Whiz Kids: A Tip of the Hat to Christa McAuliffe Elementary School's ASB students

Each week, Sammamish Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams who wow us with their accomplishments.

This week, Brady Howden, principal of Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, has nominated all members of the ASB. Why? They are trying to raise awareness, boost community participation, involve their classmates and help a boy who has Pompe disease.

So, this week, a nice pat on the back to the school's ASB students! Congratulations!

Sammamish Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: Christa McAuliffe Elementary's ASB students.

Whiz Kids' School:

Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: They organized a Sparrow Club project to help a child and family in need.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: The following is from Brady Howden, school principal.

"The ASB team at Christa McAuliffe Elementary hosted an assembly on Friday, Feb. 25, introducing an all-school community service project dedicated to improving the life of a critically-ill child. Students learned about Sparrow Clubs USA, an organization that matches children with physical needs with schools. The McAuliffe ASB team informed students on how they could raise money to help Landon Raines, a child with Pompe disease. Students were encouraged to solicit local businesses to donate money based upon the number of community service hours worked by McAuliffe students. All money will go toward helping Landon Raines and his family. This is an incredible opportunity for McAuliffe students to reach out to a child and family in need. Their efforts, through community service projects, will have a positive impact on Landon, McAuliffe Elementary and the Sammamish community.
 
"Jaime Martin, ASB advisor, worked with the following students in leading Friday’s assembly and heading up McAuliffe’s participation on Sparrow Clubs USA: Amy Wisegarver, Andrew Qabar, Calvin Cantrell, Elle Eigst, Ellie Smith, Emily Vu, Grace Mitchell, Isa Toepke, Ishika Mukerjee, Jack Heffley, Karen Burrington, Katie Pryal, Kyra McCarthy, Lizzie Iwicki, Luke Wall, Nathan Orloff, Nour Amireh, Olivia Steinmetz, Peter Somol, Pia Richards, Rachel Bernstein, Sam Bernstein, Shamile Aldossary, Shayna Lee, Shayne Predmore, Sofia Viotto, and Tom Dulski."

Editor's note: If you would like to donate to or help with this community service project, contact Howden at 425-936-2620 or bhowden@lwsd.org. To learn more about Sparrow Clubs USA, visit the group's website. 

Also, Sammamish Patch wants to hear about amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to brad.wong@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's Name
• Nominator's E-Mail
• Whiz Kid's Name
• Whiz Kid's Age
• Whiz Kid's School
• Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful? Please include a 150-word description)

Just a gentle reminder: This is not a competition. This is just a nice community way to highlight young people in Sammamish - and especially those who inspire. Sammamish Patch will try and feature as many students as possible.