Principal's Blog for the week of November 24th - 26th

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

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On December 4th, DHS will be hosting a meeting for parents of students in grade 8 at 6:30 in Room C208.  The letter below details the expectations for the presentation.  

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There will be a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Friday the 5th.  Students in World Language classes will be attending the Goya exhibit. Ms. Smith, Mrs. Cicero and Mr. Nauss will be chaperoning this wonderful learning opportunity for our students.    
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Announcements

Everyone trying out for ice hockey in Hopedale is reminded that they will need to have their completed blue card with them when they show up at the rink on Monday.

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Tryouts for Boys Basketball on Monday December 1^st will be as follows:

Varsity from 4:30-7:00 and

JV from 7:00-9:00.

Both tryouts are at the High School.

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The 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive is starting again on Tuesday, December 2nd!!

Collections will be during C block this year.

All food is donated to the Douglas Food Pantry and the C block class that brings in the most food items will win a pizza party.

Please remember to bring in any Italian items on December 2nd to help your class win!

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Calling all Freshman!! The Freshman Math Meet #2 is coming up quickly!! It will be held Wednesday December 10^th at Assabet Valley High School. Permission slips and practice questions are outside of Mrs. Remillards room. Permission slips are due back no later than Friday December 5^th!

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STUDENT STORE

Please visit the Douglas High School Student Store!! New items have recently arrived. Remember the holidays are right around the corner! They have in a sweatshirt that is getting a good deal of attention from students and staff.  They'd make a great holiday gift for a loyal DHS student/parent or even grand-parent.  Don't delay because they may be gone before you have a chance to secure one.  They are also now selling a soft zipper case for student chromebooks. 

http://www.douglasps.net/High.cfm?subpage=1526746

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Attention students of Douglas High School do you have a family member affected by Heart Disease or know someone who is? Well, come to the high school on December 13^th for the “Healthy Heart Ride”, a bike ride around the town to benefit the American Heart Association’s research and treatment of heart disease. Registration is $20.00 and waivers and registration forms are in the office. Please come out and support. Waivers can be dropped off to Mrs. Hackett in the library.

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Jordan Marcustry is looking to gather videos from school events to include in a DHS promotional video.  If you have a video that you think would help promote the outstanding events offered in our school please bring a copy to Jordan or Mr. DeNoncour, or see them in person.

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For Sam Cafarelli and Savannah Corriveau’s Senior Project they will be holding a Senior/Junior Class Night on December 5^th from 6:30-9:30 pm and from now until December 5^th they will be accepting donations at all lunches, any donation is greatly appreciated. All money donations will go to buying comfort toys for the children in need of that extra support at Hasboro Children’s Hospital. Please see their email for more information.

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Seniors: An admissions representative from Daniel Webster College will be here on Monday Dec. 1st.  If you would like to meet with them, come to guidance for a pass.
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Do you sing, play and instrument, have a band?  Well there’s good news – Tiger Jam is on the way.  That’s right, DHS, the music department’s annual scholarship concert is coming soon and if you would like to perform in it all you have to do is stop by the chorus room and pick up a performance application.  But don’t delay – auditions begin December 1^st.  If you would like more information about performing in the concert see Mr. DeNoncour.  
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Principal's Blog for the Week of November 24th - 28th

***********Happy Thanksgiving!***********

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Thanksgiving Food Drive

  A huge Thank You to all the staff, faculty and students that donated to the Thanksgiving Food Drive! 

A special thank you to the Peer Leaders and GSA for your help and to Emily Delphos and crew for the huge turkey!

Another thank you to all the participants in yesterday’s 3 v 3 Basketball Tournament for your donations!

Through your generosity and caring for others we were able to provide Thanksgiving dinners for 7 families this year. This is something the DHS community takes great pride in and we hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday spent with family and friends and a nice meal.

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The November Newsletter is posted on the 

High School Webpage. It will provide 
additional details on events, activities, 

photos and calendar reminders.
http://www.douglasps.net/files/filesystem/November%20Newsletter.pdf

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Mackenzie Cyr

We are very pleased to announce that senior Makenzie Cyr has signed a letter of intent to run cross-country at Stonehill College next year.  She is surrounded here by her teammates, parents and coaches.  We are all very happy for Makenzie and she has certainly earned this scholarship through her dedication and hard work. We're all very proud of all that you have accomplished Makenzie. 

