In the news: Elections board seeks recanvass of votes, PCYC webcasts first board meeting

In the Pike County Press:

• Board Of Elections Seeks Recanvass Of Spring Primary
• Business briefs - DV scholarship winner

In the Pike County Courier:

• Students ease board access

Note: according to Pike County Youth Coalition executive director Nick Troiano, School Board 2.0 is a project of the youth coalition, not a new, separate organization as the article in the Courier states.

DVES news by DVES students in the Pike Press

From the Pike County Press...

• Sixth Grade Hosts Board
• Earth Day is a BIG Day at DVES
• Practice Makes Perfect
• It’s a Big, Big World
• Sussex Skyhawks Inspire Educational Excellence
• Our Recycling Game
• Concerto No. V in A Major
• Color and Shape Experts

In the news: School Board 2.0, Yolanda Goldsack

Hi everyone... It's been a while since I've been regularly updating the blog. Not too too much has been happening lately, but here's an update on some DV news around the Net.

In the Scranton Times-Tribune:
Pike County youth promote government transparency through the Internet

Pike County Courier roundup:
School district prepares fallback budget proposal
Breakfast Book Club at Shohola
TV techs share knowledge at Dingman-Delaware Middle School
DVHS Students of the Month

From the new Pike County Press:
Elementary Artists Win Big
Flapping Our Wings to First Grade
Candy Bar Fractions and Solid Figures
Farewell to Three Delaware Valley Elementary School Retirees
Goldsack Clears the Air

Update: From the River Reporter:
Goldsack criticizes commissioners and quits

DV one of only 3 districts in northeast PA to exceed all averages on state tests, SATS

From The Scranton Times-Tribune:

Only three of 37 school districts in Northeast Pennsylvania exceed all averages on state tests and the SAT, according to Times-Shamrock Newspapers' annual analysis of academic performance.

The districts - Crestwood, Dallas and Delaware Valley - outperformed the other districts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Per-pupil spending at DV was $11,424, according to the Times database. Of the 501 Pennsylvania school districts in the database, 348 or about 70 percent of PA school districts spend more money than DV. 

DV schools the highest marks of the 37 NEPA school districts in the following testing categories, which are listed at the bottom of the Grading our Schools article:

Third-grade math
Highs: Delaware Valley, 95.2 percent; Abington Heights, 92.5 percent

- Fourth-grade math
Highs: Delaware Valley, 96.5 percent; Susquehanna Community, 92 percent

- Fourth-grade reading
Highs: Delaware Valley, 90.3; Abington Heights, 85.3 percent

- Fifth-grade reading
Highs: Delaware Valley, 81.2 percent; Dallas, 80.8 percent

- Sixth-grade reading
Highs: Abington Heights, 87.2 percent; Delaware Valley, 87.2 percent

- Seventh-grade math
Highs: Delaware Valley, 91.2 percent; Abington Heights, 88.5 percent

- Seventh-grade reading
Highs: Abington Heights, 91.5 percent; Delaware Valley, 87.9 percent

- 11th-grade reading
Highs: Delaware Valley, 81.4 percent; Carbondale Area, 81.1 percent

Courier roundup: "DV okays budget and hopes"

• Now that the election’s over 
  
• DV okays budget and hopes 
  
• Wagner: Pike seeking new elections chief
  
• DV sophomore at leadership program 
  
• Budget facts 2009 
  
• Pike County Builders award scholarships 
  
• On the primary vote controversy in Dingman 
  
• Candidate’s thank you 
  
• HONOR ROLL: Delaware Valley Middle School 
  

Courier roundup: Graduation coverage

• DV Class of 2009 is now alumni (see more pictures from the Courier)
• Board follows Finan’s advice to watch and wait
• Students boot it up at contest
• HONOR ROLL: Dingman Delaware Middle
• Colleagues continue Pat’s passion in her absence

Class president, Matthew Neumann: "What a long and wondrous journey it has been"

Read the speech by class of 2009 president Matthew Neumann, exclusively on RB for DV.

This is a copy of his speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.

Parents, administrators, my distinguished colleagues; what a long and wondrous journey it has been. We are about to reach the last homely house, and although this is a time to celebrate the journey completed, we must not underestimate or forget the arduous road which lies before us.

