Yesterday the school that I went to from nursery school through junior high closed. I had heard the news from a friend whose son went to the same school I did because it was where I recommended when asked, anytime anyone asked I told them Pinecrest. I have many memories from my years there, friends, teachers, administration staff, coaches. I accomplished so much because of their dedication.
I remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Hays who took time to tutor me in phonics and math because I struggled with both. Mrs. Link, my third grade teacher who taught me handwriting even though I cried buckets of tears because it was so hard. Mrs. Hack in the fourth grade and the plant reports we had to do, mine was Pluto. In the fifth grade we started switching classes like they did in the big schools. I had great teachers, Mrs. Robinson, Mr. Pomerantz, Mrs. Brown, and countless others. These were the educators who taught me things like science, social studies, and English. I had a great Spanish teacher, Senor Campo who was thrilled when I came to visit from high school and we could hold a decent conversation in a language he started teaching me in kindergarten.
Then there were our coaches, Don, Bridgette, Charlie, and Doug to name a few. I played soccer, softball, basketball, and swam. Every summer was swimming lessons starting in the small pool over at the preschool and one time having lessons in Mrs. Dye pool at her house where the junior high was eventually put in. I completed a triathlon as a chubby little girl with encouragement from Don, Charlie, and Bridgette who walked the last part of it with me around the huge field at Pierce. I was so tired by the end but she told me as I walked not to worry and at the end I sprinted across the finish line, it didn't matter that I was last. When I got older during the summers I would do swim team and synchronized swimming because being in the water was my all time favorite sport.
I did so much during my time at Pinecrest. I was a member of the junior and senior chorus that would put on shows at the holidays under the direction of Ms. Galen. Mrs. Robinson always had some special after school program focused on space, dinosaurs, or science in general. I even took home the science room animals during breaks because I thought it was so cool, my favorite was Gene our rainbow gecko.
That school was my home for so many years for education, I would get dropped off early in the morning and sometimes would be sitting in the main office close to 6pm waiting to be picked up because my mom and dad worked long hours. When I wasn't there for the normal school year, I was still there for summer camp because it was all day summer camp. We went everywhere during the summer, Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, the beach, Raging Waters, Magic Mountain, and countless other places. I remember getting the summer camp packet and each field trip slip was a different color. When we did stay at the school it was arts and crafts, games, swimming, and movies. We even had sleepovers in the gym! I remember walks around the track at night before going to the gym to watch a movie and sleep. The best part of summer camp though was the week long trip to San Diego. We stayed at the KOA campground and went to Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, bowling, movies, roller skating, and other fun things. I still remember having a claw game surrounded by people directing me how to move the claw so that I could grab a prize and it worked.
The San Diego trip leads me to thinking about one memory in particular from those trips. We had gone to see the movie A League of Their Own and I don't know why I just remember at the end I was crying my eyes out. When I hear the song This Used to Be My Playground that was used in the film it always transports me back to my Pinecrest days, not just summer camp but growing up at the school and seeing it change. When the transition came and they decided to add 7th and 8th grade at Woodland Hills, I had been excited because I didn't have to change schools. I was part of the first 8th grade class to graduate along with so many others that I had gone to school with over the years. A few of us were even recognized at graduation for having been there from nursery through 8th grade, I want to say there were about 6 of us.
I have many memories of the school that I grew up at, I have trophies and pictures. Pinecrest, the buildings, the pool, the auditorium, the classrooms I like to think remember me in some way. The grounds at Oxnard and Shoup saw a lot of me both in good and bad times. I scraped my knees playing on the merry-go-rounds, slides, and monkey bars. The time I broke my nose in pre-school and the nurse was just as calm as could be handling the situation. I'm glad I had that experience, glad that I got to go to a school that was challenging but also offered help, I'm thankful for friends that I had and many that I've reconnected with after so much time because of Facebook. Who knew computers would offer more than Oregon Trail, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, and print shop on a dot matrix printer.
Pinecrest may be closing but it will live on for many years through all of the students that passed through it's classrooms in Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Simi Valley, Northridge, and the other locations they grew to. It will be there in our hearts and minds to remind us of the foundation that was laid for our educational and sports journeys. It was the beginning for me to becoming an adult. Learning to interact with others, sharing, sportsmanship, and leadership. Pinecrest will always be there to connect us to the first friends we made. The physical locations may be closing but Pinecrest will never be closed in my heart.
