Superintendent's Weekly Update
As we begin the new school year, we want to take a moment to discuss a critical factor in student success: consistent attendance.
We understand that family vacations are a wonderful way to create lasting memories. We also know that it can be challenging to align vacation schedules with work and other family commitments. To support your student's learning and ensure they don't miss valuable instructional time, we strongly encourage all families to plan their vacations during the scheduled school breaks.
Our school year calendar is designed to provide ample time off, including 26 days throughout the year in addition to the summer break. This includes a three-day weekend for Labor Day, a four day weekend Nov. 8-11, a week for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Winter Break, a long four day weekend in February, a week for spring break and another three-day weekend in May. While we do provide work for students when they are absent, nothing can fully replace the in-person instruction and classroom interactions they receive from their teachers and peers.
We urge you to use these scheduled breaks for any family travel. Thank you for your partnership in helping your student have a successful and enriching school year.
Updates from Principals
This week, students and staff at DES focused on establishing a strong foundation for the school year by practicing classroom routines and completing baseline assessments. We also held our annual medication training for teachers during early release and conducted minimum release days for parent-teacher interviews, strengthening the partnership between families and educators.
On Thursday, we successfully executed our first fire drill of the year. Our 3rd through 5th-grade students are preparing for Student Council elections, with nomination forms submitted this week. We concluded the week with our first school spirit day, where students and staff showed their enthusiasm by wearing tie-dye. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable three-day weekend.
Looking ahead, we have a busy week planned. Our September Staff Meeting will take place on Tuesday, and five K-4 teachers will begin their training for the Amplify Math Pilot. Students running for Student Council will campaign and practice their speeches before the election assembly on Friday. Lifetouch Picture Day is scheduled for Thursday, and the DES PTS will kick off their annual cookie dough and gifts fundraiser on Friday.
Tiger Spotlight of the Week: Evelyn Franzella-Chiem, Alternative Learning Teache
DIS (From Josh Rowe)
Cross Country at DIS
Cross Country is now an official sport at DIS! Practices begin soon.
First Practice: September 3rd
Please remember: any student wishing to participate must have a sports physical on file in the office before they can attend practice.
Thank You, PTS!
A huge thank-you to PTS for hosting an amazing Back to School Dance last week! Our students had a blast dancing the evening away. PTS does incredible things for our students—if you’d like to get involved, please join us for their next meeting on September 8th at 12:15 PM in the DIS Conference Room.
ASB Speeches & Elections
Campaign posters have been brightening up our campus all week and look fantastic! Student speeches will take place in the DIG on Friday, August 29th. We can’t wait to hear our students share their ideas!
Yearbooks on Sale
Yearbooks are now available for purchase. Simply scan the QR code on the yearbook posters around campus or the QR code in the weekly Panther Press sent through ParentSquare every Sunday.
Mark Your Calendars – Upcoming Events
August 29: ASB Speeches & Elections
September 1: No School – Labor Day
September 5: Jog-A-Thon Rally
September 15: Minimum Day – 12:10 PM Dismissal
September 19: Jog-A-Thon Paperwork Due
DHS (From Marty Wilkes)
Summer is squarely in the rearview mirror and now that schedule changes are finalized, the Counseling team is busy planning for fall. Watch for communication regarding upcoming events.
In Advisory, we have spent the last two weeks getting to know each other, building community through games and other fun activities. Ask your student what they have been doing. Next week we will dive into the Character Strong curriculum. That means we will have weekly “To-Be” Challenges that we encourage our students (and even their families) to complete. Be on the lookout for those starting next week.
Upcoming dates:
CSU Workshop for Seniors - Sept 3rd during 3rd period
Senior Parent Night (Seniors & their parents) - Sept 15th
SAT - October 22nd (Today was the last day to sign up)
PSAT - Date TBD (Today was the last day to sign up)
Cash4College Workshop: Financial Aid Assistance for Seniors & their parents - October 22nd
Volleyball hosted Maxwell on Wednesday and sent the Panthers home with a loss in 3 sets. Seniors Payton Santos and Hayden Poyner played well for the home team and Sophomore Lily Larrabee led the team with 18 assists and 29 serves. The Volleyball team also hosted Trinity on Thursday and sent the visiting home in 3 sets. If you have the chance you should come check out a game. The team is playing some of the best volleyball that I have seen at Durham. The Durham girls have run their record to 7-2 on the season. The girls will travel to Redding on Thursday to play Shasta High School then will be playing in the Sutter Tourney on Sept. 6.
The tennis team earned their first win of the season with a 8-1 win over Oroville on hot Thursday afternoon. Senior Gracie Donahoo Durham's No. 1 seed led the way.
Our boys will kick off their football season tonight at Redding Christian with junior varsity at 5:30 and varsity at 7:30. I
FFA: Held their first chapter meeting of the year. They had 105 students in attendance.
Aug. 29 - Football at Redding Christian 5:30/7:30
Sept. 3 - Back to School Night 6:00-7:45
Sept. 5 - Football vs Trinity 5:30 and 7:30
Sept. 8 - Senior Parent Night 6:00
Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)
It’s important to prioritize mental health and well-being, and we want to ensure you have access to helpful resources. Two excellent support services available are Soluna and BrightLife Kids, both offering guidance and resources for children and families navigating challenging times. Both Soluna and BrightLife are able to offer support in English and Spanish as well as other languages.
For immediate crisis support, please call/text/chat 988, a confidential and free 24/7 helpline available to anyone in need. This support can be used by caregivers as well as anyone who is supporting a person in crisis. This is a support for any type of social emotional crisis.
We appreciate your partnership in supporting our students. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need further assistance.
-Marilyn mbertolucci@durhamunified.org and 530-895-4697 ext. 6020
Soluna - Soluna is a free, confidential app that offers mental health support to California residents ages 13–25. It's available on iOS and Android.
BrightLife Kids- 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.