WSHE Newsletter Text February 1999

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WSHE Newsletter Text February 1999
Phone numbers have been removed at the request of group leadership.

1999 WSHE Talent Show
Be sure to attend this year's talent show on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at
9:30a.m., in the Glendale Public Library Auditorium. Your 1st-12th grade
students may sign up to perform an act at the park by Jan. 20, or call
Heather Harris at 873-6874 for more information. Performers should arrive at
the auditorium by 9:20a.m. to sign in with student council members.

COOKIE COMPANY THEATER
"The Magical Magpie"
When: Friday, February 5th Time: 10am...be there at 9:30am
Where: Phoenix Theater's Cookie Company, 100 E. McDowell Rd.
Cost: $3.50 per person (adult or child) MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE
Your space is NOT confirmed unless your paid in full by the deadline:
Wednesday, January 13th
Coordinator: Denise Cromer 412-1143
"Magical Magpie" based on a short story by Susana de la Pena. Seen as a
messenger in many cultures, the blackbird in this exciting new work serves
as our guide on a magical journey. Bring your imagination! Join us for this
charming play. Sign up at the park or call Denise to reserve your spot. We
only have 50 seats so sign up early. See you there!

Toothpick Bridge Contest
When: Friday evening, Feb 5th at 6:30pm
Where: First Baptist Church, 81st Ave. and Cactus
Cost: $1 entry fee per bridge
The object is to build a sturdy bridge spanning 12 inches using only
toothpicks and white glue. Your bridge will be loaded with weight until it
fails. The bridge that holds the most weight wins. We will give a
participation certificate and a before-failure photo for each bridge. Pick
up rules at the park, or on the website at
http://home.att.net/~cmahar/tuthpick.htm.
Please bring a 5 or 10 pound weight from a weight set. I only have about
100 pounds, and some bridges may hold more than that. There will be a
dad-built bridge category if there are at least 2 dad-built bridges, and I
know there will be at least one. (mine) Contact Chris Mahar at
cmahar@aspc.com or 487-3068 for information.

HOME EDUCATORS H.E.A.R.T.
Helping Equip with Activities, Resources & Teamwork
Monthly meetings for new or prospective home educators, and anyone looking
for new ideas, resources, and answers for a new phase of home education.
Each session will include:
* New homeschoolers' information
* Updated listings of classes, activities, resources, opportunities
for home schoolers
* Special focus on teen resources, lots of free or low cost resource
materials
Plus a special topic and speakers each month reflecting the interests and
needs of home educators (support groups, teen events, extracurricular
activities, college prep, special needs children, testing and evaluation
etc.)
All meetings are scheduled for 6:30-8:30pm at Glendale Library Auditorium,
5959 W. Brown Ave., Glendale--2 blocks south of Peoria.
The next meeting is on Monday, February 8th.
Bring you junior high and high school students. Childcare is not provided.
If you must bring your young children, please bring a quiet activity for
them. Audiotapes of past meetings are available. RSVP to Holly at 942-7296
or email to HollyJC@juno.com

AFHE sponsored event
LEGISLATIVE DAYS
This great event gives your support group the opportunity to create a
display to be exhibited for two week at the State Legislature. Also, Monday
February 8 we will have a rally at the Legislature. There will be great
speakers, tours of the museum and friendly visitations to our legislators.
For additional information email Melodie Van Setten at tmvs@goodnet.com

WSHE 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
Student Council is sponsoring a 3 on 3 basketball tournament during park
time on Feb. 10. Your team of three players will compete in one of the
following age categories: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-18. All teams will play on
Feb. 10, and some teams will progress to championships on Feb. 17. The cost
to participate is $1. per player and will include a water bottle. The
student council will be selling refreshments to interested spectators to
help cover expenses. Teams must register by Feb. 3. Contact Ryan Plueard,
843-6726, for more information.

Everest Lecture at the Arizona Science Center
This could be a fairly short notice event, but if it becomes available, we
should take advantage of it. The "Everest" lecture was filled up. We are
first on the "waiting list", however, it is pretty unlikely that some one
will cancel.
Arizona Science Center Galaxy 1999 Friday, February 12th, 10-11 a.m. Union
Hall in downtown Phoenix(north of the Science Center)
Free Student Lecture "Everest" by David Breashears, adventurer and
cinematographer.
As a climber and cinematographer, David Breashears has combined his skills
to become one of the world's most acclaimed adventure filmmakers. He will
share with students his exciting adventures including the making of the
historic film "Everest" during the tragic blizzard of May 1996.
After the lecture we can visit the Science Center and view the film in their
imax theater. The lecture is free and intended for students fourth grade and
up. There will be a charge for the visit to the museum and the movie.
There will be a sign up sheet at the park. I have asked for 120 seats. Any
questions, ask Bonnie Bailey at the park or call 486-8364 or email me at
bonnie_bailey@yahoo.com.

PLANNING MEETING
The next planning meeting is at 7pm Tuesday, January 26th at First Baptist
Church, 81st Ave. and Cactus. All members are welcome to participate and
help plan future events.

