aquila
University Preparatory Academy’s
Volume VI, Issue IV
www.upaaquila.org
May 30, 2017
GTT Challenges Young Minds with Robot Designs By Megan Wescoat
Photo by Angelo Bautista Drama students collaborate on their one-act creations in Eastman, the drama classroom, on May 22. Left to right: Tiernan McMahon, Greg Haessner, Anoushka Dave, Fiona Escoto, Natalia Alvarez.
One (of a Kind) Act Plays By Angelo Bautista
The UPA theater department showcased its one-act plays on Friday, May 26, alongside displays of original student artwork at the New Works Festival of Art and Theater. Held in the Horton, the plays, entirely student produced, included “Snow White and the Seven Midgets,” a comedic parody of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”; “The Four of Us, Times Three,” in which three diverse teams of undercover agents are sent on a mission; and “Murder on Manhattan,” a melodrama murder mystery involving audience participation. With the format of a one-act play, which has no intermission or multiple acts like most contemporary plays, the audience was able to encounter the elements of
these short stories uninterrupted. Blain Michael, who played Kaley in “The Four of Us Times Three,” recalled several details of the 10- to 15-minute shows, which function as her class’s final exams. “Everybody has to participate, everyone has to go to the cast party, and you’re graded for it,” Michael said, “each person in the class writes a script and Ms. Catherine chooses from them. [The students] also get to choose what they want to apply for, [such as] a stage crew or director position.” One-act plays began appearing on campus five years ago, when drama teacher Catherine Dietrich arrived to teach acting and theater technology courses. “I thought it was important for the actors to have a chance in class to have the experience of
a live performance for an audience,” Dietrich said. Since then, one-act plays have undergone immense change in terms of improvements in available materials, set design, fundraising efforts, and student instruction. “Last year, we tried performing in arena staging instead of proscenium arch staging, something usually only found in acting programs at the college level,” Dietrich said, “[arena staging] allowed the audience to be up close and personal with the story, witnessing it in the round.” Looking forward to opening night, Dietrich called out for people to attend. “Come out and support your actors, technicians, and artists,” said Dietrich. “Let them know to break a leg!”
Some of UPA’s most creative minds gathered to show their skills in the second annual Celebration of Learning on April 27. One particular aspect of the event was the Gateway to Technology class, taught by Thomas Clark and Mark Kent. One of the projects, constructing a robot that could chop wood, pump water, and grind grain for Kent’s class, was done by eighth grade student Amanda Flores at the end of the fall semester. Flores said the challenge to the assignment was the limited amount of time to complete it. “Mr. Kent usually gives us three periods,” she said. Students must figure out what tools they are going to use, but the types of tools are usually similar. “For some of our robots we use a lot of gears, nuts and bolts; sometimes we use a chain,” Flores said. “It depends on what we’re trying to achieve and how big our project or robot is.” Eighth grade student Srikar Chintala worked on a rover that his group called the Dune Buggy. They named it such because of the fact that, as Chintala said, “it can do crazy flips and stunts.” Being in Clark’s class, their task was a bit different. “It had to be able to travel
over rough terrain, go from four-wheel drive to two-wheel drive, and have a universal joint or differential gear shaft,” Chintala said. “We used four axles, four wheels, 12 nuts and bolts, four pulleys, and two rubber bands.” It took them four days to complete the project, longer than Kent usually allows. Eighth grade student Pallavi Rajani also did a project for Clark’s class. “Our group took three weeks because we started in April,” Rajani said. Although they had a lot of time, Rajani said her group experienced some difficulties along the way. “We had trouble trying to connect [everything],” she said. Eighth grade student Daniella Weber worked on one of four tasks in Clark’s room with her classmates Nicholas Le and Eric Xia. “We built an elevator type of thing and it delivers supplies from the second floor to the first floor,” Weber said. “I created the chains to carry things up and down, and [Le] is the brains behind the operation.” Though there were many projects to do, the young engineers brainstormed solutions to all of the tasks that stood before them. “We’re able to get more creative when singing Disney songs as we work,” Rajani said.
Adios to Teachers Who Added to the Equation By Bailey Lewis Next year, UPA will lose two long-time teachers who have become a part of the school. For six years, Nada Bennett has taught math for both middle school and high school, but has decided to make a change by moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, and will be teaching at another charter school there. “It’s going to be middle school, but they don’t have middle school yet, so I’m going to be the lead to bring in the math for the seventh and eighth graders,” Bennett said. “They’re asking me to start the program.” Grateful to have Bennett as a mentor to help settle in this year, new math teacher Liz Pettit feels
Photos by Bailey Lewis Both Monica Garcia (left) and Nada Bennett will be leaving this year after being on staff and teaching at UPA for eight and six years, respectively. thankful for Bennett’s support. “One of the nice things about Mrs. Bennett is that she’s taught all of the grades,” Pettit said. “She knows what students need to know and what’s necessary.”
Spanish teacher Monica Garcia will be leaving next year after eight years on staff, and believes she has made a significant impact on her students. “I think [I’ve helped] build
self-confidence and resilience more than anything else,” Garcia said. “No matter how hard it becomes, your choice is never to give up.” Sophomores Crystal Ly and Eric Nguyen, who currently have classes with both Garcia and Bennett, will miss them and their teaching styles next year. “Mrs. Bennett is constantly encouraging me to do better in math,” Ly said. As a result, Ly’s grades have improved. “I used to get really bad grades like Cs, but now that she’s encouraging me I have A’s.” For Nguyen, Spanish is something to look forward to in Garcia’s class, as she tries her best to make class fun and interesting for
the students. “Ms. Garcia is a great teacher because she changes a boring class that I don’t want to be in to a somewhat-appealing class that I’m OK with going to everyday,” Nguyen said. “The most important thing I’ve learned from Ms. Garcia is to have fun and take things seriously when you need to.” Both teachers have helped students develop academically, and tried their best to ensure all students feel confident in themselves and their ability to learn. “I love how they make us feel welcome and they have a passion to teach us,” Ly said. ¨And when they teach us, it’s really fun and understandable.”