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Girls Soccer 

Our Girls Soccer Team competed against West Boylston on Saturday the 15th in the District Finals.  The girls played a solid game and came away with both a 1-0 victory and the title of Central Massachusetts District Champions.  It is their first District Championship since 2003.  The game winning goal was scored by Meghan Foley.  The shutout was posted by Allie Carroll with support from the defensive tandem of Anders Lafortune, Shanna King and Micalea Goldenberg. Offensively, Morgan Goozey, Fallyn Hippert, Olivia Collins, Taylor Catlin, Kayla Finnegan, Rachel Dixson, Hannah Favaloro, Megan Hayes and Ashley Gresian. Collectively they put 25 shots on goal against West Boylston. 

The team then advanced on to the State Semi-Final game versus Monson High School on Wednesday night at Westfield State University.  Monson was the western champs. The game played out to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. Junior Shannon Harney scored Douglas' goal on well placed kick from 20 yards out.  The game was ultra-competitive, tightly played and very exciting. Douglas was well represented with a strong fan base making the trip out to Westfield.   This exciting season unfortunately came to a sudden and impactful end as Monson scored a goal six minutes into the first overtime period.  The team played hard and with such passion and positive chemistry and it is clear that they have much to be proud of. 

We extend our congratulations to Coach Stand, seniors Morgan Goozey, Megan Hayes, Ashley Gresian and Shannon Powell and the entire team for all that they achieved during this impressive season. 

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Girls Cross Country State Meet

On Saturday the 15th our Girls Cross-Country team traveled to Boston to compete in the MIAA State Cross-Country Championships at Franklin Park.  The girls performed well and placed 18th overall.  All the girls performed well including seventh grader Keely Mungeam and eighth grader Allie Benedict. Kylie Blake and Rebecca Rokne finished with good times on this challenging course and competitive event. The team also received very strong performance from Tess Miller, Caroline Meizan and Makenzie Cyr, highlighted by Makenzie's fourth place finish in this State Championship.  Makenzie's fourth place finish time was the best time for any Central or Western Massachusetts runner in either Division I or II,  making her the top cross-country runner in all of Central and Western Massachusetts which is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations to all members of the team, Coaches Doyon and Harrington and Makenzie for all that the team achieved this season; DVC Champs and State Finalists.  It was all very exciting and brought much positive attention to DHS.    

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      Winter Sports Information Night        
On Tuesday the 18th, Athletic Director Bobby Doyon presented the Winter Sports Information night.  The Winter Season begins on Monday December 1st..  In the winter DHS offers Boys and Girls Basketball at the varsity and junior varsity level.  It also offers Boys and Girls Indoor Track as well as Varsity/Tournament Cheerleading.  New this year at DHS is our participation in an Ice-Hockey Co-op with Hopedale and Millis High School's.  The home games for these hockey games will be played at the new rink in Hopedale on Plain St. off of Hartford Avenue.
Boys Hoop is Coached by Shannon Ryan and Guy Hill.  Girls Hoop is coached by Ralph Quinn and Lisa Farese.  Indoor Track is coached by Ryan Dugan.  Cheerleading is coached by Nicole Ursch and Cindy Socha.
Those student-athletes trying out for these programs are reminded that they must have an up to date physical on file at the school as well as a completed Blue Card before they can participate.

Fall Sports Awards:
Also on the 18th Mr. Doyon presided over the Fall Sports Awards. The event was a nice recognition of our fall student-athletes.  We extend our thanks to the Douglas Athletic Boosters for their continued support of this event.  The banners seen above were presented on this evening and they will be hung in the gym before the start of the winter season.  During the evening our fall coaches spoke about their teams and their season and recognized their athletes.  DVC All-Star certificates were issued to those students voted to this teams.  Makenzie Cyr received a special recognition as DVC Runner of the Year. We congratulate all those students who participated in a fall sport for their dedication and commitment to their teams and their participation.  They provided DHS with another wonderful fall season.    

