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April 1999 WSHE Newsletter Text
Phone numbers have been removed at the request of group
leadership
Teaching Writing: Structure and Style
Were you one of those who really wanted to attend the Institute
for
Excellence in Writing seminar in February, but just didn't have the
$85.00
to cover the cost? Perhaps you had the money, but the timing was not
good
for you? Do not despair! West Side Home Educators has purchased the
complete Video Seminar Package which also includes the three
student
workshops. We are licensed to run the seminar for our group as many times
as we deem necessary.
Unless we need to rent a room for the seminar, the only cost to members
will
be $15.00 for the Syllabus Workbook. We plan to run our first seminar
in
June. The purpose of the seminar is to teach parents how to teach
Creative
Writing. It was produced from a live seminar taught by the Institute
for
Excellence in Writing.
If you have any questions about the seminar, or would like to be a part
of
the first presentation in June, contact Bonnie Bailey at xxx-xxxx.
Are We Having Science Yet?
Science Fair Facts
The Science Fair will be held on Friday, April 23rd. Entry is open to
WSHE
kids ages 5 and up. The location is the Glendale Community Center
North,
14075 N. 59th Ave. (N. of T-bird). This is right next to the fire station
in
case we blow anything up. Register at the park or call Annamae at
xxx-xxxx
by March 31st (one word, foil).
Science Fair Schedule
11:00am - Bring science fair project entries for setup and judging.
11:30am-1:30pm - Judging. We have participant ribbons for all children.
We
have blue, red, and yellow place ribbons for three different age
groups.
There are prizes for kids who win a "place ribbon." The Community
Center
will be closed. No bribes. No peeking!
1:30-4:30pm - Doors will be open to all members and guests to view
the
science fair projects. We will have many free prize drawings for
cool
science stuff (must be present to win). This is for all WSHE children
who
put their name in the big beaker. Chris and Pearl Mahar have agreed to
bring
in a toothpick bridge that we will take to the limit. Are we having fun
yet?
2:00pm - Owl pellet lab with Mike and Tammy Duby from Tobin's Lab. This is
a
great discovery activity, find out which rodent your owl ate by
dissecting
the pellet. A bone chart is included. The cost for this activity is
$5.00
per pellet. Younger children may want to share a pellet or
additional
pellets for children working off the same bone chart is $4.00.
3:15pm - FREE Microscope Lab with Tammy Duby. Experience a
quality
microscope, hands-on. Tammy does a great job of explaining how
microscopes
differ so you can decide which type suits your needs. This lab is
directed
at parents. Don't miss this as our WSHE Library will be offering
a
stereoscope for check-out soon!
4:30pm - Please remove your science fair projects promptly. No loitering.
We
must cleanup and be out of the center by 5:30. A city class starts
at
6:00pm. It could be a ballet class, but then again, it could be karate,
lets not take chances. Do you feel lucky?
Science Fair Trivia
Why does it hurt so much when you hit your funny bone? What is a hiccup?
In
what direction are our eyes facing when we are asleep? Why are the
Muppets
left-handed? How much weight can one of Chris's toothpick bridges
withstand?
For the answers to these and any other Science Fair questions call
Annamae
at xxx-xxxx or Dee Plueard at xxx-xxxx.
Skating at North Phoenix Baptist Church
When: April 9th, 1-4pm
Where: North Phoenix Baptist Church, Bethany & Central
Cost: $3 per skater
Contact Bev Hatfield - xxx-xxxx
The North Phoenix Baptist Church will open their skating rink to our
group
on Friday, April 9th from 1:00pm until 4:00 p.m. Our contact there
says
there is no minimum number of people, bet we would like to see at least
50
people come and join the fun. The cost is $3 per skater which
includes
skates. Please call Bev Hatfield at xxx-xxxx for more information.
Spelling Bee
Twenty-five students from Region Four of Maricopa County competed for
the
Region Championship at the Spelling Bee on March 1, 1999. The bee
went
twelve rounds with John Bailey of West Side Home Educators emerging
as
Champion! CONGRATULATIONS JOHN!
The following are the words that John had to spell correctly to win
-
shindig, sensory, vertex, slimy, extension, hematoma, enthusiastic,
glacier,
volubility, solstice, tinge, meditate, Wellington, and the winning word
was
"repose".
John will go on to compete at the State Championship on April 10th.
Channel
15 will video the competition and highlights will be aired a week or
two
later. We'll try to keep you posted on the exact time and location.
The winner of the State Bee will then be sent to Washington, D.C. to
compete
in the National Championship. Please keep John in your prayers. Wouldn't
it be great to have a West Side Home Educator at the National Spelling Bee?
Yearbook
As of January 1999 our yearbook committee is as follows;
Cindie Smith Coordinator
xxx-xxxx
Cari Yates Marketing
Glenda Lovera Tech Support
Judy Furno Tech Support
Lisa Mitchell and Lauren Sawicki
Student Council Questionnaire
*** Parents Get Ready ***
When you receive the questionnaire from the Student Council. Please fill
out one per child and return the questionnaire with a photo. ( Wallet
size
only)
Dead line for submissions is April 7th 1999
Dead line for year book orders will be April 14th
The cost for the year book is going to be $13.00 and the money needs to
paid
up front at the time of the order. You may order at the park. This is
the
actual publishing cost, so we are not able to reduce the cost for
multiple
purchases.
