Meet this Week's Whiz Kid: Matthew Valentino

Whiz Kid's Name: Matthew Valentino

Whiz Kid's School: Matthew is a fifth-grader at

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Matthew drew a poster promoting safety in the sun and about preventing skin cancer for the Shade Foundation. It won best poster in the state and now it's competing for best in the country.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: Draw what you love.

When Matthew heard about the Shade Foundation's contest, he immediately knew he wanted to include his favorite animal, the elephant, into his poster.

He drew four or five different posters before settling on his submission: an elephant wearing sunglasses beneath an umbrella, completed with the motto "Protect Your Hide."

If Matthew wins the national contest, he and his family will get a free trip to Disney World. Moreover, his school will win a WeatherBug Tracking Station, a weather station that records 27 different weather measurements in real time.

In addition, St. Mary's will also get lifetime access to WeatherBug Achieve, a web-based award-winning curriculum that uses Tracking Station data for an interactive and collaborative classroom experience.

You can all vote for Matthew (and you should! Let's get this boy to Disney World!) by visiting the www.shadefoundation.org. Then, follow these instructions:

• Click on "Vote Now" 
• Click on "Vote Now" again 
• The posters from each state are shown in alphabetical order. Go down to Ohio.
• Click on the button to the left of Matthew's poster. 
•  Scroll to the bottom and click "Vote."

Want to nominate a Whiz Kid? Here's how:

Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to jason.lea@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information.

Nominator's Name

Nominator's Email

Whiz Kid's Name

Whiz Kid's Age

Whiz Kid's School

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)

If your nominee is selected, we'll contact you and assign a photographer to take a photo.