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DHS Weekly Update - 3/13/26

Posted Date: 03/13/26 (02:10 PM)


DHS Weekly Update

3/13/2026

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Hello Destroyers

Happy Friday the 13th! 
Just when we thought winter was behind us with beautiful 70 degree weather this week, the cold came back with a vengeance and will be with us for at least another week. It seems like the groundhog was correct back in February, more winter!

On a positive note, we are to the point that there are about 3 months until Graduation day for the Class of 2026!
 
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School News and Updates

Tomorrow is Pi Day, March 14th (3.14) every Math enthusiast's favorite day. Thank you to our Math teachers, Mr. Tseng, Mrs. Roussey, Mr. Miller, Mr. Valenzuela, and Mrs. Zandomenego, for all of the activities and parties today to celebrate this important event. 
Congratulations to 9th graders, Aubrey Bosse for memorizing Pi to 299 places, a new DHS record!!!!

Hats off to the members of the cast and crew of Annie, for all of the hard work and dedication they showed the past few months preparing for the show! The cast jumped right into their roles and the crew kept things moving and on track. Thank you to the director Mrs. Clemens, Mr. Sutera for conducting the Pit band, and Ms. Piano as the vocal coach; your time and effort produced a first rate show!!

Next week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week! Please see the flyer for how everyone can participate. 

Congratulations to the DHS Students of the Month for March:
Grade 9 - Kayla LaJeunesse
Grade 10 - Ben Howard
Grade 11 - Alex Gawel
Grade 12 - Zerina Courten

Congratulations to this week’s Jersey Mike’s Students of the Week:
Lisa Marie Nieves and Noah Patton.

Congratulations to all of the athletes that were recognized at the Winter Sports Awards! We recognized the accomplishments of our students in basketball, wrestling, cheer and even swimming. Thank you to Mr. DeNapoli for emceeing his final event before he retires at the end of the month and thank you to Mrs. Buchholz, who helped to put the whole night together, especially the slide show highlighting the winter season in action. 

The Spring Sport season had a fortuitous start, with a few days of amazing weather to get outside and practice (until the cold returned!)

Class of 2027 & 2028: The Counseling department will be hosting College Planning Night on March 18th at 6:30 pm in the DHS Tech Center. This program is geared towards 10th and 11th grade students that are interested in college after high school. The program will discuss the college application process, what to look for in a college, paying for college, and much more. 

Class of 2027: Students in Grade 11 will be taking the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, NEXT WEEK, Tuesday - Thursday, March 17 - 19. This is the Graduation test students need to pass in order to be in a position to graduate in 2027. Students need to be sure to charge their Chromebooks, try to get a good night's sleep, and be on time to school! 

During NJGPA testing, students in Grades 9, 10, and 12 will have a regular school day. Some classes will be relocated because of testing, but all students should still report at the normal time and follow their normal schedule. 

Upcoming Events

DHS is hosting a Volleyball tournament on Thursday, March 19th, starting at 6:30 pm in the DHS Gymnasium. 6 members on a team. $20 a team. See the flyer for more information.

The Dunellen PTO Tricky Tray is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2026.  The Tricky Tray Committee is currently looking for donations to help make our Tricky Tray a successful event.  The more donations received, the more prizes we can have at our Tricky Tray, the more money the PTO can raise.  And all money raised goes back to our students, our teachers, and our schools.  Attached is a flyer with more information regarding donations.  Any help our families can offer is greatly appreciated and helps us do as much as we can for our kids.  Thank you!

Registration is also open for our Tricky Tray. It will take place in the John P. Faber Elementary School Gymnasium. Registration closes on Saturday, April 25, 2026 @ 5pm (or when we have reached capacity).
Here is the link to register and purchase tickets and ticket packages: 

Please read the Google Form carefully as there is a lot of information about our Tricky Tray on the main page of the form.  
We can't wait to see you on May 2nd for our Tricky Tray!
Any questions, please contact Nicole Moore at nicole_moore123@yahoo.com.
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Important Reminders

Support the DHS Class of 2026 Project Graduation with delicious Cheesecakes from Maddalena’s Cheesecake and Catering. Cheesecakes cost from $25 - $28.75. See the flyer for more information. 

The DHS Homework Help Center runs from 2:45 - 3:45 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the DHS Tech Center. Students can come to get extra help from teachers with their school work or just sit and have a quiet place to get things done. We encourage students to attend so that they have fewer or no assignments to do when they get home.

Class of 2026 - FAFSA reminder
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is now OPEN. Please use the link for more information on completing the FAFSA.  It is now a Graduation requirement for all NJ high school students to complete the FAFSA during their 12th grade year.
 

Academic Corner: From the erudite desk of Ms. Powell

Students in Ms. Tori Clemen’s Public Speaking class have been practicing their presentation skills by preparing and delivering informative speeches on topics of their choice. From soccer and dinosaurs to the negative effects of caffeine, students researched their subjects and confidently shared their knowledge with their classmates. The activity helped students strengthen their research, organization, and public speaking skills while learning from one another.  

 Students in Mrs. Soler-Botero’s Spanish Heritage II class are strengthening their analysis skills in Spanish. Using a short animated clip about Spain’s famous December lottery, El Gordo, students analyzed the story by explaining how the main character felt and discussing his motivation for wanting to win the lottery. Through this activity, students practiced expanding on their ideas and supporting their interpretations with details from the video while building both their language proficiency and critical thinking skills in Spanish. 
 
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Contact info

411 First St
Dunellen, NJ 08812
Phone: 732-400-5900

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Follow the DHS Counseling dept. on Instagram: @dhscounselingdept
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