Whiz Kids' Names and Ages: Charlie Beard, Ian Miller, Maddy Bullard, Ikshu Neithalath, Lily Gage, Becca Steinberg, John Holland and Sagar Yadama. All are juniors or seniors in high school. Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Clayton High School Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: The students received first place in a national engineering competition. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: The Clayton students tied for first in the junior-and-senior category of the TEAMS engineering competition with students at Boise High School in Boise, ID; Terre Haute South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, IN; and …

Whiz Kid's Name and Age: Jake Bernstein, high school juniorNominated by: Simone BernsteinWhiz Kid's School/Church/Community Center: Clayton High SchoolWhiz Kid's Accomplishment: Jake has been selected to be one of the members of generationOn's National Youth Advisory Council. The group is part of Points of Light Institute.Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: Jake is one of just 10 students nationwide selected for the organization's first youth advisory council. "As part of the council, these young service leaders will help to develop and execute generationOn's key initiatives, and serve as …

Whiz Kids' Name(s): Kahri Dixon, Marquise Griffin and Mohammed Kokan Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Kahri attends Maplewood Richmond Heights High School; Marquise and Mohammed attend Clayton High School.Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: The three recently received recognition for outstanding achievements by the Special School District of St. Louis County. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: Kahri received the Rosemary Zander Award in recognition of his "extraordinary successes" during the Commitment to Kids Banquet held April 28, a news release states. Kahri, who is deaf, started a sign-…

Whiz Kids' Name(s), Age(s): Molly Flood, high school juniorWhiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Villa Duchesne High School Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: Molly helped build a reading area for children at Webster Groves-based Edgewood Children's Center, a news release states. The center benefits young people who have behavioral and emotional disorders. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: Molly decided to build a reading area, but she first had to get books to stock it, the release states. So she held a drive at her school and collected more than 1,000 books. She also built bookshelves and …

 The St. Louis Artists' Guild is celebrating its 35th year with a tradition that gives area students the spotlight in the historic building's galleries.  The Young Artists' Showcase kicked off at 6 p.m. Friday and used both floors of the venue at 2 Oak Knoll Park in Clayton for the two-hour opening. High school artists and their parents, along with friends and community members, packed into the galleries to view 160 paintings, prints, photos and sculptures selected from a field of 333. "I love it," gallery director Gina Alvarez said. "They're amazing. They're interesting. They can do a lot of…

Whiz Kid's Name and Age: Simone Bernstein, college freshmanWhiz Kid's School/Church/Community Center: St. Bonaventure University in New York (formerly of Clayton High School)Whiz Kid's Accomplishments: Bernstein has been named a finalist for the 2011 Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame.Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: Bernstein, a Clayton High graduate, founded the website stlouisvolunteen.com, which pairs young people in St. Louis with volunteer opportunities. Now, she's been nominated to become an inductee in the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame. Until May 13, people may vote once a day for …

Whiz Kids' Name(s) and Ages: Mason Kramer, Aiden Reinhold, Freeman Reinhold and Gavin VilcekWhiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Maplewood Richmond Heights Elementary SchoolWhiz Kids' Accomplishment: The students placed third in the state chess championship.Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: Mason, Aiden, Freeman and Gavin were among nearly 400 students who played chess Feb. 26 in Jefferson City as part of the 2011 Missouri Scholastic Team Championships, the Missouri Scholastic Chess website states.Coach Ben Simon told Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch that Freeman, a fourth-grader, is the …

Whiz Kids' Name(s) and Ages: Shuyang Li and Krystal Peterson, both juniors in high school Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Shuyang Li attends Clayton High School, and Krystal Peterson attends Maplewood Richmond Heights High School Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: They have received an award from one of the colleges at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: The two were among 36 high school juniors in the St. Louis area to receive a Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Science from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Missouri St…

Parents, students and teachers cheered loudly from the stands, the Blue Devil Big Band performed Queen's "We Are the Champions" and multicolored stringers flew from the rafters during a ceremony at the Maplewood Richmond Heights High School gymnasium March 11. The school wasn't holding a pep rally or hosting a basketball game. Instead, students in third through 12th grades were honored for academic success on standardized test scores during the 2011 Academic Achievement Celebration. The school district aims to create an atmosphere comparable to an athletic event. It's part of the district's …

Whiz Kids' Name(s) and Ages: Neleh Hopper, 2; Tavin Matiszik, 4; and Michaela Wells, 3. Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Captain Elementary School Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: The three were among the Captain Elementary students who participated Feb. 24 in Black History Night. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: Neleh, Tavin and Michaela worked together to share the story of William Kamkwamba, a Malawi resident who built a windmill to provide energy to his family's house and has since invested in other community projects. Black History Night is an annual celebration at the school. "As part…

Whiz Kids' Name(s): Meredith Redick (Class of 2010),  Richard Millett (Class of 2011) and Rebecca Steinberg (Class of 2011) Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Clayton High School Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: The three students received a perfect score on the ACT. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently recognized Clayton High because one of its former Class of 2010 students—Meredith Redick—earned a perfect 36 on the ACT, a standardized college-entrance test taken by students nationwide. "The average composite score for the …

Whiz Kids' Name(s), Age(s): Brendan Su, 5; Sammy Wyeth, 7 Whiz Kids' School/Church/Community Center: Brendan is from Maryland Heights and Sammy is from St. Charles. Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: The two have been named 2011 Boy & Girl of the Year, respectively, by the Gateway Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness: These two youngsters were honored Feb. 17 at Araka Restaurant in Clayton. The event kicked off the Gateway Chapter's 2011 Man & Woman of the Year competition, in which participants raise money to benefit cancer research and patients. Brendan is …

Whiz Kid's Name(s), Age(s): Montel Maggitt (sophomore), Eduardo Verdia (senior), LaVon Clark (sophomore) Whiz Kid's School: Maplewood Richmond Heights High School Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: The MRH athletes finished second, third and fourth, respectively, during the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 1, District 1 championship and are now headed to Columbia, MO, to wrestle in the 81st MSHSAA wrestling championships this weekend. Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (100-150 words): After a seventh-place finish for Maplewood Richmond Heights in the district championship, head …