TUSD families came together this week at our first ever Community Festival. Held at Tustin High School, the evening offered attendees craft stations and games, food trucks and resources, including workshops on everything from cyberbullying to a-g requirements and financial aid. With more than 1,800 in attendance, the Community Festival was a unique opportunity for students, families, staff and community partners to enjoy the evening together. A huge thank you to Kris Posavec, Pat Hsieh and each of our community specialists for making this opportunity possible for TUSD!

Recently, students in Beckman High School's Medical Certificate Program (MCP) enjoyed a new event, Medical Skills Day. Students rotated through eight stations learning how to read basic X-rays, administer injections, draw blood and suturing a wound. In addition, stations were dedicated to CPR training, medical bedside manner, patient vitals, and calculating Body Mass Index (BMI). Nearly 100 juniors and seniors in MCP Year 3 participated in the event, taught by physicians assistants and nurses from Chapman University's PA School and CHOC Childrens Hospital. This event is just one of twenty events hosted by MCP as part of its mission to educate, serve, mentor and inspire Beckman students to learn more about careers in healthcare.

This week, business-minded students at Myford Elementary proudly sold their products at the Entrepreneur's Fair. Students applied to be in the fair by creating a prototype of their product, approved prior to the event. Participating sellers set the price for their goods, based on the market, with opportunities to understand when to cut or increase prices. All sellers donated ten percent of their profits to a charity of Myford's choosing. The event was filled with creative offerings, clearly made with care by students. Way to go Mountain Lions!

The Transfer Window Priority Period will soon open on January 9. Transfer requests received during the priority period are not on a first come, first served basis. Transfers are granted to qualified students based on space availability. If there are more qualified students than spaces, a lottery will be held.

Offering choice has always been a hallmark of Tustin Unified as nearly one third of our students attend a school other than their home school. The online transfer process allows students the freedom of choice and movement throughout TUSD. To learn more about the transfer process and to complete an application, click on the transfers link on our district website. We have included videos on our elementary, middle and high schools, as well as our Kindergarten Readiness Program. In addition, in-person tours will be offered on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Heritage, Legacy Magnet Academy, Sycamore Magnet Academy, Tustin Memorial Academy and Columbus Tustin. In-person tours will be offered at all other sites on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The Tustin Public Schools Foundation supports all TUSD schools with technology resources. In partnership with the District, TPSF hosts robotics tournaments throughout the year, enabling teams to compete locally prior to moving on to higher level competitions. Earlier this month, 34 middle school teams from the surrounding area, including 21 TUSD teams, competed at the tournament hosted at Orchard Hills.

Congratulations to Legacy Magnet Academy awarded Tournament Champions, Excellence, Design and Robot Skills Awards! From this tournament, three Legacy teams qualified for the California State Championship. In addition, several TUSD teams received honors including Orchard Hills receiving the Innovate Award, Pioneer receiving the Build and Judges Awards and Columbus Tustin receiving the Sportsmanship Award.

Currently, sixteen teams from TUSD have qualified for the California State Championship and 57 trophies have been awarded this season to TUSD robotics teams.

We are grateful to TPSF for their generous support of our robotics programs districtwide. TPSF has established a fund to support all teams that qualify for the World Championships. If you would like to support this impressive program, visit the TPSF website.

We are excited for the upcoming launch of our newly redesigned website. On January 29, TUSD will launch our reimagined site, a modern, user-friendly destination for students, parents, and educators. Intuitive navigation and design make it easy for users to find the information they need, whether it's about a specific school, district news, or upcoming events. Included in the new design are interactive elements to encourage you to explore, while our mobile optimization will ensure you can access important information on the go. We look forward to the launch of our new website on January 29!