Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Samira Teixeira, 14 School: East Somerville Community School, at the Cummings building.  Accomplishment: Samira spent the second half of 7th grade learning about diversity and meeting girls of different ethic backgrounds from the city's public schools.  How she did it: Every Monday after school, Samira would meet with girls her age to talk about problems that teenagers sometimes face, such as drugs or domestic violence. But they also learned about local history and politics and took field trips to places like The Museum of Science, where they viewed an exhibition …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week The cast, directors, composers and technicians of a theatrical adaptation of the children's classic book James and the Giant Peach:  Finnegan Paquette as James Henry Trotter.  Max Katz-Christy as Old Man, Shark, Captain, Cloud Man, Townsperson 1.  Molly Katz-Christy as Aunt Spiker, Officer 1, Townsperson 2. Erica Jaquith as Aunt Sponge, Shark, Officer 2, Cloud Woman, Townsperson 3.  Shayla Gottlieb as Miss Spider.  Finn Saunders-Zurn as Centipede.  Theodora Lim as Green Grasshopper.  Sienna Rouse as Ladybug.  Caleb Messier as Earthworm.  Jenny Vernick as Shark, …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Alana Thurston, 17 School: Prospect Hill Academy Charter School  Accomplishment: Thurston completed the Broad Institute's summer internship program.  How she did it: After working in a laboratory, which is affiliated with Harvard and MIT, for six weeks this summer, Thurston said she could see herself becoming a research scientist.  With the help of a mentor, Thurston researched the way different molecules interacted with hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen in the blood of vertebrates. She sought to find a molecule that could bind to and change the makeup …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: The stars of OPENAIR Circus Their many feats: During summer shows on Aug. 5, 6 and 7 at Nunziato Field, children and teenagers hula hooped, tumbled, danced, pretended to fight and walked on stilts that let them touch the top of the tent. How they did it: For six weeks this summer, kids from Somerville and nearby met at Nunziato Field to practice circus acts for the 26th annual OPENAIR Circus show. This year’s theme was “In Space.” For many of the acts, children dressed up as the sun, moon or planets, or as characters from Star Wars, as outer-space-themed pop music…

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: April, Amber, Emily, Marissa, Bobby, Christina, Greg, Damon and Zachary, the teenage residents of Clarendon Hill Towers Apartments who made and narrated stop-motion animations at Somerville Community Access Television (SCATV). How they did it: For three afternoons this summer, a group of teens participating in their apartment complex's jobs program learned to use cameras, editing software and audio recording gear. With their new technical knowledge, they made short animations about the importance of finding meaningful work, being a leader and getting involved in …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: The "Eco-Explorers," aged 6 to 9.  Accomplishment: Every Tuesday since July 5, they've gathered to learn about the birds, seeds, flowers, and trees that live and grow in the city.  How they do it: There are still two more weeks for children to explore and learn fun facts about nature and wildlife at the Somerville Public Library with Groundwork Somerville.  Children and their caretakers can meet Tai Dinnan, who runs many of the organization's youth programs, inside the library's central branch at 4 p.m. Tuesday, August 2 and the same time and day the following …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: The Urban Ag Crew, part of Groundwork Somerville's Green Team.  Schools: Full Circle Alternative High School, Prospect Hill Academy Charter School, St. Clement High School.  Accomplishment: The group of 14- to 18-year-old city kids has learned to build and maintain a garden, navigate the streets by bike, as well as beautify and feed their community.  How they do it: Three days a week, the group tends the plants at the Somerville Community Growing Center and the gardens at the city's public schools. They pull weeds, water beds, harvest plants and later sell them at…

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Kaleigh Kosta School: Brown School Accomplishment: Kaleigh used the fire safety skills she learned from local firefighters during a fire at her family's home.  How she did it: In January, Kaleigh and her family heard smoke detectors sound on the floor above them. After seeing smoke coming from the third floor, the family alerted their neighbors and headed out of the building. Meanwhile, the girl told her mother to call 911 and reminded her family to go a place where they had agreed in advance to meet in case of an emergency.  Kaleigh learned these strategies during…

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Elias Estabrook, 18 School: Prospect Hill Academy Upper School Campus Accomplishment: A life-long traveler, Estabrook will take a gap year before attending Yale University to spend several months in South America or Africa doing community service work. How he got there: Estabrook acknowledges that he’s led a privileged life, having traveled numerous times to Germany, his mother’s homeland, and cycled with his father through the foothills of France. But globetrotting also laid bare to him the hardships of the poor and propelled him to volunteer at home and abroad. …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Maxwell Freitas, 14 School: Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park  Accomplishments: Max's essay about John Adam's legacy that he submitted to the Middlesex County Law Day competition this month earned him a top 10 placement among some 540 students. The eighth grader will also receive the superintendent's award this Wednesday.  How he did it: Maxwell, a straight-A student, said his parents and older brother have always encouraged him to excel in school. His brother, who Max said won several scholarships at the high school's recent scholarship night, set an…

