Mr. Olvesen, otherwise known as Mr. O The Science Pro, and the teacher that has rockets flying through the hallways and cardboard race car races has been awarded teacher of the year. The STEM, Robotics, and Honors Science teacher is known for extravagant stories and life lessons.
As a lifelong learner, Olvesen learned in highschool that he could teach and inspire kids at Woodbridge Middle School and he jumped at the offer to help kids learn better and maybe one day “change the world.”
Mr Olvesen said, ”I wanted to educate America one class at a time, but times have changed…my hope is that maybe if I don’t have the ability to change the world one day [myself] one of my students will.” He also said teaching is second nature for him because he has always had the “teaching/leader mindset.”
Mr. Olvesen has had a wildly diverse background that helps him teach in the classroom. For example, he traveled to the Galapagos islands to study. Mr. Olvesen stated that if he never became a teacher he would work for a team of scientists in the field in South America working for the National History Museum. One of his hobbies is also home building and refurbishment.
Eighth Grade Student, Raymond Rebovich, stated that he likes that Mr. Olvesen puts a lot of effort into teaching and puts videos on for a visual aid if the class doesn’t understand something. He also thinks of his students as people instead of just students and doesn’t just throw assignments at them. Rebovich prefers his style of teaching over other teachers he’s had. So far the year has been “pretty good” for him. He really likes the topic and is learning about planets and space. Rebovich has said, ”Actually yeah, I would say that’s my favorite class.”
Another Eighth Grade Student, Brian Dwyer, has had Mr. Olvesen as a science teacher and a baseball coach and offers a unique perspective into Mr. Olvesen. Dwyer likes that Mr. Olvesen “talks often and explains stuff well in a way that his students can understand stuff.” Since Mr. Olvesen was his baseball coach, he has a closer bond with him than others. Dwyer said, ”He was the baseball coach so I talk about that with him, he’s also really nice and helpful.”
In our personal experiences he has been a wise mentor and has taught us a lot. He likes to incorporate life lessons into his teaching and has many stories to tell to motivate and inspire his students to do better in life and teach them, lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. He is a great teacher and an amazing candidate for teacher of the year.
