Sussex Academy freshman Lillie Bradley recently represented the State of Delaware at the National 4-H Ignite Summit in Washington, D.C.
Now in its third year, Ignite is presented by the National 4-H Council and focuses on three tracks, Agri-Science, STEM and Healthy Living, the latter being Lillie’s area of focus.
More than 1,600 teen attendees from across 49 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, and attendees from Canada and Italy, converged at the March 12-16 summit to take field trips to surrounding areas focusing on their chosen area of study and participate in hands-on workshops, career exploration sessions, panel discussions and networking opportunities.
Lillie said she had an amazing experience.
“I gained a lot of knowledge that I can take back to my fellow 4-Hers and made some great connections,” she said. “From learning about pickling, to eating crickets, to dairy production and living healthier, it was a lot of information presented in a fun way in a short time frame. I encourage anyone with an interest in those Ignite fields to apply and to join Delaware 4-H. It has opened so many doors for me and introduced me to so many new people and skills.”
Lillie applied and interviewed to be selected as one of six delegates representing Delaware 4-H; other attendees were Juliette Anger, Sedona Ashman, Hanna Holland, Flynn Mucha and Austin Yourek. Lillie said she hopes to return next year to focus on Agri-Science.
Sussex Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Georgetown, Del. Its mission is to foster academic achievement and social responsibility in a small school environment where students participate in a highly accelerated college preparatory program that prepares them for the technological and global mindedness needed for the 21st century and that instills ethical conduct and service to others in their day-to-day lives.
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PHOTO CAPTION:
The Delaware delegation for the National 4-H Ignite Summit are (l-r) Austin Yourek, Sedona Ashman, Lillie Bradley, Juliette Anger, Hanna Holland and Flynn Mucha.
Students in Cameron Smith’s AP Spanish class at Sussex Academy enjoyed a series of sweet and savory lessons while working on a unit on recipes.
In the unit, students learn about Latin American cuisine and study grammatically how to follow formal and informal commands, Smith said. It’s a listening and reading activity, he said, in which students have to navigate and adapt to issues that arise.
On different days, students followed Spanish directions to make flour tortillas, guacamole and sweet plantains, and invited other classes and staff to try their creations.
The activity also prepares students for an upcoming field trip to a Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia, Smith said, where they will meet and learn about successful immigrants whose restaurants they have studied. Anyone interested in supporting the initiative is asked to contact Smith at 302-856-3636 or cameron.smith@saas.k12.de.us.
After earning fourth place finishes in the state qualifying tournament, both Sussex Academy Odyssey of the Mind teams are now advancing to the April 5 state finals.
OM is a collaborative problem-solving competition that focuses on STEM, the arts and history. Students solve spontaneous and long-term problems that include performances and building structures.
Sussex Academy’s sixth grade team, comprising students Jackson Cohen, Sarah Wiggins, Aubrey Farkas, Eshaal Atif and Diego Chaplin, completed the AstronOMical Odyssey long-term problem. Students created a historical civilization that presents constellations and original stories explaining each one.
Sussex Academy’s seventh grade team, comprising Kate Wilson, Zoey Shenoy, Neil Shenoy, Alyssa McKain, Joel Denham, Catherine Ellis and Jordan Buchanan, completed the Mech-Animal Sidekick problem, in which they designed, built and operated an original robotic animal that makes people happy.
Sixth grade coach Chanell Chaplin said students showcased their critical thinking, creativity and teamwork, and their hard work paid off, as both teams will advance to the state finals April 5, where they will compete to earn a place at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University, May 21-24.
The Sussex Academy baseball team kicked off its spring season with a weeklong trip to the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.
Known as “Old Dodgertown,” the location is the former spring training home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and is a hallowed ground for baseball fans and players, making it the perfect spot for a week of hard work, growth and unforgettable memories.
From early morning warm-ups to intense drills, each day was an opportunity for players to refine their game and bond with teammates.
In between training sessions, the team faced off in two scrimmages against two teams from Canada, providing players with numerous situations to showcase talents and allowing them to see the progress they had made over the course of their training.
The team did manage a few breaks during the trip, including a day trip to the beach, and gathered nightly for a bonding team dinner.
According to Head Coach Doug Nowell, in addition to skills work, players were able to truly bond with each other.
“We left Delaware as a team and came back as a family,” Nowell said.
The Sussex Academy boys soccer team was recognized by the 153rd Delaware General Assembly during special presentations March 13.
Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner, R-Georgetown, and Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, honored athletes in both the House and the Senate.
