What a season it has been for the Durham High School Trojans winter sports teams. Both the boys and girls wrestling teams took first place in the Northern Section Masters Tournament with seven total wrestlers qualifying for the state championship meet. This means they were better than every team in the section, even schools with six times more students!

The girls basketball team earned the No. 2 seed in the Northern Section Division 5 playoffs and takes on No. 1 seed Modoc on Saturday at 2:30 pm at Shasta College in the section championship game. 

The boys basketball team tied for first in the Sacramento Valley League earning the No. 4 seed in the Northern Section Division V playoffs. They fell to top seed Weed in the semifinals.

With their impressive performance in earning the Master’s Section championship, the Trojans boys and girls wrestling teams qualified a combined nine wrestlers for the state championship meet that started February 26 and continues today and tomorrow.

The top wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the state meet. The girls team saw four girls earn Masters titles to qualify for state - Lilah Cardoza, Keira Koesters, Emma Waggoner and Kendall Schmid. On the boys side, Landon Salindong, Daniel Kerston and Jose Garcia all qualified for the state meet.

Durham students leadNorth State Ballet performance

Durham Unified District Nurse Kristin Walters informed us that many of our talented students will be performing in a full-length ballet production March 13-15 at the Performing Arts Center on the Pleasant Valley High School campus. The production is called Ballet Cirque Under the Big Top by the North State Ballet.

According to Walters, “Many of our students have been cast in major lead roles, and this is a wonderful opportunity to see their hard work, dedication, and artistry come to life on stage. We are so proud of them for representing our school in such a big way.”

Durham students in the ballet:  Ayden Teague (senior), Emma Drake (9th), Maggie Rappa & Mariah Bland (6th), Riley McCain (5th), Alex Halley (4th), Blayke Walters (3rd) - a lot of these dances have lead roles!

Clink this link for tickets: Ballet Cirque Tickets

DES (from Samantha Brown)
This week at DES, we are wrapping up Trimester 2 Report Card Assessments, as the end of the trimester was on Wednesday, February 25th. The DES Chess Club met in the DES Library after school on Monday. Our PBIS Leadership Team met on Tuesday after school to plan some fun, community building activities to get students and staff through the long month of March. On Thursday evening at 6 PM the District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC) met in the DES MPR for their monthly meeting and dinner. Today was a school spirit day where staff and students are encouraged to wear a solid color from head to toe.

It's hard to believe that we have nearly made it to the long month of March! We will be celebrating Read Across America week with daily school spirit days (see list below), guest readers in the classrooms, and a guest reader assembly on Tuesday afternoon. Tier 2 Reading Discovery Groups resume next week, and Summative ELPAC assessments will begin for our ELD students in grades K-5 until completed, so ELD groups will not be held during that time. Report cards will be sent home with students at the end of the school day on Tuesday, March 3rd. Teachers will meet after school on Tuesday for our monthly staff meeting. We have minimum release days on Thursday, March 5th and Friday, March 6th at 12:20PM for spring parent-teacher conferences in the afternoons. Friday is Maintenance/Grounds Worker Appreciation Day, and Golden Apple Insurance Services will provide lunch to DES staff. Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 8; don't forget to "spring forward," which means you lose one hour of sleep but gain more daylight in the evenings.

Monday,  March 2: Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character
Tuesday, March 3: Dress Like A Librarian
Wednesday, March 4: Dress Like Your Favorite Dr. Seuss Character
Thursday, March 5: Crazy Hair Day
Friday, March 6: Cozy Up! Wear Pajamas or Wear Comfortable Clothes

DIS (From Josh Rowe)
8th Grade Career Day Field Trip Feb. 26

Students turned in their second rough draft for Project Eighth Grade (PEG) yesterday and are entering the home stretch with the final draft due next week. We are still in need of a few more evaluators and would like to invite community members to serve as an evaluator for our upcoming PEG Presentations on March 10th and 11th. This is a great opportunity to see the hard work our students have put into their projects and to support them as they share their learning. Your involvement plays an important role in continuing this Durham tradition, and it means a great deal to our students to present to members of our board and community. 

Sign Up Link 

Thank you for considering this opportunity. We hope you are able to join us.

Basketball Season is coming to a close this weekend. Our boys closed out the season with a hard fought win against Chico Country Day, avenging their loss in the Rene Brandol Classic. Both 7th and 8th grade boys wrap up their season today and tomorrow in the Chico Country Day Shootout. 

Survivor DIS Season 1 is well underway. During PE Tribes were formed at random, to compete in mental toughness challenges, physical strength, teamwork and more for the title of Tribe Survivor DIS. Tribes have picked names based on island languages, created flags and will begin their hunt for hidden immunity idols today. Points are awarded, tribes voted out and advantages earned all in hopes of becoming the season 1 winner.

