iWatches and Phones During State Testing
As you know, iWatches and Smart Phones are not allowed at school. And they are absolutely not allowed in a classwroom during State Testing. Please do not send your 3rd-5th grade student with these items.
Pali Camp - Donations Needed
We are excited for our 2024 - 2025 5th grade class to again have the opportunity to attend outdoor school in October 2024. Outdoor school is perhaps the greatest highlight of elementary school for many students and is a sort of rite-of-passage. We are asking 4th grade parents to donate now so that we may make our next installment payment.
Thank you to teacher Tracy Kooy for leading the annual fourth grade parent orientation to outdoor school back in April. Thank you to all the parents who turned out. Parents decided to not fundraise, but rather to make voluntary donations to cover the $20,795 trip.
Thank you to the ten families who have donated. So far we have collected $5,200. We need more to be able to make our June installment. See below for more details.
All or None
If we don’t raise enough funds for ALL students to participate, we will ask the PTA to fund the difference. If there is not enough available funds or support from PTA, then the trip will be canceled; we will refund all donations but lose our original PTA deposit. Also to help prevent canceling the trip, any families who won’t be able to voluntarily contribute the full $520 will be asked what if anything they can donate. Perhaps $300, $200 or $50? Anything helps. Finally if there are families who would like to cover another student, we will accept donations above and beyond $520.
Trip Date
- Trip date: 10/16/24-10/18/24
Group Payment Schedule
MES must make installment payments dates to Pali Camp:
Two Ways for Parents to Donation
Informational Websites
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REPOSTS
SMMUSD and City of Malibu Announce Community Meetings to Present Tentative Revenue Sharing Agreement for School Separation Efforts
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) and the City of Malibu have announced a series of community meetings to present the recently released tentative agreement on the revenue sharing arrangement, furthering the process of establishing an independent Malibu Unified School District.
Parents, staff, and community members are encouraged to attend a meeting in-person or virtually (for meetings offered) to better understand the projected outcomes for both a future Santa Monica Unified School District and Malibu Unified School District. This milestone achievement reflects the commitment of both the City of Malibu and SMMUSD to uphold guiding principles that prioritize equity, fairness, and local control in education.
Meetings are as follows:
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 6 p.m., Santa Monica High School Cafeteria (600 Olympic Blvd.) Hosted by the Santa Monica-Malibu Parent Teacher Association. In-person only.
- Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 6 p.m., SMMUSD Board of Education Special Meeting (District Office: 1717 4th St. Santa Monica) – This meeting will be hybrid. Meeting link will be posted online on this webpage on May 20: https://www.smmusd.org/domain/2977
The announcement was made on April 11, 2024 regarding this tentative agreement. Read more about it.
Interdistrict Permit Applications Information from the Permits Department
Interdistrict Permit Applications Information will be available on smmusd.org beginning June 24, 2024. Interdistrict and Intradistrict permit outcomes will be sent via email from Informed K12 two weeks before the first day of school. Outgoing permits are processed within 5 business days. VOE's will be processed within 6 weeks of submission. All communication regarding permits will be sent via email from Informed K12.
Remaining Minimum Days / 12:45 Dismissal
- May 23, 2024
- June 11, 2024
- June 12, 2023
SSC Parent Representative Elections
The MES School Site Council has three two-year parent representative seats open for the 2024-2025 and the 2025-2026 school years. The Election Committee is leading the election process in accordance with the SSC Bylaws (page 2-3). Below are the details and election timeline. (Exhibits: Sample Nomination Form, Sample Self-Nomination Form, Sample Ballot) (SSC Membership Chart) - Shows whose seat is up for election.)
SSC Parent Representative Nomination Form and Election Process
The Election Committee for School Site Council is now accepting Nominations for SSC.
Nomination Form or Self-nomination Form *Please also provide a brief profile of the nominee.
- April 21st - May 3rd (1pm) / Submit Nomination Form by the Date
Nomination Forms may be turned into the office or to the Election Committee.
The Election Committee will list all nominees on the ballot.
- May 13th / The ballot will be sent in the Principal’s Newsletter the week of May 12th.
(Hard copies are available in the office too.)
- June 6th / Paper ballots are due.
Ballots may be turned into the office or to the Election Committee. Ballots will be tallied by the Election Committee and the winning nominees will be notified first and then announced to the school in the Principal’s Newsletter.
- June 7th / Ballots Tallied and Results Published in Principal's Parent Newsletter
Guidelines
Each parent/guardian seeking election must be nominated or self-nominated in writing, must have a child enrolled in the school and must declare that he or she is not employed at the school.
Each parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the school shall be entitled to one vote for each of the three vacant parent/community membership seats on the School Site Council.
(FAQ: What has SSC done the last year?)
5th Grade PROMOTION CEREMONY
We will celebrate the class of 2024 at our annual promotion ceremony on Monday, June 10th at 9:30 - 10:30 in the cafeteria.
MBGC Information - May
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
PTA Elections Meeting / Thursday, May 16th from 9:00 – 10:00am.
Link: https://meet.google.com/qiu-eono-rjc
Or dial: (US) +1 317-943-3671 PIN: 195 612 010#
2024-25 PTA Board Nominees
President: Kelsey Donfeld
VP of Fundraising: Frankie Podrat
Financial Secretary: Erin Garnero
Parliamentarian: Ellen Farmer
Historian: Marielle Hadid
Recording Secretary: Daniella Arnold
Returning Board Members
Executive VP: Mark DiPaola
VP of Hospitality: Cassie Copperfield
Communications: Jessica DiPaola
Treasurer: Jennifer Owhadi
Auditor: Mary Ruth Hughes
Parent Input Form for Special Consideration during Classroom Placement Process
(This form will only be active: April 15 – May 15 / 1pm*)
*Forms received after this date may not be considered because the class building meeting may have already happened.
Sometimes parents and guardians want to give some input into which classroom their child is placed next year. Parental input is valued and considered, however parents and guardians must understand that our larger goal is to create classrooms that are balanced according to the criteria below. We cannot promise a specific teacher. We want to create the best overall learning situation for the most students possible.
If your child does have a distinctive situation or unusual learning need, then please let us know. The teachers and administration take pride in our balanced approach, but we also recognize special considerations. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet everyone’s requests because of the many variables to balance.
When describing your child’s unique educational needs, we ask that you try to avoid including teacher names or room numbers. This is because teacher assignments may change over the summer and even after the year begins. If you do include a teacher name, then we must remind you that we cannot promise you a specific teacher. Thank you for acknowledging our requests and for understanding our larger goal of creating balanced classes to meet the greatest needs.
Balanced Classroom Criteria
- Ability balance
- Student behavior balance
- Gender balance
- Even mixing of previous year’s classes
- Student language needs / teacher certification
- Ethnic balance
Report Cards
Report Cards will be sent home with students on the last day of school. Please be sure you have returned all books to the library. Report cards will be held in the office until all book fines are paid. Please reach out to Library Tech Mr. Andrew White should you have any questions.
