Principal's Message
Welcome to Mar Vista Elementary School for Advanced Studies!
At Mar Vista, we believe in educating the whole child to support each child’s intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth and development by providing learning opportunities that are child-centered, age-appropriate, engaging, differentiated, and hands-on.
Our school staff and community strive to provide the highest quality curriculum and instruction, exciting arts and enrichment programs, and optimal learning environment for all our students. Listed below are some of the excellent programs we offer throughout the school year:
- Music and Chorus
- Visual Arts
- Dance or Theater
- Science Lab
- Computer Lab by Planet Bravo offers coding, engineering, photography, and so much more
- Technology Integration
- Spirit Series – history comes to life through literature, drama, and character building
- Enrichment PE – physical exercises, team sports, and sportsmanship
- Growing Great – nutrition and gardening
- Wonder of Reading Library
- Calm Classroom by UCLA Cares Program – mindfulness exercises to support mental and emotional well-being
- Community and Restorative Practices Circles – social-emotional learning and support, along with conflict resolution strategies
- Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) Mathematics in partnership with UCLA Mathematics Project – approach to teaching and learning mathematics by building on what children already know and extending their mathematical ideas, solving problems using real-world contexts and multiple strategies, attending to student thinking, and helping children to build deeper levels of conceptual understanding which progresses to abstract representations.
- Science of Reading and Balanced Literacy – approach to teaching and learning foundational literacy skills through structured literacy. In addition to explicit and systematic techniques and lessons, students are provided opportunities for choice, authenticity, independence, process, and time. Our goal is for our students to develop the skills and strategies necessary to be fluent and confident readers and writers who display agency and independence.
- After school programs (through STAR) offering a variety of classes like band, theater, dance, visual arts, sports, cooking, foreign language, and so much more!
Mar Vista is a model community school where parents collaborate with the school staff to ensure that our children have optimal opportunities and experiences during their formative elementary years.
Our curriculum and enrichment programs are taught by exceptional and highly qualified educators. We are supported by the generous donations of our parents and community members, who volunteer numerous hours, serve on various committees, lend their expertise and talents, and support our school in numerous ways (too many to count). This meaningful collaboration of stakeholders creates an outstanding academic and school climate, making Mar Vista the place to be!
