Connect with friends during Lunch Bunch each Thursday from 11:30-12:00 PM. Zoom link.
College Corner
College application season is underway, and with college applications come financial aid forms. There are two financial aid forms: the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.
FAFSA
All learners planning to attend a four-year college, community college, or trade school in Fall 2025 must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It will be available December 1, and individual colleges determine deadlines. Create a FAFSA account now for the 2025-2026 form.
CSS Profile
The CSS Profile is a financial aid form used by select colleges and universities. For a list of these colleges,click here . The deadlines for the CSS profile vary by school.
For more information on the FAFSA and CSS Profile, check out this video from our College Information Series.
Counselor Chats
Are you struggling to stay on top of your assignments? Trying to get caught up? Complete this organization survey to assess your organizational skills. Check out the full Crash Course Study Skills videos to focus on individual areas of need.
Juniors, are you unsure whether you should take the SAT/ACT? Research your colleges of interest to discover their testing policies in SCOIR. Have more questions? Make an appointment with your college advisor: https://calendly.com/ilead-collegeplanning
Club Spotlights
Creative Writing Club
Looking for a space to explore your creativity and connect with fellow writers? In Creative Writing Club meetings, we start with fun icebreakers, discuss writing genres, and test our talents with inspiring prompts. Currently, our members are crafting entries for the 27th Annual National High School Poetry Contest. Whether you’re into poetry, storytelling, or just curious, we’d love you to come join our welcoming community!
CompSci Club
This month, CompSci Club members are launching a website-building project, with the freedom to design any school-appropriate site they want. Members have the option to work solo or connect with classmates via Google Classroom, which also serves as a resource hub for helpful coding materials. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, we’d love to have you join us!
My name is Halston Van Atta, and I am a junior at iLEAD Exploration. I have been at iLEAD for five years and hope to attend UCLA. I grew up most of my life going to public school, but the career path I have chosen has led me to iLEAD Exploration, which has been nothing less than perfection for me and my schedule. As someone with a lot of commitments and an extremely busy schedule, the flexibility of iLEAD has been so helpful. I often get asked why I don’t attend school in person and if I would if I could. The answer is no, purely because of the incredible experience I have had so far with iLEAD! I so highly recommend iLEAD and have nothing but the best to say about it.
A few months ago, I came up with the idea for birthday kits, which has become my passion project ever since. What are birthday kits? I create small birthday kits for under-resourced students to celebrate their birthdays. My kits include a box of cake mix, a can of carbonated soda (a substitute for eggs and oil), frosting, confetti, candles, candy, balloons, small toys, and other miscellaneous goodies, all wrapped in a pan to bake the cake in. All the recipient needs is an oven. I create and give the kits to schools across LA County to distribute to students. Fundraising is the only aspect I have had some trouble with.
I teach at my dance studio and work at a school for the performing arts, and all the money I’ve made has gone to my kits. I have also set up tables selling baked goods and bracelets to raise money at local events. I am currently in the process of applying for a community service grant provided by the NHS. With constant demand for kits and trouble fundraising, keeping up has been a slight struggle. If you’d like to contribute to this service project, please get in touch with me at hvana@ileadexploration.org .
So far, I have partnered with three schools to distribute my kits and have received incredible feedback from the vice principals. I have been dubbed The Birthday Angel by those who have received my kits. I love to be able to do such a simple thing that can be so impactful. My kits and my story have also been featured in a local newspaper. I hope to branch out to more schools all across LA, eventually start a nonprofit and, most importantly, continue to inspire other students to make an effort to do something for the greater good.
My name is Halston Van Atta, and I am a junior at iLEAD Exploration. I have been at iLEAD for five years and hope to attend UCLA. I grew up most of my life going to public school, but the career path I have chosen has led me to iLEAD Exploration, which has been nothing less than perfection for me and my schedule. As someone with a lot of commitments and an extremely busy schedule, the flexibility of iLEAD has been so helpful. I often get asked why I don’t attend school in person and if I would if I could. The answer is no, purely because of the incredible experience I have had so far with iLEAD! I so highly recommend iLEAD and have nothing but the best to say about it.
My kits include a box of cake mix, a can of carbonated soda (a substitute for eggs and oil), frosting, confetti, candles, candy, balloons, small toys, and other miscellaneous goodies, all wrapped in a pan to bake the cake in. All the recipient needs is an oven. I create and give the kits to schools across LA County to distribute to students. Fundraising is the only aspect I have had some trouble with.
I teach at my dance studio and work at a school for the performing arts, and all the money I’ve made has gone to my kits. I have also set up tables selling baked goods and bracelets to raise money at local events. I am currently in the process of applying for a community service grant provided by the NHS. With constant demand for kits and trouble fundraising, keeping up has been a slight struggle. If you’d like to contribute to this service project, please get in touch with me at 
