The Maine Township High School Dist. 207 Board of Education honored three students as 207s Best in the area of academic achievement during the Feb. 1 board of education meeting. The students recognized were Ozair Bashir from Maine West, Eric Biedke from Maine South and Ashutosh Kumar from Maine East.

OZAIR OZZIE BASHIR: Bashir takes a rigorous course of study at Maine West a theme during his four years at the school. His current course load includes AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Spanish and AP U.S. Government and Politics.

He is a senior leader, a Link Crew leader, an officer in the Principals Leadership Team, a COACH tutor, and a member of the math, Spanish, science, English and national honor societies. He also is a volunteer at the Des Plaines Public Library.

He is thankful for all of the positive relationships he has built during his time at the school and is looking at psychiatry as a career because he realizes people dont always have the ready access to the help they need.

When Ozzie walks into a room he seems surrounded by an aura of positivity, a glowing sense of friendliness thats contagious, said his English teacher Charles Gray.

Ozzie is one of the most kind and humble students I have had the pleasure to work with, said science teacher Aggie Piechocinski.

ERIC BIEDKE: Biedke is one of the most impressive students at Maine South who is at the top of his class academically and has taken advantage of a wide-range of course offerings. He enjoys math, physics and band, among all of his classes. He is looking toward a career in astrophysics.

He has been a member of the band, where he plays trombone, as well as the Astronomy Club, Math Team, German Club, Science National Honor Society, stage band for V-show and jazz band. Last year, he made the District VII band. He also is a member of the peer tutoring network, which offers online support for our students in a virtual format. In addition, hes an active member of his church where he has traveled to South Carolina, Tennessee and upstate New York on mission trips.

He is my only student to ever take the senior level class Space Science as a sophomore just for fun, said Bob Tortorelli, Biedkes counselor. He is really a gifted problem solver who has a knack for thoroughly assessing a challenge before considering numerous avenues to the solution including the standard and the unconventional path.

Eric is very intellectually curious, said Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations teacher Peter Nilsen. He always is interested in truly understanding the problem and not just getting the answer.

ASHUTOSH ASH KUMAR: Kumar has been incredibly consistent in his academic performance at Maine East, having earned As in every class hes taken over the past three and half years. He has consistently taken a challenging course load. He is currently enrolled in AP English Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Psychology, Design & Materials and Sociology. He is a PE leader, active in the Gifted Lyceum program and earned distinction as a National Merit Commended Scholar. He is also a member of National Honor Society, Rotary Interact, the track and field team, and he is a COACH program tutor. In the broader community, Kumar is a volunteer at his local temple, and he is a paid accounting intern at Kumar and Associates, his familys accounting company.

Ash is an extremely bright and talented individual, said math teacher Cassie Cowperthwaite. In my math analysis class last year, he always was able to critically think through problems on his own.

He is extremely bright, articulate, and mature, said economics teacher Snjezana Salamon. He exudes calmness even under the most stressful conditions. I used to observe him during major unit tests and his concentration was impressive as nothing would ever throw him off. I would often joke with him that if he missed any questions on the test, I would have to check my key to make sure that my answers were correct.

Originally posted here:

207's Best In Academic Achievement Named For February - Journal & Topics Newspapers Online