It’s hard to believe, but the calendar turns to the month of October by the end of next week!

The high school welcomes October with its annual football homecoming week. It will be an extremely busy week for the high school with dress up days and after school events every day. Check out the high school report below for the full schedule of events. 

October is typically the month of the school year with no school breaks, not even a long weekend. This makes October a challenging month for students, parents and staff. 

The district’s calendar committee attempted to recognize this when it adopted the student calendar for the 2026-2027 school year by creating a three-day weekend. Monday, Oct. 19 will be a day off for all students and staff.

The 2027-2028 student calendar adopts a similar short break for everyone.

We are hopeful this long weekend helps keep everyone energized to make the long stretch from Labor day to the Thanksgiving holiday break.

I want to take a moment to thank the district’s maintenance, operations and transportation teams for always being there for our students.

Due to some transition among the district’s bus drivers, we have not had enough bus drivers to run all of the daily transportation routes.

The MOT team got together through the use of district vans to ensure all of our students continued to safely arrive at school and get back home on time.

The My Ride phone application is live. This system allows parents to know when the bus is arriving at their bus stop in the morning and after school. It also allows parents to see when their students scan on and off the bus/van.

So far, 13 parents have downloaded the app and created an account.

If your student rides the bus, we encourage all parents to download the app and create an account.

https://www.durhamunified.org/page/transportation

DES (from Samantha Brown)
This week at Durham Elementary was marked by strong community engagement, meaningful collaboration, and targeted student support! We launched our Reading Pals program on Tuesday, connecting our students with dedicated community mentors to build reading confidence.

Throughout the week, our staff maintained strong momentum through key leadership and instructional check-ins, including our Probationary Teacher meeting and our first School Site Council meeting on Wednesday to review our site goals. Our DHH students enjoyed an enriching field trip to MONCA in Chico on Thursday, and we capped off the week by bringing families together for our DELAC Mexican Independence Day Dinner Meeting and celebrating our campus community with Friday's Pajama Day Spirit Day!

Upcoming Events at DES: September 28 – October 2, 2026

Monday, September 28

• Student Council Meeting: DES Room 1 (12:15 PM – 12:45 PM)

• Early Release: 1:40 PM

• Grade Level Collaboration: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Tuesday, September 29

• Tiger Gear Tuesday — Show your Durham Tiger pride!

• PBIS Leadership Team Meeting: DES Room 39 (3:00 PM – 3:30 PM)

Wednesday, September 30

• 5th Grade Hearing & Vision Screenings: DES Health Office (8:30 AM – 2:30 PM)

Friday, October 2

• National School Custodian Appreciation Day — Recognizing and thanking our incredible custodial crew!

• 2nd Grade Field Trip: Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville (8:30 AM – 1:00 PM)

• 4th & 5th Grade Classroom Finalists AgriBee Competition: DES MPR (9:00 AM)

DIS (From Josh Rowe)
DIS Jog-A-Thon

Our annual DIS Jog-A-Thon was held today! This is our biggest fundraising event of the year, with the funds raised supporting activities and opportunities for students across all grade levels.

Each homeroom selected a theme and challenged the other classes to see who could raise the most money. This year's homeroom themes were:

• Comer: Pink (Barbie)

• Eastman: Yellow (Here Comes the Sun)

• Hering: Blue (Under the Sea)

• Kusie: Red (Spiderman)

• Lash: Hawaiian Print (Magnum P.I.)

• Noble: Green (Ninja Turtles)

• Ramsden: Black (Blackout)

• Richards: Tie-Dye (Groovy)

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success. We could not have done it without the support of our parents, grandparents, local businesses, and community partners.

A special thank you goes to Mrs. Lash and Mrs. Montgomery for leading our ASB students through the planning and organization of the Jog-A-Thon. Their work, along with the efforts of our ASB students, helped create a successful and fun event for all DIS students.

Respectful Play

We have noticed an increase in physical play among students recently and are reminding students that our Panther Traits apply during all parts of the school day, including when they are playing and interacting with friends.

Whether students are in class, at lunch, during passing periods, or participating in activities, we expect Panthers to demonstrate Respect, Empathy, and Purpose (REP). We will continue reinforcing these expectations with students and reminding them that respectful play means making choices that keep themselves and others safe.

Durham Gala — Parent Sign-Ups

The Durham Gala is coming up on Saturday, October 24, at Durham Memorial Hall. This annual event raises funds for all three Durham school campuses and provides principals with opportunities to purchase items and make campus improvements that are not covered through regular school funding.

DIS has directly benefited from the generosity of the Gala and our Durham community. Last year, Gala funds helped pay for the new mural on the DIG, which has been a wonderful addition to our campus. Gala funds have also supported projects throughout the district, including scoreboards, gym equipment, technology upgrades, and more.

As we prepare for this year's Gala, we would greatly appreciate the help of our DIS families. One of our biggest needs is for parents to help organize and put together grade-level baskets for the silent auction. These baskets are an important part of the Gala, and we would love to have DIS well represented.

There are many ways to support the Gala. Families can attend, donate an auction item, help create a grade-level basket, become a sponsor, join the Gala Committee, or volunteer to work the event. Every contribution makes a difference.

The Gala is truly a community effort, and the money raised comes right back to supporting our students and schools. Thank you to our DIS families and the Durham community for continuing to provide opportunities for our students that would not otherwise be possible.

