Over the last six years, Assistant Principal Ms. Carque has been an indispensable pillar of the Palo Verde High School community. She originally came to Palo working as a dean, but later transferred to the activities office to become the Assistant Principal. Now, she will sadly be leaving to pursue a new and hopefully exciting adventure working for a middle school.

“In my new endeavor I look forward to learning more about middle school. I’ve never worked in a middle school before, and just kind of seeing a more global view of how a school is run, because when you work in a high school all the time you’re just kind of in your own little lane. I think in a middle school I’ll have opportunities to have new experiences and learn more things.”

With new opportunities comes new experiences, and we hope Ms. Carque’s new experience is as fulfilling as she has made many of ours’ at Palo. While she looks forward to learning from a middle school environment, there are key parts of high school that she expects to miss.

“My favorite thing about this school is the students and the school spirit. I’m going to miss working with student council and Ms. Vacante (who’s amazing), and just seeing all the different activities we’ve planned. I know there’s been so many fun trips: grad night every year, the assemblies, pep rallies, and I’m definitely going to miss the high school feel and the school spirit.”

Having worked at Palo Verde for as long as she has, Ms. Carque has made a lot of memories within that time. One of them include when the Sadie Hawkins dance was brought back as an official school dance, and the student council added a glow in the dark dance floor to liven the experience. 

“I love the pep rallies in the quad before our game nights for football or basketball games, the fight song, and just the student section spirit at the games (even when they’re crazy). I hope all of that will continue,” she said. “I will miss everything about Palo Verde, but I’m excited for something new.”

Now that Ms. Carque will be going to a middle school, the Palo Verde family and community will surely miss her presence at the Friday night football games. No matter where she goes, she will always be welcome here at Palo.

Ms. Carque said, “I’m going to miss Ms. Whitaker (my secretary), we’ve had a lot of great times together and have been through a lot of stressful things with the whole shut-down, and I’m really going to miss Ms. Vacante. She’s amazing and she’s like the heartbeat of the school.”

Although she will no longer be an official staff member on the Palo campus, Ms. Carque will be back for sure– “once a panther, always a panther.” Additionally, she expects to continue staying in touch with her friends in the Palo Verde Staff.

For any new staff member that may come into a pertinent Palo position, Ms. Carque advised, “get to know your staff members and your students, and form those relationships because that is really important. Just don’t be afraid to ask questions, there’s a lot of experts on campus and a lot of different areas. Everybody’s always willing to help out with anything, so don’t ever be afraid to feel like you’re doing something on your own because everybody is very willing to lend a hand.”

Every member of the Palo Verde High School community will greatly miss Ms. Carque and the numerous contributions she has made to the school. Now whenever students walk past the activities office, they will repeatedly remember the significance of her presence at Palo. While the school will not be the same without her, we thank her and wish her all the best on her next journey!