NHES Newsletter

• Congrats to our 6th graders who participated in Walk Through the Ancient Civilizations last week! And thank you to our PTA for funding this fun experience for our students.

• Congrats to the Shark House winners: Hammerhead Sharks!

We are looking for engaged parents who are interested in representing NHES!

If you or someone you know is interested in being a parent representative for our NHES School Site Council OR NMUSD's Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council, please email Principal Clarke: tclarke@nmusd.us

NMUSD schools will participate in The Great CA Shakeout on Thursday, October 16th. This is an opportunity to prepare our students and staff in the event of an earthquake. Teachers will be communicating with and preparing our students for this yearly drill. NHES will hold an earthquake drill, including an evacuation to the field/blacktop, on Thursday morning. This is also a great opportunity to talk to your students about how to prepare for an earthquake at home and in the community.

Each year, conferences are held at the conclusion of the first trimester. During conference week this year, students are released early each day. This gives teachers and parents the opportunity to meet and discuss the report card, assessments, and to set individual goals for students.

NEXT WEEK is our first trimester parent/teacher conferences and report cards. Conferences are an extremely important part of your student’s educational experience as it provides you an opportunity to meet directly with the teacher, learn more about your student in the classroom and how he/she is doing academically and socially at Newport Heights, and ask specific questions that only the teacher may have insight into.

Please be on the look-out for information about next week's conferences from your teacher!

Conference Week Schedule:

Monday-Friday

Early-out dismissal all week!

TK-Kinder @ 1:05 pm

1st-3rd grades @ 1:09 pm

4th-6th grades @ 1:14 pm

NEXT WEEK is Digital Citizenship Week! In classrooms and in the Shark Tank, students will learn more about how to be a positive and responsible digital citizen in 2025. Now more than ever it's important to help guide our students towards successful and safe online activity.

This is also another great opportunity to engage with your student about how to positively utilize online resources, connect via social media or online platforms, and be on the lookout for any red flags. Check out Common Sense Education's Family Tips for more info.

ALSO, keep your student safe online at home with GoGuardian Parent!

Is your child using a Chromebook from NMUSD outside of school hours? This month's tech tip is all about keeping them safe online with GoGuardian Parent! While Chromebooks have built-in filtering to block inappropriate content to keep your child safe online, GoGuardian Parent acts as an additional layer of control, allowing you to customize the filtering settings to better suit your family's needs.

GoGuardian Parent is a FREE app for iOS and Android devices that gives you more control over your child's Chromebook activity when they're not in school. With GoGuardian Parent, you can:

• Block websites you don't want your child to access.
• Pause the internet on their Chromebook entirely.
• Manage internet access during breaks and holidays.

This is a great way to promote safe and responsible online behavior at home. GoGuardian doesn't replace the built-in filtering but rather works alongside it for a more comprehensive approach.

Getting Started is Easy!

We've prepared a helpful guide to walk you through the setup process.

Don't wait! Download GoGuardian Parent today and take charge of your child's Chromebook experience!

GoGuardian Parent Tips for a Safe and Responsible Chromebook Experience:

• Set Screen Time Limits: Use GoGuardian Parent to schedule internet access breaks throughout the day or week. This can help your child develop healthy online habits and focus on other activities.
• Block Inappropriate Websites: GoGuardian Parent allows you to create custom block lists to restrict access to websites you deem unsuitable.
• Promote Open Communication: Talk to your child about online safety and expectations for Chromebook use. GoGuardian Parent's activity monitoring features can be a conversation starter and help you stay informed.
• Pause the Internet: When homework is due or it's time for family time, you can use GoGuardian Parent to pause internet access entirely.
• Review Website Activity: GoGuardian Parent provides a history of websites your child visits. Take some time to review these together and discuss any questions you might have.
• Work Together with Teachers: GoGuardian facilitates communication between teachers and parents regarding Chromebook use. Don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

There's so much to celebrate...

Thank you for continuously supporting our students at home by teaching and encouraging them to show their Shark PRIDE everywhere, every day. At Newport Heights, we focus on the different character traits of our Shark PRIDE each month. For the month of October, our focus will be on R for Responsible. Throughout the month we will be teaching students about being responsible and will review with them what it looks like to demonstrate responsibility in and out of the classroom. We encourage you to continue the conversation about responsibility at home, as it is important students are learning to apply these skills to all aspects of their lives. At the end of the month, we will be honoring students at flag deck for their commitment to being responsible.

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

• But It's Not My Fault by Julia Cook

• Someday by Eileen Spinelli

• “I'll Do It” Taking Responsibility by Brian Moses and Mike Gordon

• Do I Have To? by Nancy Loewen

• Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

• I Wanna Iguana by Karl Kaufman

• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman

• Dog In Charge by K.L. Going

• Rules by Cynthia Lord

AND as you know, kindness is focus each & every day at NHES!

October is also Bullying Prevention Month. While this should be a focus every month, having a dedicated month helps bring this very important topic to the front of all of our minds. Continuing our focus around kindness, being a good friend, and the power of our words and actions, we hope you will join us in supporting our efforts to spread kindness by discussing this at home. It takes a village, we are truly thankful here at Newport Heights to be in a partnership with you.

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

• Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller (Principal Read-Aloud!)

• What Does it Mean to be Kind? by Rana DiOrio and Stephane Jorisch

• Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud

• Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler and Sanchiko Yoshikowa

• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Patricia Castelao

• Wonder by R.J. Palacio

• The Juice Box Bully by Maria Dismondy

• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

• The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill

• Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna

• The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane DeRoif

This October, celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month and pay tribute to all the ways our different ethnicities, cultures, heritages, experiences, abilities, and other attributes contribute to a more dynamic & innovative community. We can open our minds to new views and ideas, appreciate cultural differences, become more inclusive to different abilities, and enjoy a fresh perspective we may have been missing. Let's work together to help our students become true citizens of the world!

We look forward to continuing our school-wide mantras with our sharks:

Our annual NHES Costume Parade will be presented for our families on Friday, October 31st!

In celebration of Halloween, students may wear costumes to school on Friday, October 31st. Important reminders about costumes:

• Keep it fun & school appropriate!
• No imitation weapons or blood
• No costume masks during class time
• Make sure your student can sit in their chair and learn without being distracted by their costume!
• Your teachers may share additional parameters

Prior to recess, all students will be expected to change out of their costumes into regular clothes.

If students do not want to participate in wearing a costume, they can wear their spirit wear or house shirts to show school spirit!! Alternate activities will be provided for those students not celebrating.

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!

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

Heights Happenings: October 2025

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