Community Spirit Shines As Hundreds of Volunteers Beautify Newport-Mesa Schools for Love Our Schools Day

 

More than 300 volunteers from throughout the community descended on Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) schools for Love Our Schools Day on November 2. The district partnered with Trellis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, as seen during its May events Love Costa Mesa Day and Love Newport Beach Day. 

Schools submitted beautification project requests and district staff coordinated with Trellis’ Terrilee Stevenson to determine which requests were feasible based on scale, cost, and time constraints.

“Events like Love Our Schools Day are essential for fostering a strong sense of connection between our schools and the community, as we build lasting relationships that create a more vibrant and inclusive environment,” said Christy Flores, Director of Engagement, Partnership, and Expanded Learning. 

Volunteers from the community joined NMUSD families to tackle a variety of projects at various school sites:

• Adams Elementary: revamped the library interior 
   
• College Park Elementary: picked up litter, cleared pathways, cleaned backpack racks, scraped gum off walkways, and more
   
• Davis Magnet: installed a new fence-cup design; cleaned and organized the recess/PE supply shed
   
• Early College High: prepared a plot of land for a school garden; painted rocks with encouraging words or symbols for the Kindness Rocks garden area
   
• Harper Assessment Center: performed garden beautification such as weeding and preparing for planting
   
• Kaiser Elementary: repainted ball walls
   
• Killybrooke Elementary: weeding and clearing debris, planting, and pruning, as well as maintenance on the existing Memory Garden; reorganized the staff lounge and refreshed the decor 
   
• Mariners Elementary: weeding the garden and clearing the playgrounds of debris
   
• Newport Harbor High School: campuswide cleanup
   
• Newport Heights Elementary: built a lost and found cart
   
• Paularino Elementary: installed a “gaga ball” pit
   
• Pomona Elementary: repaired planters and prepared all planters for science enrichment activities, vegetables, and evergreen plants
   
• Rea Elementary: painted a 100 chart on the blacktop; painted colored circles on the concrete outside the classrooms for TK through second grade to help kids with lining up; refreshed bulletin boards and added decor in the rooms used for after-school programs; rearranged the Visual and Performing Arts Memory Wall that highlights past arts projects to make it visually appealing; garden and campuswide clean-up, including weeding and mulching planters, and picking up trash
   
• Sonora Elementary: garden beautification projects
   
• Whittier Elementary: garden beautification projects
   
• Wilson Elementary: garden beautification projects

Some volunteers also wrote notes of encouragement and appreciation for staff, including School Community Facilitators and bus drivers. The day’s volunteers were invited to a celebratory lunch that featured children’s activities such as face painting, balloon artists, and STEM-based games.

The partnership with Trellis to complete beautification projects in NMUSD schools complements the work of the maintenance and operations team, who manage nearly 60 square miles of district facilities. 

Visit the district’s online photo gallery to view more photos from Love Our Schools Day.