San Juan Scene - Feb. 4, 2025

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It’s time to enroll your child in kindergarten or participate in the transitional kindergarten lottery!

San Juan Unified offers a nurturing environment for young learners to explore and grow. We have a variety of part-day and full-day options for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten enrollment for the 2025-26 school year is open now. For kindergarten, your child must turn five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2025. Learn more at www.sanjuan.edu/kinder.

Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

The lottery application process for TK begins on Feb. 10 at 8 a.m. Students who turn four by Sept. 1, 2025, are eligible to enroll in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) for the 2025-26 school year. Learn more at www.sanjuan.edu/TK.

For more information, including eligibility details, what documents are required, where to enroll and our enrollment center’s office hours, visit us online at www.sanjuan.edu/enrollment.

Mira Loma High School students led attendees on a journey through Asia’s diverse cultures with their annual Asian Culture Festival on Jan. 31!

Adorned in cultural dress, students celebrated the artwork, history and culture of Asia’s diverse countries by hosting presentation booths and performances such as Chinese lion and dragon dances, Japanese Taiko Drumming, Tinikling dancing from the Philippines, Punjabi solo folk dance and more.

Congratulations to Mira Loma’s students for leading a vibrant event, and for uplifting the voices of their diverse student community.

Three cheers for Encina High School - the campus has officially begun its modernization project. This spring, light modernization efforts will occur in the school’s classroom wings. These upgrades include new paint, carpets and furniture to enhance our students’ learning experience.

In the summer, classroom buildings O and Q will be demolished to make room for new science classrooms. Additional upgrades will include modernization of the cafeteria, administrative building, locker rooms and library.

For more information about this project and to sign up for the construction newsletter mailing list, please visit Encina’s construction webpage.

Applications for San Juan Unified’s Curriculum Adoption Committees are open now through March 3 for parents/guardians, staff and community members.

These committees are responsible for reviewing new textbooks and other learning materials for eligible courses. After the review period ends in the Fall, these committees ultimately make learning material recommendations to the Board of Education.

Several subject areas will be eligible for adoption this year, including TK-8 math, American Sign Language, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish for Heritage Learners, AP Human Geography, AP Psychology, United States History and World History. Each course will have its own adoption committee and timeline.

Parents and guardians are highly encouraged to fill out this form to apply for a curriculum adoption committee and share their voice in their students’ education. For more information about participating in adoption committees, please visit the curriculum webpage.

San Juan Unified would like to invite parents and students to take the San Juan Unified annual district climate survey. Your feedback is vital and informs school and district leaders of the changes needed in their communities. The deadline for the survey is Feb. 7.

Surveys are available online in several languages at:

• Parent Survey - sanjuan.edu/parentsurvey

• Student Survey - sanjuan.edu/studentsurvey

• Staff Survey - sanjuan.edu/staffsurvey

We greatly value your feedback and thank you in advance for your participation.

Do you know someone who went above and beyond, and made a difference for our special education students and families? Nominations are open for the 36th annual You Light The Way Awards, recognizing outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to San Juan Unified’s special education programs. Nominations are due by Feb. 10.

Nominate someone today and let their light shine even brighter!

Shine the spotlight on a staff member, student, community member or student group, and nominate them for a Spirit of San Juan award. San Juan Unified believes that everyone benefits when people willingly contribute to the well-being of others.

Let’s work together to recognize and celebrate the incredible difference that individuals or groups have made in our district this year. Visit www.sanjuan.edu/spirit to nominate someone by Feb. 7!

San Juan Education Foundation scholarship applications are open for San Juan Unified seniors. Eligible students can apply now through April 11 for a chance to earn funding for higher education.

Visit www.sanjuaneducationfoundation.org/scholarships for more information about the available scholarship opportunities.

Any San Juan Unified parents/guardians or community members who want to complete the fingerprinting process to sign up to volunteer at our schools but cannot make an appointment during the business day are invited to our free walk-in volunteer fingerprint clinic. The clinic will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Board Room, located at 3738 Walnut Avenue in Carmichael.

We recommend filling out the volunteer verification form before attending, but assistance will also be available on-site if needed. All applicants must bring a valid photo ID. If you have any questions, email volunteer@sanjuan.edu or call (916) 971-7935.

It’s important to set realistic expectations for your child. If they are too high or too low, your child may do poorly. For success:

• Check with the teacher if you aren’t sure about your child’s abilities.

• Be consistent. Don’t lower expectations to make your child happy. Don’t raise them because you’ve had a bad day.

• Celebrate progress your child makes along the way.