Jaylen Sanders: STELLAR Student on NBC5!!!

Polaris is very excited to congratulate Jaylen Sanders, crew 307, for being recognized by NBC5 as a 2011-2012 Stellar Student! Ms. Authement nominated Jaylen for his “Stellar” performance as a student, a role model, and a true leader in the Polaris community. Click here to see Jaylen’s photo and recognition! Below is the nomination that was submitted.

Jaylen Sanders, a 5^th grader at Polaris Charter Academy, is no ordinary student. Every day, Jaylen raises the bar for his own learning, his classmates, and his teachers. In a multi-aged classroom with 6^th grade students, this 5^th grader demonstrates an ability to engage other students in group discussions, sets an example for his classmates in demonstrating strong compassion and integrity, and constantly strives for self-improvement.

As Chicago’s first, and only, elementary Expeditionary Learning school, Polaris structures its social studies and science curriculum around in-depth units of study. This year, the 5^th and 6^th graders are doing an exploration of space, encompassing the science of rockets using the scientific method. Jaylen is deeply engaged in mastering the scientific method. He independently recreates experiments at home, running additional trials to expand his data set. He identifies unique variables to determine the impact of changing these variables. Jaylen documents his findings, sharing them with his teachers and classmates, expanding not only his own knowledge, but also the knowledge of his community. He is truly a stellar student!