Sea Lion Spotlight

Malibu Elementary Parent Newsletter #19 - December 30, 2024

Principal's Pen

Hello MES Familes,

I hope that you are all enjoying the Holiday Season and anticipating a wonderful New Year ahead.

This past month we opened our campus to the Webster community of students, staff and parents. Thank you to the MES staff and PTA for your warm and welcoming spirit, and willingness to pivot and accommodate. Staff were amazing from the planning to the execution to the tone of their work. Parents should be proud our MES team. At this time it is not yet clear how the remediation of Webster is progressing, so we should expect to be sharing our campus again next week. (Once I know anything to that regard, I will update you.) Here is the "Welcome Webster Plan". Of note, please see that our parking lot will be closed to parent parking. Parents will of course be able to use our loading zone from drop off and pick up. Again, here is the plan.

As you know Malibu sits in a major wind corridor in a very dry portion of California, and includes narrow winding roads beneath loose stone and soil. SoCal Edison runs power to Malibu above ground. They will shut off the power when they think the wind might cause damage to their wires. (Remember that the Wolsey Fire started this way.) Cell phone towers stop working when there is no power. In total, these factors can create worrisome conditions for residents and commuters. Opening and running a campus during high winds, poor air quality, employee absenteeism, and sometimes a lack of power (that results in an inability to communicate both externally and internally) is problematic and even dangerous.

MES, the SMMUSD Central Office, and our larger geographic community have become very familiar with the above challenges. We have learned to communicate better both before and during such conditions. We continue to debrief on ways to do better. This past month I attended the City of Malibu Franklin Fire debrief session. All of the first responders were thanked. They saved homes, government buildings, churches, and Webster School. I learned that the City intends to improve FM radio transmitters, and is encouraging residents to join volunteer groups that support fire and sheriff services. They are collaborating with the five other west Los Angeles cities that include Hidden Hills and Calabasas to force SoCal Edison to find alternative ways to get power to our communities. I also heard from the Mayor that they are teaming up to get cell phone services providers to do the same. Our Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton shared that he wants to get us StarLink so that we can communicate via satellites in space and provide us with backup power that will mostly be giant batteries. (It is unclear if gas/natural gas powered generators are allowed at schools during disasters.) So, with every crisis there is an opportunity to make improvements to safety and education. You may lend a hand by expressing your opinions to the City, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and to SMMUSD. Similarly, in January, our MES SSC will begin the annual task of examining safety needs and establishing priorities.

PTA elections are in full swing for next school year. Our PTA Parliamentarian: Ellen Farmer (ellen@1895films.com) is the key driver in launching this election.

Here is the election sequence:

January 16 / 8:30: Nominating Committee Election at PTA Association Meeting (MES Parliamentarian runs paper ballot elections and appoints two tellers. Only Members may vote and you must be pysically present.)
January 23 / 8:30: Nominating Committee reviews their duties, the offices they hope to recruit for (see Article V, Section 2 and Standing Rules 5 on page15), and selects a Chairperson. The five (5) member committee starts to recruit Officer Candidates.)
February 6 / 8:30: The five (5) members meet. All candidates for the ten (10) offices are discussed. The committee may interview candidates. The five (5) members decide which candidates will be placed on the Slate, one person per position. (See the CAPTA Nominations website for “Do’s and Don’ts.)
February 20 / 8:30: Nominating Committee submits Slate (Nominating Committee Report) at PTA Association Meeting
March 20/ 8:30: Election of Officers at PTA Association Meeting

Election Script to be read by the outgoing President, Parliamentarian and Nomination Committee Chairperson and Nominating Committee Report read by the Nominating Committee Chairperson.

Now thinking of our students again, it was so warming to see them this past week enjoying our campus, loving their classroom lessons, being supportive peers, performing in the Holiday Show, and welcoming our Webster students. Their joy is our joy. What a gift it is to work with these bright and eager children who have big dreams for the future!

May all of you have a rewarding and reflective Holiday and may the new year ahead bring you tranquility and prosperity.

Thank you for your partnership,

Proud Principal Chris Hertz

Check out these wonderful moments featuring our incredible students, staff, and parents! If you have a photo that you’d like to share, please send it to Principal Chris—we’d love to include it in upcoming newsletters.

Highlights

Important Dates Coming Soon

24-25 Academic Calendar

24-25 PTA Calendar

Dec 23 - Jan 3 Winter Break

Looking farther forward...

