WEbster Nation,

A heavy week here in Malibu. Our continued love and support go out to those impacted by the events across the globe and the tragedies here at home. We're here to support you and your kids through this difficult time. Let us know how we can help.

Three of our own Webster thespians: Susannah Safai, J.D. Board, and Lyle Sokoloff, will be performing in Pepperdine University's production of The Music Man, November 10-18, along with recent Webster alums Starr Safai and Rem Sokoloff and with Webster parent Ida Nicolosi as Music Director. The Music Man is a classic musical for the whole family and Pepperdine is pulling out all the stops to make it a dazzling performance. Tickets are available here.

Thank you to those families who have submitted their required Data Confirmation. Please go to your Parent Portal in Aeries and add at least two Emergency Contacts; these contacts should only be individuals to whom Webster Elementary School staff can release your child(ren).

If you have not submitted your Data Confirmation, please do so ASAP and be sure to add the Emergency contacts.

These things we do, we do them together...as a community. Have a great weekend, everyone.

With gratitude,

- Tedd

twakeman@smmusd.org
(310) 456-6494

On the morning of November 4, I will run the 5K here in Malibu. The question is, "Will I run that 5K dressed in the Webster whale suit or not?" That's up to you. We would love to have as many of our students register for The BGCM Mile as possible. If we can get 75 Webster Whales to register for this mile run, I will not only wear the whale suit for the 5K, but I will also run the mile in the suit alongside our Whales!! Let's support the BGCM and the spirit of joy and health while we enjoy a fun Saturday together. GET REGISTERED TODAY!!

Run Malibu welcomes kids ages 4-10 to celebrate, inspire, and support the next generation through the sport of running. This year, we are thrilled to announce the launch of a new kid's event: The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu Mile (The BGCM Mile). Kids' events take place Saturday afternoon on November 4th at the Malibu Beach Expo at Zuma Beach. Entry fees are $30 per race or $45 for both. All racers receive a bib, kids swag bag, entry to the new "Run Malibu x BGCM Kids' Festival", a finisher medal, and, as an added bonus, all profits from the BGCM Mile go back to BGCM. These events are perfect for all kids - from those new to running to those looking to run their best mile yet!

Register Here

OCTOBER 2023

10/24 5th Grade Math Club BEGINS @7:50am (see below for registration forms)

10/26 4th Grade Math Club BEGINS @7:50am (see below for registration forms)

10/27 Make-up Picture Day (8:30am)

10/31 Trunk or Treat (schedule and information is in your inbox)

NOVEMBER 2023

11/3 John Wells Author Visit (3rd-5th grade @ 8:40a)

11/3 Be a Dance Star - Friday night dance party Party Book

11/4 Run Malibu (sign up for The BGCM Mile)

11/4 Fall Wreath Making and Wine Tasting Party Book

11/5 Sound Bath and Vision Boarding Party Book

11/6 Pupil Free Day (parent conferences)

11/7-9 Parent Conferences (minimum days)

11/10 Veteran’s Day Holiday (no school)

11/12 Surfy Santa Photos - Holiday photos on the beach Party Book

11/13 PTA's Sustainable Book Fair Begins

11/16 School Site Council Meeting – 3:00p

11/19 Sip, Swap, and Shop Party Book

11/21 Minimum Day

11/22 Thanksgiving Holiday Begins (no school)

11/27 School Resumes

DECEMBER 2023

12/4 Scholastic Book Fair Begins (ends 12/8)

12/15 FALL DEEP LEARNING EXPO – 9:00a (Don't miss this!!)

12/15 Holiday Cookie Party Book

12/20 Holiday Show

12/22 Class Parties

12/25 Winter Holidays Begin

During evening walks with our families, TK friends began collecting interesting fallen leaves. Big leaves, long leaves, round shapes, pointed shapes, and a variety of colors!!! We loved listening to the sounds each crispy, crunchy leaf made. We discussed "chlorophyll" and how leaves change during the Autumn season. We counted and sorted our found treasures – noticing, “What is similar?” “What is different?” We used our senses to explore and sewed long leaf strings! This exuberant collaborative project included literacy, math, science, art! And most importantly – FUN! Lots of love from TK.

What a fun week the Bu Crew had while working in small hands-on centers. Students were eager to learn and review language and math skills with Halloween-themed activities. They were busy counting spiders and pumpkins, deciphering math tile puzzles, and solving Halloween word problems using different strategies as well as, recognizing and identifying spooky letters, producing the initial sound of Halloween nouns, and blending sounds with Pop Its to make and read words. Small group rotations allow differentiation while focusing on specific skills that need to be reinforced or learned.

