Schools
Whiz Kid: Tia Chen-Wong, Girl Scout and Musician
This Las Flores Middle School eighth-grader is also a Girl Scout, a musician of two instruments and a recent Student of the Month.
Whiz Kid: Tia Chen-Wong
School/Grade: Las Flores Middle School, eighth grade
Whiz Kid Achievement: This musician excels at both the piano and the violin, recently nabbed Student of the Month at her school and completed her Silver Project with Girl Scouts.
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Key to Awesomeness: When it comes to finding a well-rounded student, one need not look any further than Tia Chen-Wong. Tia has been playing the piano since she was 5 years old and has completed level 7 of the certificate of merit program. This test is a combination of theory and sight reading and takes place once a year in March. In addition to the piano, Tia plays the violin in a string ensemble and takes first chair, the highest level of accomplishment in the group. She is a part of a by-invitation orchestra called Le Sommet, led by her teacher Steve Benefield.
Tia was recently honored as Student of the Month at Las Flores Middle School. She was nominated by her two favorite teachers, Advanced English teacher Laurie Cummings and Advanced Social Studies Steve Ogeron. This award goes to a student who has gone above and beyond at school, not just academically but attitude-wise as well. Tia’s 4.0 GPA in her accelerated program classes, along with her positive spirit and school involvement, made her an ideal candidate. Tia is also the school newspaper’s editor and a member of the Bears Take Pride Club at her school, a club that focuses on community service.
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Tia has been a part of the Girl Scouts since the second grade; she is now a Cadet with Troop 2202. After earning her Bronze Award, she next completed her Silver Project for scouting. This included 50 hours of work. She chose to plant a butterfly garden in O’Neill Park with a few of her fellow scouts. They cleared the land, prepared the soil, weeded and gardened. They then created a program for visitors, which included laminated cards telling about the various plants in the garden. Tia, along with her fellow scouts, all share a love for the outdoors and nature, so they especially enjoyed this project.
When she grows up, Tia would like to be a professional writer. For her outstanding achievement academically, musically and beyond, Tia is this week’s Whiz Kid.
