T-R PHOTO BY ADAM SODDERS - St. Francis fourth-grader Connor Holman stands with his book collection in his locker, which he lets other students borrow from.

Whether he is taking apart a device or loaning a book to a classmate, St. Francis fourth-grader Connor Holman never fails to leave a good impression.

“I’m really into science, I like to do science experiments and projects,” he said. “There is one that we’re going to do for a science fair and me and two of my friends, Preston and Luke, are doing a magnetic race track.”

Connor is also an Extended Learning Program (XLP) student, which allows him even more time to dive into interesting science projects.

“I just finished taking apart an Xbox controller and putting it back together. Now, I’m doing a DVD player,” he said.

While the controller was relatively easy work, Connor said the DVD player is proving more of a challenge, but he will continue trying to solve the problem.

“Some of it is really hard to get apart. I ran into a circuitboard that I’m trying to take off so I can look beneath it, but I’m not having good luck,” he said.

As with science, Connor said he also enjoys math class because it provides a good challenge.

The learning doesn’t stop when Connor gets home.

“I like to play a game called Gamestar Mechanic,” he said. “It’s where you can design video games and I like it because it helps me kind of let loose in design, because I love to design.”

Connor said he hopes to be a video game designer when he is grown up.

Teacher Monica Boone said Connor is not only smart but also very personable.

“I call him a sponge because he likes learning about different things, the more knowledge he gets the more he can take and run with that,” she said. “He really gets along well with everybody.”

Another side project Connor has undertaken is a book loaning program he runs out of his locker. He calls it Bam-O Books, and he has a selection of books from home for his classmates to read, as well as a check-out schedule on a whiteboard in the locker door.

“Connor is a very talented, smart kid,” Boone said.

——–

Contact Adam Sodders at

(641) 753-6611 or

sodders@timesrepublican.com