The C.C. Issue #3

The Conversation

Caton

Friday May 28th, 2021

The PS249 Student Newspaper

Honoring Asian Pacific American Heritage

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to make Asian-American Heritage Week a whole month.

By Sabrina Begum
5th Grade

What is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month about?
P.S.249 just started celebrating this special month in a big way. Every day during announcements we learn about a teacher or student who is Asian American or a Pacific Islander. You should know that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is about Asian and Pacific Islander culture, heritage and achievements. Some people celebrate with food from restaurants and some cook food at home. Cities and Asian American groups give activities for the kids. It's about showing the best of AAPI culture, and teaching people about what makes it special.

Continued on Page 4.

Covid-19 Can't Cancel Cinco Celebration

Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico's victory in the Battle of Puebla.

By P.S.249 Editorial Staff
When it comes to Tacos Vs Tamales the winner is TACOS at P.S.249! A poll of 3rd to 5th grade was taken during the yearly Cinco de Mayo celebration on Friday, May 14th at the Caton School in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Continued on page 5

Click the taco to learn why Cinco de Mayo is more popular in the US than in Mexico!

Thanks to every student who contributed. Your words are powerful! KEEP WRITING! To the teachers who taught, gave feedback, reviewed submissions and submitted work, you are amazing. To the talented team of student editors, we will miss you! And finally, to school leaders, we appreciate your support of this project.
Have a WONDERFUL SUMMER! See you next year!

❤️ P.S. 249 Newspaper Committee
Ms. Garay, Ms. Lara, Ms. Shames, & Ms. Williams

Summer!

Hello

Help us make the Newspaper even better next year!
Please click the BIG POPSICLE ABOVE to link to our quick, anonymous survey. Let us know what we did well, what could we do better next year? What wild and crazy ideas do you have for us?

Table of Contents

Pages 1 & 5: Honoring Asian and Pacific Island Heritage
Sabrina Begum, 5th Grade

Pages 1 & 6: P.S. 249 Celebrates Cinco De Mayo
Newspaper Editorial Staff

Pages 7-12: Comic - Looking Back at 2020
Santiago Rodriquez, 5th Grade

Page 13: Why We Should Read More
Caleb Primus, 3rd Grade

Page 14: Why Do We Celebrate Memorial Day
Sydney Edwards, 5th Grade

Page 15: Why Homework Is Unnecessary
Princeton Pascall, 4th Grade

Page 16 & 17: The Big Boom
Josiah Beckford, 4th Grade

Page 18: Review of P.S.249
Kevin Galeno, 4th Grade

Page 19: P.S. 249's Review of Books
Natalie Cabrera, 5th Grade

Page 20: "The Amulet" Book Review
Aldo Ramirez, 4th Grade

Page 21: Jujutsu Kaisen Review
Lamarr Louis, 5th Grade

Page 22: Stranger Things Review
Neredith Centeno Vindel, 5th Grade

Page 23: Watch The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines
Daniella Cortez, 5th Grade

Pages 24-25: Roblox Game Review: Bloxburg
London McNiell, 5th Grade

Page 27: Cat Poem
Hector Garcia, 5th Grade

Table of Contents

Page 27: Haikus & Love Poems
Nafisa Alam & Ashley Lanysse, 3rd Grade

Page 28: Freedom & I, Too
Allisson Rivera, 5th Grade & Langston Hughes

Page 29: How to Make Your Own Spring
Belgica Ulloa, 3rd Grade

Page 30: Stikk Bug Comic
Valena Windley, 5th Grade

Pages 31 - 32: Should Kids Take Naps at P.S. 249
Editors Destini Regis & Grecia Paz Murillo, 5th Grade

Page 33: Children Beware Of Sweets
Aimi Cruz, 3rd Grade

Page 34: Should Kids Play Video Games at School?
Azzara Gillespie, 5th Grade

Pages 35 - 38: A Little Fact About Coordinate Planes
Jean Carlos Sorto, 5th Grade

Pages 39 - 40: Minecraft Tutorials
By Ty Brown, 3rd Grade

Pages 41 - 42: How to Make Strawberry Bubble Tea
Raven Derringkilkell, 3rd Grade

Page 43: Interesting Ocean Animals
Justin Plunkett, 5th Grade

Pages 44 - 47: All About Hurricanes and Tornadoes
Jenifer Cohetero, 5th Grade

Page 48: 9/11 Was 20 Years Ago
Jayden Rodriguez, 3rd Grade

Page 49: History of Mother's Day
Maisha Kabir, 4th Grade

Page 50: Buying a Gift vs. Making a Gift
Safiatou Diallo, 3rd Grade

Pages 51-57: A Tribute to P.S. 249 Moms

Page 58: Caton Classifieds

Continued from front page.

