NHES Newsletter

Welcome to a new year with new opportunities for our students! A few things our students have to look forward to are:

• The Great Kindness Challenge
• Talent Show
• School Play
• 100th Day of School
• Read Across America
• PTA Game Nights
• Math Morning Event
• Family Book Buddies Event
• Spring VIP Lunch Date
• Open House
• School Spirit Week
• Shark PRIDE Student Experiences
• and more!

• Holiday Spirit Week was a blast, thank you to everyone who participated.
• Our Shark Fun Run was a success...shout out to our Foundation, PTA & committee for a fun event!!
• THANK YOU to all the parents, students & families for thinking of our NHES staff during the holiday season! Your generosity & thoughtfulness is appreciated more than words can truly express.

Every year our PTA leads us in our "Hope for the Holidays" Program in which our NHES community comes together to support one another! A special SHARK SHOUT-OUT to all the families that gave AND to our incredible PTA volunteers who made this happen.

For the 2025 season, "Hope for the Holidays" was able to provide Thanksgiving &/or Holiday meals to more than 20 families plus Holiday gifts for more than 50 NHES students and siblings. Thank you to everyone!!

As we begin 2026, our Shark PRIDE focus will be on D for Determined. We can promote determination and perseverance in our students by allowing them to experience failure yet keep trying. Students who learn and display determination now are more likely to grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults. Life is full of challenges and struggles, determination and perseverance is the drive that helps a person get past the hard stuff to get to what they want. Determination is the ability and self control that pushes a person to work through challenges towards a goal and realize that sometimes you’ll do your best but it will still be time to move on to a different goal.

If you are interested in some children’s literature to read with your students, here are some titles related to Determination:

• The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi

• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

• Thank You, Mr. Faulker by Patricia Polacco

• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

• Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

• Just Like Rube Goldberg by Sarah Aronson

• Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands by Tamara Levitt

• The Mighty Dynamo by Keiran Crowley

Check out our monthly calendar for all the happenings at NHES!

Heights Happenings: January 2026

Here at NHES, we love celebrating our community, school spirit & positivity!

T-Shirt Tuesday

Wear positive apparel like a t-shirt with a message of kindness, gratitude, encouragement, or positivity every Tuesday

Spirit Wear Wednesday

Show your Shark PRIDE by wearing NHES spirit wear, school colors (red, blue and/or white), or shark gear

Shark House Friday

Wear your Shark House colored t-shirt on Fridays

Keep an eye out for our Spirit Wear being sold by PTA at Flag Deck!

For all your general school information needs, take a look at our NHES Handbook on our school website. You can find daily schedules, policies about absences & tardies, information about school lunches & breakfast, dress code expectations, and more!

Newport Heights Elementary remains committed to being a student-centered, academically challenging, safe and healthy, and positive place for our Sharks to live and learn each and every day by achieving great heights.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, we will be happy to assist you as best as we can!

School Office - 949-515-6970

Terri Clarke, Principal - tclarke@nmusd.us

Angie Miner, Office Manager - aminer@nmusd.us

Jackie Droste, Office Assistant - jdroste@nmusd.us

Elizabeth Aranda, School Community Facilitator - earanda@nmusd.us

#sharkpride

Go SHARKS,

Terri Clarke

Principal

Email: tclarke@nmusd.us
Website: http://newportheights.nmusd.us/
Location: 300 East 15th Street, Newport Beach, CA, USA
Phone: (949) 515-6970