1.  MassHOPE Convention April 25-27, 2019
Registration Is Open with Early Pricing
MassHOPE Bucks – Don’t Miss This Fantastic Deal!!
Convention registration is open with early pricing until April 3. At-the-door registration will be available for $10 more per household. Great speakers, vendors, teen track, children’s program and much more. Check it all out at www.masshope.org. Bring friends and family – anyone who wants to know about homeschooling. It’s the best place for them to learn what is available. No matter how long you have been homeschooling, it’s the place to be for refreshing and renewal.
And…it’s not just for homeschoolers. There’s much practical information applicable to any family. If your friends or family have not yet considered home education, they may just catch the vision.
When you pre-register online, don’t miss the special offer for MassHOPE Bucks discounted 20%. You can spend them at face value at any vendor in the exhibit hall selling product onsite. That’s like a 20% discount right up front and it’s even better if a vendor has convention specials, not to mention no shipping cost when you shop onsite. What a deal!!!
2. Speaker spotlight: Eric Ludy
Eric is a favorite at homeschool conventions across the country. He serves as the president of
Ellerslie Mission Society and as senior pastor of the Church of Ellerslie, as well as the lead instructor at Ellerslie Training – an internationally known discipleship training center that equips men and women of all ages to become world-changers for Christ. Eric’s sermons are heard by thousands of listeners around the world each week, and his short films such as The Gospel and Depraved Indifference have impacted millions. When asked about his denominational leanings, Eric says simply, “Just stick Leonard Ravenhill, C.T. Studd, Hudson Taylor, Rees Howells, and Charles Spurgeon into a blender, and that’s pretty close to what I believe.”
Eric’s 2019 sessions at the MassHOPE convention:
(Go to www.masshope.org for full descriptions.)
Reckoning with Truth (Teens)
Lineage of Majesty (Teens)
Ten Simple Proofs – Why We Can Have Unshakable Confidence in the Bible (Teens)
The Power to Do It – Exchanging Failure for Victory in Your Daily Christian Life (Teens)
Canon – Understanding the Supernatural Construction of the Scriptures (Adults)
Raising William Wallace – Parenting with an epic outcome in mind (General Session)
 
3. Speaker spotlight: Brian Phillips
Dr. Brian Phillips is the Director of Training for The Circe Institute (a classical education research institute) and the pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church in Concord, N.C. He teaches literature at Belmont Abbey College, hosts The Commons podcast, and serves as a fire department EMT. Brian is the author/editor of multiple books, including Sunday Mornings: An Introduction to Biblical Worship, The Space Between: A Guide to the Iliad, The Journey Home: A Guide to the Odyssey, and Tales of Wonder. He and his wife, Shannon, have been married for nearly twenty years and homeschool their four children.
Brian’s 2019 sessions at the MassHOPE convention:
(Go to www.masshope.org for full descriptions.)

Embracing the Struggle: Encouragement for Weary Educators
Christ among the Pagans: Christians & Classical Education
The Classical Educator as Lifelong Learner
Trivium & Trinity: Classical Education beyond Dorothy Sayers
4.  Graduation opportunities 
Do you have a graduating high school senior this year?  MassHOPE has two ways of celebrating this milestone. A graduate can participate in either or both!
Friday, April 26, 2019 – Graduate Recognition Ceremony at the DCU Center in Worcester, during the annual convention.
Saturday, June 8, 2019 – Formal Cap and Gown Graduation Ceremony at Holden Chapel.
If interested in learning more about these events, please send an email to graduation@masshope.org. The deadline to sign up is Saturday, April 13, 2019.

5.  Are you on our mailing lists?
To those who have been recently added to our email list through our website: if you would also like to be added to our “snail mail” list to receive information (such as our print newsletter) via the U.S. Postal Service, please send your full name and complete mailing address to newsletter@masshope.org.

6.  MassHOPE leadership camp scholarships
Did you know that MassHOPE has scholarship monies available for Worldview, Summit, and *TeenPact, and GenJ camps and classes? These scholarships can be applied to registration fees. If you are interested in more information about the MassHOPE Leadership Camp scholarships please contact your local MassHOPE support group leader, or email Networking@masshope.org.
*See the next item, below, for TeenPact information.
7. TeenPact! Learn government from a Christian perspective
Deepen Your Relationship with Christ***Earn High School Credit***Make New Friends***Meet your State Representatives***Pray for Them***Learn by Doing***Run for Governor!
TeenPact trains young people to embrace their call in the next generation of leaders by giving them the tools, teaching, and opportunities to do so. Each TeenPact program is marked by spiritual discipleship, student leadership, and a commitment to excellence.
What: TeenPact Leadership School (https://teenpact.com/states/ma/?q=/massachusetts)
Where: The State House, Boston
When: April 30 – May 4, 2018
Who: Ages 13-19 – April 29-May 2, FOUR DAY CLASS
– May 3, ONE DAY CLASS on POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
Ages 8-12   – May 3, ONE DAY CLASS
How: Register (https://teenpact.com/events/) .
Why: Read the testimony of an alumnus of the Massachusetts TeenPact program:
The godliest peers I had growing up were those I knew through TeenPact. Going to TeenPact classes and alumni events strengthened me spiritually, shaped my growth and maturity as a person, and sparked a passion for influencing government and culture and gave me a venue to put that into practice. The educational experiences TeenPact offered were not only challenging and impactful but also loads of fun.
Questions? Email Christine Bourque at  massachusetts@teenpact.com  or Ken Tangel at  ken.tangel@teenpact.com.
8.  Mommy & Me ballet class
From Amber Pollard
Director, Beautiful Feet Ballet School
(508)769-2083
Beautiful Feet Ballet School, a Christian ballet school in Marlborough, is offering their Mommy and Me ballet class at a new time: Fridays, 9:45-10:15 a.m. This class is designed for girls ages 18-36 months to take with their mom or female caregiver. Girls will learn the fundamentals of movement with music and beginner ballet steps. For more information, please visit www.beautifulfeetballet.com.
9.  Special screening of Unplanned in Randolph
Renew Massachusetts Coalition invites you to join them at a special screening of the film Unplanned: The True Story of Abby Johnson at the Showcase Cinema in Randolph. Based on the inspiring true story of Abby Johnson’s pro-life conversion, this promises to be a film you don’t want to miss. See how Abby went from being one of Planned Parenthood’s youngest clinic directors in the nation to pro-life activist. She was involved in approximately 22,000 abortions and counseled many women about their “reproductive choices.”  At one point Abby was a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood and helped lobby for legislation supporting abortion. Then all of that changed after she witnessed an unborn baby in an ultrasound fighting against tools during an abortion.
MARA Special Screening of Unplanned with Special Guest Speaker Tom Harvey of Stop Taxpayer Funding of Abortion
Date: Wednesday, March 27
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Showcase Cinema, 73 Mazzeo Drive, Randolph, MA 02368
Buy Tickets On-linehttps://secure.anedot.com/marainc/chapter8unplanned

If paying by check: 1) make it payable to MARA, Inc”  2) mail to: 170 Granite Ave Milton, MA 02186 3) E-mail: steve@fun-dogs.com (to reserve your ticket, if mailing a check) or for more information.
10.  Survey participants sought
From Leslie Contos, a homeschooling parent and doctoral student who would like to invite you to participate in my dissertation survey:
I homeschooled my own son from 1st grade to college, and after that I entered grad school and am now close to earning my doctoral degree in counselor education. One of my goals is to educate counselors as to what kinds of counseling services would be preferred by homeschoolers. I know what kinds of supports I would have wanted, but want to hear from others. I love the homeschooling community and love the counseling community and hope to see collaboration between the two, whether by providing information on college planning, supporting parents in integrating social emotional learning in the curriculum, or any other aspect that might be helpful and desired by families. I also advocate within the counseling profession to educate counselors on the benefits of homeschooling, the solid research that shows homeschooling is a good option, and the discrimination that homeschoolers sometimes face, and also to make sure counselors are checking their own biases and being open minded if they have clients who homeschool.  It’s a process!

