where
“Monsters in Love,” by Santiago Segu Torres
(2018 Graduate)
Visit the CATS Academy Courier website to:
• Watch Student Filmed Videos of Events and
View Photographs from Trips &Activities
• Finish Reading: “TEDx Comes to CATS,,
“Happy Year of the Pig,” Poetry Out Loud,”
Fashion is the One Art Form We All Participate
In,” Boston’s Women’s March,” CATS Lip Sync
Battle”
• View prior CATS Academy Courier editions!
Happy Year of the Pig! By DoHa Nguyen (Lead Reporter)
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival in China
or Tết in Vietnam, is the most important holiday in many
East Asian cultures. More than an annual event, Lunar
New Year also marks the end of a lunar year and starts the
circle of a new animal designation. Twelve animals are
designated for each year of a 12-year cycle, which derived
from the ancient myths about a race of all animals to
God's zenith. The result of that race determined the order
for this cycle: mouse, buffalo, tiger, cat/rabbit, dragon,
snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig. The
Year of 2019 is the year of the pig!
Student Ambassadors at the Lunar New Year event at CATS
This year, I am studying abroad in a foreign country
without family, and I admit that I felt a sense of
loneliness, homesickness, and loss during these last days
of the year. Yet, as my father said "Tết is always in our
soul," meaning that no matter how far we go, there is
always a way to celebrate this event, to connect with our
roots, our homeland, and our culture. On February 6th,
through small gestures of giving traditional Chinese and
Vietnamese food, candy, milk, and “lucky money” to the
CATS community, the Student Ambassadors brought the
atmosphere of the New Year to our school. Additionally,
my friends and I went to Boston Chinatown to watch the
dragon parade and the flower festival. We visited
Dorchester Avenue to enjoy traditional Vietnamese food
and went to the Pagodas to meditate. I also took the T to
Cambridge City, where a traditional Vietnamese Tết event
was held by MIT Alumnus. Being immersed in our culture
while being thousands of miles away from family was a
distinctive experience that will prominently remain in my
mind when I think about my time studying in Boston.
Read the full article online
The Fabulous Culture Fair By Mrs. Bowen (Staff Advisor)
The Annual Culture Fair was held on Monday, February 11, 2019 in the
school gym and it was, as in the past, a huge success! This yearly event is
one of our best at CATS, and this year was no exception. Students worked
tirelessly with each other, Ms. Carroll, and other members of the staff
including Mr. Lewan, Mr. Ceberano, and the kitchen staff to put on this
incredible fair. Many students spent hours preparing food from around the
world with the cafeteria staff who very kindly allowed them to use their
cooking equipment. Many students who had never cooked before got
involved in creating traditional foods from their home countries, which
were later served with a smile to all who attended the event. In addition to
the food, there was a fashion show featuring traditional costumes modeled
by students, several musical performances, and some exuberant dancing
numbers, which were enthusiastically received by all.
Students cheering for their classmates as they performed at the CATS Cultural fair
CATS Academy are from more than 30 countries worldwide, and, as a
teacher here, I took great pride in watching and participating in this
enthusiastic celebration of our many cultures!
CATS First Tech Fair By Martina Ibrahim (Contributor)
This past Tuesday, February 18, 2019, CATS Academy
Boston hosted their first annual Tech Fair with the
guidance and support of Mr. Najib, Mr. Napior, Ms.
Doyle, and several other staff members. Although the
Tech Fair would not have been possible without their help,
it was the creativity and hard work of students that brought
the event to life. Individually and in groups, students--
whether in the Innovation Lab courses, computer science
classes, or during their free time-- adaptly created different
programs and mechanisms, showcasing their ideas. All in
all, CATS Academy Boston’s first annual Tech Fair was a
great success! For students interested in finding out about
technology opportunities at CATS or getting involved, the
Innovation Lab is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
after school, so be sure to check it out!
Student Government By Maya Stoilova (Reporter)
Students having fun at the Valentine’s Day Dance
Have you ever heard someone say “New Year, same
old me”? Well, in case you haven't, let me say it to
you! It’s a brand new year, but Student Government is
still the same--we are working for you by planning a
whole bunch of refreshing and hopefully fun events for
the student body. This Valentine’s, we had a disco
themed party. Even if you were single, there was much
to enjoy, especially our Sweetest Corner, where
chocolate and candy was available to all who attended!
