International Students

In January, twenty-four Oakwood middle school students competed in the American Mathematics Competition Level 8 (AMC 8), an international mathematics exam sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America. The questions covered a range of topics, such as counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry, spatial visualization, and reading and interpreting graphs and tables. Kudos to all the participants, and special congratulations to the top finishers among Oakwood competitors: Ishan M. (1st place), Avi S. (2nd place), and Kenta I. and Brendan L. (3rd place).

Oakwood High School students in Honors Geometry and Algebra 2 Honors celebrated Pi Day by working out math word problems relating to both pi and pies and enjoyed dutch apple, two berry, and strawberry rhubarb pies from Gizdich Ranch as a reward!

Oakwood's International students from China, together with International Coordinator Mrs. Vinkhuyzen, organized their annual lunchtime Chinese New Year/Spring Festival celebration with delicious Asian foods, drinks, and cultural information. The event was enjoyed by all high school students, faculty, and staff. Happy New Year, everyone!

Congratulations to the twelve Oakwood Mathletes who successfully competed in the Coyote Valley Chapter competitions this contest season. Anais C., Bryce H., Kenta I., Sulaymaan K., Brendan L., Shaanvi M., Ishan M., Jeremy P., Abhinav P., Archita S., Avi S., and Joseph T. were presented with complex problems and rose to the challenge to find solutions.

Oakwood Middle School's FIRST Tech Challenge Team, Build-a-Bot, secured a last-minute spot at the Mountain View qualifier tournament via the waitlist. In competition Saturday, the results were very similar to their first competition; against a field of 16 primarily high school teams, Build-a-Bot again reached the semifinals and again received the judged Motivate award to recognize the team's outreach efforts! Congratulations to Team Build-a-Bot: Alessandra B., Allister B., Ayesha G., Dillon H., Diya K., DJ W., Jake F., Jeremy P., Kayden W., Liz W., Rai F.!

Dr. Wilmot and Mrs. Wilmot's high school students in AP Environmental Science learned about hydroelectric power by participating in a STEM design challenge that involved designing a water wheel capable of lifting a load of hex nuts. Students had to choose the material for their buckets and conduct several timed trials to determine the best design and the ideal number of buckets. They had to enhance their innovation to lift a heavier load of 10 hex nuts. They measured the force required in Newtons, work done by their water wheels in Joules, and power generated in Watts. The students enjoyed competing with each other for the most optimal design.

Oakwood School's FIRST LEGO League after-school robotics team, Techie Pizza, competed in the "Pallet" remote qualifier tournament on Saturday, January 29. The team, consisting of Oakwood 4th-8th grade students, presented their innovation project to improve forklift safety and efficiency and competed in this year's robot game. The team impressed judges and referees with their solutions and won the Robot Design award. Congratulations, Techie Pizza!

Oakwood Middle School's FIRST Tech Challenge team, Build-A-Bot #18247, competed in a qualifier tournament on January 15th at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara. Against a field of mostly high school teams, Oakwood's 7th and 8th-grade students reached the elimination rounds, captained an alliance, and competed in the semifinals of the robot game. Additionally, judges assessed their efforts this season, and the team was awarded the "Motivate" award for excellence in community outreach and embodying FIRST's ideal of Gracious Professionalism. The team was a finalist for other awards as well.

Oakwood School fifth-grade students recently designed and 3D-printed a neighborhood of puzzle pieces in their technology enrichment class with Mrs. Dawn Lyle. Each student was given a jigsaw piece blank and created what they felt was needed in their 5th-grade jigsaw neighborhood, from parks and buildings to restaurants and vehicles - there were unlimited possibilities when designing with the jigsaw piece templates!

Oakwood School celebrates high school student Noah Chin for earning a perfect score on a college-level Advanced Placement® (AP®) Exam in spring 2021. Noah was one of only one of 46 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP 3-D Art and Design Exam. "AP courses and exams are college-level, requiring great focus and persistence among participating students," said Trevor Packer, head of the Advanced Placement Program. Noah is an incredibly talented and passionate student, and we are proud of his incredible accomplishment.