Message from Orange Unified

In this Message

• OUSD Employees of the Year
  
• Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 17 Administrators of the Year
• Orange High School MJROTC Cadets Visit Washington, D.C.
• Canyon High School's Symphony Orchestra performed at the Chicago International Music Festival
• Fletcher Mandarin Language & GATE Academy Students Immerse in Culture Over Break
• Congratulations to Richland’s Third Quarter Graduates!
• Canyon High School Robotics State Championships Update
• McPherson Magnet STEAM Night/25th Anniversary
• History that Comes Alive at Sycamore Elementary
• "Let's Be Kind" at Linda Vista Elementary
• Orange Unified School District Celebrates Two More CIF-SS Academic Championships
• Latest CIF Polls and CIF-SS Academic Champions, Orange Unified High Schools
  

Upcoming Events

• April 11: CDS, EDGE Academy & Independent Study Showcase/Open House; Home School K-8 Showcase/Open House
• April 13: Board of Education Meeting
• April 18: Chapman Hills ES Open House; Taft ES Open House; Linda Vista ES Open House; Jordan ES Open House
• April 20: Palmyra Elementary 70th Anniversary; Fletcher ES Open House
• April 21: El Modena High School Nature Center Dedication
• April 25: Cambridge ES Open House; Lampson ES Open House; Prospect ES Open House; Palmyra ES Open House; Anaheim Hills ES Open House; La Veta ES Open House; Imperial ES Open House; Serrano ES Open House
• April 26: Villa Park HS Showcase/Open House
• April 27: Orange High School Time Capsule Event; McPherson Magnet Open House
• April 28: Canyon Rim ES 25th Year Anniversary & Open House

Each year, Orange Unified recognizes classified, certificated, and leadership employees who go above and beyond by helping to create an engaging and successful learning environment for our students and staff.

OUSD Teachers of the Year

Niccole Connally – Richland High School

Niccole is a high school teacher teaching History and Leadership at Richland. She began working in the district in 2008 and has worked solely at Richland for 15 years. Before working in OUSD, Niccole worked for a year as an elementary school teacher. Niccole holds a Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential – Social Science, Clear Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential – General Subjects, and an English Learner Authorization.

Tashla McCabe – Lampson Elementary School

Tashla currently serves as an elementary teacher teaching second grade at Lampson. She began working in the district in 2006 and has taught various grade levels, including grades 1, 2, and 3, at various locations during her 14-year tenure. Before working in OUSD, Tashla worked for eight years at Desert Sands Unified as an elementary teacher and teacher on special assignment. Tashla holds a Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential - General Subjects, and an English Learner Authorization.

Rebeca Nelson – Jordan Academy

Rebeca currently serves as an elementary teacher teaching 2nd-grade Dual Immersion at Jordan. She began working in the district in 2006 and has served in a multitude of positions over the last 17 years at various sites, including GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) teacher, resource teacher, teacher on special assignment, assistant principal, principal, and elementary teacher. Prior to working in OUSD, Rebeca served six years as an elementary teacher at Santa Ana Unified. Rebeca holds a Clear Multiple Subjects Credential – General Subjects, Bilingual (BLAD) Certificate - Spanish, and an Administrative Services Credential.

OUSD Classified Employees of the Year

Maria Espitia – Taft Elementary School

Maria is being honored for her service as a School/Community Assistant in the Support Services and Security category. Maria has served in the district since 1999. She has served in her current role at Taft exclusively for the over 30 years she has been with the district.

Son Tan – Linda Vista Elementary

Sonny is being honored for his service as head custodian in the category of Maintenance and Operations. Son has served in the district since 2013. He has worked in positions of increasing responsibility, including sub-custodian, custodian, and was promoted to his current position of head custodian in 2021.

Taia Thompson – Cambridge Elementary School

Taia is being honored for her service as a Behavior Support Assistant in the category of Para-Educator. Taia has served the district since 2015. She started as an instructional assistant, special education, and was promoted to her current position of behavior support assistant in 2021.

OUSD Administrators of the Year

Sheryl Anderson-Glass – Orange High School

Sheryl is currently the principal of Orange High School. She served two years as Principal at La Veta Elementary, and prior to this position, Sheryl served as Assistant Principal at both Orange and Villa Park High Schools. During her 20 years with Orange Unified, she has held positions such as athletic director and activities director, and has taught various subjects at the secondary level.

