Whiz Kid: Shipley Violinist Saakshi Navile

Editor's note: This is the second installment of a new weekly series in which we will highlight the special accomplishments of neighborhood kids or teenagers.

Each week, we will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as our Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to danielle.vickery@patch.com.

This week's Whiz Kid: Saakshi Navile

- School: Shipley School fourth grader; Saakshi lives in Exton, Pa.

- Accomplishment: Saakshi hosted a violin concert this past weekend called “Afternoon of Gavottes” that raised about $1,400 to benefit Shipley’s sister school, The Brain Tree Primary School in Uganda. Saakshi performed from memory eight pieces of Gavotte, which is a Baroque-era French dance that became popular during King Louis XIV’s reign. Students from Shipley's Upper School, Dana Ragbirsingh and Katie Frorer, performed dances to the music, and Saine Hsu provided accompaniment on the piano.

- Key to awesomeness: Nine-year-old Saakshi has been playing the violin since she was 3 years old. She practices for about 45 minutes every day before she goes to school and participates in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s PRYSM (Philadelphia Region Youth String Music) Young Artists program. Saakshi uses the Suzuki method--which emphasizes beginning an instrument at a young age, learning music by ear and repetition--and is a student of the Suzuki Academy at The Delaware School of Music.

Her self-proclaimed keys to awesomeness are “helping, having fun and practicing.”

The Shipley School has been working to provide students at The Brain Tree School with textbooks, shoes, and other supplies, and Saakshi’s benefit concert, which raised about $1,400, aims to provide Brain Tree School students with modern toilets.

“I always wanted to be a part of something really big, and I wanted to be the main person,” Navile said. “A lot of people came to support me.”

Aside from Saakshi’s musical inclination, she enjoys helping others, reading, swimming, and dancing jazz and ballet. Her favorite subject is physical education, and her favorite sport to play is volleyball.

Fundraising for The Brain Tree School is an ongoing effort at . Saakshi’s mother, Sunita, is working on creating an organization called Music for Brain Tree so other young artists can help to raise funds as well.