Heights Headlines - Newport Mesa Unified School District

Heights Headlines
Week of March 7, 2005
Principal's News
On February 2nd, Newport Heights Elementary School participated in a Coordinated
Compliance Review (CCR). Every four years, the State Department of Education conducts a
CCR in a school district to assure that all mandated programs and regulations are properly
administered.
In between the state CCRs, the District conducts local Coordinated
Compliance Reviews of our schools every three years on a rotational basis. The 2004-2005
school year was the time for our school to have a District CCR. Newport Heights Elementary
School was found to be 100% compliant in all areas! This is a huge statement to be able to
make as there are literally hundreds of areas under review. The CCR visitors noted that our
staff works exceptionally well as a team. They commented that there is excellent evidence
of grade level and school planning at Newport Heights. CONGRATULATIONS to the staff
on a very successful Coordinated Compliance Review!
On February 10th, several teachers from Newport Heights were recognized at the NewportMesa Schools Foundation Grants and Teacher of the Year Dinner. CONGRATULATIONS to
Ms. Amy Hocker, first grade teacher, who was selected as Teacher of the Year from our
school! This high recognition is well deserved and calls attention to the exceptional
qualifications, excellent teaching, and professional contributions Ms. Hocker makes to
Newport Heights!
The following teachers wrote grants that were funded by the Newport-Mesa Schools
Foundation:
Marc Africano, Bob Kelly, Adrienne Urban (6TH) “The Right Tools for the Job!” $3284.
Smart Board and Projector
Tara Anderson (5TH) “Worth 1,000 Words!” $4400. 3 Computers, 3 Digital Cameras
Dawn Baird/Kari Holdner (K) “Adventures Through Reading” $778. Accelerated Reader
Books
John Daffron (3rd) “Accelerate Your Reading” $2504. Accelerated Reader Quizzes
Gabriel Del Real (Resource Teacher) “Take Me to the Library” $4956. Accelerated
Reader Books and Quizzes
Jocelyn Downing (K) “Pedal Power” $1000. 8 New Tricycles
Brian Gibson (PE) “Every Step Counts” $1900. Pedometers
Karl Kimme (5th) “Publishing with Pride” $4683. 2 Computers, 10 Alpha Smart Keyboards
Adrienne Urban (6th) “Reading and Writing to New Heights!” $4869. 4 Computers and a
Laser Printer
Total: $28,374.
Our students will benefit directly because of the extra time and effort these teachers
spent in writing the grant proposals. To have so many teachers selected from the same
school in our District is very exceptional! CONGRATULATIONS!
Kurt Suhr
Principal
Newport Heights
School
300 E 15th St
Newport Beach, Ca
92663
School Line
(949) 515-6970
Attendance Line
(949) 515-6872
Principal line
(949) 515-6870
Office Staff info:
Principal
Kurt Suhr
Admin Assist
Jacque Galitski
School Assist
TOSA
Gabriel Del Real
Nurse
Fran Brock
Health Assistant
Christy King
Counselor
Heidi Quirk
Si Habla Solimente Espanol?
Para interpretacion, llame Terry Torres el numero 548-4363. Muchas Gracias y pase Feliz
Ano Nuevo.
NEWS FROM THE P.T.A. PRESIDENT
I hope you all had a restful President's Recess and you are ready to conquer the month of March. Just when I
thought we (our school) just might have a calm, normal month, I realize we have a full calendar for March. Is this
what they call "the luck of the Irish"?
After school programs will begin it’s 3rd and final session of enrichment classes for students after
school......Don't forget to get out those walking shoes and skip your way to school on March 9........Our PTA meeting
will be March 9 at 6:30pm in the MPR; we will be presenting and electing the officers for the 2005-06 school
year......another Conference Week during the week of March 14........and, SCIENCE, SCIENCE, SCIENCE!!!! The
Science Fair is Thursday, March 24 from 6:30-8pm in the MPR.
Congratulations to all the participants in the Talent Show......not only was the show incredibly directed by Kathy
Escher and Michele Gray, we had a wonderful showing of support from community. I have never seen such
capacity in the MPR.
Many, many thanks to all the parents and volunteers who continue to give the endless hours of support to our
school and community. Newport Heights School rocks!!
Terry Torres
GRANDPARENT’S/SPECIAL PERSON DAY
Save the date: Friday, March 25th at 10:00 a.m. for
Grandparents/Special Person Day. Look for more
information to come soon.
LOST AND FOUND
Items placed in the Lost & Found will soon be
donated to a local charity. Please check it if you are
missing any personal items. The Lost & Found is
located outside the MPR next to the cafeteria.
