By, Kaylan Kha
Editor-in-Chief
This year, Gabrielino High School welcomed two new staff members. Special education
teacher Sheila Mateo, pictured at right, librarian Margo Butera, pictured at
left, quickly learned how Gabrielino operated in the first few weeks, get-
ting to know students and faculty in the process. In addition to her ninth to
12th grade Integrated English classes, Mateo teaches a resource class as well. On Friday nights, she also works as an adjunct psychology professor at Mount San Antonio
College.
Her major goals this year are to understand more about technology and the high school curriculum. She is enthusiastic about working with students, families, and other faculty members. Mateo worked as a speech and language specialist for Long Beach Unified before receiving her Master of Science in Child Development at the University of La Verne in 2008 and a special education credential. Mateo has been in education
for over ten years and has taught students at all levels, from kindergarten to college. This is her first year teaching high school students.
“I wanted to see how much I [could] learn from [the students] and how much they could learn from me,” said Mateo. Both Mateo and Butera share a love for what they do, taking the time to guide students in their learning.
Mateo’s philosophy is “Respect, Responsibility, and [Setting] future goals.”
Before discovering her passion for teaching, Butera attended film school, where she eventually decided to pursue her degree in education. Butera gained experience working as a librarian for the past five years in the Temple City and Arcadia school districts. During the week of registration, Butera collected fines, and spent her first few days in the
library checking out textbooks to the students.
“It’s a whirlwind,” stated Butera. “My feet have never been more tired, but it’s nice to get to know some of the students andteachers.”
Students can find Butera in the library on Thursday and Friday. At a Pasadena City C o l l e g e m e e t i n g earlier this year, Butera met both the former librarian Ellen Shima-moto and current district librarian Eileen Chi. After getting to know Chi, Butera had a greater incentive to join the Gabrielino faculty. “The students, staff, and ad-
ministration [all] really care and I think that’s rare in a lot of schools,” said Butera. “There’s definitely a great community here.” Chi returned from maternity leave on Sept. 18, but will only work part-time, Monday to Wednesday, to spend time with
her child. Library hours have remained the same, opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 5.p.m
