Newport Elementary School

The Daily Pilot asked students at Newport Elementary School in Newport Beach: "What's the best thing that happened to you this year?" I made it to the all-stars for baseball, and we won the championship. PETER KINNEY, 10 Newport Beach That I made it to the all-stars for the first time in soccer, because I love soccer and I get to keep playing. Usually, I don't get to keep playing after the season. MEGAN STEVENSON, 9 Costa Mesa That my brother was born.

The Daily Pilot asked sixth-graders at Newport Elementary School, "What do you like to do on computers?" "I play games. I go on websites."   Morgan Mexia, 11 Newport Beach "I e-mail my friends a lot." Dana Siegel, 11 Newport Beach "I do a lot of e-mailing and instant messaging, and I like to go on Club Penguin to play games." Lexi Newport Kunkle, 12   Beach "I usually get a lot of my tickets there, because I go to sports games."

COSTA MESA Barbados Place: An auto theft was reported in the 3100 block at 9:08 a.m. Thursday. South Capella Court: A hit-and-run was reported in the 2000 block at 3:24 p.m. Thursday. Secretariat Circle: Grand theft was reported in the 1000 block at 4:21 p.m. Thursday. NEWPORT BEACH West Balboa Boulevard: Carpet cleaning machines valued at $2,600 were stolen from a room in Newport Elementary School at 9:34 a.m. Wednesday.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education will hold its regular meeting at 7 tonight at the District Education Center. The board will recognize Harbor View, Kaiser, Killybrooke and Victoria elementary schools for being named California Distinguished Schools. That will be followed by a presentation from Newport Elementary School updating the board on events at the campus. The board has systematically been hearing from each district school.

For those who want to help the earthquake-devastated people in Haiti, you can bring your old shoes (or new ones) to Newport Elementary School between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. today at the school?s Multi-Purpose Room. According to Debbie Kandel, the school?s office manager, students will donate some of their old shoes this morning, and the administration is encouraging the public to participate. ?Any size will do,? said Kandel. ?It doesn?t matter.? The school is asking that the pair of shoes either be put in a plastic bag or tied together so the pairs stay together.

The Daily Pilot asked fifth-graders at Newport Elementary School, "What kind of building would you create in real life?" "Probably a hotel or some kind of building … because if there's nowhere else to go, you can always go there." Jack Storch, 11 "I'd probably just build a home, because the little details make a house." Nikki Walsh, 11 "I'd build several more parks, because most of the area is now being taken up by homes." Blake Jessen, 10 "A skyscraper, because it would really be fun to be up high when you're building it."

Danette Goulet NEWPORT BEACH -- They were twistin' and a turnin', they were a movin' and a shakin'. Students at Newport Elementary School began rocking the house Friday morning and will continue to do so all weekend long, performing an original musical: "Jukebox Jivin' -- How My Grandparents Invented Groovy." A morning sneak preview for students had one young audience member so inspired he began flailing about in a seated rendition of the Twist.

Newport Elementary school’s adaptation of “Jungle Book” this weekend isn’t just a showcase for the actors: From top to bottom, it’s a student production. The students had their hands in set design, lighting, costumes and everything else that goes into a theatrical show. The musical includes in its cast and crew about a hundred students from kindergarten through sixth grade. “Not only are the kids singing, acting, and dancing, but this year we added behind-the-scenes classes for the children who didn’t want to be stage performers,” said Andrea Davis, one of the play’s producers, and the mother of one of the leads.

Danette Goulet NEWPORT BEACH -- Parents across Newport Beach continue to cast their votes on school uniforms for their children. "The vote is in, but they haven't decided how they want to announce it," said Dana Schonwit, vice president of the PTA for Newport Coast Elementary School. Newport Coast is one of three Newport Beach elementary schools still considering the idea of a uniform dress standard for all students. Although the votes are in and tallied for Newport Coast, PTA leaders will not release the results until families are informed.

