Superintendent's Newsletter
April 22, 2022
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Dear MBUSD Parents and Community,
I hope this letter finds you well. Today’s newsletter spotlights Meadows Elementary, Mira Costa's Beauty and the Beast musical, students celebrating Earth Week, and much more!
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Spotlight on Meadows (with special thanks to Mrs. Debbie Cubillos and Principal Michelle Krzmarzick)
Students have been working hard on completing persuasive writing pieces, developing their math reasoning skills, and preparing for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), the state’s academic testing program. At Meadows, many strategies are used to deepen students’ number sense and explain their thinking, including counting collections, which are groups of materials that can be counted, sorted, or categorized. It is one of the many tools students use to solve real-world problems.
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Students are also learning how to eat healthily by growing their own food. Garden-based education helps children connect to the earth and understand where healthy, nutritious foods come from. Students incorporate 21st-century skills such as curiosity, critical thinking, and even creativity while growing their garden. Meadows students were able to enjoy the fruits of their labor by eating a salad from their first garden harvest! It was a delicious way to celebrate a healthy lifestyle. |
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Earth Week Celebrations
Check out some of the exciting activities and events that took place across our District for 2022 Earth Week!
This year’s theme is “Invest in our Planet.”
Pacific Elementary students learned about composting and how to sort trash through the Waste Management program “Touch a Truck.”
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Students at Grand View committed to a daily Earth Week theme for each day this week . In this picture students were challenged to participate in the Change4Change campaign, bringing their change to donate to the team charity organization of their choice. |
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Students at MBMS spent time writing down their intentions on the steps they can take to help make the earth a cleaner place. |
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Xavier Dargan Recognized as a 2022 Southern California Edison Scholar
Congratulations! Mira Costa Senior Xavier Dargan will receive a $40,000 scholarship to help make his STEM dreams a reality. The Southern California Edison Scholars Program recognizes students who want to be makers of tomorrow.
Xavier also recently received the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship and will attend Brown University next year.
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Staff Member Spotlight
This week, we want to appreciate and acknowledge Sara Williams who is an Occupational Therapist currently working with students at Pacific and MCHS.
She has been a member of the District team for more than nine years and has also served at Grand View, Robinson, and MBMS.
She has a diverse background in Pediatric Occupational Therapy, specializing in child development and sensory processing, and she worked in the medical field prior to coming to MBUSD. She chose a career in education in order to support students in meeting everyday challenges and to help them succeed.
One of her favorite aspects of working for the District is that she loves being a part of a dynamic team of educational professionals who “exude excellence” in all they do.
Sara says her biggest achievement has been building and being part of a team of highly professional and highly successful Occupational Therapists and Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants. She says what makes MBUSD great is the community that continues to be steadfast in developing innovative opportunities to help public school students to reach their highest potential.
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Scholar Quiz Underway at MBMS
The exciting tradition returned this year and had 400 student participants supported by over 225 volunteers who made the event possible! Scholar Quiz kicked off on Monday and will culminate with a campus final next Tuesday, April 26.
Students quickly answered questions based on curriculum, pop culture, and local knowledge.
Here are some highlights from this week:
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Beauty and the Beast Musical Opens Tonight!
You don’t want to miss the amazing Mira Costa High School Drama/Tech Department’s production showcasing our students' talents!
After a 3 year hiatus from live musical theater, MCHS is presenting the full-scale, family-friendly musical Beauty and the Beast in a new and exciting visual presentation. All ages are welcome!
Ticket Prices: Door: $19/ Student/Senior: $13
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Mira Costa Community STEM Night Coming Up
STEM Night will take place on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at the beautiful Mira Costa Athletic Complex, from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
This event involves exciting interactive projects, expert talks, and innovative demonstrations for the whole family and the wider community.
The event is open to students of all ages and their families. STEM exhibits and activities will be hosted by leading companies, colleges, and community organizations as well as Mira Costa clubs and classes.
Activities, demonstrations, master classes, and interviews will span a broad range of diverse topics such as:
Space Exploration
Aerospace Engineering
Sports Technology
Plant and Marine Science
Art & Design Technology
Music and Recording Technologies
Environmental Science
Biotechnology
Virtual/Augmented Reality
Cybersecurity
Health & Wellness Technology
Gaming & Entertainment
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Showcase your Heritage at the 5th Annual MBUSD International Day!
Our international community and MBUSD are hosting another International Day! It will take place on Saturday, May 21, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the MBUSD District Office.
The event coordinators are still looking for country representatives and cultural performers to participate.
At the last event, there were more than 25 different countries represented with over 300 visitors!
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Nominate an MCHS Alum into the Distinguished Hall of Fame
Mira Costa High School Alumni who have distinguished themselves through their contributions in their careers, life endeavors, and the communities and country they serve.
The deadline to apply is May 27!
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MBUSD’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program promotes the joy of learning in a positive and nurturing environment. TK programming creates critical thinkers, effective oral communicators, and life-long learners. The classroom environment includes many opportunities for fine and gross motor activities, oral language development, and social-emotional learning. Our program prioritizes intentional teaching that is hands-on and child-centered, purposeful structured play, and small-group instruction.
All children who will be five years old as of September 1, 2022, are eligible to enroll in Kindergarten, and all children who will be five years old as of February 2, 2023, are eligible to enroll in Transitional Kindergarten.
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Self-Screening Before Coming to Campus
It is a requirement and each individual’s responsibility to self-screen at home every day before coming to campus.
Parents should ask students, and employees should ask themselves, whether they are experiencing any symptoms that could potentially be related to COVID-19. If they have symptoms, they must contact the school (students) or District (employees) to determine whether they should come to campus.
In addition, if a student or an employee has been in close contact with anyone with a confirmed case of COVID-19, they must contact the school (students) or District (employees) to determine whether they should come to campus.
If a student or an employee is positive for COVID-19, they must stay home, follow home isolation guidelines, and contact the school (students) or District (employees) to report the case.
We ask all students, staff members, parents/guardians, and volunteers to continue to monitor themselves and their household members for symptoms of COVID-19 and to stay home and test if any symptoms develop, or if they find out they have been in close contact with anyone positive for COVID-19.
Testing
Testing for students and staff members who are symptomatic or who are identified as close contacts is available through the Beach Cities Health District.
Staff and students can sign up for a test using this registration link. (Students will need their Aeries ID number and the primary parent email address linked to their Aeries profile; employees will need the last 6 digits of their Employee ID number and their mbusd.org email address.) BCHD testing is available Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Additional testing resources can be found here.
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Vote Now for South Bay's Best in the Education Category!
South Bay’s Best Readers’ Choice is back! You can vote from now through May 8 for your favorites across 8 categories.
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Respond to Four MBUSD Questions
I have been asking students, staff, and MBUSD families the four questions below to learn more about our community.
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The next Superintendent Newsletter will be published on Friday, April 29.
Thank you again for your continued support and collaboration as we head into the final stretch of the school year. Manhattan Beach Unified is an exceptional school district, and together we continue to grow and improve every day. I appreciate all of our staff, students, and families for helping keep our community safe and healthy. Have a wonderful weekend!
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John Bowes, Ed.D.
MBUSD Superintendent
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Manhattan Beach Unified School District
325 S. Peck Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.318.7345
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