Hey Westside parents,

Some kids have Monday the 21st off, some don’t, more below. Beach updates and more.

Also, new this week: we're tagging every section so you can skip straight to your district. We've been heavy on LAUSD and so many of you are in SMMUSD or Culver. From here on it's all three, every week. Unfortunately this means that our emails may start getting clipped in your inbox so visit venicerising.com for the full post.

In this issue: ALL DISTRICTS · LAUSD · BEACH · TEEN VOLUNTEER HOURS · HOMESCHOOL · SMMUSD · CULVER · EVENTS

Monday, September 21. LAUSD has an "Unassigned Day," which is district-speak for a random day off. SMMUSD has a Local Holiday the same day - schools and offices both closed. Culver City Unified has a normal school day.

So if you've got one kid at Grand View and one at Lin Howe, you have a logistics problem :(

LAUSD has blocked generative AI on all district-issued devices. About 378,000 students.

If your kid signs into their LAUSD profile on your personal laptop, the filter blocks there too. The problem is that it doesn't do anything if they're signed out on their own device. So they can just log out to use it.

The board's own AI committee found out at the same time everyone else did. Committee chair Kelly Gonez said the block was a surprise. Next meeting is Oct 21 at 10am if you want to show up. Recommendations don't go to the board until next year.

Which means the conversation is happening at your kitchen table, not in a policy doc.

Read more: Your kid isn't scrolling anymore. They're confiding...in ChatGPT.

If you went down to the beach last week and thought "this looks wrong" - you were right.

Marie never made landfall. It sat offshore, got downgraded, and sent a long-range swell anyway. That swell landed on top of king tides and produced 8 to 20 foot waves, plus rain Sept 6-7.

Santa Monica took the local hit. The surf stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, and storm drain runoff carved a channel straight through what was left. Bad enough that the city canceled the entire Ocean Way Festival - pushed it to 2027. Tickets auto-refunded. It's still showing up on some calendars. But it's definitely not happening.

The Pier itself is fine and open. No Westside beach closures, no bike path closures. Venice, Marina del Rey, and Dockweiler came through without confirmed damage - the real destruction was Long Beach, Seal Beach, Malibu, and Laguna.

But the sand is different now, and that matters with kids.

We were down there tonight and it was genuinely weird. Fish everywhere in ankle-deep water. Random drop-offs. And you could walk out what felt like forever without the water hitting your waist.

The surf pulled sand off the beach and parked it offshore in bars. So you get a long flat shelf you can wade way out on, then a sudden trough where the bottom just goes. Those troughs are also where water funnels back out to sea, which is the textbook setup for a rip current. So hold the little ones' hands!

Stingrays

Rays are bottom dwellers that bury themselves in shallow sandy water and count on camouflage - they're docile and they sting when you step on them (LA County Fire). What pulls them in close is exactly what we were standing in: warm, flat, calm water at low tide with almost no surf. Flat sandy beaches get the most stings, and the water's been unusually warm for months because of the marine heat wave.

So do the shuffle. Slide your feet along the bottom instead of picking them up, and keep sliding until you're deep enough to swim. Teach the kids - it takes ten seconds and it actually works.

If someone does get hit, walk to the nearest lifeguard tower. The fix is hot water, 104-113°F, for 30 to 90 minutes until the pain drops. Most stings don't need the ER. The towers handle this constantly, so don't tough it out.

We were at Venice breakwater last week after the storm and it was literally covered in trash. So the timing on this is almost too convenient.

Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday Sept 19, 9am-noon. 42nd year, Heal the Bay runs LA County, 60+ sites. Free, all ages, gloves and bags provided. Register and pick your spot →

Westside sites: Venice (Pier southside, Rose Ave, Tower 19) · Santa Monica (Tower 1550, Bay St/Ink Well, Ocean Park Blvd, Tower 12) · Ginger Rogers Beach · Mother's Beach · Playa del Rey (Dockweiler Youth Center, Tower 54, Toes Beach, Ballona Wetlands) · El Segundo · five Culver City creek sites plus Baldwin Hills Overlook.

If your teen needs service hours, check first - do not just show up and hope someone signs a form. We checked every organizer page. Neither Heal the Bay nor the California Coastal Commission states anywhere that they verify hours.

Friends of Ballona Wetlands is the clear yes. They sign school paperwork - but day-of only, because of volume. Bring the printed form.

Also gives credits: Ballona Creek Renaissance's fall cleanup, Nov 14, 9:30-noon, no registration, just show up.

Miss the 19th? Friends of Ballona runs something almost every other week and signs hours at all of them - Sept 18, Sept 26, Oct 2, Oct 10, Oct 24. Heal the Bay's Nothin' But Sand is third Saturdays, 10-noon, location posted a few weeks out. Or Adopt-a-Beach it on your own schedule - three cleanups in a year gets a certificate, which is a very good scout troop hack.

Turns out you can dip a toe into homeschooling without quitting your kid's school. Peaceful Pals is enrichment, not a school - ages 3.5 to 10, mixed-age, entirely outdoors, Monday through Thursday in Playa Vista and Fridays in Culver City. You pick one, three, or five days.

