Mahwah Whiz Kids Needed

Nominate your great kids

Last year, Patch ran a feature that highlighted some great kids across Mahwah. We called them "Whiz Kids" and we ran interviews with and pictures of young people in Mahwah who were accomplishing big things. Now, we want to bring our Whiz Kids back! So, if you know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or a local team ehat took the championship, let Patch know. Mahwah Patch is seeking suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens to let the community know about what they are doing. Submit your nomination by e-mailing the information to jessica.mazzola@patch.com.  Be sure to include all of the following …

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Whiz Kid

Barnstable Graduates One Mahwah Performer

Overcoming hearing loss, this Whiz Kid has sights set on a musical future

When Patch featured Barnstable Academy singer Jenna Huggins as a Whiz Kid this February, she shared how her time at the performing arts academy in Oakland was particularly enjoyable because she had a big obstacle to overcome to get there. “I actually wear hearing aids in both ears. Since I'm a singer, people are usually pretty shocked to find out that I have hearing loss,” she said. Jenna is also a singer in the a cappella group the “Rock n’ Roll Chorus,” who performed at last year’s WinterFest tree lighting in Mahwah. Having graduated from Barnstable this month, Jenna now is looking forward to Radford University in Virginia, which she will be attending this fall. “I definitely plan to have music in my future in some way; it would be cool …

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What Floats Your Boat?

It’s cardboard and duct tape for one MHS class

Who recently took over the Ramapo Ridge pool? Life guards? Pirates in training? Water aerobics class? No, none of the above. It was the Mahwah High School Senior AP Physics class and they were there to test out the waters with their last class assignment. What’s the assignment, you ask? Build a boat entirely out of duct tape and cardboard in one week. Put two people in it and successfully row across a pool without sinking. The teams: 16 students in Mahwah High School’s Advanced Placement Physics class. Four students were on each team. The Location: Ramapo Ridge Pool in Mahwah. A.P Physics teacher Pat Mennella took her students to test out their man made boats at the Ramapo Ridge Pool. Mennella explained the reason for these man made boats…

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Whiz Kid

Teen Cancer Survivor Relays To "Pay It Forward"

Whiz Kid will co-chair weekend Relay for Life at Paramus Catholic

Mahwah resident Tim Malone, a 17-year-old junior at Paramus Catholic High School, and his family have a good reason to be excited for this weekend’s Relay for Life fundraiser at his school. “On January 7, 2010 I received the news that I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 3B. I left school for treatment, and had the arduous task of completing my sophomore year of high school at home,” Tim explains on his Relay page. “Thank God, I have beaten the disease and am now once again a full time Junior!” Tim and his entire family have taken his recovery as a sign that they should give back to the community by forming the Relay ‘Team Tim’ and raising money for this weekend’s event. “He is a survivor, and going through everything we went through was really …

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Fourth Graders Win "Battle of the Books"

JK students beat out competitors from Dumont and River Vale

Three Joyce Kilmer fourth-graders earned first place in a “Battle of the Books” competition with students from Dumont and River Vale schools. Gifted and talented students Lauren Fisher, Kelly Lu and Annabelle Spingler made their families and school district proud by bringing home the coveted first place distinction. According to Robin Canetti, JK’s media specialist who coaches the Battle team, “the ‘Battle of the Books’ is a reading incentive program for students in grades 3-12. Students come together to answer trivia questions, demonstrating their abilities and testing their knowledge of the books they have read. The teams from all three schools participate in the gifted and talented programs at their respective schools. Each team had to …

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Whiz Kid Puts Passion To The Test This Summer

Mahwah Penn State grad lands local internship

Brittney Ellyn Hunter, a Mahwah resident and recent grad of Penn State, will begin her career path this summer. The landscape contracting design/building major with a minor in horticulture will be working with R&S Landscaping in Midland Park. “I look forward to learning from the professionals at R&S Landscaping and am grateful for the opportunity,” Brittney said. According to a release sent out by R&S, Brittney has been well-prepared for the opportunity. During her time in school, she was secretary of The Penn State Horticulture Club and was a member of The Penn State Horticulture Show Committee and the Phi Alpha Xi Honors Fraternity. Her responsibilities in her new position will include assisting in the creation of custom design plans, …

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Four-Year-Old Uses Determination To Overcome Obstacles

Whiz Kid battles challenges from premature birth

According to her proud parents John and Debi, their daughter Erin Rianna Flanagan is a Whiz Kid who has been overcoming obstacles her entire life. The four-year-old was born prematurely, and as a result faced physical, developmental, and social challenges.  “Since 18 months of age she started receiving therapeutic services through the State: speech, occupational, developmental and physical,” her parents explained. Moving from Mahwah, where the couple lived for years, Erin was classified as “pre-school disabled” in the Little Ferry Public School District. “One and a half years later, I'm thrilled to say our daughter has caught up in all areas of development, social and physical and is now testing at an average level,” Debi said. Erin’s …

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Whiz Kid

Two Mahwah Girl Scouts Organize Donation

Help out this Saturday, as the girls go for Silver Awards

Two Mahwah girl scouts going for their Silver Award by hosting a fundraiser this weekend. Troopmates Rebecca Malz and Gabrielle Gneiding will be collecting items this Saturday, May 21, from 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the gym of Mahwah High School to benefit Shelter Our Sisters. The group, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year provides support to victims of domestic abuse. Residents can help by dropping off the following items at MHS this Saturday:

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Mahwah Teen Going To Africa This Summer

Hannah Remo will volunteer at an orphanage in Ghana

Instead of relaxing this summer, MHS sophomore Hannah Remo has decided to take the time off from school to give back. Remo will be heading to Ghana, Africa to volunteer with Projects Abroad, an organization that provides assistance to needy children across the world. Since Projects Abroad launched in1992,  "more than 35,000 volunteers have contributed to thousands of service initiatives throughout the world," according to the organization's website. “I will be working in an orphanage for a month and will be completely immersed in a culture so different than our own,” Remo said. Remo will help provide food, clothing, hygiene, and attention to young people who have been deprived of these things. She is currently in the middle of fundraising …

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Ridge Student Council Donates $1500 To UNICEF

Project benefitting relief effort in Japan was students' idea

Whiz Kid's Name: Mariel Rondinelli, Brianna Spencer, Dante D’Agostaro and Mahan Garg - the President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer of the Ramapo Ridge Student Council Whiz Kids’ Grades: Seventh (boys) and Eighth (girls) Whiz Kid's School: Ramapo Ridge Middle School Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: The Student Council donated $1500 to UNICEF to benefit relief efforts in Japan  Four Ramapo Ridge students led the school’s student council to raise $1500 to benefit UNICEF relief efforts in Japan. “We always do so much within our school and community, so we thought, ‘why not go outside of that to help others?’” eighth grade Student Council President Mariel Rondinelli. “Mariel initially emailed me some ideas that she had looked up about bracelets that …

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