Dear MBUSD Parents and Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Today’s issue highlights Pacific Elementary, breaking ground on the Stadium Way Project, and Mira Costa’s Music Series kicking off tonight!

Spotlight on Pacific (Special Thanks to 2nd Grade Teachers Michelle Lautanen, Nancy Lim, Nanci Schnebly, Nina Huckabay, and Principal Amanda Vavao)

At Pacific, 2nd-graders recently celebrated the completion of their Writing Workshop Small Moment "Seed" Stories by toasting one another with glasses of sparkling cider. They celebrated their ability to write long and strong, zoom in on one moment in their lives, and stretch it out across multiple pages, including transitions, dialogue, adjectives, and onomatopoeias.

They also celebrated their excellent editing and revising skills. Currently, students are wrapping up their winter cinquain poems. Cinquains are five lines long, with only a few words on each line, making them easy to write. The first and last lines have just two syllables, while the middle lines have more, so they end up with a diamond-like shape, similar to the poetic form called the diamante. Though they are just five lines long, the best cinquains tell a small story. Instead of just having descriptive words, they may also have an action (something happening), a feeling caused by the action, and a conclusion or ending.

Second graders are also learning to take charge of their reading by practicing various strategies to solve tricky words and paying close attention to how authors engage them as readers in their writing. Students also continue to develop their phonics skills by studying the various long vowel sounds and their spellings. Recently, they learned about homophones and homographs. They are learning and practicing how to identify the main idea in a reading passage and then support it by highlighting evidence from the text. 

Staff Spotlight: Marissa Baker | Office Specialist

This week, we are spotlighting Marissa Baker, who is the Office Specialist for MBUSD’s Educational Services Department. She started this position in July and is new to the District. After completing a credential program to become an elementary teacher, she decided to explore another facet of education by taking on a role at the District Office. “I really enjoy working in education, and I’m glad to still be able to help students and teachers.”

As part of her job, Marissa supports the Educational Services Department in many ways, including working with school site staff and working closely with Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs).



She enjoys supporting staff and students and ensuring their school year runs smoothly. “All my co-workers are wonderful and always willing to help,” said Marissa. 

Marissa shares that she recently got engaged! She has a mini Bernedoodle named Waylon and loves taking Waylon to the dog beach in San Diego with her fiancé. In her free time, she also enjoys going to Disneyland, hiking, drawing, and spending time with her family. 

Stadium Way Project Underway!

We are excited to share that the Stadium Way project at Mira Costa has begun! During the recent Thanksgiving holiday, construction crews kicked off the demolition phase, which was completed this week. The next part of the project will be utility work. 

This project will provide a renovated entry point leading from Peck Avenue to the Athletic Complex. The enhancements include new paving, a central plaza, a new trash enclosure, and a beautiful entryway arch off Peck Avenue. It is scheduled for completion before graduation.

Stadium Way will remain closed until the project is concluded. For now, the entrance to Waller Stadium is at the field level off Peck Avenue at the gate next to the track. This is the final component of our MCHS Athletic Complex project, and we are thrilled to have received State Bond funds that allow us to make this long-discussed concept a reality.

Three Mira Costa Students Receive President’s Volunteer Service Awards for MB Roundhouse Aquarium Volunteer Work

Congratulations to MCHS students Grace Chen, Carolina Hodgeon, and Amy Zhang! In total, they dedicated 328 hours over 12 months volunteering at the Roundhouse Aquarium in Manhattan Beach.

From left to right: Grace Chen, Carolina Hodgeon, and Amy Zhang.

Pictures by MB News

MBEF Providing an Additional $22,284 Grant to Support Climate of Care at MBUSD

We are grateful for MBEF’s continuous support for some of our most vital programs and opportunities benefiting our students. During its recent Board meeting in October, MBEF approved an additional grant to its annual allocation of grants to MBUSD that directly supports developing care and compassion through Historical Literature and Cultural Experience in the amount of $22,284. It was approved as an ongoing grant to ensure its long-term viability. 

The funding is dedicated to building experiences around works of literature to provide both classroom reading education and first-hand learning. This grant includes funding for additional copies of the books Number the Stars (4th Grade) and Maus (8th Grade), which have been part of our students' core curriculum and will cover the costs for all 4th graders to visit the Holocaust Museum and all 8th graders to visit the Museum of Tolerance. The grant funds transportation and tickets for students and chaperones. With this new grant, MBEF support for MBUSD has increased to $6,162,284.