Christina Celeste-Russo - Transportation

Christina Celeste-Russo has been in the transportation industry since 2013 and currently serves as the Director of Transportation for OUSD. Additionally, Christina serves as the California Association of School Transportation Officials (CASTO) State Treasurer and has been for the last five years. Before being promoted to Director of Transportation, Christina was the Transportation Supervisor.

Raeanne Little – Educational Services

Raeanne Lopez Little is currently an administrator in our curriculum department, where she supports induction programs for our new teachers and principals, gifted education programs, and professional development initiatives. She started her career as a bilingual elementary teacher in Los Angeles and moved to OUSD in 1997. Since then, she has served as an elementary teacher, instructional specialist, and site and district administrator.

All OUSD Employees of the Year will be recognized at the annual celebration held at Fred Kelly Stadium in May.

Monica Luther – Orange High School

Monica Luther, Ed.D., joined the OUSD family as Assistant Principal of Curriculum & Instruction in July of 2021. Over these past two years, she has served the Orange High School community proudly. Before OUSD, Monica worked as Assistant Principal and Interim Principal at Buena Park School District. Monica spent most of her career in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District as a secondary teacher, literacy coach, instructional specialist, curriculum writer, and administrative TOSA.

Sue Singh – Special Education

Sue Singh, Ed.D., joined the OUSD family in July of 2018 and serves as the Chief Executive Officer for SELPA/Special Education. Sue has over 25 years of extensive experience in special education, including serving as an education specialist, mentor teacher, department chairperson, TOSA, coordinator, district director, and Section 504 compliance officer.

ACSA’s Region 17 will recognize this year’s honorees in person at the annual Celebration of Excellence banquet dinner on May 8 at the Irvine Marriott.

Established in 1971, ACSA serves more than 17,000 California educators and annually spotlights top administrators and friends of education at the regional and state levels.

Twelve cadets attended a seven-day trip to Washington, DC, during Spring Break 2023. Coordinated by Colonel Tull and led by Master Sergeant Mata with chaperone Patty Petricciolli. The cadets had a tightly scheduled adventure: United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Baltimore, U.S. Capital, Library of Congress, The White House, Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, National World War II Memorial, The Pentagon, Potomac River, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the Marine Corps Museum, and 8th & I Marine Barracks.

Their most memorable event was the meeting with Congressman Lou Correa - U.S. House California District 46. They were guided by an exceptionally personable intern who took them on a VIP tour from the Rayburn House office to the nation’s capital via the underground Cannon tunnels and the Library of Congress tunnels. The cadets were given special security badges to run through the tunnels and have access to the House Chamber and briefly be a part of history. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the OHS MJROTC cadets!

Canyon High School's Symphony Orchestra performed in the Chicago International Music Festival held at the Chicago Symphony Center on March 28. They performed three pieces: American Elegy by Ticheli, Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, and Knock on Wood by Lowry.

Canyon's Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Mr. Michael Whang, the Director of Instrumental Music at CHS. Mr. Whang has tirelessly worked to prepare Canyon’s students for this performance. The students worked SO hard as well, and they were amazing!

Over Spring Break, eight Fletcher Academy Mandarin Dual Immersion families spent seven days touring the entire country of Taiwan. Global Culture Education Foundation, a partner with Fletcher’s programs, organized the trip.

Students had daily reflection homework assignments and daily Mandarin and local history lessons on the bus as they drove from city to city, stopping in each town for meals, including a specific local dish. Students also learned how to make tofu and visited a ranch providing Taiwan with milk.

The students also had the opportunity to join a local public school for an immersion experience with an opening assembly and a PE class with a Chinese yo-yo. Each student participated in a class with a hands-on activity and lesson related to the culture of Taiwan before a closing assembly, with students sharing reflections and enjoying lunch with food from their local area. At the end of the school visit, the students exchanged gifts and planted together to symbolize the unity and long-lasting friendships that flourished.

This immersive trip into the language and culture of Taiwan allowed the Fletcher Falcons to get a deeper understanding of and appreciation for what they have learned as dual immersion students.