The  highlight of the evening was the wonderful slide show of all the varsity fall sports teams that was put together by Lori-Ann Hippert. The end product presented to those in attendance the quality of our programs and of our student-athletes in such a poignant way. We are very thankful to Lori-Ann for all her attention to this presentation. It was really so good of her to dedicate so much time and concern towards this presentation. We are very grateful to her.  

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A letter from Superintendent Spitulnik 

November 18, 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Recently, a number of staff members have come to me with concerns about information being posted on Facebook regarding teacher or administrator practices of individual staff members.  While we respect your right to post whatever you want on your Facebook accounts, we would ask that you have the common courtesy to contact the person involved first to let them know about your concern, give them a chance to explain their actions or decisions, and make adjustments if appropriate.  I’m sure you would want the same courtesy shown to you if someone had a concern with your actions.

We know the importance of home and school working together to create a high quality school district with a positive school environment.  This is helped by respectful communication as we model good behavior for our students.  We appreciate your feedback and suggestions, and look forward to enhancing our home-school partnership.

Regards,

Dr. Nancy Spitulnik

Interim Superintendent

                

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Nov. 26 - Half Day of school 

                                Nov. 27 - 28 - Thanksgiving Break

         Dec. 11 - Winter Concert

                   Dec. 23 - Holiday Winter Skits

                                 (Day 6 - F, G, A, B)

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Announcements

STUDENT STORE

Please visit the Douglas High School Student Store!! New items have recently arrived. Remember the holidays are right around the corner! They have in a sweatshirt that is getting a good deal of attention from students and staff.  They'd make a great holiday gift for a loyal DHS student/parent or even grand-parent.  Don't delay because they may be gone before you have a chance to secure one.  They are also now selling a soft zipper case for student chromebooks. 

http://www.douglasps.net/High.cfm?subpage=1526746

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Reminder to all Juniors and Seniors:  

There will be a field trip to Universal Technical Institute on Wednesday, December 3.  Permission slips are due back no later than Wednesday, November 26th.

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Jordan Marcustry is looking to gather videos from school events to include in a DHS promotional video.  If you have a video that you think would help promote the outstanding events offered in our school please bring a copy to Jordan or Mr. DeNoncour, or see them in person.

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Seniors - Anyone interested in meeting with an admissions representative from Norwich University on Monday, stop by guidance for a pass.

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Principal's Blog for the Week of November 17th - 21st

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Advanced Placement Honor Roll

DHS has been named as an Advanced Placement District Honor Roll school.  The College Board has just announced that 547 school districts throughout North America have been recognized for this prestigious honor and we are pleased to acknowledge that DHS is one of these schools.  A school earns this designation by increasing the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes and simultaneously increasing the percentage of qualifying scores of 3 or higher on these AP exams. This is the second time in the five-year history of this award program that DHS has been recognized.  This award recognizes the students and the faculty for their dedication and commitment to the content and towards the quality of the student learning that is taking place everyday in these AP classes and in all of our classrooms, day in and day out.  Congratulations everyone at DHS as this is such a wonderful honor.

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Veterans Day Assembly
On Monday, the DHS school community came together to honor the nation's military service personnel with a poignant Veteran's Day assembly.  The presentation was the Senior Project activity for Nick Daly and Rob Rhody with support from their mentor, Mrs. Fitzpatrick. Students presented original poems that paid tribute to the sacrifices our military troops both present and in prior conflicts.  The chorus, concert band and color guard also presented an emotional performance of military hymns. Christine Walthall and Ryan Smith performed taps to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  The students also had the opportunity to be addressed by Mr. William Vicini of Disabled American Veterans' Association.  The ceremony closed with a very moving video on the D.A.V. and their service to our military hero's.  Thanks go out to all who participated and to Nick, Rob and Mrs. Fitzpatrick for a wonderful presentation.  The ceremony made an impression on everyone who attended.    

Douglas Veteran's Day Parade
The Marching Band and Color Guard also had the opportunity to participate in the Re-Dedication of the Civil War Memorial on Veteran's Day.  The memorial has undergone a beautiful restoration and we thank Mr. Elliot and all those involved with the program for their participation in this moving ceremony. 

