


Sea Lion Spotlight
Malibu Elementary Parent Newsletter #14 - November 6, 2023
Table of Contents
2. Highlights - Photos of Recent Events
3. Important Dates - Coming Soon
4. Looking farther forward - Events to anticipate farther out in time
5. Articles - Timely information for parents
6. Useful Resources and Links
7. More Highlights
Principal's Pen
Hello MES Sea Lion Families,
Thank you to all the families who were able to participate in our Trunk O' Treat, Spooky Book Fair, and annual Halloween parade. When families come together, our students, school, and larger community grow stronger. We bond and our children benefit.
Many thanks to the parents who have signed up for conferences next week and thank you for speaking with your child that their learning is of the utmost importance to you. After the conference, tell your child at least one thing to praise them about and at least one goal for improvement. Make sure your child is praised for their effort and understands his/her goal. Ultimately you want your child to know that the adults in his/her life are working together to help your child. You want your child to understand that it is their effort that will carry them through academia and life. You want your child to always have goals. Thank you for your partnership.
Now that the Holidays are here, please look over the calendar below for events to plan for such as the Nutcracker Show and the Holiday Show. Events such as these bring bring community together, strengthen parent-school relations and create lasting warm memories for students about their school experience. We hope our MES families come out for these events. There will also be holiday-themed parties closer to Winter Break. As with birthday celebrations, please do not bring sweets to parties. Rather we want students to participate in games and crafts and eat healthier foods. Connect with your room parent to get involved!
I am seeking approved volunteers to help on the playground and field. We want your help to give our students more immediate adult help when they need it. Students need quality supervision during less structured parts of their day, especially in a wide and expansive campus. Quality supervision involves scanning for students who are far from adults, watching the dynamics of social interactions and facial expressions, listening for what you don't want to hear such as "put-downs", and being immediately available when a child is in need. This year we have seen tremendous improvement. Our playground is more peaceful than at any point in the past five years. Teachers are reporting fewer comments such as, "I could not find an adult when I needed one.", unfair play, or students coming back to class irritated or upset due to put downs or being roughed up.
Again, we want to keep children closer to supervisors and not far from them. Proximity has already resulted in students feeling better supported and more regulated when they reenter the classrooms. Our teachers are very clear about the importance of proximity and quality supervision. I want to thank our approved volunteers who are already helping us make our school ever better. Become a volunteer: Details - click here. Sign up for your training: Link
Mark your calendars the annual Jog-a thon is Nov 17th. We are offering a unique opportunity for local businesses to gain exposure within our MES community. We need business sponsors for the jog-a-thon please: https://donorbox.org/mes-2023-jog-a-thon. If you or someone you know is interested in making a tax-deductible donation and would like more information, please click on the link above. Thank you for your continued support of the MES PTA!
The playground (blacktop) is open at 7:45 again like last year. On some Tuesdays I will be absent for meetings in Santa Monica but someone will open the school at 7:45. I hope this helps our community get all kids to school early, and not late. Our teachers start teaching at 8:15. Thank you supporting good life-long habits for our students. You won't regret it.
4th and 5th grade parents and guardians are asked to get their children to school before 8am on Tuesdays and Thursdays because these are Music Days. The instruments take extra time to unload. Other parents get held up and now their students are late for instruction. So please come before 8am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.....
I will be in touch with you next week.
Thank you for your partnership,
Proud Principal Chris Hertz
Highlights
Important Dates Coming Soon
- NOW: Donate to the PTA. https://www.malibuelementary.org/donate
- Sun 11/05 Daylight Savings Ends - Clocks fall back / 2am
- Mon 11/06 Pupil-Free Day for Parent/Teacher Conferences (No school for kids)
- MBGC Closed but Open at Webster
- Tu -Th 11/06 - 11/09 Parent-Teacher Conference Week (Dismissal is 12:45)
- Thur 11/09 PTA Association Meeting / 9 - 10 @ meet.google.com/qiu-eono-rjc
- Fri 11/10 Holiday - Veterans Day / No School
- MBGC Closed but Open at Webster
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Looking farther forward...