Read the full breakdown: A new homeschool program in Playa Vista lets you sign up for just one day

Nobody is talking about Parent Project and they should be. Challenging behavior, communication, supervision, school success - the stuff nobody prepares you for. Orientation Wed Sept 23, 6-7pm, then Wednesdays 6:30-9 through Dec 9. English and Spanish groups. Dinner, childcare, and the books are all included. Sign up →

Samohi has an HVAC problem. Supt. Shelton confirmed ongoing issues at Samohi and at least one other school. Full audit underway, temporary cooling units in, two vendors brought in. Written answers to teachers' questions are coming.

Meal applications are due Fri Oct 2. Worth doing even if you think you won't qualify - the funding follows the paperwork.

The district reported a $10M revenue surge, but $6.2M of it is temporary Redevelopment Agency money that runs out in 2028. More budget adjustments are expected as it spends down. On the plus side, the Culver City Education Foundation handed over a $1 million check - a milestone in their 45-year run.

You'll see a school parcel tax on the Nov. 3 ballot - roughly $18M a year for CCUSD, senior exemption included, simple majority to pass. It hasn't been assigned a letter yet. We'll do a plain-language what-it-actually-does breakdown before ballots land.

Monday 9/14

Parenting with Confidence | 11:30am–12:30pm | Mon | 9/14 | Palms-Rancho Park Library. Free workshop with actual tools for parents of 5 to 12 year olds. Free.

Student Zone | 3:30pm–6:30pm | Mon–Thu | 9/14–9/17 | Palms-Rancho Park Library. Free after-school homework room with computers and a human who helps, K-12. Runs four days a week. Free.

Tuesday 9/15

Volunteer Club, grades 6-12 | 3:00pm–5:00pm | Tue | 9/15 | Mar Vista Library. The listing literally says "if you need hours for school." Repeats 9/22. Free.

Toddler Storytime | 12:30pm–1:00pm | Tue | 9/15 | Mar Vista Library. Thirty minutes of songs and wiggles. Free.

Wednesday 9/16

Hojalata: Mexican Tin Art for Teens | 3:00pm–4:00pm | Wed | 9/16 | Julian Dixon Library, Culver City. Hispanic Heritage Month metalwork craft for grades 6-12. Rare thing that's aimed at teens and not toddlers. Free.

DIY Papel Picado | 4:00pm–5:00pm | Wed | 9/16 | Marina del Rey Library. Kids 5-12 cut their own banners. Register first. Free.

D&D Basics: Character Creation | 4:00pm–5:30pm | Wed | 9/16 | Santa Monica Main Library. Your tween builds a first character with actual help. Good entry point if they've been asking. Free.

Thursday 9/17

Locals' Night at the Santa Monica Pier | 3:30pm–9:00pm | Thu | 9/17 | Santa Monica Pier. Punk bands, classic cars, salsa lessons, and Books & Cookies story times at 3:30 and 4:30. Free with a ticket. This is the one to build the week around.

Towels to the Rescue, grades 6-12 | 4:30pm | Thu | 9/17 | Mar Vista Library. Teens sort towels for shelter animals. Easy, low-drama service hours. Free.

Friday 9/18

Dance MDR: Line Dancing Night | doors 6:30pm, dancing 7:00pm | Fri | 9/18 | Burton Chace Park, MdR. Free beginner lesson, then a DJ, right on the water. RSVP. Genuinely fun with elementary kids.

Friday Habitat Restoration | 3:00pm–5:00pm | Fri | 9/18 | Ballona Wetlands, Playa del Rey. Hands in the dirt, and they sign service hours. $5 suggested, register + waiver + safety video first.

Saturday 9/19

Coastal Cleanup Day | 9:00am–12:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | 60+ sites countywide, 15+ on the Westside. Register and your site gets assigned. Under 18 needs a parent-signed waiver. Free.

Culver City Walk & Roll Festival | 10:00am–1:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | Culver City. Learn-to-ride lessons, bike skills courses, free helmets, free tune-ups. If you've got a kid stuck on training wheels, this is the day. Free.

Thai Fest by the Beach | 11:00am–8:00pm | Sat–Sun | 9/19–9/20 | Santa Monica Pier. Thai food, dance, Muay Thai demos, kid activities. Free entry.

Dance with Baila Baila! | 11:00am–12:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | Santa Monica Main Library. Bilingual sing-and-dance show. Toddler catnip. Free.

Mexican Ballet Folklórico | 12:00pm–2:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | Pico Branch Library, Santa Monica. Live folklórico for Hispanic Heritage Month. All ages. Free.

Compost Giveaway | 9:00am–2:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | Santa Monica. Free compost for SM residents. Bring proof of residency and something to put it in.

World's Largest Beach Cleanup | 4:00pm–8:00pm | Sat | 9/19 | Tower 18, Venice Beach, across from the skate park. A record attempt, in the evening, if your morning's already booked. Free.

Sunday 9/20

Birding with Bob | 8:00am–12:00pm | Sun | 9/20 | Del Rey Lagoon. Expert-led bird walk and you can bail whenever the kids are done. $5 suggested, register.

Marina Drum Circle | 1:30pm–2:30pm | Sun | 9/20 | Burton Chace Park, MdR. Free drop-in drumming, drums provided, all ages. Repeats 9/27.