Administrators' Greetings

  • Principal's Welcome

    Welcome to Oceana High School! image of Maritza Torres


    I am honored and it is my privilege  to step into my new role as Principal of Oceana. I am excited to serve this community and support the school’s program and mission. I began my journey with  Oceana 12 years ago in 2011 as a counseling intern while pursuing my Masters in School Counseling at SF State. Since then, I’ve served as Head Counselor, Academic Council member, Senior Exhibition Coordinator, College & Career Guidance Initiative Lead at the JUHSD district office, and most recently as Vice Principal. 


    I am dedicated to Oceana’s curriculum, mission, and school-wide outcomes.  I appreciate the strong sense of community at Oceana and the way we come together as  students,  staff, and families to make major decisions. At Oceana, we strive to support and challenge students to learn deeply  through project-based learning, intentional group work, and social emotional learning. Staff continuously innovate, interrogate and refine their teaching practice to provide students with an effective and meaningful learning experience.  


    Oceana has a decades-long history of implementing programs that demonstrate how committed we are to student learning.  I also know we can do even better to meet the needs of every student. I look forward to this school year and to continuing this work together as a community. 

    Maritza Torres, Principal

    Vice Principal's Welcome

    picture of Michal Nozik

    I am excited to be joining the Oceana community!

    Before joining Oceana, I taught Biology and Chemistry for 10 years at Carlmont High School in Belmont, serving a diverse student population. I was also the Science Department Chair at Carlmont, leading a team of 18 teachers in collaborative work to improve our teaching practices and to implement the Next Generation Science Standards in our courses. In addition, I served on several school-wide and district-wide committees with the goals of improving student outcomes and supporting the staff. 

    Two years ago, I decided that I want to have an impact on student learning beyond my classroom and beyond my department, and I enrolled in a Master’s of Education program in School Leadership. I was drawn to Oceana High School because of the staff’s commitment to continuous growth, the emphasis on the depth of understanding, and the commitment to supporting all students. I am looking forward to working together with the staff, students and families of Oceana as we continue to strengthen our programs, so that all the members of our community are able to realize their potential and find joy and meaning.

    Michal Nozik, Vice Principal

     

    Vice Principal's Welcome

    Wickstrom

    Greetings Oceana students and families,


    I am delighted to be a part of this motivated, caring, and supportive community! As Vice Principal, I am dedicated to supporting students and their families in navigating the new and unfamiliar challenges of early high school. If you or your student would benefit from help building good habits, developing executive function skills, or just a chat, please reach out to me! In addition to assisting 9th and 10th graders acclimate to Oceana, I work closely with the teams that manage ASB, athletics, attendance, behavior management, campus safety, among others. Through this work, I am able to pursue my goal of offering every stud

    ent the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive in this rigorous, close-knit community.


    Prior to Oceana, I spent 6 years at Woodside Middle School where I served as a Spanish teacher, co-president of the district’s union, and 6th grade Dean. Prior to Woodside, I spent 6 years teaching Spanish language and Spanish for Heritage Speakers at two different school sites: Burton High School in San Francisco, and Summit Charter Prep in Redwood City. I was a double Spanish and Political Science major at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. In case you were wondering, Stephan Curry unfortunately didn’t get a chance to meet me while I was there. After college, I held two other careers (a Director of Youth Programming in MN, and later an insurance Risk Researcher in Washington, D.C.) before earning my Master's in Education from Stanford and becoming a teacher. I also earned a Master’s in Administration from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 2019, which allowed me to take on the role of Vice Principal at Oceana.


    I’m looking forward to working with you, and please reach out as needed. We work best when we work together!


    Bjorn Wickstrom, Vice Principal