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Moises Zelayandia, 18 School: Somerville High School Accomplishment: Zelayandia will conduct a song during the May 24 Boston Pops "Classic Pops" performance.  How he got the opportunity: An anonymous donor to the Boston Symphony Orchestra asked that a student be allowed to conduct at an upcoming performance. The orchestra knew the strength of Somerville High School's music department, said a spokeswoman, and asked its supervisor, Rick Saunders, to recommend a student.  Saunders recommended Zelayandia, who jumped at the opportunity. The senior has chosen to conduct …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Jessica Pierre, 19 School: Somerville High School Accomplishments: After a hurricane hit earthquake-stricken Haiti last year, Pierre and her 16-year-old sister joined their father in Somerville. Pierre quickly learned English, got involved in school clubs and became an interpreter through a local youth program. Now she’s the first in her family heading to college. How she did it: Soon after Pierre enrolled in Somerville High School last March, a guidance counselor told her about The Welcome Project, an organization that advocates for immigrants and offers them …

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: The seven Somerville High School vocational students who won prizes from a local nonprofit organization for raising awareness about kidney donation. Seniors Sarah Blasi, Roxana Perez, Ashley Murphy and Katelyn Ballery each received $250 from the Ball Square Dialysis Clinic, Inc. for writing essays that aimed to inspire people to become kidney donors. One girl wrote about how her best friend's sister died after not receiving a transplant in time; another recounted her experience arriving at the Department of Motor Vehicles and considering whether or not to check …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Marisa Kitchell, 12 School: Prospect Hill Academy Charter School Upper Elementary Campus Accomplishments: Though Marisa doesn’t describe herself as an environmentalist, she has raised money for endangered species, adopted sea turtles, rescued a street cat and--for years--has tended a garden in her backyard. How she did it: On a recent spring day, Marisa walked barefoot around her family’s backyard garden wearing a loose tee shirt that read, “Plays in the dirt.” She and her family are growing strawberries, radishes, chives and spinach on raised beds. They started …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Betsie DeOliveira, 18 School: Prospect Hill Academy Charter School's Upper School  Accomplishments: Through international travel, participation in local youth programs and commitment to her church, DeOliveira has developed personal and cultural awareness, as well as a transcript that got her accepted to Tufts University. How she did it: This spring, DeOliveira will choose between attending Tufts University and moving to San Paulo, Brazil, to attend a private college where she would study International Relations.  DeOliveira said she was determined to attend college…

Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: Sarah, 16, and Susan, 14, Hassan School: Somerville High School Accomplishment: The sisters, who seem to do a lot together, have shown strong initiative at a city-sponsored, after-school program at Somerville Community Access Television that has taught students to make videos with an anti-drug use message.  How they did it: The girls joined Somerville Positive Forces, a city coalition that discourages underage drinking and drug use, to spread the values that they learned at home. Sarah said that their parents always stressed that taking drugs or drinking alcohol …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Rayshawn Powell, 10 School: West Somerville Neighborhood School Accomplishment: Rayshawn persuaded his fourth grade teacher to hold an election for class president and wrote a persuasive speech about why his classmates should choose him. How he did it: Rayshawn suggested having an election after seeing students on a television show have one. His teacher, Anne Marie Boudreau, used the suggestion as a way for students to practice their writing skills. Although Rayshawn didn't win, Boudreau said that he graciously accepted defeat.  The reasons Rayshawn gave for being …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Jack Clark, 12 School: Benjamin G. Brown School Accomplishment: At a recent youth leadership conference, Jack spoke before some 250 students and teachers about how his school discouraged students from using drugs. How he did it: Jack joined several other sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Somerville Public Schools at the Youth Leading Everywhere Abstaining from Drugs (YOU LEAD) conference. The conference encouraged drug-free youth to continue their healthy habits and to influence their peers to abstain from drugs, too.   Jack said that he didn’t know that a …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Shannon Harrington, 18 School: Somerville High School Accomplishments: Harrington’s neuroscience project won a top award at the regional science fair on Saturday, qualifying her for the state science fair. She was also recently accepted to work full time in a laboratory at Boston University over the summer, which counts as her first job. How she got there: Harrington calculated that since September, she has worked approximately 144 hours on her project, for which she compared differentiated stem cells to nerve cells. “This is on one [project],” she said. “And I’ve …

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Jesse Stern, 17 School: Somerville High School Accomplishments: Stern was one of three first place winners at the Somerville High School Science Fair last week for a computer science project, heads the H.E.L.P. Peer Tutoring club and uses his free time for intellectual pursuits.  How he got there: For his senior year science project, Jesse Stern wrote a seven-page mathematical proof that explored what mathematical problems computers could and could not solve in the card game Spider Solitaire. He said the proof arose from months of studying computational complexity …