Juan Cabrillo, Point Dume Marine Science and Webster elementary schools all strutted their best stuff for this year’s “kindergarten roundup” last month.
By Angelique LaCour / Special to The Malibu Times
The three Malibu public elementary schools each held “kindergarten roundups” at the end of February. The events help families to get a sense of what kindergarten will be like for their children. It’s an important function, because each of the three schools presents something a little different for young students.
Parents like Laura and Manfred Menz admitted they were new to the process as they try to decide which school their daughter, Luella, will attend.
“We have no idea what to look for,” Manfred said, as the family arrived at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School last month. “This is our first child and the first school we are looking at.”
At Cabrillo, parents were shuttled, in golf carts provided by volunteer Doug Randall, up the hill behind the school to one of the highlights of Cabrillo’s educational assets, the Cornucopia Foundation’s Environmental Learning Center.
“We teach environmental education classes to Cabrillo students during school hours,” Debra Bianco, co-founder and president of Cornucopia, said. While Bianco called the foundation “a big plus” for Cabrillo, she said field trips to the foundation are also offered to all area schools.
Joseph Peck teaches up to nine classes a week to Cabrillo students, designing a curriculum with “nature as teacher.” He said an example of that curriculum is “biomimicry,” or the study of the natural world to help solve problems.
“For example, in studying the sounds bats emit to help them find locations, sonar was developed,” Peck said.
On that day, a first-grade class was doing a scavenger hunt of flower and plant patterns and shapes, tying in geometry with the natural world.
It was all about the arts for Nicole Hamre and her husband, who checked out the school with oldest daughter Audrey and younger sister Paulina in tow.
“We heard that Cabrillo has a good art program and a diverse mix of students, which I like because that’s what the world is like,” Nicole Hamre said. “A friend told me that at this school ‘kids get to be kids,’ and I really like that.”
At Point Dume Marine Science Elementary, as its name implies, students are exposed to and experience the importance of environmental stewardship. One of many examples of the school’s marine science focus is that fourth- and fifth-grade students collect water samples and work on a study of runoff issues with the City of Malibu.
Coro and Tom Daniels have decided to send their child to Point Dume due largely to the fact that they live down the street, and Tom attended the school.
“We’re looking for supervision, nurturing and guidance,” Coro said. “I really love the environmental programs here because we live in a marine environment, that’s what our neighborhood is.”
Ethan and Jennifer Van der Ryn brought Noah, who currently attends Point Dume preschool, to the kindergarten roundup, and planned to attend the Webster roundup as well because that is their home school.
“We’re looking for a creative, stimulating learning environment,” Jennifer said.
The Mendez family’s oldest child, Dylan, is in kindergarten at Point Dume and they are planning for Sasha to start kindergarten there this fall.
“We really like the people, the parents here really know how to support the school. We love that kind of involvement,” said Rob Mendez.
Point Dume Principal Rebecca Johnson is completing her first year at the school and her 16th in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
“This is an incredibly special school. We have a wonderful parent volunteer force,” she said. “Our emphasis here at Point Dume is on global citizenship.”
At Webster Elementary, Josie Kletter was attending the roundup with her third child, Jessa, who will join the elder Kletter children at Webster in the fall.
“We moved from Northern California, and this is our first year here,” Kletter said. “I’m really pleased with the sense of community here, and the teachers are great.”
Webster Principal Phil Cott said the most fundamental philosophy of the school is to see every child as a unique individual, and to act on that basis.
“I see learning as a series of experiences instead of lessons,” Cott said. “The students do elaborate projects on a number of subjects like penguins, dinosaurs, ancestors, Native Americans, space and U.S. history through a multidisciplinary approach.”
Cott believes this creates a learning environment within a meaningful context that is “fun, exciting and has a genuine authentic value.”