MARCH P.T.A. MEETING
Mark your calendars for the next PTA meeting to be
held March 9 at 6:30pm in the MPR. Your voices and
input are important to the PTA membership. FREE
childcare is available.
TALENT SHOW
Thank you to everyone who made this years Talent
Show a great success. All the kids did a great job
and the audience seemed to really enjoy them.
Thank you to all the volunteers, we couldn't do it
without you. If you have any pictures, please bring
them to the office to be put in the year book.
Thanks again, Michelle Gray and Kathy Escher
ART FAIR
There will be an Art Fair meeting on Thursday
March 10th, in the MPR right after school. This will
be a brief meeting to sign up for a variety of jobs
(big and small) for this fun family event. If you
can't make this meeting please contact Michelle
gray 722-7218 or Elizabeth Peckenpaugh 642-4640
for more information.
ONE CHILD CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Notice anything different about the Cafeteria menu?
Ground turkey taco’s? Vegetarian Health Sandwich? A
big hand goes to Carly Watson who decided to take
matters into her own hands.
Tired of hearing the kids complain, Carly Watson, a sixth
grader in Mr. Kelly’s class, presented the principal with a
letter/petition signed by all the 6th Graders requesting
changes to the cafeteria menu. Mr. Surh congratulated
Carly for taking the initiative to “get things done” and
forwarded her letter to NMUSD Campus Catering.
On January 6, 2005, Dale Ellis, NMUSD Nutritionist met
with Carly and Mr. Suhr. Together they agreed to implement some of Carly’s ideas for a healthier cafeteria menu.
Ms. Ellis has chosen to test pilot Newport Heights
Elementary School for some nutritional substitutes in the
cafeteria. The Galaxy Cheese pizza has been replaced
with Papa John’s, the Veggie Health Sandwich will be
served more frequently. In addition, a kid-friendly “bar”
where students can serve themselves buffet style will be
introduced to better accommodate the lunch rush hour.
Our school menu currently meets all government-imposed
nutrition and calorific requirements. The new menu will
introduce a few more healthy options to alleviate parent s’
concerns about their children getting the right amount of
nutrition during the day. It’s very exciting that our
Newport Heights is making waves for a future of better
nutrition for our children, and one less headache for
parents.
Congratulations Carly Watson - you are an inspiration - you
made a difference. A huge thanks goes to Dale Ellis and
all the cafeteria staff for their contribution towards a
healthier school day.
SCIENCE FAIR
The Newport Heights 2005 Science Fair is fast
approaching!! There is only one contract due on
March 15th. Science Projects are for grades 4-6.
The Science Fair is set for Thursday, March 24 in
the M.P.R., 6:30-8pm. Mark your calendars to come
and explore the fascinating science experiments the
Newport Heights' students have created. Any questions regarding experiment set up in the M.P.R.,
please call Gabrielle Alexander at 642-2506.
Weekly Publication is provided by the Newport Heights P.T.A. No Duplication of this Publication is permitted without consent from the
P.T.A. All articles are due Tuesday at 12:00 noon for the following week’s publication. Please submit all articles to Carrie Stephens at carriestephens@sbcglobal.net.
Don't forget to buy your tickets to this years event. Kim Miller & Co. will be selling tickets
on campus leading up to the 19th or please mail in your invite indicating that you are going to
attend. You may pay by credit card. Points! Remember it starts early this year at 5:00 pm
with our hosted Boot Hill Bubbly to get things in gear. This is a wonderful event for the
benefit of our school and the students. If you have not been to one of the Galas in the past
then you have missed out on a great night of fun. A lot of effort has been put into this
years event by our Gala committee. Half the fun is seeing all the goodies and how wonderful
the ballroom is decorated differently each year by the committee. Also, where else can you hear one of our own
teachers ( Mr. Daffron) sing in key all night!
See you all at the Heights Corral!
News from the Classrooms
KINDERGARTEN
March is a busy month for Kindergarten. We have
already celebrated Dr. Suess’s birthday and Read
Across America Day by wearing our P.J.’s to school &
cooking Green Eggs and Ham. Our letters this month
are K, Qu, I. We are all looking forward to conferences to discuss all of our K students progress. They
have all worked very hard. St. Patrick’s Day is always
fun, the leprechauns seem to mess up our rooms every
year. We also have a Traveling Naturalist coming to
teach us all about Mammals.
FIRST GRADE
The first grades began the month of March by celebrating Dr. Suess's birthday and National Read
Across America Day on March 2nd. This a great day
to celebrate reading in our pajamas! We will also be
learning about St. Patrick's Day. As spring begins on
March 20 we will be learning about plants and the
changes that spring brings. On March 14th we will
walk to the Environmental Nature Center to learn
about "Ecosystem Extravaganza". In math we will be
learning about strategies to use while adding and subtracting numbers to 20. We will be assessing the
first graders in math and reading for the second
grading period and Parent Conferences.
