SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals and Competitions

Posted on 2015-02-24 by Barbara

A message from Wendy and Sharon

Dear Homeschoolers interested in SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals and Competitions (SGCNZ UOSWSF) ,

SGCNZ have appointed liaisons for homeschooling Shakespeare students around New Zealand to answer questions, provide information on SGCNZ events and competitions and collate a database of all homeschool entries to the festivals.

To minimize the volume of inquiries direct to SGCNZ’s director, Dawn, regarding the festivals, please direct all queries to the following people.

*North Island except Wellington Region*

Wendy Crummer

mandwcrummer@clear.net.nz

Tel: 09 2793737

Mob: 021 02374886

*Wellington Region and South Island*

Sharon Callaghan

sharon.callaghan.nz@gmail.com

Tel: 04 234 7898

Mob: 0273 090 681

Please also remember not to contact the University directly as the Festivals are organized by SGCNZ.

Regional festivals commence late March and are completed by the end of April

2015. Regional festival dates can be found at www.sgcnz.org.nz

To register you need to complete two steps:

1. Send your information as follows to the liason for your region (contacts above)

2. Register online, including becoming a Friend of SGCNZ (see below under COSTS)

If you would like assistance with either step, contact Sharon or Wendy and we will be glad to assist.

Step 1. To collate a database of Homeschool entries, details of each Homeschool cluster group entry need to be sent to the above liaisons.

The seven pieces of information that you will need to provide to the liaisons is as follows;

1. Homeschool cluster name (this can be a unique name)

2. Homeschool city/town

3. Region of the Festival you are entering

4. Name of your Group’s organizer/Contact

5. Contact phone numbers – landline and mobile

6. Postal Address for the Database so that the hard copies can be sent to you

7. Email address

Step 2.

Online registrations are now open and close two weeks prior to regional festival dates.

You can edit your registration up to this date if necessary.

COSTS

SGCNZ charges no Entry Fee – the only financial requirement for your participation is payment of a Homeschool cluster SGCNZ Friends’ Subscription. This is a reduced fee of $70.00 per Homeschool cluster, and can be paid online.

You need to be paid up until 31 March 2016 to be eligible to participate. For this fee you also receive four Newsletters per annum, event discounts and other information and opportunities.

Criteria and information for the SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival can be found at

www.sgcnz.org.nz along with information on many other great events.

Please make sure you read the criteria thoroughly, and if you have any questions, please contact either Sharon or Wendy.

Requesting a Mentor

Groups entering the festivals can request an alumnus of previous competitions to mentor their group.

Whether or not your secondary age students have been involved in Shakespeare before or not, the Festivals are a fabulous and exciting ongoing opportunity.

Groups for the 2015 Festivals have already been formed by Wellington and Auckland clusters.

We welcome you to the SGCNZ and are very happy to assist with any questions you may have.

Kind regards

Wendy and Sharon

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From the Smiths: https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 1 October 2014: Three years on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 click here

*****

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:

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

and

Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: http://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/

Coming Events: https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/

Beneficiaries: http://hef.org.nz/2013/where-to-for-beneficiary-families-now-that-the-social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-has-passed-its-third-reading

Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings and the Scoping Survey: https://hef.org.nz/2014/next-steps-deadline-8-december-2014/

The Underground History of American Education – online

Posted on 2015-02-23 by Barbara

John Taylor Gatto is a great supporter of home schooling.

He was named teacher of the year for New York City three times: 1989, 1990, and
1991. He was named teacher of the year for New York State in 1991. Then he quit
teaching.

He has written a must-read book on the history of American education. It has a
great title: “The Underground History of American Education.”

It was published on Lew Rockwell’s site, one chapter at a time. You can
download it here:

http://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/snip/197.htm

Download it. Read it. This is why we need private education and home
schooling.

