Getting a fresh start

Deirdre Newman

Dawn Baird’s kindergarten classroom at Newport Coast Elementary

School was hopping with activity Friday, four full days before school

started.

Little chefs crowded the kitchen play station area, cooking up

fake pizza, corn, doughnuts and ice cream. Among them was Lexi

Osterberg, 5, decked out in a blue floral dress for the occasion.

“She was waiting all day to come to school,” said Heidi Moker, a

family friend who brought Lexi to check out her new classroom.

In another kindergarten classroom, parent Jill Kormos sat on a

cushion next to a window and read “The Big Bad Wolf and Li’l Wolf” to

her 5-year-old son, Blake.

“I think it’s really great that kids can come and see their

classrooms prior to the first day,” Kormos said. “I especially think

it will be good for him ... I’m a teacher in Irvine and we don’t do

this.”

This is the second year Principal Monique VanZeeBroeck has hosted

the meet-and-greet for the newest school in the district.

VanZeeBroeck hugged returning students and their parents as she spied

them.

“I do it every year because so many families are moving into the

area,” VanZeeBroeck said. “[It’s great] seeing kids back on campus

because it’s not school unless there are kids here.”

While Newport Coast students and parents got acquainted with their

teachers and classrooms, back-to-school activity was percolating in

all corners of the district.

Upon the Harbor View

Harbor View Elementary School may be opening a week late, but when

it does, there will be some vibrant artwork to draw eyes away from

the construction.

The parent-teacher association hired a muralist to paint various

scenes around the parts of the campus that are finished.

“I’ve been getting a lot of calls from parents who are freaked out

[about the construction],” said Tamie Rus, the association’s chief

financial officer. “We’re doing everything we can, even though it is

under construction, to make it fun, kid-friendly and inviting.”

The first wall that people see at the school has been transformed

into an underwater scene. Another mural features a sports theme. And

a little farther up on the campus is a tableau of lions surrounded by

books.

New in the classroom

When students get to their language arts classes, they will be

greeted by new language arts text books. Every seven years, the state

adopts new textbooks and this year the publisher is the Houghton

Mifflin Co.

This is the last piece of curriculum to be aligned with the state

standards, said Bonnie Swann, director of kindergarten through

sixth-grade curriculum

“It’s the best adoption I’ve seen,” Swann said. “It includes all

the components like language, spelling and phonemic awareness for

teachers.”

The textbooks are also extremely teacher-friendly, with extension

materials for diverse students like challenging activities for gifted

and talented students and materials for second-language learners and

at-risk learners, Swann said.

New faces in the crowd

Three new principals have joined the district: Edward Wong at

Ensign, John Sanders at Paularino and Lauren Medve at Woodland.

Kathryn Hofer, who was the principal of Woodland last year is now

at the helm of the Harper Preschool. Pat Insley who was in charge of

Paularino Elementary is now at College Park. Carol Lang who was

Principal of College Park has taken on the responsibility of the

Beginning Teacher and Support Program for the entire district.

Taking the fizz out

Perhaps the most traumatic change of all is this: The district is

eliminating the sale of carbonated soft drinks from one hour before

school starts to one hour after the end of the school day at its

elementary and middle schools. This is in response to various bills

that have passed in the California Senate.

A Nutrition Advisory Committee met in August and recommends

getting rid of all soda sales at all grade levels to maintain

consistency and make district nutrition education messages more

credible.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.