This week, I had the opportunity to spend time at the four-way stop between the elementary and middle school during drop-off and pick-up to help support a safe and smooth commute for our students.

As many of you know, our campuses are active and bustling with energy between 7:40–8:15 AM and 2:30–3:15 PM. We recently navigated a temporary traffic shift as the exciting new construction concluded at the elementary school. Because a newly poured curb had not yet been painted red, some drivers unknowingly parked in the no-parking zones, which narrowed the school entrance.

We are happy to report that the curb was painted bright red early Wednesday morning, and we saw an immediate improvement in the traffic flow.

While arrival and dismissal times will always bring a high volume of vehicles to campus, our absolute top priority is the safety of our students. I encourage our entire community to embrace a little extra patience, drive slowly, and proactively look out for one another. Please stay especially vigilant for children walking to and from school, and always yield the right of way to our young pedestrians.

Thank you for working together to keep our school zones safe!

The state of California awarded Durham Intermediate School the Silver Implementation Award for its Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program this week. The Intermediate joins Durham Elementary, which was awarded the Platinum Implementation Award in 2024.

Congratulations to the entire Durham Intermediate School staff. See below for more information. 

The new concrete tables were placed under the shade structure at the football stadium this morning (see attached pictures). This completes the stadium upgrades just in time for the first game of the season tonight against Modoc.

The JV game kicks off at 5:30 tonight and the varsity will kickoff at about 7:30. There will be a brief ribbon cutting between the JV and varsity games to celebrate the completion of the stadium upgrade project. 

DES (from Samantha Brown)
This week at Durham Elementary was filled with energy, purpose, and the joyful rhythms of a school community settling into its groove! Coming off an incredible opening week, our Tigers spent the week building routines, deepening friendships, and bringing our campus to life.

The collaborative spirit from the previous week carried into Monday, August 17th, as we held our first Early Release Monday. While students headed home early, our dedicated teachers jumped straight into Professional Learning Community (PLC) time to collaborate and fine-tune preparations for Back-to-School Night and review procedures for upcoming beginning of the year assessments. The absolute highlight of the week came on Thursday, August 20th, when we officially celebrated our brand new spaces with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our TK, Kindergarten, and Office facilities! It was wonderful to see so many families for Back-to-School Night to partner with us for the year ahead. We are so proud of how our Tiger community continues to show up for our students!

Upcoming Events at DES: August 24 – August 28, 2026

*NWEA MAP Testing (Math and Reading) Grades 2–5 Begins (Finishes by September 4th)

• Monday, August 24: Student Council Campaign posters may be posted AFTER APPROVAL from Mrs. Perkins | Early Release Monday (1:40 PM) for Teacher Professional Learning | DUSD Annual Medication Training (2:30–4:30 PM in DES MPR).

• Tuesday, August 25: Tiger Gear Tuesday | DES PTS Meeting at DRPD Blue Room (8:30–10:00 AM) | ALL Student Council Speeches due to Mrs. Perkins (Room 1 or email) by 3:00 PM.

• Wednesday, August 26: MANDATORY Student Council Speech Practice/Pictures for Ballots in DES MPR (3:00–3:30 PM).

• Thursday, August 27: MANDATORY Student Council Speech Practice in DES MPR (3:00–3:30 PM).

• Friday, August 28: School Spirit Day: Wear A Hat! | DES Student Council Elections Assembly in DES MPR (9:00 AM, Grades 3-5 only), voting to follow in classrooms, results announced by end

DIS (From Josh Rowe)
Our first full week is in the books, and it has been a great one! We are off to a strong start, and it has been wonderful to see our students settling into their routines, connecting with their teachers, and getting back into the rhythm of school. We are excited about the year ahead and can’t wait to see all the great things our Panthers accomplish.

PBIS Silver Award

DIS Earns PBIS Silver Recognition!
We are excited to share that Durham Intermediate School has earned PBIS Silver recognition! This year, more than 2,700 schools applied for PBIS recognition, and we are proud to have DIS recognized at the Silver level. Even more exciting, this is our first year applying for PBIS recognition, meaning we moved directly to Silver without previously earning Bronze!

This recognition reflects the commitment of our staff to creating a positive, supportive school environment built around clear expectations and our Panther values of Respect, Empathy, and Purpose (REP).

A special thank you goes to Mrs. Juanarena and our PBIS team for their leadership and hard work throughout this process. Mrs. Juanarena’s leadership has been instrumental in strengthening PBIS at DIS and helping our school earn this recognition.

We are proud of this accomplishment and look forward to continuing to build on it as we work to make DIS an even better place for our students!

