Summer break is fast coming to an end. Schools are reopening for a new academic session. Hence it is important to update our community about the changes that have taken place in our elementary school.
Towards the end of the last academic year, the Principal, Ms. Rose Navarro, retired for health reasons. We are profoundly grateful to her. She led us through the pandemic in an extraordinary way. A search committee was put together to help hire a new principal. We hired Mr. Robert G. Bringas, Jr. as our new principal.
Mr. Bringas brings with him 27 years of experience in the field of education. He was a 7th grade teacher at Precious Blood School and Holy Trinity School, both in Los Angeles. He later became both Vice Principal and the Head of School of Holy Family High School in Glendale. Mr. Bringas has been on both sides of the academic world. He was a lead teacher both in Math, History, and Religion in both schools. “He is very strong in curriculum development” said Mrs. Meg Samaniego, a retired principal who worked with him at Holy Trinity. Mr. Bringas’ leadership experience includes curriculum development that utilizes technology that meets the learning needs of the students. This is important for our school to keep our legacy as State Champions in the Odyssey of the Mind competition which we have achieved for some years now.
In a setting like a school where various interests abound; conflict is bound to happen. The ability to handle conflict is very important for the cohesive existence of such community. “Mr. Bringas is fair in handling conflict,” said one of his former staff members at Holy Family High School. Mr. Bringas has an open-door policy, and he listens to all sides of the story. One of his goals is to create a welcoming and safe environment for all students, teachers, and staff.
Mr. Bringas’ experience goes beyond the confines of schools. He is currently the Board Secretary to San Gabriel Education Foundation as well as Co-Program Director for Starlings San Gabriel Volleyball Club. His leadership in these two bodies will benefit our school immensely.
“I think you hit a home run here! You have found a person who appears to be a very, very good principal for our school. His enthusiasm and style are exactly what we need,” said a member of the ABVM Consultative School Board after Mr. Bringas addressed the Board.
Fr. Mike Ume