Pflugerville ISD will open the doors to its 18th elementary school to begin the 2010-11 school year, and preparations are under way to make that opening a success.

Riojas Elementary Principal Patricia Reyna Henry is a one-woman staff right now, but it won’t be that way for long. One of the challenges for the principal of a new campus is to find the right teachers, front office personnel and other staff members needed to operate a successful school.

“I am excited that we are ready to start hiring staff members in the near future, so we can begin building our team and developing the professional learning community that will open Riojas Elementary,” Reyna Henry said. “We will be communicating with our parents in the coming weeks with information about our school, and I can’t wait to meet our kids and their families!”

Although she is anxious to start meeting students, Reyna Henry has a strong message for her future pupils.

“The students who will be attending Riojas Elementary next year still have a job to finish at their current schools,” she said. “I expect them to continue to work hard for the rest of this year and learn as much as they can from the wonderful teachers at our other PISD schools.”

Reyna Henry knows the transition to a new school can create some anxiety for students and parents, so she plans to hold a meet the principal night once TAKS testing is over in late April to help ease students into their new surroundings.

“We will provide positive opportunities for students and their parents to visit the campus, interact with me and other staff members and get a feel for what it means to be a Riojas Patriot,” Reyna Henry said.

The Riojas Elementary School mascot is the Patriot, in honor of the school’s namesake, Staff Sgt. Jose Riojas, a World War II veteran from Pflugerville who died on July 28, 1944, while in combat in France.

Riojas was born in Pflugerville, and as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Pflugerville was involved in projects such as soil erosion prevention, fence-building and building and repairing bridges.

“It is important to me that our students know Mr. Riojas’s story and understand that he bravely served our country in the Army,” Reyna Henry said. “It is certainly fitting that our mascot is a patriot, because Mr. Riojas is a tremendous example of that word – a person who vigorously supports their country, and is prepared to defend it against its enemies or detractors. Mr. Riojas made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, and I have promised the Riojas family that we will honor his life and his memory through our success at Riojas Elementary School.”

Information about registration dates, meet the principal events and other RES news will be posted on the PISD Web site and the Riojas Elementary Web site.

Principal Patricia Reyna Henry can be contacted via e-mail at patricia.henry@pflugervilleisd.net.

– provided by Pflugerville ISD

posted 02/19/10