There is a saying that goes, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Well, McAuliffe Middle School’s Principal Dr. Ryan Weiss-Wright has proven he can keep a promise after students and their families exceeded a fundraising goal of $35,000.
With staff and the children as his witnesses, Dr. Weiss-Wright from the Los Alamitos Unified School District kissed a 65-pound pig named “Piglet” on its snout. The event was livestreamed to classrooms.
As the Orange County Register reported, the school’s goal is to raise $75,000 to support campus activities like a clubs, dances and events.
In the past couple weeks, Principal Weiss-Wright has been hit in the face with a pie, dressed up as the Pillsbury Doughboy for a day and danced with the school’s choir.
The principal agreed to the incentives if the students reached certain donation milestones.
The school is still about $500 short of reaching its $50,000 goal, which comes another prize — getting to dump buckets of ice water on the entire school administrative staff.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- The 2022-23 school year marks the fifth anniversary of the Anaheim Union High School District’s Arabic World Language program.
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond visited the first of 13 community schools planned for Anaheim Union. These public schools partner with stakeholders to create the conditions students need to thrive.
- National Hispanic Heritage Month annually recognizes the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latino-identified communities. Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Mijares will mark the occasion with a virtual forum featuring several distinguished panelists.
- The annual Interpreters and Translators Conference is returning on Sept. 22, featuring three days of educational sessions to advocate for language access throughout the K-12 system. Each session will focus on one of the following topics: skill development, self-care, ethics, cultural considerations, professionalism, translation and branding.
- Sisters Camila and Sarah Balanta used a $5,000 stipend they earned from the Dragon Kim Foundation to furnish an elementary school’s tech lounge and build a community garden.
- The excessive heat warning for Southern California forced Orange County schools to make adjustments, including moving P.E. classes indoors to air conditioned rooms.
- Numerous campuses in the Capistrano Unified School District have pledged to take part in the “No Place for Hate” initiative, a national movement to build communities of inclusivity, respect and equity.
- The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are joining local law enforcement in investigating a cyberattack that disabled computer systems across the Los Angeles Unified School District.
- A parent group is calling on Los Angeles Unified School District leaders to make improvements to campuses to provide more shade and cool water to students.
- The La Mesa-Spring Valley School District is offering free child care to employees as it aims to attract staff for various positions, including paraprofessionals, child nutrition, and transportation staff.
- A state program that provides children’s hearing aids may be expanded to include about 2,000 additional families if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a proposal.
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.