DHS Principal John McCarthy said an anonymous note was found in a bathroom of the school that morning which identified a small group of students and included language that concerned administrators.

He said that this latest discovery was different from three incidents last October when a pair of notes were found making specific threats of violence at the school and another note was mailed to the school with white powder that was later found to be harmless.

“Without going into specifics, I’ll say that the note was not threatening, but that some of the language used could be interpreted [as such],” he said.  “Before any of the other incidents [last year], we would’ve looked at this as a peer problemÖbut because of the heightened state we are in, everything is evaluated on its merit and compared.”

McCarthy added that his interpretation of the note was that of a peer relation problem where one student says something to another and that student or a friend does something in retaliation. 

 “In years past, we’d find notes like this in schools and think it was not unusual,” said McCarthy.  “We’d say something was going on and get to the bottom of it so we can mediate [between students].”

He said the letter had a “you guys better watch out” tone to it, but did not want to release specifics of the note at the request of Duxbury police who are helping in investigating the matter.

On Friday, Lt. Chip Chubb said that police are working to identify the author of the note, but that this latest incident did not come with the same kind of police presence at the school seen last October.

“We are certainly treating this as serious as the other incidents] but using a different method [to respond],” said Chubb.  “Each threat or letter comes with a different response.”

Chubb would not comment whether this latest note containing student names was similar to one found last June at Duxbury Middle School which also identified specific individuals.

McCarthy did stress that the note did not contain a “hit list” of students, and quickly worked with his Crisis Intervention Team to craft a letter to send home with students so they and their parents understood the incident.

The letter called the incident “significantly different” than last year’s notes and encouraged parents to continue discussions with their children about how upsetting these incidents can be, urging anyone with information to come forward.

McCarthy said that the letter also helped to dispel rumors that can spread throughout the school’s halls.

“What happens is rumors go around the school,” he said.  “Within an hour of finding the note, there were already rumors of a ëhit list’ so we had to dispel that.”

The school immediately contacted the students named in the note as well as their parents and McCarthy said that they all seemed to be fine.

“We’ve contacted them all and no one seemed too alarmed,” he said.

One parent who contacted the Clipper said that she does not even live in Duxbury nor the state anymore, yet her pupil’s name was listed in the note.

Superintendent Eileen Williams said Thursday that she agreed that the incident was different than those last year, but school officials decided to send a letter home with students to keep the lines of communication open with parents.

“At our forum in November [regarding the threats], one of the strongest messages we got, I think, was that parents appreciated the open communication from schools,” she said.  “We felt that since it was clearly something they felt was helpful, that it should be continued.”