Eight of 16 Lamorinda CTY award recipients gather for photo: (bottom row left to right) Maxine Gill, Spencer Lekki, Calvin Gee, Nadia Aquil; (top row left to right) Thomas Liao, Jeremy Liao, David Kuckuk, Vishaal Agartha Photo Jennifer Wake
Donald L. Rheem Elementary School students Calvin Gee and Maxine Gill were two of 16 Lamorinda elementary and middle school students recently honored at a statewide awards ceremony for gifted children held by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at California State University, Hayward on May 16.
Invitations to this awards ceremony, sponsored by CTY, were based on an exceptional performance on a rigorous, above-grade-level test given to second through eighth grade Talent participants. Seventh and eighth graders took the SAT or ACT - the same tests used for college admissions. Second through sixth graders took the SCAT, an above-level test scaled for younger students.
Other recipients included six Joaquin Moraga Intermediate students (Julie Huang, Keegan Mendonca, Myung-Geun Chi, Johnny Ho, Nadia Aquil, and Kourosh Arasteh), one Stanley School student (Vishaal Agartha), two students from Saklan Valley School (David Kuckuk and Spencer Lekki), two students from Seven Hills School (Kaitlin Devries and Emma Moodey), one Sleepy Hollow Elementary student (Thomas Boneysteele), one Los Perales Elementary student (Jeremy Yan), and one Camino Pablo student (Thomas Liao). Paul Ostrach, who attends Bentley School, but who lives in Orinda was also recognized.
Now in its third decade of service, CTY indentifies America's top students in grades two through eight, and provides programs, services, and resources to help them make the most of their advanced academic abilities.
In 2007-08 alone, over 63,000 students from 19 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Talent searches offered through CTY. Only 30 percent of second through sixth graders, and only 25 percent of seventh and eighth graders tested earned an invitation to an awards ceremony.
Invitations to this awards ceremony, sponsored by CTY, were based on an exceptional performance on a rigorous, above-grade-level test given to second through eighth grade Talent participants. Seventh and eighth graders took the SAT or ACT - the same tests used for college admissions. Second through sixth graders took the SCAT, an above-level test scaled for younger students. 
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA