If you  have an 8th grader and plan to participate in the LWHE 8th Grade Graduation please be sure to get onto the Yahoo Loop for this event very, very soon.   Time is running out!   If you don't indicate interest by joining the loop, we won't know that you hope to participate and you might miss out.  Email Ro Laberee at labereeland@verizon.net or just join the loop by emailing LWHE8thgraders2012-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

LWHE will host Dr. Susan Wise Bauer at Come Alive church on March 3rd!  Get your calendars our, moms, and clear that day!

When: Monday, January 30th @ 6:30pm

Where: Ellen MacMichael's home, 38 Main St., Vincentown

What To Bring: If your last name begins with
A-H please bring a dessert,
I-P please bring a cold drink,
Q-Z please bring an appetizer or dinner to share.

Everyone bring along an unwanted WRAPPED gift item for our white elephant exchange (this
should be something you already own!!!)

Parking information: Pull into the driveway and head straight
back to the barn and park head on, on either side.  There is also
parking in front on the street.

RSVP: To Ellen at el@macmichael.com or 609-410-9163 by January 25th.

HELLO EVERYONE! 

It is almost time to sign up for LWHE's 2nd ANNUAL TALENT SHOW.

Last year's show was a smashing success!  If you missed it, you missed a great show.

The show is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 14th.  Now is the time to start thinking about your talent - it will be here before you know it. 

All acts must be pre-screened for time and content.  This takes place at Monday co-op during and after lunch.  The date for this (in March) will be announced in the near future.

Thank you!  We look forward to seeing your talent!

Rebecca Minnix & Angie Taylor
LWHE Talent Show Co-Chairs

You are cordially invited to participate in the Garden State Homeschool High School Graduation brought to you by LWHE, Inc., a non-profit NJ corporation.

This high school graduation will be offered annually by LWHE.

Date: June 2, 2012
Place: Columbus Baptist Church, 24260 West Main Street Columbus, NJ 08022
Cost: $60 per student (approx)

To participate please email GardenState2012SeniorGrads@verizon.net by March 1, 2012.  We hope you join the fun!

General Info:
This graduation is a turnkey event.   Help will be needed with set-up, break-down and clean-up of the church and attendance at 2 meetings is required.  That's it!  It will be an overtly Christian ceremony but open to all.  After the graduation ceremony families are welcome to come together for a meal at Mastoris. http://mastoris.com/

Next Meeting: January 19th, 7pm, at Labereeland!

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (District 28-Essex) has filed a bill, A1375, that would require any parent intending to homeschool a child in New Jersey to file a notice with the local public school superintendent by August 15 containing the child's name, age and residence.

Her bill would result in the filing of 44,000 pieces of needless paperwork every year one for every homeschooled child in the state. Under her bill, parents could lose the right to homeschool their child merely because they miss the deadline. If the parents tried to homeschool anyway, they could be taken to court or investigated by DYFS.

New Jersey already has a sensible legal framework for homeschooling that has worked for over 40 years. It requires parents to provide an education equivalent to what public schools provide. No changes are needed.

Action Requested
If you live in Assemblywoman Tucker's district, please call her at (973) 926-4320 and ask her to withdraw A1375. Your courteous message can be as simple as:

"Please withdraw A1375. New Jersey has a sensible legal framework for homeschooling right now. No changes are necessary."
Use this link to see if you live in Tucker's district.

Background
A task force composed of HSLDA, Education Network of Christian Homeschoolers, Catholic Homeschoolers of New Jersey, New Jersey Homeschool Association, and National Black Home Educators, and others, opposes A1375.

I was recently asked: "What's wrong with adding a requirement that homeschoolers file a simple notice each year?" I responded: "Would this improve any child's education?" The candid answer I received was "No."

Both nationally and looking at New Jersey by itself, homeschoolers score at least 30 percentile points higher on standardized tests than others. Homeschool students receive an outstanding education and are courted by many colleges.

We greatly value you and your support it is a privilege to serve you! If you or someone you know is not a member of HSLDA, will you consider taking a moment today to join or recommend us and support our work defending individual families threatened by government officials and protecting homeschooling freedom for all? Join now at www.hslda.org.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom!

Sincerely,

Scott Woodruff
HSLDA Senior Counsel

If you have an 8th grader and want to celebrate the end of their middle school years (and the beginning of those high school years!) then jump in on the LWHE 8th Grade Graduation. There are already over 30 grads!!

This promises to be a heart-warming evening. There will be the traditional rose/diploma exchange, a powerpoint presentation featuring photos of your grad, wonderful music and refreshments afterward, too!

The date: Friday night, June 8th, 2012

To jump in (better do it fast!) contact Loretta Ash at syndram@verizon.net or Ro Laberee at labereeland@verizon.net.

LWHE will run its first science fair for students K to 12 on Saturday, February 18th at Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Mark your calendar!

It would be great to have member families come to view the work that the participating students have done in the pursuit of excellence in science. You won’t be disappointed.

Much work has been done and much remains to be done to deliver a great menu of classes for our students on Mondays at Easton Bible Church.

If you participate in co-op, be on the lookout for your volunteer assignment email from Tracy Apple.

Do you remember what classes you put your kids in? Study the grid before contacting Brook Gall...she is working ‘round the clock these days to be ready for another great semester.

We are half way through another great year!

Hold onto your hats!!! We have an amazing day lined up for you!  Do you feel like you cannot get through another week? Do you desperately feel the need for inspiration to help you get to June?

Come to the Mom’s Retreat! Saturday, March 3rd is the date.  Mark you calendars now. This event is free to members. $25 to non-members.

Featured Speaker: Dr. Susan Wise Bauer of The Well -Trained Mind
Also...Dr. Michael Gallaway - vision therapist
Also…Diane Kummer, Homeschooling through High School expert with HSLDA.

There will be refreshments. Look for a detailed announcement soon!

LWHE is running its first 12th Grade Graduation. The Garden State Homeschool High School Graduation will take place on June 2nd at Columbus Baptist Church. Do you have a high school student who is graduating this year?

Don’t miss a chance to see them in cap and gown, walking down the aisle, ready for the world now! Mom and Dad...you have earned this special day, so don’t delay!  Contact info: Gardenstatehomeschoolgraduation@verizon.net.

LWHE successfully ran its first Spelling Bee!

There were 2 separate competitions: 2nd to 4th grade Bee and Middle School Bee.

The winners:

1st Place Elementary: Hannah Faith Gill
2nd Place Elementary: James Laberee

1st Place Middle School: Matthew Lambert
2nd Place Middle School: Simon Housner

Please join LWHE in congratulating Hannah and Matthew for their hard work and bravery.  All of the students were well-prepared for the competition and all of them were amazing spellers. The middle school competition went 18 rounds!!! Phew! The first place winners took home a Kindle, second place winners $50, and every student who participated took home a gift. Thank you LWHE students for applying yourselves to academic excellence through this competition!

If you are interested in helping with the Spelling Bee next year please email Ro Laberee at labereeland@verizon.net.

DATE: Saturday, February 11th
PLACE: Labereeland, 1371 Stokes Road, Medford
TIME: 7pm to 9pm
RSVP: Ro Laberee at labereeland@verizon.net

Wear your ugliest sweater and bring your sweet tooth! We'll make Valentine pops!

To our Homeschool community:
 
Since September, many homeschooling teens and some parents have been enjoying a wonderful art history program at the Penn Museum, which started with prehistoric art and will conclude in January with the art of China and the Islamic world. 

Beginning on January 26, 2012, this program will shift to Thursdays at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, picking up where our collection starts (with Medieval Art).  You are welcome to join us for the remainder of these sessions, even if you did not participate in the first 7 sessions at the Penn Museum.
 
Please see the information below regarding program specifics and registration.  We hope to see you here at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for this series!
 

The LWHE Used Curriculum Sale will not take place this year.  The cost of renting a church plus the fact that the turnout has not been high the past two years.

To replace this, LWHE will have Used Curriculum Sales days on the Yahoo discussion group!  Every Tuesday, you can send your emails to the Yahoo group advertising used books, DVDs, and educational materials. In these emails be sure to have folks email you off-list.

If you are not yet a member of the Living Water Yahoo Discussion Group, you can join today by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lwhe and click on the JOIN THIS GROUP button.  The discussion group was created exclusively for Living Water members.

For this coming year, Six Flags has changed their program for home schools. They are now registering individual home schools only, so you will need to go directly to their website and sign up. The directions are easy, and available on the site. When your student has completed their six hours, just finish the log in information to receive your tickets for Six Flags which are good from mid-June to early August. Any questions you can contact Six Flags via their website contact information.

