Volume 5 Issue 8
It was another great week to be a Maverick! Mrs. Wijnhamer, our counselor, presented a lesson to our K-3 students on Mindset. We also had the opportunity to formally celebrate our Custodial Staff as part of National Custodian Day. So cool to be able to celebrate these staff members. This coming week is Finals Week for our high schoolers as well as the lead up to next Saturdays PSAT! Busy week for sure.
This week's background features highlights from Mrs. Wijnhamer's lesson with K-3 on Mindset, our kickoff meeting for TPSF Teens, Middle School Math Intervention Class, and pictures from our Custodial Celebration as part of National Custodial Worker Day this past week.
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...
It's Finals Week for our high school students. That's always a busy time and one filled with lots of hard work, cramming, and relief at the same time. It's important that students come on campus as much as possible this week and getting any work done, questions answered, and studying done. There are lots of options for our students to get help from their advisory teacher, content teacher, math lab on Wednesdays, along with our instructional aides on Tuesdays and Thursday. Please encourage your students to take advantage of these opportunities and finish strong! At the K-8 it's all about Trunk or Treat. Please be sure to have your calendar marked for Thursday, October 26th from 5-7 pm for our annual Trunk or Treat event. Costume contests, games, craft, trunk or treating, Kona Ice, nachos, hot dogs, silent auction, and so much more! Come join us. You can RSVP using this link.
Also, our Coffee With th Principal/Counselor/Mental Health Professional is on October 25th. Our Mental Health Professionals will be joining our counselor and I as they define and share strategies for coping with anxiety and depression. It's going to be an invaluable opportunity to learn from the professionals.
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. Have a great weekend.
Mr. Fineberg
✍️ Elementary Information ✍️
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Math Lab: The Math Lab sessions continue to be a significant resource for our students. Please be sure to inquire about the additional math support on Wednesdays from 12:30 - 1pm. Mrs. Fancy, our Intervention Lead Teacher, hosts each week.
Red Ribbon Week 10/26: To celebrate Red Ribbon week, we will have spirit dress up days for students.
👕 Spirit Dress-up days:
- Tuesday, Oct. 24: Team up against drugs and wear sports team shirt/jersey/sporty clothing
- Wednesday, Oct. 25: Wear Red
- Tuesday, Oct. 31 Halloween - Pajama Day
Social Skills Group: We are offering two social skills group times that began last week (6th grade is Mondays from 11:30-12, 4th/5th is Wednesdays from 12:30-1). Our counselor, Mrs. Wijnhamer, will be hosting weekly group meetings with students. 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. If you are interested in having your child join, please let Mrs. McCourtney know as a consent form is required.
Logitech iPad Pencil: If your child would like to check out a digital Logitech pen, please let your teacher know! CLICK HERE for directions on how to use it.
😃Middle School Information😃
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Pathways to Success: Be sure to save Wednesday, November 1st at 5:30 pm on your calendars. Tustin HS will be hosting the Pathways to Success career readiness event where families can learn about college admissions, career trends and pathways, careers in the military, and skills for the modern workplace. See the flyer for more information. English Spanish
7th/8th Graders Optional In-Person Time: In order to offer more in-person opportunities for students that are interested in additional support and work time, we are opening our 7th/8th grade classroom on Tuesdays from 1-3 pm starting next week.
Math Lab: Math Lab continues to run for our Middle School students on Wednesday afternoon. It is an incredibly helpful session with specialized support for students based on their needs. Please be sure to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to support math instruction.
Schedule for 2023/24: To confirm, please check out the schedule for this year. It is Linked as well.
- Mondays: 6th in person, 7th online 8:30-10:30 / 8th optional online office hours 11:00-12:00
- Tuesdays: 8th online 8:30-10:30 / 7th optional online office hours 11:00-12:00, 7th/8th in person optional drop-in 1-3 pm
- Wednesdays: 6th/7th in-person 8:30-12:30 / 8th optional online office hours 1:30-2:00
- Thursdays: 8th in-person 8:30-12:30/7th optional online office hours 1:30-2:00
- Fridays: ALL Assignments due by 5PM
👍 High School Information 👍
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Quarter 2 Schedule Available: Our Quarter 2 Schedule has been confirmed. Teachers have shared it all week. Here's a link to a copy as well.
