The SMMUSD Wave- May 2023
Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and Community Members,
The 2022-23 school year is coming to a close with a flurry of events and activities these last few weeks of school. It’s wonderful to see student success in all corners of our schools, from taking Advanced Placement exams and completion of class projects to performances and athletic achievements. Our students have thrived this year and we want to thank our dedicated teachers and support staff for their hard work throughout the school year. We appreciate our parents for supporting their students and continued involvement in our schools. We are fortunate to have a very strong SMMPTA Council and PTSA/PTA units at all schools partnering with us in all our endeavors. Thank you all!
I would like to share our congratulatory message to the graduating class of 2023 of Malibu High School, Santa Monica High School, including our first graduating class of our project-based learning pathway and Olympic High School. I would also like to extend my congratulations to fifth and eighth grade students promoting to their next level in school.
SMMUSD Interim Superintendent and Board of Education’s Message to
Samohi, Malibu High School, Olympic High School, Class of 2023
Dear SMMUSD Class of 2023,
Congratulations to the Class of 2023!
You have accepted your diploma and have crossed the threshold from high school to adulthood after many years of hard work and determination. It’s an amazing accomplishment and one for which you should feel deep pride. Many of you juggled extracurricular activities, family obligations, volunteer work and part-time jobs, while completing your studies. You faced unprecedented challenges with grace, strength and resilience. You persevered and continued to achieve your goals.
Our seniors’ achievements are worthy of praise. Many have received numerous awards for excellence in academics, music and arts, athletics, extracurricular activities and community service. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships have been awarded to our seniors from some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in California, across the country and abroad. Everything you have achieved both inside and outside the classroom is a result of your hard work, dedication, perseverance, and commitment to success.
Graduating from high school is a milestone because it happens only once in life. It is a time for our seniors to be proud of all that they have accomplished to reach the graduation stage. It also is a time to be thankful for the family members, teachers, mentors, classmates, friends, and everyone else who’s had a meaningful role in shaping you into the person you are today.
As your interim superintendent and school board, we are incredibly proud of you. We look forward to hearing stories about your future endeavors and successes. Whether you are going on to Santa Monica College, a four-year university, into a certificate program or other postsecondary opportunity, or military, we know the Class of 2023 will make a difference in the world. We need you to make that difference for the good of all.
Work hard always, keep your sights on what you want to do in life, and always dream big. Keep reaching for the stars and know that your time at SMMUSD has prepared you for a bright future.
We wish you all the best in health and success in your future. Congratulations!
Sincerely,
Mark O. Kelly, Ed.D., Interim Superintendent
Board of Education: Marian Leon-Vazquez, President; Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, Vice President; Laurie Lieberman, Jon Kean, Jen Smith, Stacy Rouse and Alicia Mignano.
You can read prior Superintendent Messages here.
Franklin Elementary School Hosts Annual Multicultural Fair
Franklin Elementary School students and parents were invited to travel the world at Franklin’s annual multicultural fair. Attendees smiled from ear to ear as they visited different countries trying unique foods, learning interesting facts and even getting their event passports stamped. This year’s fair included representation of 25 different cultures, as well as a table for the deaf and blind community.
Read more about the multicultural fair here: https://bit.ly/FrnklnMulticulturalFair2023
Samohi PBL Students Attend VerdeXchange Conference
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) would like to recognize 10th grade students, Jacob Grossman and Eli Rishe, from Santa Monica High School’s (Samohi) project-based learning (PBL) pathway for participating in the 2023 VerdeXchange Green Market Makers conference in May. This is the largest green tech conference in Los Angeles. These students were selected based on their ongoing commitment to better the environment. Grossman and Rishe were two of eight Los Angeles-area students selected for their ongoing commitment to the environment.
Read more here: https://bit.ly/PBLandVerdeXchange2023
Roosevelt Elementary School Places First in the Learning Ally Audiobooks Great Reading Games
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) would like to congratulate Roosevelt Elementary School for placing first in the Learning Ally Great Reading Games. This was a nation-wide competition with more than 186,600 students participating.
Read more here: https://bit.ly/RooseveltLearningAllyWinner
SMMUSD Students Win City’s Sustainability Poster Contest
Congrats! The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is proud to announce that 13 students from across the District won awards in the 15th Annual Sustainable Santa Monica Student Poster Contest. More than 300 SMMUSD students entered submissions.The Santa Monica and Sustainable Works poster contest was open to kindergarten through 12th grade students who live and/or attend school in Santa Monica.This year’s theme, Together, Let’s Create a Community Full of Kindness, Dignity and Equity. The goal of the theme taught students the importance of practicing kindness, promoting dignity and equity. Judging was done by a group of sustainability professionals with the city, the city's equity division and staff from Sustainable Works.
Entries were judged on the following: theme, artistic creativity, messaging and originality. The first-place winners in each category took home a grand prize of $100, second place won a $50 gift card, third place won a $25 gift card and honorable mentions received $10 cash.