Fri 11/17 Jog-a-Thon / 9-11 @ field https://donorbox.org/mes-2023-jog-a-thon
No Spirit Rally Today
Tues 11/21 Square1Art Fundraiser Order deadline: www.square1art.com/shop
Wed – Fri 11/22-11/24 - Thanksgiving Break / No School
Mon 11/27 First Day of TK / 8:30 @ MES Room K3
Wed 11/29 Bingo Night / 6 - 7:30 @ cafeteria (Benefits 5th grade EOY Activities)
Fri 12/01 / Back Sale 12:45 @ Corner of Fernhill and Greyfox (Benefits 5th grade EOY Activities)
Mon 12/04 5th grade Field Trip / 9-12 @ Pepperdine
Malibu Middle School 5th Grade Parent Orientation Meeting / 8:20 @ MES Library
Fri 12/15 Student Council Spirit Day / Pajama Day
Nutcracker Show / 9am @ cafeteria
Fri 12/22 / Last Day of School Before Winter Break
- Holiday Show / TBD @ Cafeteria
- Lost in found to Charity / 3pm
Mon 01/8 / Return to School from Winter Break
Articles for Parents
Next Week's Schedule
Please remember that next week we have a special calendar due to Parent-Teacher Conferences.
- Monday, November 6: No school, parent teacher conferences (all day)
- Tuesday, November 7: Minimum Day (12:45 dismissal)
- Wednesday, November 8: Minimum Day (12:45 dismissal)
- Thursday, November 9: Minimum Day (12:45 dismissal)
- Friday, November 10: No School, Veterans Day
DreamBox - Family Dashboard
DreamBox is a signature program for MES. DreamBox is adaptive and builds conceptual understanding through games. Students are expected to minimally complete five (5) lessons a week. Dreambox is accessible through Clever on our school website: Link. DreamBox also provides data to teachers who can in turn customize assignments for students. Our Teacher Leadership Team and the SSC continue to prioritize DreamBox.
If you want your child to achieve more and faster, then set up your Family DashBoard! The Family Insight Dashboard (sometimes simply referred to as the Family Dashboard) allows parents and guardians to monitor their student's learning trends, gaps, and growth. It allows you to see at a glance if your student is mastering the concepts and making progress with DreamBox. Detailed activity and proficiency reports help you set learning goals and prepare conversations with your student and your student's teacher.
Do not help your child win the games because this tricks the computer into making the games much harder on the child way too fast.
California School Parent Survey, 2023-2024
Parents, please take this survey: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BicFaokO856hDoOHdKhJg6ATQasYKwBWhIgqAY8Bieo/edit?usp=sharing. It is open November 1st through November 30. The results will be studied and used to help make our school ever-better.
Rainy-Days are Coming - Donations & Volunteers Wanted
While the weather is so nice right now, we are expecting a lot of rain soon. With this in mind, we are looking for child-appropriate cultural DVDs and games for Rainy-Day lunches. We will put the games and DVDs in a tub and be ready for the weather to shift. Bring your labeled donation to Mr. Hertz in the office. We also need to gather a group of rainy-day volunteers to help organize rainy-day play. Are you interested in helping? Start here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/191LQpk0-i5U_jLdaFxM0p9bs512Ytk1MC_JsB90IC70/edit?usp=sharing
Kindness Rally - Backpacks for All!
MBGC has recognized Malibu Elementary as a "School of Kindness". At Thursday's recognition ceremony, every student, teacher and administrator took the oath of the Kindness. All students will received “kindness backpack”, special school supplies, and fruit popsicle. The Pledge is as follows:
- I pledge to show respect to others.
- I pledge to treat everyone equally.
- I pledge to be considerate.
