Cera Hassinan is one of those people who makes others feel uncomfortable with themselves.

Instead of asking for gifts, St. John Bosco sixth-graders Lauren A. and Shea S. combined their recent 12th birthday parties into a fundraiser for a family in need. The Perres are local residents facing heart wrenching medical issues and staggering medical costs. Within two months of one another, Mrs. Perre was diagnosed with a form of Lou Gehrig’s disease and her 16-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer. Lauren and Shea invited the entire sixth-grade population of St. John Bosco, as well as many other friends, to party at Desert Foothills Park on April 26. In lieu of birthday gifts, Shea, Lauren and their friends dug into their piggy banks and donated money to help the Perres. In the end, Lauren, She and their friends collected approximately $1,700. The Perres were overwhelmed at the compassion and generosity of both the girls and the community.

Another school year is drawing to a close — so if you have young children, they’re one year closer to the day when they head off to college. And both you and your children need to prepare for that day. Your kids can do so by developing good study habits. As for you, it’s never too soon to start preparing for the high costs of higher education.

Out on the grass between classroom buildings and the baseball field at Kyrene Centennial Middle School, a group of 7th graders were measuring indoor temperatures of their model homes for an urban heat island project last week.

Seven-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident Ava Loew has a need for speed.

Just as schools in Ahwatukee are starting and finishing their spring testing of AIMS, incoming freshmen for next school year are beginning to wrap their heads around the idea of their familiar testing coming to an end.

It’s been three years since she was paralyzed from the waist down after a soccer incident injured her spinal cord.