There is a lot of excitement about what is going on at Hidden Valley Elementary these days. Come to our campus and take a look around. You’ll see a freshly painted hawk adorning the wall of our blacktop, new bleachers in our outdoor amphitheatre and mulch spread next to the pathways. Parents are chipping in to give the school a little face lift in honor of our new name. “Hidden Valley Hawks” brings a smile to my face – despite my personal push for a cuter mascot like a hedgehog. I guess the hawk is probably more fitting for our school, where you can look straight up and see raptors in the sky.
A question that has come up in regard to campus improvements is the role of our parent community in taking care of our school. Traditionally our district has been in charge of all facilities maintenance and improvements. They do a wonderful job but the truth is education budgets are tight. Our YES foundation provides salaries for teachers of the arts which used to be covered by education budgets. Our community passed Measure A in order to provide for much needed improvements to all our area schools and provide for the growth in our two towns. So we, as a parent group, have decided to chip in a little as well. We want to support our school and district with some good old fashioned manual labor. Spreading mulch, cutting wood, and painting seem to be simple ways to cross items off the school “to do” list while showing our pride. So swing on by, take a look, and send me a suggestion for the next work party job!
