation forward.

~ Mr. Stevens

Stephanie Galbraith

International Student Program Student Events Coordinator < High School

sgalbraith@wilmingtonchristian.org

3508

More Info.

Education:

B.S. University of Delaware

M. Ed. Wilmington University

Bio:

International Student Checklist

ISP Student Agreement

International Student Questionnaire

International Student Essay

International Student Admissions–Pastor’s Form

International Student Admissions–Teacher Recommendation Form

International Student Character Reference–Non Related Adult

International Student Character Reference–Parent Form

International Student Character Reference–Student Form

Felicitaciones to several Spanish language students from Wilmington Christian School who attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2012 National Spanish Examinations administered in March.

Students from Wilmington Christian School earned a total of one silver and four bronze medals along with 16 honorable mentions.  “Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with 143,641 students participating in 2012.

Students from Wilmington Christian School have a long history of high achievement on these exams and were taught by Spanish teachers Celinda Conteh and Deborah Coen.

In Spanish I, taught by Celinda Conteh, Jeremy Gouveia earned a Bronce and Kaylene Mummert earned a Mencion Honorifica.

In Spanish II, taught by Deborah Coen, the following students earned a Mencion Honorifica: Katherine Barton, Jessica Drumheller, Amariah Jackson, Daniel Jacobson, Daniel Keever, Douglas Marston, Kelly McGrail, Jacob Moran, and Rachel Wedgewood.

In Spanish III, taught by Deborah Coen, junior Kitsa Eleutheriou earned a Plata.  Juniors Christina Albrecht, Daniel Hutton, and Elizabeth Landon earned a Bronce.  Nathaniel Hickman, Megan McGrail, Joshua Spangler, and Michelle Thompson earned a Mencion Honorifica.

In Spanish IV, also taught by Ms. Coen, seniors Lauren Eastman and Natalie Stella earned Mencion Honorifica.

The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

9:00am- 1:00pm

Students must be 17 years of age to participate.

Registration forms are available in the health room, school offices and at the HS Reception window.

For more information contact the school nurse, Susan Foster x3003.

Race Times:

9th-12th    8:15-9:15

6th-8th      9:30-10:30

PreK-5th   10:45-11:45

Dress code: 

“Athletic” Wear- School colors/ Warrior-wear encouraged,

No “short” shorts. Sweatpants/Wind-pants needed in MS/HS

for non-racing times.

Rain date:

May 7th

The WCS Newsblog Staff

World Wide and Without Erorr

by J. D. Hansel, Journalism/Newsblog Staff

This is the time of year when a typical high school journalism class publishes articles to inform its readers that it is now spring, and the readers all say to themselves, “Duh.“  The journalism students at Wilmington Christian School are not typical, though.  The journalism class, headed by Sherrie Gumienny, is publishing better articles in modern ways.  It has put aside the school newspaper format and is trying a different route.  With its website, WCS News Blog, we seek to offer to writers, editors, and readers new pleasures and conveniences.

The physical newspaper had become a problem for a number of reasons, one of which was the decreasing size of its “staff’ over the past few years [due to their being many electives 8th period - band/chorus/yearbook/etc. - vying for talented writers].  Trying to come up with a large number of articles and format them into a newspaper for a regular deadline was also difficult.  “We’ve had to do all of the layouts and worry about getting things printed,” said Gumienny.  (She is also the wonderful woman grading this article.)  “We don’t have a student right now who can lay out a physical paper (Maddie Brooks took that esoteric knowledge with her to the University of Delaware), and we do have a student who is an experienced blogger.”  Furthermore, the old newspaper format required much time, and also was not helping the school in its goal of going paperless.

Yet, why should all these obstacles stop the few intrepid journalists left in this school?  Never fear – the staff of WCS News Blog has still managed to produce the same kind of great quality articles, though it has some newer faces.  One of those new journalists, J. D. Hansel, has a thought or two about the new blog.  (He is also the wonderful student writing this article.)  

“The blog is quite convenient for the writers,” said Hansel.  “The old newspaper was similar to a large family having a meal in a restaurant; all of the food had to come out at once.  Now, with the blog, one writer’s article can be posted at one time, and another writer’s article at another.  It is much simpler for the staff if the articles are not a ‘packaged deal.’”

