Following complaints from Malibu parents about the proposed name for the new Malibu elementary school—which combines Juan Cabrillo Elementary School and Point Dume Marine Science School on the latter’s sit— the school district sent out a survey to collect name suggestions.
The original proposed name was Malibu Ocean Elementary School, with a narwhal as a mascot and green and blue as its colors. According to a previous Malibu
Times article, many parents asked to keep the Point Dume school name while taking on the dolphin in Juan Cabrillo’s logo as a way to merge the schools’ identities.
In an email sent to families, current PDMSS-Juan Cabrillo Principal Patricia Cairns and Malibu Pathway Director Isaac Burgess shot down the suggestion.
“Neither Juan Cabrillo nor Point Dume Marine Science School or any combination or derivation thereof shall be permissible or considered,” the email read. Now, the school district is embarking on a last-minute drive to find a suitable name.
The survey, available at bit.ly/MalibuSchoolName, is open until this Sunday, May 19. The next day, the Malibu Naming Task Force will be given the results of the survey. A short list of names will be created by Tuesday, May 21.
From May 22-26, PDMSS and Juan Cabrillo teachers, staff and families will be able to rank the names on the short list “from most liked to least liked.” The email detailed that teachers’ votes would have a heavier say on the names given “their importance to the future of this new school and out of respect to their long tenure before and after this merger.”
The new name will be announced to staff and family on Thursday, May 30.
The school’s newly appointed principal, Chris Hertz, will then facilitate the process of choosing a mascot and colors at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.