The instrument used in this survey is not ideal, but it is the best fit validated scale I could find. It reviews the typical components of school counseling and asks the participant whether it is something that they would prefer to have and whether they actually have it now.  The survey is anonymous: no emails, IP addresses, or other identifying information is attached to the data.

I am in the home stretch of my doctoral degree… just need 200 completed surveys to finish the dissertation, and I am counting them down one-by-one as they arrive in SurveyMonkey. If you are able to share any of this information and share the survey with any other homeschoolers, I am truly appreciative. More information is available at the survey site.
Leslie Contos, LCPC https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecontos/
Doctoral Student and Adjunct Faculty in Counselor Education
Governors State University
11.  Chick-fil-A hiring for new Woburn location
Chick-fil-A Woburn is now hiring all shifts. Come join our happy serving team. Competitive pay. Closed on Sundays. Flexible schedules. Scholarship opportunities. Our mission is to be “The Shining City on a Hill” for all of our customers and the community! If you want to serve others, come join us! For an application just text the word “serve” to the number 242424. Opening soon at 375 Washington Street in Woburn, Massachusetts.
 
12.  Summer internships at MIT for homeschoolers
Spend your summer learning and doing state-of-the-art science in an MIT Research Lab with this homeschooled high school student summer internship opportunity.
Prof. Matt Shoulders’ Group (http://shoulderslab..mit.edu/): The Shoulders Lab is broadly interested in understanding protein folding in human cells, with a focus on the development of new methods to treat currently incurable, protein misfolding-related diseases.
Prof. Michael Strano’s Group (http://srg.mit.edu/): The Strano Lab is offering projects in the area of plant biology, medicine, and energy applications. Specifically they are offering projects for the design and incorporation of nanoparticles into living plants for new functions such as chemical sensing, infrared communications, and light emission. There are also projects on energy harvesting from ambient heat and sensors to help treat diabetes and cancer.
Details: In total, the labs will be hosting 2-4 high school students from the homeschooled community for 8 weeks this summer (~20 hours/week of work in lab and 10 hours/week of study outside lab). Additional labs beyond the Shoulders and Strano Groups may also host students. If you are interested in a career in science or engineering, this opportunity is a great way to gain experience and learn what it is all about. You will be directly mentored by an MIT PhD student to participate in frontier research in chemical biology, chemical engineering, or the like, gain experience in both basic and advanced lab skills, become acquainted with the scientific literature, and present at scientific meetings.
Requirements: Appropriate candidates for this internship will be homeschooled high school sophomores or juniors at least 16 years of age by June 1, be committed and mature, have a very strong interest in chemistry, biology, and/or bioengineering, and have a solid science background at the high school level. The internship will involve a time commitment of ~30 hours/week over the 8-week period, paid at a rate of $11.50/hour. Candidates must be able to participate continuously in the internship from June 10-August 2. This opportunity does not include travel, MIT housing, or other accommodation. Parents will be responsible for all such arrangements, including provisions for local guardianship for the student. MIT is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. All candidates are welcome.

How to apply for the internship: Send your resume, high school transcript, and a two-page description of your background, what motivates you to pursue scientific research, and the types of research that most interest you to Betty Lou McClanahan (blm@mit.edu) by March 10, 2019. Candidates will be selected for phone interviews in approximately the middle of March.

