Patch wants to recognize your kids, whether they are whizzes in the classroom, after school, or both. Each week, we seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and athletes that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about the amazing youth in our community to spotlight as the Patch Whiz Kid. Click here to see the students we featured last school year. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or to michael.stone@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information: Nominator's Name Nominator's Email Whiz Kid's Name Whiz Kid's Age Whiz …

Whiz Kid: Aidyn Despiau-Vazquez, 7 years old School: Varner Elementary Church: St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Marietta Accomplishment and Key to Awesomeness (from Aidyn's teacher, Libby Wingo): Last August, Aidyn's younger brother, Anthony, was diagnosed with leukemia and was treated by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for seven months. During Anthony's treatments, Aidyn became aware of the services of the Ronald McDonald House and decided she wanted to do something to help them. She wrote a letter to our principal, Pamela Adeli, outlining her plan to ask our entire school to collect and …

Outstanding young artists were presented awards by the Red Cockerill Gallery in Austell on Saturday. Among the children recognized were Bryon and Bethany King of Lithia Springs. Ansley McKensie and Adelaide McKenzie from Mableton took top honors of first place in their division at the reception Saturday. Fourth-grader Ansley's "Fawn in the Woods" and 5-year-old Adelaide's "Statue of Liberty in a Snow Storm" were outstanding works. The winners received art supplies and framing. They have been studying art at the Red Cockerill Gallery for a little over a year. For more information about classes…

Whiz Kid: Jarrod Smith, 11 years old School: Austell Intermediate Accomplishments:  Helped take school's Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team all the way to Division 1. Won school spelling bee. Competing on Science Olympiad team. Competing on Odyssey of the Mind team. His original art won the yearbook cover. Involved in honors chorus. Principal's List recipient. Key to Awesomeness: “My key to awesomeness is always giving your best in all that you do. With hard work and practice you can always improve on whatever you are doing. Be flexible, try anything once, and don’t let your fear of the unknown …

Whiz Kid: Jordan Careathers, 9 years old School/Church: Austell Intermediate, New Mountain Top Baptist Church Accomplishments:  Received first place in the Cobb County Science Fair for fourth grade for his project, "Are Name Brand Batteries Better Than Store Brand Batteries?" Competed on the Austell Intermediate 2011 Science Olympiad team in three events  Competed on New Mountain Top's Truth & Training team in the 2011 AWANA Bible Quiz Bowl Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance recipient.  Key to Awesomeness: "My key to awesomeness is being creative, curious and a good listener. I am a very …

Whiz Kid: Denia Carlton, 11 years old School: Austell Intermediate Accomplishments and Involvement: President of Science Club, Science Olympiad team, Principal’s List, member of Ram Readers, donator to Locks of Love, North River Church of Christ, family is active in the Powder Springs community Key to Awesomeness: "The key to awesomeness is being yourself and not caring about what others think of you. To some people, things come easy; yet for others, it takes a little longer and requires patience. An important thing to remember is to give your best in everything you do, whether it is science…

Whiz Kid: Malik Balogun, 10 years old School: Austell Intermediate Accomplishment: Winning first place in the school's science fair for the project "Let There Be Light: The Miracle of Electricity." Key to Awesomeness: "My key to awesomeness is hard work and being persistent. It is also about believing in what you can accomplish and going above and beyond to be the best person that you can be. It is thinking that anything is possible. It is important to know when to be a leader and when to be a team player and be a part of the team. Also, pushing and encouraging others helps me to do better. I…

Whiz Kids: Collette Smith and Cammie Gantek, both 11 years old School: Vaughan Elementary Accomplishment: Placing second in the nation in NASA’s Kids in Micro-g Competition, a contest that possibly leads to children's experiments being performed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Key to Awesomeness: Cammie: Collette and I first became interested in this project because of our love for the NASA program. Our target teacher, Ms. (Christy) Garvin, encouraged us to try our best in everything we do, and that is what we did in this project. This assignment helped me realize what …

Know a great kid who became an Eagle Scout? Or did your local soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree. Each week, Patch will seek suggestions from readers for accomplished individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nominations in our comment box below or e-mail them to michael.stone@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information: Nominator's Name Nominator's E-mail and Phone Number Whiz Kid's Name Whiz Kid's …