A Message from Tedd
March 10, 2023
WEbster Nation,
March is heatin' up! (sadly, not in regards to the weather) With an outstanding Math Field Day this morning, our Jog-A-Thon next Friday, and the Talent Show and our first annual Exhibition of Student Learning in the weeks that follow, we are energized and excited to spend some quality time as a community focused on student growth and engagement. Pitch in with our PTA, volunteer to lend a hand for these events, or just show up and be a part of supporting our staff and students. It's going to be an amazing three weeks leading up to Spring Break. Can't wait to welcome you all on campus. Please enjoy this week's newsletter.
With gratitude,
Tedd
FOOD TRUCKS
The weekly newsletter supports our K-1 Exhibition advertisers and we wanted to share their print ads with you this week. Come hungry!!
How Bazaar
TK is busy working on our Magical Outdoor Market! As we continue to create our Bazaar, we are designing a variety of artifacts for the upcoming Exhibition of Learning! We wrote signage for 9 kiosks, designed TK Tickets that will allow the audience to visit each stand, created pets and alphabet books for our Book Shop, painted Plaster of Paris vases for our Garden Shop, laughed a bunch while making dangly earrings for our Jewelry Shop, continued squeezing and freezing lemon juice for our Lemonade/Potions Stand, and used brayers to make prints for our Art Gallery! We loved working collaboratively and are beyond excited for the big night! Can't wait to see you all there! - Miss Papale & Miss Kym
Keep On Truckin'
In Kindergarten and First grade we have been busy learning about cultures all over the world. After interviewing family members to learn about our own ancestry, students were put in teams to research and acquire information about a specific country. Working together to promote a collaborative growth mindset, we have learned about the symbols, culture, currency, landmarks, clothing, language, endangered animals, and food that are unique to each country.
Students were able to sample different foods from those countries and you will be able to share in this learning adventure too because we are creating Food Trucks!
This week we learned all about food trucks and have been busy creating business plans, slogans, advertisements, menus, and recipes to promote our food trucks for Webster’s Learning Exhibition. Next week we will get an opportunity to explore a real truck, ask questions, tour the vehicle, and gain valuable insight into how it all works. Family and friends will be able to visit our food trucks where we will be selling an international sampling of delicious treats to celebrate our discoveries. Be on the lookout for more information on where and when to find the food trucks in this week's newsletter.
- Mrs. Murdock, Mrs. Berman, and Mrs. Cooper
Students will be sharing advertisements and coding maps using our new BeeBot robots to help you locate us.
World Creators
We are having fun in the world of Harry Potter! This week we focused on character traits, the traits of the Hogwarts Houses, and doing a close read of the Sorting Hat song's description of each House. Today the kids made a bubble map using adjectives to describe themselves. The Sorting Hat sorted the kids into one of the five tables and they started the hard work of inventing their own House. They shared their thinking maps, looked for adjectives they had in common, and chose four adjectives to represent their new House. Then they worked on choosing a name, an animal, and House colors. Next, I will challenge them to work as a team to write a four-line rhyme like the Sorting Hat's song from the book. The last step of this activity is for them to plan and then create a House banner to hang over their table. - Mrs. Harris
Shoes On First
Room 2 students are working on their Shoe Design Project! We have researched the similarities and differences in the different types of shoes we see in the classroom. Students have explored the ways in which shoes protect our feet and how they have changed throughout history. Groups are working together to identify the bones in our feet and learning how the structure of the shoe matters. We are placing all ideas, wonders, and questions on our BIG WONDERS wall so we can have a live feed showing our progress. Students are currently in the designing stage of the shoe project. They are working together to identify what materials they will need, what colors make sense, and to hammer out the overall design of their shoe. - Ms. Lockwood
Water World
Room 8 is building a WATERPARK! This week the planning began. The theme and name were chosen and each student has a specific job in the planning and production of the waterpark prototype. The "Advertising Agents" are planning ways to advertise the waterpark to get people interested in visiting it. The "Water Resource Specialists" have started discussing where the park should be located so that the local water supply can be used for the park. The "Human Resource Specialists" are researching the jobs that are necessary to fill and help the waterpark run. The "Purchasing Agents" are researching what needs to be purchased for the park, the snack shop, gift shop and towel stand. And, the "Waterpark Designers" have started to develop a map of the park. We are very excited for this project! - Mrs. Stark
Energize Everything
In the 4th grade, we are thinking about energy, force, speed, and motion. We are making connections to systems thinking. We are thinking about big questions such as:
How is your body like a car?
