News Archive

On Friday, December 7th and Saturday, December 8th, Broadway star Lisa Howard returned to the Sanford campus to lead acting and singing workshops.

When Tommy Bloom ’19 started playing lacrosse with his brother Danny ’13 and his cousin, he had no idea that they had introduced him to a sport that he would grow to truly love. As a third grader playing for the Wilmington Wings, he could not have imagined that one day he would sign a National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 lacrosse at the University of Delaware, but that is exactly what happened in November 2018.

Lauren Park '19 signed a National Letter of Intent in November and committed to play basketball at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Thank goodness Olivia Tucker '19 has a brother who is four years older than she, and that he likes to play basketball. As siblings often do, Tucker tagged along when her brother had practices, especially since her dad was also the coach.

On November 4th at a biannual event sponsored by the Wilmington (DE) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Taryn Jenkins '19 was crowned Miss Jabberwock 2018.

For the past two years, science and math instructors Jamy Haughey and Ensign Simmons have offered a STEM co-curricular activity called the Robotics Team. This year, a group of five students—Jessica Ip '19, Matthew Montante '21, Rohan Razdan '19, James Steinberger '19, and Steven Xia '20—have met three times a week for at least two hours to build a robot from scratch that could perform specific jobs that could be entered into a competition.

The basketball journey of Trevor Cooney '11 has led him to record-setting performances at both Sanford School and Syracuse University. After graduating college with a degree in communications, Cooney found he was not quite ready to leave the world of basketball. This led him to accept the opportunity to play professionally in Europe, most recently in Spain.

With the recent closing of Escape to Margaritaville, its female lead, Lisa Howard, decided to use some of her new-found free time to plan a return visit to Sanford School. This will mark the third time Howard has come to campus to share her talents with students by offering master classes in both acting and singing.

Sanford’s respect for and appreciation of its rich history has been well documented. Strategic planning keeps an eye on the future, but the vision of its founder, Ellen Q. Sawin, is never forgotten. In fact, the entire school gathers together as a community each September to celebrate Founder’s Day because of its deeply held respect for Mother Sawin and her mission.

Visual Arts Instructor Nina Silverman-Weeks selected several works of art by Sanford students to join others from the state of Delaware—and every other state in the nation—to be exhibited at the annual National Art Education Association (NAEA) Convention, which was held in Seattle, Washington in March, 2018. Justin Lane, a fourth-grader at the time, completed a mixed-media work entitled “Leaves,” which was one of the pieces chosen for the national exhibit by Silverman-Weeks. Lane creatively and effectively used a variety of paints and painting techniques to compose his outstanding work of art.

Two members of the Class of 2019 are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Rishi Sreekanth and Jacob Lafferty have been named Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, placing them among the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2019 competition by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Eighth grader Katarina “Kat” Swann auditioned for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, recently receiving the thrilling news that she has been chosen as one of two harpists for the upcoming season. Swann has already shared her talents as a harpist with the Delaware Youth Orchestra, as well as being a member of Sanford’s band and chorus.

Thirty-eight Sanford students have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on college level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams.

Sanford senior Rishi Sreekanth’s summer travels took him to picturesque New Mexico. However, he did not go there as a tourist, but as a student participant in the prestigious Summer Science Program in Astrophysics (SSP), held at the New Mexico Institute of Technology.

Sanford’s Upper School Service Club plans to open the school year with a project to help schoolchildren in Haiti.

The June 12th ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened Stewart Cottage as Sanford’s Woodworking Shop began another chapter in the storied past of this long-time campus house.

On April 21, 2018, rising fifth grader Charli Harris earned first-place honors in the Floor Competition, Level 4, at the Pennsylvania Gymnastic Championship Meet, which was held in Bellefonte, PA.

Rising junior Maggie Bobka has been selected to join the 2018–2019 class of the Delaware Youth Leadership Network (DYLN) scholar program.

The Pulsera Project is a nonprofit organization that educates, empowers, and connects Central American artists with students in more than 2,100 U.S. schools through the sale of colorful hand woven bracelets, or "pulseras" in Spanish.

On Friday, May 11th, Middle School students in the fifth through eighth-grade band and chorus programs participated in the annual Music in the Parks competition at Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari Amusement Park in Jackson, NJ.

When Alistair Bebbington ’20 became a Cub Scout at age six, he already knew that he had a higher goal in mind—he wanted to join the company of those who can proudly say that they are an Eagle Scout, a designation achieved by only four to six percent of all young men in scouting.

Sanford freshman Xander Bauguess joins Tommy Bloom and Tim Lucky in being selected for the 2018 All-American National Lacrosse Tournament that will be held July 16–19, 2018. These talented players will join other high school standouts as they face teams from across the United States and Canada.

As a student whose interests include journalism, current events, diversity, inclusion, and creative writing, Melissa Daniels ’21 eagerly accepted the opportunity to be a part of a student journalist panel discussion on WDEL AM radio.

