UDHS Purple & Gold

This month's highlighted photo comes from the April 23 April Showers fundraiser for Special Olympics. Pictured to the left is 11th grader Isabel Boggio with her brother Ian.

The first photo below comes from the same event, and is a perfect demonstration of the heart of education at our school. It features Mrs. Sharkey and Mrs. Kurz having a blast with their student.

The second photo below, which is being featured just because, is of "Bill Murray," one of the many UDHS groundhogs. as he was chilling outside.

Following their excellent performance at the Delaware County Science Fair, its winners advanced to the Delaware Valley Science Fair, which was held from March 31 through April 1, and featured the thousand winners from other schools across Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

The following students won awards at DVSF:

Nazifa Arna - First Place in 11th grade Behavioral Sciences and Special Award from the American Statistical Association for the best use of Statistics for her presentation on Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality as a Cognitive Enhancement Paradigm: Effects on Memory, Mood, and Executive Function

Safilin Salma - First place in 10th grade Earth & Space Sciences for the project: Effects of Bandpass Filter Range on the Visibility and Duration of the GW150914 Gravitational Wave Signal

Md Al-Mumit - Third place in 9th grade Earth & Space Sciences for his presentation on the Connection Between Supermassive Black Hole Spin and Accretion Rate

Khandakar Mahin - Honorable Mention in 12th grade Computer Science for his presentation on HotelCam: Real-Time Hotel Identification for Sex Trafficking Investigations Using Machine Learning

Mst Tayiba - Special Award from West Pharmaceutical Services for creativity and scientific thought in the area of Medicine and Health for the presentation: Bio-Inspired Oyster Shell—Gelatin Adhesives: A Model for Reducing Invasive Bone Fracture Repairs

Nghi Ngo - Special Award from WL Gore and Associates for outstanding material science research project for the presentation: Improving the Insulating Property of Concrete Using Embedded Recycled Plastic

Among the many activities this month for students in the Upper Darby High School Teen & Police Service (TAPS) Academy, our students worked with advisors from the Upper Darby Police Department to search for evidence and clues while investigating a mock crime scene, tested their safe driving skills by practicing with a golf cart on a test course, and learned

about fire safety from Firefighter Justin Abraham from the Upper Darby Fire Department, who talked to them about firefighting and fire safety!

This past month, students from Upper Darby High School hosted the 22nd Annual Annenberg High School Science Symposium and also presented their research on the connection between periodontal health and chronic disease. The students have been learning this topic all year and even met with Dr. Steven Present of the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry to prepare for the event. To meet the symposium requirement of a creative piece, the group created a parody music video with a life-size dancing tooth, and winning an award for Best Creativity in Presentation of an Important Message.

Upper Darby High School senior Khandakar Mahin for being selected as the Northeast Regional Winner of the Presidential AI Challenge. He will travel to Washington, D.C., in June 7-10 to compete in the national competition and present his project, which is titled "Utilizing Computer Vision for Hotel Room Identification in Criminal Investigations." Congratulations Khandakar!

UDHS Senior Mohd Iftakhar Tarunno, a winner of the Delaware County Institute of Science Award, recently presented his research on noise sources in the LIGO Gravitational-Wave Interferometers at the group's April meeting.

Members of the Upper Darby High School National English Honor Society and Creative Writing Classes had the opportunity to attend this year's Drexel Writer’s Festival, where they worked with various Drexel professors, collaborated with other attendees, and learned about flash fiction, found poetry, analytical writing and technical writing.

Congratulations to our Upper Darby High School students who participated in this year's Central League Writing Competition, with freshman Logan Bryant standing out as our top writer and coming in 2nd place in the competition!

Congratulations to Upper Darby High School junior Chloe Thompson, whose website entitled, "The AIDS Epidemic: The Call to ACT UP Felt Across the Nation" took first place at the county's National History Day competition. She will participate in the state competition this month.

Mr. Trung's Energy, Power, and Transportation Class, which focuses on providing problem-solving experiences in land, sea, and air-based systems of transportation, recently held a rocket launch in the lacrosse field at the high school. During the class the team designed, constructed, and test a CO2-powered vehicle, a mousetrap vehicle, and various types of rockets, one of which was launched on a beautiful spring day in the lacrosse field.

Students in Mr. Trung's electronics class had fun and learned a lot creating and coding a CoDrone (programmable classroom drone) that simulates the hunting of a corn earworm (formally known as the helicoverpa zea). The drone passes the corn, then makes a reverse flight to attack it in an open-loop control system. This simulation took place in the hallway of the lower floor T-wing.

On Saturday April 25th,the Upper Darby High School Model UN team hosted their first conference, inviting students from eight other schools to argue in a series of committees based on historical and hypothetical scenarios while also dealing with a variety of crisis situations performed by volunteers.

On Friday April 10, the members of the Upper Darby High School Royals Track & Field program participated in the Brooks Haverford Distance Classic, an event that was highlighted by elite state and national performances, multiple Penn Relays qualifications, and an overwhelming number of personal bests across all event groups.

