Dorchester County Public Schools -

Here’s a rundown of the DCPS schedule for Thanksgiving week! Monday, November 25: Regular school day Tuesday, November 26: Early dismissal for schools Wednesday, November 27: All DCPS schools and offices are closed Thursday, November 28: All DCPS schools and offices are closed Friday, November 29: All DCPS schools and offices are closed We’re thankful for you, our Dorchester County community! <3 #DCPS23NoMore

The NDHS Eagle and C-SD Viking cheerleaders did Dorchester County proud on the field over the weekend as they joined several hundred other cheerleaders from the Mid-Atlantic region cheering on the Midshipmen during the Navy’s football game versus the Tulane Green Wave! #DCPS23NoMore

From a Hurlock Elementary Mighty Eagle to a North Dorchester High School Eagle, and now on the verge of becoming an Eagle Scout – that’s 10th grader and member of Boy Scout troop 754 of East New Market, Logan Jump! For his Eagle Scout project, Logan put together a proposal to improve the outside environment at Hurlock Elementary School. This included painting outlines for games such as hopscotch and four-square on the school’s tarmac as well as building an enclosed gardening space in the school’s courtyard that can be used to teach about vegetables, flowers, or other plants. Logan, along with other Scouting volunteers and parents, were out bright and early last Sunday morning, working hard to make these plans reality. A big thank you to Logan and helpers from his troop – John Lankford (NDHS), Jacob Conn (C-SD), Justin Herzberger (NDHS), Jerry Rice (C-SD), Frankie Wallace, and Seth Bunting (3rd grade at Vienna Elementary and member of Hurlock Cub Scout Pack 167) - for their hard work to make Hurlock Elementary School an even better place to learn! Thanks, too, to Troop 754 Scoutmaster Mr. Pete Corkran and Assistant Scoutmaster Mr. John Conn. Logan would also like to recognize these local businesses for their support: Lowes of Seaford, Lowes of Easton, Project Source, One Call Home Improvement, and Dorchester Dumpin’. It takes a village, folks. #DCPS23NoMore

There was no shortage of ambition at Mace’s Lane Middle School last Thursday evening as the AVID students (Advancement Via Individual Determination) displayed their projects on career opportunities and goals! #DCPS23NoMore

Congratulations to the undefeated C-SD Viking varsity football team who will be meeting the Fort Hill Sentinels from Cumberland in the Quarterfinals of the Maryland 1A State Championships this Friday, November 22, at 6:30 pm in Viking Stadium. Tickets are $7 for everyone age 7+ and can only be purchased from GoFan.co. Important: due to the anticipated demand, those wanting to attend are advised to pre-purchase their tickets well in advance and arrive early for entry. Ticket sales will go live on Tuesday, November 19 at 12 pm and are online only: https://gofan.co/app/school/MPSSAA?activity=Football. That’s Rob Burnham up on the C-SD Hype Box next to Principal Jerome Stover, being cheered by the team at the end of their undefeated regular season play in just his first year as Head Coach. Keep up that string of dubs, Vikings! #DCPS23NoMore

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at Dorchester Career and Technology Center, 2465 Cambridge Bypass in Cambridge, with the open session beginning at 6:00 pm following the conclusion of the closed session. 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 closed session will discuss personnel, an update on legal issues, discussion of a possible land transfer, restructuring Board Meeting agendas, and goals. The public is welcome to attend the open session. 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 Wednesday, November 20. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe.

Prepare to hear hundreds of voices and instruments expressing the joy of the holiday season! Here is the schedule for the Dorchester County Public Schools’ Winter Concerts! Cambridge-South Dorchester High School: December 10, 6:30, at C-SD Choptank Elementary School, December 9, 6:00, at C-SD Hurlock Elementary School, December 4, 6:00, at NDHS Mace’s Lane Middle School, December 12, 6:00, at MLMS Maple Elementary School, December 5, 6:00, at C-SD North Dorchester High School, December 17, 6:00, at NDHS North Dorchester Middle School, December 10, 6:00, at NDMS Sandy Hill Elementary School, December 14, 6:00, at C-SD South Dorchester School, December 11, 6:30, at SDS Vienna Elementary School, December 11, 6:00, at NDHS Warwick Elementary School, December 12, 6:00, at C-SD Happy Holidays to all! #DCPS23NoMore