Cameron Smith ‘20 credits her involvement with the Delaware Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Board in helping her find her personal voice as a community agent for change.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons traveled from Washington, D. C. to officially “swear-in” fourth graders Dino Ameer, Isabella Atwood, and Abigail Smith as mayors of Sanford City.

When sophomore Cameron Smith was asked by Dean of Students Stan Waterman to represent Sanford as a member of the Delaware Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Board, she had no idea the impact her acceptance would have on the lives of others—or her own.

When Gary Cimaglia, senior director of sports for Special Olympics Delaware, requested help for an April 23rd Special Olympics Delaware School Soccer Event, 15 members of the girls’ varsity soccer team, along with head coach Heather Taylor and assistant coach Emily Amendum, responded with an enthusiastic YES!!!

Sanford fifth-grade students placed fourth overall in this year’s Elementary Division of the Delaware Science Olympiad on Saturday, April 14th, at Wilmington University.

Students in eleventh-grade English classes are required to read Tim O’Brien’s war novel The Things They Carried. In the book, O’Brien discusses his comrades from the Alpha Company during the Vietnam War and the things they brought along with them during their combat missions.

When Upper School Science Instructor Laura Stefanik worked part time with Dr. Sigrid Langhans in a Nemours Lab, she never envisioned that her experience would also offer incredible opportunities for Sanford students.

What happens when a student committed to philanthropy finds her passion? Great things, for sure! That is what junior Grace Johnston discovered when she took her involvement in Sanford’s Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) student club to another level.

On Monday, April 9th, Sanford Upper School students and faculty members were treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre Company, which was presented on Sanford’s Geipel stage.

WDEL has named senior soccer player Kendal Trickey “Athlete of the Week.”

Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, integrity and talent of America’s youth. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit’s mission is to identify students who have exceptional artistic and literary talent, share their work, and celebrate them in the same manner as student-athletes.

Once again, Sanford student-athletes have been recognized for their success in the classroom.

Congratulations to eighth-grade student Alexis Winner for earning a National Silver Medal in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Competition.

Sanford student-athletes Tommy Bloom and Tim Lucky have been selected to represent the state of Delaware in the 2018 All-American National Lacrosse Tournament that will be held July 16–19, 2018. These talented players will join other Delaware high school standouts as they face teams from across the United States and Canada.

Congratulations to fourth grader Abigail Smith for her victories at the Tim Rand Invitational Gymnastics Meet, which was held on Thursday, March 2nd in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Head of Lower School Libbie Zimmer recently shared: “Sanford parent and Associate Director of Admissions Tanya Graham led a dynamic, informative, and interactive presentation for our students and teachers to help us with our celebration of Black History Month.

For about an hour on Wednesday morning, loud cheers, popular music and uproarious laughter were heard coming out of the Geipel center. Can you guess what was going on inside?

Sanford student artwork is going to be displayed over the next several months in two very important venues. The Delaware Arts Education Association (DAEA) and the National Arts Education Association (NAEA) actively seek out opportunities to showcase student artwork, and Sanford art instructors helped their students to answer those calls.

Lily Allingham and Leah Somerville have been selected as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Several of Sanford’s winter sports teams earned honors in the Delaware Independent School Conference.

Leah Somerville has been named a finalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship competition. Her selection qualifies the Sanford senior to compete for some 7,500 Merit Scholarship awards that will be offered in the spring.

Sanford senior Kendal Trickey recently signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent to continue her soccer career at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Kendal has a strong interest in the sciences and is considering a biology major.

For the second consecutive year, the Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team has received the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Team Academic Award. The honor was bestowed upon the 2016–17 team, whose cumulative grade point average was 3.7.

Heather Foucault-Camm, Upper School science instructor, was an invited speaker at a day-long seminar entitled “Science and Religion: The Myth of Conflict”.

Each year the One Village Alliance (OVA) sponsors a Raising Kings Awards Reception on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, where community members who are walking in the footsteps of the great leader are recognized and honored for their efforts to help raise the next generation of “King” leaders. This year, two of the four awards were presented to men associated with Sanford School.

Abbi Smith will join the Sanford School leadership team in the 2018–19 school year as the new head of Upper School. Currently, Smith is the Upper School associate director and Upper School dean of academics at Friends Select School in Philadelphia.

Every coach wants his or her team to play with heart, and certainly longtime Sanford Lady Warriors basketball coach Marcus Thompson is no exception. This season, however, his team members are playing not only with heart, but also with a greater purpose in mind.

Reshma Moorthy '03, president of Frontier Technologies, Inc. announced that her company was honored by the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC) in December, 2017, as the Class III Supplier of the Year and also Minority Business Advocate of the Year.

Shelby Bates '10 is currently a mission plan engineer for NASA, which is a flight control team that supports the International Space Station.

While many of her peers are busy sleeping, shopping, or socializing on Saturdays, Nia Naylor is attending the University of Delaware from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, where she is in her second year as a Teen Sharp student.