We were very excited to send a team from Durham Intermediate School to Disneyland today to receive its California Distinguished School award at the state award’s banquet at the Disneyland Hotel. 

Durham Intermediate School was one of three secondary schools in Butte County and 293 statewide to earn the Distinguished School Honor. Schools received the honor based on scores on the California State Dashboard in math and English Language Arts, and reducing suspension rates.

DIS Principal Lora Fox was joined by DIS teachers Savanna Bunch, Kevin Ramsden and library tech Erika Montgomery this morning for a special picture with the award and Mickey Mouse himself. DIS sixth grade teachers Karla Rigsbee and Jacqueline Lincoln will join the team in time for this evening's awards ceremony. Make sure to look for the team and Mickey Mouse in the attached photos.

Next Week is very busy!

The upcoming week officially kicks off the end of the school year events with the DIS/DHS Band Concert up first on Monday night (May 6) at 6 pm at the Center for the Arts on the Pleasant Valley High School Campus in Chico.

Wednesday (May 8) will see a full campus in the evening with Open House at DES at 5:30, Open House at DIS at 6 and the Ag end of the year banquet at DHS as well.

Parking will definitely be at a premium on Friday (May 10) when DES hosts Grandparent’s Day starting at 7:30 am.

The annual May Day Parade follows at 10 am on Saturday.

With all that is going on - don’t forget mom on Sunday (May 12),

DIS Construction update (From UBC)

Firstly, addressing the gas: We had an unfortunate incident this week with one of our operators and are using this as a training and safety review. This event and items relating to it should not have occurred and are not acceptable and atypical for our operations. We express our deep concern for this event and will not allow this to happen again. 

On Tuesday, after repairing the gas mainline, PG&E tested the meter and discovered a leak somewhere in the system at a volume of 4.5 CF/Hour. PG&E has narrowed the leak down to the line which services the 100, 200, and 300 wing. UBC Tested the underground mainline servicing these buildings on Wednesday to verify valve and regulator function and then tested the mainline pressure on Thursday after verifying and isolating the main line from all known building tie-in locations. On Thursday it was decided to bring PG&E back to the site to use advanced testing equipment to attempt to verify the location before excavating and capping sections to attempt to narrow the leak down. This morning, PG&E arrived onsite with two members of their gas division to detect the leak. Minute leaks well below the threshold of concern were discovered. The larger of the two was discovered at the valve box in front of the 100 building. While the mainline was capped and isolated from the rest of the system, PG&E remeasured the leak at a rate of .375CF/H. The mainline does not appear to have a substantial leak when compared to the initial reading. After providing the District with this information it was decided to investigate the existing buildings and isolate systems further to discover where the leak is. UBC is currently testing each building and will complete testing on Monday with a further update.

Site:

This week we had the finish concrete surveyed with staking at the south section for finish grade and concrete. The testing lab has been scheduled this week to verify the moisture content and compaction values on base rock which is being installed for concrete flatwork. The backfilling and finish grading is still on-going after the testing labs passing results. We are ready for the site summer work stubbing up the data line and water line point of connections close to the basketball courts. The water and sewer tie-in points to their final connection points have been successfully stubbed up to the modulars. The remaining rainwater leaders stub ups to the modular buildings are also nearly complete.

Existing Building (Unit C):

Our casework contractor came onsite this Monday for field measurements after school to begin to fabricate the replacement tops.

Updates from Principals

DES (from Samantha Brown)

This week at DES we wrapped up CAASPP testing in grades 3-5. Students are practicing daily for their upcoming Grandparent's Day performances. Our 3rd grade classes took a field trip to the Durham Cemetery this week as part of their Durham Living History unit. Karrie Coulter, Coordinator for Continuous Improvement with BCOE, did a walk-through at DES on Tuesday afternoon and helped us determine that we are eligible to apply for PBIS Platinum recognition through the state. We held our last School Site Council meeting for the 2023-2024 school year and approved the changes to the 2024 School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA). Teachers and students are preparing their classrooms for Open House and Grandparent's Day next week. Classes were able to preview the Scholastic Book Fair today. 