Malika Begin (Clanton's mom) taught us what it means to be a leader today. We brainstormed the qualities it takes to be a leader. Then we enjoyed reading What is my Superpower? by Aviaq Johnson and I Want to a be a Leader Now by Blake Bozarth with her. Do you know what it takes to be a leader? We played a game, shared our ideas with each other, and had lots of fun. Ms. Malika left us with boxed sets of Ninja Life Hacks Leadership and Ninja Life Hacks Growth Mindset by Mary Nhin which we are looking forward to read. Thank you very much Malika for inspiring us! We are ready to be leaders now!

We explored how different animals camouflage themselves. We focused on moths and saw pictures of some that were tricky to find. The kids had one minute to find some moths hidden in a tree and some stumps on our back door. Then they chose a location in the classroom, colored a moth to match it, and taped it down. They had so much fun trying to find the camouflaged moths all around the classroom. We even invited Rooms 8 and 17 to come search!

Room 2 focused on habitats in science this week! Tables were challenged to notice what the information was telling them, then sort the animals and thier habitats into the correct groups. It was interesting to see how groups differed on their classifying strategies!

How many arrays can you make with 36 tiles? Room 8 has been busy making array and area models to show multiplication problems. Just wait to see what we’re going to do with area in our upcoming project!

Students took a small project introducing multiplication strategies and blew it up! They made models of their candy stores, created original candies, wrote jingles and slogans, and brought in homemade treats (thanks parents!). Curiosity, Imagination, Collaboration abound!

We are working on projects in math, social studies, catching up on unfinished work and even having some FREE time--Fridays are the best!

This week was loaded with super fun things!! We kicked off the week with double PE and got to play kickback against room 19 ( we won of course 😉). Then we got to celebrate Miss Johnson's birthday all together, and had the season 2 premiere of The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel (our class podcast). But Thursday was the best! Our class went to the "STARBOOKS" cafe, where we read different books from different genres, drank hot chocolate and had coffee cake!! My favorite genre was Fantasy because the book I tasted was funny and I want to read more! Before I go, this week's Staff Member spotlight goes to ... Coach Taylor!!!

Room 20 question of the week: Who is your favorite Athlete?

"I think Messi is really cool!!" - Lachlan V.M

"I really like Serena Williams the tennis player" Janne K.

" Luka Modric is super cool and good as soccer!" Noel R.

Room 20’s Star Author This Month: Dax White

Hi Webster Whales, it’s Story, Room 19 Reporter this month.

Let’s talk about what Room 19 did this week! Ms. London surprised us in the morning on Monday with an activity called Starbooks Café. Ms. London had us sit at different tables and “Sip, Taste, and Read” books from different genres. We wrote about what we thought about the cover and the summary. Then we read a few pages to see if we liked it. If we did, we wrote it on a bookmark so we could remember the book and read it later. This activity was relaxing and fun, and even felt a bit like we were grown-ups. It got some people so excited about books that they were fighting over them in the library the next day!

When I asked students in our class how the Starbooks Café changed their thoughts and feelings about reading, here were some of their responses:

“It opened my mind to different things and different genres I’ve never tried.” - Hendrix Schulze

“I want to read more because I used to only want to read 1 genre, but now I want to read 3 genres!” - Chandler Dunn

“It changed how I felt by making reading fun and finding books I’m excited about.” - Legend Rocca

-Written By: Story Bunn, Room 19 Reporter

That's right, folks. We are less than two weeks away from one of the best holidays of the year. Here at Webster, our parent community really goes above and beyond to make Halloween a fun and exciting day for students and staff. This week, the amazing Laura Angotti and her beautiful band of volunteers descended upon Webster to liven campus with decorations and a bunch of spirit. We are so thankful for all your efforts, community. Looking forward to the big day.

*Please see the separate email regarding ALL details for Halloween and our Trunk or Treat Extravaganza.

We are so excited to have Dana Orescan lead our PTA Reflections program again this year. Her dedication to this event brings out the best in our students. Thanks, Dana!!!

Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. This 50+ year-old program helps them explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence, and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.
The 2023–24 Reflections theme is I AM HOPEFUL BECAUSE...
Students participate in the appropriate division for their grade: Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2), Intermediate (Grades 3-5). Students submit their completed works of art in one or all of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts.

With today being the deadline for submissions, we had some amazing creations brought in by our students. I was lucky enough to catch this one from artist, Alex Pitz, whose creativity, heart, and thoughtful efforts to participate were inspiring. I look forward to sharing the work of all our artists in future newsletters. Beautiful work, everyone!!

Thursday, we participated in International ShakeOut Day. This event sees millions of people worldwide come together to participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or at home. Webster's students and staff did a fantastic job of dropping and covering and got to the safety of the yard as quickly as possible. Search and rescue teams scanned the campus for missing persons while our medical team dealt with any injuries. As always, we reflected on our procedures and will make the necessary adjustments in order to keep our students and staff as safe as possible in the event of a real scenario. Great job, everyone!!

