Sea Lion Spotlight

Malibu Elementary Parent Newsletter #3 - August 21, 2023

Highlights

Below are some photos of campus and preparations for our amazing students. Isn't our new library mural beautiful? Humaliwo is the original name for Malibu! There are more photos in the last section of the newsletter! If you have a great photo, please send it to Principal Hertz for consideration. Thank you!

Important Dates

Full Academic Calendar Link

Wed 08/23 Class Placement emails to parents from Principal / AM

Welcome emails to parents from Teachers / PM
New Family Milk & Cookies Tour / 2 - 3 @ front gate
PTA Annual Giving Campaign launched!

Thur 08/24 First Day of School

Parent Complete Annual Forms online begining today (See article below)

Parent Coffee Meet Up / 8:30 - 9:30 @ Le cafe De La Plage
Minimum Day / 12:45 dismissal
Fri 08/24 Minimum Day / 12:45 dismissal (Repeats every Friday)
Tues 08/29 Minimum Day / 12:45 dismissal

Back-to-School Night for K-2nd / 5 - 6

Fri 09/01 Annual Family PicNic (See article below) / 11:30 @ field
Sept 01 - 04 Malibu Chili Cook Off (See article below)
Mon 09/04 Labor Day Holiday / No School
Tues 09/05 Minimum Day / 12:45 dismissal

Basic Comfort Bag Program Begins Again (Parents put child comfort items in a 1 gallon ziplock and send it to the teacher. /details link/sample family note)
Back-to-School Night for 3-5th / 5 - 6

Thur 09/07 School Site Council / 3:30 - 4:45 @ zoom link - Agenda Link forthcoming...

Principal's Message

Hello New and Returning MES Sea Lion Families,

Ready or not, here we go, everyone! We've got an exciting week ahead as school starts on Thursday, Aug. 24!! Staff and PTA volunteers have been busy preparing our school for our students and we're so happy to have them back. Class lists will be emailed to you Wednesday, Aug. 23 in the morning. Please read below about drop off and pick up and how to make sure we have your emergency information. Each article is valuable.

You can help your child and all children at Malibu Elementary get off to a great start by starting conversations about respect and kindness. We have many new students who be thrilled to be included by our returning students. So encourage your child to be welcoming! Together we can ensure that the your child's formative years are the best.

Our new school fence will not be installed before the start of school but otherwise everything is ready or going to be ready by Thursday. We hope everyone will take pride when they see our new paint, clean facilities, and tidy classrooms.

Unfortunately we still do not have enough TK students at MES and Webster to open a new TK at MES. As of Friday night we are just a few short. Our registrar Kim Rivetti has worked to help families enroll and more be yet coming next week. If we have more than 24 TK students, then MES will launch our own TK. For now all TK students will attend Webster.

Throughout the school year, if you have photos you would like me to consider adding to my newsletter, please email them to me and I will try to include several. Thank you for your contributions!

Enjoy the last few days of summer! I will be in touch weekly moving forward.

Thank you for your partnership,

Proud Principal Chris Hertz

Looking farther forward...

Mon 09/11 "Before-school Power Hour Program" begins / 7:15 - 8 @ Computer Lab (Repeats every Monday and Wednesday through May) (See article below)
Wed 09/13 Classroom Complaint Period Closes / 2pm (see article below)
Wed 09/20 Picture Day (Details coming..)
Fri 09/22 International Peace Day - Zoe's Lunchtime Theater - Audience: K-5 / 9am @ field
Sat 09/23 Coast Clean Up Day / 8 - 12noon @ Zuma Lagoon/Westward Beach (see article below)
Mon 09/25 Local Holiday - Yom Kippur / No School
W-F 10/18 - 10/20 5th Grade Overnight Trip to Pali Camp (Bus rolls at 8am on Wednesday the 18th)
M-Th 11/06 - 11/09 Parent-Teacher Conference Week

Articles for Parents

Medications at School Form

No medications may be given to any student at school without this annual form. If you have questions, please contact School Nurse Daniel Gorton dgorton@smmusd.org. Link to Form

Free School Guarantee

Students enrolled in MES are not required to pay any fee, deposit, or other charge for participation in an educational activity offered by the school or the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, except as authorized by law and consistent with the California constitution and Hartzell v. Connell (1984) 35 Cal.3d 899. Donations are sought and accepted for various activities and supplies, and are at times critical to the continued success of classes and activities, but donations are always voluntary, and no child will be denied the right to fully and meaningfully participate in any activity because he/she has not donated money or supplies. For more information, go to http://www.smmusd.org.

Jaxx After-School Theater in Back! - Early Bird Registration Ends September 4

MES is teaming up with Jaxx Theater again to help serve the students of Malibu Elementary. Please see the flier link here for all the details on the theme, dates, and next steps for parents.

