St. Monica Catholic Elementary School

My child is happy and thriving at Muse in ways I never could have imagined prior to her attending this school.Muse is WASC accredited - ECE through 12th grade. Approximately 125 kids. My daughter is learning alongside neurotypical students. She has been embraced by the upper and the lower schools. She has social opportunities at school assemblies, sports, swimming, archery, field trips, movie nights, plays. She enjoys a full range of community activities such as picnics, fundraisers and holiday gatherings. She participates in school spirit week, pajama day, costume contests, and other types of school sponsored activities and events that occur throughout the academic year. She attended the Winter Dance this year and had the time of her life! She has many friends and has attended social activities outside of school like birthday parties, a bar mitzvah, a Taylor Swift-themed party and general hangouts at friends' houses. Last Fall she attended the overnight camping trip to Leo Carrillo with her fellow students. My daughter started a film club that meets on Fridays and currently boasts 17 children in attendance. We live in Santa Monica so it is a bit of a commute for us. The drive to Muse takes 35 minutes via PCH in both directions with a view of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. Currently, my daughter's one-to-one aide picks her up from our home and transports her to and from school each day.Muse is located on 22 acres of forested land with a playground, climbing wall, pool, gardens and hiking trails. My daughter feels calm when she has access to tranquil outdoor spaces. When I visit the school, I am flooded with a sense of calm as well.Muse runs a sustainable kitchen with a fulltime gourmet chef. Chef Robin trains the students to prepare meals from scratch. My daughter loves her cooking classes. She has prepared gnocchi, pasta, pizza, soup, pesto sauce, tomato sauce and ice cream. She participates in seed-to-table where the children are taught to grow and harvest their own food to use in their cooking lessons.The campus is accessed by a locked and monitored gate during school hours with a guard on duty at all times. Unscheduled visitors are not permitted. All guests are monitored by video and a call box, along with a member of the safety & facilities team present for drop-off and pick-up each day. Muse also has surveillance cameras located throughout the property. In today's world, this gives me peace of mind.