All-Star News

Be sure to follow Adams Elementary on Instagram: @Adamsallstarsnmusd

Dear Adams All-Star Families,

On behalf of our amazing staff and our wonderful PTA, I would like to welcome you to the 2024-25 school year. My name is Dr. Joe Erven, and I will be serving as your Adams Elementary Principal. We are very excited to have our students back on August 19th. Last year, our students made tremendous academic growth, and we are eager to see all the gains they will make this year.

We are thrilled to implement a new STEM program this year, providing all TK-6th grade students the opportunity to visit our STEM Lab with our STEM Specialist weekly. You can find more information about our Project Lead the Way STEM curriculum on the Adams website. At Adams Elementary, we set high expectations through a warm and supportive environment for all students.

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and created lasting memories with family and friends. I want to extend my gratitude to our front office staff and custodians for their hard work in preparing our school to welcome back teachers and students. We can’t believe there is just over one week until our amazing All-Stars return!

Dr. Erven

School Principal

We begin this fantastic year on Monday, August 19th at 8:13 AM. On the first day of school, we will allow parents to bring their students onto campus. Our team has carefully considered the composition of each classroom. Your child’s learning style, productive and counterproductive friendships, and academic performance are important factors that impact class placement decisions. Teacher assignments will be available for parents and students on Saturday, August 17th. You can find out by going to your Parent Portal at Parent Portal and checking under Student Information-Demographics. We will also be sending out a welcome letter to each family from their teacher via email.

Please remember our parking lot is closed to non-school traffic. Parents will be allowed on campus the first day of school and then on Fridays for Flag Deck.

Arrival

• Students may enter through our main entrance at 7:45 AM and our side entrance by the park starting at 8:00 AM.
• When students arrive, they may walk to their line, put their backpack down, and when the bell rings at 8:00 AM, play.
• The warning bell will sound at 8:13 AM, and students are to walk to their line for the start of school at 8:15 AM.
• Students who enter after 8:15 AM are tardy, and parents will need to bring them to the office to sign them in for the day.
• Students riding bikes must walk their bikes onto campus and store them in the locked fence on campus.

Dismissal

• Students will be able to exit any gate at the end of the day. If students are taking the bus, they will meet on the blacktop and be escorted to the buses. If you have an older student, please ensure they pick up their younger siblings (TK-K) before meeting you at your pick-up location.

Each week, teachers will be training students on Thinking Maps. Thinking Maps help students organize thoughts. Students will use Thinking Maps as a pre-writing activity. Next week, our teachers will be training students on the Circle Map. Please see the attached information so you can learn more about how these maps are used. The Circle map is used to help brainstorm ideas for prewriting.

Attendance is very important to a child’s success in school. Students are expected to be here each day on time and ready to learn. However, we understand that there are occasions where an absence may occur. Please be sure to contact the absence hotline to report all absences at 714-424-4702.

Did you know? Research shows that chronically absent students (students with 10% absences over the school year = 18 absences) are less likely to read on grade level by 3rd grade, are more likely to score lower on standardized tests, get suspended in middle school, and are at least four times more likely to not complete high school.

Attendance Matters!!!

Newport Mesa’s transportation department is located at 2985-D Bear Street and can be reached via telephone at 714-424-5084. Transportation can provide you with information regarding applications and schedules. Bus riders enter campus via the sidewalk leading to our front gate.

The following list are general standards for appropriate and safe dress for school:

• Clothing must be clean.
• All attire must be modest. Undergarments must be covered.

• No clothing with offensive or distasteful words, promotes alcohol, tobacco or drugs, or has pictures, or slogans. Offensive would be defined as anything that is obscene, contains racial or ethnic slurs, or propagates violence, gangs or products which are illegal.

• No spaghetti straps, crop top shirts, halter tops or bare midriffs. Shoulder straps must be at least one (1) inch wide.

• Shoes must be practical so that students can run, jump, and kick while involved in physical activities on the playground. This means that tennis shoes or other closed-toe and closed-heel shoes are appropriate.

• Inappropriate shoes: open-toed shoes, Crocs, flip flops, slippers, heels, and platform shoes.

• Shorts, skirts and dresses are appropriate if they are the type designed for play and the highest point of the hemline reaches the student’s thumb when their arm is at their side.
• Makeup is not to be worn by elementary age students.
• Jewelry, if worn, should be small and non-distracting.
• Hats (particularly baseball caps) must be worn forward-facing and are not permitted to be worn indoors at any time unless with permission by teacher. Hoods and beanies are not to be worn indoors.

We are happy to welcome volunteers to our campus. Volunteering is a perfect opportunity to become more familiar with our school and support your child’s teacher.

Adams volunteers are required to complete a volunteer application through the NMUSD website and check in at the office each time through our Raptor System. Please see the link: NMUSD Volunteers. Once your application is approved, you will receive a notification. All cleared volunteers will then complete an orientation at Adams. Please note that field trip volunteers need to go through the volunteer/visitor system before attending a field trip.

The NMUSD Project Kidz Connect (PKC) program is open to students in Grades TK-6 and is free for families. Students will participate in homework help, outdoor games & fitness, and enrichment activities such as art, music, and STEM. Project Kidz Connect operates each day from the end of the school day to 6:00 PM (with early pick-up available). For questions, please call 714-424-8978. For more information, please visit the link: Project Kidz Connect.

The City of Costa Mesa’s after-school R.O.C.K.S. program will resume its operations for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are interested in enrolling your child in R.O.C.K.S., please contact the City of Costa Mesa Recreation Department at 714-754-5313. (Please include the attached flyers for each program.)

Be a part of the Adams Community and help our students have a great experience at Adams Elementary. You can join (or renew) your Adams PTA Membership at Join PTA.

All teachers and Adams staff have been trained on the Standard Response Protocol. This protocol allows everyone on site to use clear and common language during emergency responses. Whenever emergency drills are held at Adams Elementary (dates are all posted on the Adams Elementary website), we will inform our parent community through our weekly newsletter.

Back to School Night is scheduled for Thursday, August 29th. Please mark your calendars for this important night to meet your child’s teacher and find out important information to support your child for the year.

School will be dismissed at 1:30 pm, please plan accordingly.

Presentation outside MPR: 5:30-6:00

Classroom Visits 6:00-7:00

Phone: (714) 424-7935

Press 2 for attendance line

Fax (714) 424-4701

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https://adams.nmusd.us/