NEWPORT BEACH - Students at Newport Elementary watch the waves during recess, the school's blacktop surrounded by sand. Many look forward to the weekend when they can jump into the water. Now, they don't have to wait. This year, kids at the Balboa Peninsula campus can enroll in what may be the first elementary school surfing class in the nation. As soon as the last bell rings, kids and after-school instructors walk along the boardwalk to the Newport Pier, where waves roll gently into shore.

The school board will recognize on Tuesday the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Teachers of the Year. Costa Mesa High School's Dana Kahawai, 30, and Newport Elementary School's Terri Clarke, 31, will receive the honors. Kahawai has taught English at Costa Mesa High for the past four years and spent one year at Estancia High School. She currently teaches regular and Advanced Placement English classes for sophomores and AP English literature for seniors. The Santa Ana resident and Estancia alumna is the advisor to the senior class, the National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation.

One of the strongest bonds in Newport-Mesa is evident in how local businesses support community needs and causes. The financial commitment of business assisting local health and welfare, education and social services is a hallmark of community goodwill. This has developed through the decades into a strong tradition. Clearly, it is a tradition that is good for business and good for society. In old Newport Beach, a pub and dining room on the Balboa Peninsula that we fondly know as Malarky's was established in 1977 by Newport restaurateur Bill Hamilton Sr. Hamilton, who also founded the iconic Cannery Restaurant on the waterfront, opened Malarky's Irish Pub in one of the original early 20th century structures on Newport Boulevard near City Hall.

With a number of close calls from distant tsunamis, and a branch of the Newport-Inglewood fault about one mile offshore, the city of Newport Beach has spent the last several years preparing for tidal waves. Officials have created an evacuation plan for low-lying areas, installed sirens along the coast and coordinated with Newport Elementary School on the Balboa Peninsula, in case waves come during school hours. To teach residents about the dangers, they've tried posting information online and on signs, by printing brochures and offering courses through its Community Emergency Response Team.

NEWPORT BEACH — After a day of suspense and anticipation, Newport-Mesa residents were left with calm waters and heavy hearts for those in Japan hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami. People flocked to bluffs and other vantage points to see the seas change, but for the most part they could see no perceptible difference from any other sunny March day. Their schedules may have been affected, though. Authorities called residents at 4 a.m. to warn them of a coming tidal wave.

NEWPORT BEACH — About a dozen blue balloons decorated a lone wheelchair in the middle of the flag deck Friday morning at Newport Elementary School. Students sat in a horse-shoe shape around the chair, and parents gathered behind them to talk about not one wheelchair, but 52. "So what does 52 wheelchairs look like?" Student Council President Barron Banta, 12, asked the audience. Kids interspersed in the audience stood up and held identical pictures above their heads of someone in a wheelchair.

CORONA DEL MAR — For just over two months, Jack Tucker has been running and training for what will be an important day for him on Sunday. He wants to represent his school, Eastblutf Elementary, the best he can at the 27th annual Spirit Run, which begins at Fashion Island. The 11-year-old will compete in the 5K (3.1 miles) and the one-mile run. But as he tries for personal-best times, Jack has also been doing his best to shatter stereotypes of kids his age. “I don’t really play much video games,” Jack says.

The crosswalk at Island Avenue and Balboa Boulevard on the Newport Peninsula has long been a concern to many residents. Cars speed down the boulevard with no regard for pedestrians or for cars that have actually stopped. Because this crosswalk crosses Balboa Boulevard at the library, the market, the restaurant, the beauty shop and the barber shop, people of all ages use it. It is one of the most used crosswalks in Newport. It is a miracle that the seniors, families with children, and school-age children on their bikes going back and forth to school have not been seriously hurt.

For those who want to help the earthquake-devastated people in Haiti, you can bring your old shoes (or new ones) to Newport Elementary School between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. today at the school?s Multi-Purpose Room. According to Debbie Kandel, the school?s office manager, students will donate some of their old shoes this morning, and the administration is encouraging the public to participate. ?Any size will do,? said Kandel. ?It doesn?t matter.? The school is asking that the pair of shoes either be put in a plastic bag or tied together so the pairs stay together.