NWEA MAP Testing
We are currently about halfway through our first round of NWEA MAP testing for the year. MAP is an assessment that helps us measure each student’s academic growth and progress toward grade-level standards. Rather than simply providing a score, MAP helps us identify what students are ready to learn next and where they may need additional support.

Students will take the MAP assessment in both ELA and math three times this school year—fall, winter, and spring. Testing at different points throughout the year allows us to measure student growth and make adjustments to instruction and support along the way.

Our teachers and school leadership teams review MAP results to better understand the needs of individual students and groups of students. This information helps us evaluate the effectiveness of our instruction, adjust teaching strategies, provide targeted support or enrichment, and plan for both the current school year and the year ahead.

MAP is one of several tools we use at DIS to help ensure that every student continues to grow and make progress throughout the year.

ASB Elections Are Coming!
We are gearing up for ASB elections! Students interested in becoming involved with ASB turned in their interest forms to Mrs. Lash and Mrs. Montgomery today, and we are excited to see so many students interested in helping make DIS a fun and welcoming place.

Next Friday, August 28, we will hold an ASB election rally. Students seeking elected positions such as President, Vice President, Secretary, and other ASB offices will give speeches to the student body before students cast their votes.

We are looking forward to hearing from our candidates and seeing our student leaders step up to represent their fellow Panthers!

Personal Electronic Device Reminder
As technology continues to evolve, we want to remind families that Meta smart glasses and other similar wearable technology are considered Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) under our DIS policy.

Just like cell phones, earbuds, and other personal electronic devices, smart glasses must be turned off and secured out of sight in a backpack or locker during school hours, from 8:05 a.m.–2:55 p.m. This includes class time, passing periods, lunch, and Homework Club.

Because smart glasses and similar devices may have the ability to record audio, video, or images, it is especially important that students understand that these devices may not be worn or used during the school day.

We appreciate families taking a few minutes to review these expectations with their students. Your support helps us maintain a safe, focused, and respectful learning environment for everyone at DIS.

DIS PE in the DRPD Pool
One of the great traditions at DIS is our swimming unit, which gives students the opportunity to spend time in the Durham Recreation and Park District pool as part of their PE classes (see attached pictures). Students had a great time in the pool this week working on swim strokes, participating in team-building activities, and enjoying some well-earned play time.

Beyond being a fun way to stay active and cool during the hot August weather, the swimming unit allows students to learn, practice, and refine important swimming and water skills. We are incredibly fortunate to have the pool right next to our campus and are very grateful to the Durham Recreation and Park District for sharing this wonderful resource with our students each year.

Upcoming Events

• August 28 — ASB Election Speeches & Election

• September 4 — Jog-a-Thon Tally

• September 4 — Back to School Dance

• September 7 — Labor Day — No School

• September 14 — Minimum Day

• September 16 — Picture Day

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)
The first full week is in the books. Classes are starting to get into the true swing of things and homework has now been assigned, yep summer is officially over.  Tonight we host our first home Football game JV starts at 5:30, Varsity will follow.  Make sure you bring your bug spray!

Athletics:
The DHS volleyball team won its own tournament last weekend with a perfect 5-0 record. The girls defeated Quince two sets to one in the championship match. I am sure we will see them again at some point this season. The girls beat a solid Core Butte team on Tuesday three games to none, and took down Las Plumas in the same fashion on Thursday.

Volleyball schedule:
Aug. 25 - home vs UPrep: 5:30 JV, 6:30 varsity
Aug. 27 - at Trinity
Aug. 29 - At Sutter Tournament

Football Schedule:
Aug. 21 (today): Home vs Modoc: 5:30 JV, 7:30 varsity
Aug. 28 - Home vs Redding Christian : 5:30 JV, 7:30 varsity

AG Schedule:
Aug. 23 - Chapter Office Leadership Conference (COLC)
Aug. 24 - Butte County Fair
Aug. 26 - First chapter meeting

Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)

DUSD is dedicated to maintaining a safe, supportive environment for all students. To ensure everyone has access to assistance, we encourage you to discuss the STOPit app with your students. This tool provides a confidential way for students to report incidents and helps us address concerns promptly. You can access the platform here: https://appweb.stopitsolutions.com/login

Stop It Student Training Video Grades 4-12 

Stop It Student Training Video 4-12 Spanish

Stop It Student Training Video Grades 3-5 Spanish

Stop It Student Training Video Grades 3-5

Stop It Student Training Video Grades K-2 Spanish

Stop It Student Training Video K-2

-Have a fantastic weekend!!

Weekly Update Archive