Substituting a sister

Esther Rodriguez, Parents & Teachers Section Editor

November 18, 2013

While she’s adjusting to being the new, temporary librarian, Yvette Flores substitutes for her sister Martha Ortiz, who is on maternity leave. “There’s always a lot of stuff to do, even though it looks like I don’t really much, I do,” Flores said. “I have an agenda I have to follow.”

On Nov. 1, Mrs. Ortiz bid a temporary farewell to her job as the school librarian. While she is on maternity leave, her sister, Miss Flores, has taken over the job.

Flores, a substitute art teacher from the district, decided to take over as librarian while her sister is out because she gave birth to a baby girl named Ava Catalina. Flores found it to be an interesting change from teaching, but she enjoys the change. She feels the library is an even greater resource for students now with the college career center being in there.

“It’s stressful and a lot to worry about, but I really like it,” Flores said. “It’s a new experience from teaching.”

Miss Flores is doing her best to keep everything organized the way her sister did. She must keep teacher’s reservations and check outs in line the way her sister has shown her to. She loves the familiarity of seeing the same students walking into the library everyday as opposed to seeing a new class every time she teachers.

Senior Yakob Posada works in the library during snack and lunch. He feels that Miss Flores is doing a great job taking over.

“More students seem to be coming to the library,” Posada said. “It’s more packed during lunch. Ms. Flores is doing a pretty good job in replacing her sister.”

Junior Raul Valera Chavez is an avid visitor of the library, who enjoys his time in there most days.

“Her sister is great,” Chavez said. “I always enjoy going inside the library. It’s always a great time inside the library. It’s always a great time just to be with friend.”

Chavez found the atmosphere of the library to be more attentive while a pregnant Mrs. Ortiz was working.

“Everyone in the library seemed attentive, like they were watching out for her [Mrs. Ortiz],” Chavez said.

Miss Flores continues to work to keep the library the way it was before her sister left. Mrs. Ortiz has trusted her sister to run things well, and Flores is working hard to do that. Students feel she is fulfilling Mrs. Ortiz’s duties well until she is able to return.

About the Contributors

Esther Rodriguez, Parents & Teachers Section Editor

Entering her second year as a writer for The Downey Legend, senior Esther Rodriguez has high hopes. As a sophomore, she heard about joining Newspaper during the morning announcements and her English teacher, Mr. Kraus, encouraged her to fill out an application and display her knack for writing. This inspired her to apply and see if she could make it, which she did. Rodriguez joined in hopes of improving her writing skills, becoming less shy, and learning to write in more detail. To her, the best part about being on the newspaper staff is finding out about interesting, random things going on around the school. “There are things you would not know just coming to school, but being in Newspaper you learn things that aren’t common knowledge,” Rodriguez said. “We are the eyes and ears of the school.” In her down time, Rodriguez enjoys reading young adult literature, writing fictional stories, and spending quality time with her cell phone on websites like YouTube, Tumblr, and Twitter. Besides being in Newspaper at school, she is also a new tutor at Downey High’s Writing Center. Writing as much as possible is important to her because she dreams of one day being an author. Along with chasing her aspirations of writing for a living, after she finishes high school, Rodriguez also looks forward to attending a university such as UCLA, San Diego State, or UC San Diego and obtaining a degree in English. Next summer, she will also be going on a missionary trip with church to Japan. Although her head is full of thoughts about the surreal future, for now Rodriguez is focusing on her schoolwork and activities and soaking up her last year as a high schooler.

Mayra Castro, Photographer

Current photographer for The Downey Legend, Mayra Castro, approaches her senior year with optimism and hopes to makes her final year memorable by never missing an opportunity to hang out with friends, while still managing her academics. Castro describes photography as her favorite art medium and, although her passion is fairly new, she is eager to gain more experience by practicing alongside the other Online Newspaper photographers. The senior decided to join the staff because she wanted a place where she could showcase her work while working with other passionate and goal oriented students. She is also considering a future in photojournalism and hopes to familiarize herself with the publication process. Castro’s main goal for the future is to be the first in her family to go to college. The aspiring photographer feels that a college degree is a necessary component to be successful in today’s economy. When she is enrolled in school, Castro hopes to major in photojournalism and eventually have her images published in a popular magazine where thousands of people can appreciate her work. In her personal life, Castro describes herself as a simple girl with simple tastes. She appreciates the small things in life like listening to music or simply hanging out with friends at the local mall. She looks at each day from a relaxed and optimistic perspective. “The most important part of my life is being happy,” Castro said. “That's all that matters.”