Principal's Message

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our students and staff back to school for the 2009-2010 school year.

For me, this is a bit of a homecoming. When I moved to the Mission Oaks area in Camarillo with my young family a little over 27 years ago, the Las Colinas site and Mission Oaks Park had not yet been developed. The Vons Shopping Center was an empty lot, and Adolfo and Upland Roads did not connect to the center of Camarillo. I have seen much growth and development in Camarillo. During those 27 years, Las Colinas has changed as well. It has evolved from a school for students in grades K-8, to a school for grades K-6, to a school for 4th-8^th grades, to the present 6^th- 8^th grade middle school configuration. My personal experience at Las Colinas has been that of a parent, part-time hourly teacher, full time Science teacher, Administrative Intern, Assistant Principal, and now as Principal. Prior to my career in the Pleasant Valley School District, I taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Beverly Hills Unified School District, and the Oxnard Union High School District. Here in Pleasant Valley, I have also taught at Monte Vista Middle School, and for the past 6 years, I served as Principal at La Mariposa Elementary School.

During the summer, our custodians have been working hard to clean our facility and classrooms to have them ready to go for the first day of school. Pleasant Valley School District maintenance staff have also been working hard to take care of some routine maintenance tasks.

We will have a few new faces here at Las Colinas in the fall. Sara Burke will be a new member of the Math Department, coming to Las Colinas from Los Primeros Structured School. She will be teaching 7^th grade students Pre Algebra in room C-5. Jim Keesling joins our 6th grade team, teaching math and science in room B-1 and Clarice Pettus joins our Special Education Staff. Wendy Wilson will be a new addition to our office staff, coming from Santa Rosa, and Art Armas will be our new 4 hour night custodian replacing Jorge Magana who has taken the Day custodian position at Rancho Rosal.

My personal goal for Las Colinas is to foster a safe, clean, positive and respectful learning environment for all students and staff; a school learning environment where students can develop into positive and productive citizens well prepared for their future.

I am looking forward to meeting our students when they return on August 25^th.

Pam Gonzalez

Principal