Rosary Academy has many teachers, but only one Spanish teacher that’s a llama lover: Señora Ray. As the Spanish department chair, she teaches her students more than just the language. Ray’s funny personality shows her love for Yo-Yo Ma, Chan Mendes, llamas and her favorite phrase, super híjole!
To start off, anyone who had or currently takes one of Ray’s classes knows that when they are testing, they will always listen to “the soothing sounds of the one and only Yo-Yo Ma and his version of ‘A Butterfly’s Day Out’ because if a butterfly where to have a day out, this is what it would sound like.” Besides this relaxing cello serenade, there is also “Quarter Chicken Dark” and a fan favorite, “La Libertad” by Alvaro Soler.
Some students now get excited when hearing their favorite song played during Ray’s class. Elizabeth Braatz ’27 shared hers when saying, “My favorite song she plays is ‘Quarter Chicken Dark.’ I love the song because it’s so catchy!” These songs are played in class when we are doing our “frases” which is when we translate sentences from English to Spanish. We have picked out our favorite songs played as well: Sarah Conley ’27 loves “La Libertad” and Alina Valencia ’27 loves “Digas Lo Que Digas” by Jesse & Joy. Alina first heard this song on a Novela that her grandma was watching, and she has been obsessed with the song ever since!
Speaking of singers, Chan Mendes is another person that Ray likes to use in her examples on student’s homework, test and quizzes. Many times, you will hear about your wedding with Chan Mendes taking place at a venue or about “tú novio Chan.” One time she even mentioned One Direction; we think she is a secret Directioner. However, she has beef with the actor who recently portrayed the role of Elvis, Austin Butler. Although the reason why is unknown, she deeply dislikes the actor and his ex-girlfriend Kaia Gerber. So, make sure to never bring those two up unless you are willing to participate in a very interesting conversation.
When you walk into her classroom, you will be greeted by Yo-Yo Ma on the wall and an assortment of different colored llamas. During games of Lotería, you have a chance to win a variety of toys including notebooks with puns in Spanish, erasers and, of course, llamas. Each student is determined to win one.
During holiday seasons, some llamas may be Valentine’s Day themed or even Christmas themed. Alina has yet to win one, but Sarah has. So far this year, Sarah won two llamas in Ray’s class when playing Lotería. She has a white one named Lamita, and a purple one that is currently missing. Either way, it is still a ton of fun playing games in Spanish class and competing for the newest llamas.
Fun fact: One of Ray’s students Phoebe Zhang ’27 dressed up as Yo-Yo Ma for Halloween and serenaded the whole class with her version of “A Butterflies Day Out.” Ray let out a chuckle when she heard this performance and even kept the cello as a souvenir! “I dressed up as Yo-Yo Ma because I was moved and inspired by Señora Ray’s love for him,” stated Zhang.
Senior Nyah Vukoye also shared her favorite inside joke with Ray, “I love when she says words in Spanglish with a clear American accent because that’s definitely something I taught her!”
Every day in Ray’s class, students are guaranteed to make memories and laugh. All the memories we have made with Ray in class will forever hold a special place in our hearts, and in the wise words of Señora Ray, “Adios que les vayan bien,”
