Principal’s Message

A Note of Gratitude for Our Families

As we settle into another school year, I want to take a moment to express how grateful we are for the partnership between our school and our families. Whether you are checking your child’s backpack for important notes, packing a healthy lunch, taking the time to write your child’s name on their belongings, volunteering in a classroom, attending a meeting, responding to a teacher’s message, or simply asking how you can help—we see the time, effort, and energy you put into supporting your child and our school community.

We are only as strong as our consistent ability to communicate, problem-solve, and collaborate on behalf of our students. Your perspective matters. You know your child in ways that we cannot, and we know your child in ways that you may not always see at home. When we bring those perspectives together, we have a much clearer picture of what a student needs.

One of our most important jobs as educators and parents is to help students navigate big emotions, challenges, frustration, mistakes, and moments when things don't go as planned. Our goal isn't to remove every barrier or make things easy for our children. Instead, we want to help them develop the skills, confidence, and resilience to work through those barriers—with caring adults alongside them.

That means we need to keep asking questions: What is our student trying to tell us? What is working? What isn't? What might we be missing? What can we try differently? And sometimes, perhaps most importantly, what can the adults change or adjust to better support the student?

Thank you for trusting us, challenging us, sharing your perspective, and working alongside us. We need your partnership to fine-tune our supports and help every La Mesa Shark grow—not by removing every challenge, but by making sure our students never have to face those challenges alone.

Warmly,

Julie Alderete
Principal, La Mesa TK–8 School

Our Lost and Found is located inside the Front Gates - close to the Main Office.

Please take some time to explore the growing piles of clothes, lunchboxes, and more!  We can only return items that are labeled with names - otherwise we will donate all unclaimed articles to charity.