Saddleback Valley Shares

For Part Two of our special episodes on the Unified Program at SVUSD, we visited Robinson Elementary School. In this episode you'll hear from members of the Robinson community as they discuss the positive impacts that the Unified Program has had at their school.

In this two-part special, you'll learn about the impact of Unified programs at Trabuco Hills High School and Robinson Elementary School. We start with Part One, which features voices from Trabuco Hills High School. We talk with THHS students, THHS Principal Alicia Foulk, and THHS Unified Teacher Kara Johnson. Stay tuned for Part Two with Robinson Elementary in a couple of weeks!

What's that drumming sound? It's the THHS Thundering Mustangs! This special episode was recorded at the Trabuco Hills High School marching band's final practice before their appearance at the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Mark is joined by Band Director Brad Pollock, Assistant Director Quincy Nguyen, and a few students who will be participating in the parade.

The THHS Thundering Mustangs will be live from New York on Thursday, November 25th on NBC. Tune in for the entire event starting at 9 AM so you don't miss them.

Saddleback Valley Shares is back for the 2021-22 school year with a very special episode. Mark Perez is joined by the pancake boy himself, Rayaan. Rayaan is a Portola Hills Elementary student who won the 2020-21 IHOP Kid Chef contest. Listen in as they discuss the contest, the delicious Caramel Apple a la Mode Pancake recipe, and Rayaan's aspirations to win on the handball court.

The Coordinator of College and Career Readiness, Kim Thomason, joins the podcast to discuss all things Career Technical Education (CTE) in this edition of Saddleback Valley Shares. Listen in to learn more about CTE courses and the pathways that are offered by SVUSD and Coastline ROP. Discover how students are learning future-ready skills through project-based learning, and how SVUSD's CTE courses are providing opportunities to students that include internships, industry certifications, and even college credit.

In this episode, Mark Perez sits down with one of our Student Services Coordinators, Michelle O’Neill, to discuss mental health throughout SVUSD. The uncertainty around the pandemic has affected our students’ and employees’ mental health in many ways, and Michelle and her team have been working to understand our needs and provide much needed resources. Listen in to hear about this school year as well as plans for future mental health support and resources at SVUSD.

The Director of Communications and Administrative Services for SVUSD, Mark Perez, returns for the first 2021 episode of the Saddleback Valley Shares Podcast. Listen in on a conversation with Director of Secondary Education, James Newton, and learn how SVUSD is working to "re-open" athletics competition safely and provide a much needed way for students to connect. Mark and James go over important topics related to district-wide athletics, including the state of our athletics programs over the past year, precautions being taken at events, what our athletics and extracurricular programs mean to our students, and many other useful insights.

This episode was recorded on March 8th, 2021 and may not fully reflect the most recent public health guidance regarding athletics in Orange County and the State of California.

Mark Perez, Director of Communications and Administrative Services, sits down with Yvonne Estling, Director of Elementary Education, to talk about the many innovative elementary school options available in SVUSD including our two newest magnet schools (Linda Vista IB Magnet & Santiago STEAM Magnet), the K-6 SVUSD Virtual Academy, Trabuco Elementary, The award-winning Two-Way Immersion program at Gates Elementary and our fabulous neighborhood schools.

Mark Perez, DIrector of Communications and Administrative Services sits down with the Principal of El Toro High School.

Mark Perez, DIrector of Communications and Administrative Services sits down with the Principal of Trabuco Hills High School.