I am excited to announce the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Winter 2018!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Winter 2018.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

A’Shaela Chaires – I am absolutely thrilled with the level of success A’Shaela has reached! As the course became more complex in the last several weeks of the trimester, A’Shaela leaned in even further and ended up totally dominating the last test and trimester assessment! She has continued to work effectively in groups and ask great questions each and every day. Bravo!

Annika Johnson – Annika is a perfect example of hard work and perseverance. She puts in a lot of time to reach her desired level of understanding while keeping detailed notes and showing careful process. Algebra does not come easily for her, but she is determined to learn and her dedication is impressive.

Insoo Kang – Insoo did exemplary work this trimester. His homework, class participation, tests, and project were all completed with enthusiasm. He and his project partner did an outstanding job displaying their solution to a problem that brought together their math skills with their athletic passion.

Artur Lysyuk – I allow my students to showcase their creativity and subject matter mastery in “out of the box” medium as these short video clips illustrate –This was self directed effort not a class assignment and they enjoyed the work and accomplishment. Their individual creativity is displayed. • https://youtu.be/ZorpXk-RKpA — Two Robots playing Toss, Catch, Grab with a Happy face on success– Autonomous Robot programming – by Artur Lysyuk and Michael Zhang. Artur helped Michael in a collaborative and supportive manner to finish this piece of construction and programming challenge.

MK O’Brien – MK is a hard worker and is always willing to help those around her. She has a great attitude and her positivity is contagious.

Abby Seltzer – Abby lights up the classroom for me. She is so involved, so focused, and so funny – a true pleasure to teach. She has great mathematical insight, but she always supplements that natural insight with diligent preparation and enthusiastic participation. She has an irreverent streak that entertains the whole class, and I love having her in Precal.

Daniel Simpson – Daniel has had an incredible trimester in geometry. He is intellectually curious and is determined to understand every aspect of a problem. Always willing to attend an extra help session, Daniel’s attention to detail is exceptional. The entire class has benefitted from Daniel’s outstanding class participation. He has set an example of academic excellence for other students to model. Congratulations Daniel. This is a well earned award!

Jaden Tanguay – Jaden brought an inspiring level of curiosity and creativity to Video Game Programming and Design this term. Jaden regularly pushed himself to learn and apply new concepts on his own and really extended his programming knowledge through his creative designs. His final project game was completely original and incorporated the user interface design, aesthetic, and coding components of a professional.

Risa Tapanes – Risa has done impressive work in Topics class this year. She has shown her curiosity and diligence in every endeavor. As a class, we have taken on some unique and sophisticated topics in the field of data science. These topics include advanced concepts in statistics along with statistical programming techniques. Risa asks questions regularly in order to deepen and extend her understanding. She also has gone beyond the requirements of our programming tasks. Although she has many talents in and outside of the math classroom, she is on track to be a strong data scientist should she continue on this path.

Michelle Tu – Michelle has been a consistently strong Honors Precalculus student this year. She has excellent insight into the material that we have covered thus far. She is consistently focused in class, and determined to learn the concepts well.

Ana Weed – Ana works so diligently both inside and outside of class. She is constantly engaged with individual and group activities. Ana asks the deeper questions that engage with the overarching concepts of the class and is able to apply statistics in many different situations. She performs the mathematics well but also uses proper and thorough notation and processes.

James White – James has put forth a diligent effort on all assignments. He pushes himself and the others around him to understand the material in depth on a daily basis. His determination to do his best has enable him to succeed at the highest level.

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2017

I am excited to announce the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Fall 2017!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Fall 2017.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Eric Albanese – Eric always comes into Precalculus Honors with a huge smile on his face, with his homework complete, and ready to participate in the discussion. He picks up material easily, but he always supplements that understanding with diligent effort and great preparation. He is such a pleasure to teach, and I so look forward to seeing him each day.

Graham Allardyce – Graham was a dedicated and thoughtful student in Precalculus. He was actively engaged daily at the highest level. His contributions to class supported his and his classmates achievements.

Rachel Goodman – Rachel is always prepared for class and consistently pushes her understanding of the material to the next level. Rachel is quick to help those around her and brings great questions to class.

Kohmei Kadoya – He is a hardworking student who uses the veracross to get ahead, inverts the classroom by asking interesting clarifying questions before helping the peers with their difficulties. Purely for mastery of subject matter based on individual efforts.

