La Reina says goodbye to co-principal

As the La Reina graduates stepped onto the front lawn last Saturday to begin their commencement ceremony, co-principals Sister Antoinette Marie Moon and Cecilia Coe sat in the school’s main office with Sister Mary Kristin Battles, provincial superior of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and shared a few last minute concerns.

“The high heels the girls are wearing coming down those steps,” Sister Antoinette said while watching the grads clad in white caps and gowns enter to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.” “They make me so nervous.” It wasn’t until the last of the 84 graduates safely stepped foot on the green grass below that Sister Antoinette let out the breath she’d been holding. She’s kept the same watchful eye on the students at La Reina, an all-girls Catholic school in Thousand Oaks, for the past seven years.

The graduation of the class of 2005, however, marks her final year as principal at the school where she began as a teacher in 1967.

“I’m graduating with them this year,” Sister Antoinette said with a smile. “It’s not easy, but I’m ready for the next step.” Coe, who’s been co-principal with Sister Antoinette for the past year, will take over principal duties.

“I’m losing my guide,” Coe said.

It’s overwhelming, and I’m sad ADVANCING IN THE GAME OF LIFE—Class of 2005 La Reina senior Shayla Stewart receives her diploma from Sister Antoinette Marie Moon during the graduation ceremony last weekend.

she’s leaving.” The two have worked together for seven years.

Sister Antoinette will continue her devotion to education and take on the training of young nuns in Uganda, in the heart of Africa.

“It’s someplace that I’ve wanted to go for a very long time,” she said.

“When I told my brother, he said, ‘Thanks be to God, you’ve been waiting to go since you were a little girl.’” Sister Antoinette was raised in Los Angeles and took her vows in 1965 after graduating from Notre Dame Academy. She started teaching at La Reina after earning a bachelor’s degree from Mt. St.

Mary’s College in Los Angeles and later earned a doctorate from California Lutheran University.

“I remember when the school site was nothing but a large field of mud,” she said. A lot has changed since then. La Reina is one of the premier all-girls schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Sister Antoinette recalls living in a home tucked into the rural pastures off Potrero Road when she first arrived from Los Angeles.

It’s the city’s country-like feel that will keep Thousand Oaks close to Sister Antoinette’s heart. “I’m a city girl, and Thousand Oaks is anything but,” Sister Antoinette said.

“But that’s what I love about it.” Sister Antoinette left Thousand Oaks in the early ’70s and spent 10 years in Rome. She then went on to work at Catholic schools in Oakland and Los Angeles and finally found her way back to La Reina and a rural town that had grown up.

During her career at La Reina, Sister Antoinette said she’s most proud of the staff. “They’re one of the most incredibly caring, committed and hardworking group of men and women I have ever worked with,” she said. However, she was quick to add that the students are still what makes her job truly special.

This year’s graduating class has impressive credentials. Class valedictorian Sabrina Chou, headed to Harvard in the fall, was selected as a Presidential Scholar Award winner, making her one of only 141 students selected out of 3 million graduating seniors nationwide.

In her speech to the graduating class and the standing-room-only crowd of family and friends, Chou said life was “an all-you-can-eat buffet” and “the possibilities are endless.” To a chorus of cheers, air horns and even signs with baby pictures, the graduates received their diplomas from Coe and Sister Antoinette.

With Bette Midler’s song “The Rose” playing in the background, the graduates then presented family members with yellow roses, a gesture of gratitude for their support throughout the years.

Sister Antoinette gave an emotional farewell address. With her voice cracking, she reminded the students that “who you are is much more important than what you do.” The singing of the school’s alma mater capped the day’s event and sent the students back up the steps they came down almost an hour earlier.

Once again, Sister Antoinette kept her eyes on the young ladies as they made their way toward her. She embraced each one with a smile, and it was clear that no matter where she is, Sister Antoinette will continue watching over the students of La Reina, high heels and all.