A Big week for Callahan

Today Callahan's 4 th grade class has a field trip to the math and science center housed in

one of our district grammar schools.

 Cal was quite excited to attend this trip with his class.

 All Lombard schools go to the Discovery Center once or twice a year. 

Anything that keeps cal motivated in learning is a bonus. If it is

not one of his PROJECT EXPAND days it's a struggle for him to

go to school

I don't say this out of "get a load of my kid"   It is a legit concern as a parent to make sure my child's needs are met

and I thank God our district has the resources for kids like Cal

Not all school have funding for these special programs 

I attended a few seminar's on "you and your Gifted Child"

I was given a book titled

"Stand Up for Your Gifted Child"

It's a practical quide that helps you become a more powerful advocate for your child at school.

These children often fall through the cracks, unless you as a parent step in

Lombard District 44 is proud of our Discover Earth Through Math and Science Center. The Discovery Center was developed to implement innovative technologies through creative, engaged learning experiences for children in science and math. The center is located within Manor Hill School at 1464 S. Main St. in Lombard. We are in the midst of 5.0 years of operation in which students in grades K - 5 are bused to the Discovery Center to become scientists and lab technicians exploring scientific discoveries with high-tech tools for learning.  PROJECT EXPAND BLOCK 2 this week the gifted program started block 2. Callahan 's PROJECT EXPAND teacher emailed me a wonder letter saying how excited she is for Callahan to be part of this block on alternative energy resources. She feels he will be challenged and focused. Mrs. Baltmanis was equally excited to again this year to fill out Callahan's recommendation letter to participate at IMSA (Il Math and Science Academy)summer program Callahan is the only kid in his Project Expand class that has been identified as Gifted in more than 1 area so constant communication with all his teachers is vital

jpg"> Mission Statement  We, the clever and creative Project Expand thinkers of Pleasant Lane School, plan to have fun, solve problems and think outside the box by working as a team, focusing on tasks and NEVER giving up.

IT'S RAD TO RENEW! That is the slogan for this block of study. The students have been asked by our District 44 Technology Coordinator to design a website on alternative energy options that will be posted on our district website. This website is meant to educate the District 44 community about alternative energy resources that will help sustain our environment for future generations. Please visit Pleasant Lane School's website, classrooms, and then Alternative energy website to see the 4th graders' work in progress and completed pages. What a great technological experience, as well as a wonderful research opportunity!       

 Callahan's Alternative Energy source is Nuclear Power

Our second block of study will be It’s RAD to Renew:  interactions with scientific and natural resources that can be used to develop alternative energy sources. This block uses a problem based learning (PBL) approach.  Project Expand’s PBL units are developed to challenge students to "learn to learn”.  This approach capitalizes on their own natural curiosities, guides them in the research process, and develops their critical thinking abilities.  The students will work cooperatively in groups or individually to develop a recommendation about a real world issue.