Last week’s Superintendent’s Update focused on how lucky we are to be part of a supportive community in Durham, and there is no debating this fact. However, we are also part of a larger society where real concerns exist from which we must protect our students.

In this spirit, the district is implementing a new policy to require all volunteers with any possibility of being unsupervised with students to follow the same fingerprinting procedures as district employees. 

This new policy is in no way meant to discourage parents and community members from volunteering in our schools, but is just meant to add an additional layer of protection for our students.

The following message was sent out to parents and staff this week to explain how it works”

“This is Durham Superintendent John Bohannon. This message is to alert those that wish to volunteer in our schools to a new district policy.
In order to do everything we can to keep our students safe, all volunteers with any chance of being unsupervised with a student will be required to go through the district’s fingerprinting process. 

How it works:
1. Each volunteer will complete a volunteer form at the appropriate school site.
2. The form will be sent to the district office.
3. Each volunteer will then go to the district office and talk to Alex Hernandez to receive a fingerprinting form
4. Each volunteer will proceed to the Durham Recreation and Park District (DRPD) office to be fingerprinted
5. Alex Hernandez will receive a report back from the fingerprinting, report to district admin, who will sign the form for the volunteer unless there is an issue with the fingerprint report.

The district will pay all fees associated with fingerprinting.
Thank you for helping the district do everything possible to keep our students safe!”

I want to reiterate how lucky our students are to be part of a community where so many people want to volunteer to help them in their education.

Ag facilities planning update

In continuing a theme, our students are also lucky to be part of a community willing to tax itself by approving two facilities' bonds in the last six years. The community has obligated $43 million through Measure X ($18.5 million) in 2018 and Measure B ($24.5 million) in 2024. The language in Measure B includes improving the Career Technical Education Agriculture facilities at Durham High School.

The Agriculture Department at Durham High School is in need of a modern Agriculture Mechanics facility, an instructional barn and a science lab for the Ag science pathways. Some in the community have asked why the agriculture facility upgrades were not included in the first projects funded by Measure B. Part of the planning for the bond projects is to match the bond funds with available state funding to provide as many quality upgrades as possible to district facilities. In that regard, the district is working on multiple applications for Career Technical Facilities grants through the state. If the district is successful in obtaining the grants, it would give the district $4.5 million to match with $4.5 million bond dollars to create $9 million to upgrade the agriculture facilities. 

The district will submit its applications for the state’s CTE facilities grants in December and should be notified in the spring of 2026 if it will be awarded one or both of the grants. The district has hired an architect to help with the applications process and planning of the further agriculture facilities

Updates from Principals

DES (from Samantha Brown)
What a week! We got our Math interventions officially underway and held our first SBIT Leadership check-ins on Monday. A huge thank you to our incredible custodians, whom we recognized on Thursday for National Custodian Appreciation Day! Unfortunately, the weather pushed Chalk Day to next Friday, October 10th.

Next week is a busy one! It's Fire Safety Week. On Monday, the Amplify Math Teacher Team will have training during Early Release, while the office staff takes part in an anonymous threat training. We also have Student Council and Chess Club meetings Monday. Don't forget our October Staff Meeting on Tuesday. Wednesday is exciting: our Math Buddies program kicks off! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather next Friday for Chalk Day and all the planned Buddy Class fun!

DIS (From Josh Rowe)
Cardboard Boat Races Are Coming!
Mr. Richards and his students have been learning about buoyancy in preparation for our annual Cardboard Boat Races! The races will take place Thursday, October 9. We’ll share photos of this fun DIS tradition in next week’s update.

Homework Club
Homework Club is back! Students can work in Mrs. Lash’s room on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 3:30 PM.

• Bus riders may attend and take the 3:15 PM high school bus home.

• If your student plans to attend and needs bus transportation, please let the office know so we can coordinate with the transportation department.

Cross Country
Our Panther Cross Country team has been training hard! Their next race is tomorrow, Saturday, October 4 at Butte College.

• Girls race begins at 11:00 AM

• Boys race begins at 11:30 AM

Come cheer on our Panthers as they compete against other area middle schools!

Girls Basketball Tryouts
Girls basketball is underway! 

• 6th Grade — Through DRPD

• 7th & 8th Grade — Through DIS

Tryouts wrap up today. Our 7th and 8th Grade Lady Panthers will play their first game here at DIS on Wednesday, October 15 against Chico Country Day School. Seventh grade girls will tip off at 4:00 with 8th grade girls following at 5:00.

