Category: School

How teachers empower students with disabilities

How teachers empower students with disabilities

By Gehenna N. Through innovative programs and dedicated staff, CATS teachers ensure that every student receives the support they need to thrive academically and personally. Two key figures in this initiative are Ms. Ortiz, an English and special education teacher, and Ms. Beltran, the alternative curriculum teacher, who shared their insights on the school’s efforts to support students with disabilities. Ms. Ortiz is passionate about making educational material accessible and understandable for all students. “I make sure to try to make the material as easy to understand as possible, providing different ways for the materials to

Sophomore spotlight: Emonie’s career goals

Sophomore spotlight: Emonie’s career goals

By Edward R. Emonie B. is a sophomore at CATS with big dreams. She wants to go to college, do engineering, and get her diploma. After college Emonie has her mind set on the career path she wants to go down.  Emonie has two picks for colleges she wants to attend: USC for basketball and Clark Atlanta University for its community vibe.  “Clark is an HBCU, and I would love to be around more people that are like me,” she says.  As for USC, she dreams of playing basketball professionally.  “USC has a great basketball team, I

Junior spotlight: Jocelyn the nail artist

By Rene H. If you ask 11th grader Jocelyn what her favorite hobby is she would say it was her nail business because that’s what she has a passion for doing.  Her nail business is what she did to keep herself entertained during quarantine.  She also said “I always had a passion for nails and being creative” so this would also distract her from other things.  Her passion for nails came from seeing other nail techs and her creativity because she believed she was able to make many designs with what she thought would look pretty.

Profile: Mr. Mandujano’s love for math

Profile: Mr. Mandujano’s love for math

By Joseph C. From a young age, Albert Mandujano found his love for math early on and now, as a math coach, he shares the power and knowledge of this complex subject with his community.  “I would say that math explains almost everything that happens in the world,” he said.  While math for many is their least favorite subject in school, Mandujano found his love for math around middle school when working at his grandma’s mini market.  While working at his grandma’s mini market, he would do lots of different tasks such as stocking items, being

Profile: Ms. Haagen’s past as a gourmet chef

Profile: Ms. Haagen’s past as a gourmet chef

By Walter C. When Kimberly Haagen was younger, she proved to be quite mischievous towards her parents which got her grounded pretty often.  “Um, I think when I was about 12, I was still getting grounded. Especially for kicking the ball in the house,” she said. A rule in her house for whenever someone was grounded, they had to take care of preparing the food for three days minimum. “I was grounded a lot. So I became great at cooking,” she said. As her skills improved, she had an incredible idea, “So about 12 I started

Senior spotlight: Christopher the barber

Senior spotlight: Christopher the barber

By Hugo M. Like many seniors his age, Christopher C. is currently working to achieve his aspiration: becoming a barber. Chris said, “I want to become a barber to make a living off of it, and because I have friends who are barbers who have also inspired me to become one.” For instance, currently, Chris is working toward his goal by advertising around the school, putting up multiple flyers, and he already has had several clients. “I’ve had a bunch of clients. I’ve probably had like about 20?, but, um, but it’s a good experience like

March Madness: 10th graders dominate the court

March Madness: 10th graders dominate the court

By Axel G. CATS students and teachers/staff competed in the annual March Madness basketball tournament that took place from April 3rd to April 5th. Though the current juniors had won the tournament over the last two years, this year, the 10th grade team took the prize. The score in the teacher/staff and sophomores game was 25 -14.  Mr. Mandujano, CATS testing coordinator/Math Coach, participated in the basketball tournament because he believes that it builds community and it’s fun. Photos by Axel G. He added that we need more space and time for things like this. “We

Special feature: An unforgettable CATS poetry slam experience

Special feature: An unforgettable CATS poetry slam experience

Poetry is a timeless art and speak volumes in just a few verses. Students had the opportunity to express themselves in the CATS poetry slam, which took place on March 21 at the Diego Rivera library. The CATS slam, which comes from the “Get Lit” curriculum, showcased our school community’s diverse voices and talents.  Below, senior students shared what they enjoyed about the CATS slam hosted by English teacher Mr. Benny Martinez and the difficulties they overcame. Some students also provided the poems they wrote. Photos by Daniel Z. Students Responses Senior, Stephanie M. said, “I

Students take the lead in student-led conferences

Students take the lead in student-led conferences

By Hector S. CATS held student-led conferences the first week of March. Luis I., a 10th grader, said, “It was scary because you had to present to a parent and sometimes you don’t have good communication with the parent. It’s not that difficult if you have good communication with your parents and you explain to them what you do in class specifically, you are able to finish it in a few minutes and after that, you will be pretty well about it afterward.” Luis shared his view of whether it was a good idea. “Before I

Leadership students tour New York and Washington D.C. over spring break

Leadership students tour New York and Washington D.C. over spring break

By Heyli G. Ms. Ramos’ Leadership class went on a field trip to Washington D.C. and New York for Spring Break. Ms. Ramos, a Leadership and Algebra 2 teacher, shared that she planned this field trip because she likes to travel, and when she found out that the school had some available funds for the field trip and that the field trip could be far away. She found out around 8 days before the field trip was going to take place that the field trip was allowed in the first place. She said, “So for me

Traducir