| 7 June 2008 | to | 12 June 2008 |
5 nights - 6 days
2008 prices per night - Adults $34.50, Teens $17, Children 6 - 12 $11.50, Children 5 and under free
$50 deposit required for securing cabin.
Accommodation: All ensuite cabins: 3, 4, 6 & 8 bedrooms available
For bookings and further information:
Contact: Carol Vanderbilt
Ph: 9850 2318
Mobile: 0421 499 373
Email: earthangelcarole@hotmail.com
The Portsea Camp is at 3704 Point Nepean Road, Portsea Melway Map 156 F2
| 22 April 2008 | to | 23 April 2008 |
The challenge is held at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus, Geelong and is designed, through fun and practical hands-on activities, to inspire young people about the opportunities available in science, technology and engineering.
For more details or if you are interested in entering as part of a home-ed team, contact Sue on 5439 5134 or at robwight@optusnet.com.au
Held by Deakin University in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Geelong South.
Deakin have put some videos online of footage taken at last year’s Challenge
Special Feature: - Home Educating on a Budget
We make suggestions for saving your home education dollar.
Articles:
Plus our regular features…
Purchase this issue
Subscribe to Otherways/join the Home Education Network
Back issues of Otherways are available from our Online shop
| 9 April 2008 |
Stephanie Tolan, fiction author and expert in gifted-education, will be visiting Victoria in April this year. She will be giving workshops, bookchats and lectures for parents of gifted children.
Winner of numerous literary awards, she has specialised in writing books that explore the sensitivities of adolescence.
Surviving the Applewhites is about a home educating family and won the prestigious Newbery Honor Book Award. Here’s how the US School Library Journal described the novel:
“In this laugh-out-loud novel, a young teen on the fast track to the juvenile detention center suddenly finds himself living in rural North Carolina with the outrageously eccentric Applewhite clan. Jake Semple, 13, has been expelled from a long line of schools before coming to the Applewhites to be home-schooled. This extended family forms what a visiting reporter calls an ‘artistic dynasty’, with various creative endeavours absorbing the adults’ time and attention. Jake is left largely to his own devices, since the family doesn’t believe in telling their charges what or when to study. He develops a loyal following consisting of an active four-year-old and an overweight basset hound, and his transformation is complete once he becomes enmeshed in the family’s production of The Sound of Music… Running beneath the narrative that gently pokes fun at everything from sculpture to TV documentaries, though, is also the story of a boy allowing himself to belong and begin to discover his own potential. This has terrific booktalk and read-aloud potential, and will help fill the need for humorous contempory fiction.”
The bookchat on Surviving the Applewhites will take place at the Belgrave library.
Tickets $20 per person or $30 per family
For bookings and for full details of Stephanie’s Victorian tour see www.giftedresources.org
| 7 April 2008 |
Stephanie Tolan, fiction author and expert in gifted-education, will be visiting Victoria in April this year. She will be giving workshops, bookchats and lectures for parents of gifted children.
Winner of numerous literary awards, she has specialised in writing books that explore the sensitivities of adolescence.
The writing workshop will be conducted at Dromkeen in Riddells Creek and is for a small group of teenagers with a gift and passion for writing. There will also be a workshop for parents on parenting gifted children the same day.
For bookings and for full details of Stephanie’s Victorian tour see www.giftedresources.org
| 18 June 2008 | ||
| 1:00 pm | to | 2:00 pm |
Harmer Hall, Arts Centre,
100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
Cost: $13 per person
Suit ages 10 years and above Home ed excursion to a high energy music extravaganza taking you on a journey through the ages of Rock music.
From the blues through 50s rock n roll, 60s flower power, 70s disco, 80s punk, 90s grunge and everything in-between. Electric atmosphere with live band, dancers and live video.
Enquiries Ali Hudson huddys@bigpond.com
Tickets now sold out
| 20 February 2008 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
ANZAAS, Victorian Division
EVENING SCIENCE TALK IN MELBOURNE
All welcome, free entry (No booking needed)
Refreshments following the talk.
Venue: Casey Plaza Theatre (RMIT), Bowne Street, off LaTrobe Street (Melway 579 H6)
Mr Geoff Williams and Dr Melody Serena from the Australian Platypus Conservancy speaking on…
Platypus ecology in the Melbourne area.
The platypus is regarded as one of the world’s strangest animals. It is a mammal but, like a reptile, lays eggs and produces venom. The animal’s unique bill also contains hundreds of electrical receptors which it uses to locate its food.
People think this supposedly shy and sensitive creature is found only in pristine rivers, far from our cities. But the platypus can actually inhabit a range of water bodies in close proximity to humans.