We again have three DES Staff members in the Tiger Spotlight of the Week:

First, we have DES Cafeteria Lady Sally Stebbins. Sally is a shining STAR on our staff and does such a great job working with all of our students and staff to make sure that everyone is fed and happy. She also helps make sure that things run smoothly in the cafeteria. We really appreciate her and the pawsitive impact that she has on Durham Elementary School!

Next up, we have DUSD Band Teacher, Matthew Plummer. Matt is a complete SUPER STAR on our staff and does such a great job working with all of our 5th band grade students and collaborating with their teachers. He runs a top-notch program in our district where students are able to grow and excel to their fullest potential in playing musical instruments. We really appreciate Matt and the pawsitive impact that he has on Durham Elementary School!

Last but not least, we have 5th grade teacher, Alondra Castillo. This is Alondra's 2nd year teaching at DES, and her first year in 5th grade. She is such a bright STAR on our staff and doing such a great job working with our 5th grade students and collaborating with other staff members to make sure that her students’ needs are met to the best of everyone’s abilities. She brought a fresh, new perspective to the 5th grade team this year. Her dedication and passion is admirable. We really appreciate her, her contributions, and the pawsitive impact that she has had on Durham Elementary School! We wish her all the best next year in Texas, and will miss her greatly!

DIS (From Lora Fox)

We are excited to welcome back our 6th graders and hear of all the fun they had at Shady Creek. Sixth grade will come back and start wrapping up the year by finishing their calendar projects.

Eighth graders are building their monument projects. These projects will be displayed at Open House. Eighth grade science is looking at Newton ‘s Laws of Motion. 

All students are participating in swimming in PE. We are excited to start the DIS Olympics on May 10th with Opening Ceremonies with Closing Ceremonies on Friday, May 17th. 

We have a group of six staff members attending the Distinguished School Awards Banquet tonight in Anaheim. I can not express how proud I am of the DIS staff and all their hard work. 

DIS Promotion will be on Wednesday, May 29th at 7:00 on the DHS Football Field. 

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)

Victoria White is the May student of the month. Tory has a 4.13 GPA and will be attending

Suffolk University in the fall which is located in Boston. Ms. White will be studying Marine

Biology. She is looking forward to finishing these last few days of high school.

Softball

Softball finishes up their season this week. Softball has had a much improved season

finishing with 8 wins. The softball team will lose two seniors, but has a good group of athletes

Returning.

Baseball

Varsity Baseball is 18-7 overall and is 10-3 in league; with one SVL game remaining Monday at home versus Willows. The team is probably looking at the No. 2 seed in the Division 4 playoffs.

The JV team keeps playing well this season running their record to 17-4-1 overall and 8-1 in

league.

Golf

Finished their regular season undefeated and is heading to the divisional round of the playoffs

next week.

Ag Department

The Ag department had officer interviews on Wednesday. The elected

candidates that were interviewed will be slated into their 2024-2025 positions at the end of year banquet on May 5. Ms. Luce took a team of students to the Cal-Poly State FFA finals this weekend.

Upcoming important Dates:

May 8 - End of the year Banquet

May 10 -  Mother’s Day Floral Pick up

May 11 -  May Day Parade

May 14 - Durham Rotary Senior Scholarship event at Durham Park

May 15 -  Chapter meeting

May 19 -  Silver Dollar Fair starts

May 28 - Finals Begin

May 30 -  Graduation 7:30 Sharp

Update from Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we have an opportunity to break the stigma around mental health in our campus by talking openly, compassionately, and kindly to each other. No one should ever struggle alone.

During Mental Health Awareness Month, NAMI joins the mental health community to reaffirm our commitment to building our understanding of mental illness, increasing access to treatment and ensuring those who are struggling know they are not alone.

If you or someone you know wants to be connected to a mental health care provider, contact Care Solace, a complimentary and confidential mental health care coordination service provided by Durham Unified School District:

·  Call 888-515-0595. Multilingual support is available 24/7/365.

·  Visit www.caresolace.com/durham and either search on your own OR click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.

If you participate in the Butte School Self-Funded Program (BSSP) check out these resources below. 

BSSP Employee Assistance Program

BSSP Mental Wellness Supports Video

Don’t hesitate to ask for help, use the resources around you, and never give up hope.

Weekly Update Archive