(Clockwise from top left} Ali Kazerani, Baosen Zhang, Lei Zhang, Jack Snider and Katty Chau are some of the academic allâ€"stars at Waterloo collegiate institute who brought provincial, national and international distinctions to the school this past year. ere‘s a problem to Hsolve: How do you recognize the kids that don‘t bring their school another bauble for its troâ€" phy case, but have put it on the map by getting a perfect score on a yearâ€"long math competition? Sure there are allâ€"star teams and athlete of the year awards to hand out, but how about starting a new category for the outstanding students at your school. And yes, there are always the awards that come at graduation, but how about recognizing some of these academic allâ€"stars while they‘re still in school, That‘s what \A‘}m-rln?lr legiate institute decided to do last week, trotting out a number of its provincial and North American contest winners in aceounting, maths and the sciences. "It‘s been a marvelous effort on the part of some of these kids," said. Nerb Deruyter, head of the school‘s science depart ment. "These are talented tads. who love learning for By Bos VaRANac Chronicle Staff â€" the sake of learning, and that‘s really a delight to see." For instance Baosen Zhang, 18. has been particiâ€" pating in math competiâ€" tions since he was in Grade 9. The son of two local math professors, family fun includes solving problems at the dinner table. "It‘s more higher level math,." he laughed. So what did Zhang do on ]\IN suminet vacation lfl'\‘ year? "Last summer I went to the Canada{U.8. math camp for the top math students in North America," said Zhang, who is planning to study enginecring and serence at the University of Toronto in the fall. "There were a lot of great professors there, including "I don‘t fit the neatâ€"type beancounter mode at all." â€" Jack Snider WOJ student LIFESTYLE the mathlympic team "I did a lot of preparaâ€" tion." That preparation helped as he ended up recording a perfect score in a prestigious national math contest this last year, winning Canadian honours. In fact he shared the North American title with a friend from math camp he attended. "You meet a lot of interâ€" esting people in math," said Zhang. "It doesn‘t matter where you‘re from once you get talking about math." So what did he think about his accomplishment? "I was very happy to hear [ got perfect," said Zhang, about the sixâ€"question test that was written over the past year. "It‘s great to be first in North America and up at that world level." Why stop at the world? Zhang. who eventually wants to study acrospace engineering, talks about working on the next generaâ€" tion of the space craft when this generation of space shuttle is retired. "I want to design build space craft," said Zhang, "I‘d love to break new ground." While Jack Snider, 18, iPoaie0aâ€" didn‘t break new ground in the Chartered Accountants of Ontario competition, he did win the provincial title. He will be joined on the podium at this week‘s award ceremony in Toronto by Grade 11 student Katty Chao. who finished third in the competition. Snider said he doesn‘t fit the stereatype of an accounâ€" tant. Ask anyone, and they II tell you he‘s one of the least organized students in the school. he said. "My room is a mess, and my house is a mess," said Snider. "I don‘t fit the neatâ€" type beancounter mode at all. "As long as people don‘t assume that I‘m boring and stuff, I couldn‘t care less what people think about accountants as long as 1 like what I‘m doing. And hopeâ€" fully that‘s what 1 will be doing in the future." Grade 11 student Ali Kazâ€" erani is also unapologetic about his interest in science. He ranked in the top 10 of a chemistry competition sponsored by the University of Waterloo before he even took the course. He did the same thing last year, reading the entire chemistry text book before even taking the course and carning the Avogadro examâ€" ination certificate. A fourth place at the Wilâ€" frid Laurier University sciâ€" ence fair competition reinâ€" forced his interest in all the sciences. "I‘m just interested in sei ence and mathematies in gencral," said Kazerani. ‘Especially chemistry, which ind is a mix of mathematâ€" "These are talented kids who love learning for the sake of learning." â€"Herb Deruyter science teacher Continued on page 18 The Optimist Club of Lakeshore Village in Waterloo is hosting a fundraiser to raise money for the Childâ€" hood Cancer Campaign. The free event includes a garage sale and fireworks Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at Hillside Park on Marsland Drive in Waterl00. Doon Heritage Crossroads will host the Kitchener Waterloo Amateur Radio Club(KWARC] for their annual Field Day this weekend. The Field Day will begin at noon on Saturday continue until noon on Sunday. Visitors can enjoy the historic site and visit the members of the radio club as they participate with thousands of other amateur radio operators world wide. Radio Club holds annual Field Day at Doon Heritage Crossroads The event will test the emergency availability of portable stations and equipment. _ Doon Heritage Crossroads will be open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Regular admission applies. The Golden Triangle Rose and Garden Society will host their 17th annual rose show Sunday. The show begins at 1 p.m. The cost to attend is $5. There will be various classes for all types of cut roses and a category for local celebrities to compete against each other. The event has proven to be one of the most excitâ€" ing rose shows in Canada, featuring aver 140 classes of roses and hundreds of entries. Local commercial florists donate large floral arrangements, which will be auctioned off at the end of the show. Proceeds from the show and auction go towards the maintenance of the Rose Gardens at Freeport Hosâ€" pital in Kitchener. This year the Society planted 70 new bushes at this location, besides replacing damaged or dead bushes. The 37th annual Multicultural Festival is being held in Victoria Park this weekend, showeasing tastes, music and crafts from a variety of countries. The event includes more than 20 stage performers, 15 food vendors and 30 art vendors. There is a popular childrens area including puppet shows, crafts and slimeâ€"making. The festival is hosted by the Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Multicultural Centre, and proceeds go to various charâ€" itable programs within the community. Optimist Club raises money for cancer Multicultural Festival at Victoria Park this weekend A rose is a rose at annual show