Dear Temescal Canyon High School,

 

I am excited to join you for the 2022-23 school year. We would all agree that these past few years have been tough. It is hard to stop looking back at them. I hope we would also all agree that we need to focus on the future and what is in front of us. I am looking forward to this upcoming school year. 

 

I am new to Temescal Canyon High School and to the Lake Elsinore Unified School District. Well, sort of. We have lived here for the past nine years and my five children have attended school here. The oldest four have all finished up or are currently attending TC and the youngest attends Tuscany Hills Elementary School. I have spent the past fourteen years in school and district administration. Nine of those were as a high school principal. I love working in high schools, and I wanted to work at Temescal Canyon because I think it is a great school, and I care about our community and our kids. With Dr. D'Amico being promoted, I saw an opportunity to do what I love doing in a place I love living. 

 

Temescal Canyon High School offers a safe place for students to develop socially as they engage in a wide array of academic, athletic, and artistic pursuits. They have the opportunity to meet new people, be exposed to different ideas, cultures, beliefs, and traditions, and come to appreciate the beauty in diversity. They are taught to think, listen, and read critically, to research and study, and to develop and defend arguments. They are empowered to lead, to plan and attend activities, to create and join clubs, to produce and deliver powerful performances, and to try new things. They find their people in their classes, on the field or court, in the academies, at extracurricular events and they learn about relationships, friendships, and how to interact with other students and adults by doing it day in and day out in this school community of over 2200 people who spend most of their waking hours crammed together within a few acres. 

 

What is amazing is that it works so well. It isn't perfect, but it is really good, and that is a validation of the values our families and our school embrace and work to instill in our students. We want to improve, and we recognize now more than ever the importance of the impact that social and emotional factors have on learning. We are working to increase access to mental health services here on campus and to continue to learn as a staff about ways to connect with students and help them unlock access to all that we have to offer them. I believe that a supportive parent community partnered with dedicated, highly capable teachers and staff are the perfect way to bring about the success of every student. Thankfully, we live somewhere where that already exists. I am grateful to those who have sat in this seat before me who have forged those relationships. I will do everything I can to help strengthen that partnership moving forward. Let's make sure to enjoy and celebrate this very special time in our children's lives as we work together to ensure they receive the highest quality education we can offer them. 

 

Sincerely,

Josh

The Very Proud Principal of Temescal Canyon High School