News From the Ranch
January 25, 2026, Vol. 1, Issue 23
Dear TRE Family,
We had a busy short week at Tustin Ranch, welcoming visitors from TUSD and OCDE, as well as other leaders in math education. It was impressive to see our students and teachers explore and grapple with new math ideas, share their thinking, and gain a deeper conceptual understanding of the math. We look forward to continuing to share about our math journey with our community.
On Friday, we held a Friday Flag to celebrate our Teacher of the Year nominees, two teacher grant award winners, and named our 2026 Tustin Ranch Elementary Teacher of the Year, Ms. Jennifer Thompson. What an exciting morning honoring and celebrating the tremendous educators that we are so lucky to have at TRE!
Highlights in this week's newsletter...
- Important Dates / Events
- Weekly Picture Highlights
- TRE Spirit Wear
- PTA Updates
- TUSD Community Updates
In partnership,
Mrs. Ciecek
IMPORTANT DATES
Jan 26 - 30 ~ Kindness Week
Monday, Jan 26: Motivational, Mindful Monday
Tuesday, Jan 27: 100th Day of School Spirit Day
Fit PE
Wednesday, Jan 28: Wellness Wednesday ~ Early Dismissal
Thursday, Jan 29: Thoughtful Thursday
Music (Grades 2-5)
Mrs. Kathy Pasmore's (Librarian) Last Day
PTA Family BINGO Night (MPR) - Tickets/RSVP Sold Out!
Friday, Jan 30: Friendly Friday - Wear TRE Spirit Wear
4th Grade Field Trip - Beckman HS Music Showcase
Cool Coyote Store @Lunch (volunteers needed)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Upcoming Events
Feb 2 - Feb 6: Counselor's Week
Feb. 2, 3, 4, 6, 12: Meet the Masters Classroom Lessons
Tuesday, Feb 3: SNAP Benefits Enrollment at TRE (10 AM -1 PM)
Wednesday, Feb 4: ELAC Meeting, 1:00-2:00 PM
Friday, Feb 6: Cool Coyote Store @Lunch (volunteers needed)
Monday, Feb 9: NO SCHOOL - Lincoln's Birthday
Monday, Feb 16: NO SCHOOL - President's Day & Washington's Birthday
Weekly Photo Highlights
TRE's 2026 Teacher of the Year Nominees
Announcing Teacher of the Year
Inspired Teacher Grant Award Recipients
KINDNESS WEEK ~ Jan 26 - 30
We are thrilled to announce that our school is participating in The Great Kindness Challenge (GKC) this year! This global initiative encourages students to create a culture of kindness, and we’re excited to join over 22 million students worldwide who are making a positive difference through this uplifting movement. What is The Great Kindness Challenge? The Great Kindness Challenge is a week-long celebration of kindness, taking place January 26–30, 2026. Students are encouraged to complete as many kind acts as possible from a fun and meaningful checklist. The goal is to inspire a lifetime of compassion while creating a joyful and inclusive school environment.
We have included a WEEK of KINDNESS schedule, as well as 2 different versions of an Act of Kindness Checklist, one geared towards are younger grades and one for upper grades. We would love to see families get involved and see how many kindness acts they can accomplish this week. Kindness is contagious! #GreatKindnessChallenge
100th DAY OF SCHOOL & KINDNESS WEEK - TUESDAY, JAN 27th
You are NEVER TO OLD FOR KINDNESS ~ Join us for a Dress Up Day for the 100th Day of School
Dress up to look like you are 100 years old or get creative with a way to dress up to celebrate 100 days of school! There are lots of ideas on Pinterest if you are looking for inspiration. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
LIBRARIAN - KATHY PASMORE
Mrs. Kathy Pasmore, long time TRE Librarian, has her final day at TRE this Thursday, January 29th. We are sad to see Mrs. Pasmore go! She has been an integral part of our TRE community and she will be deeply missed. We can't thank her enough for all she has done to support literacy and a love of reading!
SPIRIT WEAR
This year TRE spirit wear will be available all year long on our BSN Sports webstore. Click HERE to explore all the awesome TRE spirit wear options with lots of customization available.
MESSAGES FROM PTA
VALENTINE'S DAY GRAMS
Support our 5th Graders End of Year Celebration
A copy of the Valentine's Gram page below was placed in Friday Folders this past week. Extra copies can be found in the front office. Turn in your money and Valentine's Grams to your teacher or the front office.
LAZY DOG - TODAY is the final day for this fundraiser!
COOL COYOTE STORE - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED (1/30)
PURCHASE A YEARBOOK
New Year, New price! Support our PTA by ordering your child a Yearbook!
Every book purchase includes 2 FREE custom personalized pages -- create your child's, today!
Click the link to purchase: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1017595149583332
Don't forget to upload your school event pictures, for the Yearbook Committee to use in the book! Upload School Photos" under your Yearbook To Do's in the App!
MARQUEE MESSAGE
EARN & LEARN SCHOOL REWARDS
Receipts submitted will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win Pizza Lunch with Mrs. Ciecek. The first raffle was held on Friday, Dec. 19th at Friday Flag. We will have future raffles in the coming months. Keep submitting those receipts to support TRE.
TUSD COMMUNITY FLYERS
NEWS FROM THE RANCH ARCHIVE
Click HERE to access an archive of all 2025-2026 News From the Ranch Weekly Newsletters
Tustin Ranch Elementary
Principal: Michelle Ciecek, dciecek@tustin.k12.ca.us
Secretary: Sumitra Vittal, svittal@tustin.k12.ca.us
Office Assistant: Karen Dillon, kdillon@tustin.k12.ca.us
Community Liason: Lupe Inutan, ginutan@tustin.k12.ca.us
Community Specialist: Maura Vaughn, mvaughn@tustin.k12.ca.us
Health Clerk: Victoria Lawrence, vlawrence@tustin.k12.ca.us
Website: https://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/tustin-ranch
Location: 12950 Robinson Drive, Tustin, CA, USA
Phone: (714)730-7580
Twitter: @trecoolcoyotes
TUSD Nondiscrimination Satement
The Tustin Unified School District prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment (including sexual harassment) or bullying based on a person’s actual or perceived ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, immigration status, national origin, religion, race or ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For questions or complaints, please contact Equity Compliance Officer: Stephanie Yang, Director Educational Service TK-12, 300 S. C Street Tustin, CA 92780, 714-730-7301 ext. 51318 | Title IX Coordinator: Stephanie Yang, Director Educational Service TK-12, 300 S. C Street Tustin, CA 92780, syang@tustin.k12.ca.us, 714-730-7301 ext. 51318 and Section 504 Coordinator: Michelle Everitt, Coordinator of Student Services, 1151 San Juan St. Tustin, CA 92780, 714-730-7301 ext. 51326.
