Mrs. Bonilla, an 8th grade teacher on Team Cimarron here at Rio Norte. Mrs. Bonilla is an 8th grade history and 7th and 8th grade teen leadership teacher and she’s been teaching for over 16 years. She started teaching in 2003 and has taught at Sierra Vista Jr High, Rancho Pico, Placerita, and Rio Norte Jr High. She has been teaching here at Rio Norte for 12 years.
Mrs. Bonilla loves to read, write, cook, and go watch her son’s soccer games. Her favorite foods are vegetables and fruit. She states “When I was little, on my birthday, I would ask my mom to make this vegetable salad with many different veggies. It was my favorite.” Mrs. Bonilla grew up here in Santa Clarita. She has two kids, 17 year olds, Jack and Charlie that both go to Saugus High School. Matt, her husband, has a job in law enforcement. She has known him since elementary school and they got married in 2004, and has been married to him for about 20 years. Fun fact about her is that Mrs. Welch is her sister-in-law who we all know as our P.E. teacher here at Rio.
Mrs. Bonilla has been involved with the schooling and teaching industry for 16 years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at California Lutheran University, then earned her Master’s degree at Pepperdine University both located here in California. She majored in History and minored in Social Sciences at CLU. Her Master’s degree is in education at Pepperdine University. Mrs. Bonilla is also certified in integrative nutrition and is certified as a pilates instructor. She participated in one year of track in high school even though she states “As a person, I was never really an athlete.” In 2020, she received teacher of the year. We asked Tyler Lord, an 8th grader at Rio, and here’s what he said, “ Mrs. Bonilla is by far the best teacher I’ve ever had, she engages in her lessons and tries to understand students.”
Mrs. Bonilla’s journey as a teacher has led her to become one of the most respected and well known teachers on campus. Her ability to shape young minds highlights her ability to work with young teens. With Mrs. Bonilla’s rich educational history, students and parents value her as both a teacher and a person.