Volume 4 Issue 30
It was a week of awesomeness for our elementary students. They had a field trip to UCI, Maverick Hangout, and Music Assembly all in one week! Does it get any better than that. Well, you'll have to read on to see!
This week's background features pictures from all of the great events our elementary students got to take part in this week. Such a fun week of good things!
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or compliments, please reach out to Mr. Fineberg, our principal, at efineberg@tustin.k12.ca.us.
Principal's Message...
Wow, what a great week we had. As mentioned above, our elementary students had a great week of fun including a field trip to UCI, Glow Party Maverick Hangout, and music assembly. What a great week.
For our middle and high school students, this is the time to pick their classes and confirm plans for next year. Please check out the counselor corner below for some upcoming events and dates with Mrs. Wijnhamer related to those plans.
Additionally, as we enter into April, it marks the beginning of our state testing program for students in grades 3-8 and 11. The testing provides an important opportunity to gauge our students' progress on a micro and macro level. The feedback received helps us make decisions related to our goals as a school and insures that students are making progress as compared to other students in the district, county, and state. Students' participation is key to getting accurate information. Additionaly, the new system at the state requires 95% of students participate in the testing. For all students under the 95% rate, we receive the lowest possible score for as many students as we are short of the 95% benchmark. With that in mind, we appreciate your support during this testing season. If you are considering opting out of the testing, please feel free to reach out to me as we may be able to come up with some alternatives that may work to alleviate your concerns.
As always, if you have any questions, compliments, ideas, and/or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out at (714) 430-2052 ext. 52103 or efineberg@tustin.k12.ca.us.
Mr. Fineberg
PTA Roundup
Hello Maverick Families,
Pajama Pants are in! Come check them out in the office. We have a limited number of pants available in the high school office for $30. Stop by and grab a pair. Or, you can order a pair at https://www.tustinconnectpta.com/product-page/pajama-pants.
On another note, we are sad to announce that this year's Movie Night has been cancelled, despite our best efforts to reschedule, between the unpredictable weather, time change, and limited availability of moving the event indoors, we made the difficult decision to cancel it this year. Stay tuned for our end of year activities!
✍️ Elementary Information ✍️
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CAASPP Testing: As we enter the final trimester, we will begin preparing for state testing in grades 3-5. Please take a moment to preview the CAASPP website - To take a practice test and view the interface, click here. We will test the weeks of 4/24-4/28 and 5/1-5/5. Please save the date. Testing will be in person, so the schedule will be modified.
Social Skills Small Group Opportunity Mrs. Wijnhamer will be hosting 6 week Social Skills Small Group from 12:30PM-1:00PM on Thursdays at Tustin Connect K-8 campus. The first meeting date will be April 6th and the last meeting date will be May 18th. The goal of this group is to create a space for students to build connections with peers while strengthening social skills that will aid them in their friendships and interactions with classmates. This is a great opportunity for students to have more time to interact with their peers. If you are interested in having your child join, please let me know as a consent form is required.
The following topics will be taught in group with accompanying skills.
- Making Friends; Finding things in Common with Others
- Starting and Maintaining a Conversation
- Identifying Qualities of a Good Friend; Online Friendships
- Identifying Qualities of a Leader; Bullying
- Conflict Resolution and I-Statements
- Celebration and Review of Lesson Topics
😃Middle School Information😃
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Upcoming Counseling Lessons w/ Mrs. W: On Tuesday, April 11th 7th Graders will receive a Lesson on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This is one in a series of lessons with Mrs. W throughout the year for our 7th graders. On Thursday, April 13th our 8th Graders will receive their lesson on the7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We appreciate and thank Mrs. W for these powerful monthly lessons.
8th grade promotion: Our 8th grade promotion is scheduled for May 25th at 6 pm at the K-8 campus. The ceremony is a wonderful celebration of our students and their hardwork and next step to high school. If you are able to, our parents have traditionally collaborated with staff to help with decorations and swag. I you are willing to help, please reach out to Ms. Paulson or Mr. Fineberg.
Ms. Paulson's Inspirational Books/Speeches: I thought all of our middle school students might enjoy seeing Ms. Paulson's list of Inspirational Books/Speeches. It's always fun to see what drives and inspires others.
