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April 15th - April 19th

2024

Prom

Night

A.S.B. Spotlight: Kandyce Edington

04/09/24, Izaak S.

What is it like to be in A.S.B.?-"It's fun, pretty easy overall. It's cool setting up events and all that."

What is your responsibility and what do you do in A.S.B.?- She is part of the Athletic group, she can take pictures of athletics doing their sports in P.E. and such. For events, she is usually setting up for events and the decorations.

Is A.S.B. fun?- "It's fun! I would recommend it to anybody."

Sport Spotlight: Carlos Navarette

04/14/24, Izaak S.

Carlos Navarrete is a University Prep student in 10th grade. He is a part of the soccer team starters and is number 7. His favorite position to play is usually in the middle, but for school he plays on the left wing. He doesn't mind playing there, but says it's a tiring position to play.

What made you want to play soccer?- "My dad played soccer so he was my inspiration to play soccer and he also wanted me to play. I really fell in love with the game at a young age. So, I kept on playing with clubs and at school. I hope to play soccer in the future in college and one day go pro."

What is your pregame meal?- "My pre-game meal is a protein shake with a banana to not get any cramps during the game to be at my full potential."

They're Creepy and They're Kooky,

Mysterious and Spooky,

They're All Together Ooky,

They're the

Addams Family Spring Musical!!

The U.P. Drama Classes performed their 2024 Spring Musical last night, The Addams Family!

New Beginnings: Cadet Corp.'s Change-in-Command-Ceremony

04/15/24, Naba Kazmi

Pictures by Nathaly Garcia

On April 11, 2024, Cadet Corp. held their awaited Change-in-Command-Ceremony in the MPR. Riley Balmaceda Garcia(the now previous Commander) pledged goodbye in a thorough speech, and he presented some "long overdue" awards to some of his cadets. The cadets also witnessed their new commander's introduction and speech.

The auditorium remained respectfully silent as they heard their commander's final jokes at their expenses, goodbyes, and declarations of recognition.

Balmaceda started off the speech stating that he was going to take his time with saying what he needed, as it is his final chance to do so. He continues with acknowledging some cadets for their hard work and dedication and reminisces about some of their unit's greatest and funniest moments.

Balmaceda moves on to specifically speak about individuals who have impacted him the most in positive ways, and delivers each word with genuine admiration.

"The cadets I see before me have the power and the potential to change the school, the city, and maybe even the world. The way you changed mine."

Balmaceda then finishes off his speech by saying goodbye and introducing his successor.

"And now for the lowlife scum that I've been holding back from addressing this entire speech."

Then, after a few laughs from the new commander, Angelo Amor Cruz, gives his introductory speech.

From the little jokes and anecdotes, spectators can tell how close and comfortable everyone is with each other. Balmaceda has spent all of his years at University Preparatory in the Cadet Corp.; six total years! That is a long time for learning, bonding, and growing in all aspects. Now, with his graduation, all of these gratifying moments will be remembered forever.

Coffee With The Principal

Information for Students and Parents

04/10/24, Joanna Vance

What's up Jags and Parents! Our monthly Coffee With The Principal meeting has returned again on Wednesday, April 3rd, leaving us with only one more meeting left in the school year. This month's meeting focused on school-food taste testing. In case you missed it, here's what it covered!

Ms. Asia and our Director of Food Services came in to do taste testing with the parents. The food typically comes up in conversation, so our wonderful Ms. Asia decided it would be an awesome opportunity to give the parents a taste test and ask questions about food services. Around 20-30 people showed up to this event and got to experience what their children eat on a day-to-day basis.

Overall Discussions:

Food Taste-Test

Calendar Overview

Prom, Field Trips, Fundraisers, Performances
Questions & Answers From Parents

Meeting info:

These meetings occur every first Wednesday of the month, this month's informational meeting was April 3rd.
If you can't make it in person, Mrs. Hatcher provides a virtual zoom meeting.
The meeting time is from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.
Parents from all grade levels are welcome to join!

Contact the front office for more specific details. Hope to see you there next time!

Animal Jam Nostalgia

04/03/24, Kayla Garcia

Animal Jam, a multiplayer online game that changed to Animal Jam Classic in 2020, is a nostalgic piece of memorability toward elementary school for students here at UP. It was founded in 2010, when students currently on campus were around kindergarten-aged or younger, but was played by some later on, having popularity peaking in 2014-2016.

A past avid Animal Jam player, Jeannine Jauregui, began playing the game in kindergarten when she saw her sister, who was in second grade at the time, playing, and wanted to be like her. One of her favorite parts was decorating her den and being able to customize your characters, who were little animals of your choice.

