Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new mask guidance for activities that fully vaccinated people can now engage in outdoors. California Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed these new guidelines, but we are still waiting for the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to release new guidance for schools prior to any changes being made in TUSD.

According to the CDC, full vaccinated people can engage in these outdoor activities without masks:

Congratulations to the following administrators who were recognized this weekend at the Region VII ACSA Awards Ceremony:

As we welcome in May, teachers are extremely busy. Luckily, induction, for the most part, wraps up in the first week of May, providing our newest teachers time to reflect on the year and to enjoy the end of the year with their students and with at least one less thing to do.

 

However, that tends to make the last week of April extremely full as teachers complete their second-semester inquiry cycles - the classroom-based action research each has been working on since January. Once those are submitted to be read and assessed, all induction candidates and their mentors will attend the finale, an end-of-the-year celebration, and sharing of their work. After that Year 1 teachers are done with their first year of induction!

 

Year 2 candidates will see the process through to exit interviews and the clear credential. These exit interviews provide candidates with an opportunity to discuss their induction experience through the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). It provides an opportunity to share their successes and challenges with members of the TUSD Induction Advisory Council. This interview leads directly to the induction recommendation for the clear credential.

 

Whether the candidate journey ends at the finale for the first year or in exit interviews, it is one of frequent and intense reflection in preparation for a career of continuous reflection. It is a time to process what makes teaching both incredibly rewarding and extremely difficult, fun and joyful, and excessively challenging. Teaching is not for the weak; it is a calling. Induction candidates spend two years reflecting on this, and they use the interview to demonstrate what they have experienced, what they have learned, and what they plan for their futures. In short, the interview is the beginning of an amazing career.

Results are in for the 36^th Annual Stanislaus County Occupational Olympics that was held virtually last week. The purpose of this highly recognized event is to showcase the skills students are learning in their Career Technical Education courses throughout the county. Traditionally held at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, students competed in such events as floriculture, Engineering, robotics, culinary, medical (CPR), child development, job-seeking skills, and many more.

This past school year has definitely been one for the books! It is important to recognize how much YOU matter, and how significant this past year has been to us all. You have worked so hard during a global pandemic while teaching through Distance Learning,

Hybrid, Blended Learning, switched day schedules, combined cohorts, and the end of the year are now almost in sight.

As the year winds down, there are ways that you can use technology to help relax and unwind! Blast your music, dance, watch your favorite movie, or just close your computer and take the

well-deserved night off. We often give our students Brain Breaks throughout the day and class period, but what about for ourselves?

You deserve to relax, and I want to thank each and every one of you amazing teachers here in Turlock for working with me to help make this past year successful. This year and last school

year would not have been successful if it wasn’t for you. All of us have learned so much in such a short amount of time and have poured our hearts and souls into what we do every day. We do it

for our students. We do it because we love our job. We do it for them.

This week, I want you to celebrate yourself! Take advantage of local deals for teachers this week or just unwind in your special place. You have done so much for everyone else this year, so I hope you are able to do something for you.

How long have you worked in TUSD? I have worked for TUSD for approximately 2 years.

What is your job title? Secretary II for the Transportation Department.

Where did you work prior to TUSD? I worked for Amazon as a Sr. Human Resources Specialist.

Any info you would like to share about your job? Average day? Every day is different working in Transportation but I enjoy being able to interact and assist all of our bus drivers and the general public with anything they need. I love bringing positivity and removing barriers to facilitate this department. Our team is currently revamping the way we do our routing for the school district via a new program called Routefinder. We are excited that with this new program implementation comes the availability to have schools access a component for their sites to utilize called Viewfinder. I am currently training all school sites via ZOOM on how to use Viewfinder so that they can view and access routing information for their students and see updates in real-time. This is a major win and it has been great hearing positive feedback from school sites that are already onboard utilizing Viewfinder.

Things you are most proud of? My wife: Sabrina and my children: Olivia and Luca.

Challenges? Ensuring all our drivers stay safe during the pandemic. Multi-tasking to ensure I can get everything I need to complete done during my workday.

Favorite memory/story? Traveling to Europe and exploring its museums and architecture for the first time with my wife before we had children in 2013. That is what initially started the travel itch for us a few years ago and now we can’t seem to stop.

What are you reading? Currently reading Ready Player One. Watched the movie adaptation a few years ago and decided to read the book.

Any favorite shows you’re watching on TV? Just finished watching The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Currently re-watching Game of Thrones.

Fave movies? Inception, Watchmen, Step Brothers, Back to the Future II, Enter the Dragon.

Anything surprising we may not know about you? I used to practice magic when I was younger and I love to tinker with technology such as flying my drone, improving my photography skills, making family YouTube videos of our adventures, and refurbishing an old arcade cabinet I bought. I also studied architectural engineering during college but decided to move in a different direction towards human resources after college.

Anything about your personal you’d like to share? I recently had a baby boy who is currently 3 months old (Luca) and my 4-year-old (Olivia) attends pre-school at Wakefield. My wife and children love to travel. We have traveled to over 14 countries (mostly Europe and Asia) and would like to visit South America soon. We also like to stay active on the weekends and love to go hiking/bike riding, spending time with family, etc.

Turlock Unified School District (TUSD) invites parents, teachers, students,

administrators, health professionals, school food services staff, board members and members of the community to meetings about the school wellness policy.

A healthy school environment supports student learning and wellbeing. The

school wellness policy helps our school create an action plan for nutrition

education, nutrition promotion, and physical activity at school. At our wellness policy meetings, participants are encouraged to share ideas and help make sure the policy is meeting TUSD needs for student success.

We hope you will join us at our next VIRTUAL meeting:

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

3:30 – 4:30 P.M.