Five students hope to be your Student Council Secretary/Treasurer next school year, 2025-26. Voting will be conducted IN PERSON during history classes on Thursday, June 19, in the Media Center. Only high school students, including seniors, are eligible to vote.  Send questions or comments to Mr. Figueroa at mfigueroa@passaicschools.org or Mr. Weaver at lweaver@passaicschools.org.

All five candidates made a short video and were asked three questions by the Journalism Club. Below are their videos and answers to the questions, unedited:

WENDY CLEMENTE

• What makes you the best candidate for Student Council Secretary/Treasurer?

I am the best student council candidate because I am responsible and approachable. I am great at time management and always make time to complete all my tasks. From homework to taking care of my little brother I make sure to have time for everything. Something that my friends have always asked me is how I am able to complete everything, for example homework. I always complete my assignments and make sure to always complete anything I signed up for. I understand that many people are scared to ask for help and to share ideas. I for one am a person that doesn’t like to ask for help because I feel they might be busy or might not want to help. Although I don’t like asking for help I enjoy helping other people. I enjoy helping the community and helping other students with tutoring. I attempt to always be available and be approachable for other people to bring up any concern they have.

• What improvements would you bring to Prep?

A major improvement I would want to bring to prep is with communication. I believe it is very important to have the comments and concerns of the students to be able to improve. As of right now there is no clear communication between students and faculty. Student council does a great job at hearing other students out and bringing up major concerns during our meeting. However, the concerns that are noticed are only the big ones that have been talked about for a long time. Nothing happens with the small concerns that some students may have. I want to implement a question box or an online form for prep students to be able to state any questions they may have. These questions will be checked and discussed at the following student council meeting to ensure the students’ needs are met.
Another improvement I would like to implement is during field day. It was so exciting that field day is back. However, to a few people I have heard it didn’t have the same feel as when we were younger. I would like to implement games in field day that give high school students the ability to relive their childhood moments. We can implement things such as water games to help with the heat felt during field day and we can add events such as the parachute we all remember as kids. High school is our final chance to act as kids before we are thrown into the adult world. We should embrace the final childishness and relive what we once had.

• How will you foster a community spirit at Prep?

Prep is a wonderful school with many different pathways. However the hallways at prep are very grey. This grey feeling of the school can influence students to feel isolated. The community spirit at prep will be improved with events such as decorating lockers. The holidays are when I see the most spirit at prep and the most comradery among students. A way this happens is through freedom of expression. Students will feel more comfortable and more free if they are able to express themselves more. Students feel tied down with the lack of expression since we have uniforms. But a way for us to express ourselves is through our lockers. If elected I will implement locker decorating early in the year for students to feel more comfortable expressing themselves. The cheer of coming into school to a locker that looks like your own will improve your whole day. Students will feel a sense of connectivity between each other and the school. Seeing a locker with some stickers or decorations that you also like will encourage more students to talk to each other knowing that you may have something in common with the person next to you that you didn’t notice before. 

VALERIE TLATELPA

• What makes you the best candidate for Student Council Secretary/Treasurer?

I strongly believe that me being younger than other student council candidates is what makes me the best candidate. Being younger could be seen as a disadvantage by many students but I think that being young is a strong quality that one could possibly have because this means that I will still be in Prep for two more years and be able to hear, recognize, and find a solution to issues that are troubling students. This will also allow me to have a place for me to learn and improve my confidence in social skills so that I can develop and understand more what my classmates/students want to improve so that their experience in Prep can continue to be amazing.

• What improvements would you bring to Prep?

As previously mentioned in my speech, one of the improvements that I would like to bring to Prep are more stress-free activities. Having more of these days can allow students to relax their minds, have days where they continue to attend school but aren’t doing class work, and spend more of their time playing games or simply interacting with their friends. Being an academic school that was ranked top 100 by the U.S. News and World Reports, students are challenged in classes in which they are given multiple work assignments or projects that can tire them out. Having more stress-free activities can improve students’ academic motivation because they will be able to participate in activities that will help cleanse their minds from stress.

• How will you foster a community spirit at Prep?