Congratulations to Canyon High School’s Robotics teams on their performance at the State Competitions! Team B made it to the 16-slot playoffs, Team C made it to the semi-finals, and Team A made it to finals and won second place, which in turn qualified them to go to the World Championships in Dallas at the end of April. Excellent job, Canyon!

This past month, the “Walk-Through” team from California Weekly Explorer visited Sycamore Elementary’s fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Students had the opportunity to participate in a “Walk-Through” presentation, an engaging and interactive educational presentation of standards-based history curriculum through literacy and the arts.

Through dramatic activities, students “became” famous men and women of the historical time period their grade level is studying: fourth-grade- California History, fifth-grade-American History, and sixth-grade Ancient World History. Flags, maps, re-enactments, music, costumes, and games helped students explore and understand the importance of history.

Sycamore’s amazing teachers spent weeks helping our students prepare for this event, and during the walkthrough, students acted out the parts they chose as the narrator led them through a retelling of the history. Students earned points for their team by memorizing facts and providing an excellent performance. It was a truly engaging and interactive way of learning!

This past Tuesday was Linda Vista's first Let’s Be Kind Day. All students received t-shirts to wear each Tuesday as a reminder to focus on ways to be kind to themselves, their school community, and the community at large. Kindness matters; Great job, Leopards!

Orange Unified School District continues to demonstrate why we are a “District of Excellence.” Villa Park High School celebrated two athletic teams earning CIF-SS Academic Championship status in 2022-2023. Baseball and Softball earned these titles based upon each team earning the highest grade point averages (G.P.A.) in the enrollment category of 1,500 or more students. These are the eighth and ninth Villa Park High School athletic teams to win a CIF Southern Section Academic Championship in the last six academic school years and the eleventh and twelfth CIF Academic Championships for Orange Unified School District.

Villa Park High School’s varsity baseball and softball teams will be honored at the CIF-SS Academic Championship Awards ceremony on April 24 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The teams will each be awarded a championship banner during the 6:45 p.m. ceremony prior to the major league baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Oakland Athletics.

Additionally, team members from each squad will walk the playing field to represent Villa Park High School and receive a banner during the pre-game ceremony. Each team will be led by their Head Coaches: Baseball Head Coach Burt Call and Softball Head Coach Terry Williams.

Principal Dennis McCuistion stated, “These amazing student-athletes continue to represent not only the over 1,100 student-athletes on campus but also set an example of academic achievement for all 2,100 students that comprise our associated student body.”

“We are so pleased to share these achievements by our student-athletes with our community,” stated Athletic Director Tom Fox. “We should also note that baseball was the CIF Academic Championship Runner-Up last year. In addition, it is truly an incredible feat that four teams, Football, Boys Volleyball, Girls Tennis, and Boys Tennis, all finished in the Top 3 this school year! We also had an incredible amount of our teams earn Top 5 and Top 10 status.”

When tabulating the grade point averages for all sports, Villa Park High School had 21 out of 26 Varsity Sports qualify for Top 25-grade point average status in the CIF Southern Section, 11 teams earned Top 5 status, 16 teams made Top 10 status, and one team —Boys Track and Field — was the CIF Southern Section Academic Champion Runner Up, the third Villa Park High School team all-time to earn this prestigious status.

Thank you to our teachers, coaches, students, families, and community partners for supporting these amazing achievements.

Canyon HS

• Baseball--#9 Division 4
• Boys Lacrosse--#4 Division 3
• Softball--#7 Division 2
• Boys Volleyball--#16 Division 1/2

Villa Park HS

• Baseball--#3 Division 1; #13 in California; #17 in the United States
• Softball--#10 Division 1, #15 in California

Give your child the Orange Unified EDGE! orangeusd.org/enroll

If you missed any of our PreK-12 Showcases and would like to book a personal tour of one of our schools, please complete the interest form or call Dr. Ken Miller at 714-628- 4350.

Did you know that we have a YouTube channel? Check out our videos featuring programs throughout the District, Board Meetings, school highlights, Measure S progress, graduation ceremonies and more at https://www.youtube.com/OrangeUnifiedCA

Email: communications@orangeusd.org
Website: www.orangeusd.org
Location: 1401 North Handy Street, Orange, CA, USA
Phone: 714-628-4000
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Twitter: @orangeunifiedCA

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