Image result for John Taylor Gatto

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Please share this information – thanks

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

From the Smiths: https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 1 October 2014: Three years on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 click here

*****

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:

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

and

Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: http://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/

Coming Events: https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/

Beneficiaries: http://hef.org.nz/2013/where-to-for-beneficiary-families-now-that-the-social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-has-passed-its-third-reading

Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings and the Scoping Survey: https://hef.org.nz/2014/next-steps-deadline-8-december-2014/

Parents Are Key Sex Educators, Not Schools

Posted on 2015-02-21 by Barbara

MEDIA RELEASE

20 February 2015

Parents Are Key Sex Educators, Not Schools

Family First NZ is rejecting a call by an Australian sexologist for sex education to be targeted at children as young as five, and says that resources should be targeted at parents to help them educate their own children.

“Parents should be horrified at the prospect of programmes targeted at children as young as five undermining the role and values of parents, and resources which fail to take into account the emotional and physical development of each child and the values of that particular family,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“There is definitely a need for young people to be aware of the harms of pornography, rape and teen pregnancy, and issues around consent, but parents know their children the best and should determine the best timing and most appropriate way to tackle these sensitive topics. A valueless ‘one size fits all’ approach is far too simplistic and can even be harmful.”

“Studies show that the biggest protective factors for coping with puberty and sexual involvement are married parents, family values, parental supervision, and parental expectations for behaviour. What happens at home is the greatest determinant of the outcomes for the young person.”

Family First acknowledges that the Youth Wellbeing Project has excellent resources for parents, and this is where the emphasis should be.

A recent international study found that by the age of ten years old, most children will have already had their first ‘facts of life’ talk with their parents. The online survey of 5,420 parents and 2,569 children aged 5-10 years old was undertaken during 2014 in New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The AVG Technology survey found that most parents plan to have the chat about adult topics including pornography, sex and puberty by the time their kids are 10-years-old, and that 76% believe that the Internet has encouraged the conversation on adult themes with children at an increasingly early age.

“This is a great result and shows that parents are now looking to pre-empt the unacceptable messages being pushed in the media, on the internet, and by groups abusing the sex education curriculum which pollute their young children’s minds and innocence. Parents are the best moral gatekeepers for their children,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“We should be resourcing parents to be empowered to have these talks with their own children.”

A recent review of sex education resources recommended to adolescents in NZ found that they are seriously flawed with both sins of commission and sins of omission, and that critical life and death information is distorted or ignored.

ENDS

For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

Bob McCoskrie – National Director

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Check out how you can support Family First here: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0cd68702160c587ec85116fce&id=9b51bfd3c4

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From the Smiths: https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 1 October 2014: Three years on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 click here

*****

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:

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

and

Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: http://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/

Coming Events: https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/

Beneficiaries: http://hef.org.nz/2013/where-to-for-beneficiary-families-now-that-the-social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-has-passed-its-third-reading

Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings and the Scoping Survey: https://hef.org.nz/2014/next-steps-deadline-8-december-2014/

NCHENZ Survey – please consider filling it out

Posted on 2015-02-16 by Barbara

From NCHENZ – National Council of New Zealand

The NCHENZ would like to hear from all Home Educators not just members.

The 2015 Home Education Survey

February 2015

As you may remember we ran our first Home Education survey in November 2013. We chose to do this because there were very few studies of home education carried out in New Zealand and therefore very little understanding of the breadth and depth of the community. This continues to be the case. (From HEF: The Home Education Foundation via TEACH Bulletin did a few survey’s back in the ’80s and ’90s but there have been none in the last 15 or so years except for NCHENZ’s survey back in 2013.)

We are once again hoping to gain a good overview of our existing NCHENZ members; your aims, your concerns and, of course, some basic statistics.
The gathered results may be used to promote the positive aspects of home education, as well as to dispel any myths or misunderstandings held by others in the wider community. It also informs the direction and issues the NCHENZ committee address within our advocacy role.

Please note that this survey is anonymous. We are not collecting any identifiable information about respondents with one specific exception which will become clear when you reach the end of the survey. In this instance it is totally voluntary to answer this question.
Individual responses within the survey will not be shared. Collated information can and may be shared. Please see how the 2013 information has been handled by clicking on this link to the Survey Summary pdf file.

As you are not identifiable, we ask that you respect the intent of the survey, and fill it in as accurately and fairly as possible.
The survey should take you approximately five to ten minutes to complete and, hopefully, the questions are self-explanatory. Please complete it at one sitting as it is not possible to return to alter your responses should you exit part way through. The survey will be available until 7pm on the 22nd February, after which time we will be closing it to further entries.

