Durango High School Students went to the polls this March to elect new student body leadership from the class of 2019. For their co-student body presidents, the students have elected Alex Hise and Emma Hackett. William Lammons and Ian Mattox were elected as vice president and secretary/treasurer, respectively.

Preschool students at Florida Mesa Elementary are getting a taste of what it is like to be a school custodian, librarian, nurse, and even the school principal.

“It’s like pretending to be a secret agent,” said DHS senior Nicole Wiley when asked how she would describe the Girls Go CyberStart challenge to a stranger.

This was Nicole’s first time participating in the Girls Go CyberStart competition. She was joined by teammates Katie Williams, Kaitlyn Ashburn, and Jessica Fiala for the challenge, which explores cyber security through a fun game-like structure that incorporates cryptography, web attacks, forensics, programming, and linux.

If there is one thing that stands out more than any other when you meet the Fortissimo! team from Sunnyside Elementary, it’s their teamwork. The Destination Imagination team made up of Sam Yeargen, Laulani Wheeler, Sarisma Magar, Andrew Pickett, Anna Padgett, and McKenzie Hayden work so well together they can finish each other’s sentences. It’s this spirit of comradery and collaboration that helped qualify the team for the state competition with their third place finish at regionals.

The following is an emergency message from Durango School District 9-R to all parents and students on bus route FM1. The bus was rear-ended by another vehicle during a routine bus stop this afternoon on Highway 172. All bus riders are presumed to be safe and no injuries are being reported on the bus, but as a precaution all students are being evaluated by paramedics on the scene. A new bus has been dispatched to the scene and will be transporting all riders on the route to their stops, but will be about 30 minutes delayed from the normal schedule. For questions or concerns please contact Transportation at 970-247-5335.

Durango 9-R invites the public to a panel discussion about school safety on Monday, March 12th. Click "Read More" to learn more about this important event.

This week's Bravo! Jr. Award goes to Sunnyside Elementary 4th grade student Juliana McKown. She was nominated by Principal Patrick Hyatt for being a great example to other students and inspiring others through her kindness, responsibility, and perseverance.

The Durango School District 9-R Board of Education is creating a community-based committee to solicit knowledge, expertise and feedback from the community regarding the long-range planning for facility use in the district. This ad-hoc committee will be responsible for reviewing existing district facilities and setting a vision for growth and development. As the community and the district continue to grow, it is important for the district to hear from community stakeholders so that the direction supports both district and community needs.

This week's Bravo Jr. Award goes to Riverview Elementary 5th grader Alondra Cruz Mendoza, who was nominated by the 5th grade teachers at her school.

At Durango High School the SkillsUSA program is empowering students to become world-class leaders, citizens, and skilled workers. No where was the impact of this program more clear than at the SkillsUSA Region 8 Championships held at DHS on February 23rd.