2007 May

Homeschool Football & Basketball Program

ENAACT Family Academy is beginning a homeschool football and basketball program for boys ages 12-19. Informational meetings are scheduled for Monday, June 18th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, June 23rd at 10:00 am at Tree of Life Church. Interested families are required to attend one meeting.

The program is open to all homeschool boys, not just boys who attend ENAACT. Students who join the athletic team(s) will be required to sign a statement of faith, abide by the ENAACT student rules, and earn a 70 or above in all of their classes. Parents will be required to turn in homeschool grades to the academic office.

Homeschool Discount for Broadway Shows

We need your input on which shows to offer for both Houston and San Antonio for next season. We need a min of 20 tickets for each show we set up offers for, so your feedback helps us decide which ones homeschoolers are likely to buy tickets for. Those shows that don't get enough votes will NOT be offered for homeschool group discounts. We will ask for feedback for Dallas shows at a later date.

Of these shows listed below, please rate them on a scale of 1-5
1- no way
2 - fairly unlikely I would attend
3 - may be interested depending upon when it is offered
4- very interested in this show
5 - count me in, I can't wait to see this show
If none of the shows interest you, do not clutter my inbox with that result, We don't need a 100 emails saying you won't go to anything. Please only respond if it's likely you would want to attend at least one of these shows. Please send your votes off-list to Susan Frederick at .

Based upon your feedback, we will pick what shows will be offered for Homeschool Discounts for the next season. Exact show time dates will be picked at a later time. In general the offers for these shows will take place anywhere from 3 to 8 months before the show date, depending upon the availability of tickets.

Show descriptions are listed on this page: http://www.jsoft.com/archive/taffie/Broadway.html

1.Avenue Q (Houston) - Oct/Nov 2007
2.Jersey Boys (Houston) - Jan/Feb 2008
3.The Rat Pack Live at The Sands (Houston) - March, 2008
4.The Wedding Singer (Houston) - May, 2008
5.Sweeney Todd (Houston) - June, 2008

San Antonio shows (Majestic Theater): Please vote for the shows you would like to see offers for

1.Mamma Mia!(San Antonio) - October 2007
2.Twelve Angry Men (San Antonio) - October, 2007
3.The Ten Tenors (San Antonio) - Nov/Dec, 2007
4.Camelot (San Antonio) - January, 2008
5.The Wedding Singer (San Antonio)- April/May, 2008
6.Spamalot (San Antonio)- June, 2008
7. Phantom of the Opera (San Antonio) - Feb 200

Please pass this onto other lists and other homeschoolers and contact me with any questions. Thanks to your help and support, we have been able to offer homeschool theater discounts in Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio.

Classes at Sebastopol House in Seguin

Kay Scott of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has been working to put together some history classes for homeschoolers. Kay is located in Seguin at the Sebastopol House. She has come up with different classes for homeschoolers to help them gain a better understanding of what life was like in the 1850's.

Here's some information about these classes:

Duration - 1.5 hrs

Age - All ages are welcome. Children 11 & up may be dropped off, but there must be an adult present in charge of your child. This also needs to be arranged in advance.

Cost - There is a $2 fee for each class. Some classes will require adults to pay, while others will be only for the kids. If you have a question about the fee, please ask Kay when you register.

Location - Sebastopol House, 704 Zorn St, Seguin 78156

Registration - Classes need to have at least 7 but not more than 20. Classes with less than 7 may be canceled. Please RSVP to Kay Scott at 830-379-4833.

What to bring - Each child will NEED to bring something to drink (like a bottle of water). Outdoor activities will utilize the shade as much as possible, but bring sunscreen, hats, etc. just in case. You may bring a lunch and picnic on the lawn if you like.

Dates & Times -

July 10, 12 & 18 - classes at 10am & 1pm each day

Aug 7, 9 & 15 - classes at 10am & 1pm each day

Classes offered - June - Tour & Corn Husk Toy July - Butter & Biscuits Aug - Chores & Games

Tour & Corn Husk Toy - Take a tour of Sebastopol House State Historic Site and then learn how to make your own corn husk toy. The fee is $2.00 per person.

Butter & Biscuits - What could taste better than butter and biscuits in July? You make it fresh in the backyard! The fee is $2.00 per person.

Chores & Games - Pleasures and Past Times are chores & games from the 1850's. For example, learn to peel apples with an apple peeler, wash clothes in a tub & play popular period games. The fee is $2.00 per child (no fee for adults).

City of San Antonio Tree Planting Challenge

June 29. Deadline to submit applications for the City of San Antonio Tree Planting Challenge in the Neighborhood and Commercial categories. The program will award 25 free trees to two neighborhood and one commercial project in each of 10 City Council Districts. For more information, call 207-3018.

