Oodles Math Coach Nicole with PaceUP student Poon Xi Song.
From Mangrove Seeds to a Gold Award: The Oodles Math Journey of Poon Xi Song
Every so often, a student reminds us that curiosity in the classroom has a way of spilling out into the real world. Meet Poon Xi Song — Oodles Math PaceUP student, Yusof Ishak Secondary School Sec 3 student, and one of Singapore’s most decorated young environmental innovators.
At Oodles Math, we talk a lot about building curious, confident problem-solvers for life — not just students who can score well on a test. Every now and then, a student shows us exactly what that looks like once it leaves the classroom.
Poon Xi Song is one of those students. Since Primary school, he’s been trading playground time for beach clean-ups at Coney Island, drawn in by a childhood fascination with ocean exploration. That early curiosity about mangroves and coastal wildlife has since grown into a string of national recognitions — from a shoutout in the President’s own speech, to a national environment award, to, most recently, a Gold Award at an international innovation fair. Along the way, he’s continued attending his regular PaceUP classes at Oodles Math, proof that strong problem-solving habits built in a math classroom can travel a lot further than the exam hall.
Here’s his journey so far, in his own timeline.
Xi Song embodies the rare combination of intellectual brilliance and profound humility. Known among his peers and educators as an outstanding student with an analytical mind, Xi Song’s approach to education extends far beyond the confines of a traditional classroom. He possesses an insatiable thirst for learning that drives him to explore both academic theories and the natural world with equal fervour.
Xi Song approaches complex problems with a high level of logical precision. He possesses an innate ability to decipher intricate patterns, break down abstract concepts, and apply mathematical formulations to non-routine scenarios. Rather than relying on rote memorisation, he seeks to understand the fundamental mechanics behind every theory. Despite his achievements in Math, Science and Environmental studies, he remains remarkably humble, always staying approachable and grounded.
What truly sets Xi Song apart is his relentless curiosity.His weekends are frequently dedicated to self-directed exploration. It is not uncommon for Xi Song to spend his hours investigating the unique ecosystem and geography of Coney Island, immersing himself in field observations. Demonstrating immense dedication and stamina, he will transition directly from these outdoor expeditions in the early mornings to attending lessons at Oodles Math class. He arrives at his lessons energised by his discoveries, eagerly bridging the gap between real-world observations and formal academic concepts.
A Shoutout From the President's Office
It’s not every day a Secondary school student gets name-checked in a President’s speech. At the 2024 Festival of Biodiversity, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam personally announced Xi Song and schoolmate Tiffany Chu as “Student of the Year” winners of the Community in Nature (CIN) Schools Award, presented by the National Parks Board (NParks). The pair had spent months documenting biodiversity across the Yusof Ishak Secondary School campus, eventually cataloguing an impressive 50 species of plants and 70 species of animals — work that is now being compiled into a school biodiversity book.
“This year’s ‘Student of the Year’ winners are Tiffany Chu and Poon Xi Song… They embarked on a journey of documenting the biodiversity found in the school’s campus itself.”
— President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Speech at the Festival of Biodiversity, 25 May 2024
Build Your Child's Confidence, One Problem at a Time
PopsicleMath (K2–P1) · +hinkingMath (P2–P6) · PaceUP (S1–S4)
The Straits Times
“2 students from Yusof Ishak Secondary win 2024 Community in Nature School Award” — coverage of Xi Song and Tiffany Chu’s award-winning biodiversity documentation project.
Full speech transcript available via The Istana, Office of the President of Singapore.
National Recognition From NEA
A few months later, Xi Song’s environmental work earned him one of Singapore’s most established sustainability honours. At a ceremony on 13 September 2024, he received the Students Category award at the 16th EcoFriend Awards, presented by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, and organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA). Launched in 2007, the EcoFriend Award recognises individuals who’ve made a significant, sustained contribution to Singapore’s sustainability journey — and in 2024, more than 470 people were nominated for just a handful of spots.
