December 22, 2023
Heading into winter break is the perfect time to share some joy, and we are fortunate to have experienced many joyful occasions recently in EUSD!
Just this week, every 3rd-grader at Juniper Elementary was surprised with a new bicycle and helmet! Spreading this joy was the Bikes For Kids Foundation, with support from Escondido Sunrise Rotary and the Escondido Police Department Cadet Program. Students wrote a brief essay about “My Big Dream,” and they were told that there would be just five winners. These Jaguars were so happy for their classmates when their name was called! That made the big reveal – that everyone was getting a bike – extra special. In their essays, students shared big dreams, like Isaiah’s of becoming a principal so he can fix problems and help kids; Mia’s of becoming a chef so she can help people who can’t afford food; and Diego’s of becoming a handyman because he likes to help people and build things. It sounds like these big dreams include spreading a lot of joy!
We celebrated more than three dozen EUSD educators who received more than $42,000 in grants from the Escondido Education Foundation at the annual Dr. Mike Caston Innovation Awards. The awards are sure to result in hours of joy, as they will fund 19 grants for a diverse range of engaging educational projects, from “Powerful Podcasts” at Felicita Elementary to “Outdoor Kinder Garden Classroom” at Juniper Elementary, and “Making Connections: TK Family Nights” across the district to “Locomotor Movement” at Pioneer Elementary, and others related to math, reading, robotics, and more.
On Monday, middle-schoolers and their coaches found joy through the excitement of our district’s first eSports Championship. Full of boundless energy, these students and educators were ecstatic whether they were cheering on their team from the sidelines or at the controls as a competitor. This inaugural eSports program drew more than 100 students and more than a dozen dedicated coaches from six schools, making a tremendous impact on helping kids make connections – essential for experiencing joy at school. See for yourself in this news story!
And once again, Kindergarten and TK students at Lincoln Elementary experienced tremendous joy thanks to talented advanced woodshop students from San Pasqual and Escondido high schools. On a recent Friday morning, the teens personally delivered hundreds of hand-crafted toy cars, and they spent meaningful time with the littlest learners, racing the solid-wood toys around the playground. The event truly embodied the phrase “fun for all ages!”
I wish you many moments of joy and wonder over these next two weeks! As a reminder, all EUSD schools and the district office will be closed Monday, December 25, through Friday, January 5, for the 2023-2024 winter break. Monday, January 8, is a non-student day. We look forward to seeing students when school resumes on Tuesday, January 9.
Happy holidays!
– Luis Rankins-Ibarra, Superintendent of Schools