The goal of this grant is to support unique educational experiences for students to develop their identity as compassionate and reflective stewards of inclusion in the world. Last year, MBEF approved a similar grant that was part of the educator grant budget, but with the goal of establishing an annual commitment to this educational experience for all students in 4th and 8th grade, MBEF approved it this year as an ongoing grant.  

MBEF EXPO - Parents Come to School!

This week, MBEF’s inaugural EXPO Week was underway! Every week through mid-January, MBEF is collaborating with school sites to offer families a chance to explore MBEF-funded programs during their child’s class. The highlight for this week was Physical Education! Parents and guardians visited all of our elementary campuses during their student(s) PE class.

In Chase Sramek’s PE class at Pennekamp, students and their parents/guardians actively participated in activities that included rock, paper, scissors with legs, offense and defense techniques, and other partner games. Students also learned about good sportsmanship.

"We all take great pride in our community schools and believe in an environment that invites students to explore, to be challenged, and to experience opportunities that foster a lifelong love of learning. The parent investment in MBEF over the past 40 years – and every year through the Annual Appeal – creates this excellence in education. The MBEF EXPO in our schools gives parents the opportunity to see their investment at work through the impact on students. This has been an objective of the MBEF Board for a long time, and I’m thrilled that our District and elementary school sites were able to make it a reality for families. Parents get to experience what learning in MBUSD is all about!” says MBEF Executive Director, Hilary Mahan.

According to the schedule below, families can attend the EXPO during their child’s regular classroom time, which you can find in your school site PTA newsletter.  

MBEF EXPO Weeks

December 4-8 │ MakerSpace Week

December 11-15 │ Music Week 

January 8-12 │ Library Week

January 15-19 │ Science Lab Week

Thank you to MBEF for their continuous support in making our schools what they are today! PE is one of many programs MBEF supports. MBEF funding ensures qualified physical education instructors are available at every elementary school to teach students in grades 1-5. If you would like to support MBEF, you can donate at mbef.org.

Parents will be required to present their ID and check in at the office as visitors and are not required to adhere to volunteer requirements for this event. 

Check out more photos here.

Highlights from MBMS Orchestra and Band Winter Concerts

Musicians from MBMS’s orchestra and band programs put on their annual magical winter shows this week! Thank you to Directors Denise Haslop and d’Lainey Forrester for their guidance and dedication to fostering our students’ musical excellence! For more pictures, visit here.

Palos Verdes Schools Garden Program Begins at Grand View 

Palos Verdes Schools Garden Program Farmer Clorissa has been making weekly visits to Grand View Elementary to educate and provide hands-on experiences in the school garden. The Grand View PTA sponsored the Palos Verdes Schools Garden program this year for the first time, which allows each grade level to have garden lessons. Students learn about healthy foods in an active outdoor classroom environment to help them make healthy choices, learn responsibility, and see the fruits of their labor. 



Recently, 2nd-graders were excited to learn about fall planting. The lesson began with a discussion and participation with students who discussed variety among fruit and vegetable families. Students learned to utilize their observation skills to identify similarities and differences between fruits and vegetables from the same family. 

After this, students went to their school garden, split into two groups, and rotated through different activities, including the planting and journaling stations. Students planted seasonal seeds in the garden and learned proper seed-planting techniques, while the second round of students participated in planting seedlings. 

During the Journaling Station, 2nd-grade teacher Evon Daughdrill and Green Committee President Chrissie Clay led students to draw and label various fruits and vegetables that were presented to them. After the interactive activities, each lesson is accompanied by a seasonal tasting! This time, they tasted apples, carrots, and parsley.

The program provides students with life skills as they plant, maintain, and harvest the garden. Thank you to the Grand View PTA for providing this opportunity to our students and to Green Committee lead Chrissie Clay for leading this initiative. 

Mira Costa College and Career Center Receives Large Furniture Donation

We are grateful for the generous donation of new furniture from Grover and Meghan Geiselman from Living Spaces. They donated $10,000 of furniture to the Mira Costa College and Career Center.

The donation included two sofas, two large tables, four round tables, twenty chairs, two benches, a coffee table, a media console table, six formal chairs, and green and gold decorations!

