FRIDAY REFLECTION
From the desk of Dr. Tuin, THS Principal
April 9, 2021
From time to time I feel an itch to tinker and learn new things. A couple of years ago, that resulted in building a backyard koi pond. Recently, I started putting together a small solar panel system to run an appliance or two when the sun goes down. My learning curve has been steep digesting the relationship among watts, amps and volts. I am wishing now I had attended a school like Tustin High School which required all students to take Physics.
One of the key pieces of the system is the battery. I bit the bullet (they are expensive) and purchased a 100 amp lead/acid battery as my power source. (The lithium battery would have been a far better option, but I didn’t want to bite that big of a bullet). To charge this glorified car battery, I purchased a set of Harbor Freight solar panels with a controller to regulate the flow of electricity into the battery. While those items send energy into the battery, I also purchased an inverter to create a way to plug in appliances to access the stored electricity. By day, the electricity goes in to fill the battery to capacity (13.5 volts). In the evening, I plug in my appliance of choice and the drain commences.
I made a connection this week to my science experiment as an increasing number of opportunities emerged for people interaction. I met with groups of adults and individuals for a variety of reasons, which included debriefing progress this year, planning for next or just trying to make personal connections. I also found opportunities to interact with students in a variety of venues, including the football game last night. As I learned about peoples’ stories, including challenges faced this year, and dreams for the future, my battery was filled. These conversations brought a solar panel charge to my soul. One of the drains to this year has been all the work occurring without real personal connections. Teachers and staff have been busy with important aspects of their job without many students on campus and such a focus on keeping our distance. It sometimes feels like trying to run several appliances without a consistent supply of energy.
If this year sometimes felt like a slow battery drain, this week felt like a power surge. Yesterday was a particularly solar-charged day for me as I met with several teachers and interacted with even more students. Three students showed up yesterday after school for their #accepted t-shirt and picture. It provided me an opportunity to get an update on college plans for a few of our students. Then last night was senior night for the band and the dance team. I had more opportunities to learn about future plans and reminisce about the past four years.
We have some incredible young people in our school. Many fly under the radar, busy doing activities which fills their battery. I was impressed with the students I interacted with because of not only their respectful and engaging posture to the conversation, but the intentionality with which they are facing the future despite all the challenges the past 15 months. Yes, it has been difficult for many, but so many of our students have faced the challenges head on and are moving decisively into their future. Just yesterday, I learned of students who will attend community colleges with a clear plan on pursuing a variety of career dreams. I also learned of students who will attend UC San Diego, UCLA, USC, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, UC Berkeley, Humboldt State, La Sierra University, Concordia University, San Francisco University and Chapman University, just to name a few. Despite the pandemic, students are moving on to some exciting new opportunities. I am proud of the class of 21’ on so many levels, and hearing some of their stories yesterday supercharged my battery.
Another battery filler this week occurred for me at the softball diamond, watching our girls play their first game. Again, the pandemic time has been incredibly debilitating to so many. Girls softball was hit hard in the awkward dynamics of this year. It is a lot to ask a young person to dedicate hours, days and weeks of time to an endeavor that might not even happen. When it became evident some sort of season would occur for girls softball, they faced a real dilemma due to a lack of girls to field a team.
On the flip side, our girls water polo team drew a short straw and only experienced a three week season despite all their preparation. With challenges for both girls softball and water polo, the coaches (Hannah Sommer and Molly Andrews) worked collaboratively to turn a difficult situation into a win for everyone. Five adventurous and caring girls from water polo decided to play softball to complete a roster. Alyssa Haas, Samantha Martin, Atlea Johnson, Janinne Dominquez and Ari Reyes, stepped out of their comfort zone and played in their first game on Tuesday. This not only allowed them to experience the comradery of the team, but it also allowed our girls who truly enjoy playing softball fill their battery. It was an impressive act of collaboration and kindness on the part of everyone. (Alyssa even caught two fly balls in right field!) Both the girls softball water polo teams looked proud to be Tillers as they worked together!
Unlike the plethora of personal interactions, my battery did fill to capacity this week watching our virtual International Assembly. The “Spirit Week” theme was Global Awareness, and our ASB students created a beautiful visual of how blessed we are as a diverse school community. There was humor, creativity, thoughtfulness and artistic expression. All these elements were skillfully combined to communicate a relevant representation of our students and what fills their batteries. It was a wonderful celebration of our Tillers and a reminder of why it is so good to be a Tiller!
Go Tillers!
Dr. Jon Tuin
Tustin High School Principal
Contact us!
Email: THSInfo@tustin.k12.ca.us
Website: https://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/tustin-high
Location: 1171 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92780, USA
Phone: 714-730-7414
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TustinHighSchool/
Twitter: @TustinHS