2007 May

Scholastic Customer Appreciations Warehouse Sale

Our warehouses are working sites for most of the year, but twice a year at the end of each season, we open our doors and offer super values on books, software, gifts, and more. It's our way of thanking you for your continued commitment to the education profession and helping children become life long learners.

Warehouse Sales are exclusively for Book Fair Chairpeople and Volunteers, Registered Homeschoolers, and School Personnel: Principals, Administrators, Faculty, Teachers, Librarians, and Media Specialists. Get your Fast-Cart Pass and register for a sale today! You'll bypass the sign-in lines and receive a $10 off coupon.

Scholastic Book Fairs
4646 Perrin Creek Drive Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78217
(800) 633-4270
Saturday, 05/12/2007 - Thursday, 05/31/2007
Mondays thru Fridays: 9 AM - 7 PM
Saturdays: 9 AM - 5 PM
Closed Sundays and Memorial Day Weekend

Teen Arts Project

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center has partnered with the Bronx ACTION team to create a 7 week intensive summer arts program designed specifically for San Antonio teens – The Teen Arts Project. Participants will collaborate on community arts projects with 25 teens from the ACTION project, a highly successful teen arts program located in the Bronx, New York. The program consists of theater, visual art, poetry and film art. Printmaking/silk screening workshops, a documentary film project, visits from local artists, public performances and trips to local cultural centers will also be included.

Teen Arts Project members will be given hands-on training by professional teaching artists and culminating into a performance and exhibit with each session at the historic Guadalupe Theater and venues throughout the city. The project will run from June 4 – July 27, 2007, Monday through Thursday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and Friday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Scholarships for the Teen Arts Project participants will be provided by the Guadalupe Cultural Center for area teens. The only requirements for students are regular attendance and to be a positive contributor to the project. Local interested teens are encouraged to contact Vincent Toro at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center 210-271-3151. Applications (deadline May 19, 2007) can be picked up at 1301 Guadalupe St. Monday through Friday 9 am. To 5 pm. Open house interviews will be held May 26, 2007 at the Guadalupe Theater.

NW Homeschoolers' 2nd Annual Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament

It's time for the NW Homeschoolers' 2nd Annual Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament, Tuesday, May 1st at Raymond Russell Park, from noon till 3'ish.

Rules:

• There will be a 3 minute time limit to prepare your deck.
• No crude language
• A minimum of 40 cards and a maximum of 100 cards in your deck.
• Your deck must be shuffled in a way that you can't see the faces of the cards.
• Opponent is given the final shuffle or cutting of the deck.
• No playing for cards (this is gambling and never allowed)
• Thirty minute time limit per game.

The following cards are NOT permitted:

• Foreign language cards,
• counterfeit, computer-generated or fake cards.

There is no entry fee. The contestants will receive a certificate, and there will be prizes. Raymond Russell Park is at 20644 W. IH-10 in NW San Antonio, about 3 miles northwest of Loop 1604 on IH-10. From Loop 1604 (Anderson Loop) head west on IH-10. Take exit 554, Camp Bullis Rd, and stay on the access road. Go straight through the four-way stop, and Raymond Russell Park will be on your right.We'll be in the first pavilion you see as you enter the park. You can access a map to the park at our home page, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NW_Homeschoolers.

Email Linda at llibasci@earthlink.net for more information.

Explore “Treemendous Trees”

Home school classes
Friedrich Wilderness Park
21395 Milsa
May 8, 15, 22 9:30am – 11:30am or May 10, 17, 24 9:30am – 11:30am Elementary ages $15.00 for the series

First we will be exploring tree leaves and stems using models and prepared specimens! We’ll look at some tree cookies – come find out what those are! In the second session we’ll be making paper and looking at trees as animal habitat and the final session will be a long hike synthesizing all we have learned.

If we schedule a middle/high school class, it will be on Tuesday afternoons from 12:30 – 2:30 with similar activities. There will be more emphasis on how trees work and more tree identification.

Please call Peggy Spring at 210/564-6402 or email at pspring@sanantonio.gov for more information or registration materials. The class is limited to 16 students. www.sanaturalareas.org

NWHE First Annual Book and "Everything" Sale

As home educators, we all accumulate LOTS of STUFF!

This year in addition to our annual book sale, we are adding the "and everything" to the sale. Northwest Home Educators (NWHE) will be hosting our first BOOK AND EVERYTHING SALE, an "open air market", in the parking lot BEHIND North West Community Church, 8900 Guilbeau Road.