MCHS College and Career Counselor Ruthie Robles says, “The donated furniture has made such a difference in how our College & Career Center feels. Many students have expressed that it's so 'collegiate and welcoming.' We're excited to continue providing our Costa students a space to work, come together as peers, and meet with us as their CCC counselors! Even our college representatives who visit us have commented that our space is one of the nicest centers they've seen. We're so grateful to Living Spaces and their generosity!"



Your donation is greatly appreciated.

MCHS Alumnus Maddox Chen’s Documentary Recognized Nationally

In 2023, during his senior year at Mira Costa, Maddox Chen produced and directed Grandpa Cherry Blossom, a documentary exploring Japanese immigrant Francis Uyematsu. There were multiple local screenings, and it was also part of the New Filmmakers Los Angeles Festival and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Since then, the documentary has been screened at festivals across the nation. It was part of the March on Washington Film Festival, where it was runner-up for best student documentary short. 



The film had its final festival at the All-American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF) in New York, where it was nominated for best documentary and featured in the best films of the festival screenings. AAHSFF is considered the largest high school film festival in the country. For the first time, the movie is available to the public on YouTube, and you can watch it here!

This is Maddox’s first year at New York University (NYU), where he is majoring in Film and Television Production. While at Mira Costa, Maddox took four years of Cinematic Arts. 

Tickets Now on Sale for MBMS Drama Play Back to the Top

MBMS Drama is proud to present their upcoming play Back to the Top, a story about two teens as they struggle with their own thoughts, emotions, and insecurities. As doubt, judgment, and ego threaten to undermine their own sense of self, Rian's and Sara's thoughts reveal just how difficult being a teenager can be.

The play is written, produced, and directed by MBMS Drama Director, David Levy. 

Purchase your tickets today to see this one-of-a-kind performance!

The shows take place on December 15, 16, and 17 at the following times: 

December 15 at 7:00 p.m.

December 16 at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m.

December 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $5 online or $10 at the door! We encourage you to purchase tickets in advance.  

Mira Costa Music Concerts Kick-Off

For the first time, the MCHS Music Department is hosting a Mira Costa High School Music Department Winter Concert Concert Series that begins tonight! 

The winter concerts are: 

• MCHS Band on Friday, December 1 
• MCHS Choir on Thursday, December 7
• MCHS Orchestra on Friday, December 15 

The performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Mira Costa’s auditorium. Students and senior citizens are free of charge. You can purchase a combo ticket for all three shows here. 

Click the links below for individual tickets: 

MCHS Band

MCHS Choir

MCHS Orchestra

“Be Our Guest” Program 

In partnership with the City of Manhattan Beach Parks & Rec’s Older Adults program, the “Be Our Guest” program schedule is live! The program invites older adult residents in Manhattan Beach who are 55 years of age or older to attend performances for free at Manhattan Beach Unified schools. 

If you are interested, you will need to sign up and get a special pass at the Joslyn Community Center at the Older Adults Program office.

For the schedule, please visit www.mbusd.org/BeOurGuest. This year, there are thirteen shows that “Be Our Guest” members can attend, including MCHS drama/tech, choir, band, and orchestra programming.

Share Stories with Us! 

Do you have a good news story idea? Share it with us! There are great stories to be told across the District, from stories of accomplishment, perseverance, and noteworthy events to academic excellence unfolding in our classrooms. Please share a story with us so we can share it with our community!



Stories submitted are often shared in our publications, on social media, and with our local media partners.

Stay Updated! Download MBUSD App!



If you haven’t downloaded the MBUSD app, please do so!

You can go to an Apple or Google Play store to download the app by searching Manhattan Beach Unified or MBUSD. Once you download it, you will see a home page asking you to set up the schools you would like access to and announcements from, including the District.



You can toggle between the District and each school site screen from the top of the app. All elementary school sites have the same buttons, while MBMS and Mira Costa’s features cater to our families and students there. The app offers 42 languages from which to choose. You can update your app settings, and you can learn what is happening at the District and school site level every morning by push notifications! 

Join the MBUSD Family!

We are hiring classified and certificated staff. We’re looking for individuals with a passion for helping students discover the joys of learning and creating a safe and engaging educational environment. If you are looking for a meaningful career with excellent benefits, flexibility, and stability, MBUSD is the place for you! 

Click the links below to learn about the variety of MBUSD job openings currently available.

Classified Job Opportunities

Certificated Job Opportunities

The next Superintendent’s Newsletter will be published on December 8. Have a wonderful weekend!



Sincerely,