Whiz Kids: Lemont Girl Scout Troop 593

Each week, Lemont 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 Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to Local Editor Amanda Luevano at amanda@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the information included below.

And without further ado, this week's Whiz Kids are...

Whiz Kids’ Names: Kylie Autullo, Kameryn Autullo, Erin Barndollar, Cassidy Cleveland, Charley Cleveland, Elizabeth Moonier, Bianca Perez, Gia Perme, Neha Samuel, Shameron Scapellato Elise Tanquilut

Whiz Kids' School:

Accomplishment: On Thursday, May 17, 11 Lemont Girl Scout Daisies from the Montessori School of Lemont met at Shady Oaks Camp in Homer Glen (16300 Parker Road) to beautify the grounds for this year's campers.

Shady Oaks Camp is a 65-year old camp which serves children and adults with disabilities, and is funded by donations from the community and families of the campers. Between the months of June and August, the residential camp offers many recreational acitivies including swimming, musical performances, arts and crafts, movies and adapted games.

The camp's Executive Director, Scott Steele, has been with the organization for 21 years. Steele welcomed the kindergarten and first-grade scouts on Thursday, and shared that last year's disabled campers ranged in ages from 7 to 72.

The girls worked on two special flower beds outside the camp's Ford Hall, a focal point of the camp where many recreational activities take place. The flower beds were originally donated several yeas ago as a memorial to a former camper that passed away in 2004.

Daisy scouts also removed several inches of old mulch, installed new nutrient-rich top soil, planted colorful annuals and topped with vibrant fresh mulch. A clean-up day was held May 19, with many other community and family volunteers pitching in to complete other projects to prepare the camp to greet the campers arriving in June.

Throughout the scouting year the girls learned about various "flower friends," each one representing a tenant of the Girl Scout Law. Examples are Gloria, the morning glory who stands for "respect myself and others;" Lupe, the lupine, representing "honest and fair;" and Mari, the marigold teaching girls to be "responsible for what I say and do."

This service project completed the Daisies' lesson about Rosie, the Rose, who works to make the world a better place, just as the girls did at Shady Oaks Camp. The girls enjoyed the gardening work and learning about the camp as much as the residents will enjoy the flower beds over the summer. Upon the completion of the project, the girls were already talking about when they could return to Shady Oaks to do more gardening or possibly even camp-out during the off-season.

Troop Leaders: Joy Tanquilut, Kelly Zurek

Parent Volunteers: Glenn Moonier, Ted Tanquilut

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