SMMUSD Students Reclassify from English Learners to English Proficient
We are very proud of our 120 students who were celebrated at our annual reclassification ceremony on 5/20. These students entered SMMUSD as English Learners and now have qualified to be reclassified as English proficient. Great job students!
Malibu High:
Boys Golf - Senior, Sam St. John represented Malibu High School in the boys golf individuals playoffs while the team earned a wild card berth for the team playoff competition.
Swim - Filip Kurial took 3rd place at CIF-SS Division 3 at the 50 and 100 free and he qualified for the state finals where he finished 21st in the 50 free and 12th in the 100 free. He broke the school record in both of these events. Vanessa Clarke finished her senior year and won a league title in the 100 free.
Boys Tennis - The team was able to make the playoffs season and they won their first match.
Boys Volleyball - Led by mostly underclassmen the boys volleyball made another trip to the playoffs this Spring.
Track and Field - Samantha Skuro represented the Sharks in the Division 4 CIF-SS finals for the pole vault. She finished in fourth place and cleared 9 feet and 9 inches.
Samohi:
Boys Lacrosse - The boys lacrosse team played their hearts out and became CIF-SS Division 3 Champions after an incredible and stressful win against Downey High School.
Track and Field - Reign Snowden, finished in ninth place in Division 1 CIF-SS Track and Field finals. The Girls 4x800 relay team set a new school Record. Matilde Martinez, Phoebe Benun, Maeko Gross and Cleo Topp ran an outstanding 9:15.37 at the Masters Meet to lower the school record by 11 seconds which was set by them earlier this year at Mt. Sac. Unfortunately, they missed making State by one place in finishing fifth.
Swim - Kyle Kim, competed in the 100-yard backstroke at the CIF State Swimming Championship Preliminaries. While Daniela Petran, competed in the 200-yard individual medley at the CIF State Swimming Championship Preliminaries.
Boys Golf - Chris Kozusko, placed second in the CIF Individual Golf Regional. He shot 3 under par in the CIF-SS Individual Golf Championship and now advances to the SoCal State Regional Championship. This is the first time in over two decades a Samohi golfer has advanced this far. Vincent Gormley, placed fourth in the Bay League Boys Golf Championships.
Samohi's Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra go to Ireland
Samohi’s Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra traveled to Ireland to learn about the Irish people, history and music. They performed in shared concerts with locals and received standing ovations from concert goers.
Watch a performance from Ireland here.
Good Vibes Day at Samohi
With May being Mental Health Awareness month, the Samohi wellness team and Samohi Wellness Advisory Group (SWAG) held a “Good Vibes Day” wellness fair. Students and staff were invited to the Innovation Quad during lunch where they were met with information, resources and fun activities centering around mental health and well-being. Let’s not forget the therapy dogs and free snacks!
If you or someone you know is struggling, resources are available.
Samohi Celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
The Samohi Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) student clubs successfully hosted a Celebration in honor of AAPI Heritage Month. With the help of Ms. Emily Kariya, Japanese Language teacher, and a generous sponsorship from the PTSA, Koshin Taiko performed during lunchtime. Taiko is a traditional style of Japanese drumming that students were fortunate to experience, many for the first time ever. AAPI Alliance, a new community organization whose stated purpose is to "empower AAPI students and their community", co-hosted this special event.
Carla Bowman-Smith, Malibu High School’s Design and Photography Teacher
Meet Carla Bowman-Smith, Malibu High School’s (MHS) design and photography teacher, who never anticipated becoming a teacher and has now been teaching at MHS for 26 years and has inspired hundreds of students.
Read more about Bowman-Smith here: https://bit.ly/CarlaBowmanSmith-Spotlight
SMMUSD Announces Grant Elementary as Golden Sneaker Award Winner
Congrats Grant Geckos! The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is honored to announce Grant Elementary School as this year’s winner of the Golden Sneaker award. Grant had the highest level of participation, at 89%, in the District during the Bike It! Walk It! Bus It! (BIWIBI) campaign, held May 1-5.
Learn more here.
Samohi Celebrates Topping Out Ceremony for New Exploration Building and Gold Gymnasium
The Santa Monica High School (Samohi) campus continues to improve and evolve. A steel topping out ceremony took place at Samohi on Monday, May 8, 2023. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education, Interim Superintendent Dr. Mark Kelly, Samohi Principal Marae Cruce, Samohi staff, local elected officials, community members, students and building partners were part of the major milestone in the evolution of phase three of the Samohi’s Campus Plan.
Learn more about the topping out ceremony here.
SMMUSD Continues to Make Progress with Sustainability Commitment
Students at Will Rogers Learning Community are becoming soil scientists! They are learning the benefits of the composting process and how it will enrich their school’s regenerative farm and help reduce their carbon footprints.
Learn more about composting here.
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The SMMUSD Wave is published monthly by the SMMUSD communications team: Gail Pinsker, Community & Public Relations Officer; Diana Bouchaaya and Esmi Careaga, Communication Specialists. Do you have news or interest stories about our students, programs or staff? Please share through Let's Talk.
The SMMUSD Wave:
2023 Winner of the Award of Excellence by the California School Public Relations Association