Molly Kinstle – Molly has not only mastered the geometry content but she is constantly asking the deeper questions that connects concept together. She is willing to speak in class and help her classmates. She has also inquired about how she can take more maths than her current projection because she wants to excel in the area. She is organized and explains her work with full explanations and notation.

Devon Morgan – Devon brings constant positive energy and enthusiasm into the math classroom. She is always ready to discuss problems, share her work, or help others. She even took it on herself to make a Kahoot for assessment review. Devon is truly thriving in the discussion based geometry classroom.

Jack Phelan – Jack is impressively consistent and thorough in all that he does in TPS. He demonstrates the kind of intellectual curiosity and persistence that leads to high achievement in the field of mathematics. Jack frequently participates in class offering thoughtful insights to our discussions and activities. In his collaboration with classmates, he is collegial and disciplined. Great work, Jack!

Chris Ramirez – Chris has completely leaned into all aspects of class. Even though he has a gift for mathematics, he fully focuses on each topic until he reaches a level of deep understanding. I have also been thrilled to see how well he works with others. He is patient and kind when working with his peers, and clear with both his written and spoken explanations. He hasn’t let up the quality of his presence in class and I’m confident he’d be a fantastic tutor in the Math Resource Center!

Amanda Shen – Amanda has been a consistently hard working AP Calculus student. She always comes to class ready to work. Amanda is genuinely interested in fully understanding the concepts of a problem and not just in finding the answer. She has solid insights into the material and is able to apply her thoughts into understanding new and more complicated material.

Sonia Whitman – Sonia has had a wonderful first trimester in geometry. Her written work is precise, accurate and thorough. Despite outstanding results on all evaluations, I am most impressed with Sonia’s excellent class participation. Always kind and supportive, Sonia has helped her classmates understand with her willingness to volunteer to the most challenging questions. Her deductive reasoning skills are sharp and she is a star when asked to recognize a pattern. Well done, Sonia, and congratulations.

Harrison Winrow – Harrison had an outstanding and notable trimester in my class. He was an exemplary student for the the first part of the trimester; engaging, asking questions, and taking risks with the material. When he broke his leg and had to miss some time because of his surgery I was concerned that he might fall behind and not be able to keep the momentum that he had. Instead, he did not miss a beat! He continued to be a leader in the class!

You?

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017

I am excited to announce a new award, the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Fall 2016.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Andy Cao – Andy’s in depth thought, attention to detail and willingness to tackle the most difficult problems has made him an excellent Geometry student. He has shown a genuine interest in all of the material. His approach to class has helped push his classmates to excel along side of him.

Julia Cavanaugh – I chose Julia as my student of the trimester for her work inside and outside of the classroom. Outside of the classroom she is a dedicated student who does her very best every class to prepare herself for our upcoming lesson. During class she is always focused, eager to participate, and extremely willing to help her peers out with their own work. She is a is truly a model student!

Arvin Fieldman – Many students work hard to find success. Arvin finds success and then some. He is not satiated with even strong understanding of material. He must dominate each topic. His work ethic and abilities have shown through in his careful yet creative group work as well as his ridiculously high and consistent quiz and test scores. Bravo Arvin.

Kyle Grabowski – Kyle had a remarkable first trimester at Williston in geometry. His work is neat, thorough and incredibly accurate. He has a strong natural aptitude for mathematics and he thrives on the most demanding questions given both in class and on tests. On more than one occasion this fall, Kyle was the only student in two sections of geometry to get a challenge question correct. His inductive reasoning skills are impressive!

Simon Kim – Simon has great energy in class everyday. He is always prepared and willing to help those around him. He is quick to answer questions and come up to the board. Simon is an all around great student who raises the bar everyday.

Sarah Marion – Sarah is one of the most enthusiastic, most energetic students I have ever met. She is always the first student to ask a question; she stays after class to go over any concept she had difficulty with; and she is always prepared for class with her books and homework out in front of her almost as soon as she gets in the room. She has had a ton of success in Topics, mostly because of her diligent, conscientious approach to the material. It has been such a pleasure working with her this year!

Soma Mizobuchi – Soma’s work shows that he has set high standards for his academic performance. His Engineering Notebook is extremely complete and serves as a fine reference for his Engineering Labs and his code development. In writing programs, his code, and its logic, is always well thought-out and his program documentation is outstanding. Congratulations to Soma for a very impressive trimester!

Gabby Monaco – Gabby has taken on a great challenge this year moving into AP Statistics from TPS. She is one of the most persistent students and works very hard to understand difficult concepts. She is not discouraged by setbacks, but resolves to work harder on the next challenge. I am hopeful that, with this continued level of effort, she will make great progress this year and continue to model strong study habits and the kind of determination that leads to success and innovation in the field of statistics.

Gabby Record – Gabby did an outstanding job this fall in Calculus. She was always prepared and engaged in class. Her positive attitude along with interesting questions brought great energy to the class. I’m looking forward to her continued great work.

Andrew Spiegel – Andrew is a talented programmer who accepted the challenge of applying is already significant background and skill to a new context, game design. Rather than executing a safe or simple final project, Andrew pushed himself to attempt a highly challenging game that relies on random room generation. The result was an amazingly polished and enjoyable project that I hope he will continue to build upon!

Xavier Thibault – Xavier has been an extremely strong AP Calculus student. He has very good insights into the material which he is always willing to share with the class. He learns material very quickly and is able to apply his knowledge well. He helps keep our class moving forward as he is always willing to participate in our discussions.

Molly Zawacki – Molly has been a phenomenal addition to our Discrete math course. She has shown leadership in the class, whether it is stepping up to present a hard solution or explaining her thinking to her peers. I can count on Molly to go out on a “mathematical limb” and offer new ideas, even if she is not sure they are correct. Mathematically, she has developed into a beautiful proof writing; creating clear and easy to read explanations for her work. All in all, she has really embraced the core goals of the course; to explore, conjecture and prove.

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016

I am excited to announce a new award, the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Spring 2016.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Elizabeth Cuevas – Lizzie is an outstanding student who not only does well on all of her assignments, from daily homework to trimester assessments, but also encourages her classmates to succeed.  She is constantly helping her peers both inside and outside of the classroom.  She is gifted at explaining her work and ideas to others and often volunteers to do so in class.

Noah Devos – Noah is one of the leaders in our Precalculus class.  He is always actively engaged with the material and asks questions that benefit the entire class.  I can always rely on him to come to class ready to work.  It has been a pleasure working with Noah this year.

Justin Frometa – Justin has been one of the most active participants in AP statistics this year.  He arrives in class with detailed assignments and always has questions prepared.  He models the curiosity and relentless pursuit of knowledge that we all hope to see in our math students.

Eni Ikuku – Eni has easily leveraged his previous experience in electronics to expand his knowledge of topics taught in this class. He dedicates himself to understanding the course material and asks intelligent and well though-out questions. He is well prepared for every assignment, every day.

Karen Janocha – Karen has been an able geometry student all year, but this spring her work has just been fantastic.  She has been excelling on proofs involving similarity and right triangles, and she is always the first person to reach out to help other students.  It’s been wonderful seeing her emerge as such a leader in the classroom.

Kevin O’Sullivan – Kevin has been a strong student in Precalculus all year long. He learns concepts quickly, and is able to apply his knowledge to new material. In class, he is always willing to lend his insights into the material to help the class keep moving forward.

Zoe Okaisabor – Zoe has worked hard all year in Algebra 1. She has gained a confidence in her work that has enabled her to make valuable contributions to the class. She has become an excellent math student through hard work and perseverance.

Alexis Ryan – Alexis’ work reflects this award.  She “exemplifies the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping her classmates realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.” She gets gets excited when she works hard and masters a new concept.  She works tirelessly to help her classmates.  Her skills are very good and she believes in her ability.

Chaitwat Setwipatanachai – Team exemplifies the dedication, drive, and curiosity necessary to master a programming language. His reasoning is excellent, his attention to detail in his work is of the highest quality, and his contribution to our class discussion is steady, focused, and, at times, appropriately humorous.

Gabby Small – Every class needs a leader. Gaby Small has led her algebra class from day one this year. She is relentless in her pursuit of learning algebra, always willing to volunteer or to ask the key question that helps everyone understand a concept. With two complete notebooks, Gaby has never settled for anything less than her best. As a senior, her passion for learning has never waivered and she has demonstrated that learning math can be fun.  I am so proud to award Gaby Small my student of the trimester award.

Milo Servin – Milo has shown himself to be a strong critical thinker and problem solver all year.  This trimester all of the pieces to the puzzle have come together for him.  As always, he is the group leader, sharing his quick understanding with his peers, but his depth of clarity has strengthened because he is taking more time to process and problem-solve.  With more effort, focus and detail with his daily work, Milo has supported his ability beautifully which has translated into outstanding work on his assessments of all types.  He has become a more complete mathematician by learning the value of paying attention to precision, the perfect complement to a student who is such a bright mathematical thinker!

Calvin Ticknor-Swanson – Even though class has become demonstrably harder over the past trimester, Calvin has not stepped off his domination of Calculus. He continues to demolish tests with carefully crafted work that shows, clearly, his complete command of the material. Additionally, he is humble about his abilities and is excited to work with others. I very much hope Calvin continues to take more math courses in college!

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016

I am excited to announce a new award, the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester!

You can watch a video of the presentation right here.

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Winter 2016.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Zach Bernstein – Zach has always been a strong student, but during the second trimester he rose to new heights, completely dominating every topic we encountered. His command of the material has been impressive. I have relied on him to answer difficult questions, and also to lead with his quiet presence. Zach is humble, never calling attention to himself, but he’s always ready to lend a helping hand to his fellow students. Great work Zach!

Ethan Bradway – Ethan made such incredibly progress in the winter term, and so much of that progress was due to his fantastic work ethic and careful preparation. His verbal reasoning ability improved by a huge margin from where it was in the fall, and Ethan’s determination to succeed was self-evident. It was a huge pleasure to watch Ethan’s growth as a math student this past winter.

Will Fokas – Will has worked hard for the entire year in pre-calculus so far. He makes a wonderful math student of the trimester due to the effort he puts in both inside and outside of class. Outside of class he is dedicated improving his math skills by regular practice. During class Will is a leader. He volunteers to answer questions, show work on the board, and is always helping his classmates when they get stuck. He is not afraid to answer challenging questions and contributes great ideas to class discussions.

Chloe Harris – Chloe has demonstrated a relentless effort to understand the concepts in Trigonometry, Probability and Statistics. She is motivated to achieve mastery of the content regardless of the difficulty level. Chloe relies on solid study habits and, at the same time, continues to build her problem solving strategies and organization techniques. It has been great to see her progress and wonderful to have her positive influence in the classroom. [2nd time winner!]

Robby Hill – Robby has been a consistent leader in the class. Not only does Robby ask insightful questions, but he pushes his classmates to also examine the material in more depth. Robby has proven himself a very capable mathematician. [2nd time winner!]

Fuka Iwama – Fuka’s quiet determination is apparent every day. I look forward to grading her homework because it is always completed with detail and care, showing her desire to understand concepts deeply. She takes the time to connect concepts, writing notes revealing her thought processes as she works her way through the solution of a problem. Her presentations of her solutions are well-organized and quite beautiful! Her dedication to gaining a strong understanding of the theory behind the content is just as apparent in class as she shares her ideas and questions her peers, pushing herself and them to defend the reasoning behind their thoughts. As seen by her face lighting up in class, Fuka finds joy in studying and gaining insight into mathematical mysteries, the best reward for her dedicated work!

Chris Ramirez – Chris had a fantastic trimester in the Algebra II classroom. He is a dynamic learner who is quick to volunteer answers to the most challenging questions. He easily infers previously learned material into new concepts and enthusiastically ties concepts together. His written work is excellent. It demonstrates the depth of his knowledge as well as his ability to work with great accuracy. His 98 on the trimester 2 assessment was outstanding work!

Zack Robbins – Zack is a leader in our Precalculus class. He pushes himself to understand the most difficult material in the class and is always eager to explain his thought process to his peers. He helps create a dynamic learning environment. It has been a pleasure working with Zack this year.

Maya Soley – Maya exemplified preparation, passion, dedication, creativity, and positive contribution to the class experience in Video Game Programming and Design. The competency she built through her meticulous completion of classwork enabled her to execute complex and interesting original game designs that will raise the bar for future sections of this class.

Sofia Triana – TSofia made a remarkable effort this trimester in Calculus. While she struggled with the material in the first trimester, Sofia worked steadily to master both the material that had been a challenge and the new material. Because of her careful preparation for class along with attentive participation in class and coming for extra help, Sofia moved to producing honors level work. I look forward to her great work in the spring trimester!

Molly Zawacki – During the second trimester, the topics in AP Computer Science have presented a challenge to all students. Among these topics are polymorphic methods, interfaces, and the theory of inheritance among super-classes and sub-classes. Throughout these topic explorations, Molly has demonstrated the ability to quickly understand and deftly apply these concepts in programs and assessments. She is well on her way to studying Computer Science at the college level. Congratulations Molly! [4th time winner!]

Derrick Zhao – Derrick has been a consistently strong AP Calculus student all year long. Derrick has the ability to learn material very quickly. He also is able to apply what he has learned to help him figure out new and more complicated problems on his own.

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015