Middle school heads off into the auditorium at 2:21 pm on Friday, January 19th to enjoy the improv assembly held by Poetri, Soul Stuff, Evan Lionel and Gimel.

The show starts and soon afterwards middle starts on their first challenge, a hula hooping contest. 

The game started off with three students, and were told that whoever lasted the longest would win; and so the three middle schoolers went ahead and continued on with a boy winning the first round. The second round however posed a challenge for the current champion of the contest, with the two new competitors putting up much more of a fight. After a few grueling minuets of challenging request's such as, "raise one hand while hula hooping", and "spin your ankle while hooping". 

The final winner was chosen with the last one hula hooping none other than the champion of the previous game, Jayden .

Its easy to conclude that unlike high school, middle schoolers are pros when it comes to the art of hula hooping.

Right after, Evan el Lionel, walks on up and talks about the struggles he went through in life and about his current life with his daughter, talking with students about how he taught his daughter an important lesson about the difference between "good enough" and "perfection". 

Then, he called up four students and gives them he task of helping teach him the "latest dance" that is currently popular. However, the students who were chosen struggled on what to teach Evan. Two more students were chosen from the audience to teach him a dance.

"I need the latest dance before I leave University Prep, I need the latest dance. So if ya'll can show me, ya'll can learn while I learn okay...", Evan el Lionel said right after the two new volunteers were chosen. 

They taught him the floating dance, which is a dance that makes said performer look as if they are gliding across the floor without seeming to have taken a step.

Poetri returns and starts of the second game, calling up several middle schoolers and dividing them up into two teams. They were told to stand in a circle and one by one pass through the hoop; to win the team would have to make two full rounds within there group to beat the other team.

Soon one of the two teams win and continue onto the next round, but this time with a shocking surprise. For in the next round the winning middle school team would have to battle against none other than middle school teachers.

The match starts and both teams race to beat the other, student and teacher alike struggling to quickly get through the hoop as quick as possible.

Unlike last time, middle school teachers end up becoming the victors of the final round; cheering about their sweet victory.

With that said and done, Poetri moves on to the final game, one question with 30 seconds to give ten answers. 

The first student who was questioned, named Daisy, was asked "name ten candy bars". Sadly however she was only able to give a single answer before she accidently slipped and said, "Hershey, um.".

The next student was asked, "ten things you eat for breakfast". The student started off confident, immediately naming different breakfast items, but just like the first he too slipped in saying "um..".

The third student, named Keniya, was asked "name ten teachers". She starts off naming teachers that she knows of, and in the end, she said "um" right before she could win, with only having needed two more answers to win.

Lucky student number four, John, was called up and asked, "name ten desserts". The boys goes on to name desserts saying "Cake, cupcakes, ...ice cream, banana split, milk shake, cookies, [inaudible answer], ice cream sandwich, and ice cream coffee." 

John ends up being the single winner of the ten answer challenge, winning a pink t-shirt and a cheer from the rest of the students.

-Honorable Mentions-

DJ Brutha Gimel, proudly provided music throughout the whole assembly. Happily cheering on kids as they tried their chances in winning one of the games. 

Nearing the end of the assembly a middle school girl was able to show off her trinket, which made silly sound and overall brought those around her to smile.

With that said in done, University Prep bids farewell to the Spoken Funk group as they head off to their next possible assembly.

    Upon arrival, students were walked through a gallery which, first and foremost, let students get to know Van Gogh as the person behind the art. Students learned where he was born, what his childhood was like, what drove him to become an artist, and what his artistic journey was like. About the stigma and controversy surrounding the famous artists mental health struggles which, ultimately, led to his suicide, Mrs. Faison said, "I wanted students to see how hard he fought through his personal struggles, and he was still able to make the world a more beautiful place through his art."

     Next, there was a hallway which displayed some of Van Gogh's most famous pieces. Pieces such as The Starry Night, Cafe Terrace at Night, Irises, and Almond Blossoms, were displayed as replicas on canvas throughout the hallway. Farther down, the walls flaunted a faux collection of all of Van Gogh's sunflower paintings, most of which many of the students admitted to never seeing before. 

     Within the exhibit, there were several other semi-interactive screens and displays which gave students even further exposure to the beauty and intricacy of the artworks. 

    The biggest attraction, the Projection Room, was towards the end of the experience, and it was unarguably the most popular display in the whole museum. Inside the room, there were chairs, rugs, and benches for viewers to enjoy a projection show filled with images of Van Gogh's artwork alongside his personal artistic inspirations and influences, such as Monet, Millet, and the Japanese artist Hiroshige. The projections were paired with classical music, which proved to give reign to the imagination as scenes of irises and sunflowers danced to the tunes of Erik Satie and Claude Debussy. Students and teachers alike were found basking in sheer awe at the beauty of the spectacle that was the Projection Room. 

After the Projection Room, students and museum goers were led into the V.R. exhibit where they could partake in a virtual experience of many of the most famous Van Gogh paintings with narration from "Van Gogh himself." Quotes from the journals and personal letters of the artist aided in making the experience as heartfelt and genuine as possible, giving us a glimpse into his mind and true feelings, seemingly straight from the source himself. "I thought it was cool," says Jazmine Villarreal, a senior T.A. (teacher's assistant) of Mrs. Faison's. "The display was really calming. The music mixed with the 'paintings' were really beautiful.." 

   At the gift shop, students found themselves with a rather wide variety of Van Gogh themed merchandise and souvenirs ready to be taken home. Mrs. Faison bought a poster dawning The Starry Night, Declan T. bought a teacup printed with The Sunflowers, and Jazmine V. bought a pin with Van Gogh's Self Portrait. 

    When asked, Was there anything distinctly good that you can recall stood out to you?, Mrs. Faison responded with, "My students all told me they really enjoyed the whole experience. Many of my students told me that they knew of Van Gogh and Starry Night, but were not aware of his complex personal story and how much art he actually created."

     This field trip will prove memorable and valuable to the AP Euro students as they near their AP testing date later in the school year. Students can use what they've learned from the museum and incorporate it within their multiple choice exam, their LEQs (Long Essay Question,) and SAQs (Short Answer Questions) in which they may reference this outside knowledge in attempts to gain extra points towards their final score.