Monday Message
Learner University
Learners in grades 2-4, check out these upcoming Learner University opportunities.
Planning a Family Vacation (Grades 3-4)
Join this exciting PBL opportunity where learners in grades 3-4 will plan a fun family vacation. For more information and to register, visit the hub.
It’s Party Time! (Grades 2-3)
During this PBL opportunity, learners will collect authentic data from their classmates, friends, and family to find out some of their favorite things in order to plan a party! For more information and to register, visit the hub.
A Berry Fun Park Day
Join local iLEAD staff and learners for a Berry Fun Day on May 17 at 11:00 AM at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park! Bring a sack lunch and join us for games and crafts. Register on the hub.
Live High School Class Offerings for the 2024-25 School Year
iLEAD Exploration facilitators are offering live high school courses for the 2024-25 school year. These A-G courses are designed by our facilitators and feature live instruction, project-based learning, meaningful assignments, and teacher-graded feedback. For more information, see the flier below. If you have any questions, please reach out to your EF or email highschool@ileadexploration.org.
Budding Botanists: The Science of Life! – Virtual Event
Join us as we “dig” into ecosystems! Through making our own terrariums, we will investigate the role of sunlight and how environmental matter cycles in a system. We will also explore plant growth and survival through our seed-starting activity and lima bean dissection. Sign up here.
This event focuses on 3rd-5th grade science topics, but all grade levels are welcome to join!
- Virtual: Join the virtual session on Tuesday, May 7, at 11:00 AM over Zoom.
- In Person: Come explore with us on Friday, May 10, at the Costa Mesa Learning Center at 11:00 AM. Please note: capacity is limited, but we will offer a wait list.
- Virtual Presentation of Learning: On Thursday, May 16, at 11:00 AM over Zoom, come share with us anything you experienced or learned along the way!
We will share a guidance document so you can choose to explore asynchronously. It will have challenges and fun ideas incorporating the elements of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math).
Story Time & Art: Butterfly Park by Elly MacKay
As spring returns and so do the butterflies, learners will gather at the Acton Library to read the story of one girl’s hope to bring butterflies back to a deserted garden. During our time together, we’ll create our own butterflies and figure out how we can bring butterflies to our own gardens.
- Grades K-4: Join us on May 8 at 10:00 AM. Register here.
- Grades 5 and above: Join us May 8 at 1:00 PM. Register here.
NHS Is Calling All Rising 10th-12th Graders
NHS Applications are now open for the upcoming school year! Applications will be accepted until May 17, 2024, for 10th-12th graders who have 3.0+ GPA and have been enrolled for at least one year at iLEAD Exploration. Contact your EF for more information.
More than just an honor roll, the National Honor Society (NHS) recognizes high schoolers who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. The NHS’s primary goal is not only to prepare learners for university but also for life. It engages learners in service projects, leadership development, scholarship searches, and career exploration.
Learners may apply if…
- They are currently in 9th, 10th or 11th grade
- They have been enrolled with iLEAD for at least one full semester
- They have a minimum GPA of 3.0
- They can commit to five hours of individual service projects in their community and five hours of school service projects (volunteering at school events, two hours of ASB, helping EFs at park days, curriculum library, and so on) for each semester — a total of 20 hours per school year
- They can meet virtually once every month with the NHS team
iLEAD Exploration and iLEAD Schools DreamUp to Space
Learners, facilitators, staff, and families from iLEAD Exploration and four more schools in the iLEAD California network are celebrating the learning that happens when we challenge learners with this question: “If you could send an experiment to the International Space Station, what experiment would you design?” Each year, learners participate in the DreamUp to Space Experiment Design Challenge. Their mission is to learn the fundamentals of space exploration, including microgravity, scientific experimentation, and proposal writing.
Through a partnership with DreamUp, learners are empowered to develop the skills to design, develop, and propose an experiment that could be run on the International Space Station. Check out the video below, which captures this year’s journey — from Mixstix loading to our trip to Kennedy Space Center to postflight analysis.
