Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Alma Karina Lopez Age, School: Senior, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School Accomplishment: She is one of two recipients at the school of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Award of Academic Excellence. Robert Jordan, of Uxbridge, also received the award at Valley Tech. Key to Awesomeness: The students were chosen through their high levels of academic achievement, and numerous extra-curricular activities. Both study Business Technology at Valley Tech. Lopez is a member of the James S. Mullaney Chapter of the National …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: Lucas Rosa and Kara Schmitt Age, School: Fourth graders, Woodland Elementary School Accomplishment: Each earned perfect scores at the first meet of the WordMasters Challenge. Key to Awesomeness: Rosa and Schmitt won highest honors at the first meet of the WordMasters Challenge — a national language arts competition that consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year. Rosa and Schmitt both earned perfect scores in the meet, joining just 62 others nationwide to earn that distinction. Other fourth graders who earned outstanding results in …

Name: Peter Fallon Age/School: 13, Middle School East Accomplishment: Peter was nominated for, tried out and was selected to play on the Central Mass All Star Football Team. Key to Awesomeness: When we last met Peter, he was working hard five days a week to prepare for the upcoming football season. He won a scholarship to ABT (Athletic Based Training) to take on even more training work.

Name: Julia Melo Age/School: 5, Metrowest Christian Academy Accomplishment: The kindergartener was featured in the 5th Annual Young Musicians Recital Series. Key to Awesomeness: Julia began asking for piano lessons after seeing someone play. Even though she just started playing in September, her parents and teacher, Karen Amlaw, are surprised at how fast she is learning.

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: FC Milford, U14 Soccer Team: Justin Borges, Luis Goncalves, Michael Da Silva, Michael Haver, John Martins, Bruno Alves, Juan Fernando Garcia, Ludwin Escobar, Jonathan Joseph Torres, Thales Guimaraes, Gerson Migliorini (not pictured), Gustavo Marato, Ryan Zwonik Age, School: 13, Middle School East Accomplishment: The boys' passion for soccer pushes them to excel, arriving early and staying late at practice. They took the initiative to put together their own indoor soccer team before they even had a coach. Inspired by their determination, coach Jay Porter agreed to …

Do you know a Milford kid who is an unsung hero? A tireless volunteer, a creative genius, a standout athlete or an exceptional student? How about a team or youth group that has done something great? The Whiz Kid concept can be plural! Tell us about these impressive young community members. We're looking for Whiz Kids to champion in a regular feature. Milford Patch will seek 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 and select one each week as the Patch …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  Name: Justine Trautwein Age, School: 12, Stacy Middle School Accomplishment: Justine is just 12, but she plays not only on the Milford U12 fast-pitch softball team, but also was selected to help fill out the roster for the older, U14 team, for 20 games this summer. This has meant playing softball every day this summer. In fact, one day, her father drove her from Medfield to North Attleboro, so she could play for both Milford teams. Key to Awesomeness: Justine is a competitor who takes her sport seriously. She started at 5. Now, she plays pitcher, catcher, right …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  Name: Alice Knowlton School: Woodland Elementary School Accomplishment: Alice, a fourth grader, won highest honors in the 2011 WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by 220,000 students, and consisting of three separate meets. Of all fourth-grade students, she was among the top 25 scorers. Key to Awesomeness: Alice made only two errors over the three meets held this year. She also earned a perfect score in the April competition. WordMasters Challenge is part of the enrichment program at Woodland, and involves having students become …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  Name: Joshua Rabinovitz School: Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School Accomplishment: Rabinovitz, who will graduate Thursday, is the recipient of the 2011 Al DeGeorge Bros. & Sons Trade Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship will help Rabinovitz continue his studies in entrepreneurship at Bristol Community College. Rabinovitz, a Milford resident, wants to eventually work for himself as a self-employed plumber. Key to Awesomeness: "He is a fine plumbing student, whose interest, workmanship and cooperation made him an excellent choice for this …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  Name: Ioana Rotaru, 14 School: Middle School East Accomplishment: Rotaru, an eighth-grader, recently was named one of 23 merit winners in the 23rd Annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Her creation "Vision of Peace" was selected among 365,000 entries. She worked on the colored pencil drawing on her own time. Key to Awesomeness: Rotaru has been taking art classes at school and after-school at Create-It Art and Design Center, for more than three years. "She's just a really good kid," said Kathy Rossacci, owner of Create-It Art and Design Center. "When it …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week Name: Anthony Panaggio Class: Eighth grade School: Catholic Memorial School Accomplishments: Anthony, an eighth-grade student from Milford, earned a top award at a recent Speech and Debate tournament at Milton Academy, which drew 450 students. Keys to Awesomeness: Panaggio took a 7th place honor in the category of demonstration. He and his teammates competed against 450 students, from more than 12 area schools, said Joe McGonegal, a spokesman for Catholic Memorial School. Earlier this year, Panaggio won his event at a tournament in Natick.