Why is the event important?
This month is important because right now many Asian people in America are facing attacks by racists. Since Covid-19 started attacks on Asian Americans have gone up. A group Stop AAPI Hate said it had almost 3,000 reports of hate attacks of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide last year. The month can bring more attention to the Asian community so that the attacks will be less. It also helps share the AAPI culture with other people. When people know more about other groups they might be more understanding.

When is the event?
Asian American and Pacific Islander Month takes place each year
For 42 years, the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans has had a festival celebrating AAPI Heritage Month. Usually there is a celebration in New York City Chinatown.

President Biden Makes A Proclamation
The President Joe Biden made a Presidential Proclamation, which is where he tells the country about what he's going to do. "We recognize the history and achievements of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) across our Nation. In the midst of a difficult year of pain and fear, we reflect on the tradition of leadership, resilience, and courage shown by AANHPI communities, and recommit to the struggle for AANHPI equity." This shows that the President supports the AAPI community.

Watch a video celebrating AAPI culture!

PS 249 Celebrates Cinco De Mayo

Watch the video interview with P.S.249's Mexican-American teachers.

Continued from the first page.
The Cinco de Mayo Festival comes every year to the school, this year it was on Zoom because of Covid-19 rules. Normally (before Covid-19) the celebration was outside. All the students would sit in the yard on blankets to watch singers and dancers show off Mexican culture. Families and friends from the community usually came in.

Because this year it was on Zoom students couldn't sit outside in the sun. They still had a celebration of Mexican-American culture though. Ms. Hans a 4th grade teacher and her daughter Sophia Hans (who is in first grade) hosted the celebration. There was Mexican trivia, music, and interviews with Mexican-American teachers. Students also learned about Mexican traditions, and the Spanish language. 5th graders from class 5-100 were asked what they thought about the celebration, said "there was a lot of dancing. I mean a lot of dancing. So much dancing." They also liked learning about the history of the day.

The First Cinco De Mayo
Cinco De Mayo was celebrated after Mexico’s victory against the French on May 5th, 1862 in the city of Puebla, Mexico. It was important because 6,000 French troops faced 2,000 Mexican soldiers and the Mexicans won! This victory was against a country who was trying to take over, but in the end they lost and the Mexican people got to keep their home.

so lets start this and go through our worst nightmares again.

so in the start of the year 2020 we lost someone iMportant, a role model. KOBE BRYANT AND HIS DAUghTER DIED IN A HELICOPTER crash.

people cried and it affected many people, knowing that they had lost a hero.

I mean that was just the first month of 2020 maybe we might get something good RIGHT?RIGHT?

wrong... we had so many things coming our way. it was very sad to see, so prepare yourself.

so after that heart breaking moment, we thought it was all going to be fine and it was just one thing "its okay." we all said.

a virus came from china and this was just 1 MONTH AFTER kobe's death.

this virus just came in and made many people sick, it was spreading fast and we didn't know anything about this virus.

when we found out it was too late. many people were dying and no one knew what to do. everyone was scared they were going to die next.

And then we were all in quarantine. We did not go outside for the rest of the 2020 school year. and everything was shut down. No concerts No stores or Restaurants...

after a few months we were getting used to it. but still struggling. BUT THEN something else came, it was moment that is still going on and is very important.

The movement Black Lives Matter, or (BLM) for short, Is a movement that tells everyone that just because people are black doesn’t Mean you should treat them differently. Their Lives matter too.

this movement started heating up when a white police officer killed George Floyd, a black man, who was unarmed and not violent.

then the protests started growing and cops were hurting people who were protesting. Some of these protests Turned into riots.

a small number of people started to break windows and rob stores and burn buildings. but soon these things stopped and the focus came back to the peaceful protests.