Superintendent's Newsletter
March 18, 2022
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Dear MBUSD Parents and Community,
I hope this letter finds you well. Today’s message features a spotlight on Manhattan Beach Preschool, our National Merit Scholar finalists, the updated Facts vs. Rumors page, and much more!
Spotlight on Manhattan Beach Preschool (with special thanks to Ms. Lauren Smith, Ms. Iltze Guerra, Ms. Angie Pellegrino, and Director of Children Services, Kim Johnson)
Recently, students have been learning about farm animals. In class, they read about different farm animals, where they live, and their offspring. Students also have been able to experience hands-on learning by using farm toys to engage in pretend play and act out different farm animals, which are activities that align with the California Department of Education Preschool Learning Foundations Play and Pretend Sequences. To culminate our studies on this Farm Animals theme, we celebrated with Country Western Day. We were able to bring a live petting zoo to campus and played fun outdoor games such as Herd the Sheep, Lasso the Cow, Sack Races, Duck Pond, and more! These various learning experiences also relate to CDE’s Preschool Learning Foundations, which include units on Life Science and Sense of Place. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a successful day!
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Elementary School Gardens Continue to Grow
Out of the classroom, many of our students are learning about the critical importance of our natural world by visiting their own school site garden. Thanks to the Los Angeles County Public Works School Garden Program, teachers and students are working together to grow their own food, exercise, promote healthy eating, and enjoy an opportunity to take classroom learning outside!
At Meadows Elementary, students were able to explore and see how vegetables were planted. At Grand View, the garden layout is still in the works as large plant beds, bags of soil, cultivators, and watering cans have been delivered to the site. Pacific Elementary’s garden was recently cleaned up and prepped, while over at Robinson, students in Ms. Asano’s class have already planted lettuce and are watching it grow. They hope to also create a meditation garden by planting a variety of different plants, including drought-tolerant California native plants. This summer, Pennekamp’s garden will be relocated as part of the school’s construction project, and we look forward to seeing it come to life.
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Seeing our gardens grow across the District was an idea spearheaded by parent Katie David, who worked with the Los Angeles County Public Works to access the grant funding and coordinate the planning and work to get all of these fabulous resources to each school.
Katie says she hopes to see all five elementary schools collaborate through this program.
If you are interested in helping with the garden at your child(ren)’s school, please contact your school site garden chair on the PTA or Katie David.
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National Merit Scholar Finalists Announced
Congratulations to our Mira Costa students who have been named National Merit Scholar Finalists!
We are so proud of you. The finalists are Mia Cho, Xavier Dargan, Caroline Kiely, Joah Lee, Vivian Liu, and Isamar Zhu.
Students entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program in their junior year by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). 7,500 Merit Scholarship winners from the group of more than 15,000 finalists will be selected.
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South Bay Regional Invention Convention
We had four students participate in the recent South Bay Regional Invention Convention hosted by Torrance Unified School District! Students from nine districts showed off their unique ideas and projects that were judged by industry professionals.
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5th grader Gretchen Meyer from Pacific Elementary was selected as a finalist for her idea for a concierge service website! She received an honorable mention as well as an invitation to compete in the state competition. Her fellow 5th grader Chase Mader received a Merit Award for his clip-on wheels project. Inventors were coached by science teacher Connie Liu, who says she is proud of all of her students and their dedication to developing their inventions.
Below are the inventions presented by our talented students who participated!
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Annabel Lin,
Grand View (5th)
Invention:
Plastic Reducing Grocery Carrier
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Chase Mader,
Grand View (5th)
Invention:
The Clip-on Wheels
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Blake Stephenson,
Grand View (5th)
Invention:
Automated Pet Feeder
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Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association Festival
Our students continue to reach for the stars! The String Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Chamber Orchestra from MBMS earned Superior ratings at the recent Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association Festival. Mira Costa Orchestra students performed as well, and both the Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra earned a unanimous superior rating from the festival adjudicators. The distinction is the highest possible recognition!
Thank you to our teachers for supporting our students to excel. Special thanks to Instrumental Music Teacher Denise Haslop for sharing the pictures and video! She teaches four orchestras and three bands at MBMS.
Congratulations! Watch a performance by MBMS students below.
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Mira Costa Students Performing |
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Jewish Cultural Club Visit by MBUSD Administration
I visited Mira Costa High School with members of my Cabinet this week to attend the weekly Jewish Cultural Club meeting. The meeting focused on the history of Purim and was well-attended and an important part of the day for our students we were glad to show our support!
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Los Angeles County Office of Education Features Pacific Elementary Testing Opportunity
Jais tests for COVID-19 every Wednesday at Pacific Elementary School Manhattan Beach. His parents think it's good for him to see if he's negative or positive. Jais says it's important to get tested because if you have COVID you can't go places and if you don't know that you have COVID you can get people sick. The Los Angeles County Office of Education spotlights Jais for caring about himself, his family, and his community.
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Pennekamp Elementary is Now on Instagram!
If you want to learn about all of the great happenings at Pennekamp Elementary, follow the school site’s Instagram by searching “Pennekampelementary”.
It is the latest campus to join this social media platform!
Follow our other school site Instagram accounts:
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Enroll Today! 2022-23 Enrollment Underway
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. Click here for enrollment information.
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As COVID-19 health and safety updates are constantly changing, we want to make sure you have the latest information in a timely manner on multiple platforms.
quick links to important resources, COVID-19 policies, and much more!
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Weekend COVID-19 Testing Clinic Continues Through April 9 at Mira Costa!
Don’t forget we are hosting free testing opportunities every Saturday through April 9. You can drop by between 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Mira Costa High School student parking lot, located at Peck and Artesia.
It is open to the community and is a drive-thru testing opportunity. Pre-registration is required before arriving at Mira Costa. We have had some questions in regards to our extra weekend testing opportunity and want to clarify that it is a one time test ONLY and does not register you for any other testing.
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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. This week I visited Mira Costa High School to hear from students and staff on campus.
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Do you Follow us on Social Media?
Follow our accounts to receive the latest MBUSD information,
updates, news, and events!
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The next Superintendent Newsletter will be published on Friday, March 25.
Thank you for your commitment and support to our MBUSD community. I am proud of the steps we’ve taken to provide our students the in-person, safe and healthy, and high-quality educational experience they deserve.
Sincerely,
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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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