Continued on Page 2
Braintree, Massachusetts, USA Volume III Issue III February 27, 2019
Page 1
TEDx Comes to CATS By DoHa Nguyen (Lead Reporter)
On February 21, 2019, CATS Academy Boston hosted
its first TEDx Event! There were 9 students who gave
talks on subjects ranging from “How Augmented
Reality Can Change Your Job” to a “Speechless
Message.” The nine students who presented talks were:
Yan Blokhin, Tomoyo Qing Liu, Nguyen Le Dong Hai
“DoHa”, Julie Le, Aziz Bokijonov, Ashly Daepi, Jim
Nguyen, Luis Sierra Valenzuela, and Anastasia
Dvoryanchikova.
Each student spoke about a topic that engaged their
passion and hopes to inspire others who attended and
still others who will eventually see the event online. I
myself was a speaker at this exciting event. My topic
was “From Introvert to Extrovert: Can the Internet
Play a Vital Role.” I also had the opportunity to
interview Julie Le, our school’s first TEDx Event
Organizer:
1. What made you decide to organize a TEDx event for
our school?
I decided to organize a TEDx event at CATS, because
I have watched a lot of TED Talks and have always
felt very inspired by them. At CATS we have a diverse
student body, so I wanted to create a platform for
anyone here to share their unique ideas, passions,
perspectives, and talents. I thought that a TEDx event
would be a unique way to bring everybody together.
2. What do you consider the most difficult challenge in
organizing this event?
Because this was my first time organizing a TEDx
event, it was difficult to get the license approved from
the TED organization. But, it was worth it to introduce
this new event to everybody at CATS. In order to
organize a professional event, I needed to reach out to
not only students, but also to teachers for help
regarding media, logistics, design, and all the behind-
the-scene stuff. They were all so helpful!
Read the full interview online
Poetry Out Loud By Alex Shevtsova (Reporter)
On January 28, 2019, CATS held their whole-school Poetry Out Loud
competition. The gym was filled with nervousness and excitement.
With almost 20 participants, the event was a wonderful celebration of
poetry and a memorable experience for everyone. Great thanks and
congratulations to those who presented their poems in front of
everyone! A special shout out to Luisa Araujo Maia Toledo for
winning the whole-school competition with her engaging recitations of
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and John Barryman’s “Dream
Song 14”! Luisa will represent our school at the semi-finals on
Monday, March 4th at 7pm at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston.
Because of Poetry Out Loud,
I learned that I like poems very
much. Not all of them, of
course, but when you find the
right one it is like meeting a
soulmate. Poems have greater
meaning when you discover
yourself in them. Poetry Out
Loud was a deep unit--in
terms of learning new things,
new perspectives, and new
poems. I cannot wait to fall
in love with a new poem
next year!
Read the full article online
Luisa Araujo Maia Toledo, CATS 2019 Poetry
Out Loud whole-school winner
Hedgehog Valentine’s Day Maze
Directions: Two hedgehogs are in love—but they got separated! Help the
hedgehogs make their way back to each other through the maze!
Boston Women’s March By Jim Nguyen (Lead Reporter)
For the CATS Academy Boston campus
community, January 19, 2019 was a quiet
day. But at the train station, there were
people carrying signs, getting on the
Alewife train moving towards the city.
January 19th was the date of the 2019
Boston Women’s March, the third such
march.
As in the past two years, the message put
forth by the 2019 Women’s March was to
end institutional racism, anti-Semitism,
homophobia, transphobia, sexism,
ableism, and misogyny.
Read the full article online
Girls Basketball By Jenn Lee (Reporter)
Our CATS Academy Girls Basketball team
encountered both ups and downs
throughout their very successful season.
According to Mr. Wilkins, Director of
Athletics & Activities, the team finished
their season with a record of 8-5, finishing
second in the Girls Independent League for
the season and making the postseason
playoffs for the second year in a row. He
was particularly complementary of the
great coaching efforts of Ms. Scheider and
Mr. O’Brien.
Community Service
Chinese Lantern Project By Jenn Lee (Reporter)
In celebration of Chinese New Year on
February 5, 2019, the Community
Service Club went to the Braintree
Community Arts Center to teach children
about China through their art and
language. Since lanterns are important in
the Chinese New Year, symbolizing
happiness and wealth, we decided to
teach the kids how to make them. We
also taught them how to draw traditional
dragons, which represent the idea of
strength in the Chinese New Year
celebration.
Mia Huynh with kids at the Community Center
I partnered up with one of the children,
Eugene, who is half-Japanese, half-
American. Even though he was only a
child, he was able to share so much
knowledge with me! I was surprised to
learn so much about his culture through
his unique perspective.