Our students were treated to an engaging assembly this morning from Webster Uncle and author/poet, Chris Harris. Chris delighted us all with excerpts from some of his books, stories about what inspires him, and great advice on the creativity that's so alive in the creation of poetry. Kids and adults alike really enjoyed this morning together in the auditorium. Thanks for being a part of the Webster community and exposing our students to such great stuff.

After last year's success, we are continuing with our cafeteria service program. With Ms. Neci's inspiring and collaborative leadership style, our 3rd-5th students get a chance to learn about the kitchen while experiencing the valuable lessons learned by serving and taking care of others. Our students do an awesome job and make our lunch time such a pleasure. Thanks everyone!!

We have a few football fans here on campus. While Mr. K's Lions are one of the top teams in the sport, Mrs. London's Patriots have fallen from grace and find themselves struggling mightily this year. My Raiders (not a very good team either) are 3-3 and have no plans to make the playoffs. You may remember that Mrs. London and I made a friendly bet last year when our teams played each other. It created some excitement for the students and gave us a chance to model good sportsmanship...even in defeat. Today Mrs. London honored this year's bet as the Raiders squeaked out a win over the Patriots last weekend. She wore my jersey and had to play the violin (which she does NOT play) during drop off in an attempt to earn $10 in tips. While she failed to meet that mark, she did not fail to once again model the true spirit of sportsmanship and competition as she performed with a smile to the delight and support of her students. Good stuff!

Ms. Justine and Ms. Conrad are recruiting students to join our Green Teams at lunch time. Our student lead an co-director for the program, Jasper, has been helping to take our food waste, weigh it, chart it, and get it over to our compost bins in the garden. He NEEDS YOUR HELP! The team has come up with some incentives for giving up your time to help with this valuable Webster program.

5 Green Team days = free seed pack

10 Green Team days = first garden tool use

15 Green Team days = garden activity choice for your class (snail race, fruit/veg harvest)

20 Green Team days = choose the (3) types of tree choices for the garden

25 Green Team days = lunch with Principal Tedd

Does your child love math? Are they meeting or exceeding grade level standards in mathematics? Math club is an opportunity to build upon and extend the mathematical talent of your child in an exciting and engaging opportunity! We at Webster would like to offer every 4th and 5th grade student the opportunity to participate in Math Club, as it is an enriching and positive learning experience. We also have a fun Math Field Day on campus March 8th, 2024, where we will have math adventures and celebrate their hard work!

For 5th grade students Math Club will begin on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:50 am with Mr. K. Math Club will run each Tuesday morning until March 8th. Room 17.

For 4th grade students Math Club will begin on Thursday, October 26th at 7:50 am with Mr. K. Math Club will run each Thursday morning until March 8th. Room 17.

*Students are welcome to participate however consistent punctual attendance is a requirement of remaining in Math Club. If a student is absent from Math Club twice, s/he will receive a warning notice about continuing in Math Club. Upon the third absence the student will be dropped from Math Club.

** Students are expected to follow all classroom expectations including following directions, staying on task and helping to create an environment free of disruptions for all participants.

Lunch Clubs continue to march along this week as many are in the brainstorming phase about what kind of club they might want to create. We also see some clubs struggling to maintain a focus and consistent participation from week to week. I see this as a really good thing. My belief about creating problem solvers is that we have to give them real problems to solve...problems that they care about. These are perfect opportunities for our students to productively struggle and figure out how to overcome some of their challenges. We will not do this for them, but rather support them as they design solutions and take action. Good stuff coming out of our Lunch Club program.

Oh, and the Crazy Problems club is currently trying to figure out how much cheese might be created if all the cows on the planet simply made cheese. I believe the current estimate they are working with is 2 cubic miles of cheese. I love the visual alone. Keep at it, fellas!

As always, a huge thank you to Carley Devlin, Rachael Sokoloff, and Lisa Wallace for being on hand to supervise things in the park!

Great little article that is pretty spot on about the challenges our teachers face each day. Here at Webster, we are trying to be cognizant of these challenges and allow teachers the space to design the kinds of lessons and activities that lead to deep learning and engagement for our students.

If for no other reason, you can use these to tease them later....like this picture of Principal Tedd from elementary school -------------------------------------->>>>>>>

To view your child's proofs:

• Click here: PHOTOS or copy and paste: [%3Ca%20data-fr-linked=]https://trishalisonphotography.zenfolio.com/f680053955
• When prompted to enter YOUR CHILD'S LAST NAME for the “keyword”
• Please order by November 1st. If you need an ordering extension, please contact Trish directly.

