Good morning Seahawk Nation!
Welcome back, we hope you all had a nice holiday break. It is hard to believe we are approaching December and the beginning of 2023, but it is right around the corner! We are looking forward to the start of the New Year, as the latest enhancement (the renovation of the Parade field and track) should be underway. We know this latest project will greatly improve the overall aesthetics of our campus and serve all of our cadets immensely. This latest project comes at a cost of close to $750,000 and we have been working feverishly to secure funding from various private donors and Foundations to offset the cost. We are proud to say we have raised over $300,000 thus far, with other requests still being evaluated. We will also be sending separate correspondence in the next month, soliciting our families with the hope you will be in a position to contribute to better the experience of present and future cadets of DMA! We attribute our fundraising success to the hard work of our DMA Staff and of course our cadets and families who continue to make DMA shine in the community. We also know we received some unflattering media attention this fall, and while the report was not completely accurate, it is still not the image we want at DMA. Trust me when I say, we all learned from this experience, discussed the matter (internally) at length, and put safeguards in place for an incident like this not to occur again. DMA believes in sharing and celebrating all the positives that happen, but just as we teach our cadets, we must recognize our mistakes, own them and learn from them. Much more to follow as the Parade Field enhancement takes shape!
Here is what we have happening at DMA:
- Fall Sports Recap: Congratulations to our fall sports teams who had an excellent season. We had many teams showing tremendous improvements from last year to this year. Our Field Hockey team improved to a 10-3-1 record and reached the Quarterfinals from last year’s team, which ended the season 8-7. Our Boys Cross Country won a conference championship and placed 4th at States.
- All of our teams reached the playoffs. Field Hockey reached the Quarterfinals, Boys Soccer reached the Quarterfinals, Volleyball reached the 2nd round, Football reached the 1st round and again our Boys Cross Country team won the 2022 DSAC Conference Championship.
- On Wednesday, November 16th, we held a National Letter of Intent Signing Day.
- Congratulations to Drew Simpson on his commitment to West Chester University for baseball, Logan Wiley on his commitment to the University of Maryland Baltimore County for baseball, Peyton Brannock on his commitment to East Stroudsburg University for baseball, Tyler August on his commitment to the University of Delaware for baseball, Marisa Edevane on her commitment to Rollins College for softball, Annika Downs on her commitment to Washington College for Softball, Sean Bogan on his commitment to Del Tech for baseball, Jackson Dorsey on his commitment to Coast Guard Academy for baseball, Ashley Hughes on her commitment to Shippensburg University for soccer and Alyssa Mahan on her commitment to Presbyterian College for wrestling.
- A huge congratulations to Ethan Walther who is the D2 Individual Boys Cross Country State Champion!
- Many athletes performed at an elite level which earned them all-conference or All-state honors.
- In Soccer, Declan Kirby was awarded 1st team All-State, Nick Oberhausen was awarded 2nd team All-state. Declan Kirby, Nick Oberhausen and Geo Hallo were awarded 1st team All-Conference. Nate Idonije and Dom Gennusa were awarded 2nd team All-Conference. Gabe Swift was awarded Honorable Mention All-Conference.
- In Field Hockey, Emersyn Rugerrio was awarded 1st team All-Conference. Sophia Manuel was awarded 2nd team All-Conference. Adrienne Esterling and Sidney Ziegler were awarded Honorable Mention All-Conference.
- In Volleyball, Kate Hines was awarded Honorable Mention All-State and 1st team All-Conference. Mackenna Van Horn and Maya Hill were awarded 2nd team All-Conference. Morgan Giofre and Emily Trzonkowski were awarded Honorable Mention All-Conference.
- In Cross Country, Ethan Walther, Troy Hedrick, Aidan Leary, and Ethan Barnett were awarded 1st team All-Conference. Alec Jurgaitis and Ashley Hughes were awarded 2nd team All-Conference. Ben Swift and Laureana McCann were awarded 3rd team All-Conference.
- In Football, BJ Alleyne and Caelan DeNigris were awarded 1st team offense All-District. Mason Harding and Connor Sullivan were awarded 2nd team offense All-District. John Tate and Malcom Roy were awarded 3rd team offense All-District. Odell Teel was 1st team defense All-District. Caelan DeNigris and Eric Dorsey were 2nd team defense All-District. Edward Emmens and Luca Turturici were awarded Honorable Mention offense All-District. John Tate, Malcom Roy, and Ethan Brantley were awarded Honorable Mention defense All-District.
- Lastly, as previously mentioned DMA earned the national NIAAA QPA Award. DMA is a 2022 DIAA Sportsmanship Award recipient. DMA had our fall athletes earn a combined 3.41 GPA with 68% of them earning Honor Roll.
- Our “Cadet for a Day” was a huge success and we wanted to thank the thirty plus cadets who came to help mentor and guide the students who took advantage of the opportunity to see DMA firsthand. They all seemed to enjoy the day and left motivated and excited about the opportunity to become a Seahawk!
- Our very own DMA Marching Seahawks and Choir headed down to Orlando, Florida to represent the DMA Family in a Music STARS Performance at Universal Studios! The cadets did a fantastic job in a once in a lifetime opportunity and their performance and our families, friends, as well as the Universal Studios staff, were very impressed by their impressive skill and bearing! Bravo Zulu cadets! Coming up, the Band and Choir will be performing Holiday tunes for the “Cookies and Cocoa with Santa” event, sponsored by DMA Sports Boosters, on the evening of December 8th! Mark your calendar and be sure to attend the event!
- Cadets in the community giving back! Over the Thanksgiving break, we had Cadets LaFrankie, Simmerman, Merganthaler, and Pala all volunteering their time at the St. Mary’s of Assumption Thanksgiving Food Drive BRAVO ZULU GENTS!
- SBC is excited to announce our 2nd annual Cookies & Cocoa with Santa event on Thursday, December 8th at 6:30pm in the Mess Hall. This is a free event. Spirit wear will be for sale, and you will be able to personalize your spirit wear on site. We just ask that everyone who plans to attend, please sign up, so we have an accurate head count for cocoa and treats. To sign up please use the Google form link below. Hope to see you all there! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jA6rEpLtVOP5XbOYg87skrEkfz23dRgCtTOyfcTirXk/edit
- Junior cadets will be able to place their order for the Class of 2024 class ring during both lunches on Tuesday, December 6th. A representative from Balfour will be in both lunches to take orders and size cadets. A minimal deposit will be required to place the order and can be paid with cash, check (payable to Balfour) or a credit card. Final payment will be due in February or early March. Detailed information including the artwork and order forms will be sent through the Class of 2024 BAND app later this week.
This was a full report, but you should thank me, because I am saving you from overspending on Cyber Monday. Have a great week and if there is anything we can do on our end, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Kindly,
