WESTSIDE GOLDEN AGER SERIES 2023
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Embracing the Golden Age: Rediscover Joy, Wisdom, and Adventure in West LA!
Where is the Series Distributed?
Get in Front of Over 250,000 West LA Residents!
The Guide is Distributed in BOTH Print and Digital to the following communities; Santa Monica, Paci c Palisades, Brentwood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Culver City, Century City, Westwood, Bel-Air, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles via 7 West LA Media Outlets.
As a new school year begins, we want to extend our warmest wishes to all local students, families, teachers, and staff. May this year be filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences both in and out of the classroom.
75,000 Email Subscribers
70,000 Print Circulation across 4 publications
180,000+ Unique Web Visitors Every Month across our Digital Network
Here’s to a successful and inspiring 2025–2026 school year for our entire community!
— Mirror Media Group Team
Reaching Over 500,000 people in the West LA area over a 6 week campaign across 7 local West LA outlets
St. Matthew’s Unwavering Commitment to Academic Excellence
When unexpected challenges arise, true educational excellence reveals itself not in brick and mortar, but in the dedication of teachers, the resilience of students, and the strength of community. For St. Matthew’s Parish School, an independent Episcopal day school for preschool through 8th grade students in Pacific Palisades, this has never been more true than in the months following the Palisades fire.
St. Matthew’s believes real excellence happens through rich, immersive lived experiences, and exciting, creative learning opportunities, which they deliver across their three divisions. Though students have been learning at temporary campuses in Santa Monica since January, the School’s quality of education remains undiminished. While diligently planning for its fall 2026 return to its home campus in Pacific Palisades, St. Matthew’s has invested in its temporary Santa Monica home, shaping the Water Garden to a lively, collaborative, creative environment that honors the 75-year-old school’s culture of academic, spiritual and character growth.
Early Childhood students experience a play-based curriculum that fosters curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking — truly a “whole child” approach. An emphasis on early literacy stands out.
“All of our early childhood educators are
LETRS-certified and trained in Heggerty phonemic awareness, leading to remarkable student growth in literacy benchmarks. Classrooms are joyful, nurturing a lifelong love of learning,” says Kristin Sigala, Director of Early Childhood & Little Falcons, the school’s 2-year olds program.
The Lower School balances academic challenge with play, creativity, and character building. This program places strong emphasis on foundational academic skills as well as arts, movement, technology, and learning through service to others. A key strength of the program is its commitment to inquiry and developing multiple pathways to solve problems.
Adding to their momentum, the School plans to launch a comprehensive Spanish language program across all grade levels.
“Subject areas are connected through essential questions, and explicit evidencebacked instruction in core academic skills gives students the necessary foundation to express their creative problem solving and critical thinking,” Maya Kelly, Lower School Principal says.
The Middle School provides a positive school culture and engaging, relevant curriculum.
“Choice-based assignments and studentled projects empower students to pursue their interests, while inquiry-based learning
drives instruction across all subjects.
The school’s positive culture is sustained through clubs, extracurriculars, advisory, and service programs, fostering belonging and pride,” says Marisa Soulios, Middle School Principal.
St. Matthew’s teachers use proven systems to ensure responsive, individualized support for every student, matriculating them to top secondary schools across the country.
While the Palisades Fire affected nearly half of the school’s home campus in Pacific Palisades, St. Matthew’s students were reunited with their teachers the following week for traditional chapel gatherings, field trips, and outdoor activities, and learning full-time in classrooms in just 18 days,
a welcome return to joyful learning for students and faculty alike.
“St. Matthew’s true foundation isn’t found in any single location, but in our shared commitment to academic excellence, spiritual development, and character formation. The past eight months have only reinforced what we already know; exceptional education happens wherever passionate educators meet eager learners, supported by a community united in purpose,” says Head of School, Alley Michaelson.
St. Matthew’s is currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 school year. To learn more about the school, attend an open house, or apply, go to www. stmatthewsschool.com.
LA’s premiere afterschool children’s musical theater program is offering a fantastic selection of Broadway & TV Musicals near YOU!
With studio locations in Santa Monica, Brentwood, Venice, Westwood, & West LA, The ADDERLEY SCHOOL is bringing our 35 year history of empowering kids & spreading joy right to your doorstep! K-Pop, Wicked, Zombies, Frozen, and more!
Give your child a gift that will fortify them for a lifetime…
Accepting enrollments through Sept. 19th
School of Rock: Book Your Back to School Session
Excitement at School of Rock West LA and Venice is growing ahead of the 2026-27 back to school season.
Starting in September, School of Rock’s prolific song-first approach programming is going back to rock after its short summer season — a time where parents and students are filling up the schedule books and planning for the school year.
The summer season concluded on Aug. 24 with an end-of-season performance, a show that School of Rock students diligently practice for as the highlight of each season.
This fall, School of Rock West LA and Venice open new class times and opportunities as the back to school rush unfolds. Sooner than later, students of all ages will be rockin’ and rollin’ into the next season.
