SACHSE, Texas — Inside Wylie ISD’s Cox Elementary School are thousands of stories, but for staff and students, there’s just one story and one chapter that haunts them.
“I just remember going to bed, putting my head in the pillow and starting to scream and cry,” third grader Isabel Baez said.
A year ago, 11-year-old Daniela Mendoza and her sister 8-year-old Sofia became two of the eight victims of a mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets. Both were students at Cox and both left an indelible mark. Teachers and students continue to mourn the immeasurable loss of the two girls a year later, said kindergarten dual language teacher Lorena Reyes.
“She had an effortless kindness where she was just kind to everyone,” Reyes, who had Sofia in class, said.
Both Daniela and Sofia formed special relationships with both students and teachers. Daniela created special moments in hallways with ESL teacher Stephanie Green and Sofia was always ready to provide a helping hand to her classmates.
“They were really nice and they were the nicest people I ever met,” third grader Levi Reyes said .
Those are the kinds of qualities that led Sofia’s second-grade teacher to reward students who exhibit the same kind of character. To make sure that no one forgets the beloved girls, teachers and classmates came up with a novel idea. Both girls loved to read, especially Sofia.
“Everyone would be playing and she would just be in her book reading,” Baez said.
Sofia wanted to own her own little library, Green said. So this summer they will build one for her. Alongside a planned memorial garden, the school will install Sofia’s little free library. The first books will come from a book drive that runs through May 17.
To honor Daniela’s generosity, the other books will be donated to local non-profits and libraries. Each book will include a message about Daniela and Sofia.
“This is a small way we can continue keeping their memory and their joy alive,” Lorena Reyes said.
And hopefully, it will make people want to be more like Daniela and Sofia, Green said.
“It’s important that we continue talking about them, cherish the joy they brought and continue spreading it as if they were still here,” said Lorena Reyes.
“They were the people everyone deserved to be, that everyone should be,” Baez said. “We have to remember them cause they did amazing things.”
To donate books to the book drive, mail to P.O. Box 490, Wylie, TX 75098