News Release
Homer CCSD 33C
Goodings Grove Luther J. Schilling William E. Young William J. Butler
Hadley Middle Homer Jr. High
Contact:
Charla Brautigam, Communications/Public Relations Manager
cbrautigam@homerschools.org
| 708-226-7628
For Immediate Release:
June 20, 2017
Summer Scholars discover science behind laundry
A dozen Homer School District 33C students are back in the classroom,
honing their critical thinking skills through analysis and evaluation.
The students, who just completed their third-grade year, were invited to
participate in the two-week Summer Scholars program after being identified
as gifted and talented students this past school year. 
They meet each day at 8 a.m. at Butler School for two weeks starting June
19.
“Challenge is good,” Jeanine Arundel, the district’s Gifted Program
Coordinator told students as they prepared to analyze and evaluate how dish
soap, bar soap and laundry soap work on stains. 
They began by measuring the ketchup, mustard and chocolate stains that
had been applied to socks the night before.
Next, they hypothesized about which soap would work the best. After
writing their hypothesis down, students began washing the socks to see if
their hypothesis was correct. 
“Remember to take down your data,” Arundel told students as they washed
each sock and learned about hydrophobicity and emulsifying properties.
Students will face a new challenge each day as they participate in the
accelerated and advanced learning opportunities.
Not only will they tackle scientific principles but participate in literature
circles; engage in Readers Theaters; build a Mars Rover from Legos; and
explore hands-on algebra to build an understanding of variables,
relationships and patterns in application to number sentences or equations.
The goal is to prepare students for the fourth-grade Discovery Program, a
self-contained classroom at Butler School.
“We want to challenge students so that they maximize learning and reach
their highest potential,” said Arundel.
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