![On Tues., Mar. 4, Mr. Pittenger counts the plants and gets them ready for his next Botany class. “Plants have the ability to do cool things animals can’t,” Pittinger said. “You can do surgery and clone them.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DSC_0287-copy.jpg)
Botany Sales
Esther Rodriguez, Parents & Teachers Section Editor
• March 10, 2014
![During Mrs. Ortiz’s maternity leave in November, her sister, Ms. Flores, manages the library until her return in March. Mrs. Ortiz said the hardest part of returning is missing her newborn daughter, Eva Catalina.](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_9906.jpg)
5 Questions with Mrs. Ortiz
Moises Martinez, Community Section Editor
• March 7, 2014
![Beginning this semester in the Math and English departments, the Downey Unified School District will require teachers to change their curriculum. Mrs. Orca has changed her curriculum after six years of teaching to fit the curriculum requirements.](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_7196.jpg)
Oh, the times they are a-changin’
Moises Martinez, Community Section Editor
• February 25, 2014
![Once the semester ends on Jan. 30, Ms. Vargas will have finished her student teaching for Cal State Long Beach. ”I heard a lot of good things from Downey,” Ms. Vargas said. ”It was just what I was expecting.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_5852_72.jpg)
Student teachers leave
Moises Martinez Cortez, Writer/Community Editor
• January 22, 2014
![The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA, is an application that provides high school students with financial resources when entering college and furthering their education. The FAFSAs are required by numerous colleges and universities and is used to determine a student’s eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs.](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_3887_123.jpg)
Time to get some money
Rodas Hailu, Co-Editor-in-Chief
• January 22, 2014
![On Dec. 10, Mr. Jose De La Torre is pleased to be part of the Downey High School staff and have assisted his students for the past seven years. “It is great to be given the opportunity to help students daily,” De La Torre said. “What if I make a difference in a student’s life?”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/IMG_0509_2_72.jpg)
Teaching beyond the limits
Mizhelle Cortes, Writer/ Business Team
• December 13, 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.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_9935_2_72.jpg)
Substituting a sister
Esther Rodriguez, Parents & Teachers Section Editor
• November 18, 2013
![On Thurs., Oct. 31, Mr. Roger Rios reminisces about his rocker days and playing guitar with The Mosleys, a surf garage band he was a member of during his teenage years. “It was a joke to us because we weren’t trying to make it big,” Rios said. “We turned down three record deals and many gigs.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_9738_2_72.jpg)
Once a rocker, always a rocker
Moises Martinez Cortez, Writer/Community Editor
• November 1, 2013
![After leaving London in 1981, Mrs. Vadgama came to Downey and now teaches all six periods of the Career Technical Education classes: Principles of Education. She has been teaching for thirteen years and is also in charge of Skills USA.](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Vadgama.jpg)
A woman of multiple countries
Lucia Hernandez, News Editor
• October 28, 2013
![For the month of September, ASB members announce English teacher, Mr. David Kraus, as Teacher of the Month. Mr. Kraus has been teaching English at Downey High for the past four years.](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_8603_2_72.jpg)
A long time coming
Edward Valencia, Writer/Parents and Teachers Editor
• October 18, 2013
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