You are welcome to forward this email on to home educating friends who are not currently members of NCHENZ for them to contribute to the survey. There is a link at the bottom of this email that allows you to do this.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free to contact us by email.

On behalf of the National Council of Home Educators New Zealand,

NCHENZ Executive Committee

Enter the 2015 Survey

In the early days of Home Education in New Zealand Craig organised a number of surveys through Keystone and TEACH Bulletin. It was good to get as many home educators as possible to answer the surveys. These surveys were very helpful.

I don’t think any surveys have been done for at least 15 years now except for the NCHENZ 2013 survey.

There have been a couple of indepth studies done in the last 10 years.

Beyond Homeschooling NZ 2013 by Jenny Barkley

and

PhD study on Home Education in New Zealand

It would be wonderful if as many people as possible filled out this anonymous survey being done by NCHENZ.

TEACH magazine surveys are not online at the moment

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Please share this information – thanks

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

From the Smiths: https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 1 October 2014: Three years on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 click here

*****

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:

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

and

Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: http://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/

Coming Events: https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/

Beneficiaries: http://hef.org.nz/2013/where-to-for-beneficiary-families-now-that-the-social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-has-passed-its-third-reading

Red Tape Cluster Buster Meetings and the Scoping Survey: https://hef.org.nz/2014/next-steps-deadline-8-december-2014/

Tedd Tripp Shepherding the Heart Conferences

Posted on 2015-02-09 by Barbara

The conference below is being organised by The Firelight Foundation, which has been involved in a running a number of homeschooling conferences over the years e.g. Jay Wile, Sally Clarkson, Steve Demme, Terry Small, Andrew Pudewa and others.

It’s been four years in the making, and now we’re delighted to invite you to join with international author and speaker Dr Tedd Tripp for the Shepherding the Heart NZ tour, beginning this March.

These nationwide events are ideal for ANYONE who is a parent. They will inspire, encourage and equip you through key themes from the best selling book, Shepherding a Child’s heart. Being Christian conferences, they naturally come from a Christian perspective but anyone is welcome to attend. Although not specifically for homeschoolers, there are many homeschoolers attending these conferences throughout the country. And there’s an excellent, thought provoking Teen track available in two of the centres.

*****Tour Dates and Registration Information*****

20 &21 March – Auckland conference Auckland | Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ

24 & 25 March – Palmerston North conference Palmerston North | Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ

26 March – Hastings events: various Hawke’s Bay | Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ

27 & 28 March – Christchurch conference Christchurch | Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ

BONUS EVENT:

Also available for this tour only is a Pastoral Leadership Day specifically for those involved in Pastoral ministry – Pastors, elders, church leaders and their wives, women’s ministry leaders etc.

Pastoral Leadership Day | Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ


	Venue: Howick Baptist Church Dr Tedd Tripp, now retired, was Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church for 29 years.
	View on shepherdingthehearttour.co.nz

Registrations are essential as Dr Tripp is a very popular

author and speaker!

Beat the Earlybird pricing which finishes on 1 March, 2015

Shepherding the Heart Tour NZ | A place to find out about the Shepherding the Heart Tour of NZ in 2015

Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheph erdingthehearttournz

Find out more: http://shepherdingthehearttour .co.nz/?page_id=27

*****Who is Tedd Tripp?*****

Dr. Tedd Tripp is the author of the popular child-rearing book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Shepherding a Child’s Heart Parent’s Handbook and co-author with his wife Margy of Instructing a Child’s Heart. Since 1994 Tedd has maintained an extensive ministry as a conference speaker and presenter of Shepherding the Heart Seminars. His books and video and audio materials are used throughout the world.

“Dr Tripp’s material on parenting is the clearest, most biblically framed, and most helpful that I have ever encountered.” – Dr Edward Welch

Register now: http://shepherdingthehearttour.co.nz/ before the earlybird pricing finishes on the 1st of March.

The Shepherding the Heart NZ Tour is underwritten and run entirely by volunteers. If you would like to help out with the tour in any way, please email us at shepherdingthehearttournz@gmai l.com . We are also looking for people to be contacts in their local churches who are happy to forward information to their congregation. Email if you can help.