SECOND GRADE
The children are exited about their Flat Stanleys
returning home. Everyone has shown great improvement with their reading. Keep up the good work!
Please watch your children's folders for conference
times. We are looking forward to seeing all of the
parents!
THIRD GRADE
Everyone had a relaxing vacation but it is also good to
be back. The entire third grade showed tremendous
improvements on the Houghton Mifflin Summative
Language Arts Tests. It is fun and inspiring to see how
much the students grow. The students were excited
about the Olympics. Mr. Barney represented Ireland,
Miss Rosen represented Holland, Mr. Daffron represented Indonesia, and Mr. Richards represented Mexico.
FOURTH GRADE
On March 22nd, 4th grade is taking a field trip to the
San Juan Capistrano Mission. In mid-March we will
begin our third rotation. In our rotations, Mrs. Eastman's students will be learning about the Gold Rush,
Miss Bisceglia's students will be writing and presenting
a book report and Mrs. Dixon's students will be
studying rocks and minerals. We are also very excited
about our family mission building day on Friday, April
1st.
FIFTH GRADE
In fifth grade we are finishing up adding and subtracting fractions and beginning to learn about multiplying
fractions. We have also recently finished a PowerPoint
project on Colonization. We will continues exploring the
birth of our nation and colonization through a variety
of videos and hands-one experiences. Finally, with conferences coming up, we are preparing report cards and
a variety other reports to show growth and set goals
for the last grading period.
SIXTH GRADE
March is a special time for sixth graders. They may not
realize it, but it’s actually the last official parentteacher conference of their educational careers!
Spring is here and before they know it they are off to
junior high! This month we are getting into the heart of
D.A.R.E. We are also exploring the fascinating world of
Ancient China. Our goal is to stay focused and end the
last trimester on top!
March/April
2005
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
6
7 After school
programs end,
Session II
8
9 P.T.A meeting
9:30am , MPR
10
11
12
13
14 Conference
week Minimum
day
Science
Contract #4
due
21 Session III
After School
Programs begin
Science
Projects Due
28
15 Conference
week Minimum
day
16 No School
17 Conference
week Minimum
day
18 Conference
week Minimum
day
19
22 Science
Lunch Lab
23
24 Science Fair
MPR 6:00pm
grades 4-6
25
26
29
30
31
1
2
4 Spring Recess
No School
5 Spring Recess
No School
6 Spring Recess
No School
7 Spring Recess
No School
8 Spring Recess
No School
9
20
27
3
Newport Height’s PTA
PRESIDENT
TERRY TORRES Torresland@aol.com
949-548-4363 / 949-280-8025
READING & WRITING
JULIE CLAYTON waterproof@sbcglobal.net
949-574-2082
HISTORIAN
DANA COOK dcook01@sbcglobal.net
949-722-6676
WAYS & MEANS
KRIS HIGMAN Higman@pacbell.net
949-646-7162
BETH ZEHNDER Zehnders@earthlink.net
949-645-4662
ARTS
MICHELLE GRAY Michgray@pacbell.net
949-722-7218
DANA COOK dcook01@sbcglobal.net
949-722-6676
PARLIAMENTARIAN
DENISE CHANDLER
MEMBERSHIP
KATHY SHAW KathyAShaw@yahoo.com
949-642-6845
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS
GAIL STANDT Standt@adelphia.net
949-722-7019
PROGRAMS
WENDY THOMPSON WWThompson@adelphia.net
949-631-7783
DONNA WHELAN dwhelan@attbi.com
949-645-0733
TREASURER
TERRI SHEA Terris@net-star.net
949-631-5591
HOSPITALITY
KATHY SHARP KLSharpie@aol.com
949-645-9029
KIM MILLER Iflyalaska@adelphia.net
949-646-6466
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
JULIE CONWAY dxconway@pacbell.net
949-631-4868
denise_chandler@jeffersonwells.com
949-548-5443
n At:
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newportheightssch
Auditor
Masako Popick masako@sbcglobal.net
949-722-8176
COMMUNICATIONS
CARRIE STEPHENS carriestephens@sbcglobal.net
949-645-7421
RECORDING SECRETARY
MELISSA ARNOLD MagooinNB@aol.com
949-645-3287
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
GABRIELLE ALEXANDER urocmom@yahoo.com
949-642-2567
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
AMY HOCKER Ahocker@nmusd.k12.ca.us
949-515-6970
every child. one voice.