From Film Festivals to Science Fairs: Student Success Round-Up

From national science fairs and international dance floors to competitive film festivals and math challenges, SJS students have recently been making headlines with their remarkable accomplishments. These stories of success reflect the curiosity, dedication, and creativity that define our community. Here’s a look at just some of the accomplishments from our Senior School students that we’re proud to celebrate from the past few weeks.

DP Film: A Growing Legacy of Festival Recognition

In recent years, SJS students in the DP Film Studies program have begun to make their mark at film festivals. This is especially impressive considering the program’s demanding academic structure and limited time for production work. In 2023 and 2024, George Whyte ’24 had a CAS documentary accepted to a festival, and Kiana Afshar ’25 received recognition for a personal project film—both significant achievements given the rigorous demands of the IB Diploma Programme.

Now, in 2025, SJS film students have reached new heights. Alice Ao and Thomas Taplin’s short film The Audition (watch) was selected by three festivals: the Toronto Teen Festival, the Zoom International Student Film Festival, and the British Columbia Student Film Festival (BCSFF). Alice earned Best Actress at Zoom—marking SJS’s first-ever film festival award—and the duo won Best Horror/Thriller at BCSFF, which came with professional film gear rental certificates and a $5,000 scholarship to Simon Fraser University’s film program.

Meanwhile, Jaden Ong and Noah Betteridge were honored at the Vancouver International Youth Film Festival for their film Flight of the Inner Squirrel (watch). Competing alongside university-level filmmakers, including those from Vancouver Film School, the team received the Scholarship Award, granting access to free courses at VFS.

These students are part of a motivated and talented Grade 11 class. The way they collaborate to create original, captivating films is remarkable—and sure to continue in 2025.

Neo Chan: Science Fair Silver and National AI Award

Grade 7 student Neo Chan earned a Silver Medal at the 2025 Canada-Wide Science Fair, held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, for his project Sign-O-Lingo, which utilized computer vision to support learning American Sign Language.

Neo also received the prestigious Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association Award, presented to the top junior AI project nationwide. His awards include a $2,000 university entrance scholarship and a $500 cash prize—an outstanding accomplishment in STEM for a middle school student.

Neo’s work drew attention from judges and attendees alike, who were impressed by both the creativity and social impact of his project. Way to go, Neo!

Claire Tao: International Dance Champion

Grade 9 student Claire Tao delivered exceptional performances at two major international Latin dance events:

• At The Open Worlds 2025 in Blackpool, UK, Claire won all championship titles in the Latin Dance Challenge Group A and all gold medals in the Open Worlds Trophy 16-year-old A Group.
  
• At the prestigious 99th Blackpool Dance Festival, she placed first in her single dance and finished fourth in the Grand Finals of the A Latin Scholarship category.

Her artistry, dedication, and international accolades speak volumes about her talent and perseverance.

Olivia Wang: Fencing Gold at Nationals

Congratulations to Grade 7 student Olivia Wang, who clinched the Gold Medal in the U13/Y12 Women’s Epee category at the 2025 Canadian National Fencing Championships. This outstanding achievement marks a major milestone in Olivia’s athletic journey—especially impressive given she only began fencing just two years ago!

We’re incredibly proud of Olivia and can’t wait to see how far her passion, determination and skill will carry her in the years ahead!

Excellence in Mathematics: Regional and National Recognition

Our students have again excelled in mathematics competitions, earning accolades across grade levels:

University of Waterloo Contests

• Grade 8 Gauss Contest:
  
  • Certificate of Distinction: Charles Wang, Tina Xu, Hanson Liu, Bella Salvarinova, Alicia Lee, Jack Hummock, Azan Hayat, Leo Laszlo Tait, Reina Sui, Amin Mashhouri Moghadam
    
  • Top Score at SJS: Charles Wang
    
• Grade 9 Pascal Contest:
  
  • Distinction: Tiger Wang, Muyao (Julie) Xu, Nicole Ni, Minjun (Rex) Jang, Joanne Yiu, Spencer Sang, Amelia Wells, Boyuan (William) Chen, Michelle Wong
    
  • Top Score: Tiger Wang and Muyao (Julie) Xu
    
• Grade 9 Fryer Contest:
  
  • Distinction: Muyao (Julie) Xu, Spencer Sang, Joanne Yiu, Andrew An, Boyuan (William) Chen
    
  • Top Score: Muyao (Julie) Xu
    
  • Team Award: Grade 9 team ranked second in the region.
    
• Grade 10 Cayley Contest:
  
  • Distinction: Angel Wang, Brian Liu, Kai Vonbergmann
    
  • Top Score: Angel Wang
    
• Grade 10 Galois Contest:
  
  • Distinction: George Guan, Angel Wang, Brian Liu
    
  • Top Score: George Guan and Angel Wang
    
• Grade 11 Fermat Contest:
  
  • Distinction: Edward Li, Eva Huang
    
  • Top Score: Edward Li
    

Canadian National Math League (Grades 6–8)

• Grade 6: Lucas Chen, Louis Sheng, Kevin Xiong (Tied for Top Score at SJS)
  
• Grade 7: Daniel Fang
  
• Grade 8: Charles Wang, Reina Sui (Top Score: Charles Wang)
  

These recent successes offer a snapshot of the excellence, initiative, and character we celebrate at SJS. We are immensely proud of our students—and of the teachers and families who guide and support them along the way.