Please Also Note:

• All packages are custom designed by you so you can order exactly what you want and not be held to a predetermined package.
• Order single prints, digital jpeg downloads, print packages, or photo gifts, all are listed on the left of the ordering screen. Retouching options (teeth whitening, acne removal, glass glare removal) are available on prints as you check out.
• Digital jpeg files are $38 each, and $45 for a retouched jpeg file (retouching includes acne/blemish removal, teeth whitening and overall fine editing)

There is also a discount deal for 8 or 15 jpegs

• You have the ability to crop photos as you wish when checking out!

Please direct any ordering questions directly to Trish and not the school. Email any questions to: trish@trishalisonphotography.com

MAKE UP PICTURE DAY IS SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, @8:30am

There's only 6 more party books this year!

Show the PTA that you support the Party Book Fundraising initiative and get a ticket to a party TODAY!

November 3- Be a Dance Star - Friday night dance party Party Book

November 4- Fall Wreath Making and Wine Tasting Party Book

November 5- Sound Bath and Vision Boarding Party Book

November 12- Surfy Santa Photos - Holiday photos on the beach Party Book

November 19- Sip, Swap, and Shop Party Book

December 15- Holiday Cookie Party Book

- Lauren (Party Book coordinator and all-around awesome human)

Run Groms was back in action today!! The numbers just keep growing as we welcomed new students, new parents, and new activities to our Friday routine. Don't miss out on the fun and health on these Friday mornings. Students are starting their days with great energy after this running and playing start in the morning.

ARE YOU IN?! Please send an email to maliburungroms@gmail.com OR fill out the RSVP form here ( https://forms.gle/ortVeiuMSQV8riJx6 - we will likely send out a form each week to get an idea of attendance) if your kid(s) plan to attend, or if you are interested in volunteering as a coach or getting involved. We are looking for volunteers!

The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade. By banding together, this will decrease the pressure felt by kids and parents alike over the kids having a smartphone. Please note that this pledge is for smartphones only! If you would like your child to have a basic phone that just calls and texts, you still can sign the pledge! The basic phone avoids many of the distractions and dangers of the smartphone.

Top 5 Reasons To Delay Getting a Smartphone

1 Smartphones are changing childhood.

2 They are distracting and addicting.

3 Smartphones expose your child to...

4 They increase risk for anxiety and depression.

5 Cyberbullying is an important concern.

To learn more, please visit www.waituntil8th.org or check out Wait Until 8th’s Instagram account.

The AERIES Parent Portal

Tedd's Welcome Letter 2023

Tedd's Welcome Back Video 2023

AERIES Parent Portal Tutorial

Student Services Registration Documents 23/24

Family Engagement & School Parent Compact

Webster Bell Schedule

PTA Membership

PTA Volunteer Opportunities

Class Change Request Form

Hour of Code

Webster Information - Week of Oct 23, 2023

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:

• BGCM Membership Enrollment is LIVE Available for incoming grades TK-5th. Enroll at BGCMALIBU.ORG Programs include: STEM based projects, arts & crafts, cooking/gardening, social emotional wellness, and more! (Enrollment must be completed and verified via our online electronic system before your child attends BGCM Clubhouses, please allow at least 2 business days for this process). Enroll Here | Inscribirse Aquí
  
  

• Wellness Center & Social Support Offerings The Boys & Girls Club of Malibu Wellness Center operates remotely and also in-person to provide no-cost social support & mental health counseling to all in the community. Visit https://bgcmalibu.org/wellness-center/ to learn more or to request services for you/your child! There is currently NO WAITLIST for services. PSA: Parents! If you've missed any parent workshops, they are available on our website at https://bgcmalibu.org/wellness-center-resources/
  
  

• *To contact the Club please call 310-457-1400 (Admin) or 310-241-3675 (Programs) Email info@bgcmalibu.org For updates on Club news & events, subscribe to BGCM E-Newsletter Here

Developing strong character and valuable mindsets is essential. This remains a major focus at Webster. As we build community here on campus, at home, and across Malibu, we will continue to model the kind of behavior that promotes unity, kindness, and thoughtful problem solving. In addition, we will value these traits in others and recognize outstanding efforts.

A special shout out and Best on the Beach to Mrs. Harris's class, who showed such unbelievable kindness, love, and support for each other this morning at our assembly. I am so proud of the way your cheered on your class readers and then welcomed them back to the group with high fives and words of encouragement. You guys ROCK!!

Every Friday we sport our Webster Wear to show school spirit and celebrate the coming weekend. Classes with the highest percentage of Webster Wear win the whale for the week. Be sure to show your spirit and pick up some Webster Wear in the main office when you stop in to say hello.