“You get a bike, you get a bike, you get a bike!”
This was the surprise that nearly 150 Tustin Unified third-graders learned during an assembly on Friday, Dec. 13.
Expecting to hear that only six bikes would be given away as prizes for a recent essay contest, students at Beswick and Heideman elementary schools were shocked to learn that each of them would receive a new bicycle and helmet, courtesy of the Dirtbag Mountain Biking Club in Aliso Viejo and San Diego non-profit “Bikes for Kids.”
But this is not the first time Bikes for Kids has surprised TUSD students. This marks the sixth straight year the foundation paid has paid a visit to Tustin Unified elementary schools and stunned local third-graders with new bicycles.
The Orange County Register has a great read on the surprise with lots of photos.
Here are some of the other stories we are tracking this week.
- A vague and viral TikTok trend warning of nationwide school violence on Friday — which authorities have dismissed as non-credible — has prompted schools in multiple states, including here in Orange County, to increase police presence on campuses out of an abundance of caution.
- Teacher candidates in California are being given more time to complete tests required to earn a teaching credential, as noted in the July state budget trailer bill which extended the testing deadline until Dec. 31.
- The California State University system is set to drop the SAT or the ACT as an admission requirement. The system’s board of trustees will review a recommendation to drop the requirement, made this month by an advisory council, in January and then vote on it in the spring.
- The Orange County Board of Education is set to select its fifth member this Tuesday after the resignation of Tim Shaw last month, restoring the board to its full representation.
- The Capistrano Unified School District is looking at whether to place a bond on a future ballot to fund upgrades to Dana Hills High School, as well as to determine if a majority of voters would even be in favor of such a measure.
- Garden Grove Unified is offering students greater accessibility to mental health services by opening new Wellness Centers at various campuses across the district.
- Citing a sharp rise in COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations, state health officials say masks must be worn in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status, starting Dec. 15 and continuing through Jan. 15.
- All sixth grade students from Travis Ranch School in the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District are taking classes from home this week after numerous students tested positive for COVID-19, reports the Orange County Register.
- And finally, California parents will soon have the option of enrolling their 4-year-olds in universal transitional kindergarten at their local public school. The free public education is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to expand the state’s transitional kindergarten, or TK, program by 2025.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.