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Hope Squad sponsored a dodgeball tournament during November to promote mental health, practicing physical fitness, community and fun - all destressors!

Congrats to the high school dodgeball winners, the combined advisory team of Ammer, B., Baker, Weaver, Jackson and Ellis.

A high-five to the runner-ups, the combined advisory team of Bolden, Ammer,A., Ostdiek, Rainsberger, Morris and Connelly. Photo By: Hilary Waugh

Oakwood students in grades 7- 9 who submitted essays to the Dottie Yeck Good Life Essay Writing Contest facilitated by the Washington Township-Centerville Library. Nine ninth grade students from Mrs. Joseph and Mrs. Sullivan’s classes deserve special recognition for placing in the top 25 out of 751 essays: the top three percent! Trajan Malayter placed first in the competition and earned a 3,000 dollar prize and is one of only five Oakwood students in the 20 year history of the contest to earn first place.  Evie Polk earned third place and received a 350 dollar prize. In addition, Annabelle Neumeister placed fourth in the competition and earned a 250 dollar prize. Elizabeth Choi, Naomi Dunn (not pictured), Ellie Florendo, Bella Fulton, Bethany Weaver, and Aislyn Williams earned Honorable Mention awards. 

The students will be formally recognized during a ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. at the Woodbourne Library in Washington Township. Want to read their essays? Check them out at the library's website: https://wclibrary.info/gla/winners/

Story By: Emily Sullivan and Photo By: Seth Upton, The Ax Media Staff

The Oakwood High School Quiz Bowl Team participated in the Tippecanoe Academic Challenge on November 1, finishing in third place out of 26 teams, with a record of 7-1. The Lumberjacks defeated several teams that finished in the top 10 in the state of Ohio last year.  The team’s performance qualified OHS for the NAQT National tournament in May in Atlanta.  The team was composed of Matthew Drummond, Ty Fischer, Amane Velasquez, Anna Weaver, Harry Zheng, and Evan Simpson.

Oakwood began pool play in a round robin with St. Xavier, Miami Valley, Little Miami, Benjamin Logan, Tippecanoe B, Walnut Hills B, and Solon D.  Oakwood opened against St. Xavier, a team the Lumberjacks lost to twice last year, with the second match a loss in overtime at the State tournament.   In this matchup, Oakwood fell behind 195-175 before senior Captain Matthew Drummond took control, answering 7 of the final 8 questions correctly to propel Oakwood to victory, 425-230.  Seniors Harry Zheng and Ty Fischer also contributed correct buzzes in this match.

After defeating Benjamin Logan, Tippecanoe B, and Miami Valley in convincing fashion, Oakwood faced off against Little Miami, last year’s state runner-up.  Drummond again paced the team with 9 correct buzzes, with Fischer, Zheng, senior Amane Velasquez and sophomore Evan Simpson also adding in a correct buzz.

The win earned Oakwood the first seed in the division and a trip to the “Championship Flight” of the tournament.

In the afternoon’s first match, Oakwood fell to Solon, last year’s fifth team in the State.  Oakwood then faced Northmont, last year’s state champions.  This match featured 13 lead changes as both teams played very well.  With Oakwood trailing by 15 points with two questions left, the moderator asked the students to identify the English king that signed a document at Runnymede that accepted limits on royal power.  Drummond buzzed in with the correct answer of King John, giving Oakwood a narrow lead.  In the final question, the moderator asked students to identify the triptych painting that depicts a burning cityscape in its righthand “Hell” panel.  Drummond again buzzed in correctly with the answer “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, clinching the victory for Oakwood, 375-310.  

Oakwood finished the day by defeating Pandora-Gilboa 465-245.  In the title game, Mason edged Solon to win the tournament.  Oakwood and Indian Hill finished 7-1 to earn a tie for 3rd place.  Drummond finished as the third overall player on the day, finishing with 64 correct buzzes in 8 matches.

Oakwood also entered a team into the Junior Varsity Division, which finished 2nd place out of 12 teams and earned a 7-1 record on the day.  The team was composed of Ian Ha, Karna Roy, Seth Schwartz, Alec Chodkowski and Bethany Weaver.  All 5 members of the JV team finished in the top 20 players in the JV division, and each buzzed in correctly at least ten times across the eight matches.

Oakwood Quiz Bowl plans to attend one more fall tournament before opening SWBL conference play in January.  The team is coached by OHS math teacher Ian Callon, and the team is open to any Oakwood high school student interested in trivia and friendly competition. Story and Photo By: Ian Callon