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Before us stand many mountains, which must be passed over, for it is cowardly to go around them, and only a fool would try to go beneath. And although we may lose members of our fellowship on the path to the other side, we must continue the fight to do whatever it is we are to do. Although there may be opportunities to pass your responsibilities to others, you must realize that the greatest burdens can only be born by those who are destined to carry them. As you complete your destiny, whatever it may be, there will be times when you feel alone, when you feel as though no one in the world can understand what you are going though and even your best friends are going to betray you. At these times, you must remember that out there somewhere are people who do care about you. These are people who are willing to fight in order to help you in your quest and willing to risk more than you would believe to give you what might be the only chance at success you may have. As we graduate, let us remember that this is not an end, but simply a checkpoint in the long journey of life. Along the road ahead of us lie countless opportunities, many challenges, and ultimately success. Work hard, remain true to yourself, and remember that there are always people willing to aid you in your struggle. I wish you all the best of luck, and I thank you all.

Salutatorian's address by Derek Houseknecht

Read the class of 2009 salutatorian's address by Derek Houseknecht, exclusively on RB for DV.

This is a copy of his speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.

Through my last four years at Delaware Valley, I have continually witnessed students succeeding. Whether it is winning championships in sports, receiving noteworthy recognition in academics, or performing Broadway caliber plays in drama; our class has attained many remarkable and impressive accomplishments. However, despite these great accomplishments, it has been the little individual successes that I want to accentuate and congratulate. Each and every one of these students that sit before me today has accomplished something valuable in their life, and have thus revealed their ability to work hark, overcome obstacles, and ultimately attain the success they set out for.

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Our Class of 2009 is full of students who have already demonstrated this ability to succeed and have the potential to attain a lot more in their future to come. As Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." So I encourage this class, as they graduate and move on from high school, that they always stay determined and courageous. Believe in yourself, and work hard to attain the goals you set out for. Stay focused, stay determined, and do not let the words and actions of others hinder your desire to succeed. You are the one who chooses what to do. You are the one who can accomplish great things. You are the one who can succeed. Even though some failure is inevitable, we must rise above it.

With the talent and potential that you all already possess, in combination with a little self-confidence and determination, you will be able to continue your success in the future. "It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world."

Student Council president, Kathryn Braisted: "Time is the most precious aspect of your life"

Read the speech by class of 2009 Student Council president Kathryn Braisted, exclusively on RB for DV.

This is a copy of her speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.

Good evening classmates, parents, faculty, administration and school board members. It's nothing short of an honor to stand before all of you this evening, as your Student Council President, a position I've not only whole-heartedly cherished, but also one into which I've put every single free minute and ounce of energy for the last 180 school days in the hope that I'm not the only one who leaves here tonight missing our high school.

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Twenty-two years ago to the day, in a speech commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin, one of the United States's greatest Presidents called out a phrase that has resounded through history:

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" While I won't profess to being as eloquent a speaker as Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator himself, I do want to impart a few things upon you, my fellow classmates, so you can remember me for something more than laughing on the morning announcements.

This year, I was unbelievably lucky to have six girls by my side to pick up my slack, to make sure meetings ran smoothly and on time, to plan events, to let me stumble around the school parking lot in a turkey costume, to wake up early to decorate for dances, and, perhaps most embarrassingly, to remind me the night before Semi Formal that I forgot to order the crown and tiara. At this time, I'd like Sergeant at Arms Roxanne Indelicato, treasurer Alyssa Tomaskovic, secretaries Kayla Orben and Allison Pepaj, second vice president Trigit Forgit, and first vice president, my partner in crime and coruler of the school (don't worry Dr. Finan, we'll keep you on as our secretary) Emily Dorko to all stand and be applauded for what you've done for DV. Since our election in the spring of last school year, we officers were told time and time again that our inherent female cattiness would be far more conducive to fighting than getting actual work done. Yet we ended this school year having raised thousands upon thousands of dollars for local charities and having run a number of successful student functions. I couldn't be any prouder of you girls, I can't thank you enough for everything this year.

I'd also like to acknowledge a group of Student Council members who put so much time and effort into this organization that there was absolutely no distinction between them and the real officers. Seniors Nancy Shi, Sarah Wright and Katie Yuen embody a kind of dependability you don't encounter too often, and I always breathed a sigh of relief when any of them volunteered to take on a bigger project or event, since I knew it was in more than capable hands. I also wouldn't be able to accept my diploma without giving a shout out to Nick Torkildsen and Dan Quinlan, who might've been new to Student Council but planned the food for dances like a pro.

