Mission Bay High – Mission Bay Music has several exciting events coming up: MBHS Mambo Orchestra and the Mesa College Jazz Ensemble will be playing a mixture of salsa and big band classics at MBHS Auditorium on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Mission Bay Preservationists will be performing at the House of Blues for Thanksgiving. On Nov. 29-30, The Preservationists and Swing Choir will perform at the Thanksgiving San Diego Jazz Festival. Pacific Beach Middle – Principal’s Coffee will take place at 8 a.m. Nov. 21. Sign in at the front office and meet in the media center. Barnard Mandarin Magnet Elementary – More than 300 members of the Barnard Mandarin Magnet Elementary School community wove their wicked way through 30 interactive writing and literacy booths at the school’s fifth annual Writers Night on Oct. 25. This year’s theme was “Weaving Webs with Wicked Words,” and students, families, teachers, and volunteers were encouraged to arrive in costume to the award-winning event.
Among the many creative writing activities were “It’s a Mad ‘Lib’ House,” where young writers had spooky fun finding verbs, adjectives, and nouns in a “Mad House” to complete a Mad Lib about Barnard; “Cursive Curses,” where students could write their favorite spell or charm in cursive; and, in a nod to the school’s Mandarin immersion program, a booth where children could practice writing Chinese characters in different media, like salt, wax, and play dough. Event attendees also had the opportunity to meet Garfield Kwan, author of Squidtoons: Exploring Ocean Science with Comics, and help him brainstorm, illustrate, and display environmental conservation ideas. “In the Mad Lib House, I had fun choosing all the words by looking at the different toys and videos of verbs,” said Barnard fifth-grader Audrey C. “They even had exclamations like ‘zoinks!’” Writers Night is just one of several family engagement events sponsored by the Barnard PTA throughout the school year. The community is also looking forward to Art Night, Science Night, International Night, talent show, family dance, and Chinese New Year in the months ahead. – For information on Barnard Mandarin Magnet Elementary School or to find out about the District’s School Choice program, visit sandiegounified.org/barnard. The Choice application window for the 2020-2021 school year is open until Nov. 20. Crown Point Junior Music Academy
– CPJMA Music Club performs at the PB Taylor Library on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 11-11:30 a.m.
– CPJMA has been nominated for the California Distinguished School Award, one out of 12 schools nominated in San Diego Unified School District’s 117 elementary schools. Kate Sessions Elementary – During Thanksgiving season, the students at Kate Sessions are learning about giving and gratitude. One of the many ways that they show gratitude on campus is by sending Thankful-Grams to each other the week before Thanksgiving break. This year, they are specifically recognizing their generous teachers and staff who enrich children and the community every day. Students and their families will have the opportunity to send a special message to the teachers and staff members that have made an impact in their lives. 
– In the spirit of gratitude, the Friends of Kate Sessions parent group would like to send a big thank you to three organizations that donated pumpkins for the annual Halloween Carnival. The Commissary on Naval Base San Diego (32nd Street), PB Pumpkin Patch, and Mr. Jack O’ Lanterns Pumpkins in La Jolla collectively donated over 300 pumpkins to the community event. The school is grateful for the generous spirit that from throughout the community. Pacific Beach Elementary – The Pacific Beach Elementary School Garden had several volunteer pumpkin plants sprout in spring 2019, which students moved to straw bales and nurtured for several months. Over 20 pumpkins were harvested and cured in late summer for each classroom to decorate and display at their second annual PBE Halloween Carnival on Oct. 26. FOPBSS
-The next Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary Schools meeting will take place 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Mission Bay High School in the library. Join parents from MBHS and PBMS to learn about Cluster events and volunteer opportunities.  Mission Bay Cluster
Can you host two actors/directors Jan. 12-19? Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) is coming to PBMS the week of Jan. 13-18, and FOPBSS is looking for someone who has an extra bedroom or two in their house to house one or both of them. The only requirement is a clean and private bedroom complete with bedding and access to a bathroom. MCT is an opportunity for any students K-12 in the MBHS Cluster (MBHS, PBMS, Barnard, CPJMA, PBE or Sessions) to participate in the musical production for the week. Contact Laura Daly at [email protected] ASAP if you are interested.