JANUARY

Mon 01/06 - School Resumes
Fri 01/10 - Jaxx Performance / 6pm @ cafeteria
Sat 01/11 - Jaxx Performance / 6pm @ cafeteria
Thur 01/16 - PTA Members Meeting / 8:30 - 9:30 @ cafeteria (Agenda: Elect Nominating Committee)
Fri 01/17 - Zoe’s Nutcracker Show / 9:10-9:40 @ cafeteria (Audience: TK-3)
Mon 01/20 - Holiday / No School - MLK Jr Day
Thur 01/23 - TK/Kindgarten Round Up / 1:30 - 2:30 @ Kindergarten Yard
Fri 01/24 - Student-Led Assemblies - Character Counts FAIRNESS 8:30 w/ Turner and Kleiser
Thur 01/30 SSC Meeting @ Room 16 (Agenda)

FEBRUARY

Fri 02/07 - End 2nd Trimester
Fri 02/14 - Valentines Pancake Breakfast

Report Cards Go Home
Classroom Holiday Parties (See Valentine's Articles Below)

JUNE

Wed 06/11 - End of Year Beach 5th Grade Beach Field Trip / 8:30 - 12:30 @ Malibu West Beach Club
Minimum Day / 12:45 dismissal
Thur 06/12 - Last day of School / 12:45 dismissal

Articles for Parents

MES Parent Newsletter Coming via Parent Square Only

Please read the article below. Today's newsletter is coming to you via BlackBoard and Parent Square. Beginning January all future messages from Principal Chris Hertz will only come via Parent Square. Most messages come on Friday afternoons.

SMMUSD Changing Communications System to Parent Square by Jan. 1, 2025

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and Community Members,

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is transitioning its mass communications system to Parent Square, owned by Aeries, from Finalsite (formerly Blackboard) Connect by Jan. 1, 2025. Parents, guardians and staff need not take any action to accept this change.

The new Parent Square system is currently being used at some schools and has been tested by the District office the past several months. By Jan. 1, 2025 all school administrators and other site users will have transitioned to the new system that provides emails, voice messages, text messages, teacher emails and the option of posting to social media, along with the Parent Square mobile app. We highly recommend you download the mobile app by searching for Parent Square in your app store to fully engage with this system.

Parent Square is an Aeries partner making the transition smooth and our data shared from our Student Information System. We take data privacy and security very seriously and feel confident in the protective and preventive qualities of our current systems.

As the official communication system of your school site and the District office, we highly recommend you never opt out of emails from your school or District. Opting out of one opts you out of all. For example, if you opt out of emails from SMMUSD, you will be opting out of emails from your school site as well. Both your school site and the District provide important information and news relative to your students and information for families.

If you do not believe you are receiving emails from your school or District after Jan. 1, 2025, please first check your spam or junk email folder. At that time, if you are still not receiving emails, texts or voice messages, please contact your school office to verify information on file and to ensure you are opted in to receiving.

Parent Square offers some flexibility on receiving messages. You can access through the mobile app and set your preferences to when you would like to receive messages and more options.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this new system, please submit to Let’s Talk, www.smmusd.org/Superintendent and click on general comments.

We are enthusiastic about this transition and understand that there may be a few glitches in the beginning. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we all become proficient.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gail Pinsker, Public Relations Officer, gpinsker@smmusd.org

Bertha Roman, Director, Education Technology, broman@smmusd.org

2025 5th Grade Overnight Field Trip - Pali Camp

Thanks to our PTA, MES has put down a deposit for the annual 5th grade trip to Pali Camp. Soon 4th grade parents will be invited to learn about the overnight field trip scheduled for October 15, 2025. The rough total cost is $19,000. We estimate that 34 fourth grade students and two teachers will attend. If each student's family were to donate $560, that would cover the full cost of the trip. Our next installment payment is due June 3rd ($5, 831.25). One way to cover this expense would be for 4th grade parents to run another Bingo Night this March. Again, soon 4th grade parents will be invited to learn about Camp and decide if they want to help pay for the trip through Bingo Night.

SMMUSD Cell Phone Regulations Change - MES Procedure Must Change Too

Back in November the SMMUSD Board of Education adopted a new Regulation for Student Cell Phones, “Regulation 5131.8: Mobile Communication Devices”. It is very simple and it is different from the way we have managed student cell phones the past five years (MES Cell Phone Waiver). Thank you for reading it and understanding your role in ensuring that students place their phone or smart watch in their backpack during school hours. We are still discouraging cell phones at school. They are highly problematic but they are not banned. Our Positive Discipline Plan has been revised accordingly (see page 4, rule 15)

How Should My Child Dress on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for PE?

Uggs, slippers, sandals, and boots are not safe for PE. Wear athletic shoes that grip the ground.

Malibu Middle School Orientaion for 5th Grade Parents and Students

MMS Counselor Lorene Whitehouse and Principal Greg Shellenberg want to welcome 5th grade parents and 5th grade students to Malibu Middle School. Below are key events to anticipate:

February - 5th grade parents MES/Webster tour MMS campus
February - Whitehouse & Schellenberg visit 5th grade classrooms
March - 5th graders take field trip to MMS

Holiday Parties

All holiday parties are to be coordinated in advance with the teacher. Parties may occur at any time of the day of the teacher’s choosing. Sugary foods are allowable, but craft activities are preferable. Please, first consult with the teacher. The three holiday party days are Halloween, Winter Holidays, and Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day

In elementary school, Valentine’s day is a day to celebrate friendships. It is NOT a day of early romantic relationships. To avoid hurt feelings and unnecessary drama, children who want to distribute Valentine’s cards must distribute the cards to all students in their class and the cards should have equal or comparable value. We don’t want children to feel isolated or left out.

MBGC Information - Annual Holiday Drive is On

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Volunteering at MES

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