Dear MBUSD Parents and Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Today’s issue highlights Pennekamp Elementary School, MBMS Yearbook winning a national award, and the latest on the Mira Costa Volleyball teams.

Spotlight on Pennekamp Elementary (Special Thanks to Principal Sharon Witzansky)

As part of MBUSD’s Earth Week celebration, Pennekamp Elementary had the pleasure of welcoming back a very special alumna, Ms. Nancy Schrodes, for an engaging and educational assembly on ocean pollution. Now the Associate Director of Watershed Programs at the environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay, Ms. Schrodes returned to her former school to share the importance of protecting our oceans and marine life.

During the assembly, students learned about local watersheds and how trash and other pollutants are carried by urban runoff through the storm drain system, eventually reaching the ocean. Ms. Schrodes explained how this pollution impacts marine life—through ingestion and entanglement—and how it affects beachgoers, including the importance of waiting three days after a storm before swimming, and swimming at least 100 yards away from a discharging outfall.

Students were also introduced to simple, practical ways they can help protect the ocean, including:

• Refusing, reducing, reusing, and recycling to minimize waste
• Participating in trash cleanups in their communities
• Educating others and raising awareness through art and conversations

The Pennekamp community is grateful to Heal the Bay and Ms. Schrodes for educating and inspiring our young Dragons to take action and make a positive impact on the planet.

Staff Spotlight: Susan Holton | Science Specialist

Susan Holton is a science specialist at Grand View and Pennekamp, and has been educating students in this role for fifteen years. Through engaging, hands-on science lessons, Susan sparks curiosity and excitement in her students, bringing science to life in memorable ways. 

“I absolutely love my job! Teaching exciting hands-on science activities, working with curious students, and getting to know wonderful parent volunteers makes my job very rewarding,” Susan shared.

A Stanford University graduate with a degree in Human Biology, Susan began her teaching career in Compton Unified, where she taught 4th and 5th grade. She continued her journey in education at Redondo Beach Unified for more than four years. Most recently she was selected as Pennekamp’s Teacher of the Year! Congratulations! When asked what is her favorite part about her job, she says, “I love seeing students' curiosity, excitement, and joy for science.”

In her free time, Susan enjoys hiking, visiting national parks, reading, cooking, playing tennis, biking, and baking sourdough bread!

MBUSD Enrollment

Enrollment is open at MBUSD, with Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Kindergarten being offered at all of our elementary schools. For the 2025-26 school year, students who turn four on or before September 1, 2025 will be eligible to enroll in our TK program. Students who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2025 are eligible to enroll in Kindergarten. 

We are also accepting inter-district permits for the next school year. Please visit www.mbusd.org/Enroll for more information.

MBUSD Earth Week

As a proud Green District, MBUSD celebrates Earth Week each year! I continue to be inspired by the dedication of our staff, students, families, and Green Committee school representatives who make this week a meaningful success.

This year, schools planned activities daily around various themes including Transportation Tuesday, Waste-Free Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, Thank the Earth Thursday, and Fossil Fuel-Free Friday to name a few, engaging students and staff in learning about the importance of environmental stewardship.

At Grand View, students made classroom pledges to help the planet, packed trash-free, single-use plastic-free lunches, and practiced sorting lunch waste. They also led the "Change for Change" campaign, collecting spare change to support Heal the Bay. The Green Committee hosted a Green Speaker Series event at Grand View focused on green jobs and career pathways for a sustainable future. Speakers were experts in Environmental Law, Finance, Science, Business, Healthcare, Engineering, and Policy.

At Robinson, the community came together for a campus clean-up and a recycling drive, collecting plastic film from home to promote responsible waste habits. Pacific Elementary welcomed community partner Waste Management for their Touch-A-Truck program, giving students an up-close look at recycling, composting, and landfill practices. 

Pennekamp’s Earth Week highlight was the 5th Grade Ambassadors leading the “Change for Change” campaign. Throughout the week, students and staff also were encouraged to reuse and donate their plastic water bottles, Gatorade caps, cereal boxes, and shoe boxes to Makerspace.

MBMS Students Named Winners in National C-SPAN Documentary Competition

MBMS students David and Danny Unatin won 3rd prize in C-SPAN’s 21st annual documentary competition. Their film, Made In America: A Path to Prosperity and Security, was one of just 150 prize-winning entries selected from nearly 3,500 submissions nationwide. Congratulations to David and Danny on this achievement!

This year, the annual national video documentary competition asked students in grades 6-12 to create a short video documentary to the theme “Your Message to the President: What Issue is Most Important to you or your Community.” The competition encourages students to think critically about issues that affect communities and the nation. Videos were evaluated by a panel of educators and C-SPAN representatives based on the thoughtful examination of the competition’s theme, quality of expression, inclusion of varying sides of the documentary’s topic and effective incorporation of C-SPAN programming. They will be recognized by C-SPAN on May 7.