“I also like the ability to move away from issues that are only published once all stories are finished,” said Bill Soistmann, WCS’s Director of Technology, and the man who put the new website on the web.  “It makes more sense to me to publish stories as they are ready.”

The blog is more convenient for the readers as well, especially with the iPad trend that has begun to sweep the nation.  Anyone can access the articles on the Internet at any time.  Sherrie Gumienny hopes that students will comment on these articles.  (Comments, of course, will be reviewed before they are made visible to the public.)  “I hope it will greatly increase student interest in what is going on here in our school from a student perspective,” said Gumienny.

“People will read it,” said Soistmann.  “The good news is that they can consume it however they would like: via web, email, or RSS feed.”

“This will be more opinion-related – edgier in that students will be able to rant a bit about injustices… things that they feel hurt the school, the student-body, and ultimately are hurting the heart of the Lord,” said Gumienny.  This new outlet for Journalism class and service for our students is accessible from computers and mobile devices at “http://www.wcsnewsblog.com” at any time.  It will feature not only articles written by Journalism students, but also, in some cases, submissions by other students.

WCS’s Newsblog will be no slop-job, hastily thrown together.  The students, Advisor, and Web-Master who run this blog will strive for the professionalism and integrity that its printed predecessor, The Forum, always maintained.

the Dart 2012 poster contest winners. It was a special surprise as students were not

told ahead of time. Parents were also present for the presentation of awards

and photo shoot with Rocky.

2012 Dart Poster Contest Winners

 Tiffany Tang – 10th grade winner and GRAND PRIZE WINNER!!

Emily Patten - 9th grade winner!

Although it is legal to park in the Bon Ayre neighborhood, in an effort to

cooperate with our neighbors, we are encouraging parents and other fans

to park in the school parking lot and walk to our fields on Old Wilmington

Road.  Grandparents and others in need of special parking may still access

the field parking lot by using our driveway.  For safety, use the sidewalk and

cross at the designated crosswalk. 

We congratulate eleventh grade students  Alec Ciarrocchi, Nate Foggy, Nathan Hickman,

Matthew Piscitelli, and Max Sanders for their second place win at Delaware

State History Day.  The competition was held on April 21, 2012 at Delaware Technical

and Community College in Newark, Delaware.  The juniors won second place in the group

documentary category with the research project,  “Revolution, Reaction, and Reform

in Cinema.”  Social Studies Department Chairperson Sharon Duncan was U.S. History

teacher/advisor for the high school competition.

Our school would like to extend our thanks to History Day State

Director,  Ellen Rendle, for her many years of service to our state.

This was her last year as director, and she has been an invaluable

resource to the Delaware schools.

What: Delaware State History Day

When: Saturday April 21^st, 2012

Where: Del Tech- Stanton Campus

Many were in attendance on April 21^st to see the culmination of months of work on this year’s

History Day projects.  In October students were informed of this year’s theme: Revolution,

Reaction and Reform in History. Since then, they have worked countless hours to produce

wonderful research and projects. In February, students’ work was judged and awarded at the

school level. The top projects from the school went on to the state competition.  At the state

level, students were dressed to impress and impress they did! Wilmington Christian

School’s student representatives at the State History Day Competition nailed their judge

interviews and did well enough to win top prizes.  Students waited for up to four hours while

judges deliberated. There was excitement as awards were handed out in a crowded

gymnasium.  It was a joy to watch students receive their awards after all of their hard

work. First and second place winners qualify for the national competition which takes

place at the University of Maryland in June.

Congratulations to our winners! Awards included:

Group Exhibit: 

2nd Place: Child Labor Throughout History- Annika Roberts and Lydia Deaton

3^rd Place: The Revolutionary Journey to Freedom- Jenny Kurlej and Sydney Baffone

Group Website:

1st Place: Revolution, Reaction and Reform: The Space Race- Connor Pitman and Andrew Volz

3rd Place: Ben Carson: Revolutions in Neurosurgery: Ben Blatchford and Elliot Miller

We will be meeting outside the entrance to the elementary gymnasium.

We will walk around the school building and pray.

