DHS Principal's Blog October 31, 2015

October 31, 2015
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Wanted to begin this week's blog with some photos taken today of the splendor of Autumn in New England, including the moon from this morning when students arrived at school.

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Heartfelt Thank You to our Sponsors
If you have had an opportunity to watch games at the high school field recently you have probably noticed the banners and signage that adorns the field.  The entire DHS community sends its heartfelt thanks to these sponsors of our athletic programs. 
We are closing out the fall season and we are pleased to inform everyone that the Athletic Boosters will be presenting funding to support our Winter Season at DHS to the School Committee soon.  
We are so fortunate to have this support and we cannot say thank you enough to these sponsors and to all those who have participated in these fundraising activities.  The good people of the Athletic Boosters have gone above and beyond in their efforts to keep our athletic programs up and running and you cannot imagine how much it is appreciated.

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MCAS Retesting Information:

MCAS ELA Retests are on November 4th, 5th & 6th.
MCAS Math Retests are on November 9th and 10th.

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First Quarter Grades

1st Quarter Grades will close on November 5th and report cards will be posted into IPASS on November 12th.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences

DHS will be hosting Parent-Teacher conferences  on Thursday November the 12th from 6-8 PM. Parents will have the opportunity to speak directly with their child's classroom teachers.  Parents should have with them when they arrive on Thursday night; a copy of their students courses and the teachers of these courses. We ask that parents keep their meetings to five minutes when they are meeting with teachers so that we can maximize the number of parents that a teacher can see during the evening.  We look forward to seeing you on the 12th.  

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Senior Dress Up Day

On Thursday the members of the senior class visited the students at the Elementary and Primary Schools.  They were dressed in costumes and shared some smiles and laughs with the students at these schools.  The students also had a short opportunity to take some keepsake photos and our yearbook staff was able to take some candid photo's with the students in their costumes.  I'd like to thank Mrs. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Scott for joining us on this trip and being part of this yearly tradition.  In case you were wondering; here is the senior class in their costumes.

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DHS Chorus news:

  I would like to share with you some information about a very exciting event that is just around the corner in which our very own Douglas High School Chorus and DHS  A Cappella Ensemble (Blue Light Special) will be performing at Worcester’s renowned Mechanic’s Hall.  The groups will be special guests of the Worcester Men of Song as they present their annual winter concert. 

Mechanic’s Hall is widely thought to be one of the best venues in which to see and hear a performance in North America – some would even say, the world, and our students will have an opportunity to share the music they’ve prepared from its stage.  The concert will also feature performances by the Worcester Men of Song Chorus and the North East District Senior Barbershop Quartet Champions Trade Secret.

Tickets for the concert are available through various outlets but are being offered at a discount rate through the high school music department. 

Formal Invitation from Mr. DeNoncour 

You are invited to come see the....

Douglas High School Chorus & A Cappella Ensemble

 @ Worcester's Renowned Mechanic's Hall

As special guests of the Worcester Men of Song

November 21, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

$10.00 for students/ $15.00 for adults

For tickets call the DHS Music Department @ 476-4127 

 

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Haunted Hallways - Junior Class Fundraiser

The Junior Class hosted a Haunted Hallways event for students from the schools in Douglas on Friday night the 23rd of October. It was a phenomenal success. Hundreds upon hundreds of kids came and participated in this event.  The feedback was very positive and the class has already begun making plans for next year's Haunted Hallways event. Here are a few photo's from the event with thanks to Mrs. Rockne for forwarding these pictures to the "Blog".  They are much appreciated.

Thanks go out to Mr. Riordan and the Class of 2017 for a great night for the community.

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Sports

The fall season is winding down with our teams having performed very well.  Our field hockey, golf and volleyball teams ended their seasons this week.  There is much to be pleased with for these programs and it is very clear that a solid foundation has been laid for what will be an exciting 2016 fall season.  

Our Cross Country teams performed in the Twilight Cross Country Meet on Cape Cod last weekend and will compete in the DVC Championships Saturday the 31st at 9:30.  Hopedale High School will host the Championship Meet and we wish our runners good luck and fast times.  

Our Girls Soccer team concluded a successful regular season with a victory against Blackstone-Millville here at DHS under the lights last night.  Our Boys Soccer team also wrapped up its regular season with a victory over Blackstone -Millville last night also here at DHS under the lights.  They concluded the season with a perfect 11-0 DVC season and a league championship.  Both programs now await the seedings and the start of tournament season sometime next week. 

The Sutton-Douglas Football team will be at Foley Stadium tomorrow afternoon versus Burncoat with a 12:00 kickoff.  They have been enjoying a very competitive season and we wish them good luck tomorrow in this late season game.

This week was also Senior Week with DHS recognizing and thanking our senior players for their dedication and commitment to their teams and coaches. We have a number of really talented senior student-athletes here at DHS.

This week was also Breast Cancer Awareness week at DHS. Senior's Mikaela Mello and Sydney Simoneau provided a week of activities and fundraising to support Breast Cancer Research and Awareness.  On Tuesday they sponsored a hat day where students donated a dollar in order to wear their hat throughout the school day. They were provided a pink ribbon for their donation.  On Wednesday they sponsored a day called pink out with students, faculty and staff wearing either an outfit with pink or a pink ribbon to show their support for this important cause.  Thursday night they set up a toll road where they accepted donations for those attending the senior night games for boys and girls soccer.  The week closed out today with flannels and slippers day.  Again for a one dollar donation students, faculty and staff could wear their flannels and slippers during the school day today.
We extend our appreciation to both Mikaela and Sydney for their efforts in this worthwhile Senior Project.  They did a great job and as a result they will be making a nice donation to Breast Cancer research.  We also want to thank Mrs. Sokol for her dedication to this project as Mikaela and Sydney mentor.  She was so supportive and committed to both the project's goal as well as to both Mikaela and Sydney. 

We also send out our appreciation to Mr. Jeff Kollette, Mr. Dave Pope and Mr. John Furno for all that they did for our student-athletes in bringing lights to the field for Senior Week.  This generosity and attention to making these events happen here at DHS under the lights is so very much appreciated. Thank you gentlemen. 

    

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Class of 2015 Yearbooks

Attention members of the Class of 2015. Yearbooks Are In!  Your yearbook can be picked up in the Main Office. If you are a member  of the class of 2015 and you would like to purchase a yearbook, Please plan to bring a check or money order for$65.00 that is made out to the Town of Douglas; you can use cash to purchase your yearbook as well.

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Sports photos from the past week.
Thanks to the following for the submission of pictures:
Mr. Goldenberg, Mrs. Brown, Mr. Vega, Mrs. Rockne and Mrs. Maguire.

My sincere apologies to the Girls JV soccer team as I thought I had downloaded photos but wasn't able to find them for this week's blog.  I will try to make sure that I get them in as soon as I am able to remember where I saved them to.

I have added the JV Girls soccer pictures into the photo collage of sports.