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A Senior’s Aspirations

By: Aleksandra Chernysheva

Unfortunately time at CATS passes by very quickly and almost imperceptibly. Although it is just the beginning of November, when many may assume (fairly enough) that there is a lot of time ahead to worry about the end of the school year, they not exactly correct. I think that most of the seniors would agree with me, that time seems short. We are the ones who must choose colleges, decide which exams to take, and complete all our applications. This is the time of the year, when seniors are crafting their future and what they aspire to accomplish in their future lives. What are their college aspirations? Why? Are they anxious and nervous about leaving high school behind or are they well-prepared to confidently step into the new life that the college is offering? These are the kinds of questions that I wanted to explore, which is why I talked to a CATS senior.

Many of us would agree that senior, Alice Nguyen, from Vietnam is one of the most remarkable students at CATS Academy Boston. Since her arrival, she has been an integral part of our community.  She constantly challenges herself academically and is welcoming and friendly to all. She is also one of the best student-writers who deserves to be considered for the English Award 2017.

What are her senior aspirations?

“For college I’d like to be in an academically rigorous environment, where the students are all eager to learn and to help others learn. In college, I want to be busy 24/7 with internships, academics, and extracurricular activities. College is the time for me to challenge myself and get the most out of my experience.

I’m passionate about creative writing, so I’d like to join literary magazines and journals, book clubs, and any writing workshops. I also hope to explore other disciplines that would let me explore more about myself. ”

Is she nervous or confident about her forthcoming college experience?

“I’m really, really excited to go to college. I mean, I love CATS, but college is a whole new horizon to immerse myself in, and it’s always exciting to think about new places and new journeys. However I am certainly not ready, even worried and stressed out at times, because my early decision deadline is approaching. It’s comforting to know that I’m doing my best to prepare and challenge myself.”

I am sure that a lot of seniors are in the same position as Alice, and we wish them all the best of luck. We hope that you all achieve your goals! To the class of 2019, prepare yourselves! It’s coming for you too, maybe even sooner than you expect.

 

 

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Habits of An “A” Student

By: Howard Ng

Being mediocre isn’t the type of student you should be. You know that you have potential and the aptitude to succeed academically in every subject. But, maybe some of you reading this have not yet reached your full potential. Who doesn’t want to wake up and see their Engrade filled with A’s? You should keep in mind that “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” (~Lao Tzu), thus one step follows another. If you follow these suggestions and work hard, they can help you become someone that excels.

  1. Manage your time, write down your assignment
  • You might think you can remember all of the assignments your teacher gives you, but don’t be surprised when you suddenly forget about all of it the next day. If you are someone that has had the experience of having no clue what the homework was, then you know that needs to change. Instead of losing points for missing the due date, which brings your grade down, simply get a planner or some kind of notebook to write down every assignment that your teacher gives. Stop wasting your time, write it down.
  1. “Humility is how you get better” (Mr. O’Donnell)
  • At all times, stay humble. Put yourself in a position to learn in each class you attend. Keep an open mind and always be open to new ideas and better ways of doing things. Your opinion about the way things should go may or may not be the best. Accept both accolades and correction with grace.
  1. “ Cope with failure effectively”
  • When your grade in a particular class drops significantly such as if you were to get a 65/100 or an equivalent grade that is very adverse, the effort that you put into the class should increase, not decrease. You shouldn’t blame your teacher for a bad grade, you should consider your mistakes and learn from them. A bad grade should not deter your personal determination to rise to the top.
  1. “ Set goals, always know where you are going”
  • In order to get anywhere, you must set goals. When you do, then, at all times, you will be certain of where you are headed and what you want to do in the future. By setting a goal you tell yourself to do your best to achieve it. With a goal in your head, let’s say… get an “A” average in your Algebra II class, you will keep on thinking about this goal wherever you go.  The goal will truly get into your mind. You will start functioning to do everything you can to meet it, which is a great way achieve the grade you want.

These habits can easy be adopted by every student here at CATS.  If you develop these habits and use them every day, you will be on the road to become that “A” student.

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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Review

By: Nuray Salina

If you have ever been interested in visual or performing arts, you should undoubtably visit one of the greatest museums in the USA, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

When I first went to the museum, I was amazed by the elegance and architecture. Every room in the building thoughtfuly and impressively curated. You can feel the history of the objects and antiques. The historical subjects range from a British King’s collection of antique treasures to peaceful Japan in 19th century. These topics along with hundreds of other interesting subjects create a powerful atmosphere of the boundless world of History and Arts.

The MFA(Museum of Fine Arts) is composed of four floors with a range of subjects. My favorite level is the firstone, which focuses on collections of musical instruments, ancient jewelery, paper works and photography. The other floors delve deep into the worlds of the Art of Europe, Contemporary Art, Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa, Art of the Ancient World, and Art of the Americas.

The MFA overall encompasses more than 450,000 exhibits and works of Arts from the whole world! There are a lot of works of Arts from great artists, including Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Edward Morse, William Morris Hunt, John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Gilbert Stuart and others.

