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Forty delegates from Oakwood Junior High School representing the nations of Djibouti, Botswana, Vietnam and Bangladesh, met with over 800 other delegates to debate resolutions and perform cultural presentations at the Ohio Model United Nations in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 16-18.
Botswana delegation
Bangladesh delegation
Djibouti delegation
Vietnam delegation
Duncan Richards finished first place in the Current Events contest, proving he knew more than all other delegates taking the test about current events!
Madeleine Gillingham was runner-up in the Peace Essay Contest.
The nation of Vietnam was a runner-up in the cultural presentations, acting out a water puppet telling of the Vietnamese folk tale, “Why the Monsoon Comes.”
The nation of Bangladesh had their resolution heard in the General Assembly, and their resolution passed easily. The topic of their resolution was “Child Labor in Factories.”
Stephanie Telek won a leadership award.
All of the delegates did a good job debating issues and taking part in the Model UN activities.
Mrs. Allan, Mrs. Whitehair, Mrs. McCauley and Mr. White were the group advisors.
By Anthony Rainsberger
 This fall the new Forensic Science course was taught for the first time as a science elective at Oakwood High School. The evolution of the course can be traced back to the introduction of Ohio Science Content Standards and the Ohio Graduation Test in December 2002. These mandates necessitated reorganization of science curriculum and created
the need for an additional science course at the high school.
Student interest and the opportunity to teach an applied, multidiscipline science course were influential in the selection of Forensic Science as an additional upper level course. The course was designed after an introductory college level curriculum in Forensic Science. Additionally, it was aligned with the Ohio Academic Content Standards in Science, Ohio Technology Academic Content Standards, and the Association of American Universities Standards for Success. Course content draws from both the biological and physical sciences, and the instructor of this course has to be proficient in both fields.
Fortunately, one of the General Biology instructors, Melinda Wargacki, possesses a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry; both skill sets are welcome in this assignment. Additionally, Mrs. Wargacki enrolled in a graduate level course in Forensics Science at Virginia Commonwealth University during this past summer. To balance this academic foundation she relied heavily on the practical experience of law enforcement officers from the Oakwood Police Department, from the Metro-Dade Police Department and from the Transportation Security Administration. This balance of academic and practical knowledge helped Mrs. Wargacki design and implement a course that provides students with a strong introduction to the principles and practices of criminology.
Students perform their own crime scene investigation.
The Forensic Science course covers a wide range of introductory topics including the history of forensic science, fingerprinting, trace evidence (hair, fibers, paint chips, and glass fragments), serology (blood typing and splattering), entomology (insects), human anthropology, toxicology, and overall crime scene processing. Students are introduced to these principles and apply them in the laboratory setting. After studying topics in human anthropology, students deduce the race and sex of skeletal remains from a skull, pelvis, and femur bone. In serology, students learn to type blood and look at blood compatibility consequences from mismatched transfusions. While this applied nature provides a rich forum for many nontraditional laboratory investigations, the broad range of topics within a Forensic Science curriculum is challenging to organize and present. Mrs. Wargacki has done an exceptional job reducing this wide range of topics into a cohesive curriculum. Student, Brittany Kalbfleisch, applauded her efforts, “Mrs. Wargacki is fantastic. She did a great job organizing and presenting the information in a way that was easy to follow.” Through this course students rapidly learn that the Hollywood version of CSI is only fractionally accurate.
While the study of Forensics may not be as glamorous as Hollywood’s rendition, students found the course to be very informative and interesting. Students enjoyed the empirical nature of the course; Forensics Science is different than most traditional science courses in that it starts with laboratory applications and then relies on a wide range of principles to support these analyses. “I enjoyed the emphasis on the lab instead of the usual note-taking in other courses,” said junior, Alex White. The lab-intensive nature of the curriculum and the intriguing subject matter creates a very interesting course.
A number of students have expressed their desire to take a second course in Forensic Science. “I really enjoyed the course and would like to take a second class in Forensic Science. I highly recommend it to other students,” said junior, Alisa Kessler. While a number of students would like to take additional courses in Forensic Science, Brittany Kalbfleisch is seriously considering the field as a career. “The information and science is fascinating and I plan on pursuing a degree in Forensic Science”, she mentioned.
As a culminating experience, students are asked to draw on knowledge gained throughout the semester to process an overall scene as part of their final exam in the course. Each class was divided into three groups, and these groups processed one of three separate “mock” crime scenes arranged around the school auditorium. While students worked collaboratively to meet the goals of the group, each student performed a specific duty; their roles were photographer, photo-logger, evidence technician, security officer, note taker, and team captain. The teams secured each scene, documented the scene with notes, photographs and sketches, searched the scene for evidence, and processed evidence including fingerprints, blood evidence, and types of wounds. At the end of the final, all teams presented their evidence and documentation to Mrs. Wargacki for assessment.
In its first year, the Forensic Science course will introduce one hundred and twenty students to the science of criminology. Bringing the course to Oakwood High School has been a community effort. The science faculty, especially Mrs. Wargacki, would like to express their gratitude to both the Parent-Teacher Organization and the Oakwood Education Foundation for their generous gifts that helped purchase many of the unique and extensive pieces of laboratory equipment that are pivotal to the course. With this support, science students at Oakwood High School are going beyond traditional topics (i.e., genetics, quantum, and optics) into the realms of criminology (i.e., DNA fingerprinting, serology and toxicology).
The newly-updated weight room at OHS.
The Oakwood High School Weight Room is sporting a brand new look, thanks in part to the Oakwood Athletic Boosters. This past fall, the weight room was totally remodeled and all new equipment was purchased and installed. A previously dark, drab, outdated room has been transformed into a state of the art workout room for Oakwood’s athletic teams and physical education classes. The new equipment includes: four power lift combo power racks, eight adjustable lever action benches, two glute/ham benches, three dumbbell benches, one three-tier dumbbell rack, four Olympic platforms and seven life fitness machines. This new equipment not only provides the much needed updating to the quality of our equipment; it also allows many more students to utilize the workout room at the same time.
“Thanks to the Boosters we were able to purchase quality equipment. The students at Oakwood Junior/Senior High will benefit for years to come,” said OHS athletic director Mark Hughes.
The makeover was made possible by a generous donation from the Oakwood Athletic Boosters Association. According to Booster Treasurer Stan Maher, the Boosters donated $54,000 in 2006 to be used to update the weight room. The community can help the Boosters continue their generous donations by purchasing a ticket to the Boosters Spring Fundraiser to be held March 17 at the Oakwood Community Center. This event is the primary fundraiser for the Athletic Boosters and all proceeds go to support the Junior and Senior High School Athletic
Programs. The Spring Fundraiser features a silent auction, food, beverages and live music by guitarist Dick Macaulay and friends. For additional information or to purchase tickets please contact Dean Harmony at 293-3757.
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