Wow, what a valuable experience for our students! Thank you to Junior Achievement Eastern Shore and their staff and volunteers for hosting high-achieving 10th, 11th, and 12th graders from North Dorchester High School and C-SD at their Leadership Academy this week. More than 30 DCPS students were recommended by their School Counselors to join students from Talbot, Caroline and Queen Anne’s Counties to learn more about goal setting, time management, personal finance, developing confidence, handling criticism constructively, professional etiquette, and other important ‘real life’ skills. Those attending from NDHS were Jayden Coleman, Tyijah Carter, Madison Dukes, Nate Fraccaroli, Aiden Gorsuch, Aniya Pinder, Abigail Mills, and Darrius Simms. C-SD students in attendance were Kingsley Adegbehingbe, Aryan Bashir, Arabella Collison, Jayda Cooper, Te’Kai Drummond, A’Ziyah Elliott, Osvaldo Hernandez-Gervacio, Rodney Harris, Falilat Ibrahim, Laila Insley, Cheyenne Jackson, Javier Luna-Clemente, Christian McNamara, Caleb Molock, Namari Molock, Camille Padilla, Fiorella Perez, Zye’Meria Pinder, Kennedy Roberts, Le’Asia Todd, Camryn Turner, Savannah Weber, and Nia White. #DCPS23NoMore

It was turkey and trimmings and family on the menu yesterday at Warwick Elementary School as a parent, grandparent, or other significant adult was invited to share Thanksgiving lunch with their favorite Huskies! #DCPS23NoMore

Eight of our most brightly shining mathematicians traveled to Salisbury University yesterday for the 40th Annual Eastern Shore High School Mathematics Competition. The students competed both as school teams and individuals in such areas as algebra, geometry, functions and functional notation, exponents and logarithms, trigonometry, probability and statistics, logic and set theory, arithmetic sequences, geometric series, and number theory. The students who did a great job in representing their schools were NDHS mathematicians Christian Gorsuch, Ali Bahar, Adam Elzey, and Peyton Bleyer and C-SD mathematicians Cincere Gibson, Matthew Suggs, Isabelle Hughes, and Emma Robinson. Their advisors are Ms. Tabita Enciu (NDHS) and Ms. Amanda Robinson (C-SD) #DCPS23NoMore

Congratulations to Te’Kai Drummond for picking up a coveted medal at the Cross-Country State Championships held last weekend by finishing 19th out of 139 runners! The C-SD boys’ cross-country team came in 10th out of the 19 teams who qualified for the race. Team members running at States were Preston Adkins, Andrew Albert, Te’Kai Drummond, Cincere Gibson, Josiah Harris, Jaasiel Molock, Marion San Juan, and alternate Jacob Forkum. The girls’ team members representing CSD at States were Isabelle Hughes, Hailey Mills, Emma Robinson, Camryn Russum, Olivia Shifler, and Avery Shorter. Head Coach is Dr. Lois Narr, with Assistant Coach Mr. Phil Albert. Go Vikings! #DCPS23NoMore

Introducing the 34 Vikings who were inducted into the Ella B. Walter Chapter of the National Honor Society at C-SD recently: Preston Adkins, Andrew Albert, Hannah Allan, Collin Bair, Madelyn Bierley, Antonio Blueford, Madison Brown, Sadie Carels, Nathan Corkran, Micayla Cristia, A’Ziyah Elliott, Ja’mariya George, Cincere Gibson, Monique Grizzelle, Alison Gonzalez-Jimenez, Luke Jacobson, Sydney Marshall, Hailey Mills, Jacob Mitchell, Brianna Montgomery, Sanaya Sampson, Christian Sanders, Marion San Juan, Charles Spedden, Wayne Spence, Madalyn Spicer, Matthew Suggs, Aydenn Trissell, Chloe Turner, Savannah Weber, Jewell White, Thomas Wilson V, Anthony Wright, and Enazajah Young. Congratulations to you all! Membership in the Society requires a 3.7 or higher cumulative GPA entering their junior or senior year, a satisfactory response to questions regarding the Society’s everyday pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character, and agreement among a faculty council that each student has met the qualifications. Upcoming school and community service activities planned by the chapter include a Toys for Tots drive during December and a blood drive to be held January 9, 2025. The advisor is C-SD Community School Liaison Ms. Tina Morris. #DCPS23NoMore

Yesterday – Veterans Day - was also “Military Monday” at C-SD, and the school welcomed seven military vets to talk to students about what it takes to serve your country in the armed forces. Organized by Career Coach Sandy Shaw, the morning involved a panel discussion and then more informal time for students to ask questions and chat with the vets. Thank you to Vincent Crenshaw (Army), Mervin Dennis (Air Force), Shane Hatfield (Army), Joshua Dwayne Mitchell (Army), Bruce Roberts (National Guard), Shawn Tucker (Coast Guard), and Thomas Whorl (Marines) for your candid descriptions and anecdotes about life in the military! #DCPS23NoMore

