PBL Weekly Blast

Monday, June 8th - 10:35 - 11:29am

11th grade Presentations of Learning (POLs)

Tuesday, June 9th - 8:30 - 10:30am. and 11:14 -1:14pm

9th and 10th grade Presentations of Learning (POLs)

Wednesday, June 10th - Graduation

Thursday, June 11th - PBL Community Beach Day

Parents/Guardians -

We invite parents and caregivers to join us as panel members for our upcoming Presentations of Learning. POLs are a meaningful and authentic opportunity for students to share their thinking, growth, and real-world work. As a panel member, you will listen to student presentations, ask thoughtful questions, and offer constructive feedback. Each student is scheduled for a 20 minute time slot. We hope that your child shared their POL date and time with you via email or through discussion.

If you are available and plan to attend, an RSVP is required to be permitted onto the Samohi campus.

At the student's internship site, advisors, parents, and a few students were able to drive around town for LTI POLs. LTI interns were provided an opportunity to share with their advisor (and a few fellow students) what they do at their internship and to reflect on what they have learned.

Rebecca, parent of Mimi said: "Having a chance to visit Mimi's internship site and meet her mentor, and then listening to her give a teacher, two students, and me a brief tour while seamlessly and skillfully sharing key activities and learning from her experience, was engaging, dynamic, and rewarding."

PBL sophomore Sage S. giving her presentation of learning on-site at her internship at Still Life Studio.

Annette at WUUM, women's health clinic.

Micah L and mentor at McKinley Elementary in the heritage garden Micah helped bring to life.

Vera B at Grant Elementary where she interns with Mrs. Smith in the 4th grade.

Gretchen (and her father) outside La Brea Tar Pits where she volunteers.

"I listened in to a few student groups explaining their design choices to the professional architects, who seemed engrossed and impressed! The students I listened to discussed their chosen park themes with reference to research-based analysis of user experiences (such as the importance of immersive, imagination-inspiring environments) and to the physics of swing designs to ensure that "worst case scenario would be a broken collar bone." 🙂 Their models and poster displays demonstrated the alchemical mixture of convergent and divergent thinking that I absolutely love about this particular project. " -Sarah Rodriguez

Instructional Coach, SAMO/PBL

And the Advisory that prevailed...

Bailey's 9th grade Advisory!

won overall.

The results for individual games are:

Jeopardy: Bailey's Advisory, 9th grade

Debate: Sara's Advisory, 11th grade

Race: Bailey's Advisory, 9th grade

Frisbee: John's Advisory, 10th grade

On Friday, PBL students, teachers, and guests attended the premiere screening of Dear Hamlet, a short film project by John’s senior Voices in World Literature class along with filmmaking and performance talents from both PBL sophomores and juniors. The film, a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as seen through Ophelia’s eyes, was very well received, and the following Q&A with our student filmmakers was in-depth, spirited, and rather enlightening. Coming soon to a YouTube channel near you…

(L to R) screenwriters Micah Roback, Maggie Martinez, Jack Hagen, director Ryan Meyer, actors Micah Lotan & Annette Nadeau.

Thank you to Greg and Britt for graciously opening their home to host our Parent Gathering for both returning and incoming PBL families. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, build community, and welcome new members into the program. The energy, enthusiasm, and excitement for the upcoming school year was palpable! Special Shout our to Vera and Annette, our rising seniors, for sharing their experience in the program.

Don't miss out on future Parent events and info, add your name to the

Parent Directory for the 2026-27 school year.

Hi PBL community! I am Juliet Herman, an 11th grader in the program and I am beyond excited to announce the publishing of the first ever edition of The Lampshade: an Annual Anthology.

For the last 6 months our student-staff of 11 PBL students—from all grade levels—have been working tremendously hard to put together a collection of the best literature and artwork from PBL students for our community to enjoy! This week we are printing our final copies and will have several available for viewing throughout the various PBL classrooms.

We will also have some additional copies for sale to any who are interested, however, there will be a limited number so it is first come first serve. If you are interested in grabbing a limited edition copy please email me at julietherman10@icloud.com or have your student email me at jmh3@smmk12.org. The cost is $10.

Thank you to my entire staff for all your hard work! I cannot wait for our community to see the amazing final product!

Summer School Dates:

• Credit Recovery and Get Ahead: June 22 to July 24, 2026

No Summer School: Friday, July 3, 2026 - 4th of July Holiday

Daily Schedule:

Period 1: 8:30AM - 10:30AM
Nutrition: 10:30AM - 10:40AM
Period 2: 10:45AM - 12:45PM

If your child earned an Fail or a D in a core subject that is required to graduate: (English, Math, Science, Social Science), Nicole will assign summer school. You will receive a notification from Samohi on Monday, June 15th.

On the morning of Monday, June 8th, we will celebrate our seniors by holding a class breakfast. During this time, students will also be called alphabetically to get their caps, gowns, and graduation tickets. We definitely need parent volunteers to help! Please sign up here: Sign Up Genius. Thank you!

Elementary School Visits/Clapout - The SAMOHI time-honored tradition, the elementary school clapout, will be held on Monday, June 8th in the afternoon. Please see here for more detailed information and contact Ms. Chapman (achapman@smmusd.org) for more information.

Graduation is June 10th 5:30 pm. Seniors report at 4:40 pm.

As a reminder, all students will receive THREE complimentary (free) graduation tickets the week before graduation. In addition to this, all families may purchase extra graduation tickets through the website until May.

Note that you must add your senior student to your account to see the option to purchase tickets.

Grad Nite is an all-night party (9:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.) to celebrate graduation with your friends!

The tennis courts are transformed into a cruise ship and the evening includes a DJ, dancing, carnival and casino games, food, lots of prizes and much more! It’s an all-night, all-inclusive extravaganza! More than 90% of the senior class attends. Don't miss the boat!

Click here to buy discounted tickets.

• Grad Nite Scholarships are still available. Visit your house office or Mrs. Orgill is D104 if you need a scholarship form. The deadline for scholarships is May 22nd.

Donate to Samohi Grad Nite

Check to see if you're on the 2026 passenger list.

More to come as we will have a special edition Blast...

To report a student’s absence, please send an email to:

AttendancePBL@smmusd.org

or call Crystal Griffis at 310.395.3204 ext. 71-177

Please include your student’s first and last names, student ID numbers, and the reason they are absent (illness, family matter, medical or dental appointment, etc.).

• Questions about attendance procedures, please go to our website:

Attendance/Tardy Recovery

As a reminder, if your student is not feeling well, they should visit the Health Office to be evaluated. If a student is sent home due to illness by the Health Office, the absence will be marked as excused. If a student contacts you directly to be picked up without first visiting the Health Office, please encourage them to follow the process and visit the Health Office.

Super Saturday is an opportunity for students to sign up and attend school Saturday mornings to help clear their absences. Students are expected to bring homework and Chromebook to complete their necessary assignments and/or study for classes. SIGN UP LINK