Principal's Welcome
On behalf of the Mariposa Elementary Staff, I’d like to welcome you to the 2022-2023 school year. I am your principal, Rick Torres. We are looking forward to what will certainly be a memorable school year. Our school boasts unique opportunities for enrichment and innovative instructional practices.
Mariposa Monarchs will take flight this fall with continued programs and offerings to its students. Our new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Lab; remains a place for young minds to stretch their problems solving strategies and stimulate creative thinking. Boasting a maker’s space, three different types of robotics, and flexible furniture, students engage with 21st-century learning tools to prepare them for promising futures. Students grades 2-6 receive piano lessons in our one-of-a-kind Roland Keyboarding Music Lab. A visual arts teacher will deliver a monthly art lesson tied to grade-level curriculum, art concepts, and historically important artists. Mariposa’s playground received a facelift last school year with resurfacing and multicolor paint. The blacktop has been redesigned to have elements to engage every type of child with number and alphabet grids, hop-skip-jump obstacle courses, and new games. Classrooms also received upgrades with the addition of 70-inch color monitors to display instructional material, making content visible from the furthest corner of the room. All of these amazing offerings are made available thanks to our PTA and generous parent community.
Mariposa will also continue to offer after-school opportunities. The VEX Robotics after-school program will return in the fall. Mrs. Miller is eagerly anticipating leading a show choir, and our 100 Mile Club will also return.
Events have been calendared by our PTA to encourage family-school connectedness. These events will of course adhere to any safety restrictions that may be in place at the time. Regardless of the circumstances, Mariposa will provide families with occasions to come together and celebrate learning such as with STEM and Art nights or just to have fun with BINGO and Movie Nights.
Our teachers will continue the work of providing a world-class educational experience for students. Teachers will continue to integrate art into daily practices in order to benefit students in retention, engagement, and deeper learning experiences.
It is important to me to provide opportunities for parents and families to be heard. This year, we will introduce Coffee with the Principal where parents will have an opportunity to socialize and discuss topics of importance with me. My door is also always open to teachers, students, and parents to share ideas, concerns, and questions. I am eager to hear your hopes and dreams for Mariposa, and how I can best serve you and your children as their principal.
Sincerely,
Rick Torres
Principal, Mariposa Elementary School