Santa spreads spirit

Jeff Benson

It’s not like the big guy in the red suit needed the publicity. But

he’s left the reindeer at the North Pole and gone on tour with a

private helicopter and his own police entourage.

And the holiday party complete with Santa Claus and his wife

landed at Harbor View Elementary School Monday.

“It’s so much fun just to see the helicopter land and take off

again,” Principal Mellissia Christensen said. “It’s too much of a

journey for the reindeer.”

Due to scheduling constraints, Santa only had enough time to hand

out candy canes to the youngsters in kindergarten and first and

second grades.

Dru Vanderburg’s second-grade students were, fortunately, on that

VIP list.

“I thought it was fun and very cool,” said Augie Miller, 8. “But I

saw him last year.”

Vanderburg took her class out to see the holiday couple land on

the school’s field. Many of the students screamed and swooned at one

of their favorite holiday celebrities.

“It’s great,” Vanderburg said. “The kids love seeing him come in.

They truly get so excited.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus flew to five Newport Beach elementary schools

Monday: Harbor View, Lincoln, Anderson, Newport Coast and Harbor Day.

They’ll visit Newport, Eastbluff, Our Lady Queen of Angels and

Newport Heights today.

Rachel Hall, a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer for the

Newport Beach Police, said the department is providing the helicopter

and several officers for each of Santa’s visits.

“We did it for all the schools that wanted him to come,” Hall

said. “This is very positive for the kids, and it brings them the

Christmas spirit.”

Christensen and some students were fooled by another helicopter

that flew by at around 8:40 a.m., when St. Nick was scheduled to

appear.

“What was funny was we were just watching this other helicopter,

and it just kept going by,” Christensen said. “We were all standing

there, cheering and waving. As it turned out, it was some other

helicopter. But Santa didn’t make us wait much longer.”

When Santa and his wife got out, the jolly couple wasted no time

in shaking hands and taking pictures with several classes.

For some students, catching a glimpse of Santa reminded them of

what they should add to their holiday wish lists.

“I want a new toy duck for my bathroom, because I don’t have one,”

said first-grader Claire Robertson, 6.