Category: Local

Students react to the wildfires

Students react to the wildfires

By Rosemary N. Daniel A. is an 11th grader at CATS. How did you feel when you first heard about the Los Angeles wildfire ? I felt nervous that the fires would spread further into LA. In what ways did the fires affect your daily life or routine ? The fires made it uncomfortable to breathe but it felt nice to stay home and relax. What did you learn about the causes and consequences of wildfires from this experience ?I learned that they cause massive amounts of damage and ruin the environment. How did your school

LA wildfires: Ms. Suarez on air quality and ‘disaster capitalism’

LA wildfires: Ms. Suarez on air quality and ‘disaster capitalism’

By Christopher M. and Pascual M.   By Pascual M. How do you feel about what’s going on wildfires? I feel devastated, when I think about the wildfires for many reasons, not only just the loss of home and belongings and livelihoods and just generation and general of wealth for a lot of families. But also for the animals and nature and habits and the land the is experiencing the wildfires and yeah. What have you heard about the fires? I am on an app called Watch Duty, it’s an amazing app the shows you where

LA wildfires: Mr. Nueva on the impact of toxic emissions

LA wildfires: Mr. Nueva on the impact of toxic emissions

by Emmanuel O. Mr. Nueva is the Chemistry teacher for CATS. Where were you when you found out about the fire? I was at home. I’m pretty sure what I was doing. I was on Reddit and I saw a post about all the fires. Were you affected by the fire or any of your family members? I personally was not affected. I live kinda far away from here, I’m a little bit closer to the Altadena fire the one by Pasadena. I was a little closer to that but I was thankfully not affected by

How low attendance impacts the school’s budget

How low attendance impacts the school’s budget

By Ernesto H. There have been many absences for the past years at CATS with seats waiting for students to occupy them. But few students know that when they miss class, that also means less money goes to the school in the future. So what is the connection between attendance and a school’s budget? On a random day, Ms. Nguyen, said, “We have 169 absences, so then we make phone calls home, but that’s like after the first period, so sometimes students come back later.” She explained that many students are counted absent at first because

How was the “gas leak” handled?

How was the “gas leak” handled?

Teachers weigh in on the impact and outcome from the incident that happened on December 5, 2023 in which an overwhelming gas-like smell throughout campus (and in the surrounding neighborhood) led to an evacuation. Following the incident, the school administration released the following statement to teachers, students and parents: “The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain my top priority. Today, a strong odor coming from the community was noticed at our school. We have followed our Integrated Safe School Plan and have taken precautionary steps to prevent illness including having students and staff shelter in

Is public transportation good for students and teachers?

Is public transportation good for students and teachers?

By Alexandra M. Public transportation, like taking the bus, is used everyday by students and teachers at CATS, but they often face a number of challenges and negative incidents on their way to and from school. Ms. Salcido, a Social Studies teacher, mentioned she was surprised by the substantial number of students taking the bus to and from school. “Sometimes students can’t get on the bus that is going to take them to school because it’s already full,” she said. It’s not just that buses fill up fast, but that often, they are delayed. Ms. Salcido

AP/Honors Society Club hosts successful fundraiser at Shakey’s

AP/Honors Society Club hosts successful fundraiser at Shakey’s

By Manuel V. The AP/Honors Society Club at CATS hosted a fundraiser at a Shakey’s Pizza Parlor and Restaurant in Huntington Park during the first week of December to raise money for student recognition. Math teacher and GATE Coordinator Ms. Nava said the fundraiser as a whole was a huge success. “I feel very happy and delighted that it turned out very very good,” she said, sharing that the event took a lot of effort and commitment from the AP/ Honors Society Club members. “There was a lot of back planning with [History teacher] Ms. Haagen

Potential project would make Bethune Park, Diego Rivera ‘greener’

Potential project would make Bethune Park, Diego Rivera ‘greener’

By Jeremy L.Z. and Angel T.  Have you looked around the school or the community by the school? Do you ever look around and wonder, “why does it feel like it is missing something”?  That thing is the lack of trees. And when there are no trees, there is a lack of shade.  Carlos Moran, a Watershed Coordinator from Council for Watershed Health, is trying to change that.  Moran actually worked at Diego Rivera running a community center. Through this work, he saw the need for resources in the Florence-Firestone community.  “I noticed there’s a lack

Teachers’ union and District come to a tentative agreement on contract

Teachers’ union and District come to a tentative agreement on contract

By Arely V. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has come to an agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the teachers union, granting a 21% salary increase along with reduced class sizes and other important gains in their contract. The two entities had been negotiating over the contract for about a year. The tentative agreement, which will have to be voted on by all teachers, is seen as a victory for different reasons. The first reason is pay. Maintaining a stable life in Los Angeles with a teacher’s pay is difficult, especially with the economy.

Why are we having ‘tardy sweeps’?

Why are we having ‘tardy sweeps’?

By Maria M. In January 2023, CATS began implementing a new system called “tardy sweeps” to ensure that students make it to class on time. A major reason why the school proposed having the tardy sweeps is because “More than 100 students were coming late to school,” according to attendance counselor Ms. Del Castillo. “Every period is 80 minutes, and we noticed that students were missing learning time.” The tardy sweeps were something that the support staff and the counselors proposed as a way of trying to get students to go to class. The problem now

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