Since 1995 the Australian Platypus Conservancy, together with Melbourne Water, has undertaken studies to map where platypus occur in the metropolitan area and learn more about the species’ ecology in urbanised habitats. These have shown water quality and toxic contaminants in bottom sediment to be just two aspects of platypus habitat influencing the survival of Melbourne’s platypus populations.
Better understanding of the animal’s remarkable mobility (which has seen some individuals make journeys of more than 50 kilometres) and its unexpectedly long lifespan is providing some insight into how the species might respond to drought, flood and longer term climate change.
ANZAAS Melbourne science talks series acknowledges the support by the Finkel Foundation.
Fun Stuff With Friends is our new program of group sessions which expands on our Science at Monash program. For details of the program for Term 1, see the Fun Stuff With Friends section
| 26 February 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:30 pm |
| 4 March 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:30 pm |
| 15 April 2008 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
| 29 April 2008 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
Fun Stuff with Friends is an expansion on our science program. We will have a range of sessions on history, science, geography and more topics.
Venue: Mount Waverley Guide Hall, Fairway Reserve Fairway Avenue
(just off the Forster Road exit on SE Freeway) Melways Map70E5
There are three levels of session, but the ages are just indicative - parents should decide which they think their child will enjoy:
Bookings have now opened for all sessions. To book, use this form
Journey Through the Middle Ages
Tuesday 26th February
10.30 - 12.30
Young Children & Junior (YJ1)
Most suitable for 9 yrs & under
Cost per child: $15 members / $17 non-members
Come and enjoy this session on medieval history with medieval reenactment group ‘Days of Knights’
Journey with a noble lady and her attendants as she travels from her manor, through the farmlands, to the town to watch the greatest spectacle of the Middle Ages, a tournament. Along the way, we meet a peasant, an entertainer, a craftsperson, and knights.
The session includes the children:
* learning skills like spinning yarn, making chain maille, weaving and wheat grinding
* participating in juggling and games of skill
* practicing courtly manners by learning to reverence (a medieval bow), dance or sing
* making and handling armour
* watching knights fight in tournament style with real steel swords
We examine many facets of medieval life including:
housing, food, clothing, social class, work, entertainments, social structure and government, health, crafts, pageantry and the Tournament.
The journey is run as an interactive story, with the children trying new things, hands-on, under the medieval group. It’s a unique, wonderful introduction to the Middle Ages from the company described as being Australia’s premier medieval education organisation.
A Day in the Middle Ages
Tuesday 4th March
Junior & Senior (JS1) 10.30am-2.30pm (inc ½ hr lunch break)
Most suitable for 10 yrs & over
Cost per child: $15 members / $17 non-members
Bookings Now Open - click here to book
Days of Knights, the medieval education specialists, bring the world of the Middle Ages alive. What was the daily life of a peasant, a tradesman, a noble lady or knight like? What did they wear? What did they eat? How did they work? How did they relax?
What role did each play in society, and how did they relate to the people around them?
Through interactive sessions students learn the answers to these questions, and more, by actually performing the dances, playing the games, using the tools and taking part in the same activities a person in the Middle Ages would have. This sort of heuristic learning (hands-on learning by experience) mirrors the medieval education most people would have received.
The Peasant - Peter adopts the persona of a 12th century peasant living in rural England. Students will learn what the life of a peasant entailed. The clothing, food and shelter a peasant would have used will be examined. Students will learn to use a drop spindle to make woollen thread and a game that peasants entertained themselves with. By the end of the session, they will have had a glimpse of how and where the peasant fitted into society, the kind of life they had and what daily life would have been like for them.
The Armourer - For this session, Jason takes on the role of a 13th century armourer. Students will learn about the emerging middle-class of tradesfolk, merchants and professionals. Guilds will be discussed, along with other social and political developments in the preceding century. Students will have the opportunity to try their hand at crafts and examine and wear items of armour.
The Noble Lady - In this session, Lillian plays the part of a 12th century noblewoman. The role of women in the Middle Ages will be examined. Students will learn about Courtly Love, and the development of the notions of Romantic Chivalry through the works of the Troubadours and other entertainers of the Medieval Courts while learning a court dance and the art of calligraphy with a quill and ink.
The Knights - The final session, which for many students is the highlight of their day, sees two knights pitting their skills against one another in full armour in a tourney combat held in the presence of a great lady. Students learn about the important role the Tournament played in the life of the knight, and feel the thrill spectators would have known as these trained warriors vie with one another for the prize. The armour, weapons and equipment of a 14th century knight are explained, as are the differences between the sport that was the Tourney, and the reality that was war.
