Inaugural AAPI Community Welcome
at Brookline High School
​115 Greenough Street
Wednesday, August 25th, 2021
5pm - 7pm

  • ​Click here to read the entire Thank you letter from Hsiu-Lan Chang, ​BAAFN Steering Committee member, ​to the  Attendees, Volunteers and Committee Members of the Inaugural AAPI Community Welcome at Brookline High School
  • Click here to read the pre-event article in Brookline Patch about the IACW event.​ 
  • Click here to view the APAC instagram recording of the event (It will not be necessary to log into instagram to view it. Just click the "x" on the top right corner of the grey box at the bottom of the screen to close out the prompt to login, then click on the picture to view.)
  • Scroll down to view event highlights from the evening 
Event Highlights
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New BHS STEM building

IACW co-creators of BHS, APAC, SASA and BAAFN hope that this first-ever Open House will be a foundation for future, annual "AAPI Community Welcomes". ​


Over 300 attendees - AAPI students, parents, BHS educators and staff, student and parent volunteers, community supporters and PSB leaders were in attendance. 
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Tour of new STEM wing led by BHS students
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Workspace in STEM wing
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One of the spacious Lab/classrooms in the STEM wing
People and groups who contributed to the success of this event
  • ​​​Sophie O'Connell, BHS student who designed the poster with her team of Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Hindi translators.
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Hindi
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Vietnamese
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Cantonese
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Mandarin
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Korean
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Japanese
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English
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Lilia Burtonpatel - Master of Ceremonies and APAC co-president
  • Lilia Burtonpatel - Master of Ceremonies and APAC co-president presided over the event
  • Jia-Yi Guo, BHS student and her family - provided the musical entertainment
  • Brookline High School - provided beverages
  • BAAFN - through a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation and  two BAAFN donors - provided food from Curry House, Maruichi, Yi Soon Bakery, Pho Viet's and Small and Sweet Bake
  • Grace Watson and Alicia Hsu - provided photographs of the event
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Jia-yi, BHS student, and her musical family
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Attendees survey food choices
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Cupcakes from Small & Sweet Bake / Buns from Yi Soon Bakery
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Banh mi sandwiches from Pho Viet's
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Samosas from Curry House/ Riceballs (omusubi) from Maruichi
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Drinks provided by BHS
  • Dean Brian Poon of BHS introduces staff representing: School Health Services, Guidance and Student Support, BHS teachers, and administrators 
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Dean Brian Poon introduces BHS teachers
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BHS School Health Services Staff
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BHS Guidance and Student Support and Administrators
  • Speakers
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Anthony Meyer - BHS Head of School
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Casey Ngo-Miller - Deputy Superintendent for Student Services for Brookline
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Lilia Burtonpatel (MC) & Yuki Hoshi - APAC co-presidents (in absentia Lily Lockwood)
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Gia Katwa - SASA president
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Tina Li - BHS student government
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Karyn Wang - BAAFN Steering Committee
  • Special Guests
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Congressman Jake Auchincloss with Lilia Burtonpatel (APAC) & Hsiu-Lan Chang (BAAFN)
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Dr. Linus Guillory - Superintendent Brookline & Hsiu-Lan Chang
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Hsiu-Lan Chang with Giselle Ferro Puigbo - Executive Director, Brookline Community Foundation


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Grace Watson & Karyn Wang with Susan Wolf Ditkoff - School Committee member
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Congressman Auchincloss addresses the attendees
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Dr. Guillory mingles with APAC advisor & Chinese teacher, Lihua Shorter (center) and Hsiu-Lan Chang
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Attendees explore the various language and resource tables
  • ​Click here to read the entire Thank you letter from Hsiu-Lan Chang, ​BAAFN Steering Committee member, ​to the  Attendees, Volunteers and Committee Members of the Inaugural AAPI Community Welcome at Brookline High School
  • Click here to view additional photos from the event​
  • Click here to view the APAC instagram recording of the event (It will not be necessary to log into instagram to view it. Just click the "x" on the top right corner of the grey box at the bottom of the screen to close out the prompt to login, then click on the picture to view.)
Excerpt from Hsiu-Lan Chang's thank you letter

Again, many thanks to: 
​​Kelli McDermott who personally ran out to the supermarket at 4:45pm on 8/25 to get the bottles of water that went MIA. Jimmy Mellett and all the custodians for making the STEM Building ready and sparkling. Our BHS teachers, nurses, guidance counselors, social workers who stand ready to support our students. Mr. Priestly at the Copy Shop who printed our student and parent handouts. And last but not least Dean Poon, Mr. Meyer and Our Fantastic Army of Student + Parent Volunteers and our Simply Amazing APAC and SASA Student Leaders - Lilia Burtonpatel, Yuki Hoshi, Lily Lockwood, Gia Katwa, Rohan Chopra and Keya Waikar.