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 (bbowen@catsboston.com) or Miss

Brown (dbrown@catsboston.com) 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!