Malibu Elementary's Word of the Year Is 'Vocabulary' Play

At Malibu Elementary School, the new principal says the word for her campus this year is "vocabulary."

Sally Wennes gave the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board a report on activities at the Point Dume elementary school campus. It's not called Point Dume Marine Sciences school anymore — it's been named Malibu Elementary for several years now. But Wennes says the school still has a special relationship with Malibu marine biology.

"We do take trips over to the tide pools because our kids can just walk over there and we do have parent volunteers who walk with them," Wennes said. "It is well attended. I still am convinced — I just landed in paradise. It's just a wonderful opportunity."

The Malibu Elementary School principal was giving her annual report to the Santa Monica school board, which met last Thursday in Malibu.

Academically speaking, the word there is vocabulary. Building vocabulary is the focus in every subject.

"We are really honing in on taking a look at vocabulary — not only academic vocabulary but domain-specific words and phrases," Wennes said. "So as we're doing reading, writing, math, we're seeing all these words really come through. And we're also seeing the content words in social science, math, PE, marine science, all those things. We're looking at, 'how are you looking at this, how are you seeing these things? Do you understand what's going on?'"

The Malibu Elementary school campus physically had a rough year, with its 65-year-old water system literally falling apart. The campus was torn up as water pipes were replaced. That's been fixed, and the frequent power outages that infuriated parents are a thing of the past.

Principal Wennes says there's a new machine out back of the cafeteria.

"Given that we're in Malibu, so when I look at facilities, I say 'we have a generator.' It's so exciting. It lives in our back parking lot and it's adorable," Wennes said. "We have new waterlines, new sewer lines. It's been a lot of preparing of things, but we feel good about it. We've spent a lot of time and energy and we're feeling the love now, feeling the sense that we are taking care of our school."