“From diapers to diapers, there’s a program and music for everyone!” said General Manager Justin Salmons.
Through School of Rock’s patented method, musical proficiency is built by integrating thrilling stage performance and song-based learning. Music theory, technique, stage presence and confidence abound as they progress into higher levels of the program.
Impact and enrichment are at the height of School of Rock’s programming as teachers and educators within the school share their lifelong love for music with young learners.
Little Wing
This entry-level group music program features
special curriculum design for children ages 4-5. Little Wing students have a weekly group lesson in which they use classic rock songs to learn about rhythm, song structure, melody, dynamics and foundational music skills.
Rookies
Designed for kids ages 6-7 with no previous musical experience, students have one weekly group lesson featuring fundamentals like chords, rhythm and song structure. Rookies also learn and experiment with instruments, so they are able to decide which one they want to continue pursuing in Rock 101.
Rock 101
Kids ages 8-13 have a weekly group rehearsal learning classic rock songs that have been arranged and simplified specifically for beginning musicians. Young musicians learn the fundamentals of their instrument and playing with a band in a positive and fun atmosphere.
“Rock 101, Little Wing and Rookies are ongoing classes with constant exposure to music. The best thing about our program is kids are going home after every rehearsal or practice and wanting to keep honing their skills,” Salmons said.
Performance
Performance consists of a weekly group rehearsal where students work with a band composed of their peers to play through rock music’s most iconic songs. Students are assigned songs and parts tailored to their age, experience and opportunity to learn new skills and concepts.
This season, School of Rock West LA performance students are hitting the ground running with a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath — something that was planned before his death on July 22, 2025, Salmons said. In additions to the tribute, students will dive into 21st century Indie rock, 90s alternative and The Who.
At School of Rock Venice, performance students will learn Devo vs. Talking Heads, modern metal, music of the DIY Riot Girl scene, Bikini Kill and Abby Road.
“Kids rank their choices, and we place them into their selected bands and shows based on their choices and what we think is going to help them improve their music ability,” Salmons said. “We look forward to the end of season showcase –everything they learn throughout the season leads up to this moment.”
To learn more about School of Rock or activate your free trial, visit Venice.SchoolofRock.com or WestLA.SchoolofRock.com.
The Willows School Celebrates 10 Years of RULER
An acclaimed educational program, thriving professional development program, lauded speaker series and inclusion and outreach across Los Angeles defines the innovation and tradition behind The Willows Community School.
This year, The Willows is celebrating the helm of its balanced progressive education and commitment to social emotional learning with its celebration of its decadelong adoption of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence RULER approach, developed by Marc Brackett, Ph.D.
RULER is an acronym, representing the five skills of emotional intelligence: Recognizing emotions in oneself and others; Understanding the cases and consequences of emotions; Labeling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary; Expressing emotions in accordance with cultural normal and social context; and Regulating emotions with helpful strategies.
“Character and heart are essential to The Willows’ definition as a place ‘where great minds grow.’ Emotional intelligence, the ability to manage one’s own emotions and perceive the emotions of others, is vital to academic and classroom performance, health, and success and viewed as paramount at The Willows,” said Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School.
Having always committed to social emotional learning and the whole child since its founding over 30 years ago, The Willows school adopted the RULER approach as a universal language for its students 10 years ago — something “we could all learn as a community. Its focus on regulation and regulation strategies resonated with us,” Rosenstein said.
“When a child is emotionally blocked or having a hard time, learning becomes imperative. But if you’re anxious, fearful or distracted, you can’t focus on learning. RULER helps children identify how they might be feeling, and it lets them develop different strategies to allow them to learn and better understands themselves,” Rosenstein said.
In the context of teaching RULER, strategies vary among different subjects such as literature, arts, mathematics,
media literacy or social studies. As more teachers within the school are trained to use RULER, classroom discussions are becoming deeper, and teachers are working better together. Many are becoming trained to present RULER, sharing their approach with other educators and a community of schools that could benefit from using the approach.
“Community is an intentional part of our name, and this is one of the ways we reflect that culture by forwarding the impact of social emotional learning through RULERwith students, faculty, schools, and families,” Rosenstein said. “RULER allows the school to use the fundamentals of the approach in a way that works for the school. You might see it implemented differently in a more traditional school; every school can use it.”
The Willows’ focus on social emotional learning, and the RULER approach helps prepare students to become adults who value empathy, make sound decisions and practice ethical behavior.
“Young students are learning strategies to understand and control themselves while working toward a deeper understanding of the world we live in,” Rosenstein said.
As the school celebrates 10 years of RULER, The Willows finds this approach to be synchronized with its mission to foster capable and confident individuals who demonstrate character, engagement and a joyful passion for creative inquiry across a lifetime. While the school’s progressive curriculum is rooted in engaging learning experiences, The Willows believes that emotions matter and being able to recognize, express and regulate one’s emotions is essential for social-emotional development and academics.
To learn more about The Willows Community School, visit TheWillows.org.