Over the past few years, I've developed a label of the hard-working, dedicated girl who's perpetually busy running around or helping with something or sucking up to teachers or taking pictures for the newspaper or knowing absolutely everything there is to know about what goes on here. I spent countless hours before and after school working on Student Council events, took immense pride in beginning the day on the morning announcements, and visited Mr. Casmus's office so often you'd think I was trying to get him to take me to prom. All too often though, I found myself far more familiar with the details of the latest school board meeting or Homecoming dance issue than with the specifics of my Calculus homework or the lives of my best friends, and always felt terrible when people were too worried about bothering me as I rushed through the halls to ask me a question about something they needed.

In accordance with the overachiever persona I just described, I opted this year to take Advanced *Placement Micro and Macro Economics .. along with two other A.P.s, a position as Editor in Chief of the Del.Aware, membership in a number of other clubs, and a newspaper job outside of school. Although I took the class with the intent to learn a handful of life applications, I was perpetually confused and unable to understand Average Total Cost lines or even Real GDP ... meanwhile, Mark Pike sat in the front of the class with his work done minutes early, graciously complimenting my outfits, and Shawn Chen lounged in the back of the room nonchalantly solving world hunger. Economics simply put, though, is nothing more than a study of how to allocate scarce resources to unlimited wants and needs. We studied the scarcity of goods like water and minerals and midway through the course, I realized that I had learned potentially the most important lesson of my life. That more significantly scarce than services or human capital or oil reserves is time. The ticking hand of time is the scarcest resource we have.

That seems like an obvious concept, one that hardly calls for a profound realization or deep, analytical thought, but I can't help but think it's one that should be at least briefly considered. Recognizing that time is the most precious aspect of your life makes more important each lunch your mom packs, each test for which you don't study, each party you hang out at, each lame relationship you cry over, each bizarre snow day you receive because of rain, each morning you wait out front in bus traffic. As we all currently sit on the precipice of uncertain futures and goals and next-steps, there is perhaps nothing more important to do than to maximize completely every minute of your time.

So don't be the girl rushing through the halls. Carpe diem, gather ye rosebuds while ye may, and enjoy rather than complain about the days during which minutes pass as quickly as when you're sitting in Mrs. Masser's chemistry lab. I sincerely wish all of you from Casey Abeson to Tyler McCarthy to Chase Zirnnik and each senior in between the best of luck with all that you do.

So, for the last time ever: this is the conclusion of my graduation speech, have a fantastic life.

Valedictorian's address from Rachel Knuth

Read the class of 2009 valedictorian's address from Rachel Knuth, exclusively on RB for DV.

This is a copy of her speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.

Welcome, everyone, to the class of 2009 graduation ceremony. Seniors: we made it. The day we thought would never arrive as freshman is fmally here. We've fmished the last assignments, turned in the last books, taken the last of our exams, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the ceremonial burning of our notebooks begins. But this day is more than the close of our thirteen years of school, it's more than the culmination of all of our efforts over the past thirteen years-it's the end of the first stage of our lives.

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We're at a pivotal point, and whatever our next step may be, we will succeed. Success, at its core, means only to follow through. It is not one isolated event-it's continuous. Success can be small: the first time you get a perfect score on a test, the first time you earned a lead part in the play, or even the first time you learn to playa new song on your guitar. It can be as big as becoming a business executive, discovering the cure for cancer, or raising a family. There is no failure, as long as you have worked to the best of your ability and completed the task at hand.

I had hoped for a long time that I would have this success, to reach this point, to stand before you today. And now that this moment is fmally here, it's a little surreal. I know that I could not have accomplished it if it were not for the support of my family, friends, and teachers, but especially not without the unfailing support of my parents. They never gave me any impression that I couldn't do anything I wanted to do, or be whomever I wanted to be. I would like to convey that same message to you. Famous British philosopher and writer Mary Wollstonecraft once said that "the beginning is always today," and I encourage all of you to embrace that message. Strive for today, because you can only achieve success by taking your life one day at a time.

Congratulations class of 2009, you earned it.

Gazette roundup: Column on class of 2009

• Milford native Vanessa Carlton rocks 'Home'
  
• Class of 2009 promoted to school of life (My column about the class of 2009!)
  
• Meet DVHS 2009 valedictorian, salutatorian
  
• Meet Delaware Valley High School's Class of 2009!
  
• DV Relay for Life honors student's memory
  

DV lands a top 10 team at Odyssey world finals

The Delaware Valley High School classics Odyssey of the Mind team won ninth place at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals awards ceremony on Saturday. The DVHS team competed in the "Lost Labor of Heracles" problem, against about 40 other teams in division III.

The Dingman Delaware Middle School classics team took home 17th place in division II, out of about 50 teams. Another DVHS team, competing in the technical problem, "Teach Yer Creature," placed 26th of about 30.