Important Dates

• March 5 – PEG Final Draft Due

• March 5 & 6 – Minimum Days

• March 10 & 11 – PEG Presentation Days

• April 6-10: No School - Spring Break

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)

Counseling:
This week in Advisory students watched a presentation created by several of our amazing staff members regarding keeping our campus clean, personal hygiene and campus culture. Take a minute to talk to your student(s) about what they learned watching the presentation and what role they think they play in creating the campus community they want. 

In Counseling, we have been busy helping seniors with this last stretch of high school. Graduation is only three months away! 

Reminder, in order to receive the most amount of aid possible, all seniors must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by Monday, March 2nd. Please have your senior login to their FAFSA account to verify theirs has been submitted.

This past Wednesday, the Durham High School Common Scholarship Application window opened. ALL seniors should complete this application to determine their eligibility for our local community scholarships. The Durham community is extremely generous in giving back to our students. Applications are available in the Senior Google Classroom. Please make sure your senior completes this important application by April 3rd!

Next Tuesday, March 3rd, we will be taking the majority of our seniors to Butte College for Reg2Go. For those students who will be attending, a separate email will be sent home with specific details.

Athletics:
Basketball:
The girls basketball team takes its 26-3 record to the Northern Section Division 5 title game Saturday at Shasta College to take on top seeded Modoc that has a 22-5 record.  The start time is 2:30.

The boys basketball team season came to an end losing their semifinals game Wednesday.  The Boys finished their season 17-13.

Wrestling:
The boys and girls wrestling teams both won the North Section Masters  title on Saturday.  This is the second time in three years for the boys team and it is the first time since 2019 the girls have won Masters.  The girls qualified four girls and the boys qualified three for the state tournament.   The boys team will see six athletes graduate this May while the girls team returns the whole team!

AG:
Jack Johansson attended the Sacramento Leadership Conference this week. He was one of 75 seniors from across the state to attend. During the four day event, he learned more about the role of government, advocacy for agriculture, and stepped into the shoes of a state legislator. He was assigned a specific bill to try and pass, debating other students in the capitol. We are so proud of him being selected for this amazing opportunity.

-Thank you to everyone who came and supported Durham FFA last week at our Boots and Bowties dinner!   

-Congratulations to Ashley Spence and James Osbon for being slated to serve as Superior Region FFA Officers!  Ashley is slated for Regional President and James is slated for North Valley Section Vice President. On March 12th at the Regional Meeting they will give a short speech with elections to follow. Wish them the best of luck!

Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)
As of February 2026, the legislative landscape regarding minors' social media usage and access is complex, with at least 17 states having enacted laws, some specifically targeting "addictive feeds." However, the legal enforceability of these laws is highly uncertain due to ongoing litigation. Consequently, these state laws can be categorized into three groups: those currently enforceable, those subject to judicial injunctions, and those passed but not yet in effect, possibly pending the development of regulatory guidelines.

The California Law: Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976)

California SB 976: Regulates algorithmic “addic­tive feeds” provided to minors rather than restricting account access. Social media platforms may not provide an addictive feed to a minor unless they have verifiable parental consent or reasonably determine the user is not a minor. The law also restricts late-night notifications and requires safety controls for minors. 

• Late-Night Notifications: It limits platforms from sending notifications to minors between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM, and also during school hours, to prevent sleep deprivation and classroom distractions.

California DOJ rulemaking is underway, and platforms must implement age-determination measures by Addictive Feeds: It focuses heavily on "addictive feeds," making it illegal to provide them to minors without "verifiable parental consent."

As of January 1, 2027, portions of the law have been litigated, but core provisions remain in effect.

• Legal Challenges: As of early 2026, this law is tied up in the courts. Tech industry groups (like NetChoice) have sued, arguing that it violates the First Amendment rights of both the platforms and the minors.

Kids Off Social Media Act 

The Federal Bill: Kids Off Social Media Act (S. 278)
Introduced by a bipartisan group of senators (Schatz, Cruz, Murphy, and Britt), this is the main piece of legislation people are referring to at the national level. Its primary goal is to shift the "online safety" responsibility from parents to the platforms.

Senator Schatz on Youth Mental Health Crisis and the Need for a Social Media Age Minimum

"It's Incredibly Hard To Be A Kid Right Now': Ted Cruz Decries Impact of Technology on Children

Key Ideas:

• Age Floor: It would officially prohibit children under 13 from creating or maintaining accounts on social media platforms.

• Ban on "Addictive" Algorithms: For users aged 13 to 17, platforms would be banned from using algorithmic recommendation systems (the kind that "feeds" you content based on your habits). Teens could still search for things or see a chronological feed of people they follow, but the "For You" style infinite scroll would be restricted.

• School Restrictions: It requires schools receiving federal (E-rate) funding to block social media on their networks and devices.

• No New Data Collection: Unlike some other bills, this one specifically states it does not require platforms to collect government IDs for age verification. Instead, it requires them to use information they already have (like "actual knowledge" of a user's age).

  Current Status (as of February 2026): The bill advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee last year and is currently a major topic of debate on the Senate floor. It has strong bipartisan support but faces significant pushback from digital rights groups who worry about First Amendment issues.

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