First Day Packet - Annual Forms to Complete are Now Digital

Beginning August 24, 2023

ACTION NEEDED: Malibu Elementary’s annual registration process is now completed in the Aeries Parent Portal. We have many important documents and plenty of information for your family within the online registration site, accessed via your Aeries Parent Portal. Note: You must complete data confirmation for each student.

Beginning August 24, 2023:

Log in to your aeries parent portal.
Be sure to read, review, and discuss all the materials with your student.
Very Important: We need to gather information from you for emergency contacts. Please add at least two non-parents. While there are many boxes to fill, at minimum include name, relationship, and phone number.
We also need to gather information from you for health documents.

Note: You may decide to print some of the documents for future reference. For a tutorial on how to complete this process, please click here English

Again, MES and SMMUSD have worked to digitize the compliance and document portions of the “First Day Packet.” The Data Confirmation process is easy for you and your student through Aeries Parent Portal in place of our previous process. This includes items like Emergency Cards, Parent Handbooks and Policies and Authorizations. We have many important documents and plenty of information for your family within the online registration site, accessed via your Aeries Parent Portal. Note: You must complete data confirmation for each student. Please be sure to read, review, and discuss all the materials with your student. We also need to gather information from you for emergency contacts and health documents. You may decide to print some of the documents for future reference.

For a tutorial on how to complete this process, please click here English

New Family "Milk and Cookies" Tour

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

2:00 – 3:00pm

We’d like to welcome new families to our MES campus on the day before school starts for a brief orientation. No RSVP is needed. We gather at the front of the school and walk the grounds and learn about the great curriculum and programs at MES.

Safe Student Drop Off and Pick Up Plan

This plan was developed to ensure that students are safe while arriving and leaving school. Please refer to this Traffic Map as you read the information below to help ensure our students are safe. Link to plan.

Class Lists

Class assignments will be emailed Wednesday, August 23rd in the morning. Please help us embrace the new year with enthusiasm and positivity. We want your child’s return to school to be met with joy, curiosity, and wonder. Children look to you for guidance and if they see you are excited about the new school year, they too will feel good about the year to come. We believe deeply in all our teachers here at MES. No changes to class assignments will be made during the first three weeks of school and we prefer not to make changes at all. Read more here.

Minimum Days / 12:45 dismissal

August 24, 2023
August 25, 2023
August 29, 2023
September 5, 2023
November 7, 2023
November 8, 2023
November 9, 2023
May 23, 2024
June 11, 2024
June 12, 2024

Early Release Fridays
Every Friday, beginning August 25th, students are dismissed at 12:45 pm. The remainder of the school day is reserved for teacher and staff development meetings and trainings.

School Breakfast and Lunch - No Charge

Again this school year, there will be no charge for student breakfast or lunch regardless of ecomonic status.

Join the PTA!

The simple act of joining the PTA provides instant financial support for our students! It's also a great way to stay informed about what's happening at school, and connect in meaningful ways with other parents. https://www.malibuelementary.org/membership

Back-to-School Nights

5:00-6:00 pm

Tuesday, August 29th - grades TK-2nd

Tuesday September 5th - grades 3rd- 5th.

These events will be held on campus this year. We will provide further details/schedules as the dates approach.

Malibu Elementary Parent Handbook

This handbook has a wide variety of resources for parents. Link

Coast Cleanup Day at Zuma Lagoon/Westward Beach

8 - Noon

Saturday, September 23rd

Hello Parents of Malibu Elementary,

I am reaching out to see if you would like to volunteer for our local Coastal Cleanup Day. This is one of the biggest volunteer events of the year nationwide. This year, the City of Malibu is the Captain of the Coast Cleanup Day at Zuma Lagoon/Westward Beach on September 23.

Read more here..

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Reposted Articles

Instructional Assistant Needed!

We are looking to hire four more Instructional Aides for the 23-24 school year (Job Duties).

The position is for three (3) hours / five days (5) week position, paid $16.00 - $20.45 Hourly. Ideally the hours are in the morning but we are somewhat flexibible depending on the teacher's schedule.
The Personnel Commission will be scheduling interviews soon. Click here to apply. If anyone may be interested, please have them email me at chertz@smmusd.org. My goal is to fill this position before mid-September.

Instructional Aides are critical to helping teachers run centers, differentiate instruction, prepare supplies, and supervise children at play.

School Supplies

Parents will not have to purchase basic supplies. Office staff have worked with teachers and we have received all the supplies already! Thanks to our PTA, each teacher has additional funds to purchase supplementary supplies. Again, parents do not have to provide basic supplies for their students.

Volunteering at MES / To Be A Cleared Volunteer

Details - click here.

Annual Malibu Chili Cook Off

Details - click here

Family Picnic / Friday, September 1

Details - click here

"Before School Power Hour Program" Begins on Monday, September 11th

This academic support program runs 7:15 - 8 @ Computer Lab. Students will work on DreamBox/Lexia. (Repeats every Monday and Wednesday through May) All students are welcome. Contact Principal Hertz if you have questions. Mr. Hertz is the teacher.