An Inconvenient Truth
15th April with David Toovey from Australian Conservation Foundation
Young Children & Junior (YJ2) 11am-12.00pm
Most suitable for 9 yrs & under
Cost per child: $8 members / $10 non-members
Bookings Now Open - click here to book
Junior & Senior (JS2) 1.00pm-2.00pm
Most suitable for 10yrs & over
Cost per child: $8 members / $10 non-members
Bookings Now Open - click here to book
David has just completed year 12 at Mentone Grammar. During his VCE, David studied Geography, which gave him a detailed understanding of climate change and its impacts and causes. For this subject, David received a perfect score of 50 and was awarded a Premier’s Award for his efforts. From this experience, David was chosen as one of six high-school students from around the country to be trained as a Climate Ambassador by Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore in conjunction with the Australian Conservation Foundation. David will present a version of An Inconvenient Truth on the causes of climate change and the many practical solutions that we can all take to reduce our carbon footprints. David is keen to show that everyone can take some action to make a difference. David’s interest in climate change stems from his passion for social justice issues. David was recently appointed the next Director of the Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run aid and development organisation and hopes that by giving this presentation, he can help everyone understand the impact that climate change will have on the poorest in our world. David will engage the children in some fun activities to show what individuals can achieve. David is also keen to answer any questions that students may have and is excited to come and give his presentation.
Wurundjeri ways
29th April with Barry Coombes from Parks Victoria
Young Children & Junior (YJ3) 11am-12.00pm
Most suitable for 9 yrs & under
Cost per child: $8 members / $10 non-members
Bookings Now Open - click here to book
Junior & Senior (JS3) 1.00pm-2.00pm
Most suitable for 10yrs & over
Cost per child: $8 members / $10 non-members
Bookings Now Open - click here to book
Barry is a descendant of the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of most of Melbourne’s, western, northern and eastern suburbs, including much of the Yarra Valley. Barry has worked for Parks Victoria (PV) and its predecessors in a number of roles since the early 1990s. He has completed a Diploma in Conservation and Land Management, several units of the Bachelor of Park Management, and many other courses that relate to native-title law, and cultural heritage protection and legislation. His current role as Team Leader of Indigenous Cultural Heritage involves working with Indigenous communities to foster meaningful and lasting relationships, exploring opportunities for Indigenous tourism/business enterprises, organising and co-facilitating Cross-cultural Training PV’s non-Indigenous staff, and ensuring that Indigenous cultural heritage sites and values are appropriately managed and protected. He is also an accredited fire-fighter and has played an active role in wildfire suppression and prescribed burning. Barry will tell some stories about the way the traditional owners of Australia managed their land. He will talk about ways they coped when they had droughts, how fires were used and perhaps about some significant cultural sites. He may even tell us a little about his job.
Bookings are essential
Please do not book and then not attend as places are limited and people who don’t turn up cause others on the waiting list to miss out unnecessarily and can cause problems with meeting the cost of running the sessions. It is important that if you cannot make it to a session that you give the organisers enough time to inform people on the waiting list that there is a place for them. Although the waiting lists are sometimes quite long, we do sometimes get a large number of people dropping out - in one class 11 people from the waiting list got into the class!
For bookings, please use the booking form which will ask you to provide the following:
If you have any questions you can email Kirsty at science@home-ed.vic.edu.au.
| 27 February 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:00 pm |
| 5 March 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:00 pm |
| 12 March 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:00 pm |
| 26 March 2008 | ||
| 10:30 am | to | 12:00 pm |
WHEN: 4-week block 27th Feb, 5th March, 12th March, and 26th March
(last four weeks of term 1)
Wednesday mornings from 10:30AM for about an hour with a break in the middle
(finish around 12:00)
WHERE: Newstead Community Centre, Lyons Street Newstead
WHAT: plate spinning, diabolo, juggling and other circus stuff
WHO: Team Henderson – circus performer, musician and amazing human being
COST: $40 per person for 4 sessions paid at or before the first session please
BRING: Your family, money and a snack. All equipment is supplied.
OTHER IMPORTANT BITS:
The cost includes hall hire so please pay the money to Deb Capp who will manage the financial stuff.
Team would appreciate some help from parents.
Parents are also welcome to participate.
The classes are dependent on numbers and the classes will be confirmed on 18th February if they are to proceed. If you are interested, please contact Deb before the 18th so that she knows whether she has the numbers to proceed.
Contact Deb at either Email: weepingwillow@mmnet.com.au Or Phone: 54762635
