When my family of five moved to Northern California from Denver six years ago, the hunt for the perfect place to live was of primary concern. I come from a family of teachers and decided to find the right school before finding the right house. I went from Mill Valley to Marinwood, visiting elementary schools, before finally falling in love with quaint Brookside Lower.
A few years passed and as a vocal school volunteer I watched with interest as the decision was made to create two K-5 schools out of our Upper and Lower campuses. When my son first started school mid-year, he joined one of the six classes of Kindergartners at Brookside. I'll admit it made it difficult to see new faces year after year as he progressed in school. Mixing up 120 children into new classroom configurations made it hard on lasting friendships. Still, I wasn't sure what to think about older children at Lower or even little ones at Upper.
Last year, in my role as Co-President for the Upper Campus PTO, I watched as our community decided on a new name for our school (Hidden Valley), new colors for our school (Blue, Orange and White), and even a new school mascot (Go Hawks!). I saw our parents and students grow in their excitement for a new identity and a new beginning. I laughed in delight when our new mascot showed up in full hawk costume at our last morning meeting with the children crowding to give him a high five. However, nothing prepared me for the start of this school year.
I'll be blogging about Hidden Valley Elementary School. In my new role as PTO President, I hope to give some inside information about the process of transformation to a K-5 school and the joys and challenges involved in that process. I hope you'll read often and chime in!
Sarah Sanders
Hidden Valley PTO President