- Admiral William H. McRaven: Make Your Bed (Little Things that can Change Your Life (and Maybe the World)
- Amanda Gorman: The Hill We Climb
- ANYTHING by John Wooden
👍 High School Information 👍
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HS BBQ: DATE CHANGE, mark your calendars for Thursday, April 20th for our high school BBQ and hangout. We are hoping the extra couple of weeks will help buy us some dry weather. We also wanted to do a Thursday to capture more of our students on campus. Please be sure to join us for the event.
Summer School: Any student that received an F in the fall or have previously recieved an F and did not make it up, will be getting an email from the district letting them know that their student has been enrolled and you will have the option to confirm or decline enrollment. All summer school courses will be at Beckman or Tustin High schools. If you have any questions, please email or call Mrs. Wijnhamer rwijnhamer@tustin.k12.ca.us.
TUSD HS Pathways to Success Event: RSVP’s are open for this exciting opportunity for HS students and their parents/guardians. Sessions apply to various grade levels, and all HS students are welcome! Click the image to access the folder with the flier (English and Spanish) and social media image to share through your communication platforms. Click here for more information.
Counselor Corner: Resources and link to workshops and more!!!
April Counseling Events:
Monday, April 10th- 11th Grade Career Exploration Counseling Lesson 10:30AM-11:15AM
Tuesday, April 11th - 7th Grade Counseling Lesson (7 Habits of Highly Effective People Lesson Series)
Thursday, April 13th- 8th Grade Counseling Lesson (7 Habits of Highly Effective People Lesson Series)
Thursday, April 17th- Coffee with Principal, Counselor, MHS
Thursday, April 20th- High School TUPE BBQ
Thursday, April 27th- K-5 Maverick Hangout
Our Counselor and Mental Health team have a great website with lots of resources to check out. The team is busy planning our next Principal Cofffe on Executive Functioning and Planning for an Independent Study setting. Check back soon for more details.
Principal/Counselor Resources from Executive Functioning Presenation in February.
SMART Goals Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA53yhiOe04
Principal/Counselor's Coffee Slides on Combating Anxiety: Here is a link to the slides from Ms. Skomsvold's presentation on Combating Anxiety.
Registration Is Open Now!
The Tustin Public Schools Foundation Summer Academy Registration is now open! Visit www.tpsf.net/summer for a wide variety of enrichment classes for incoming students in grades TK-9. Scholarships are avaialble as well. Sign up today as classes are filling up FAST! Our high school students have the opportunity to intern through the program as well. Interested high schoolers can apply for an internship using this link. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Fineberg who started the program and continues to run it over the past 12 years!
NEW!! Free Online Tutoring Available for K-12 Students
Brainfuse HelpNow is an on demand, anytime, anywhere eLearning platform available for all ages and levels. Last week, it was announced that every Californian can now access free online tutoring available 24/7 through a new initiative offering homework help in every K-12 subject and skill-building resources for K-12 and adult learners.
Real-time homework assistance can now be accessed 24/7 here and on the websites of any of the 1,130 local public libraries around the state – click on the “HelpNow” link to reach a one-on-one tutor. The pilot program led by the State Library offers assistance in Math, Language Arts, and other core K-12 subjects in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. There’s no age limit to who can use the service. Adult learners can also access writing assistance, citizenship resources and other tools.
SORA Virtual Texts Collections
TUSD Resource Sora Summer Read
Sora Sweet Reads in an annual summer reading program designed for schools to encourage students to keep reading all year long. "Check out" the free collection of simultaneous use juvenile and young adult ebooks (and select audiobooks).
Login to Sora to access these and many any other great ebooks and audiobooks all summer long through Clever, TUSD Student Portal or soraapp.com using your TUSD Google login and password.
Student Request - SORA books – Here is a link to a Google Doc to send suggestions and recommendations for new books for our collections!!
Technology Questions/Needs - There's Help Available!
Important Upcoming Dates - Please check our school Website Calendar for all the latest!
Arpil 17: Coffee with the Principal/Counselor
April 20: High School BBQ
April 27: Maverick Hangout
May 25: Middle School Promotion 6 pm at K-8 campus
June 1: Class of 2023 High School Graduation at 3 pm
Our Mission
Email: efineberg@tustin.k12.ca.us
Website: www.tustinconnect.org
Location: (K-8) 14741 North B Street; (9-12) 1151 San Juan Street
Phone: (714) 430-2052
Twitter: @tustinconnect