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The November Newsletter is posted on the 

High School Webpage. It will provide 
additional details on events, activities, 

photos and calendar reminders.
http://www.douglasps.net/files/filesystem/November%20Newsletter.pdf

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Boys Soccer

The DHS Boys Soccer Team experienced a very difficult end to their season as they fell to Oakmont High School in a shootout on Sunday night.  The game ended tied 1-1 after two overtime periods and the game would be settled during a shoot out.  The loss came in the District Semi-Final game as the team continued its presence in post-season play once again.  A youthful team, they had another strong season, battling every opponent and bringing well deserved attention for their spirited play in Central Mass.  Congratulations to the team and Coach Ferguson on another season to be proud of.

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Girls Soccer

The Girls Soccer program has advanced to the District Finals with an exciting shootout victory over league rival Sutton High School.  The game ended 1-1 after regulation and two ten minute overtime periods.  The game came down to five players from each team engaged in a shootout and the players from DHS scored on all five of their shots.  Goalie Alison Carroll making a nice safe on one of the five shots would send the team to their District Final game tomorrow afternoon versus West Boylston HS.  The game will take place at Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton at 3:00PM.  We wish Coach Stand and the team good luck.  

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Cross Country
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The DHS Cross-Country teams competed in the District Finals at  Gardner Golf Club on Saturday the 8th.  The Boys team placed 9th out of 31 teams with strong performances from Connor Grady, Patrick Peloquin, Trevor Mungeam, Zack Eldridge, Emmett Berard and Alex Meszaro. They wrapped up a nice season with this impressive performance. The young team received solid leadership all season long from Captain Zack Eldridge.

The Girls team had a very strong performance placing second out of the 31 teams that competed. With this second place finish the team qualified as a entire team for the Massachusetts State Championships.  This is the first time the team has achieved this honor.  The girls team was lead by Makenzie Cyr who placed third in the meet. Caroline Meizen placed 11th. Tess Miller, Kylie Blake, Rebecca Rockne,  Keely Mungeam and Allie Benedict all performed exceptionally well resulting in the team's impressive second place finish. 
The State Championships will take place on Saturday the 15th at Franklin Park in Boston at 1:00.  We wish the ladies good luck in this meet.

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Douglas Ice Hockey

There will be an Ice Hockey Meeting on Tuesday November 18^th at 6:30 pm in the Multi-Purpose room at the Hopedale Jr. /Sr. High School. Both parents and students are invited.

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Fall Sports Awards Night will be held on Wednesday the 18th of November at 7:00 PM.  This event will be preceded by the Winter Sports Information Night at 6:00.  Please be reminded all interested student-athletes are strongly encouraged to attend this important meeting with a parent.

(note: This date may be moved to Tuesday the 18th should the Girls Soccer Team advance to the State Semi-Finals.  This update will be posted on the school web page and through a one-call update.)

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                             Nov. 19 - Winter Sports Info Night

                                      Fall Sports Awards                                                                 Night

                             Nov. 20 - Half Day of school for                                                           students

                                      Parent Conference Night

                             Nov. 21 - Advisor/Advisee

                             Nov. 26 - Half Day of school 

                            Nov. 27 - 28 - Thanksgiving Break

               

Announcements

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STUDENT STORE

Please visit the Douglas High School Student Store!! New items have recently arrived. Remember the holidays are right around the corner!

http://www.douglasps.net/High.cfm?subpage=1526746

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Reminder that there will be one more open Gym for Volleyball at the Middle School which will take place after school and on Thursday November 20th.

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Reminder to those students who are attending the Annual Sportsmanship 

Summit on November 21^st: 

please have your permissions slips into the Main Office by the end of the day Monday. 

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Attention Basketball players of all abilities! There will be a 3 vs 3 Basketball tournament next week, Thursday November 20^th. This will take place in the High School Gymnasium. Admission will be 1-2 non-perishable canned good per player at the door. Get your team of 3 and give your roster to Tyler Couture by Tuesday the latest. Teams can be boys, girls, and faculty.

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