MBMS Principal Luke Olesiuk Announces Departure at End of School Year

I would like to share that Mr. Olesiuk, Principal of Manhattan Beach Middle School, has announced that he will be resigning at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, with his last day being June 30, 2025. We thank Mr. Olesiuk for his three years of service to MBMS and appreciate his continued commitment and support as we finish out the school year.



Throughout his time at MBMS, Mr. Olesiuk has worked closely with staff to support the development of strong student programs, advance academic achievement, and improve/prioritize the well-being of all students. We are grateful for his dedication and wish him the best as he pursues new opportunities in the field of education.

As we begin our search to identify the next principal for MBMS, we are committed to a thoughtful and inclusive hiring process. Input from staff and parents will be an essential part of our selection process. Once a new principal is selected, that individual will also be involved in hiring a new vice principal to fill the current position opening at MBMS.

Please be assured that MBMS remains on solid footing, with a strong team of educators and staff dedicated to student learning and well-being. We are committed to ensuring a successful conclusion to the current school year and a well-prepared start to the 2025-2026 school year.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

State of the City 2025

You can still RSVP for the Manhattan Beach State of the City event taking place next Tuesday, April 29. I will be one of six speakers, providing an update on MBUSD. I will touch upon enrollment, our commitment to excellence, educational programming, and much more.

The event is free! Please see the flyer below for more information.

MBMS Yearbook Receives National Honor for Second Consecutive Year

Congratulations to the MBMS Yearbook students and staff for earning the National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award from Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks and student-created content. This honor recognizes engaging yearbooks that reflect a broad representation of the student body while helping students to develop 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, and information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy.



The MBMS award-winning yearbook, The Tidal Wave is led by Sydney Weitz and Eve-Anna Chabert Graeff, co-editors in chief, under the direction of Mr. David Levy, MBMS yearbook adviser. The award was presented to the MBMS yearbook program for achieving defined criteria in between one and three of the following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process. We can’t wait to see the yearbook! Thank you to David Levy for sharing this story.

Congratulations to the MCHS Volleyball Teams!

The MCHS Boys Volleyball team are the 2025 Bay League Champions! Mira Costa claimed the title win with an undefeated run in league play, capped off by a three-set sweep over rival Redondo Union. 

Head Coach Greg Snyder shared that Redondo came ready for a battle, with the first set staying tight throughout. After a timeout trailing 19-21, Mira Costa found their rhythm and didn’t look back. The final scores were 25-22, 25-14, 25-13. Players Grayson Bradford and Thatcher Fahlbusch led the offense with 18 and 15 kills, respectively. Wyatt Davis and Alex Heins performed well with Wyatt leading the team with 8 blocks. 

Strong passing from Grayson Bradford and Thatcher Fahlbusch set the stage for setter Andrew Chapin to run a smooth and efficient offense, as the team finished the night hitting at a .427 clip.

We also want to wish the Costa Girls Beach Volleyball team the best of luck as they started competing in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Beach Volleyball championship games. They won their first round game 5-0 and will play on April 29 against Edison High School. The team has won two consecutive CIF-Southern Section championships.

Watch TEDxManhattanBeach Talks by MCHS Students

At this year’s TEDxManhattanBeach event in November, two Mira Costa students took the stage alongside a lineup of distinguished speakers. You can watch their live TED Talk online!

Travis Eichner, a junior at MCHS, captivated the audience with his unique brand of magic and his presentation made connections through magic. Travis is a magician and performs at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He blends classic techniques with innovative tricks to consistently astonish and delight his audiences. Watch his performance below:

Lila Mokhtari, also a junior at Mira Costa, shared a talk about when businesses are a force for good, businesses also win financially. She is the founder of Maji, a soap brand that hides a toy at the center of bar soaps to motivate kids to wash their hands. Maji donates a portion of its proceeds to the Thirst Project, providing children in need with access to clean water. Lila shared her experience as an impact entrepreneur:

Opening Night Tonight! Don’t Miss MCHS Drama/Tech’s Spring Musical BRIGHT STAR

Teaser Video

The award-winning MCHS Drama/Tech show opens tonight, and tickets are still on sale! The production will use set pieces from the original Broadway production. BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s.

When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past—and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives. With beautiful melodies and powerfully moving characters, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tightly in its grasp, BRIGHT STAR is as refreshingly genuine as daringly hopeful.

You can purchase tickets here.

Join the MBEF Team

Due to the retirement of a longtime employee, MBEF is currently looking for a part-time Development Coordinator to support our fundraising efforts and ensuring the effective management of donor records. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, analytical, and tech-savvy to help ensure high standards of quality, consistency, and accuracy across all development records and reports.

This position will provide significant assistance across multiple disciplines, including administration, donor data management, and development, requiring a high level of organization, as well as functional knowledge of various software solutions and technologies. If you are interested in the role, or would like to learn more, please email communications@mbef.org or call 310-303-3342.

The next Superintendent’s Newsletter will be published on May 2. Have a wonderful weekend!



Sincerely, 

Manhattan Beach Unified School District

325 S. Peck Avenue

Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

310.318.7345