IEA News: Academy Summer Schedule, Yunasa and CDB Scholarship Deadlines Approaching, and EXPLORE iGEM Team Update!

IEA E-Newsletter March 2024 [View online]( [DONATE]( [VOLUNTEER]( [CONTACT US]( Has the start of 2024 really zipped by for you as well? Our IEA team has been working hard with planning our Academy Summer Sessions; the schedule and application are live! We hosted our current high school scholars at the Bradley Seminar in Pasadena. It was so nice to meet everyone, share some fun moments and show off our grand hometown. The application deadlines for Yunasa, our award-winning summer camp, and our CDB Scholarship are all coming up fast so apply today! ACADEMY . Applications are now open for our Summer Sessions! Open to students ages 6-14, our Academy classes offer advanced enrichment, personalized attention, and community building for gifted students in a wide range of subject areas. This summer, we're offering family favorites like Astronomy (ages 6-8) and Woodcut and Woodblock Printing (ages 8-10) as well as exciting new classes like Creative Coding: Design Graphics with Python (ages 10-14). Classes will be Monday-Friday for two-week sessions. Session 1 will be June 17-28, Session 2 July 8-19, and Session 3 July 29-August 9 and are available in-person and online. Tuition assistance is available. Apply by April 8th for an early-bird discount! The final application deadline is May 10th. [APPLY FOR SUMMER ACADEMY]( Eager to keep learning during Spring Break? Sign up for our new class, Sewer Science! For students ages 10-14, this class is available during Academy's Spring Break on April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in person at IEA's Learning Center. In this award-winning program, students create simulated wastewater, clean it through a series of treatment processes, and test its water quality. The program also links science and technology to environmental impacts and issues. The materials for this workshop series will be provided by the LA County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) and led by IEA STEM Specialist and EXPLORE advisor Monica Barsever. Enroll by March 25th! [ENROLL NOW]( EXPLORE . Our EXPLORE students are busy researching and fundraising for [iGEM24.]( If you would like to know more about what they are working on, one of the students summed it up for us: "Our work focuses on elimination of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, colloquially referred to as “forever chemicals”) in water supplies. Common sources include firefighting foam and Teflon, and these chemicals have been shown to cause reproductive and birth defects, cancers of the kidney and liver, and other ailments. It is present in local water supplies at thirty to hundreds of times beyond the EPA-defined safe levels. Existing methods to remove PFAS rely on expensive filters which cannot easily be reused and are unreliable in various chemical conditions. They also fail to eliminate smaller PFAS molecules, including the building blocks of Teflon, from water systems. Proteins naturally seek out specific molecules in a myriad of ways which combine to form life. We have seen evidence that we can engineer such proteins for a new purpose of seeking out PFAS in water and making its removal from such water and subsequent destruction trivial. PFAS is one of the most resilient classes of chemicals known, but we know that with protein engineering, no compound is indestructible." If you are as excited as we are about this project, you can check out their progress on fundraising and how to contribute: [FUNDRAISING UPDATE]( ) CAROLINE D. BRADLEY SCHOLARSHIP . 2024 Bradley Seminar: Class of 2024 Seniors Last month, we hosted our current high school Caroline D. Bradley Scholars at the Bradley Seminar in Pasadena. As this was only our second Bradley Seminar since COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, scholars and parents were extra excited to meet one other, gather, and catch up. They explored their possibilities through intentional conversations, workshops, and an inspiring keynote speech by Hakeem Croom. Congratulations to the seniors on your upcoming graduations and congratulations to Bonnie Raskin for receiving the Barder Service Award for her many years in service of IEA and the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship program! We look forward to seeing scholars again next year! Applications are still open for the CDB Scholarship. All gifted 7th graders graduating high school in 2029 are welcome to apply! The deadline is April 10, 2024, 8:00 pm PT. [APPLY NOW]( Do you have questions about the application process? Watch our latest Q&A Webinar from February! [WATCH NOW]( YUNASA . Yunasa is a wonderful place where gifted kiddos are accepted as themselves but also feel secure enough to try new things. My daughter has made amazing friendships at camp. She also has tried and enjoyed outdoor activities (like rappelling!) that are normally way outside her comfort zone. Yunasa is her happy place!! - Yunasa parent It’s not too late to apply for Yunasa 2024! Apply by March 18, 2024. [Yunasa West (Colorado) June 8 - 15, 2024 Ages 10-15 YMCA Camp Shady Brook Deckers, CO]( . [Yunasa East (Michigan) July 13 - July 20, 2024 Ages 10-14 Howell Nature Center Howell, MI]( Financial aid is available for families in need. For more information, email Issabela Tulalian at yunasa@educationaladvancement.org. [APPLY NOW]( Want to learn more about Yunasa? If you have questions about Yunasa or the application process, please watch our Q&A Webinar from this past February. [WATCH NOW]( GIFTED SUPPORT GROUP . We were thrilled to welcome back Kasi Peters to present on homeschooling considerations for gifted children this past February. Not only did she provide excellent resources on homeschooling, but our parents also had the chance to meet other parents and build community. Visit our website for information on future gatherings. [LEARN MORE]( UPCOMING EVENTS . IEA is excited to partner with City of STEM and the Los Angeles Maker Faire! We're hosting a booth with over 150 local STEM partners on Saturday, April 6 at LA State Historic Park, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. This is a free event that will have interactive experiences, projects and gadgets to share. Stop by our booth to say hi and try out our engaging activity. [LEARN MORE ABOUT LA MAKER FAIRE]( [Institute for Educational Advancement logo]( [Update Email Preferences]( Institute for Educational Advancement 569 S. Marengo Ave. Pasadena, CA 91101 (626) 403-8900 [www.educationaladvancement.org](