The soccer team notched a treble in fall 2024, Jones Giltner said, explaining the term refers to a team winning three trophies in one season. The Sussex Academy boys soccer team won the Henlopen South Division, the Henlopen Championship and the DIAA Division II State Championship, she said.
According to tradition, athletes each recited their names, position and grade into the permanent record.
Sussex Academy Elementary students and staff enjoyed a cultural and dance lesson on March 13, when the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company presented a diverse genre of folkloric dances.
Dancers performed distinct choreographies from various regions in Mexico, each with unique costumes and music, while also discussing each area’s distinct culture. By the end of the presentation, students and staff alike were dancing along with the company.
This special presentation was made possible thanks to The Freeman Arts Pavilion.
Works of creativity continue in Rebecca Frankum’s fiber arts class at Sussex Academy.
Students in ninth through twelfth grades have been exploring tapestries, including yarn-wrapping structures, weaving and learning different kinds of stitches as they expand on their work.
Many times, Frankum said, students get stuck on the idea that they must be great at drawing in order to excel at art class. However, art is created and appreciated in many forms, giving all students the chance to explore different mediums and become artists in their own ways, she said.
A contingent of Sussex Academy students interested in exploring challenges and solutions to environmental issues participated in the Youth Environmental Summit Feb. 28 at Chase Riverfront Center in Wilmington.
More than 800 Delaware high school students attended the YES! event, sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, which is designed to empower students to tackle climate change, clean water and environmental justice problems.
Students were able to choose from 21 presentations during breakout sessions and hear from a variety of experts and vendors throughout the day.
Sussex Academy students participating in the event belong to the school Green Team, have chosen the STEM pathway with a concentration in environmental science, or are simply interested in improving the environment, said teacher Stephanie Sherman.
“It’s always a fun event and I love to talk to students about the connections that they make between what is presented at the summit and what we have discussed in class,” Sherman said. “To be in a room and at an event with over 800 students who all care about the environment and are invested in learning more about the latest issues is inspiring.”
After attending the event last year, senior Keenan Williams applied and was accepted to serve as a student leader this year by assisting with planning the summit and organizing workshops.
To spread the word among his peers, Keenan created and led a workshop for high school students called “Farm to Table: How Food Can Heal our Environment as Well as our Bodies.”
After working with Zach and Jenny Dittmar of Dittmar Farms in Felton, Keenan said he was impressed by their sustainable and regenerative farming practices, and wanted to share these methods with other students.
By expanding such methods to a larger scale, Keenan said, they can help combat pollution. Further, the implementation of crop rotation and cover cropping help improve soil, which is of particular importance in an agrarian economy such as Sussex County, he said.
To produce the workshop, Keenan also consulted with Historic Lewes Farmers Market Office Manager Becca Seeley.
“They do great work with the community food banks and pantries to get healthy foods to people who wouldn’t ordinarily get it,” Keenan said. “Lewes has a producer-only farmers market, where the vendors have to have grown what they sell. It’s authentic and more personal to know where your food comes from.”
Keenan, who plans to study environmental studies and policies with a focus on sustainable food systems, said he was especially pleased to see so many diverse students with different backgrounds, special interests, ages and ethnicities at the day-long event.
“There are so many different ways we can come together and tackle these issues,” he said.
The bus ride home conversation was lively, Sherman said, as students shared what they had learned, debated issues with friends and discussed the changes they can make at a personal level.
“I didn’t require or ask them to discuss these things,” she said. “It just occurred organically and it made me extremely proud to teach and to know them.”
Sussex Academy Elementary students wowed classmates and families with several productions of the hit musical “The Addams Family.”
The musical comedy is based on The Addams Family characters, a ghoulish American family with a fun affinity for the macabre.
Led by elementary performing arts director Christopher Decker, the musical featured students Mac Clark as Uncle Fester, Sawyer Humphreys as Pugsley, Sayuri Perez as Morticia, Fiona Nehrbas as Gomez, Gia Dattoli as Wednesday, Lex Naylor as Grandma and Jace Hildebrand as Lurch.
Sussex Academy elementary students were treated to an educational, entertaining and timely performance by the McAleer-Paulson School of Irish Dance on March 14.
The show was especially impressive, said Dean of Elementary Connie Hendricks, because all of the performers were Sussex Academy students, ranging in grade from first to eighth.
“I feel incredibly fortunate that our students have shared their Irish dance talents with us for four years running,” Hendricks said. “Watching their skills blossom each year has been a joy. The energy and enthusiasm from everyone—students and staff alike—makes this one of my absolute favorite assemblies.”
Students performed a variety of traditional and custom solo and group dances, changing footwear to match their dances, while instructors discussed Irish culture and the history of dance in Ireland.