The MFA is an exceptionable and utterly extraordinary place, where you can spend a wonderful day, get a lot of incredible impressions and behold a cultural heritage of our ancerties. This is the place, where you always want to come back. Don’t believe me? Go and check it!

The MFA is located at Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02511.

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Preparations for Halloween 2017

By: Nuray Salina

Halloween had always been my favorite holiday throughout my childhood. Staying in the United States gives all CATS students an opportunity to completely understand the holiday.

It appears as if most Americans start their preparations for the holiday 1 month in advance to Halloween. They make an effort to decorate their houses and plan their Halloween costumes.

CATS Academy Boston’s preparations for the Halloween are in full swing. The school, led by the Student Government and Professor Mike, is constructing a Haunted House. Other activities include arranging a Halloween Fashion competition, a movie night, and other sorts of  entertainment for the students of our school. New ideas, personal creativity, and excitement amongst friends are the guarantee of  a successful Halloween experience.

Here are some recommendations I have for you to get into the spirit this Halloween season:

  1. Decorating your room as soon as it is possible. Buy, for example, several pumkin-lamps for your table, a skeleton in your closet, fake spiders and other frightenening items.
  2. Invite your friends to watch scary movies in the There are a lot of very scary movies now. Most of them are definitely worth the watch.
  3. Visit Boston after Halloween weekends. The city will be decorated in Halloween decor.

I hope that you will enjoy this celebration, especially if it is your first Halloween in the USA. Have fun and enjoy yourself!

 

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Festive Fall Fashions

By: Nurary Salina

Most American schools don’t require students to wear uniform in school and CATS Academy Boston is not an exception. Students are perfectly happy with this because they can wear clothes they like or find comfortable (and that conform with Dean Doyle’s dress policy). A lot of famous luxury fashion brands such as, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton recommend keeping office style in terms of choosing school outfits. Following this recommendation, you can easily look stylish, professional, and modern all at once throughout the school year.

Today, I want to talk about the fashion trends to keep in mind for the fall season. I hope this will help you achieve your style and comfort.

The most popular trends of the fall season now are bright, creative outfits, which give you the ability to present yourself and your outfit in the best way.

Popular fabrics to look for are: leather, suede, denim, velvet. A combination of fabrics is welcomed during the fall foliage.

To add originality and brightness to your attire, you may use decorations for your clothes, such as fur finish, ruffles, sequins, flounces and frill. It would be a great decision if you wear a simple white T-shirt and add fur strips on sleeves.

If you want to look up-to-date, then you should probably know that khaki, burgundy, terracotta, red, golden, purple, yellow, brown, pink, deep green colors are the most relevant in this season. Black is not considered a trendy color because fashion experts think that it is dull for fall and spring. But if you are a fan of dark colors, you may use brown or dark blue shades instead of black.

The spirit of 1970s and 1980s will be especially felt this season. Look for the acid shades, metallic shine, asymmetry, floral prints, hippy style, loose silhouettes, denim and length midi to dominate this fall. I hope to see some of you stepping out in some of the trendy looks this fall.

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Are You Just Getting By? (Tips to Help All Students)

By: Howard Ng

It is not easy to do your best when you are overwhelmed, especially in school, every person has great potential to do well.  Are you simply just too reluctant to stand up in class but realize you could do it? If you want do the best that you can with the gifts that you have then you may be ready to receive some expert advice that could help you perform better and in class. Most of these tips are recommended by teachers and they may be simple or unusual, but they really work!

Mr. Angell, Head of Schoool- “Ask teachers questions, as many as you can, go ask for help”  

  • Although this tip, recommended by Mr. Angell, seems simple, we may have a rather hard time trying to do these things. If you’re a timorous person, fearing that teachers or your peers will criticize you for asking the wrong question, or fear of asking a question that other students have already asked, then that idea in your mind is a total misconception. According to Mr. Angell, “Teachers love you guys to ask questions” if you don’t ask questions, you would have to spend a hefty amount of time to google it yourself and sometimes you still don’t get helpful information. If you ask questions, you can get them answered very quickly.   If you still don’t get it, don’t hesitate or be afraid to ask again until you fully understand the answer. Spend a bit of time and ask your teacher, they are very willing and enthusiastic to help you.

“Measure twice, cut once.” from Mr. Coon, Science and ESL teacher

  • This idiom tells us to essentially spend more time before turning in work, to check twice before submitting a final product. This practice minimizes your chance of making mistakes. It is indeed a fundamental concept that, if we simply spend a little more time, we get better quality work and your teacher will in turn give you a jubilant smile. This could be interpreted as not waiting and spending all night on our essays the day before it is due.  That just really creates panic and anxiety and you cannot really do your best work or refine your work. By taking more time, separating your assignment into parts and making sure to “measure twice” (looking back at it)  basically doing bits of it everyday, you will be putting top quality work into everything for which you will get what you pay for.

There you go! Follow these tips and make the most of them and you will see for yourself a more confident student and, most importantly, you will demonstrate your true potential in class.

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Life Hacks in the Dorms

By: Howard Ng

Although some of you may agree that the dorms are just looking fine and there is nothing you can possibly do to improve it, there are actually a handful of cool tricks and “Lifehacks” that you can consider to make your experience in the dorm fun and memorable.

