Nueva School, which has campuses in Hillsborough and San Mateo, highlighted student and faculty achievements in artificial intelligence, neurodiversity, climate leadership, robotics and art in its October newsletter.

The accomplishments appear in the school’s “Mavericks Making Waves” roundup, published Oct. 29. Nueva’s lower and middle schools are in Hillsborough, while its upper school is in San Mateo.

International AI recognition

Sophomore Joey G. earned a gold medal and first place in the AI Innovators Challenge at the 2026 International AI Innovation Olympiad.

The competition’s official results list Joey Guo of the United States first with 190 combined points. He also received a bronze medal in the AI for Science competition. The global final took place Sept. 24-27.

According to Nueva, the challenge involved using hotel booking data to develop a pricing model for a hospitality business.

“I first got interested in AI through my 8th grade Quest Project exploring how AI could help diagnose skin cancer,” Joey said in the newsletter. “Through my Quest projects, I explored my interests in depth.”

Neurodiversity work at Stanford

Four Nueva community members presented at the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit in September, according to the school.

Student Evelyn K., science teacher and neurodiversity affinity group adviser Lindy Jensen, and learning specialist Gretchen Kellough presented a poster about neurodiversity affinity spaces. Their work examined how participants share experiences and develop language to describe them.

“Presenting at the Summit itself was a fantastic learning experience for me to speak with educators and parents outside of the Nueva community,” Evelyn said.

Separately, sophomore Lang C. and his team, Event Horizon, won first place in the Stanford Neurodiversity Project’s Research, Education, and Advocacy Camp for High Schoolers, according to Nueva.

The team developed a game featuring neurodivergent characters informed by interviews and written accounts of lived experience. After a two-week camp and three additional weeks of independent work, the team presented at the summit Sept. 19.

Climate leadership

Students Sophia L. and Arisa A. were accepted into the Youth Climate Ambassadors program, Nueva reported.

The eight-month program serves San Mateo County high school students. Its partners include the county’s Sustainability Department, the San Mateo County Office of Education, WestLight Energy, formerly Peninsula Clean Energy, and the Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame.

Participants attend workshops on climate science, environmental justice and advocacy, then develop a Community Impact Project addressing a sustainability issue in the county.

Robotics and art honors

Nueva’s robotics team, Bot Provoking, received the Founder’s Award at CalGames, held Oct. 16-18 at Woodside High School. The event’s results confirm the award for team 4904.

According to Nueva, students Ash J., Hannah B. and Lumi Y. presented the team’s work to judges.

Art teacher Rachel Dawson’s piece, “Held Before Knowing,” was selected for SCA Open 2026 at the Sausalito Center for the Arts, the school reported.

The exhibition organizer received 2,250 artworks for consideration. The exhibition is scheduled for Oct. 30 through Dec. 6, with free admission. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Nueva also announced that student bands, including rock band Revolve, are scheduled to perform Dec. 6 at The Guild Theater.