Arroyo Elementary School

🍎✨ Teachers are back and ready to welcome you! ✨🍎

We are so excited to see all of our new and returning families! 💛 We can’t wait to kick off another amazing school year together.

📚 See you all on Wednesday, August 12, for our first day of school!

Let’s make it a wonderful year! 🎉🍎💙

🎉 Welcome Back, Arroyo Families! 📚✨

We are so happy and pleased to welcome all of our new and returning families and students to another exciting school year! 💛 We can’t wait to make this another successful, fun, and memorable year together!

📌 A few helpful reminders for the first day of school:
Please plan ahead and allow yourself plenty of extra time for the morning traffic and to get onto campus, park, and find your child’s classroom. We want everyone to have a smooth and stress-free start to the school year! 😊

We are so excited to see all of you and officially kick off the new school year! 🥳

We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday! 💕
Let’s make it a GREAT year! 🌟📚✏️
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🎉 ¡Bienvenidos de nuevo, familias de Arroyo!📚✨

¡Estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida a todas nuestras familias y estudiantes, tanto a las nuevas como a las que regresan, a otro emocionante año escolar! 💛 ¡Esperamos con ilusión que este sea otro año exitoso, divertido y memorable para todos!

📌 Algunos recordatorios útiles para el primer día de clases:
Por favor, planifiquen con antelación y reserven tiempo extra para el tráfico matutino, así como para llegar al recinto escolar, estacionarse y localizar el salón de clases de su hijo. ¡Queremos que todos tengan un comienzo de año escolar tranquilo y sin estrés! 😊

¡Nos hace mucha ilusión verlos a todos y dar inicio oficialmente al nuevo año escolar! 🥳

¡Nos vemos el miércoles! 💕
¡Hagamos que sea un año fantástico! 🌟📚✏️

Today we honored Mr. Calcagno for his years of dedication and service to our school. We are grateful for the love and care he has for every individual on this campus. Enjoy your retirement!

Hoy homenajeamos al director Calcagno por sus años de dedicación y servicio a nuestra escuela. Estamos agradecidos por el cariño y la atención que ha brindado a cada persona en esta escuela. ¡Le deseamos una feliz jubilación!

Back to our normal activities this week, and a highlight on an awesome event! Art Night, a wonderful night celebrating creativity, community, and our amazing students at Arroyo 🎨✨

¡De regreso a nuestras actividades normales esta semana y destacando un evento increíble! La Noche de Arte, una hermosa noche celebrando la creatividad, la comunidad y a nuestros increíbles estudiantes en Arroyo 🎨✨

Out of an abundance of caution and with the knowledge that so many of our families and staff are directly impacted by the Sandy Fire, ALL Simi Valley Unified School District schools and campuses will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20, for most staff and all students.

Por extrema precaución y considerando que muchas de nuestras familias y miembros del personal están siendo directamente afectados por el incendio Sandy, todas las escuelas e instalaciones del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Simi Valley permanecerán cerradas el día de mañana, miércoles 20 de mayo, para todos los estudiantes y para la mayoría del personal.

Thank you to our for honoring Monica Platten (Outstanding Administrator Award) and Mr. Calcagno (Golden Oak Service Award). It is because of our program partnerships and volunteers we can make life Arroyo that much more exciting!

Let’s welcome our new leader for the 2026-2027 school year! 🌟

Congratulations to our returning Maria Baro on her appointment as principal to Arroyo Elementary School!

Maria Baro
Principal
Arroyo Elementary School
If Maria Baro’s name sounds familiar, it is because she returns to Simi Valley Schools after an almost 10-year hiatus. She started her teaching career at Atherwood Elementary School, followed by Garden Grove and Crestview elementary schools. She comes to us having served as a principal at Oxnard School District.
Ms. Baro received her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from California State University-Northridge, and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of California Los Angeles. She said she went into education because she is a product of great educators.
“I know the power of a great teacher and a supportive school,” she said. “That experience shaped my purpose—to create schools where all students have access, opportunity, and the belief that they can succeed.”
Growing up, Ms. Baro was an English language learner who attended Title 1 schools, and that makes her work in education “deeply personal” for her.
“My hope is to create a school where our students see their language, their culture and their experiences as strengths, where bilingualism is celebrated and every child knows they belong and can succeed at the highest levels,” she said. “I want our students to leave not only academically prepared, but confident in who they are, proud of where they come from and equipped with opportunities that open doors for their future. That means maintaining high expectations, providing strong support and building meaningful partnerships with families.”
She will take the reins from Principal Aldo Calcagno, who retires this year after helping to found the District’s first Dual Language program at Arroyo. When she is not working, Ms. Baro enjoys reading, hiking and spending time with her loved ones.

Let’s go Arroyo!

Arroyo welcomed back all of our kiddos this week 🐇 While we were all unwinding, our staff was tasked with taking a bunny friend on all their amazing adventures! The following shows all the bunnies going far and wide!!! 🗺️

Arroyo dio la bienvenida nuevamente a todos nuestros estudiantes esta semana 🐇. Mientras todos descansábamos, nuestro personal tuvo la tarea de llevar a un conejito en todas sus increíbles aventuras. ¡A continuación, les mostramos cómo los conejitos viajaron por todas partes! 🗺️