Monday, May 7th from 1:30 - 5:30

You can simply pull your vehicle into one of the parking spaces behind the church (where there is shade in the afternoon) and pull out your boxes or tables of books and everything (clothes, knick knacks, overflow, etc.) and swap, sell or bargain to your hearts content. Shoppers may park in the front lot and walk to the back for shopping. The playground will NOT be open to visitors so please keep your children with you.

There will be no reservations taken or needed as there are plenty of parking spaces. You may arrive between 12:45 - 1:15. If you come later, please enter from the side street and not directly from Guilbeau to avoid pedestrian traffic. You are welcome to pass this on to other groups that you are involved in...the more, the merrier!

Hope to see you all there!

Earth Day Photo Contest for Middle School

This contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 5-8. Anytime from Sunday April 22 through Sunday April 29, take a photograph of something that is changing in your local environment.
It could be a change occurring in your backyard, outside your school, in a local park, or off in the distance toward the horizon. Then, research and write a scientific explanation (400 words or less) that answers the following questions:
• What is the change taking place in your photograph?
• What may be causing the change?
• Was the change expected?
• How might the change impact surrounding areas, including people?
• How might this picture look different in the future?
Entries must be received by email or postmarked by May 9, 2007. The top three winners will receive cash prizes in the amount of $100, $75 and $50, respectively. The top 10 winners will receive their
photograph in a special frame commemorating Earth Day 2007.

http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=earthday&sub3=contest2007

WildFest San Antonio

San Antonio's first annual birding and nature festival will be held May 4-6, 2007. With its abundance of natural areas such as Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, Medina River Natural Area, Government Canyon State Natural Area, the Botanical Gardens, the Missions National Historical Park and others, San Antonio will be one of few large cities to host such an event.

The festival will include a broad spectrum of workshops and fieldtrips that will include birds, butterflies, bats, plants (wild flowers), art, history and geology. A number of the events will be focused on getting children involved in nature. There also will be a number of workshops and field trips aimed at social science, science, and other teachers. We expect to attract a large number of local residents to the events as well as visitors from throughout the United States and North America. Visit http://wildfestsanantonio.com/ for more information.

Reaching Out to Homeschoolers

TRC Sharing Session: Reaching out to Homeschoolers
The McNay Teacher Resource Center is available for all San Antonio educators. Discover resources that bring arts education into your home classroom. To reserve your space, please call 210.805.1768 or email education@mcnayart.org.

Homeschoolers' Reception

The Barnes and Nobles on San Pedro will be hosting a Homeschoolers' Reception as part of  Educator Appreciation Week (April 28-May 6). It will be held Friday, May 4, at 6:00 pm. During this week educators will receive 25% off book and gift purchases and 10% off DVDs and Music. The reception will be an open house and we will have door prizes and activity stations, and children can participate in the Pajamarama storytime at 7:30 pm (wear your coziest pajamas!).

Oliver Twist

Vexler Children’s Theatre The Vexler Children's Theatre presents its final production of the 2006-2007 season. The cast includes nine homeschoolers. From the Charles Dicken's classic, orphan Oliver comes across an array of shady characters and get caught up in some very tricky situations. Fortunately his good heart keeps him from making poor choices, and he is finally able to find a home.
Dates: May 8 - 27, 2007
Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30am
Special performances: May 15th at 7:00pm; May 13th & 27th at 2:30pm
Tickets: $5.00 per person, and reservations are required.
Phone: (210) 302-6835

Children's Chorus of San Antonio Auditions

The auditions for CCSA’s 2007-2008 season are now open and will be held this coming May at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church in the Music Wing, located at 825 E. Basse Road.

CCSA has been producing quality programming for the San Antonio metropolitan area’s children for the past 25 years and is excited to extend the audition opportunity to chorally-interested young people who have not yet had the chance to participate.

The audition process for a CCSA choir is child-centered and non-threatening. Your young singer will be eligible for an audition time upon your phone call to CCSA and will be provided material at the audition. Remember, we are looking for potential, not perfection, so there is no need to prepare material ahead of time!

The audition times and dates for each choir are listed below; please keep these in mind when you call to schedule your appointment. Remember, your child will not be allowed to audition without an appointment, so please call today!

• Prelude Choir (boys and girls ages 7 and 8): Thursday, May 17, 4 p.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, May 18, 4-7 p.m. 
• Junior Chorus (boys and girls ages 9-14): Thursday, May 17, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, May 18, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday, May 19, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

To schedule an audition for your child or find out more about the audition process, you may email or contact us at 210-826-3447. Visit the website for more information.