LASER QUEST-QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE
The Laser Quest trip is full. This is a reminder for people who have already
signed up.
WHAT: Laser Quest
WHO: 4th grade & up
WHEN: Monday, March 15th-9:00am
WHERE:3335 W. Peoria (548-0005)
COST: $8.00 per person by Feb. 19th, Payment to Lois Earley (at the park)
Or mail to: 4131 W. Siesta Ln., Glendale, AZ 85308 582-4624

West Side Home Educators Science Fair
Science fairs can be one of the most exciting parts of the entire school
curriculum. They provide children with an opportunity to explore the marvels
of the world in which we live and to develop an appreciation for the work of
scientists.
The intent of a fair is to help your child enjoy the process of science
discovery. Success is defined by how well your child uses creative and
investigative thinking skills to discover more about his or her world. What
better opportunity for your child to develop such skills than to participate
in a science fair. The thinking skills a child develops while doing a
science fair project are the same basic skills he or she will use daily
throughout his or her life-to sense and clarify problems that exist, and to
find creative solutions to those problems.
We encourage you to support your child's efforts at every step-guiding and
encouraging whenever necessary. Sometimes as parents we want to build an
entire project, to make it "perfect". It is more important that your child
wrestle with problems and try to solve them, because as we know, learning is
in doing! Guide your child whenever and wherever you can, but let the final
project reflect your child's individual effort and design.
The West Side Home Educators science fair is scheduled for Saturday, April
24, 1999. It is our hope that scheduling the fair on a Saturday will make it
possible for fathers to participate also! Information will be made available
explaining rules, guidelines, and judging criteria. Each child planning on
participating in the science fair must submit a "science fair project
application." This application is available at park day and must be turned
in no later than March 31,1999.
We will be needing volunteer judges (preferably individuals not related to
any participants). If you know of anyone who may be interested in judging or
if you are interested in judging the science fair, please contact Diane
Keith at 561-5174 or Denise Cromer at 412-1143.

JASON Project
The Arizona Science Center is participating in the JASON Project this year.
Started in 1989 by oceanographer and sunken Titanic discoverer Robert
Ballard, Ph.D., JASON gives school children the opportunity to share in the
thrill of discovery by participating in a scientific study and expedition.
This year's exploration will focus on the rainforests.
Students will receive study materials and projects. The program will
culminate with live interactive broadcasts to a tropical rainforest in Peru,
a temperate rainforest in Washington, and a fossilized rainforest in
Colorado. The broadcast will take place in the Center's giant-screen
theater.
I have already contacted some families, however, there are still some spaces
available. There will be a small charge per person, probably around $3.00.
(May be slightly more if we need to duplicate materials.)
The broadcast date we will participate in will be on March 8th, 1999 at 2:00
p.m.
If you are interested, please contact Bonnie Bailey at 486-8364 or at
bonnie_bailey@yahoo.com.

4-H CRITTER CLUB CANCELED
I am sad to announce that due to problems with the 4-H Office, I have made
the decision to cancel the Critter Club. I have been affiliated with the
Maricopa County 4-H since Sept. 1997. Unfortunately, the 4-H office has been
undergoing reorganization ( or "growing pains" as I've been told constantly
by our liaison) since that time as well. I hung in there hoping that they
would get organized in time for me to provide West Side with quality clubs.
Several of us moms from W.S.H.E. have tried to get clubs going since Sept
97. We as home schoolers all believe in quality education and activities.
Unfortunately with these "growing pains" ( that the liaison keeps using as
the reason for the not returned phone calls, missed appointments, and not
sent or extremely late in arriving materials) we cannot provide the quality
clubs that we want to provide for our children. Our club was a little
different from the typical 4-H club and that may be part of the reason that
we are experiencing so many problems with the office. I know that there are
other clubs in the Valley, but I do not know if they are experiencing
negative effects from these "growing pains."
I feel that even though the Critter Club was going to be a permanent club,
that I do have to draw a line somewhere when it comes to getting started,
etc. The lack of organization at the 4-H Office is not getting any better
and no one seems to know when things are going to be fixed. I do not feel
that this is fair to W.S.H.E. Families. I personally ( as well some of the
other parents involved with the W.S.H.E. 4-H) have decided to terminate the
relationship with the Maricopa County 4-H program. I am truly disappointed
that this did not work out. I had a very wonderful Critter Club planned, but
without materials or support it obviously cannot happen.

Please note that the newsletter people, Pearl and Chris Mahar, have moved.
Our new address is 8622 W. Purdue Ave, Peoria, 85345. Our new phone number
is 487-3068. Our email address is unchaged, cmahar@apsc.com

A Family Valentine
Oh no! not another holiday that will test my resolutions already! This
year I'd like to get a Valentine the whole family can use. What I need is
just a few hours to sit, uninterrupted. What my husband needs is time to
focus on something other than business. What my children need is time with
their dad. I've got some gift ideas. Perhaps for February, the kids and
their dad can spend a few evenings playing games, either old favorites or
something new they got for Christmas and haven't figured out the
instructions yet. My kids are too big to sit on Dad's lap for a story, but
they love to read novels out loud over a period of time. An hour or so of
reading after dinner would be just about right. Since they are not a special
treat, anything other than TV or videos would be a good thing. Aha! Maybe
Dad can tuck them in at night instead of me. (This takes an average of an
hour at our house -- including everything from supervising the brushing of
teeth, saying prayers, and listening to what went on during the day for EACH
child.) My husband and I already have wonderful date nights on a regular
basis. And I really don't want a box of chocolates. So, the best gift might
be just a block of time.

Look for the Yellow WSHE shirt
At park day, the person in the yellow WSHE T-shirt is our welcome committee.
If you bring a new homeschooler to the park and want information on our
group, or general homeschooling questions, look for the answer person in the
bright yellow shirt with our logo.

Yearbook
We are looking for a volunteer to produce the yearbook this year. Contact
Bonnie Bailey.