Mark your calendars and come cheer on our Lady Panthers!

Up Coming Important Dates

• October 9 — Cardboard Boat Races

• October 13 — Minimum Day

• October 18 — Gala Dinner

• November 10 — Non-Student Day 

• November 11 — Veterans Day (No School)

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)

Student Of the Month:
October’s Student of the Month is Katia Cabrera-Ramos.  Katia has a 4.26 GPA.  Ms. Cabrera will be applying to several colleges this year, including Stanford, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis. Katia would like to major in Bio Medical Engineering.  She is currently taking Advanced Biology, SOU English, Pre-Calculus, Civics, and Graphic Design.    

Counseling:
This week Advisory classes continued their work developing community. Next week we will be having some homecoming fun and preparing for the end of the quarter.

On Tuesday, Counseling took 25 seniors to tour the Butte College Health Programs (See attached photos). Our students were given a presentation about what they offer, got to see lab spaces with mannequins that are used by nursing students to practice and enjoyed a trip to the Arm Farm, which is used to teach students how to draw blood.

On Thursday, 22 juniors and seniors heard a presentation on how to effectively write UC Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). Joe, an admissions representative from UC Santa Cruz, shared insightful tips and answered student’s questions. 

Athletics:
Volleyball: You know it's a big game when you have both schools superintendents and the section commissioner in the gym. That is what you missed Tuesday night if you skipped the fourth-ranked Trojans home game against the section number one ranked team East Nicolaus, who has claimed the last four section titles.  The lady Trojans weathered every charge that East Nicolaus made and had answers for everything that East Nicolaus threw at them.  Our girls not only beat East Nicolaus, but sent them home in three sets. This win was the first time the Trojans got the upper hand on East Nicolaus in five years.  The girls are 7-0 in the Sacramento Valley League and 24-4 overall.

The tennis team: The rain forced the cancellation of this week’s tennis matches.

Football:  The Trojans played well defensively in the first half holding onto a 8-7 lead at the half.  The boys failed to generate much offense and left the defense in several tough situations. As the game went on the talented Winters team took advantage of miscues and rallied in the second half and won the game dropping the Trojans to 3-2 on the season.

Oct. 3 - Football vs Paradise
Oct. 7 - Volleyball vs Paradise
Oct. 9 - Volleyball at Pierce
Oct. 10 - Homecoming Football game vs Colusa

FFA:
MFE/ALA registration is now open
Oct. 6 - Start of the FFA Canned Food Drive: students are asked to bring 5 cans to earn FFA points.
Oct. 9 - Shasta Field Day: We are taking 25 students on 6 different teams.
Oct. 10 - DHS Spirit Arrangement Pick-up: In the floral shop from 2:20pm-4:30pm.
Oct. 17– 18 Mum Sale (Date Changed!)

Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)

CalHOPE Schools provides mental health and wellness resources to schools across California at no cost. The website contains resources that focus on creating trusting spaces, building resilience, and recognizing the signs of mental stress and duress in colleagues, students, and family members.

CalHOPE Schools

CalHOPE is offering two digital mental health supports for youth, young adults and families. 

Brightlife Kids offers Personalized support for California families. Kids ages 0–12 get free, expert coaching for sleep issues, worry, social skills, and more. Live, 1:1 video sessions, secure chat, on-demand content, and more. No cost. No insurance needed. All right from home.

soluna offers confidential support for 13- to 25-year-olds in California. No cost. No pressure. Chat 1:1 with a professional coach, use interactive tools to destress, or explore quizzes, videos, forums, and more. 

And finally,  not to leave adults out of the mix I recommend Calm available online and through an app.  Calm is a mental health support designed to manage stress, sleep better, and live a happier, healthier life. Calm’s goal is to help you build life-changing habits to support your mental health. They offer 500+ Sleep Stories®, soundscapes, and guided sleep meditations that can lull you to sleep. If you find yourself spiraling in negative thoughts and need immediate relief, try a  60-second Breathe Bubble that grounds you in the moment and helps your body return to a state of relaxation. 

Overwhelmed at work and need a breather? Calm offers stress and burnout specialists who can guide you through exercises to help calm your mind. Calm does have a subscription fee to access all features.    

Are you a CTA member? Here is a CTA linkCalm. You can get a free membership.

Weekly Update Archive