What makes roller coasters go fast?
Could you knockdown a building using only dominoes?
These questions are leading us to the building of amazing chain reaction machines. Next week we will start working in our teams to plan, design, and build our chain reaction machines. We have been studying about how energy transfers from one object to another and about various renewable sources of energy. Each team will be challenged with the task of incorporating certain features and tasks into their design--will they be successful? We shall see!
- Mr. K and Mrs. Morris
Snap, Crackle, and Pop
This week our 5th graders have been hard at work on their cereal projects and are starting to wrap up their second stages. Stage 1 was designed around students using their creativity and cooking skills to create a homemade cereal that appeals to both children and adults. In Stage 2, the kiddos took on the challenge of creating a cereal box design that represented their cereals and the stories behind them. This week we highlighted marketing and design appeal, as the students learned how different companies use different branding techniques to appeal to their target audience. The kiddos even went to local grocery stores to observe different company branding and took on the challenge of unpacking why certain companies used a specific type of branding and for what purpose. A special shout out and a huge thank you to Christian Jacobsen for coming in and showing the kiddos how to incorporate real marketing techniques into their designs! Our kiddos are doing amazing things and we cannot wait to display them on Exhibition Day!! - Ms. Johnson and Mrs. London
4th & 5th Graders Dig In
For the 56 participants in Mr. K's Math Club, today was the culmination of dedication and a boat load of hard work. This year a record number of 4th and 5th grade students signed up to wake up early, meet Mr. K on campus, and get their brains crushed by really high level math problems each week. Math Club has been a Webster tradition for many years and is geared toward stretching our brains, thinking about math in a different way, and building the kind of growth mindsets so essential to difficult problem solving. After loading up on a delicious breakfast hosted by our dedicated parents, students spent the majority of the day today working in teams of 5 and digging into incredibly challenging problems all in the name of MATH!! The egg drop is a highlight of the event as teams attempt to protect their eggs using a set number of straws and length of tape. It is certainly our hope that a love of math grows here at Webster and that students see it as a useful means to communicate ideas and solve problems. Congrats to our incredible Mathletes and huge kuddos to Mr. K for his passion and dedication to our students. Well done, team!! We look forward to cheering you on at the big Math Olympiad on April 22 in Culver City.
MOVING THE MULCH
When Justine, Webster's absolutely amazing gardening teacher, asked if students could help her transport wood chips from her truck to the garden, our Webster Whales were ready to rock! They had a ton of fun throughout the day creating production lines and figuring out awesome ways to work together. TK had a bunch of fun carrying little buckets of mulch right from the truck bed! They even made a video to share the joy. All the garden groups joined in the fun this week.
WE WELCOME AND APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT
There are a lot of things happening in the next few months and the PTA is a massive part of making them happen. Please stay connected, help out where you can, and jump in where it makes sense for you and your family. We appreciate your support and want to do everything we can to be there for our incredible PTA.
JOG-A-THON
ALL STUDENTS MUST REGISTER!
Our 2023 Jog-A-Thon Pledge Site is live! Log in to register your student for the race, collect pledges, and view prizes! You MUST register your student to allow us to order a t-shirt for them! Registration does not require a donation. Just a profile and t-shirt size!
Click here to register: https://pledgestar.com/websterjogathon/
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR JOG-A-THON
Volunteers are needed for this year's Jog-A-Thon on Friday, March 17th! Sign up to help decorate, set up the track, serve snacks, count laps, and more! And don't forget to list your t-shirt size next to your name! Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4ba9ad22a3f85-2023#/
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED FOR TALENT SHOW
We're looking for volunteers to mentor our Student Stage Crew! Check out our signup and considering helping our talented Webster Whales: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4ba9ad22a3f85-talent#/.
Thank you for helping us create these amazing events for our kids! We truly couldn't do it without your support!
The Webster Elementary PTA is officially launching our 2023 Jog-A-Thon Community Sponsorship Campaign, and we invite you to join us! Our annual Jog-A-Thon raises funds for Webster’s art and technology programs, STEAM lab, field trips, specialty classroom supplies, and more. Webster currently serves over 200 students and 45 staff members who reside or work in Malibu.
