Mahathi Rao was beginning the first grade at Conejo Adventist Elementary School when groundbreaking was held Oct. 6, 2006, for a new school on the hill just a quarter mile away in Newbury Park. The previous school was just a few yards away from the busy US 101 freeway on property acquired for the school by Seventh-day Adventists before the freeway was built, according to Larry L. Caviness, president, Southern California Conference.

At the grand opening of the new school on July 13, Mahathi, now a third-grader, helped cut a ribbon, opening the way for more than 80 students to move into their new school rooms this school year.

“Waiting for the event hasn't been easy because between groundbreaking and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, students attended classes at two different sites,” said Principal Phil Hudema. Seventh- and eighth-graders met in temporary quarters in nearby Newbury Park Adventist Academy. All other grades were located in the Thousand Oaks church's multipurpose building, more than two miles away.

The ceremony culminated a building dream launched some 25 years earlier and was completed under the leadership of board chair Geoff Wolcott, who graduated from the school in 1992. Wolcott began attending CAES at the time the building planning began.

“CAES has a long history in Thousand Oaks,” said Tom Glancy, the city's mayor pro tem. “The school pre-dates the chartering of the city by four years,” he told an audience of almost 100 at the grand opening. The school originally opened in 1961.

Among many supporters involved in the construction program were Aaron and Denise Ramirez of SME Construction. Aaron coordinated the underground work and Denise, the Home and School leader, helped to raise more than $12,000 to purchase new desks and chairs. The school was built by HMH Construction.

Hudema, who came to CAES five years ago, had accepted his job with the understanding that the new school construction project was just about ready to begin. With all the delays and setbacks, he is just grateful that the project is now a reality.

Mahathi and more than 80 other students will enjoy new desks in their classrooms, a newly sodded athletic field, four basketball backboards and many other amenities, all part of a $6 million dream project come true.