MES Book Fair Successful
Thank you to the dozens of parent volunteers and library tech, Andrew White. You helped raise funds for our library and classroom libraries too. You also created a fun event for our students that celebrates literacy.
Safety Improvements at MES Update
In addition to our new consistently-high 6-foot fence completed this week, please click on this link to see the progress we have made since September 13th (The date that the SSC adopted our goals.). We have much to be proud of.
TK Update - 11-01-23
Our new TK teacher Bailey Richey will start on the 13th! Our new TK Aide Instructional Aide, Samantha Arceses will start on the 16th! I foresee MES TK students starting on the 27th, the week after Thanksgiving! Are you excited too?
Office Staff Roles / Who Ya Gonna Call?
- Senior Office Specialist (Attendance and Registrar) Kim: Attendance and enrollment
- Administrative Assistant Diane: Everything else… Start here first!
- Health Office Assistant Vanessa: Health records and minor health concerns
- School Nurse Dan: Major health concerns
- Principal Chris: Academics, positive school environment, and big ideas.
School Photos Update
School portraits taken by Cornerstone Photography are now available for viewing and ordering! All orders must be placed online, will incur a $5 shipping charge, and will be mailed directly home. Portrait pickup on campus or in the Cornerstone studio is not available. To view your portrait, click the link below and enter your online code which is MLBU and your Student ID. If you do not know your child’s student ID, please contact our school office and we will provide it for you.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW YOUR PORTRAIT
Online Code: MLBU+Student ID (For Example: MLBU123456)
What if I missed picture day?
A makeup opportunity is scheduled for Wednesday, November 1st for those who missed picture day or for those who are not satisfied with their portrait and want to try again.
For additional questions, you may contact customercare@cornerstone.photo or (805) 529-1635.
How Do I Purchase Spirit Wear?
https://www.malibuelementary.org/
Independent Study - The Rules
Independent Study is appropriate for Emergencies, catastrophic family situations, legal/government situations, severe health or other special circumstances. Independent Study is NOT for extending the length of school holidays, vacations or visiting family or friends.
The school must be informed in advance (two weeks / we realize this isn’t always possible in an Emergency). A contract needs to be filled out and signed by the parent, teacher and Principal. If work is not turned in or is not complete, partial credit or no credit may be given.
Volunteering at MES / To Be A Cleared Volunteer
Details - click here. Sign up for your training: Link
MBGC Information - November
The Boys & Girls Club of Malibu aims to provide a fun, safe, and creative environment for all Malibu youth to thrive, find support through positive mentorship, develop important life skills, and receive social and emotional support. We are currently offering: Link
Square1 Art Fundraiser
Please see the flier below and the calendar about our art supplies fundraiser. We earn 20% to 38% of our total sales. % based on participation/orders. All dollars earned go to the PTA.
Check out their site for details:
Report Safety Concerns and Serious Injuries to the Principal
Parents, if you see a safety concern or your child has suffered a serious injury at school, please send me an email at chertz@smmusd.org or call me at 310-457-9370 ext. 78-202. Your immediate observations and ideas have been extremely valuable over the past few months. I look forward to working with you to make our school even safer. Also, please tell your child to contact me or a staff member if they think there is a dangerous incident. This includes aggression on campus, stranger danger, or if someone talks about harassment or suicide. Your child’s safety is of utmost importance to each of us. If your child cannot access me, have them write me a note and include their last name. I will get back to your child quickly.
More Highlights
Useful Resources and Links
Principal Chris' Past Newsletters
Student Services Registration Documents 23/24
MES Minimum Days - 2023 - 2024
Volunteering at MES: Information and Signup form
Medications at School Form Send to School Nurse Daniel Gorton dgorton@smmusd.org
Connect with Chris Hertz
Email: chertz@smmusd.org
Website: malibues.smmusd.org
Location: 6955 Fernhill Drive, Malibu, CA, USA
Phone: 310-457-9370
Twitter: @hertzinator