World Math Day – 3rd March – participate now

World Math Day  — 3rd March

Free to join

World Maths Day was designed to encourage  student participation in a fun and engaging online maths event.

It involves games of live mental arithmetic that students around the world play against each other.

Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 500 games during the official event which has already begun, earning points for each correct question.

Students who answer the most questions appear in the Hall of Fame. Would be great to see some Home Educators  in the Hall of Fame.  (There are no New Zealanders or Home Educators on the top 50 at this stage – lets change that)

Sound fun? Why not head over and take a look?

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World Maths Day 2010 Johannesburg Host City
See the new World Maths Day 2010 video with students from host city Johannesburg, South Africa inviting the world to participate in 2010!

Registration:  WorldMathDay.com

Also take a look at: http://www.mathletics.co.nz/

National Schools Challenge – Planet 2010

Greetings all

I have just received this email below saying that home educators can enter this competition:

The National Schools Challenge is part of the Planet 2010 event and school students can compete in online challenges using a wide range of technologies including computers, online design software, YouTube, digital cameras and phones.

Blessings  Barbara

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Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your email.

Yes, we will allow home schooled students to enter the National Schools Challenge.  The only competition where this is an issue is the ‘Story’ Challenge – as the prizes are ‘telescopes for your school’.  If the winner is a homeschooled student then they will need to nominate a school to gift the telescope to.  (From Barbara – perhaps we could try nominating a support group in this competition.)

When registering, please specify ‘home schooled’ as your School Name.  If you wish to enter the Photography Challenge, it is ok for students to take photos around the home (or their learning environment).

We hope you enjoy the competitions!

Regards

Anna Hadfield

Telecommunications Industry Group

M +64 27 3050311  | P +64 9 475 0208 | E anna.hadfield@tig.org.nz | W www.tig.org.nz

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National Schools Challenge

The Telecommunications Industry Group (TIG) is running the Planet 2010: Visit the Future conference at SkyCity Convention Centre on 12-13 March this year.

The National Schools Challenge is part of the Planet 2010 event and school students can compete in online challenges using a wide range of technologies including computers, online design software, YouTube, digital cameras and phones.

Students Login

Registrations for the National Schools Challenge open on 1 February 2010. Click here to register.

We have 5 cool challenges: Start Date

Design

Win some great prizes by doing your own 3D design using awesome design software. Read more.

Sponsored by Nextspace


8th Feb 2010

Music

Make a video of your own song, post it on YouTube and start recording hits! Read more.
8th Feb 2010

Story

Write your own short story on a given topic.Read more.
10th Feb 2010

Photography

Take photos around your school relating to the Key Competencies. Read more.
22nd Feb 2010

Maths


If you are one of the winners on Mathletics World Maths Day on 3rd March (register free at www.worldmathsday.com) you’ll be able to compete live in online realtime maths challenges at the Planet 2010 conference on 13th March 2010. Bring all your friends to cheer you on!!

Sponsored by Mathletics

13th Mar 2010

Win Stuff!!!!!

Win awesome prizes, including Sony Ericsson W705 Walkman phones, Casio watches, Digital Cameras, Calculators
Mobile Phones, HP Netbooks and for your school, Telescopes!

Awesome prizes to be won, including walkman phones, cameras, calculators and more!

Sponsored by:

Casio HP Mathletics Motorola Nextspace Sony Telecom TIG


Please contact us if you have any queries regarding the National Schools Challenge. Email: info@tig.org.nz
For more information on the Planet 2010 event visit the Planet website.

http://www.tig.org.nz/content/a17e9d79-b387-4ce1-8eae-4acca744a6ee.html

Looking for Volunteers to review Time4Learning

From: time4learning@gmail.com [mailto:time4learning@gmail.com] On Behalf Of John Edelson
Sent: Monday, 11 January 2010 5:13 a.m.
To: mail@hef.org.nz
Subject: Reviewing Time4Learning.com from a New Zealand perspective

Hi, I was just reading your very impressive website. Frankly, I don’t know much about homeschooling in New Zealand.

I run an online homeschooling service in the US and, having been largely schooled in the UK, am very aware of how different the educational systems are.  I’m wondering if my system, Time4Learning.com, might be of interest  to your community or not. We have a few hundred users from New Zealand, Australia, UK, and South Africa and many of them are not just American expatriates.

If you or any of your members are interested, I could provide a free membership to our service for people to try it.  All I ask is that they provide an opinion of whether, or in what ways, the materials might be useful to homeschoolers in New Zealand. Ideally, they would find that there are ways or situations where it’s useful and so, you might share the review with your membership.

