Watching over the senior class during the first day of school assembly, as they rushed the field in excitement of winning the class competition, Assistant Principal Dominick Spylios experienced an intense, turned prideful moment while witnessing the tradition of seniors celebrating by holding up their white chairs and placing them back down to sit like nothing happened at all.
According to Spylios, that experience is what solidified his love for PHS and its strong school spirit, “I could tell you guys care so much about your school experience,” Spylios said.
When he started his first day on the job here, Spylios was no stranger to the classroom environment. He began as an AVID and Spanish teacher for middle schoolers, then found a passion in working with ASB at Rancho Bernardo High School.
“I fell in love with being an ASB director, just seeing kids love being at school. Student engagement and school spirit are some of my favorite things,” Spylios said.
He plans to work more with ASB to enhance student voices on campus, so more students feel empowered to belong. He would love to get more students involved, so they find how they fit into our campus.
Through his experience, Spylios also grew to love working with teachers, leading to his drive to become more than just a teacher, but an assistant principal.
“I like helping teachers stay amazing teachers and feeding their love for teaching, so they can help students love learning,” Spylios said. “It’s kind of like a whole ecosystem.”
He chose the high school level because of the high energy the students exude, and their great potential. “The students are so unique, they start to actually discover their passions, apply for jobs, and start clubs. You really start to see that flower blossom,” Spylios said.
Principal Jonathan Penuliar believes Spylios was the perfect fit for PHS. A favorite memory with Spylios was their first football game at Scripps Ranch High School.
“The students made our job so easy in the best way possible, because they were so spirited about supporting the success of our gentlemen on the field,” Penuliar said.
Spylios now looks forward to making more connections with students. Outside of school, Spylios is a fluent Spanish speaker, having learned the language through school. As a dad of two French bulldogs and looking forward to pumpkin spice season, Spylios is everything nice for our campus.
