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Community Corner

Whiz Kids: Laura Glines and Brian Xie—Readers Extraordinaire

These two outstanding middle school students are making reading count.

Whiz Kids: Laura Glines and Briane Xie

School/Grade: Laura is an eighth-grader attends Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate; Brian is a seventh-grader.

Parents: Laura: Nicole and Mike Glines; Brian: Shaofeng Xie and Qiuhong Li

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Whiz Kid Achievement: Laura and Brian received the top points for their respective grades in the Reading Counts program at Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate.

Key to Awesomeness: These two outstanding students have turned their love for reading into something to be proud of; both achieved top points for their respective grades in the Reading Counts program at school. Reading Counts is a program designed to test the students’ reading comprehensive ability. Each selected book is allocated a certain amount of points depending on its difficulty. The students can take the test during their English period and earn points when they answer 80 percent or more of the questions correctly.

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Brian broke the school record at his previous school, Melinda Heights Elementary, where he achieved the most points in the Accelerated Reading program. He has loved reading since he was little and especially enjoys fantasy books.

Laura said, “I read all the classics since I couldn’t understand them before.”

Brian’s favorite school subjects are history, science and English. He achieves straight A’s and takes several honors courses. Laura enjoys working as an aide for a history class.

In addition to his passion for reading, Brian has enjoyed playing soccer with AYSO since the fourth grade. After taking his team to the finals by making three goals, he went on to the All-Star team and was dubbed most valuable player of the league by one of the coaches. He also loves painting and takes classes at Irvine Chinese School. He has been playing the piano since he was five years old and currently studies at Orchepedia School of Arts in Irvine. In 2009, he won second place in the Orchepedia Piano Competition. He also participated in a music performance for elderly residents in his community.

When she isn’t buried in a good book, Laura enjoys four-wheeling and shooting guns with her father.

For their outstanding dedication to Reading Counts, Laura and Brian are this week’s Whiz Kids.

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