Students Show the Spirit for a Teammate

St. Bernardine of Siena School in Woodland Hills won an outstanding award for its overall spirit in the face of adversity at the recent Odyssey of the Mind state finals, after teammate Kelly Ryan, 14, was diagnosed with cancerous lymphoma.

A few weeks ago, when Kelly’s cancer was still undetected, the only thing on her mind was her team’s winning performance that had propelled it to the state championships.

Kelly is undergoing chemotherapy, and doctors have said her prospects for recovery are good. Her role--a clown performing in a homemade pageant wagon--was played by another student.

“They didn’t want to go without her,” said Kathy Stiles, a pediatrician and Odyssey of the Mind coordinator for St. Bernardine’s. “But they did a fantastic performance--probably the best they’ve ever done.”

Odyssey of the Mind competitions challenge creative thinking and problem-solving skills among kindergarten through college-age students.

John Burroughs High School in Burbank placed second and ninth in two divisions.

KUDOS

Whiz Kid: Dan Roy, a junior at Viewpoint School in Calabasas, will go to MIT this summer, along with 53 other students chosen from around the nation to participate in the 15th annual Research Science Institute for outstanding math and science students. While at MIT, Dan will take classes and research artificial intelligence as it relates to computer science.

Brain Brawn: Van Nuys High School senior Kevin Fan, 17, is a semifinalist in the Physics Olympics qualifying round, landing a top-100 ranking nationally. Next, Kevin will compete for a top-20 ranking and vie for a position on the U.S. Physics Olympics team that will compete in Iceland this summer for the world title.

Most Likely to Succeed: Tomahawk, the 1997 Birmingham High School yearbook, has a chance to be named the best in the nation. The National Scholastic Press Assn. has chosen the book, along with 47 others, to be honored at the National High School Journalism Convention on April 19 in Seattle.

In another competition, San Fernando High School won a Silver Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Assn. for its 1997 yearbook. The recognition is especially sweet since, back in 1996, equipment and floppy disks containing text for that year’s book were stolen just days before the book’s deadline.

The Chronicle, the school newspaper at Studio City’s Harvard-Westlake, also received a Silver Crown at the annual competition that recognizes outstanding student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and videos.

Winning Sound: The 70-piece concert band from Chatsworth’s Lawrence Middle School had no competition last weekend at the Music Fest Orlando, taking first place in the uncontested middle school division and fifth overall against high school programs from across the country.

“It’s the administration, the parents and the kids that make us special,” 26-year-old leader Jeremy Chung said. The band raised more than $65,000 to fund its travels, which included performances at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and an outing to the Kennedy Space Center.

EVENTS

Building a Future: The entry deadline is May 8 for the 1998 Architectural Drafting Competition for high school students. Winners will be announced May 13. Prizes of $3,000 in scholarship funds will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in technical merit and creativity categories. For information, call (805) 498-4836.