November 5, 2023
In EUSD, every student is an Ethical Scholar – an individual who finds opportunities to make a positive impact on their community and demonstrates integrity, respect, and compassion.
An Ethical Scholar is one of the six whole-learner outcomes that comprise the new EUSD Learner Profile in our visionary Framework for the Future. In our schools, an Ethical Scholar stands up for what is right in pursuit of making a positive social impact; holds oneself accountable for thoughts, words, and actions; and seeks to understand diverse perspectives and cultures.
Our students learn and demonstrate the characteristics of an Ethical Scholar daily, in ways big and small, thanks to the support and instruction from their teachers and other caring adults on campus. Embracing and understanding diverse perspectives often comes through interactions between students of different ages and experiences. At L.R. Green Elementary, one glowing example of this is seen in teacher Olivia Hannigan’s lively glow-in-the-dark Halloween musical shows performed by her students in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program alongside students from a general education class.
This year’s show – Mrs. Hannigan’s ninth L.R. Green production – brought 36 students together from Transitional Kindergarten through 5th grade. Using blacklights, special ultraviolet-reactive make-up and paint, and glow-in-the-dark clothing and accessories, Mrs. Hannigan creates a delightfully creative Halloween show with music, dancing, and acting using American Sign Language. The production takes a village, Mrs. Hannigan says, adding that she couldn’t pull it off without the help of fellow teachers, ASL interpreters and aides, and a parent volunteer.
“Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I love dressing up and wearing cool makeup,” Mrs. Hannigan says. “I loved role-playing stories with my class, which is also very good for Deaf students. So, one year I just decided to do a fun Halloween themed story-dance production with my class. Over the years, I saw the benefits of including a general education class so that we could integrate the students more.”
The hearing students joining this year’s show are Charles Nichols’ 4th-graders, who spend time every Friday learning ASL from Mrs. Hannigan’s students. “Seeing the students interact together and become friends is everything!” she says. This entertaining collaboration is a heartwarming example of our students – and educators – as Ethical Scholars!
Here are this week’s updates and reminders.
Time change: It’s time to “fall back.” Daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. today, November 5. Be sure to check clocks around your home to ensure that they have been set back one hour. We lose some daylight with this annual shift to standard time, which means that it will be darker on the way home from school for those students who participate in after-school enrichment and care programs. I encourage families and students to take extra care when traveling to and from school to adjust to the shift in daylight hours.
Veterans Day: All EUSD schools and the district office will be closed on Friday, November 10, in observance of the Veterans Day holiday.
Robotics competition: The Extended Learning and Enrichment team is proud to share that EUSD will be represented by seven robotics teams in FIRST LEGO League’s Southern California Qualifying Tournament on Saturday, November 11, at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas. Fielding teams for the Challenge division for grades 4 through 8 are Bernardo, Glen View, Miller, Pioneer, and Reidy Creek elementary schools and Rincon and Mission middle schools. Led by teacher-coaches during after-school enrichment programs at their respective schools, each robotics team has been working for weeks to build and design their robot, practice the season’s robot game, and prepare an innovation project. As teammates on robotics teams, students are collaborating to reach common goals: identifying a mission strategy; engaging in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering; and identifying and researching a problem related to the season’s theme to design and create an Innovation Project solution. Results at the Qualifying Tournament determine which teams move on to the regional event in December. We are grateful to our dedicated coaches for their support of this enriching experience for students, and we wish all of our teams the best of luck at the Qualifying Tournament!
Thanksgiving recess: The 2023 Thanksgiving break is scheduled for Monday, November 20, through Friday, November 24. All EUSD schools and the district office will be closed. Friday, November 17, is a minimum day for students.
— Luis Rankins-Ibarra, Superintendent of Schools