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Whiz Kid: Hanna Eide, Award-Winning Student

Novato Inspirational Student Achievement Award winner attends San Jose Middle School with the help of Skype.

Every Wednesday, Novato Patch honors a Whiz Kid in the community for doing something special in academics, sports, for charity or winning an equestrian award like last week's .

This week we honor one of the winners of the Novato Inspirational Student Achievement Awards, given by the Novato Unified School District every year to one boy and one girl from the 5th, 8th and 12th grades of each public school in the district. We're singling out one of them as this week's Whiz Kid.

Name: Hanna Eide

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School: San Jose Middle School

Grade: Eighth

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Good deed: Teacher Tom Bates says "Working with Hanna has helped me put things in perspective. Hanna has to spend much of the school year at home, for health reasons, yet she does not lose her motivation to learn and stay connected with her classes. We spend a lot of time during class using Skype. Hanna also has a para-educator that works with her to maintain continuity. Given these limitations, she still keeps up her good grades and stays at the same pace as the rest of her classes. She faces many challenges, some obvious, some not so obvious, and she is always positive. Watching her face these obstacles and overcome them is very inspiring."

Key to Awesomeness: Hanna, who has a severe form of Muscular Dystrophy called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I (also known as Werdnig Hoffman) says, "My challenges are being in a wheelchair and not getting to do everything other teenagers do. My triumphs are getting a 4.0 grade-average and getting the NISA award (which) means that I'm on the road to college. My summer plans include going to an MDA camp and Six Flags."

Way to go Hanna ... Novato applauds your inspiration and achievement!

Hanna's parents, Hans and Leonette, say she has had one of her best years at school this year. Hanna's mom emphasizes that Hanna's illness affects the muscles used for swallowing, breathing, sitting, walking, but it does not affect the brain, so she is a totally normal teenager mentally. She has been on a ventilator since she was 6 months old, with 24-hour nursing care at home.

Hanna's family fundraises for Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy to find a cure or treatment, give family support and loan medical equipment, and for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Hanna's mom is on the board of Dedication to Special Education, which raises money to give to all of the Marin County special educators, and chairs a golf tournament at Indian Valley Golf Course in late September.

Novato applauds this Whiz Kid's family, too!

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