DOVER  – The Division of Public Health (DPH) invites parents with children from birth to 5 years old to participate in its first Books, Balls and Blocks event, which will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, October 13, at the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in New Castle, Delaware.

Presented in partnership with DPH’s Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems program, Help Me Grow Delaware, United Way, Delaware 211, the Delaware Division of Libraries, and New Castle County Public Libraries, the event is fun, educational and free. Parents should plan to stay for the duration.

While children engage in games and activities at six different stations, parents learn how these interactions help stimulate their child’s healthy development. While the children are playing, parents will complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). The ASQ-3 is a reliable, valid, and easy-to-use tool recommended to screen young children for developmental delays.

Originally created by Help Me Grow Utah, the Books, Balls and Blocks model is a fun and educational way to provide developmental screenings to children within the first five years of life. The model provides opportunities for families to engage with their children through a variety of play-based activities that promote child development in areas such as early literacy, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and social skills. It also provides families with the resources they need to monitor their children as they meet developmental milestones and how they can get help if they have questions or concerns.

During the event, professionals from Help Me Grow Delaware will administer the ASQ-3 and then share the results with the parents to learn if his or her child’s development:
• Appears to be on schedule.
• Needs to be monitored and the child provided with learning activities.
• Requires further assessment by a professional.

Parents will receive child development resources, new fun playtime activity ideas and a goodie bag. Other community resources will be on site.

Why should children be screened?
• To understand what milestones your children can and should be reaching as they grow.
• To be able to better identify your children’s strengths.
• To give you ways to talk to your doctor or other professionals about your concerns with your children.
• To track your children’s progress over time – a simple way to “journal” their milestone achievement.
• To give you new ideas to use in play with your children and make this time more useful in their development.

What is a developmental screener?
• A tool that has been tested by researchers to ensure that it is measuring developmental milestones seen in all children as they grow.
• Questionnaires meant to be used by all parents and providers to monitor children as they grow.
• A tool to capture patterns of development in children early, helping increase better outcomes for later life, if action is taken.

What is the Ages & Stages Questionnaire?
• Help Me Grow Delaware uses the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) for general development and social-emotional screening.
• It is to be completed by the parent; parents are the experts of their children.

For more information about the Books, Balls and Blocks event, call 302-740-8447 or visit http://dethrives.com/events/event/books-balls-blocks.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

(DOVER, Del.—Oct. 3, 2018)—On Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Archaeological Society of Delaware, will present “Queenstown and the Early Colonial Delmarva: An Archaeological and Historical Symposium.” The event will include scholarly presentations on My Lord’s Gift, a 17th century archaeological site in Queenstown, Md.; and the Coleman Farm, Reedy Island and Fort Casimir sites in Delaware. A schedule of symposium activities is included below.

The symposium will take place at the New Castle Court House Museum located at 211 Delaware St. in New Castle, Del. Admission is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Craig Lukezic at craig.lukezic@delaware.gov or call 302-736-7407.

Schedule of events

8:45 a.m.
Introduction
Remarks by Craig Lukezic, symposium coordinator and archaeologist, Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs; and Jay Custer, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Archaeological Research, University of Delaware

9:15 a.m.
Current Research at My Lord’s Gift, the 17th and 18th-Century Home of Henry Coursey and His Family
Jay Custer, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Archaeological Research, University of Delaware

9:45 a.m.
Deciphering the Architecture of Henry Coursey’s My Lord’s Gift Plantation
Henry Miller, adjunct professor of anthropology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

10:15 a.m.
BREAK

10:30 a.m.
Analysis of the Ceramic Assemblage at My Lord’s Gift Site
Andrea Anderson, lab coordinator, Department of Anthropology, University of Delaware

11:10 a.m.
Recorded and Recovered: Preliminary Interpretations of Henry Coursey’s Probate Inventory
Barb Silber, archaeologist

11:35 a.m.
An Unusual Earthenware Object from the My Lord’s Gift’ Site
Patricia Samford, director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum

Lunch

1:30 p.m.
Reedy Island: The Gravesend of the Delaware
Bruce A. Bendler, adjunct professor of history, University of Delaware

2:15 p.m.
Future Research at the Coleman Farm Site
Lu Ann De Cunzo, professor and chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Delaware

3:00 p.m.
Future Research of the Fort Casimir Battlefield Project
Craig Lukezic, symposium coordinator and archaeologist, Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs

The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is an agency of the State of Delaware. The division enhances Delaware’s quality of life by preserving the state’s unique historical heritage, fostering community stability and economic vitality and providing educational programs and assistance to the general public on Delaware history. The division’s diverse array of services includes operation of five museums which are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, administration of the State Historic Preservation Office, conservation of the state’s archaeological and historic-objects collections, operation of a conference center and management of historic properties across the state. Primary funding for division programs and services is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, a federal agency. However, the contents and opinions expressed in the division’s programs and services do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior.

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Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone: 302-739-7787
E-mail: Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web: http://history.delaware.gov

(DOVER, Del.—April 16, 2018)—The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is planning capital improvements at the Academy building, a state-owned historic property that the agency administers in downtown New Castle, Del. Improvements, which will begin in the spring of 2018, include replacement of the building’s existing wood-shingle roof with a new wood-shingle roof; replacement of existing roof hatches and flashing; and installation of an elastomeric coating on a metal section of the roof.

Located at 31 E. Third St., the New Castle Academy was built in 1799 according to a design by Peter Crowding, a Philadelphia master builder. It served as a public school until 1930 when the New Castle High School was built. The property is currently leased to Immanuel Episcopal Church which utilizes it for many church-related and community activities. The building is one of four historic properties (The Green, New Castle Court House Museum, Arsenal and Academy) that the division administers in Delaware’s original capital city which also serves as the headquarters of the First State National Historical Park.

The division will work with the construction contractor and Immanuel Church to limit inconvenience to the public, and the Academy building will remain open during the project. Residents and visitors will see the usual presence of equipment, materials and workers on site as well as the usual noises that go with roofing work during daytime hours. No weekend work is anticipated.

The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is an agency of the State of Delaware. The division enhances Delaware’s quality of life by preserving the state’s unique historical heritage, fostering community stability and economic vitality and providing educational programs and assistance to the general public on Delaware history and heritage. The division’s diverse array of services includes operation of five museums which are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, administration of the State Historic Preservation Office, conservation of the state’s archaeological and historic-objects collections, operation of a conference center and management of historic properties across the state. Primary funding for division programs and services is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, a federal agency. However, the contents and opinions expressed in the division’s programs and services do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior.

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Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone: 302-739-7787
E-mail: Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web: http://history.delaware.gov

DOVER – Registration is open now for the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference, organized by DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship, to be held Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington. Online registration and information about the event, including sponsorships, can be found at de.gov/dewetlandsconference.

DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program and the Delaware Coastal Training Program have planned a two-day event that showcases the importance of wetlands. Each day includes invited speakers, poster sessions, networking time, lunches and a total of 62 presentations that cover wetland restoration, climate change, mapping, education and outreach, planning and conservation and plants and animals. New to this year’s conference is a wetlands poster contest for undergraduate and graduate college students.

More than 400 wetland experts and enthusiasts from the Mid-Atlantic area are expected to gather at the biennial conference to share the latest innovations in wetland research, outreach and conservation programs. The conference brings together scientists, planners, county and federal representatives, community leaders, educators and natural resource managers to discuss current research on tidal and non-tidal wetlands, the value of the region’s wetlands and the impact their management has on the community.

Discounted conference admission rates are available through Wednesday, Dec. 6 for early-bird registration. Registration closes Wednesday, Jan. 24.

For more information on the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference, including the agenda, list of presentations, and instructions on how to submit a poster, please visit Delaware Wetlands Conference, or contact Brittany Haywood at Brittany.Haywood@delaware.gov, or 302-739-9939.

Vol. 47, No. 247

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902