Principal’s All Call From 11-22-09

Hello Harbor View Parents.

A gentle reminder that our school-wide food drive benefiting our Sister School, Pomona Elementary will be wrapping up. Tomorrow, Monday, is the last day to bring in items that you were assigned. Please drop-off the items in the provided basket in class. Your $3.00 donation to buy turkeys and pies is very appreciated.

Also, remember that Tuesday is Early Out and Kindergarten all-Early Bird day. Wednesday begins Thanksgiving recess!

Veterans Day Assembly

Veterans Day Assembly: Student Views

Several sixth graders have written about today’s assembly honoring veterans, an assembly that is a longtime Harbor View tradition. Here are some of their articles

By Roman Hays

Veterans Day is a great holiday. I liked watching all the veterans say where they served. It was also fun watching the video, and now I understand Veterans Day much more. It is really nice how so many veterans came and shared their story. Personally, this was my favorite part. I think the reason we celebrate Veterans Day is because there are many great people who served in the war and need to be recognized.

By David Roudebush

Today’s program was very nice. My favorite part was when all the people who didn’t have a veteran there got to stand up. I also liked hearing about all the veterans’ lives in the war. I think it all went very smoothly and it was also great to hear about the history at Veterans Day. I really hope that Harbor View keeps doing their Veterans Day assembly for many years to come!

By Nikhil Yerasi

Veterans Day is very important for several reasons. The first is obvious: the fact that veterans have fought in wars and fought to save our country. One other reason is that it is respectful to honor past soldiers. Today, in in our assembly, I learned many things. One thing I learned was that this holiday was formed about 200 years already. I also enjoyed the singing, and hearing the veterans’ stories. One in particular that astounded me was Jack Parker’s friend near his house. He lost many of his friends while in service, and 116 of them were eaten by sharks. That scared me. Other than stories, we sang many songs, including “God Bless the U.S.A.” All in all, it was a great assembly, and I learned many things.

By Alex Stowell

Today, we celebrated Veterans Day by having a fun assembly. We started by learning a few facts about the different wars like the Vietnam or World War I and II. Then we started by passing the microphone around to the different veterans, and they told us their name, who their son or daughter is and where they served. After that, the Girl Scouts sang the military medley. After that, the kids whose grandparents couldn’t make it or passed away came and said a few words. Then we played a video on people at this school who said a few things on what they think a veteran is. Lastly, we sang “God Bless America.” Today, I thought, was a very special day.

Principal’s All Call From 11-9-09

Hello Harbor View Parents,

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 10th is a Double Event Day! First is our all-city Community Recycling Day. Bring your cans/bottles/paper to the upper parking lot any time from 7 am to 2 pm and Harbor View will add it to our Recycling Bin!

The second Big Event is our Veteran’s Day Assembly. Please have your child wear red, white, or blue (or red, white, and blue). The assembly will begin at 9 am. All Kindergarteners will be Early Birds. The upper grade playground will be available for parking. Also, remember that Wednesday, November 11th is Veteran’s Day and is a National Holiday. There is NO School on Wednesday. Thank you!

Community Recycling Event Set for Tuesday

Harbor View will be a drop-off point for a community recycling event is scheduled for 7 a.m. to noon on Tuesday.

The school hopes to earn hundreds of dollars through donated cans, bottles, newspapers and magazines.

Lincoln, Eastbluff and Newport elementary schools also are holding recycling events. All four schools have ongoing recycling programs and participate in Green Up Our Schools, a grant program that focuses on reducing waste and recycling in elementary schools across the country.

Meet Members of the Harbor View’s Green Team

Spelling Champs Represent Harbor View

Harbor View’s two spelling champs participated this week in the District Spelling Bee, which featured 32 students from 16 schools. Claire Robertson and Jacob Reines began with a 22-word written spelling test, and they both made it to the semifinals. The semifinals round was a traditional spelling bee, and Claire was one of three finalists. In February, she and the other winners will compete in the County Spelling Bee. The winner of that heads to Washington, D.C. to head to the National Spelling Bee. Claire also will be honored at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Education.

District Sets up Facebook Group, Website to Provide Middle School “Enclave” Info

The Measure F bond, which voters passed in 2005, promised to create a campus-within-a-campus at Corona del Mar High School. The idea, now being called an enclave, would create a section of the campus that middle school students could call their own. This week, district officials created both a website and a Facebook group (“Corona del Mar 7-8 Facilities and Programs”) designed at informing parents and creating a dialog about the the project. Deputy Superintendent Paul Reed said this week that the project is months away, but that now is the time for parents to become informed and offer their input.

Candy Collected for Troops

Harbor View sixth-graders brought in hundreds of leftover Halloween candy treats as part of an ongoing series of projects aimed at giving back to the community. Beginning Tuesday, sixth-graders brought in their unwanted candy, and later this month they will bundle it up and send it to troops serving overseas. Bennie Seybold brought in the most with 23.4 pounds of candy that he and his family collected on Halloween.

PFO Votes To Hire Primary P.E. Teacher

After hearing updates on several successful fundraisers, the Harbor View PFO voted unanimously to spend some of that money on hiring a physical education teacher for the primary grade students.

The primary P.E. teacher position was cut earlier this school year because of dwindling PFO funds, and classroom teachers conducted P.E. classes. Ms. Metoyer said the position would cost $11,260 — money available partly because the Jog-A-Thon raised $51,000 instead of the projected $35,000.

Ms. Metoyer said she would post the job opening today or tomorrow, and that it could be filled by December.

Ms. Ericastilla, the teacher representative to the PFO, said this was wonderful news for students. “It really ends up being so much better for the kids when it’s a dedicated person,” she said. “It’s so great for them.”

In other fundraising news, the Innisbrook gift wrap fundraiser brought in about $8,000, said PFO president Jan Parker, and the eScript program brought in $336 between June and September. The Book Fair sold about $5,000 in books more than last year, but it is not clear how much money the school will recieve. Also, the CDM yogurt fundraiser brought in $190, said organizer Mindy Froehlich, who added that the yogurt truck would return every other Wednesday afternoon beginning in December.

In other PFO news, the Spring Dinner Dance is scheduled for May 1, and Spirit Run will take place March 21. Also, Mrs. Parker said P.I.E. letters have been mailed.

The group also discussed Thanksgiving and holiday Sister School projects, and the Gingerbread House Night slated for Dec. 3.