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Over 1,000 people celebrated the first holiday tree lighting at Dublin High School last week, where several members from the Dublin school community who lost their lives in recent years were also honored.
Dublin Unified School District spokesman Chip Dehnert told the Weekly that the Dec. 1 event — the first of its kind in Dublin High’s 53-year history — was attended by “a mix of students, staff, and community members,” and called it “a great success.”
“It was nice to see a lot of families with children and dogs in tow; a real community experience,” Dehnert said.
Commemorating the holiday season with a 70-foot redwood tree adorned with more than 3,000 red and blue lights, the event also featured performances by Dublin High’s concert choir, jazz combo, and musical theater group.
Friends of twin brothers Mark and Michael Urista (class of 2022), and Javier Ramirez (class of ’22), who died in a car crash on Christmas night in 2019, remembered the trio that evening, while assistant principal Paul Faris shared thoughts about longtime DUSD employee Derek Rosas, who died in February. The father of Anik Suneja, who also died that month, spoke as well.
Trustee William Kuo also spoke to the crowd about his late wife and former trustee Catherine Kuo, who died after being struck by a car while volunteering at Fallon Middle School nine months ago.
The holidays of Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa were highlighted in speeches by students, followed by a countdown to the tree lighting led by the Best Buddies Students.
Dehnert said, “To top things off, strategically placed snow-making machines started blowing snow into the air soon after the tree was lit.”