The Hockessin Montessori School

Here's what we've been up to. . .

Aimee Lucente, 2003 is currently in her Senior year at St. Marks High School.  She earned Second Honors for her Junior year and the 1st half of this school year.  Aimee has played Field Hockey for four years, specifically 2 years Junior Varsity and 2 years Varsity.  She also played four years of Lacrosse, as a starter for first year Junior Varsity, 2 years Varsity and is now playing this year on the Varsity Team.  This year Aimee was accepted to the University of Delaware for 2009, her college of choice that offers a distinguished program in Nursing, after which she will continue her education to become a Nurse Anesthetist. 

Zachary DelFabbro is attending the Brandywine Springs School as an 8th grader this year.  He continues to do well in school and is enjoying his 2nd year at Brandywine Springs after attending HMS for six years.  Last spring, Zachary passed his test for 1st degree black belt in Tang Soo Do Karate.  He continues to train at the Korean Martial Arts Institute (KMAI) in Hockessin and competed at the World Tang Soo Do World Championships in Orlando, FL in July of 2008.  He was a member of the KMAI Creativity Team which earned 1st place at the World Championships tournament. 

Jeremy DelFabbro is a 5th grader at the Brandywine Springs School.  He continues to study hard and is very proud of making the honor roll consistently.  Jeremy continues to play soccer for the Hockessin Soccer Club U11 Hammers travel team.  In his third year on the Hammers team, the team were semi-finalists in the Fall 2008 Delco League and 2008 Cape May Fall tournament.

Matthew Dixon is a senior at The Ohio State University (OSU).  He will be graduating in June with a degree in Computer Science Engineering.  He was on the Mock Trial Team for OSU for two years until he took a quarter off and did a six month internship.  Upon Graduation, he has accepted a position with Insert Key in Kennett Square as a Software Developer/System Analyst, where he will develop web-based software applications to support Nuclear Power plants!  In June 2009, Matthew will marry his high school sweetheart, Brynn Woodall, one of our Summer Adventures Camp Counselors. 

Josh Dixon is studying Business as a freshman at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.  He has kept himself very active in many sports.  In high school, he played soccer for one season and then changed to cross country running.  Josh had two good seasons of cross country, making Varsity races several times his first year of running.  He also played high school volleyball, which he played Varsity all three years and was captain his senior year.  He played club volleyball and participated in DECA (Business Class competitions).  His DECA team was fourth in the state his junior year.  Mom writes that she is so glad Matthew and Josh had such a good foundation from their Montessori beginnings and excellent HMS teachers.

Brad Steward, 2008 made the jump from the individualized Montessori Middle School to Avon Grove High School, which is a class of 1,814.  He had been in a Montessori School for his entire education, beginning in the Toddler program at 2-1/2 yrs. old and entering The Hockessin Montessori School in Primary.  For Brad, the first month of High School was basically learning how to move around a school with so many bodies.  The hallways were packed shoulder to shoulder during transitions.  He was able to settle more by the 6th week, and really begin to pull his grades up.  Brad made honor roll in the first marking period.  His grades have steadily climbed and he is earning an even higher GPA at the end of the second marking period.  His guidance counselor at AGHS was very impressed with his averages listed on his HMS "report card".  In Spanish II and Geometry, Brad is pulling an A+ and he is the only Freshman in these higher level classes.  He reports that, "Geometry is the easiest class I have."  Brad did not tryout for a sports team at the high school yet, but he is looking forward to Baseball in the spring.  He did "Fall Ball" this past fall, hoping this would help him gain more skills to play at the high school level.  Brad enjoys keeping up with old friends, but also enjoys making new friends at high school.

Alex Souders, 2008 Mom tells the HMS that Alex enjoyed attending HMS and he misses the close knit environment of the school, staff, students, and Toddlers he worked with as a Counselor in Training.  The school and environment has left such a positive lasting impression on him.  Alex is now a freshman at Cab Calloway School of Arts, he is enjoying high school, however he does admit it is challenging, but in a positive way.  He is learning French for the first time and seems to really enjoy it since he practices speaking it constantly.  Alex is making new friends, as well as reconnecting with friends who he has not spoken with in a few years.  In meeting new people, it is very interesting to see the relationships that the students have as they share a love of the Arts.  It is so wonderful, from a parent's perspective, to watch your child embrace the challenges high school has to offer and enjoy learning.  Alex knows he wants to pursue a career in visual arts and has already started researching different Art Colleges that interest him.  In April 2009, Alex will take a 9 day trip to England, Ireland and Wales on a school sponsored trip.  He is looking forward to this adventure and experiencing different cultures.

Al Mersman, 2006  Al attended HMS from 1st-8th grades and now attends Salesianum High School.  This past Summer he was selected to attend Delaware Governor's School for Excellence at the University of Delaware as one of only two representatives from Salesianum.  In 2008, he was also inducted into the Salesianum chapter of the High School National Honor Society and the Salesianum Chapter of the High School Spanish Honor society, Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica.  Al has earned First Honors/Principal's Honors for every marking period in his Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Year.  As for sports, as a Sophomore he played varsity baseball on the Delaware High School State Championship team from Salesianum and as a junior he is playing varsity basketball.  Al also serves as a lector at St. Mary of the Assumption RC Church in Hockessin.

Benjamin Connell  Congratulations to Benjamin Connell for making the U.S. Physics Team.  This past spring as a senior at the Charter School of Wilmington, after rigorous studies and testing, Ben was selected to represent the country on the US Physics Team.  He was one of only 24 students in the country who were selected to the team.  As part of his training/selection for the international competition, Ben spent eight days at the University of Maryland testing, competing, doing lab work, taking field trips, and even having lunch with our Congressman.  Three students from the team were chosen to represent the US in the International Physics Olympiad in Iran. 

Ben moved on from HMS in 1997 and proud mom and our Art Teacher, Patti Connell, says, "Montessori was so great for Ben for many reasons.  He developed a great sense of self confidence at HMS enabling him to do such things as speaking and competing in front of an audience.  The follow the child philosophy continually challenged him to advance and develop a love for math.  He left HMS very well prepared and ready to advance in his education."  Currently, Ben is a freshman on an academic scholarship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and he is majoring in Math and Physics.  Congratulations, Ben!

Nick Tolton is a Junior at St. Marks High School this year.  The transition to high school was a breeze for Nick.  He made friends very easily and is keeping busy with school activities, academics, baseball and friends.  Nick says his work at HMS has enabled him to develop excellent study/work habits, which keeps him on top of his academics at school.  Nick really enjoys economics and has already saved up enough money to make payment on his first truck a Dodge Hemi!

Stephanie Tolton moved on from HMS and she now attends the Cab Calloway School of Arts in the Performing Arts program and recently received Distinguished Honors for earning straight A's.  Proud Parent, Vicki Tolton says that they attribute her successes to the quality education she received at The Hockessin Montessori School.

Sarah Albrecht now attends Middletown Highschool in Middletown, DE.  She has made honor roll every semester!  She played volleyball, lacrosse, and is involved in the stage crew of the school production.  Proud Parent, Dana, says that she attributes her success to what she learned at The Hockessin Montessori School.  "She was more than ready academically to mainstream and continue her education in traditional schooling.  She gained such a great sense of independence here at HMS that she easily adjusted to a new social environment and academics."