NEA’s citation traced his journey back to his primary school years: regular beach clean-ups and mangrove observation at Coney Island, a self-started passion project that eventually drew in his friends, a food-waste-reduction app prototype, and independent research into lower-plastic, more sustainable hydroponic farming methods.
Reimagining Farming, Inspired by Mangrove Seeds
Xi Song’s attention then turned to a very Singapore problem: how do you farm sustainably when land is scarce? Together with teammate Do Manh Dat (Thomas), he designed a floating farming system inspired by the shape of mangrove propagules — the seed pods that let mangrove trees take root even in shifting coastal water. Their hexagonal module design balances stability with sunlight efficiency, and can support up to 160 plants within just 4 square metres of water surface.
Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报)
Coverage of Xi Song and Thomas’s mangrove-seed-inspired floating farming system, developed for the Singapore International STEM Innovation Challenge.
Still Cataloguing, Still Curious
A year on from the Community in Nature Award, Xi Song hadn’t stopped documenting his school’s campus. Together with fellow student Wee Hong Yu, he built on the earlier biodiversity work into a fuller campus biodiversity catalogue, and the pair even approached YISS Principal Mr Chen Ziyang directly to request more native plant species be introduced on campus.
A year on from the Community in Nature Award, Xi Song hadn’t stopped do
Their continued initiative contributed to Yusof Ishak Secondary School being named one of just eight schools nationwide to receive the Best 3R Award — the top honour at the School Green Awards 2025, organised by the Singapore Environment Council and supported by Keppel Care Foundation — alongside the school’s hydroponics-to-community produce donation programme for residents in Punggol West.
cumenting his school’s campus. Together with fellow student Wee Hong Yu, he built on the earlier biodiversity work into a fuller campus biodiversity catalogue, and the pair even approached YISS Principal Mr Chen Ziyang directly to request more native plant species be introduced on campus.
“Yusof Ishak Secondary School students Wee Hong Yu (left) and Poon Xi Song created a biodiversity catalogue, detailing the species of plants and animals found on campus.”
— The Straits Times, via Yahoo News Singapore
Gold at the International Elementz Fair
Most recently, on 21 April 2026, Xi Song took his ideas to an international stage. At the 27th International Elementz Fair, he presented “The Sprouted Propagule” — a prototype directly inspired by his years of watching mangrove seeds take root along Singapore’s coastline — and walked away with a Gold Award, one of two Gold Awards won by Yusof Ishak Secondary School students at this year’s fair.
As Yusof Ishak Secondary School shared in their announcement, Xi Song’s prototype was praised as “a creative and sustainable solution inspired by nature itself.” From science research to hands-on innovation, it’s the same throughline that’s carried across every project on this list: notice a problem, get curious about it, and build something real.
Photos and announcement credit: Yusof Ishak Secondary School official Facebook page.
What This Says About Curiosity — In and Out of the Classroom
Know an Oodles Math student with a story worth telling? We’d love to feature them in a future edition of Beyond the Numbers — drop us a message on our socials or through your centre coach.
Our Punggol centre is conveniently located near Northshore Primary School, Punggol Cove Primary School, Valour Primary School, Edgefield Primary School, Oasis Primary School, Punggol Green Primary School, and Punggol View Primary School.
Build Your Child's Confidence, One Problem at a Time
PopsicleMath (K2–P1) · +hinkingMath (P2–P6) · PaceUP (S1–S4)
Sources & Photo Credits
- National Environment Agency (NEA) — “EcoFriend Awards Spotlight Local Passion For The Environment,” 13 Sep 2024
- The Istana, Office of the President of Singapore — Speech by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Festival of Biodiversity, 25 May 2024
- The Straits Times — “2 students from Yusof Ishak Secondary win 2024 Community in Nature School Award”
- The Straits Times, via Yahoo News Singapore — “Hydroponics, upcycling projects among initiatives recognised at School Green Awards”
- Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报) — Feature article on the SISTEMIC floating farming system
- Yusof Ishak Secondary School — official Facebook page (27th International Elementz Fair announcement and photos)