 
13.  Come visit homeschool co-op in Hudson
The Central Mass. Homeschool Co-op in Hudson would like to invite you to come visit. There are three meetings left and you’re welcome to choose a date to visit and see if the co-op is a good fit for your family. The remaining meetings that are open for visitors are on March 22 and April 12. [Please know that while your children are welcome to visit with you, they will only be observing the classes. The teachers work very hard each week and they feel it’s asking too much to have them prepare materials for extra students. Please let your children know they will be observing and not participating, especially in grades 4 and up.]
If you’d like to visit, please send an email to Wendy at cmhscoop7@gmail.com with the date you’d like to visit as well as your children’s names and ages, so that she can place them in age-appropriate classes. If your child is in grade 6 (as of this past Aug. 31) or up, please take a look at what classes we are currently offering and let her know which classes your child(ren) would like to sit in on. The web address is www.cmhscoop.org. Please get her all of this information no later than the Tuesday before your Friday visit so that she has time to let the teachers know to expect visitors.
14.  Save the date: Lobby Day on Beacon Hill
From Robert Aufiero at Renew MA Coalition:

Every year, the Renew Massachusetts Coalition and the Massachusetts Family Institute team up to conduct a Lobby Day on Beacon Hill. Activists from all over Massachusetts visit the State House to meet with their elected officials and hear from conservative leaders. It’s important that elected officials such as the Governor and our legislators hear about legislation we support and bills we oppose. Your presence also encourages our friends in the legislature, like Rep. David DeCoste, Rep. Marc Lombardo, Sen. Dean Tran, and Sen. Ryan Fattman. You can help demonstrate that there are many voters in the Commonwealth who care about the right to life, religious liberty, and the rule of law.

Conservative Lobby Day on Beacon Hill
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (registration and coffee at 9 a.m.)
Park Street Church*
1 Park Street, Boston

RSVP required, so we will have enough food and materials. Please RSVP by emailing Robert@RenewMACoalition.org with your name, address where registered to vote, email, and phone.

There are many bills that have been filed that we want to promote throughout the legislative session, including ones to strengthen religious liberty, oppose sanctuary cities, and redirect our tax dollars away from Planned Parenthood. We’ll also need to make our opposition known to the new Roe Act that would remove parental consent laws and expand late term abortion, and to health curriculum issues, the counseling ban, and any efforts to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state.

*Please note that the views expressed during lobby day sponsored by MFI/RMC do not necessarily reflect the views of all of Park Street church’s individual members.

 
15. Your news items wanted
Do you know of an event or activity in or near Massachusetts that would edify or interest the homeschool community? Email Anne Smith at ewsjfamily@startmail.comand we will review it for possible inclusion in the MassHOPE Messenger.

For-fee services: The MassHOPE Messenger is a biweekly e-newsletter that is sent free to approximately 2,500 mailboxes. Unfortunately, it is not free to distribute. This cost increases each year, and MassHOPE has limited funds. Therefore we charge a nominal fee of $10 for unsolicited submissions from individuals, and from most organizations or groups unaffiliated with MassHOPE, who wish to advertise their for-fee services. Items will ordinarily run in two consecutive issues.
16. Remember to “Like” MassHOPE on Facebook
“Like” MassHOPE’s Facebook page: facebook.com/MassHOPE?fref=ts. You’ll be encouraged in your homeschooling journey and will receive all updates for upcoming events.
17. Do you receive The Voice of HOPE?
MassHOPE publishes a quarterly print newsletter, The Voice of HOPE. In addition to announcements you might also find in the Messenger, we provide three or four full-length articles on a variety of homeschooling topics. If you would like to add your name, please send your name and “snail mail” address to newsletter@masshope.org.

18. Support MassHOPE through AmazonSmile
Do you shop at Amazon? If you shop through AmazonSmile, Amazon will make a donation to MassHOPE! If you’re not already signed up, you can do so more easily than ever. To start supporting our organization, simply click this link, which is unique to MassHOPE: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/04-HYPERLINK “http://smile.amazon.com/ch/04-3220412”3220412. That’s all! From then on, when – and only when – you enter the Amazon website through amazonsmile.com,Amazon will automatically donate a 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to MassHOPE. Thank you for supporting the work of your Christian state homeschool organization!