Matamata HEART Retreat date this year is June  21-23.

Venue: Totara Springs Christian Centre, Taihoa North Road, Matamata

Website: http://heartretreat.wordpress.com/

General inquiries: absclan@slingshot.co.nz

Registrations: aheadfamily@gmail.com

Pdf of the 2012 conference brochure:

2012 Heart.pdf 600K   View Download

2013 brochure still to come

If you can’t download this brochure then please email me barbara@hef.org.nz and I’ll email it to you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some Coming Events for Home Education during 2013

Greetings, here are some of the home education events in New Zealand over the next few months.

Please note the “Not back to School” events tomorrow – there are only three here. Please check in your area there may be an event there that you can go to.

There are some great camps and workshops/conferences coming up. We seem to have a feast this year. They start off with a workshop in Wanganui February 16.

The five camps look like a lot of fun with two in the South Island and three in the North Island – two unschoolers camps, one Christian camp, one West Coasters camp and a Girls camp.

I have a family reunion over Easter in Wanaka. So I am planning (a bit late) a tour around the South Island. If you would like me to speak in your area please get back to me soon and I will see if I can fit it into our schedule. At this stage some events are already confirmed and others hopefully will be confirmed over the next few days. So please keep checking this link for updates.

In amongst all this activity please make sure you write/phone/visit  the MPs about this beneficiary Bill – we don’t want to see ECE and Government Health checks becoming compulsory for the beneficiaries and perhaps later for all of us. None of us know when we could become jobless, ill or widowed and could be relying on the benefit. So please write, phone and/or visit the MPs for those on a benefit now. As of July those on a benefit will have to send their 3 – 5 year olds to an ECE for 15 hours a week and begin working 15 hours a week once their youngest turns 5 and 30 hours a week once their youngest turns 14. Please support the beneficiaries and write/ring or visit an MP to have this taken out of the Social Security Bill. It is hard enough home educating on your own without having all this going on too.

Then don’t forget the HEART retreats where Mums get pampered.

Home Education Coming Events

21/1/13 – 20/3/13 Letter writing campaign to the Select Committee members: Social Security Bill and the Human Rights Commission and URGENT ACTION required: Social Security Bill

7 February 2013 Not-back-to-school Picnics/Days

•  Auckland: 13th Regional Home Education Celebration (Thursday) – Auckland
•  Memorial Park Picnic – Palmerston North
•  NOT-back-to-school day at Quinney’s Bush, Motupiko – Nelson

16 February 2013 Wanganui Home Education Workshop

15-17 February13 Christian Homeschoolers Family Summer Getaway

15-18 February 2013 South Island Unschoolers Camp/Gathering

21st-26th February 2013 NZ Unschooling Retreat: February 2013. Foxton, Horowhenua

22-24 February Inspire 2013 – Girl’s camp

5 March 2013 INFORMATION SESSION WITH AHE – Auckland

5-7 March 2013  World Education Games

13 March 2013 AHE Art & Craft Fair 2013

March Christian Homeschooling Nat. Conference

11–15 March 2013 HOME EDUCATORS CAMP REEFTON

23 March 2013  Refresh Conference – Nelson

26 March-16 April 2013 South Island tour

22 March Workshop in Takaka (programme now at link)

23 March all day workshop in Nelson (cancelled due to Refresh confence same day)

25 March half day workshop in Westport (cancelled)

26 March Workshop in Greymouth (programme now at link)

27 March half day workshop in Hokitika (confirmed)

28 March possibly Haast

29 March – 1 April Hay family reunion in Wanaka
2 April  event in Wanaka   (programme now at link)

3 April possible event in Queenstown  (or other Central towns )

3 June 2013 Auckland Meeting with Scott Brown, Kevin Swanson,Anthony Courter and possibly Geoffrey Botkin  – Link to the Conferences:  Building a God-Centered Family – Conferences

4 June 2013 (evening)  Home Educators Leaders Meeting – more later

21-23  June Matamata HEART Retreat (please note date correction)

9-13 September 2013 Homeschool Outings: Mt Ruapehu Whakapapa Alpine Mountain Adventure Skiing, Snowboarding, & Tramping

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please feel free to repost, forward or pass on  this email

Please do so with the whole post. Thankyou

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

Exemption Form online: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/

*******************************

Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds

On Thursday 7 February from 10am we are planning a NOT-back-to-school day at Quinney’s Bush, Motupiko.

Check the place out here: www.quinneysbush.co.nz
It is less than an hour drive from Nelson or Motueka.

It’s a campground that welcomes day visitors; lots of grass, big trees giving shade, swings, flying foxes, skate ramp, BMX track, picnic tables, BBQ, river…. and on top of that other home-educating families! We’d like this day to be open to anyone that is home-educated. So spread the word.

Bring:
– togs/towels (there is a swimhole with a slide in the river plus the BIG waterslide that will be opened for us)
– bikes (there is a BMX track)
– games
– your own food; kitchen is available (with stove, oven, fridge, freezer) and also wood-fired BBQ’s ~ we imagine staying till after dinner, but that’s up to you of course

Quinney’s Bush entrance fee is $5 per head, which allows us the use of toilets/kitchen/waterslide/big flying fox.
We don’t need to book, so you can just show up.

If you have any questions email:
Erica Richards: nutria.e@gmail.com
or Irma Jager: irmajager@woosh.co.nz

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Erica & Irma

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The World Education Games is an annual global online challenge to get all students (4-18 years of age) excited about learning, and to give the top students in all schools an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best in the world. Last year, over 5 million students were a part of what is now the world’s largest online education event.

The World Education Games are completely free to register for and participate in.

Split over three days and focussing on literacy, mathematics and science, the World Education Games is a hugely exciting and engaging way to promote learning and education across the world. Our partners UNICEF and Samsung work with us to promote our key messages of education for all. Check out the HISTORY tab above to read more about the story and legacy of the Games.

Parents can also register home-schooled students

For more information please go to: http://www.worldeducationgames.com/WEG2013/