DHS Weekly Update

• Mr. Moore: Drafting Teacher of the Year
• Get Your Bulldog Spirit Wear
• Decatur Fencing Tournament
• Healthcare Leader Guest Speaker
• Science & Engineering Fair Winners
• Activities around DHS: Tennis Tryouts & HOSA Blood Drive
• PTSA Updates
• Community News
• Quick Links

Hello,

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a historic moment for Decatur High School. The Decatur High Fencing Team hosted the first-ever fencing event on a City Schools of Decatur campus! A huge takeaway from the short time I spent attending the event was the commitment of the parents, community members, and student athletes who set up and ran a top-notch event. Our parent volunteers demonstrated flexibility throughout the process. I would like to extend a special thank you to Beacon Hill Middle School for allowing us to use their facilities.

Please take the time over the next couple of weeks to appreciate your loved ones. Remind your students to make good decisions, whether they are traveling a great distance or just enjoying Decatur, and encourage their friends to do the same.

Finally, I would like to thank our PTSA for organizing the Holiday Party, which will take place today after school. It is not often that we can get together outside of school hours and enjoy each other's company. Please see more information about current and upcoming PTSA activities, and it is not too late to join.

Sincerely,

Duane Sprull, Ed.D.

Principal

Congratulations are in order for our very own, Mr. Moore! Today, he was recognized as the Drafting Teacher of the Year by Construction Ready at their 2025 Champions Awards Breakfast, which honored outstanding individuals who have demonstrated excellence in education, leadership, and workforce development in the construction industry. He is truly a leader in his field. Thank you, Mr. Moore. Congratulations!

Show Your Bulldog Pride! The Decatur Bulldog Booster (DBB) Online Store is open and fully stocked with all the gear you need to show your DHS pride!

You can find everything from cozy Vintage Bulldog Hoodies and Flannel Plaid Pants to Bulldog Trucker Hats and DHS Flags—plus, look out for the popular Owala Freesip water bottles!

Shop now and help boost the Bulldogs: Visit the DBB Online Store

En garde! A huge shout-out to our fencers (and their families) for hosting our club's first-ever home tournament! Our squad brought the heat, with eight fencers slashing their way into the Top 16.

• The Men: Bennett Occhialini (5th), Ben Ragland (11th), and Aidan Oldham (12th)
• The Women: Diana Pollidore (3rd - Podium finish! ), Remie Bourque (6th), Lexi Kennerly (10th), Cori Grant (11th), and Opal Lehman (16th)

Seven of our athletes have officially punched their tickets to the Individual Championships in February! As a team, the girls are currently sitting strong in 6th place, and the boys are holding down 11th in the league. The season is just heating up!

Special thanks to Mr. Harbin for securing a space for us to be able to host and for helping with tournament setup. Thank you also to Dr. Sprull for his support and interest in learning about the sport, the club, and its athletes!

On December 11th, the Women in Medicine and HOSA clubs welcomed Dr. Kelly Winter as a guest speaker. Dr. Winter is an Instructor in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, where she prepares future Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). She also works as a pediatric nurse anesthetist, bringing valuable real-world clinical experience into her teaching. Dr. Winter shared stories from her work in hospitals, her experiences practicing abroad, and her passion for teaching nursing students. Students were especially engaged during the visit and enjoyed a lively Q&A, eagerly asking questions and learning more about careers in healthcare.

We are proud to congratulate the winners of this year’s Science and Engineering Fair, hosted by the Science National Honor Society. These students applied creativity, critical thinking, and hands-on experimentation in their science and engineering projects: Evangeline Jones – Size as an Astronomical Clock of Planetary Nebulae Victor Agolory – Root Nodulation in Pisum sativum in Varying Soil Organic Content Payton Sobon, Mila Calandra, and Neve Marston – From Center to Edge: Mapping Moment of Inertia Yunus Derinkok – Material-Dependent Transmission of Ionizing Radiation in a Cloud Chamber Environment Rebecca Winget and Daniela Medina-Galvez – Plant Growth under the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Each student received a $25 gift card in recognition of their hard work and will represent our school at the DeKalb County Science Fair in January. We also extend a sincere thank you to our judges — Mr. Schaar, Mr. Hoover, Mrs. LeDoux, Mrs. Thompson, and Mrs. Duffy — for sharing their expertise, thoughtful feedback, and support of our students. We are so proud of all our students and look forward to cheering them on at the county level!

DHS Tennis tryouts (8th through 12th grade) will take place on the Georgia State Clarkston Campus the week of January 26th. All athletes need a physical on file via DragonFly before tryouts. Please reach out to Coach Messer at dmesser@csdecatur.net for any questions. See flyer for details.

Sign Up to Donate Here or scan the QR code on the flyer below.

Read the December 18, 2025, issue of the district-wide newsletter, CSD Weekly here.

Please take a moment this week to make your voice heard and participate in the Georgia Department of Education climate survey for your school! Your participation and feedback are greatly appreciated. The data collected will help determine the School Climate Star Ratings for the 2026-27 school year, which will enable schools to improve or build upon their successes.

Decatur High School Family Survey

The Decatur High PTSA has officially launched its Season of Giving campaign and already raised over $1,000 toward our goal! Thanks to a generous gift from Tell Realty, every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000. That means your contribution goes twice as far in building an inclusive, engaging DHS community for students, teachers, staff, parents, and guardians.

Your contribution directly supports:

💚 Student Club Grants – supporting student-led initiatives that foster creativity, leadership, and belonging
🤍 Parent & Community Programs – strengthening connections across DHS families and the community

In January, we’ll award our next round of teacher and student club grants. The more we raise now, the more we can invest in these opportunities that make DHS thrive.

Double Your Impact for DHS PTSA - Give by Dec. 31, 2025!

Donate Now and Double Your Support: DHS PTSA PayPal Link

We are thrilled to show our appreciation for our incredible teachers and staff by hosting the Annual Holiday Party this week at Grindhouse Burgers. We are deeply grateful to the special people who show up every day, giving their energy, care, and dedication to our children and our community. Thank you, DHS educators, administrators, and staff!

As part of their 25 Days of Christmas celebration, Rreal Tacos Decatur presented $1,000 each to the DHS Teacher of the Year and Staff Member of the Year. This $2,000 gift was immediately doubled thanks to Tell Realty, which is matching all donations up to $5,000 for the DHS PTSA’s Season of Giving campaign. Together, these contributions will directly support Teacher and Student Club Grants as well as Parent & Community Programs that enrich classrooms, empower student organizations, and strengthen family engagement at the high school. We are so grateful for how Decatur businesses and families come together to support one another, especially during the holiday season. The DHS PTSA Season of Giving campaign.is still open. We thank those who have supported the PTSA and encourage DHS families to help us meet our goals.

We’re excited to announce that our brand-new DHS PTSA website is now up and running! Check it out today!

1. Decatur High School Website
2. Decatur High School PTSA
3. Bell Schedule
4. Personal Electronics Protocol (Updated)
5. School Bus Registration
6. Annual Update
7. Student and Family Handbook