Another student, Morgan Rodriguez, said their favorite part of the game was a mini-game where you would compete in a fashion show contest based on differing themes. Some games seen on Animal Jam are similar to popular ones on another app, Roblox, where students are more often playing now days.

Even though this game was loved in the past, it has not been played much in recent times. When going into the game, it is hard to find real, online players who are not computer-programmed. You can participate solo, like when decorating your den, but it is not the same as being able to buddy up and play mini-games with others.

The previously listed students admit to growing out of the game by now and have moved on to other games or hobbies. Despite that, Jeannine mentioned wanting to go back and play it with a friend in conversation.

It is not a game that has fallen off the web completely, but it is not what it used to be, according to Morgan, who says, “Unpopular opinion, Animal Jam was way better back then than what it is now." It seems it has left its time and will be a thing of the 10's.

U.P.'s 2024 Choir Field Trip:

"EXCITED FOR YOUR UPCOMING FIELD TRIP?"'

04/14/24, Morgan Rodriguez

UP's choir has made plans to go on a field trip to Knott's Berry Farm on Fri, April 26. Not only will this be a trip to an amusement park, but also to their upcoming musical competition.

Delilah Sehgal, 10, gives more insight and perspective on their future performance.

"On the field trip, I plan to compete in a competition. I'm so excited to compete because it's my first time I will compete in a competition like that."

To be exact, the choir will be taking part in Knott's Berry Farm's Festival of Music. In this event, ensembles from elementary to high school are invited to showcase their voices in front of a large audience.

Those ensembles will then be critiqued by judges based on their overall performance. In most competitions, groups are judged based on pitch, tone, timing, and stage presence.

One can't have an interview about Knott's without being asked which ride they really want to go on. When asked such a question Delilah replied, "The ride I'm most excited to go on is Ghost Rider."

As said by Ella Fitzgerald, "The only thing better than singing is more singing."

Cultural Day: U.P. Students let their culture shine during Spirit Week

04/12/24, Joseline Tanchez

The last spirit week of this school year passes by with cultural representation and performances from our school and its inhabitants. A wide range of our students' cultures were represented on Friday, April 12th during the Heritage Day. Colorful outfits were shown by performers and students themselves, meanwhile students and teachers were happy to see an experience like this one again.

Some of the outfits worn were Qipaos, Panchos, and shirts with their countries' flag on them.

At the end of the day, an assembly is hosted to showcase some of the cultural clubs, giving performances. Many this year were dances and musical recitals by FSA, Latin X, Spanish club, Krush, and Mariachi.

Many of the outfits worn were acknowledged by school staff, which they would compliment and take pictures, but this day isn’t only about the outfits, but also the people of a country. Filipino club (FSA) shows this from the dance they performed, called Tinikling, a dance traditional to the Philippines.

The differing cultures being represented encouraged and inspired some students to become more in-depth with their own culture and others.

Who Turned Out the Lights?: Solar Eclipse 2024

04/09/24, Dani Jackman

On April 8th, 2024, the Moon crossed in front of the Sun in a total eclipse for the first time since 2017. The path of totality spread through 12 states (from Texas to Maine) and shunned some of the country's biggest cities in total darkness for around 4 minutes. Eclipse chasers, or people who travel all over the world to witness a lunar or solar eclipse, flocked the U.S. in search of the perfect spot to witness the cosmic event.

The West Coast hasn't seen a total eclipse since the 1920s, and won't see one until at least another 30+ years, but that didn't stop Californian's from enjoying the partial eclipse in any way they could.

Students flocked the corridors at 11 am (when the eclipse peaked) with special eclipse glasses and D.I.Y. eclipse viewing crafts. Some students poked holes in printer paper with a pin and held the paper out to cast a shadow on the ground of the Moon over the Sun while other students crafted classic cereal box eclipse viewers.

Given that the last time anyone at U.P. had likely seen an eclipse in 2017, many students barely remembered the experience of an eclipse and were very excited about the whole day. "It was really cool," said a group of seventh graders playing soccer at lunch. "Everyone kept telling me not to look at the sun. I was about to 'cause I really wanted to, but I like to see," said Samuel Jackman (7th).

"I was in Palm Springs during the eclipse," Emma Arreola told the Jaguar Journal, "so my mom had bought my family eclipse glasses. We stopped on the side of the road at around 11 to watch it and people on the street kept asking if they could also use our glasses. It was so cute to see these older guy and ladies being so excited over (the eclipse) like little kids!"

Though the hype around the eclipse has dwindled down over the past few days, the effect it held on those excited about it is evident. Students and eclipse chasers across America wait patiently for the next chance at a cosmic masterpiece.

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