I will foster a community spirit at Prep by speaking to teachers and principals to try and get more fun events at school grounds. A couple weeks ago a field day was held at the stadium and a competitive event that occurred was tug-of-war in which grades were gathered around and placed into their pathways to compete pathway by pathway. Seeing this I realized that for the first time that field day was given to our fellow high school students, students were filled with enjoyment so I believe that if the right event is held, students can continue to be filled with the same enjoyment/excitement that they experienced competing with other pathways.

GRIS CIPRIAN

• What makes you the best candidate for Student Council Secretary/Treasurer?

I am the best candidate because I have strong communication skills, I am responsible, and I stay on top of things. These qualities will help me as Secretary/Treasurer to ensure that the Student Council is organized and productive. This means carefully listening during meetings, actively helping so everyone has a chance to contribute, and assisting people in building their confidence.

• What improvements would you bring to Prep?

The improvements I would bring to Prep include is more spirit weeks, more Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and providing more diverse food options to aid various dietary needs. I would introduce a wider variety of lunch options and create a lounge area that offers a comfortable space for students to relax, socialize, and study. Additionally, I would advocate for more dress-down days so students can dress more comfortably.

• How will you foster a community spirit at Prep?

I would foster a community spirit at Prep by organizing more social events and spirit weeks. I will ensure that all events are designed to be inclusive and welcoming to every student, regardless of their interests or backgrounds. This means offering a variety of activities and considering accessibility for all students.

YADIRA GONZALEZ

• What makes you the best candidate for Student Council Secretary/Treasurer?

When it comes to student council I would make the best candidate because I am a reliable and responsible person inside and outside of school. I take charge with many events in fundraising and other activities within Prep and the Passaic Community. I helped organize events such as: The High School Dance, Planning SEL day, The communities Kids to Park day, The Turkey Distribution in November alongside the cities Youth Council. I have been at Prep for 6 years now and I have seen the environment we have, and I have heard your concerns with how to make the Preps environment better. I want to further take action and make your voices heard!

• What improvements would you bring to Prep?

I have heard your voices, and the changes you want to make within the schools. I want to take further action in creating an environment where students love to come to school. Firstly, I know with this year how stressful the year is and all the tests us Juniors take. I want the Juniors to be able to celebrate and have an event that celebrates their accomplishments like a Junior Prom. An event where Juniors can mingle and release the stress from the past year. For the rest of the school I want to better the community and add events to make Prep the best school not just for us, but the incoming Freshman and 6th graders. With SEL day I will add more games and add activities the school loves all year round. I also will join pathways together in different projects; we are all in the same school with the same ambitions and hobbies and I want to join the pathways together to build a strong relationship between all of Prep.

• How will you foster a community spirit at Prep?

I will foster the Prep community by building the potential between all grades. I want the underclassman to feel prepared on the journey up the High School ladder with interaction with other grades. I think to help build this potential I impose the underclass man to be mentored by the upperclassmen to be prepared for the next stage in life. To prepare and make sure they can help build a community and be where they will strive.

SAMUEL MEDINA

• What makes you the best candidate for Student Council Secretary/Treasurer?

A candidate should center on their ambition, open to growth, and communication. I would consider myself to have these three highlighted traits. I have a loud and determined voice to advocate for others. I am acceptable for criticizing and improving. Additionally, I am ambitious to complete my promises to students. A great leader should not benefit themselves only, but the teamwork built from feedback and trust. I honor myself to push aside my agenda to satisfy students’ voices. I ensure, what makes me the best candidate does not come from my will power to create change, but the collaboration I will make among classmates and staff.

• What improvements would you bring to Prep?

The improvements I would bring to Prep are basic necessities for students in troublesome situations and the end of a gap between student council members and non members. These small changes can lead to big opportunities for the community. Perhaps some students are not able to join the student council because of their schedule or homelife, but that does not mean these students’ voices are not heard. Every student deserves a connection to school difference, whether it be small or huge. Therefore, helping struggling students aid their survival is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, offering non-members of the student council to help out in school events would be necessary growth to improve connection among the community.

• How will you foster a community spirit at Prep?

To foster a sense of community spirit within Prep is built trust among Canadians to students. To build pride among the school is to build teamwork among students and staff. I promote school pride with honor of hard work and connections. From non-members and members taking responsibility and capability to assist around school events or recommend school events because students do have a voice. Additionally, I would try to organize more fundraisers to improve students dances or Field Day.