In this day and age, prayer is more important than any other resource we have

in our faith journey. Those of you that call Wilmington Christian School a “Second Home”,

and deem it a valuable part of your family and personal life should make plans to join us.

It’s a time to bring our praises and petitions before him in a corporate pilgrimage around

our facility. We will not walk in mass, but in small groups, or individually. We will focus

our prayers on all aspects of our school, but also on specific, personal needs we might have.

Mark it down on your calendars.

If you cannot attend, please plan to set aside time wherever you are at 3:15pm and

join us in prayer…

See you on Monday, May 14th.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thessalonians 5:16-18

Dedication of the New Administrative Offices

Headmaster, Bill Stevens had the privilege to publicly praise God for His blessing and to  honor those who participated in the much needed renovations. Board member, Mark Wagner prayed a spiritual blessing over the businessmen and businesses represented that brought the project to completion.

Parents and staff toured the completed facility and enjoyed light refreshments outside on the lawn where the dedication plaque was on display.

The plaque reads:

This building renovation is 

dedicated to the glory of God, 

and grateful appreciation 

for the generosity: 

Anthony Casale ~ Casale Construction, LLC

Bath/Kitchen & Tile Supply Company

C&B Construction, Inc

Coviello Builders

Mengers Group, Inc 

Fedale Roofing & Siding Contractors

Grubb Lumber Company, Inc

Lit Electric Services, Inc

Paint Workers, LLC

Pala Tile & Carpet Contractors, Inc

Jim and Danielle Sipala

Sobieski Services, Inc

April 19, 2012

Fireworks Night

Game Time: 7:05 pm

Tickets: $9.00 each

Invite family, friends, or prospective WCS parents for fun and fellowship!

Express your school spirit…Wear Red!

Come and enjoy the WCS Elementary, Middle and High School Choirs

singing God Bless America before the game!

Print ticket order forms here.

(You must have a ticket for the choir members in your family)

Sixth Grade Science Project

So, you might be wondering what the students have been up to lately.  Well, we assembled a giant periodic table; fifteen feet long and six feet tall to be exact.  We began phase one of our research after contemplating the vast number of words that can be formed using only 26 letters.  Currently the Periodic Table of Elements contains 114 verified elements along with 4 additional “place holders.”  These “place holders” are believed to exist, but have not yet been independently verified.  Next we took a look at the objects we use every day; objects such as chairs, cars, computers, balls, books, food, doors, and countless others.  We discovered they are essentially different combinations of the first 80 elements.  We also spent some time learning about a few scientists, Dmitri Mendeleev and Henry Mosely, who first attempted to organize the elements.

Phase two took place in our new computer lab utilizing a fantastic interactive website whose address is http://www.ptable.com/#.   Each student had three elements to research.  They were looking for information such as boiling point, melting point, hardness, density, class of element, not the most interesting data, but a necessary foundation of knowledge to build upon.  The real interesting research involved everyday uses of these elements.  As a whole group we researched the element Mercury; quite an interesting substance.  It is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature.  Most students knew it was a poison, but they did not know our bodies cannot process it in the same manner as lead.  Once it is in our system, it tends to stay.  This was unsettling news for the sushi lovers.  After calming their fears and explaining where Mercury tends to concentrate in fish, we discovered children’s toys used to be made out of Mercury.  They were horrified!

Phase three involved peer review.  After concluding their research each student traded elements with their lab partner and verified the data.  This proved to be a valuable activity.  When we were all done putting our periodic table together, there were only two small errors that needed fixing.  Not bad considering they dealt with 118 subjects.

Many students went above and beyond during these activities.  It was encouraging to see them help each other navigate the website, get caught up if they missed class due to an early dismissal, or simply offer assistance to a classmate in need.

As a culminating activity I found a series of images captured using an electron microscope.  This incredibly powerful tool uses electrons to reveal a whole world of creatures and objects that are hidden from the unaided eye.  All throughout this unit I could not help but think of Romans 1:19 + 20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”

Approaching the subject of science with a Biblical world view has hopefully provided the students with a greater appreciation of the Glory of God.  I know I now have a greater sense of His Power, His Beauty, His Creativity, and His Love.