Upcoming Events

October 9 — 1st Quarter Ends
October 12 — Minimum Day
October 14 — Picture Make-Up Day
October 19 — No School
October 26–30 — Red Ribbon Week
November 10 — Medieval Feast
November 11 — No School in Observance of Veterans Day

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)
Counseling:

This week in Advisory students did activities related to next week’s Homecoming and completed an Identity Wheel. Seniors continued working on the DHS tradition of painting the tank.

The Counseling Department was busy all week. On Tuesday, 14 students took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. Results will be reviewed with students in the coming weeks. 

Also on Tuesday, we had nearly 100 people attend our annual Senior & Parents Night. It was a long night, but a lot of information was shared pertaining to college, financial aid, scholarships, graduation, senior year and more. Thank you so much to all who came out and joined us!

On Thursday, 18 students toured the Chico State Natural Sciences departments and learned about Nursing, Biology and Chemistry programs, saw multimillion dollar equipment and classes in action, had questions answered about majors, career opportunities and more, and even ran into a couple DHS alumni along the way. It was another great opportunity for our seniors to explore options available to them here locally.

Next week will be even busier…a rep from UC Santa Cruz (Wednesday) and another from UC Santa Barbara (Friday) will be on campus to meet with students; as required, GPAs will be submitted for all seniors by Oct 1st, one of the factors used to determine eligibility for CalGrant; all seniors will attend Butte College Transfer Day during the day on Thursday; Chico High is hosting a College Fair on Thursday evening and DHS students have been invited to attend with their families; Mrs. Ladd & Ms. Spade have two conferences to attend; oh, and Homecoming…oh my!

Homecoming 2026 is here! The theme for this year is There’s No Place Like Homecoming. Students and staff are encouraged to show their school spirit by dressing according to the following Dress-up Days:

Monday - Jersey Day
Tuesday - Bikers (underclassmen) vs Surfers (upperclassmen)
Wednesday - BBQ Dad vs Soccer Mom
Thursday - Twin Day
Friday - Red, White & Blue Day

Students and their families are invited to join the fun by attending Powder Puff on the football field Monday evening at 7:00, Power Puff in the gym at 7:00 on Wednesday and the Homecoming football game and announcement of the Homecoming Court on Friday ~ JV at 5:30, Varsity at 7:00 with homecoming ceremonies in between games. Come out and support our Trojans!

Upcoming events and activities to be aware of:
Sept. 30 - UC Santa Cruz Presentation on the PIQs @ 11:55 (Parents are welcome to attend)
Oct. 1 - Butte College Transfer Day (All Seniors will attend)
Oct. 1 - UC and CSU Applications Open
Oct. 2 - UC Santa Barbara Presentation @ 10:00 (Parents are welcome to attend)
Oct. 6- College Application Help during lunch

Athletics:
Volleyball lost their first league match in Colusa this week dropping their record to 16-3 overall and 4-1 in league.  They will get a chance to rebound this weekend as they play in a tournament in the Sacramento Area.  Swimming just keeps winning. Tennis is 4-2 in league and has a 8-2 overall.  Football ran their record up to 3-1 after taking down Biggs last week 35-7. The boys open league play on October 2 with their Homecoming game vs Colusa.

Volleyball: 
Sept. 29 - Home vs East Nicolaus
Oct. 1 - At Winters
Oct. 6 - vs Paradise

Football:
Oct. 2 - Homecoming vs Colusa
Oct. 9 -  at East Nicolaus

AG:Durham FFA Weekly Update

FFA Meeting
The next Durham FFA meeting will be held September 30 during lunch.

Shasta College Field Day
On October 8, Durham FFA will compete at the Shasta College Field Day in Livestock Judging, Vegetable Crop Judging, BIG (Best Informed Greenhand), Floral, and Farm Power.

Greenhand Leadership Conference
Twenty-four Durham FFA students will attend the Greenhand Leadership Conference on October 14.

Durham FFA Mum Sale
The Durham FFA Mum Sale will be held October 4 and October 11 at the Durham Farmers Market.

Silver Dollar Fair
The 2027 Silver Dollar Fair dates have been announced for May 23–29, 2027.

Livestock Parent/Student Meeting
A livestock parent/student meeting will be held November 5, 2026, for students and families interested in showing an animal at the Silver Dollar Fair.

Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)
 
Imagination Library  Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library promotes early literacy by providing free books to children from birth through age five. The initiative is jointly funded by Dolly Parton and local community partners across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. Inspired by her father's inability to read and write, Dolly established the Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county. Today, the program operates in five countries, delivering millions of free books to children worldwide each month.

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

This is a vital time to break the silence, reduce stigma, and make a lasting impact. Too often, individuals suffer in isolation, but no one should ever have to face these struggles alone. Together, we can change this narrative.

You hold the power to make a real difference. Reaching out, checking in with genuine care, and offering a compassionate, listening ear can literally save lives. With accessible support and compassionate care, healing and recovery are truly within reach. Every life-saving connection begins with just one conversation.

If you need to talk, the 988 Lifeline is here.

At the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, it is understood that life's challenges can sometimes be difficult. If you or a loved one are dealing with mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, our caring counselors are here for you. You are not alone. 

Weekly Update Archive