Note: If you are a member of WSHE we would like your child in the year
book. No matter what. The year book is more than just a picture of
your
child it also gives a little insight (information) of who your child
is.
Another Note! If you have a photo of an outing or event relating to
your
child's schooling, please write up a short paragraph explaining the
photo:
i.e. Place, Date, Event description and what you liked about the event.
All photo's turned in must have your complete name so that we may return
the
photo's when we are done.
Below are the questions asked on the questionnaire. If you did not
receive
one please write down the information and hand it in.
Name, age, Favorite pizza, favorite dessert, favorite hobby, Most
memorable
home school project or field trip, favorite book, best subject, What is
one
goal you hope to accomplish within the next year, and If you had more
free
time what would you do.
Testing
We are planning to schedule testing using the Stanford Achievement Test
in
the month of May. Our tentative test dates will be May 17, 18, and
19.
Testing will be available for 4th grade through high school. The cost
is
$28.00 for the test plus $5.00 administration fee per child.
We need to order the test in April so that we will have them by May.
Please
sign up at the park in March. We will need to collect the money in
advance.
Fawzia Tung, Susan Grove and Bev Wolf will be conducting the testing for
our
group. We will have more details, once we know who will be participating.
LOST AND FOUND
We have a lost and found box located at the kiosk on park day. Here's
what
you can find inside!
Child's ring - silver-tone with blue stone
silver Frisbee
red frog teether
rollerblades - black/silver/teal - small size
red sweatshirt -child's size 14/16
blue hooded sweatshirt adult size XXL
March Planning Meeting Changed to Tuesday, March 30th
The monthly planning meeting will be Tuesday, March 30th at 7pm at Chris
&
Pearl Mahar's house, 8622 W. Purdue Ave. Peoria. xxx-xxxx. Planning
meetings are open to all members. Please come help plan our
group's
activities for the following month and into the summer.
The April Planning Meeting will most likely be Tuesday, April 27th at
7pm.
The location of the meeting is yet to be determined, but will be posted
on
the board at the park when known.
HOME EDUCATORS H.E.A.R.T.
Helping Equip with Activities, Resources & Teamwork
Monthly Meetings for:
New or prospective Home educators
Anyone looking for new ideas, resources, 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, April 5th. The topic is Approaches to
home
educating - Part II - Group involvement for classes.
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
xxx-xxxx
or email to HollyJC@juno.com §
The Story of the Big Rocks
An expert on time management stood in front of a group of
high-powered
overachievers and used this illustration to drive home a point. He
pulled
out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on the table in front
of
him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully
placed
them one by one into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside,
he
asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he
said,
"Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he
dumped
some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work
themselves
down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked
the
group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them
answered.
"Good!" he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a
bucket
of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces
left
between the rocks and gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this
jar
full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said "Good!"
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar
was
filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is
the
point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how
full
your schedule is, if you really try hard, you can always fit some
more
things into it!"
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth
this
illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in
first,
you'll never get them in at all."
Isn't that a great story? It really makes you stop and think about the
big
rocks in your jar, doesn't it? What are the things that are most
important
to you? Your husband? Your children? (Yes, those are two very
different
"rocks"!) Your walk with God? Developing bonds with a few close
friends?
Furthering your education? Volunteering for a cause you believe in? A
home
business or part-time job? Your career?
Think of the things that are really important to you. Now, compare
their
importance with how much time you've been devoting to them. Maybe it's
time
to re-evaluate some of your "big rocks" and relegate them to
"gravel"
status. Likewise, there may be some important relationships or projects
or
dreams that have been mixed in with the gravel or sand, but really need
to
be big rocks. Perhaps it's time to restructure or downsize the
busy-ness
quotient in your life. As you look ahead, think about the priorities in
your
life and schedule your life around them.
After all, developing relationships that are meaningful and long
lasting,
especially with your spouse and children, and achieving success
and
happiness in other endeavors require large quantities of quality time.
But
we only have so much time to do the important things in our lives--just
like
the mason jar that can only hold so much rock, gravel, sand and water.
Make sure you get the big rocks in first!
Toothpick Bridge Contest Article In Homeschool Dad Magazine
In their April/May edition, Homeschool Dad Magazine will be publishing
an
article on the toothpick bridge contest we had in February. The article
was
written by Chris and Pearl Mahar. We'll bring a copy to the park when
it
comes out.
God's World News & Scholastic Books
We're looking for someone to run God's World News and also Scholastic
Books.
Renee Metcalf has been doing a great job but she does not plan to do
either
job next year. Whoever does God's World News needs to start right away
for
next year. They need to contact Renee and get a sign up sheet going
and
collect the money for next year before our last park day in May. Renee
would be glad to help some one take over those jobs. It does not have to
be
the same person doing both jobs. In fact, it would be better to split it
up
between two people. They are both big jobs. Renee's phone number
is
xxx-xxxx. Thanks to Renee Metcalf for doing such a great job.
International Luncheon
Join us for a sampling of foods from around the world. This event will
be
held on April 7th, Wednesday at the park from 12:30-1:30. Bring a
prepared
favorite dish from another country along with your recipe and ingredients
to
share with everyone. Sign up at park day. You will receive a phone call
with more details.
Contact Judith Preston with questions, xxx-xxxx---Bon apetite!