This year’s Jog-A-Thon will take place on Friday, March 17th. Students aged preschool through 5th grade will be invited to see how many laps they can run as their friends and family cheer from the sidelines. In addition to the pledges collected by our students, sponsorships from organizations like yours will be used to support the programs listed above. Without parent and community donations, Webster PTA would be unable to provide these educational experiences for our students.
We invite you to review the below Jog-A-Thon Community Sponsorship Tiers. We’ll express our gratitude for your participation – through cash donation and/or in-kind goods and services – by highlighting your organization in one or more of the following ways:
- Your logo displayed on our official Jog-A-Thon t-shirt.
- Your organization featured in our PTA newsletter and social media posts and stories.
- Webster window decal for you to publicly display your support of Malibu public schools.
- A fence banner featuring your organization name and logo.
The PTA of John L. Webster School of Malibu is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and your donation may be tax deductible.
For more information or to become a sponsor, email websterptamalibu@gmail.com. Sponsorships can be purchased by check or online by clicking here. If you're a Webster parent with a connection to a local business or organization, please pass along this opportunity to them!
On behalf of all Webster students, staff, and families, Webster PTA values and appreciates your commitment to Malibu public education. Thank you for considering a sponsorship for our 2023 Webster Jog-A-Thon!
Contact:
Jessica Butler-Bell Webster PTA President
A QUICK READ ON THE VALUE OF ACCEPTANCE
Every single day at Webster I wish for a greater level of acceptance from our student body. Kids, however, are pretty egocentric by nature and often need to rely on the examples set by adults in order to learn to be more accepting of themselves and others. Which is why it is even more important that we, the adults in the system, outwardly express a greater tolerance for the needs of others. Just a thought for you this week as I constantly ponder ways to help our community be better to each other each day. Thanks for taking a few moments to read.
FULL SWING
REHEARSALS:
All acts must attend all three rehearsals
Fri, March 10 @1:30pm
Thu, March 16 @3:00pm
Wed, March 22 @3:00pm (mandatory dress rehearsal)
BEHAVIOR:
We know the talent show creates a ton of excitement and a lot of crazy energy. We understand and really love this about the event. However, a lot of people will give of their time and efforts to make this such a special day for us all. Disrespectful, inappropriate, mean, irresponsible, and out of control behavior will simply not be tolerated throughout the process of rehearsals and showtime. You and your act will be given 2 warnings. If the behavior continues, you will not be allowed to perform. We know you can pull it together. You got this!
EVENTS and REMINDERS
5th Grade Poetry Slam!
Monday, March 13
10:30am in Poet's Park
Pepperdine Science Night
Tuesday, March 14
6:00pm (details to come)
Webster Jog-A-Thon
Friday, March 17
8:30am
Webster Talent Show
Auditions: March 6 @ 3:00pm
Rehearsals:
March 10 @ 3:00pm
March 16 @ 3:00pm
March 22 @ 3:00pm (Dress Rehearsal)
The Big Show: Friday, March 24
6:00pm
*More detailed information is on the way!!! We promise :)
Cesar Chavez Day
Monday, March 27
School Closed
Exhibition of Student Learning (DO NOT MISS THIS!)
Thursday, March 30
6:00-7:30pm
(There may also be a daytime visitation...we will let you know)
Spring Break Begins!
Monday, April 3
School resumes Monday, April 17
All School Camp Out
Saturday, April 29
Details to come!
ASTROCAMP (4th Grade)
May 3-5
YOSEMITE (5th Grade)
May 8-12
Update
Webster Information - Week of March 13, 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 After School Programs Academic Year 2022-2023, ENROLL NOW 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).
BGCM Wellness Center is hosting a parent webinar on Tuesday, March 21 @5pm. The webinar will take place via zoom. Space is limited, so please RSVP. We will be discussing the importance of mental and physical self-care for you/your family. Link to register https://bit.ly/ParentingandSelf-Care
BGCM in Partnership with City of Malibu NEW enrichment classes for Spring 2023. Registration is open at malibucity.org/register. Classes are open for registration Basketball, Theater Improv, and Animal Adventures. Dates are April 18-June 8. Students do not have to be BGCM members to register.
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! PSA: Parents! If you've missed any parent workshops, they are available on our website at https://bgcmalibu.org/wellness-center-resources/
Developing character and growth mindsets is invaluable and will be a major focus of ours here at Webster over the years. As we build community here on campus, at home, and across Malibu, we will continue to model the kind of behavior that promotes unity and kindness. In addition, we will notice and value it in each other.