Riverside High School -

Riverside High School's Bryan Christopher, English/journalism teacher and adviser of The Pirate’s Hook student newspaper, and Shirley Kelly, English/yearbook teacher and adviser of The Helm Yearbook, have been named Vice President for Broadcast/Podcast and Northeast & Southeast Piedmont Representative, respectively, on the 2025-2026
North Carolina Scholastic Media Association Board of Directors.

NCSMA is a statewide organization that promotes excellence in scholastic journalism and encourages respect for freedom of the press. Congratulations Mrs. Kelly and Mr. Christopher! #WeAreDPS

RHS' student newspaper, The Pirates’ Hook. received the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association’s highest honor in its annual state contest.

The Hook was one of four high school newspapers to win the award in 2025. The NCSMA’s state media contest includes both public and private schools.

It’s the newspaper’s first Tar Heel since 2011. The Hook’s website won the award last year.

Additionally, seven Riverside students won individual awards for content published during the 2024-25 school year. The awards were announced during the North Carolina Scholastic Media Institute, a 3-day summer camp for high school journalists in June at UNC-Chapel Hill. Full contest results are available at the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association’s website.

Shout-out to all of our families, students and teachers that joined us for 9th Grade Orientation on Thursday.

Shout-out to our JROTC program for all of their work this past week cleaning our school campus and Rose of Sharon.

Shout-out to all of the RHS teams and athletes that participated in our annual Fall Campus Clean-up on Saturday.

🎒 Fill That Bus! Fuel the Year – Starts Today! 🚍 Durham, let’s kick off the school year right! The annual “Fill That Bus! Fuel the Year” school supply drive begins today, running through August 8. Our good friends at the DPS Foundation will be leading the effort in restocking the shelves at Crayons2Calculators so every DPS teacher has the tools needed—completely free—for student success 📝📚 What’s happening: Community-wide efforts to gather essential supplies—pencils, notebooks, art tools, rulers, folders, tissue, and more. Drop-off bins are set up around the city (libraries, churches, businesses) and at Crayons2Calculators warehouse, 808 Bacon St., open Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11 am–3 pm. Prefer to support digitally? Financial donations help purchase high-need items efficiently. Why it matters: Last year, Crayons2Calculators distributed over $129,000 in supplies, supporting 96% of DPS teachers at 59 schools—and many teachers still spend hundreds out-of-pocket. 👉 How YOU can help: Donate supplies: drop off at Crayons2Calculators or community bins. Give online: support via financial contributions. Share & volunteer: host your own drive or help pack supplies. Let’s come together and ensure no teacher—or student—goes without this school year. 🔗 Visit www.fillthebus.org for more details and a full list of needed items. #FillThatBus #DPSStrong #FuelTheYear #Crayons2Calculators

Shout-out to Ms. Boliek and all of our faculty that helped host a fabulous graduation ceremony for our Class of 2025 graduates.

Celebrating and honoring the retirement and legacy of four outstanding educators: Tim Velegol, Seth Stallings, David Norman, and Andriani Carson.

Congratulations to Ms. Monroe on being recognized as a 2025 Honoree of the Lawrence and Artelia Perry Legacy Scholarship Fund.

Celebrating our excellent cohort of Beginning Teachers with mentor Ms. Agoranos.

Shout-out to RHS Dance for their Student Choreography Showcase to end the year.

Congratulations to Carolina Alacala-Ruiz on being named all-state for soccer and for signing her NCAA letter of intent to play at Warren Wilson College.

Shout-out to the following athletes for signing NCAA letters of commitment today: Cole Newman - Dickinson College (Swimming); KJ Burton - Pitt Community College (Baseball); Judah Riseling - Lenoir Community College (Baseball) and Isaac Arrowood - Washington and Lee University (Soccer)

Shout-out Coach Cade and Coach Boumeridja of the Women's Soccer Team for earning the RHS Athletics Community Impact Award.

Shout-out to Ms. Kelly and the Yearbook Team for the excellent “Our Adventure Book,” and for hosting the Senior Brunch Yearbook Distribution.

Shout-out to all of the students who played in yesterday’s Pirate Puff Bowl and congratulations to the junior class for winning.

Congratulations to our softball team for the following recognitions - Nehr Volkan - Honorable Mention All-Conference, Paris Chavis - All-Conference, Grayson Knotts - All-Conference, Paisley Russell - All-Conference, Juleah Somers - All-Conference, Nile Mangum - Conference Sportsmanship Award; Grace Arrington - Conference Pitcher of the Year

Shout-out to the RHS E-Sports team for sharing their expertise with the students of Eastway Elementary.

💰 Scholars securing the dollars! 💰 Big congratulations to Samaria Blackwell of Riverside High School — awarded the Wingate Academic Merit Scholarship and additional scholarships to attend Wingate University, totaling $168,000! Hard work stacked with support — the future looks bright. 🎓💫 #DPSScholarsSecuringDollars #WingateUniversity #MeritScholar #WeAreDPS #DPSProud

💰 Scholars securing the dollars! 💰 Congrats to Lucy Morris of Riverside High School — awarded both the Presidential Scholarship and the Honors Teaching Fellows Scholarship at Elon University! Leadership, service, and education — financially supported. 🎓🍎 #DPSScholarsSecuringDollars #ElonUniversity #TeachingFellow #PresidentialScholar #WeAreDPS #DPSProud