Weekly roundup: Hicks Canyon Elementary students celebrate language and culture during Mid-Autumn Festival, and more

Students in Hicks Canyon Elementary School’s Mandarin Immersion Program recently celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, learning about Chinese traditions through stories, classroom activities and cultural experiences.

Also known as the Moon Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese harvest celebration that falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, typically in September or October. Families and friends gather to admire the full moon, share mooncakes and celebrate togetherness. Similar celebrations are observed in other parts of Asia, including Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.

“On this day, we gather around as family and friends and we enjoy the full moon,” teacher Hathaway Xu said in an Instagram reel shared by the Tustin Unified School District. “We share beautiful wishes with each other and we also share mooncakes.”

Teacher Jamila Nam said the celebration gives students an opportunity to connect what they learned in class with cultural traditions and share those experiences with their school community.

The activities are part of Tustin Unified’s Mandarin Immersion Program, which begins in transitional kindergarten and is designed to help students develop proficiency in Mandarin and English while building an appreciation for different cultures.

For Xu, learning Mandarin means more than mastering words, sentences and pronunciation. It’s also about understanding the culture and traditions that give the language meaning.

Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:

• Nearly six years after the Bond Fire devastated Rancho Soñado, OCDE broke ground on a new $21 million Inside the Outdoors Education Center that will bring students back to the Santa Ana Mountains for hands-on environmental learning.

• Applications are now open for the second round of OCDE’s Innovation Funding Initiative, which will award six eligible Orange County school districts up to $525,000 each to develop, test and refine approaches aimed at improving student outcomes.

• OCDE’s College and Career Preparatory Academy celebrated 166 graduates in one of its largest graduating classes, highlighting a program that helps students ages 16 to 25 earn high school diplomas through flexible learning options and personalized support.

• Students and families at Schmitt Elementary School in Westminster participated in National Walk & Roll to School Day on Oct. 7, joining city officials, police and school staff in promoting active transportation and safe routes to school.

• Fullerton Union High School inducted Dr. Karl Zener and Dr. Vicki Calhoun into its Wall of Fame, recognizing their contributions to education, civic leadership and the Fullerton community.

• Wendy Saldivar of Loara Elementary School in Anaheim has been named one of five 2027 California Teachers of the Year, while fellow Orange County educator Brittany Walters of Dr. Peter Marshall Elementary School was recognized as a state finalist.

• Saddleback High School says it plans to use a $10,000 Hyundai Future Innovators Initiative grant to help develop a half-acre learning farm focused on STEM, agriculture and sustainability.

• College Park Elementary students and families in Newport-Mesa Unified ride a weekly Bike Bus to school, giving participants an opportunity to practice bicycle safety while building connections with classmates and neighbors.

• Orange County School of the Arts students created Halloween-themed pumpkins for the school’s annual Painted Pumpkin Auction, a fundraiser supporting its visual arts conservatory, with online bidding open through Oct. 16.

• California fiscal oversight experts have classified the Los Angeles Unified School District as being at high risk of insolvency, citing declining enrollment, rising staffing and special education costs, and excess facility capacity as the district faces significant budget cuts over the next three years.

• OCDE’s Language Services team marked International Translation Day at PBS SoCal studios in Costa Mesa, bringing together 35 language professionals to explore how translation and cultural context can make educational content more accessible and meaningful for multilingual families.

• Following the death of a 17-year-old student at Franklin High School, some Los Angeles Unified parents are calling for police officers to return to campuses, while student advocates are urging greater investments in counseling, mental health services and other school safety measures.

• Superintendent turnover among the nation’s 500 largest school districts fell to just over 17 percent last school year, its lowest level since the pandemic and roughly in line with prepandemic rates.

• Proposed changes to federal Head Start rules would allow providers to set their own disciplinary policies within state and local requirements, prompting concerns from experts and advocates that young children could face more suspensions and expulsions.

• California families still have nearly $106 million in unused SUN Bucks food benefits available for eligible children, but the funds expire 122 days after they are issued.

• The CDC’s latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey report shows improvements in teen mental health, nutrition and sports participation but offers a narrower picture of adolescent health by leaving out key national findings on substance use, sexual behavior and school violence that remain available in the underlying data.

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