At right, Marco Wertheimer practices piano with Azucar.

Davidson students are winning all kinds of honors these days, both statewide and beyond. For news about Lauren White, Marco Wertheimer, Aidan Berkey, and the Davidson Elementary and Woodlawn schools’ trivia teams …
LAUREN WHITE WINS N.C. HONORS

Lauren White, daughter of Craig and Trisha White, was recently awarded the Clary Medal by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. The medal is given annually to one male and one female student for their achievements on and off the field.

Colby Meador of Rockingham was the other winner this year, according to a press release from NCHSAA.

Lauren is a runner and swimmer whose straight-A academic work has ranked her second among the 659 seniors at North Mecklenburg High School this year. Last fall, she helped North Meck to a fourth-place finish in the NCHSAA state 4-A cross-country championships. She has been co-captain of both the cross-country and track teams.

She also has participated in Science Olympiad, is a member of the National Honor Society, and has volunteered with a variety of church and community activities.

Lauren was the subject of a short story in this past Sunday’s Charlotte Observer.

She’s the granddaughter of Jeanie and Bob White of Davidson and Pat and Bill Schaffer of Cornelius.

MARCO WERTHEIMER, MUSIC MAN

Marco Wertheimer may be the town’s youngest songwriting success.

The eight-year-old second grader from Davidson Elementary School is progressing through the levels of a PTA-sponsored music competition with his original song “My Favorite Place Is Always Gonna Be the World World World.”

Marco sang and played ukelele on the song to place first in the K-2 category at Davidson. A recording of his performance also earned him first place in North Carolina in his division. And he’s now up for nationwide honors, which will be judged and announced in Chicago in May.

Marco is the son of Glenda and John Wertheimer.

BERKEY FIFTH AT GEOGRAPHY BEE

Aidan Berkey (right), a seventh grader at Woodlawn School, tied for fifth place out of 101 competitors in North Carolina at the state finals of the National Geography Bee on Friday, March 30.

It was Aidan’s third trip to the state finals, and his performance matched his ranking two years ago. He qualified for the state contest by winning Woodlawn’s own geography bee, then taking a written test.

Aidan is the son of Vivien Dietz and Jonathan Berkey. In an interview with Davidson News & Notes two weeks ago, he attributed his success to spending a lot of time “reading and looking at maps.” He also said the competition requires “instinct and luck.”

DAVIDSON QUIZ BOWLERS

Two Sundays ago, we reported on the achievements of local elementary school trivia teams in a national competition. Teams from Woodlawn School and Davidson Elementary finished 1-2 in North Carolina in the latest event.

After a bit of digging, we’re able to add the names of the Davidson team members. They are: Jake Bringewatt, Rachel Bringewatt, Emma Boraks, Sharad Wertheimer, Logan Mariner, Carson Slayton, Adam Cosgrove, Luke Churchill, Thomas Churchill, Wilson Goode, Cat Buechler, and Baily Johnson.

They’ve got their final competition of the year coming up in May.

Read about the March competition in our March 31 article, “Woodlawn, Davidson teams lead contest.”

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