It was a pleasure to work with the
children at the Braintree Community
Arts Center. The Community Service
Club is thankful to be part of such a
diverse community here in Braintree
from which we can learn and to which
we can give back by sharing our own
knowledge, experience, and time. We
look forward to introducing the children
at the Center to our many other cultures
in the future. Brazil is up next!
“Fashion is the One Art Form
We All Participate In” By Katie Dang (Reporter)
It goes without saying that fashion plays an
important role in this day and age. As a result,
many students at CATS are interested in studying
and developing their fashion skills. To get more
information about this popular field, we
interviewed our new CATS Fashion Teacher and
Fashion Club Director, Mr. Donovan:
1. What classes are you teaching at CATS?
I’m teaching two Introduction to Fashion classes, in
which students learn the more expressive side of
fashion to develop their skills and aesthetics, and an
Advanced Fashion class that teaches my students
the practice of fashion: business, client work, and
working in teams. I also teach a Costume class. In
this class, the students and I are creating the
costumes for the Spring musical, Pippin. The final
class I teach is Photography and Videography. My
students are literally being graded on their selfies in
this class. (Okay, not literally.)
2. Why should students take your Fashion Class?
I think fashion is the one art form we all participate
in and all have something to say about. If you wish
you could express yourself better stylistically, or
you wish you could just sew on the buttons that
occasionally fall off your clothes, definitely take
this class.
3. What advice would you like to share with
students who are interested in fashion?
Besides that they should take my class: do your
research! Runway shows, fashion history, tumblr—
all of it is important to learn in order to be well-
versed in the industry today. It’s important to know
where the industry has been so you can identify
where it is and help direct where it’s going.
Read the full interview online
Faculty Advisors
Brenda Bowen
Danielle Brown
The CATS Courier is an open forum for the free exchange of views and ideas. We welcome any comments or suggestions.
Opinions expressed in the CATS Courier do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial staff or CATS Academy
Boston. If you are interested in working with the courier please contact Mrs. Bowen ([email protected]) or Miss
Brown ([email protected]) or just come to a Newspaper Club meeting on Mondays, from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in room 214.
Newsworthy items can also be share with us in the same way.
Page 2
Student of the Month
Design credit to DoHa Nguyen
If you’re interested, join us on Friday in Ms.
Webb’s classroom, RM 112, from 11:00-11:30am.
CATS December
Fashion Show By Nuray Salina (Reporter)
Last semester on December 4th, there was
a fantastic fashion show at CATS. The
theme of the event was “Street Fashion.”
Designers and their models presented their
own vision of a modern urban teenage
style. Also presented were costume
designs, some of which you may have
recognized from CATS productions. Our
Fashion Design classes and many
interested students from the Fashion Club
took part in this special event. All had
worked hard the entire first semester on the
designs and their construction. Both
teachers and students put a lot of effort into
the presentation of the designs and organization of the show. Those who
attended had a chance to enjoy and
appreciate a variety of unique creations
designed, created, and exhibited by our
CATS students and staff!
CATS Lip Sync Battle By Serafina Mei (Reporter)
“Lip sync? What is that?”
“Lip synchronization. We call it lip sync.
You move your lips along with the words
of a song. You hear the pre-recorded
vocals in the background and sometimes
there is dancing to go with the song.”
“Sounds interesting, but can be
embarrassing. Imagine how awkward it
would be if you suddenly forgot the words
to the song and froze. The trick may be to
just keep moving around no matter what.”
“True. It is a challenge. But I looked
forward to the show!”
On Monday, January 21, 2019, students
gathered in the gym for CATS’ annual lip
sync battle, where both teachers and
students got up on stage, lip synced, and
danced to their favorite songs.
View a collection of pictures and read
student quotes from the event online.
January
Alex Shevtsova
Toledo
January
Alex Shevtsova,
November
Luisa Toledo
CATS Economics Club By DoHa Nguyen (Lead Reporter)
This semester, CATS welcomes a new club that
focuses on educating students about Economics,
Finance, Business and the Stock Market: The
CATS Economics Club. More than an ordinary
academic club, the Economics Club focuses on
spreading awareness of these subjects in an
interactive and interesting way. The Club helps
members engage in economics lessons in the form
of mini-games, quizzes, debates, and stock-market
simulators.
Continue reading online
Digital Editor
DoHa Nguyen
Student Gov. Cont.
After Valentine’s, another great event is
to come! Both students and faculty will
be able to participate in the Basketball
Tournament, where they can compete for
prices! Plus, for those who do not like
sports that much, there will be music to
enjoy and some nice food and drinks!
Keep watching for more upcoming
events as the semester continues and
make sure to bring along your pals when
you attend, because more is always
merrier when it comes to fun!