These teams advanced to world finals after winning first or second place at the Pennsylvania State Finals in April. The 30th World Finals was held at Iowa State University and hosted over 800 teams from countries including the U.S., China, Singapore, Germany and Poland.

World Finals scores 

Odyssey of the Mind

Northeast Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind

Courier roundup: More on tie

• Complications abound in Pike primary
• School board tie election... in NY
• Delaware Valley prom was a ‘moonlit moment’
• School renews ties with fallen Vietnam hero
• April’s best at Dingman-Delaware
• Backseat beats shotgun
• High school hosts district seniors
• HONOR ROLL: Delaware Valley High School
• Scholarship fund benefits from pig roast

Friday news roundup: Special Olympics

Exclusive RB for DV photos: Special Olympics at DV

From The Gazette:
Fun, bravery define Special Olympics

From the Pike County Courier:
Primary results revealed a bad day for Taxpayers United
Proposed budget underfunded, but hesitantly OK’d
Accuracy wins top nod for DVHS student
Students help neighbors and medical community
Apprentice library program for teens and ‘tweens
Editor’s note: Delaware Valley School Board Member Pam Lutfy wrote this e-mail letter following the May 14 school board meeting.
Vanessa Carlton headlining music fest
Kiwanis Club Memorial Day car wash

Courier roundup: Meet the candidates

News

• Primary candidates’ positions Inside

• Primary candidates for Delaware Valley Schools (a meet the candidates feature with ALL of the school board candidates)
• HONOR ROLL: Delaware Valley High School Third marking period
• Jazz legend Bob Dorough to perform

Opinion

• Rebuttal to TU school board attacks (a slightly revised version of my letter posted earlier)

Sports and news briefs: Milford Music festival, softball, soccer

News

• Milford music fest locates funding, set for early June
• The Back Is Where It's At (TriStateNews.com)
• Pike/Wayne Envirothon a success (PoconoNews.Net)

Sports

• May 12 softball roundup: Delaware Valley 10, Newburgh Free Academy 8 (Varsity 845)
• Softball playoff looming for Valley View, Old Forge (ZZWL)
• Girls' Soccer: District 2 playoffs set to open Wednesday (Times Leader)
• Berwick, Abington Heights get top seeds for D-2 soccer (Citizens Voice)

Courier roundup: Holy letters to the editor, Batman!

News

• CATS (see also... photos from Cats)
• Band honors at Shohola
• Meet the candidates (as first reported by RB for DV)
• HONOR ROLL: Dingman Delaware Middle School Marking period three

Opinion

• Choices for the school board by DeAnna Margiore
• Greenlaw for school board by Ryan Balton
• Bad directions by Diane French, school board member
• About fiscal discipline by Jack Fisher, candidate for school board
• Our teachers at Delaware Valley School District do a great job! by Sue Schor, incumbent candidate for school board
• Schor for school board by Ryan Balton
• For Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike and Schor by Linda Boyle, secretary, DV Education Support Professionals
• Creative minds for Pike by Richard Cheng and the DVHS OotM Structure Team
• Election Cacophony by Karl Flail
  
• The 0% Illusion by Bill Greenlaw, candidate for school board
• Supporting Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike and Schor by Eric Neumann

Four DV teams place at Odyssey of the Mind state finals

Four teams of the nine competing from Delaware Valley placed at Odyssey of the Mind State Finals in Williamsport on April 18.

DV High School's technical "Teach Yer Creature" team placed first. The DVHS and Dingman-Delaware Middle School "Classics... Lost Labor of Heracles" teams both placed second. These three teams will advance to World Finals at Iowa State University in May.

The DVHS team for "Shock Waves," the structure problem, placed third.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international kindergarten-through-college creative problem-solving competition.

See also... NEPA Odyssey of the Mind

Courier Roundup: PAC announcement, more on ballot charge

News

• Competitive CPR for DV health occupations students
  
• Book fair at Shohola Elementary School
  
• DV Middle School Students of the Month
  
• March’s best at Dingman Delaware
  
• Students launch ‘Future of Pike County’ political action committee
  

Opinion

• Wondering about it
  
• True transparency and leadership
  
• Voting for taxpayers united
  

Courier roundup: Fighting cancer, winning awards, paying taxes

• Fighting childhood cancer one cup at a time
  
• Ding-Del math team squares off
  
• DV competes at Computer Fair
  
• Shohola celebrates ‘Read across America’
  
• No disenfranchisement in ballot challenge
  
• Schools and taxes