Happy Reading!

http://readtosucceed.discoveryeducation.com/homeschool.cfm

Dear Living Water Moms:  

It's that time of year again!!  Come fellowship with us at the annual Living Water Ladies' Tea!!  We laugh, tell stories, share our frustrating homeschool moments, (and our triumphs), share dinner together and a goofy white elephant gift exchange!!  You will leave feeling encouraged, refreshed, and who knows, maybe you will meet a new friend to partner up with and share your homeschool journey!!

When: Monday, January 30th @ 6:30pm

Where: Ellen MacMichael's home, 38 Main St., Vincentown

What To Bring: If your last name begins with
A-H please bring a dessert,
I-P please bring a cold drink,
Q-Z please bring an appetizer or dinner to share.

Everyone bring along an unwanted WRAPPED gift item for our white elephant exchange (this
should be something you already own!!!)

Parking information: Pull into the driveway and head straight back to the barn and park head on, on either side.  There is also parking in front on the street.

RSVP: To Ellen at el@macmichael.com or 609-410-9163 by January 25th.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!

It’s time to sign up for Living Water's Annual Christmas Party!

PLACE: Easton Bible Church, 2407 Fostertown Road, Hainesport, NJ
DATE:  Monday, December 12th
TIME: 10am - 1pm
DEADLINE: Wednesday, December 7th (for Craft & Gift Exchange only)

Would your child like to help recite verses from the Luke 2 Christmas Story?

Would your child like to be included in the Pollyanna Gift Exchange and/or craft?

To make this event a complete success we need adult volunteers to help with:

    * crafts
    * gift exchange
    * Luke 2 recitation
    * food set-up/clean-up
    * food/drink donations

Sign up now! Send an email to Tracy Apple at t.apple3@yahoo.com with the following information:

   1. family name
   2. email address
   3. how many people are attending
   2. names and ages of children for craft
   3. name and ages of children for gift exchange ($5 limit - gift must be new & wrapped)
   5. which service you would like to volunteer for:

• Sunday PM set-up
• Monday AM last-minute set-up
• Monday after-party clean-up
• Food Service Coordinator
• Food Service Coordinator assistant
• food server (need 6 on rotation)
• Luke 2 verse recital coordinator
• Luke 2 verse recital assistant
• Gift exchange coordinator
• Gift exchange leader (ages 3-5)
• Gift exchange assistant (ages 3-5)
• Gift exchange leader (ages 6-9)
• Gift exchange assistant (ages 6-9)
• Gift exchange leader (ages 10-12)
• Gift exchange assistant (ages 10-12)
• Craft leader (ages 3-5)
• Craft assistant (ages 3-5)
• Craft leader (ages 6-9)
• Craft assistant (ages 6-9)
• Craft leader (ages 10-12)
• Craft assistant (ages 10-12)

          
ADDITIONALLY, please send Victoria Ebiri a separate email at tebiri@verizon.net with two food/drink items from this list that you plan to contribute to the festivities!

Don’t forget to invite family members and friends to join us!

PLACE: The Laberee Home, 1371 Stokes Road, Medford, NJ
DATE: Friday, December 9th
TIME: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
RSVP: to h2o@macmichael.com by Dec. 7

All LWHE middle schoolers are invited to come celebrate the birth of our Savior. A pasta dinner will be served, along with dessert.

Bring a (very) small gift for the white elephant gift exchange. This gift does not have to be purchased – you can just find something silly from your home and wrap it. If you do buy something new do not spend more than $3!

We will exchange gifts, eat, sing Christmas carols and have a great time!

LIVING WATER HOME EDUCATORS DRAMA CLUB PRESENTS:

FAITH 101 : LIVE OUT LOUD
an original screenplay

Welcome to the town of Meadowville, USA.  Come and see what happens when a group of friends is challenged by their Sunday school teacher to live out their faith.  Join us for all the ups, downs and unexpected twists as they endeavor to live for God and share their faith with others.  An original screenplay filled with comedy, drama, and song! 

WHO:    A cast of 18 homeschooled students

WHEN:    Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at 5:00 PM

WHERE:    BCC (Mount Laurel Campus)

Admission: $3 per person

Any questions contact Rebecca Minnix - jeanbeca@comcast.net ~ or ~ Tricia Weiss - tricia.weiss@gmail.com