Would you know anyone interested in trying it on that basis? If you wanted to post this somewhere to find volunteers, I could provide several (lets say up 4) family memberships for two months each so long as each family agrees to write a short review of their experiences.

Time4Learning.com is online interactive learning from ages 4 to 14, language arts and math.

john edelson, founder

1 954 771-0914

http://www.Time4Learning.com – Online interactive curriculum for home use, PreK-8th Grade.
http://www.Time4Writing.com – Online   writing tutorials for high, middle, and elementary school students.

Annual Writing Contest for Young People and a Published Anthology

The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration

Includes an Annual Writing Contest for Young People and a Published Anthology

Please scroll down for general information about The Grannie Annie. Submission forms have been updated for the new year — and be sure to remember the new submission deadline of February 1, 2010.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your questions or comments to:

Hello@TheGrannieAnnie.org

Grannie Annie authors and artists signing books

Grannie Annie authors and artists at the first-ever Grannie Annie Gathering in June signed books after sharing their stories and illustrations.

Click here for a printable photo album of the event.

* * *

Order your copies of Grannie Annie; take advantage of special discounts for participating teachers, multi-volume sets, and orders of 10 or more books.

Sneak a peek at past volumes of Grannie Annie, or read the stories.

A Note to The Grannie Annie Family: Connie McIntyre of Thumbprint Press and Fran Hamilton of Portico Books, publishers of books for children, conceived of The Grannie Annie in the summer of 2005 and committed to sponsoring it through its infancy. Over the past four years, young people from across the country, and the adults who support and nurture them, have voted with their stories and words of appreciation — We love The Grannie Annie!

In response to your enthusiasm for The Grannie Annie, and in order to facilitate its growth, we are making plans to seek additional funding and broaden our internal organization. You may notice some small changes in our website as this process moves forward. However, we do not expect any changes in your Grannie Annie experience — it will remain rich and rewarding, as usual!

Welcome to The Grannie Annie

Grannie Annie is full of stories. Just ask her! She’ll tell you about her immigrant grandparents coming to America by boat. She’ll tell you about her parents rolling up their living room rug and inviting the neighbors over to dance, and about riding in a one-horse sleigh, churning butter in a washing machine, and surviving fires, floods, and blizzards.

Who are the storykeepers in your family? Just ask them! They’ll tell you stories about “the old days” that are so amazing you’ll want to write them down. Ask about your grandparents and great-grandparents. Ask about their daily lives, their adventures, their joys, and their sorrows. Take notes!

You are invited to follow The Grannie Annie Official Guidelines and enter a story from a past generation of your family. Your story can be humorous, tragic, or inspirational. It can be a story of courage, adventure, or anything you find interesting about your family’s past.

The Grannie Annie Mission

The mission of The Grannie Annie is to celebrate family stories, foster an interest in history, and nurture the writing skills of young people. The Grannie Annie encourages people around the world to interview family members to discover stories from their family’s history. When the stories are brought to life in written form, they can be shared with others and preserved for future generations.

There’s even more: Behind each family story lie experiences familiar to people in different centuries and on different continents. These simple, and very personal, family stories can help writers and readers to forge a bond with people in today’s world whose lives may seem very different from their own — and move the world one step closer to peace.

Submission Categories

Entries will be considered in two categories: U.S. grades 4-5 and 6-8. If you are a homeschool or international student between the ages of 9 and 14, your work will be considered in the category that corresponds with your age.

Submission Fee

There is no fee for submitting your work.

Deadline

The annual submission deadline for Grannie Annie is February 1. Mailed entries must be postmarked on or before this date. E-mailed entries must be sent on or before this date.

Honoring the Authors and Artists

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

Announcement of Contest Results

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

How to Purchase the Books

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

Writing Assistance

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

Guidelines for Entry

Be sure to follow The Grannie Annie Official Guidelines so that your story will be eligible for Grannie Annie.

Contest Entry Form

The Grannie Annie Official Entry Form must accompany your story and/or illustration.

Submission Information For Teachers

Teachers who are submitting their students’ entries must complete and enclose one copy of The Grannie Annie Teacher Submission Form in addition to their students’ Official Entry Forms. The information provided on this form will facilitate communication regarding students’ submissions and recognition.

The Grannie Annie in the Classroom and Beyond

We offer a variety of resources to enhance your Grannie Annie experience, complement your curriculum, and utilize the wealth of information in this collection of amazing family stories:

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

The Story Behind The Grannie Annie

Read more here: http://www.booksfromtheheart.com/grannieannie/

Please feel free to contact The  Grannie Annie  Family with questions, compliments, or suggestions:

Hello@TheGrannieAnnie.org