  1. Placing dryer sheets on your A/C:
  • Sometimes your room smells after leaving your windows closed, and the most you can do is buy a pricey air freshener to remove the smell in your room. Alternatively, you can use dryer sheets and tape them onto your air conditioner and it is a cheap and creative way to freshen up your room.
  1. Place your phone in a glass to amplify sound:
  • If you are an oversleeper, you should really consider this trick. Simply, place your phone in a glass cup and turn the speaker side towards the bottom of the glass and that acts as a mini alarm clock, in which you can use to make your alarm louder so the dorm parents don’t have to wake you up again!
  1. Set your lock screen to your class schedule!
  • Are you always getting late to class? Having a peek at your student portal before your next class or checking the paper schedule that CATS handed to you at the start of the year is just not “elaborate” enough! Simply, take a picture of your schedule (horizontal picture is recommended) and crop the background then set it to your lock screen. Now you know where you should be going, no more lateness should be expected from you!
  1. Don’t throw away your cardboard boxes, use them for your shoes!
  • Every time you buy stuff online that comes in a box and wonder what to do with the it, in this case, you can actually reuse them and place your shoes in them. Use a longer box that has the width of the length of your shoes and that you can probably fit a few shoes in it. Ain’t it easy, instead using a shoe rack, you can use your boxes and possibly decorate them to make them look fancy, you can even slide them under your bed!
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School Year in the Rearview Mirror

By: Jennifer Phan

This has been a year of great changes for our school. The much anticipated location move brought with it a thrilling new beginning laden with possibilities and challenges. Registration problems, schedule conflicts, room assignment mishaps, and settling down in general made the first couple of weeks hectic for everyone. But with patience and collaboration these issues were overcome, and the school year is thus set into motion. The school’s first elected student government as well as returning student ambassadors and peer mentors set the precedent for student leadership on the new campus through untiring enthusiasm and responsibility. The many school activities, trips, dances, and especially the energizing spirit week helped foster a sense of community among students from varied backgrounds and different cultures. This diversity was celebrated through student-led initiatives ranging from mixing dinners, positive messages on posters and murals, awareness-raising presentations, to school-wide participation in the Culture Fair and the Day of Silence. Diversity in passion and talents also had the chance to shine in the many spectacular exhibitions, fashion shows, and concerts: the Community Art Exhibition, Spring Fling, CATS Café, Open Mic, Black Spring, The Sun Arrives Later, and Once on This Island are just a few to name.

This has also been a year of great changes for me.  The much dreaded college application brought with it many trials and tribulations and some triumphs.  Apart from the standard senior struggles – juggling academics, extra-curricular, college application, (what’s left of) my social life, and sleep, this year has also taught me to have patience, for myself and for others, and perseverance, for the now and for the future. Looking back on the road I have taken, I can only say that objects in mirror are closer than they appear. The past seems so distant, yet so present; so much has happened, is two years even a long time?

CATS has been an intersection for my paths and those of the people who I have grown to know and love, and for this I will always be grateful. However, it is time for me to part with them and with CATS, and this is made all the harder knowing that for some this is our last goodbye. But I think I am ready. Not because I do not treasure my time here, for this has been the best and worst two years of life (a grand claim for someone who has yet to live twenty). I am ready because the past two years have prepared me, to the best of my ability, for what is ahead.

It has been quite a ride (at certain points, quite literally). Next stop: ?

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Survival Guide: How to Survive Summer

By: Jackie Kovalcin

With our days dwindling down here at CATS Academy and finals week only a few nights away, it’s easy to catch yourself day dreaming about what summer 2017 will hold. Bonfires, beach trips, and barbecues will soon be the consistency of your days. It has been an honor to write survival guides for this newspaper of ours. Here’s to what is to come, and the amazing things we’ve survived as a community this year.

Stay cool, fool: Global warming is on the rise, and this summer, you’re going to need to be prepared for it. Keep the air conditioning on, ice pops in the freezer, and a pool nearby.

Keep in touch: What a year it has been. Who would you be without the friends-turned-family you made this year? When you eat three meals a day and live with your friends at school, it is a team effort to make it through exams, weekend adventures, and daily life. There’s a certain type of bond you make with the people here at CATS, different than any other. That bond is worth maintaining, trust me. Keep up with WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype, and if you want to be old-school, you could even write a letter.

Have a bunch of fun: These are your months. These three (more or less) months are the only time you are free from the reign of school, teachers, study hours, and homework. Take advantage of this time, and challenge yourself to have the most fun (safe fun, of course) as possible. Travel with your family, try a new sport, hike a new mountain. Create memories.

Write something: This may not be as tempting as the other tips, but I guarantee you that you will thank yourself later. This experience you had during your time here at CATS is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And you made the most of it. Write down your favorite memories on the backs of photos, start a journal, start a blog, make a list of names you never want to forget. For example, at the end of every school year I write a letter to my future self, and each year I love to read what was relevant in my life a year ago. I would recommend it to anyone.

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