Monday Message

Student Support Presents Winter Wonderland

Join us for a magical Winter Wonderland Park Day designed specifically for our learners in Student Support! This event will provide a fun, inclusive, and sensory-friendly environment where everyone can enjoy the beauty of winter and participate in various engaging activities.

Our Winter Wonderland Park Day is not just about having fun; it’s about creating a supportive community where all learners can thrive. We aim to foster social connections, encourage participation, and celebrate the joys of winter together! We look forward to seeing everyone there for a day filled with laughter, joy, and winter wonder!

RSVP here.

• Who: Student Support Learners
• What: Winter Wonderland
• Where: 2800 Empire Ave, Burbank, CA
• When: December 13, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Thank You for Making Our Learner Entrepreneur Fair a Great Success!

Our Learner Entrepreneur Fair was a blast! It was a beautiful day at OC Learning Studio on Friday, November 8, and we loved supporting the creativity of our amazing learners. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate the talent and passion of our kids, who worked so hard creating unique, handmade products. We hope you enjoyed the experience and your one-of-a-kind purchases as much as we did!

Presentation of Learning: iLEAD Law Enforcement Academy of Detectives (iLEAD)

People of all ages enjoy solving mysteries and crimes—even if it is just on TV or in books. Last spring, the Acton Library keyed into this desire and invited middle and high school learners to train as detectives and to solve crimes using various forensic techniques, such as fingerprint analysis, chromatography, fiber analysis, and blood typing.

The iLEAD Law Enforcement Academy of Detectives (iLEAD) welcomed its newly recruited investigators to Acton headquarters to begin their training as detectives. On the first day, the recruits went straight to work investigating the death of Fred Waldorf as well as the burglary of the jewelry store Jubilee Jewels. The learners questioned suspects and processed fingerprints from the scenes. They also learned how to detect latent fingerprints on non-porous surfaces with a technique called super glue fuming or cyanoacrylate fuming.

The second day of training brought a shock: two new deaths to investigate. The new detectives investigated both and determined that one of the deaths was a possible homicide but needed to question more witnesses. They confirmed the second death was clearly a homicide and after some super sleuthing were able to issue arrest warrants for their suspects. The investigation into the burglary of Jubilee Jewels continued with the discovery of blood at the crime scene and learners had the opportunity to analyze the suspects’ blood types to narrow down their suspects and find the guilty parties.

On their last day of training and after much investigative work, detectives got to the bottom of the burglary of Jubilee Jewels. They processed evidence using fiber analysis and chromatography—a technique that separates a mixture into its various components. When they had completed all their lab work and investigation, they were able to determine who had committed this heinous crime.

This three-day learning experience was a big hit with the learners who attended and would make for some great family learning and fun. Aside from chemistry and other science skills, crime scene investigation also involves asking good questions and making inferences. Give it a try!

Try out this Royal Society of Chemistry lesson with your learner(s):

“A famous painting has been stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The thief left a note at the scene mocking the police and saying they plan to strike again. Use chromatography to discover which black pen was used in the crime, and find the culprit.” (Handout).

More resources to explore:

Crime Scene Lesson options TPT

Fiber Analysis activities

Fingerprint analysis lessons

Blood Type analysis activities

Exploring the Arts

Tickets to see our learners perform Frozen are available now. It is a small venue, so reserve only tickets you will use, no empty seats in between, and five tickets max per family. The reservation system works best with a laptop or desktop.

The shows are in Mission Viejo on Tuesday, November 19, at 5:15 and 8:00 PM. Reserve your tickets here!

Enter the DreamUp to Space Art Challenge by November 22

Your learners could send their art to space! Please take a look at the flier below for all of the details. Follow these guidelines to create your project. Art can be submitted here by Friday, November 22.

Around the World PBL for TK Learners

After Fall Break, TK learners are invited to our Holidays Around the World Project-Based Learning during SIT. We will meet December 2-20. If you cannot attend every day, that is OK! We have made this event so that learners are able to join as little or as much as they want.

See the schedule here.

See resources here.

Visit the hub for more information!

High School Happenings: Save the Date

High school families, mark your calendars!

Prom: May 17, 2025

Graduation Ceremony: June 5, 2025

Disneyland Grad Night: June 8, 2025

December High School Meetup: Ice Skating!

Join us on Tuesday, December 10, for an afternoon of ice skating with iLEAD Exploration high schoolers! We will meet at the Toyota Sports Performance Center from 2:30-4:30 PM during public skate time. Bring $26 for skate rental and skate fees.

• Location: Toyota Sports Performance Center (555 N. Nash St. El Segundo, CA)
• Date: Tuesday, December 10
• Time: 2:30 to 4:30 PM
• Bring: $26 (skate rental and skate fees)

All participants must register on the hub.

Loyola Marymount University Tour

College Corner

Letters of recommendation: If you need a letter of recommendation for your college application, you must reach out to your counselor ASAP.

Deadlines:

• FAFSA will open by December 1, 2024. Be sure to check individual college financial aid deadlines.
• Early Decision (Binding) and Early Action (Non-Binding) deadlines are fast approaching. Applicants should check the college deadlines to ensure they submit their applications on time. Reach out to Laura.Kazan@ileadexploration.org with questions.
• The University of California and California State University deadline is December 2. Don’t wait until the last minute. Get applications in before Thanksgiving so you can enjoy your break!

Learn more about FAFSA in this video:

Learn more about college deadlines in this video: