St. Anne’s students shine in the classroom and in the community

Many students at St. Anne’s Episcopal School shine in the classroom, with their work being noticed by premier institutions, publishing companies and local artists. 

Recently, Christine Kim, a fifth grader and a resident of Dover, and Michael Fisher, a fifth grader and a resident of Middletown, were given special academic awards, along with more than 225 other elementary and middle school students across Delaware who distinguished themselves through special testing as among the most academically gifted young students in the country.

These exceptional students earned their opportunity for recognition by participating in the academic Talent Search organized by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. Since 1979, CTY has sought the most academically able elementary- and middle school students each year and encouraged their enrollment in the CTY’s annual fall Talent Search, open September through November. Students enrolled in the Talent Search go on to test in December or January.

In Middle School mathematics at St. Anne’s, seven out of 10 students who participated in Math League were among the top scorers for the 7th and 8th grade levels. These students were invited to participate in the State Math League Competition. They were: Joshua Katz, Ridgely Moore, Rachel Stoddard, and Joseph Xu (7th graders); Tyler DeFriece, Catherine Grewal, Sarah Kemer (8th graders). One important note was that Joseph Xu was the highest scorer in the four regional meets during the year in the 8th grade competition, even though he is only a 7th grader!

In Middle School Language Arts, the following students’ essays will be published in an anthology for young writers, titled Celebrating What Is Important to Me.

• Emily Bloomfield,  Dancing is a Sport;
• Michael Fisher, The History of Computers;
• Carson Hanna, My summer in Maine;
• Jordana Qi, Orchestra Every Day

The following student’s poems will be published in a poetry anthology titled, A Celebration of Young Poets:

• Rourke Bonnell, Lost;
• Malcolm Brown, I Like Pork from New York; 
• Ryan Chiu, Dodgeball;
• Christina Kim, Changing;
• Hannah Willey, Boom, Boom, Boom

The following students had their poetry published in other publications: Gavin Willey, Selena Wallace, Jarrell Young, Josh Katz, Bethany Bennett, Katherine Johnson, Mary Wilson.

Third graders, after spending a portion of their art classes studying the life and work of James Audubon -- complete with a trip to Bombay Hook, completed a work of art to enter into the Jr. Duck Stamp Competition. In May, 12 St. Anne’s third graders either won the Jr. Duck Stamp Competition or received honorable mention. The winners were:

• First Place: Smirti Kumar
• Second Place: Clare Schmittinger
• Third Place: Ali Aguilar
• Honorable Mentions: Quin Scacheri, Katherine Orr, Julia Boaman, Jamie Trabaudo, Kyler Kreshock, Neel Puri, Abigail Defino, Nicholas Ferrara, Gillian Strosnider.

“The school congratulates all of these students for their talent and effort to earn these distinctions,” said G. Harvey Zendt, Head of School, St. Anne’s.

The mission of St. Anne’s Episcopal School is to prepare students for secondary education and lifelong learning. St. Anne’s strives to enhance the intellectual, spiritual, physical, social and artistic growth of its students so that they may realize their potential for good as citizens of local and world communities.

Seventh Graders at St. Anne’s Episcopal School Award $10,000 in Grants to Local Charities

Middletown, DE, June 18, 2007 -- Each year, the Sunshine Lady Foundation gives St. Anne’s Episcopal School a $10,000 grant for the purpose of distributing the money to local organizations in need. The Sunshine Lady Foundation’s mission is to invest in organizations and programs dedicated to providing opportunities for the advancement of education, well being and new life choices for disadvantaged people. The foundation is located in Morehead City, North Carolina, and was founded by Doris Buffett.

Students in the seventh grade at St. Anne’s incorporate the foundation’s mission into their spring projects by forming a relationship with a local charity. The students spend a month researching their assigned charity and at the end they give a formal presentation in which they seek to convince the audience that their charity deserves the support of The SLF and St. Anne’s. Students vie to give the best presentation about their organization. The top project earns a $3,000 grant for the charity.

This year, the school supported 19 charities. Each organization that participated received a $250 minimum contribution. This year’s best project award went to Amani Clark and Julie Macedo for their work with Urban Promise in Wilmington. Urban Promise will receive the $3,000 grant that they will use to improve facilities and provide scholarships to families of need. Second place went to Drew Price and Joseph Xu whose work with Friendship House landed the organization a $1,500 grant.

“The Philanthropy project is wonderful in so many ways, but most importantly, it empowers our students to understand the positive impact they can have on their community,” said Matt Wolinski, a social studies teacher at St. Anne’s. “The responsibility of giving away $10,000 to worthy causes is a remarkable challenge for 13 and 14 year olds. We were overwhelmed by the maturity, compassion, and dedication that our students demonstrated.”

Amani Clark, winner of the overall project along with Julie Macedo, visited Urban Promise in order to research her project and said it was an unforgettable experience.

“The students of Urban Promise were very open of accepting new friends, and we bonded immediately after sharing common hobbies and interest,” she said. “Overall I loved the experience of visiting and the project all together. The hard work paid off!”

To learn more about St. Anne's Episcopal School, visit their website at www.saintannesschool.org.