Indian River School District

On Jan. 27, nearly one year after a Delaware court decided in favor of the Indian River School District, the Doe v. IRSD case was brought before the U.S. Court of Appeals for official oral arguments.

U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, both D-Del., visited with students, teachers and administrators at Indian River High School on Jan. 28 to highlight the school’s innovative education initiatives.

On the same night President Barack Obama offered plans to improve the nation, the Indian River School District’s Board of Education held the first board meeting of the new year.

Due to inclement weather, Indian River School District schools will open two hours late, with no morning kindergarten. All 12-month employees should report on time.

Sussex County government offices will be opening 90 minutes late, at 10 a.m., on Thursday, Jan. 27.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM THURSDAY...

* PRECIPITATION TYPE: RAIN AND SLEET IS EXPECTED TODAY...BEFORE THE MIXED PRECIPITATION CHANGES TO SNOW THIS EVENING.

* ACCUMULATIONS: 1 TO 3 INCHES.

* TIMING: RAIN AND SLEET WILL FALL DURING THE DAY...BEFORE CHANGING TO SNOW THIS EVENING. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO END BEFORE DAYBREAK THURSDAY.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS CANCELED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM EST FRIDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS: TWO TO THREE INCHES. HIGHEST NEAR METROPOLITAN PHILADELPHIA AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY.

* TIMING: BEGINNING AFTER 7 PM AND LASTING FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS.

All Indian River School District schools are closed on Wednesday, Jan. 12, due to inclement weather. All 12-month employees are to report two hours late.

State offices in Sussex County will open at the regular time.
 

New Castle and Kent counties on Tuesday afternoon remained under a Winter Storm Warning until 10 a.m., Wednesday morning. Lower predicted snow totals, however, dropped the designation to a Winter Storm Advisory in Sussex County; also in effect until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

As the forecast becomes more focused, crews from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) were standing ready for the snowstorm predicted to begin Tuesday afternoon and into Wednesday morning. Officials said DelDOT maintenance forces are spending the pre-storm hours preparing the trucks and pre-treating additional roads.

The Indian River School District has canceled all after-school and evening activities in the district for Tuesday, Jan. 11, due to inclement weather.

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM EST WEDNESDAY...  A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM EST WEDNESDAY.  SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 5 TO 8 INCHES. 

A Winter Storm Warning in now effect from 2 p.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service has issued a warning for snow, sleet and freezing rain, with accumulations of 2 to 6 inches possible. Precipitation is expected to start Tuesday afternoon and turn to all snow Tuesday evening, when it will become steadier and heavier.

A Winter Storm Watch in effect from Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 11, about 1 p.m., through Wednesday morning, Jan. 12, about 7 a.m. The National Weather Service is predicting 4 to 6 inches of snow, with low visibility of possibly less than a half-mile and possible dangerous driving conditions on both primary and secondary roads.

The sideline along Indian River’s football field may look pretty similar next fall. But the Indians will carry on next season without the guidance of long-time head coach Jim Bunting, who announced his retirement at the team’s banquet last month. However, the staff and administration are confident they’ve got the next best thing.

While Millsboro is the only town that has, to date, held a formal vote on a resolution to support the Route 113 Blue Alternative as-is – the vote passed with only one dissenter, Councilman Greg Hastings – there is plenty of opposition to the plan farther south in the Route 113 corridor and even legislatively – including some from state Sen.

Based on the May 2010 Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) results for science and social studies, Indian River High School (IRHS) was the highest-ranking non-charter public school in the state of Delaware, ranking third out of all state schools.

The U.S. Route 113 North/South Study (according to DelDOT Project Manager Monroe Hite, III, the terms “project” and “study” can be used interchangeably in this case) is an approximately 35-mile-long stretch of highway similar to, but west of, the existing Route 1, that is designed to alleviate congestion and help to deal with growth in Sussex County.

Thanksgiving is a time for friends, family and, of course, food. But the day after the turkey binge later this month, Indian River High School is offering a healthy counter, while doing so for a generous cause. The school will host the first 5K to the public on the cross country’s home course, which the team debuted this past fall season. Proceeds from the run will benefit the school’s cross country team and Justin Lowe, an Indian River senior who suffered a traumatic accident in the Ocean City, Md. surf earlier this summer.

The Indian River High School Band has kicked off the sales of their annual discount band cards. The cards, which have been sold by the band for more than 15 years, have 21 businesses participating, offering various discounts and other benefits to cardholders.

This month, Indian River School District students in grades 3 through 10 will begin testing with the new online Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS), which replaces the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP), which was discontinued at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

Anyone who has lost all faith in today’s youth has yet to meet Veronica Townsend.

More than 200 students, parents and faculty members from the Southern Delaware School of the Arts (SDSA) in Selbyville are expected to participate in the 25th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 25.

Left, right, left, right, left, right, you echo in your head as you take those ever so evident steps toward those doors, that hallway and the building that will be your home for the next year.

Tropical Storm Earl made landfall near Western Head Nova Scotia around 10 a.m. according to officials. Severe tropical storm conditions are affecting a large part of the province. Meanwhile, coastal Delaware is pleasant with sunny skies.

The Indian River School Board is not cutting Adult Education courses, said district representative Dave Maull. Rather, they are going ahead with the fall session, and – on the condition that the classes can become self-sustaining – will offer the usual winter and spring sessions, too.

Schools throughout the Indian River School District will host a series of open houses during the months of August and September.

Open houses are designed to allow students and parents to meet teachers and staff, view class lists and tour school buildings. A number of schools will host multiple sessions during a three-week period, with each session catering to a different grade level.

Nine schools in the Indian River School District were classified as “Superior” when the State of Delaware released its 2010 school accountability ratings on July 30.

Bringing to a close discussions dating back to February, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Collin O’Mara recently announced that the agency has finalized a consent agreement with NRG Energy Inc. that will permanently shut down a third coal-fired electrical generating unit at the Indian River Power Plant in Millsboro by the end of 2013.

When finding the money to go to college, every little bit helps. There’s tuition, room and board, books and supplies… It seems there’s always something else to purchase. Getting scholarships – no matter their value – helps to ease the load a little bit and is a way many students make the experience affordable. But for one local student, the life lesson that comes with “free” money came full circle, even before college starts.

On Wednesday, June 23, Indian River High School senior Justin Lowe was swimming in the surf off Ocean City, Md., when he was struck by a wave. He was thrown into a sandbar and fractured his neck.