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week Name: Milford Boys Volleyball Grade: Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors School: Milford High School Accomplishments:  The team had a great season last year, heading to the district semifinals. On Saturday, they will travel to Rhode Island for the Rhody Invitational midseason tournament at Bryant University, drawing 16 teams from the two states. Keys to Awesomeness: The team is one of just eight in Massachusetts selected for this tournament, and one of three competing for the first time. The team was chosen based on recommendations from other coaches and their recent …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week Names: Almog Tabak, Monica Alves, Mary Sticknew, Carly Hanna, Chrissy Fraga, Reba Barrows, Vinny Sabo, Dustin Santomenna, Kristen Schmidt, Nocole Hays, Scott Van Buskirk, Brittany Hill,  Matthew Ferrelli, Kasey Wilcox, Connor Mulcahy, Lizzie Flumere, and Andrew Baranauskas. Class: Juniors and Seniors School: Milford High School Accomplishments: Volunteers and members of the Junior Class coordinated and hosted the "Breakfast with the Bunny" event Sunday, which drew young children and their parents to the high school for a popular photo op with the Easter Bunny. Keys…

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week Name:  Best Buddies leadership team: Kristine Dumas, president; Alec Lapan, vice-president; Alex Heim, vice-president; and Lizzie Flumere. Grade: Dumas and Heim are seniors; Lapan and Flumere are juniors. School: Milford High School Nominated By: Jennifer Walsh, Best Buddies club co-advisor. Accomplishments: Under their leadership, the Best Buddies chapter at Milford High has grown from 70 to 220 members, easily among the most popular clubs. Students participate in dances every month, as well as other activities. Club members who are paired with developmentally …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week:  ○      Names: Mina Shehata, sixth grade, and Brianna Braza, fifth grade. ○      School: Stacy Middle School ○      Accomplishment: The students were among 100 middle school volunteers recognized in Massachusetts last week, with the John F. Kennedy "Make a Difference" Award. They were honored at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. ○      Key to Awesomeness: According to Monique Gosselin, sixth grade guidance counselor at Stacy Middle, both students were recognized for volunteerism with the "Find Yourself Fridays" program. "They're just very enthusiastic," …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week Name: Melissa Braza Age: 13 School: Middle School East Nominated By: Jim Sanchioni, director of Milford Youth Center Accomplishments: Juvenile Advocacy Group for the past four years, working to improve the lives of the children in the community; Girl Scout for nine years, currently a Cadette Girl Scout; Peer Mediator; Volunteers at the Milford Science Fair for grades 1-4. Keys to Awesomeness: "Melissa is always first to volunteer with anything that helps improve the lives of the citizens of Milford," said Jim Sanchioni, director of the Milford Youth Center. "She is …

Name and Age: Nicole Quinn, 13 School: Oak Middle School, Shrewsbury Accomplishment: Nicole has been able to see beyond herself and give back to one of the society's most important needs. Her aunt, Marybeth Salvucci of Milford, is a cancer survivor. Having witnessed her aunt's illness, Nicole took it upon herself to make bracelets and lollipops to raise money. All of the money raised is donated to cancer patients in the form of gift cards to Stop-n-Shop, CVS, various restaurants and other places that would make life easier for the patients and their families. When Nicole learned about Robin …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week:  ○      Names: Seniors Kaitlyn Kline and Alexandra Jacobsen and junior Vinny Sabo  ○      School: Milford High ○      Accomplishment: The three students plunged into the water at Revere Beach on Feb. 26 as part of the Special Olympics' "Passion Plunge" fundraiser. ○      Key to Awesomeness: According to Jennifer Walsh, adviser of the Best Buddies program, the three "went above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of our Milford Special Olympic Athletes. They had to raise a minimum of $250 to participate, and as a team, which was compromised of students …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  ○      Name, Age: Jonathan Capece, 14 ○      School: Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School ○      Accomplishment: Over the last three years of being involved in the JAG/MYC Youth Council, Jon has gone over and above what is expected of him to make the Youth Council the success that it is. He has taken initiative and attends training to increase his knowledge of how to better serve the council and his community. Jon is a very active member and has worked tirelessly to create a website to help promote the council and bring a positive awareness …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week:  ○      Name, Age: Daniel D. Bruce, 16 ○      School: Milford High ○      Accomplishment: Dan was at Milford High last weekend when he came across a bus of students who were leaving for Spain. Always the go-getter, he grabbed his camera and a notebook, and, despite never having written a news story before, got to work. He submitted the story to Milford Patch, unsolicited, and it ran Sunday, Feb. 20. (Incidentally, the story hardly required any editing.) ○      Key to Awesomeness: Dan doesn't do anything halfway. He's involved in numerous activities in and outside …