Malibu High School Monday Message: February 15, 2021 Principal's Message
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MALIBU HIGH SCHOOL MONDAY MESSAGE: FEBRUARY 15, 2021 "Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness." - George Washington, 1790 There are no classes President’s Day, Monday, February 15th. The rest of the week’s schedule is as follows: Tuesday, Thursday – Periods 2 / 4 / 6 Wednesday, Friday – Periods 1 / 3 / 5 PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE: Dear Malibu High Families, This week a post is making its way around social media, written by Christine Derengowski. She shared: “I’ve lost a year with my kids battling over school and I’m done. My seven year old and I were in the midst of our usual asynchronous day battle. I had his writing homework in my hand from school. He’d written several full, well-thought-out sentences. But he won’t do the same for me, at least not without a fight. I told him he didn’t have to write about his best day like his teacher asked, he could write about his worst. He could write about whatever he wanted as long as he wrote a few sentences. He said he’d get in trouble. He said he was doing a bad job in first grade. He was on the brink of tears but didn’t know why. And it hit me. Instead of getting frustrated and pushing the assignment, I sat down with him at his desk in his superhero bedroom. I said “you won’t get in trouble and you can’t fail first grade. In fact, you’re kind of a superhero yourself.” He sat up in his chair just a little and looked at me with disbelief. I said, “Do you know that no kids in the history of kids have ever had to do what you’re doing right now? No kids in the history of kids have ever had to do school at home, sitting in their bedroom, watching their teacher on a computer. You and your friends are making history.” A visible weight lifted from his seven year old shoulders, “What does that mean?” I told him it means I haven’t given him nearly enough credit for rolling with the punches. I told him how proud I am of him and his friends. That kids this year are doing the impossible and they’re doing a really great job. I apologized for not saying it sooner and more often. A little tear fell down his cheek. We’ve thanked everyone from healthcare workers to grocery store employees but we haven’t thanked the kids enough for bearing the burden of what we’ve put on their shoulders this year. We’ve said kids are resilient, and they are. But they are the real superheroes in this whole scenario for having ZERO say in their lives but doing their best to adjust every day. We closed his school-issued laptop and spent the rest of the day playing. This was supposed to be temporary and here we are a year later still trying to hold our head above water. This is our home and I won’t turn it into a battle ground anymore over something we can’t control. Something that no longer makes sense. Hug your little superheroes today and don’t forget to cut them the slack we’ve given everyone else.” Whether little kids or big kids, and yes our 14-18 year olds at MHS are kids, they have adjusted day by day, they have shown a resilience not modelled by a lot of adults. I hope I have expressed how proud I am of our students. I am proud of each of our students who under trying circumstances have stayed focus on learning, growing, being of service to others, and working towards their own future goals. I am also proud of our teachers and staff who invest so much into planning, preparing, and caring for our students. I am thankful for our parents and community for their support, patience, and active partnership throughout the last 11 challenging months. The combined efforts of students, staff and families, their contributions, trust, and support all strengthen our strong community and their active involvement helps ensure each student learns, is supported, and nurtured. Students, thank you! You are doing what no student has ever had to do. You are super-heros. Stay together Malibu, Patrick Miller, Principal SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION: VALENTINE GRAMS: Malibu Middle and Malibu High School Choirs continued the annual tradition of singing Valentines Grams. Watch them here: https://www.smmusd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=12&ModuleInstanceID=5549&ViewI D=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=10147&PageID=17 2021-22 PTSA EXECUTIVE BOARD NOMINATIONS: The Malibu Middle & High School PTSA is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2021-22 Executive Board. For any parents who want to get involved with events at our school, please consider becoming part of our PTSA board. This is an exciting time to join the leadership of the PTSA and help us map our ambitious future. If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. You will find a cohesive group of parents who really want to support our school!!! COFFEE WITH COUNSELORS RECORDINGS: Parents, see below the two recordings from our coffee with the counselors last month and this month. • Chat with Tulane University: https://vimeo.com/manage/500568149/general • Chat with UCSB: https://vimeo.com/manage/510800332/general 2021 UNDERTOW SUBMISSIONS: The Journalism class is excited to announce that submissions are open for the 2021 Undertow, Malibu High’s annual literary magazine! Please send your photos, poems, pictures, and short stories to [email protected]. Submit by Friday, February 26, for the best chance to be featured and earn bragging rights as a published author! The Undertow will be available in the Spring. APPLY FOR STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY: SENIORS: It's time for eligible seniors to apply for the State Seal of Biliteracy. The deadline is MARCH 5. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE APPLICATION: SSB Application Form. Students wishing to receive the SSB must demonstrate that they have met the following requirements in the areas of English proficiency and proficiency in a language other than English. • ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: An overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above in English Language Arts classes 9-12 grade. For English Learners, achieve overall Early Advanced or Advanced proficiency level on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) • PROFICIENCY IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH: Pass a foreign language Advanced Placement (AP) examination with a score of 3 or higher or Pass the SAT II Foreign Language Examination with a score of 600 or higher. Another option is to complete a four-year high school course of study in a foreign (world) language with a 3.0 or above. HEALTH SCREENING LINK: We ask that all staff, parents and students coming to campus utilize the health screening link to answer the health screening questions and show the green screen with the current date prior to entering campus. Linked here are the directions for putting the screening link icon on your device and utilizing the link. Please remember: • Do not come to campus if you are not feeling well! • Do not gather on campus. Maintain 6 feet of distance at all times! • Always wear a mask when on campus! ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK: Order your yearbook here: http://yearbooks3.pixami.com/MalibuHS/home3/Bookstore.jsp. Questions? SENIOR FAMILIES - Please go to the following web page for all of your yearbook answers! https://spark.adobe.com/page/HfQRw4dhIIO2q/ SUBSCRIBE TO THE CURRENT NEWSLETTER: Malibu High School’s student newspaper The Current has gone digital! Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter and read articles written by the students, for the students. Use this link to subscribe! AFTER SCHOOL TUTORING: After school math tutoring is available virtually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Here are the links and times: • Mondays: Cindy Smith (Math) 3-4pm • Wednesdays: Brian Corrigan (Math) 3-4pm • Thursdays: Nahla Seikali's (Math) 3-4pm ISSUES WITH CHROMEBOOK?: Parents or students MUST USE THIS LINK and complete the Chromebook Incident Report in order to request Chromebook exchange or repair, and all defective parts must be turned in. If the issue is that the device does not powering on or charge, please follow the troubleshooting directions at this link: bit.ly/SMMDLP. Questions? Please email: [email protected]. THIS WEEK AT MALIBU HIGH: NO SCHOOL: Malibu High School and all SMMUSD schools will be closed Monday, February 15 in observance of President’s Day. As a result, Friday, February 19th will be a periods 1/3/5 day. Students will have periods 1/3/5 on Wednesday and Friday, and periods 2/4/6 on Tuesday and Thursday. HIGH SCHOOL COURSE REGISTRATION: Counselors will be presenting to classes and meeting with students to discuss course requests for the 2021-2022 school year between February 16 and February 26. Students should carefully select classes as program and staffing decisions are made based off of these requests and changes cannot be made at a later date. WINTER INTERIM ASSESSMENTS: Students will be taking interim assessments in their math class and English Class February 16-February 26. Students must use their district Chromebook to take the test. Students should charge their school chromebook and restart their chromebook to ensure all updates are completed prior to these dates. SSID numbers to log-in were emailed to students SMMK12 accounts last week. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING: Our next School Site Council Meeting is Thursday, February 18 at 3:15pm.