PSAT Tech Check: Attention all juniors signed up to take the PSAT, please be sure to sign up for and complete a tech check. These are required prior to administration. Link to sign up for a meeting with Mrs. W. PSAT Tech Check - Robyn Wijnhamer
Pathways to Success: Be sure to save Wednesday, November 1st at 5:30 pm on your calendars. Tustin HS will be hosting the Pathways to Success career readiness event where families can learn about college admissions, career trends and pathways, careers in the military, and skills for the modern workplace. See the flyer for more information. English Spanish
PTA Round-up
Hello Maverick Families,
Less than 3 weeks until our Fall Family Event, Trunk or Treat, is on Thursday, October 26th 5:00 - 7:00pm. There will be games, photo booth, Costume Contest, nachos, hot dogs and Kona Ice for purchase and our Silent Auction. Speaking of our Silent Auction, PTA would like to thank "Intrepid Escape Rooms" for their donation to our Silent Auction. For those planning on attending, please use this link to RSVP for the event! Everyone is invited and we look forward to seeing you there.
Additionally, as a service to our students and community, Spirit Wear is now on sale! Visit the website https://www.tustinconnectpta.com/spirit-wear to get yours today! We have them in stock just purchase and pick up! You can order online via our website and show your receipt to the office, or you can bring cash or check to the office made out to PTA.
- T -shirt $10
- Dri-fit $15
- Jammie Pants $30
If you are interested in getting involved, we'd love the help! Please contact the office and we can connect you to our PTA. You can also reach out to our PTA President, Ziggy McBride via email at ziggy.mcbride@gmail.com.
School-Level Parent and Family Engagement Policy
As part of our continued efforts to work with families and as part of our participation in the Title I program, Tustin Connect jointly developed a written Parent and Family Engagement Policy that was approved by the School Site Council. The policy is available in both English and Spanish for all to review. We hope you will take some time to review the policy and continue to find ways to be active participants in your student's education.
Counselor Corner: Resources and link to workshops and more!!!
"OCTOBER PARENT WORKSHOP: In collaboration with our TUSD high schools, we are hosting another amazing parent workshop! The topic is on Vaping Prevention, and it will be facilitated by Orange County Department of Education. Parents will learn what vaping and marijuana is, how these substances affect the teen brain and body, how to talk to your kids about tobacco, vaping, and marijuana, and tips and resources to help prevent tobacco, vaping, and marijuana use. Join us for this 1-hour workshop on Tuesday, 10/24/23, from 5:30pm-6:30pm (virtual - Zoom). Parents, click HERE for more information! If you have any questions, you may contact Bradlianne Reighter (breighter@tustin.k12.ca) or Claire Skomsvold (cskomsvold@tustin.k12.ca.us) Hope to see you there!"
PSAT Students MUST meet with Mrs. W next week to complete mandatory computer tech check. Link to sign up for a meeting with Mrs. W: https://calendly.com/rwijnhamer/psat-tech-check
PSAT Tech Check - Robyn Wijnhamer
Please bring your school issued device so that you can do a tech check on the computer and make sure it is ready to go for the PSAT test.
Our small groups at the K-8 and high school sites have begun. We are so excited to be able to meet with students in a group setting. See below for more information on the small groups and how to join.
Check out Mrs. Wijnhamer's Monthly Counselor Newsletter.
Attention Freshmen Students and Families: Our counselor and Mental Health Professional will be hosting a 5 week “Strengthening Executive Functioning” Small Group from 8:30AM-9:00AM on Tuesday at Tustin Connect High School Campus. The last meeting date will be October 10th.
- The goal of this group is to create a space for students to build connections with peers while learning/practicing executive functioning skills that will support them in day-to-day responsibilities both in school and outside of school. The following topics will be taught in group with accompanying skills.
- Organization
- Time Management
- Prioritizing Tasks
- Communication
- Building a Community of Support
If you would like to have your student participate in this group, please sign and return the linked consent form. If you have any questions regarding this group, please feel free to give Mrs. Wijnhamer or Ms. Reighter a call. We are looking forward to supporting your students!
Our Counselor and Mental Health team have a great website with lots of resources to check out.
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!
October 14: PSAT for Juniors (confirm that you did Tech Check)
October 17: School Picture Day High School
October 18: School Picture Day K-8 8:30-11am
October 19: CA Great Shakeout at 10:19 am
October 23-27: Red Ribbon Week
October 25: Counselor/Principal Coffee 9:00 am
October 26: Trunk or Treat 5-7 pm
November 5: Dino Dash
November 29: Make-up Picture Day
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