Adding on to the impressive list of outstanding awards from Tenafly High School’s STEM students, four sophomores from the THS Physics Club recently qualified for the prestigious National TEAMS Competition. The TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) competition is an annual STEM competition where students work in groups of two to four to collaboratively solve real-world challenges in realms of science and engineering by using both their mathematical and scientific skills.
The four students—Hillary Xie (‘26), Edward Wang (‘26), Calvin Du (‘26), and Fady Temimi (‘26)— competed in the state competition on February 16, during which they completed a set of three sections: a multiple choice exam, an essay, and a “design and build” portion. The exam consists of 40 questions, consisting of a combination of four scenario topics with ten questions in each topic—with a time limit of 60 minutes. The essay portion was created and submitted prior to the competition date, with this year’s prompt addressing a proposal for bicycle safety in society and increased bicycle use for a town of the team’s choice. Speaking to the team members, they mentioned that the essay portion took the most time to complete for them. Lastly, the design/build portion was just as the name suggests, as the students worked to complete a design challenge based on the annual theme, which was “Engineering Another World.”
Among a total of 108 teams competing in New Jersey, the students impressively finished 9th overall, which earned them a spot for the National TEAMS competition which will be held at the National TSA Conference in late June at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida. This team scored the highest amongst the teams from Tenafly this year.
After receiving the news that they had qualified for Nationals, the members were extremely jubilant to hear that their efforts had been atoned for. Edward Wang (’26), one of the members of the team, reflected on his emotions after receiving the news: “I felt surprised and excited having qualified for nationals, [as] I definitely didn’t think that we would place that high in states.” Wang believes that many factors contributed to their ultimate success, noting that “a combination of experience from last year’s TEAMS competition, some advice from upperclassmen, more effort and a bit of luck helped us qualify.”
Wang also shared his delight to hear that the essay portion, which they devoted much of their time to, ended up being their highest-scored portion of the competition. In the end, Wang is ultimately grateful for such an opportunity to come in his future, stating that “although we will have to cover travel expenses, hotel accommodations, and other fees by ourselves, it will ultimately be a great experience [for us].”
Another member, Fady Temimi (’26) reflected his happiness for him and his team’s achievements. “I’m very happy that we qualified for Nationals, and even somewhat surprised!” Temimi said. “I think we worked really well as a team… [and] good collaboration and spirit are all it takes to qualify for nationals, even though some studying is involved.” Ultimately, he recommended other students interested in STEM to also try competing at such competitions: “I recommend this experience to anyone interested in STEM and who wants to have some fun with their friends.”
The success of the team is just another example of the members’ commitments, efforts, and their hard-working mindsets. With the TEAMS Nationals competition only a few months away, the members will soon be working again to prepare for the competition. But for now, it is a better time to celebrate the joys. Congratulations to Hillary, Edward, Calvin, and Fady for such an achievement!