Leading the way was Joshua Sharp, who delivered a truly historic performance in the 800 meters at the Brooks Haverford Distance Classic, earning 1st place with a time of 1:50.38, setting a new school record, and currently ranking PA #1 and US #5. His performance stands as one of the top marks in the country this season!

Sharp returned the following day to anchor the boys 4x800 relay alongside David Benda, Charlie Hegarty, and Sam Surmandah, who ran 7:54.5, placing 2nd, earning a PA #2 ranking, and securing qualification for the Penn Relays—one of the most prestigious track and field events in the nation.

Adding to the excitement, the 9th grade boys 4x100 relay team of Azeem Fowler-Ayers, Logan Hicks, Jeremiah Etienne, and Rhymair Knuckles punched their ticket to the 130th Penn Relays with a 2nd-place finish at the Penn Relays Trials held at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

Congratulations to all of our Upper Darby High School runners who brought their energy, talent, and determination to the Penn Relays this past weekend!

The boys 4x400 team—Charlie Hegarty, Josiah Gray, David Benda, and Joshua Sharp—brought home the coveted “Cookie” Wheel Trophy before doubling back and taking 2nd place in the Philadelphia Area Championship race!

The girls 4x400 squad—Ovviya Lauderdale, Laila Fofana, Tajai Powell, and Kadi Golembiewski—captured the Penn Relays Wheel Trophy and qualified for the Greater Philadelphia Area Championship, earning a TOP 5 finish in the championship division—the program’s best in over twenty years!

The girls 4x100 team—Naylah Smith-Fox, Amy Touray, Natalia Rahatt, and Yasmeen Thompson—showed strong chemistry with smooth baton exchanges against elite competition, while the boys 4x100, Jordan Porter, Saafir Bolden, Josiah Gray, and Amir Hill, represented on the national stage with a strong showing.

The 4x800 team—Charlie Hegarty, Sam Surmandah, David Benda, and Joshua Sharp—qualified for Penn Relays for the FIRST time since 2005, finishing 27th overall in a stacked field!

This past month, the Upper Darby High School softball team celebrated Gabby Johnston, their only senior player, at their annual senior celebration night! Congratulations Gabby and the softball team on their 7-6 victory over Ridley.

Congratulations also goes to the senior members of our Upper Darby High School baseball team, who were similarly honored.

Earlier this month, high school's music department showed off the talents of its students at the Pops Concert. Students performed several popular songs from their favorite pop musicians, movies, musicals, and television shows to the enjoyment of the audience.

Enjoy some photos from this year's 2026 UD's Got Talent Showcase.

On Thursday April 23nd, the UDHS Autistic Support and Life Skills Programs hosting its annual Rain Rally/April Showers Event. Students from the program, as well as many high school athletes, participated.

This event is held to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) and its Unified Champion Schools program. Money for our students to participate was raised through the annual inclusion T-shirt sale. We also raised $5,500 to donate to SOPA.

The Upper Darby Fire Department provided the "showers," which students and teachers alike happily ran through. The event also featured games such as cornhole, music, and a Kona Shaved Ice truck.

The UDHS College and Career Fair was hosted on Wednesday April 15th to great success. Representatives from colleges, branches of the military, and various local and government employment services met with student visitors who had signed up for 20 minute slots. The event was organized by Ms. Catlett and everyone at the Career and College Center (Ms. Freeman, Mr. Haines, Ms. Nicolaides, and Mr. Walleekendeh), while Ms. Zampirri and her Block 2 baking class kindly provided food and desserts for all of the visitors.

I’m not quite sure where to begin! I’ve been a nurse for 22 years, primarily working in pediatrics and neonatal ICUs in hospital settings. I earned my first bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Joseph’s University and a second bachelor’s degree in nursing from Drexel University. I decided to pursue a certification in school nursing to create a better work/life balance. That decision ultimately led me to my current role at Upper Darby High School this year. I still work occasional weekends in the Neonatal ICU. I couldn’t fully step away from caring for my babies! I’m also currently working toward my Master’s Degree in nursing, focusing on school nursing. After this class, I'll have just 4 left!

In my spare time, I am raising the teenage boys with my husband, David. Our boys are 15, 14, and 12 years old, and they are very active in sports and activities. I enjoy gardening, especially growing flowers and creating floral arrangements to share. I’m also a big fan of musical theater, both on and off Broadway. I’m especially excited to see Les Misérables in New York this July for its 40th anniversary concert. I’m really excited for my first summer “off” and hope to spend it relaxing with my family.

On behalf of Upper Darby High School, thank you for all that you and all of our school nurses do!

Our star student this month is 11th grader Isabel Boggio. Isabel is also pictured in one of our "Cute Photos of the Month" with her brother Ian, but besides being a world class sibling, she's also a star student enrolled in a number of advanced placement classes, and a basketball player and a member of track and field. Plus, she's a very sweet person. Her future is bright indeed!