Hello! My name is Rayleigh Newton, and I am a 5th grader at SCVi. I am one of two principal investigators for Team Bok Choy. Some of my hobbies are listening to music, dancing, art, writing, reading, and acting. I played the lead in the school play Alice in Wonderland. I love the challenge of DreamUp. I think it’s making me more of a leader and a better writer. DreamUp is a great honor to be a part of. I am lucky to be in it. My launch team is full of hardworking and smart learners as well as my friends, and that’s the best thing about DreamUp. You meet people you would never think about meeting. My best friend is Kara Chan. She is another PI. My mom is very important in my life. She is caring and supportive. Mr. Call is my teacher and is a very special facilitator. He has done so much for us that no facilitator has done for his students. I’m a better student and person because of DreamUp, and I would like to thank the directors of this project, Kathleen Fredette and Shawna Brown, for teaching us and guiding us.
Kara C
iLEAD SCVi
5th Grade
Principal Investigator
About Kara
Hi! My name is Kara, and I am a 5th grader at SCVi. I am one of the Principal Investigators on Team Bok Choy. I am a leader not only for Team Bok Choy but also in Girl Scouts. In 2020, I was not only the top cookie seller, but I sold the most cookies in the history of Girl Scouts of Orange County: 6,068 boxes. I was a leader because, when I reached my personal goal of selling 5,000 boxes of cookies, I showed everyone not to stop. With two weeks remaining, I kept going to help my troop earn more money. I am also a leader in tae kwon do. I am the youngest girl at my studio to earn a second-degree black belt. I have competed in several tournaments at my studio and ranked first and second place. I have also received a best technique trophy from my studio. A lot of students don’t like to do math, but I love math and am currently taking high school geometry/trigonometry. My favorite subject is ELA because I love reading. My favorite books that I am currently reading are the Wings of Fire series and the Harry Potter series. I am the oldest child of four in my family. I have two little sisters, Alana, who is six years old, and Miliani, who is four months old. I also have one little brother, Zachary, who is seven years old.
My name is Zachary, and I am seven years old. I have three siblings, Kara, Alana, and Miliani. Kara is 10 years old, Alana is six years old, and Miliani is four months old. I like to play at the park with my sisters and friends. My favorite color is blue. I started tae kwon do at a very young age and was the youngest person to earn a black belt in my studio. I competed in a tae kwon do competition when I was five years old. In kindergarten, I created a food truck business and wrote my first business proposal. I also built my first board game based on the book James and the Giant Peach using my favorite subject, math. I enjoy math competitions. When I was five years old, I ranked in the top eight in an international math competition. I am currently in 2nd grade and doing high school geometry/trigonometry. During my free time, I like to read graphic novels. I also love to play chess and to build things with anything I can get my hands on. I also enjoy running and have participated in many 1K and 5K runs.
Hello! My Name is Elise. I was born in Los Angeles and have recently moved to the Santa Clarita Valley. I am happy to be a part of SCVi. My favorite subject in school is science. I also love to draw and hope to become an artist when I grow up. I am excited to be a part of Team Bok Choy. I look forward to working closely with my teammates and facilitators and am excited to go to Florida to present this project at the Kennedy Space Center. GO, TEAM BOK CHOY!
My name is Wyatt, and I am in 5th grade. I like to play video games, such as Minecraft and Elden Ring, and I make videos on my YouTube channel about video games and other things. I also like to skateboard and ride horses. I recently became a Boy Scout and like to learn new skills and look forward to earning merit badges. I am excited to be part of the DreamUp Launch Team to learn more about science and space!
Hi! My name is Hutch. I have participated in the DreamUp to Space Program since 2020. My sister and I were the principal investigators for Team Carrot To our absolute delight, the carrot seeds germinated on the ISS. This year, I was fortunate to be able to join Team Yucca on this past mission. Being a team member brought about new challenges and provided me with the opportunity to collaborate with a new group of space explorers. My passion and success in the program are driven by my love of family, permaculture, and aerospace. In my personal life, our family enjoys gardening together. We have used permaculture practices to regenerate our soil here on Earth and are working on growing our own food forest. An interesting fact about me is that my great-great-grandparents, great-grandparents and grandparents were all farmers in South Dakota. Needless to say, gardening and growing food has deep roots in my family. When I look up into the stars at night, I know that farming on the moon and beyond is a distinct possibility. I love being a part of the process to get us there. I love continuing to lead experiments to further space exploration of all kinds, be it small seeds to space, cells of things here on Earth, or the after effects of radiation on the human body. It is all so cool! Some other things I do in my spare time are cooking, reading, and playing chess with my favorite opponent: my sister.
Melissa Rose is a 5th grade facilitator at Santa Clarita Valley International Charter School. She has been teaching for three years. She earned her BA in English Literature at the University of California, Irvine, in 2012. She earned her master of art degree in teaching at La Verne University in 2022. Melissa attributes her love of space to her mother, who convinced her to do a 6th grade biography report on Christa McAuliffe. Melissa’s fascination with space only grew when in 8th grade she played the role of an astronaut in a launch simulation. As a facilitator, Melissa seeks to share her passion for science with her learners through hands-on and multidisciplinary lessons. Her dearest wish is to see her learners become the leaders and innovators of tomorrow.
My name is Brent Call. I was born and raised in Saginaw, MI. I am the proud father of a beautiful three-year-old young lady named Ava Jean. I am also married to my wonderful wife, Jessica. My professional career consists of working with children since 1994. I earned my bachelor’s of social work from Saginaw Valley State University. I received my multi-subject certification from California State University, Northridge. I am a proud first-year member of Team Bok Choy from SCVi. I have been with SCVI for three wonderful years working with some of the most wonderful young people I have met in my life! I am so excited to see our learners feel the thrill of accomplishment as their work is sent to the International Space Station.
