Growing numbers and excitement

Lolita Harper

NEWPORT COAST -- The good thing is there will be a lot more kids to

play with.

The bad thing is there will be longer lines for lunch.

At least that is how 9-year-old Newport Coast Elementary School

student Sami Zaret envisions her upcoming school year.

This fall, nearly 100 new students have enrolled at Newport Coast,

which will start its first full school year on its new campus Tuesday.

The number of students isn’t the only thing growing at Newport-Mesa’s

newest school. Teacher and parent excitement and anticipation is hardly

containable, said Principal Monique Van Zeebroeck.

“Everybody was so relieved when summer came, especially after the year

we had,” PTA President Denise Molnar said. “But now that it’s time to go

back to school, the enthusiasm mounts again.”

Parents and students at Newport Coast -- who were originally scheduled

to start at their new campus last fall -- had to endure numerous

construction postponements, delaying their move-in date to Feb. 26. The

first half of the year, Newport Coast students were housed at Lincoln

Elementary School in Corona del Mar.

“It was hard on the kids to have to pack up all their stuff and say

goodbye to old friends at their other school. But now it’s going to be so

nice that the kids have a school to identify with and call home,” Molnar

said.

Sami said she thinks it is “cool” that she will be a part of the

school’s history.

“I might want to be a teacher there, and when I go back to teach I

will look at my pictures and know that I was one of the first people

there,” Sami said.

Although the school year will begin on more stable footing, there is

still a lot of adjusting to be done on campus, Van Zeebroeck said.

Aside from ensuring all the basic school supplies are available to

students, teachers will be forging ahead with new school goals, she

added.

Meanwhile, staff will focus on deepening and enriching school

programs, such as character education and campus safety.

Unfortunately, with the first day of school only two days away, school

staffing is still an issue.

Long-term substitute teachers will start in a few of the classrooms

because of enrollment issues in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

as a whole, Van Zeebroeck said.

“The subs are still setting up their classrooms as if they were

theirs,” the principal said.