It’s National School Psychology Week, and we celebrate Dorchester County Public Schools’ own School Psychologists! These uniquely qualified professionals have advanced training in both psychology and education and every day apply their expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help our students succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. A big thank you to: Christy Lantz – North Dorchester Middle School and C-SD; Emily Moore – Sandy Hill Elementary School, Vienna Elementary School, South Dorchester School; Kim Parker – Hurlock Elementary School, North Dorchester High School; Abby Pluta – Choptank Elementary School, Warwick Elementary School, Vienna Elementary School; Katie Scarpati – Maple Elementary School, Mace’s Lane Middle School #DCPS23NoMore

We are grateful for the service of all veterans, but on this Veterans Day we especially want to recognize and thank those members of our Dorchester County Public Schools team who have served in the armed forces, working to ensure our nation's protection and freedom. If you see any of these special folks today, join us in thanking them for their service to our country! Photos: Tabita Enciu. Then: U.S. Air Force, 2004-2008. Now: Mathematics teacher at North Dorchester High School. Pete Singleton. Then: Sergeant 1st Class/E-7, 229th Army Band, Maryland National Guard, 31 years. Now: Educational Specialist, C-SD. Joe Spencer. Then: MS, U.S. Navy, 1991-1995, U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. Now: Grounds Foreman/Maintenance Technician. Karen Hopkins. Then: Material Supply Specialist and Computer Machine Operator, U.S. Army, 6 years. Now: Attendance Office Clerk, Maple Elementary School. Patricia Hawkins. Then: E-4 Supply Specialist, U.S. Army during Desert Storm/Gulf War. Now: Behavioral Intervention Teacher, Sandy Hill Elementary School. No photos: Lashawn Tucker. Then: YN3, PO3, Coast Guard. Now: Teacher, C-SD. Joseph Johnson. Then: U.S. Army, 11 years, 9 months, 19 days. Now: Custodian, C-SD. Carin Budd. Then: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps., 1999-2002. Now: School Nurse, North Dorchester Middle School. Albert Jones. Then: E-6, U.S. Army, 6 years. Now: Teacher, Mace’s Lane Middle School. Phil Albert. Then: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, 5+ years. Now: Teacher, DCTC. Mike Richardson. Then: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps., 1993-1997. Now: School Safety and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. #DCPS23NoMore

A reminder to DCPS families: Monday, November 11, 2024 is an early dismissal day for students for teacher report card preparation. Report cards will be issued on Wednesday, November 13.

Congratulations to the North Dorchester High School volleyball team, now the MPSSAA Region II Champions! However, they aren’t stopping there! They will be playing Chesapeake Math & IT Academy North (CMIT) in the State Quarterfinals tomorrow (Friday) in Laurel. Best of luck to team members Brooke Outten, Katelyn Hopkins, Emily Freeman, Lexie Lednum, Zoey Willey, Remedy Wongus, Averie Smith, Destini Wongus, and Addison Johnson. Head coach is Carol Hubbard, Assistant Coach is Myasia Jones, and Athletic Trainer is Mary Wooters. Fly high Eagles! #DCPS23NoMore

We <3 our school nurses, and we know that others do too! Congratulations to Hurlock Elementary School nurse Stacy Thompson, who was one of only two nurses recognized by What’s Up Eastern Shore magazine’s Excellence in Nursing awards in the Public Health/Community/Schools nursing specialty. The honorees were chosen by other nurses. Nurse Stacy has, for 19 years, been the school’s go-to for health issues, from dishing out band-aids for boo-boos to important health advice to kiddos and their parents – and everything in-between. School nurses are an important part of every school’s team, and we are super glad to have Nurse Stacy taking care of everyone at Hurlock Elementary! #DCPS23NoMore

Maple Elementary School’s week started off with excitement as the entire school gathered for the announcement of the first two Maple Lions to be awarded a school coat! This event, which the school intends to continue as a tradition, honors students in Grades 3 through 5 who staff believe best exemplify the qualities it takes to roar to success as a Maple Lion. Today’s recipients were 5th graders Alex White and Khloe Newcomb, whose families were on hand to help celebrate them. Khloe’s teacher is Ms. Sarah Alpaugh and Alex’s is Ms. Jana Robinson. Principal Ms. Myesha Ford described Alex as a role model who is “caring, a great leader, and helpful to peers . . . encouraging friends to make right choices.” He “strives to do his best in and out of the classroom and maintains a positive attitude. He is not afraid to do what is right.” Khloe is “a hard worker and a thoughtful student” who “has a great attitude and is helpful to everyone,” as well as being “very focused, creative, (and) caring.” Congratulations to Alex and Khloe on earning their Maple coats! #DCPS23NoMore

A reminder: As most of our schools are used as polling places, Dorchester County Public Schools will be closed to students, teachers, and other ten-month employees on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 for Election Day.