1.  PE classes at Springfield College
Springfield College PE Registration Starts Now! The program will be held each Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. in the PE Complex Fieldhouse across both academic semesters. The spring semester runs from February 1 through April 26, excluding March 22 due to the college’s spring break schedule. (In addition, May 3 is scheduled as a make-up day.) Children are broken up into small groups by age. The focus of the class will be the improvement of fundamental motor skills and movement concepts, which will be developmentally appropriate for each age group. The class is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The cost of the program is $20 for one student and $30 for a family (2 or more) for the semester. Checks should be made payable to Springfield College PEHE Majors Club. All checks must be accompanied by a completed waiver form (new students only) and a parking application, which can be obtained from Jennifer Stefaniak at jenabeejo@yahoo.com. Please mail all registration forms and checks to her at 10 Brookside Circle, Wilbraham, MA 01095.
2.  Immediate opening in Watertown Elementary School Teacher
Grace Preparatory Academy (GPA) is a hybrid homeschool-school located in Watertown, Massachusetts. On Mondays and Wednesdays, students gather on campus to learn in traditional, mixed-age classrooms.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, students are taught at home by their parents, according to lesson plans created by the classroom teachers.  GPA is actively seeking a qualified teacher for its 2nd-4th grade class for this upcoming spring semester (January 7-June 5, 2019). Core subjects include math, language arts, history/social studies, and science.
Qualifications
Has elementary classroom teaching experience (qualified and/or certified teachers preferred)
Has experience in a faith-based educational setting (preferred)
Has effective classroom management skills
Enjoys children and desires to see them learn and succeed
Has flexibility and willingness to work closely with parents as a team
Has an outstanding ability to communicate students’ progress and performance with staff and parents
For more information, visit httpss://graceprepboston.org/ or contact Jenna Wertheimer at graceprepboston@gmail.com.
 
3.  Coming soon…
…a new MassHOPE website!
Stay tuned for a new website to be launched very soon for MassHOPE. Congratulations to Karen & Alyssa Brown, winners of Amazon gift cards for submitting photos chosen to be used on the new website.
4.  Connecticut Science Center homeschool day in Hartford
From Zachary Zemantic:

We’re having another Homeschool Day at the Connecticut Science Center! Join hundreds of homeschool teachers and students for hands-on science and learning on Wednesday January 9, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Enjoy 165 interactive exhibits and the new Engineering Lab Exhibition. Experience the Science Center in a safe and social atmosphere that brings textbooks to life.

General Admission for this event is only $11 per person. To purchase your tickets, head to CTScienceCenter.org. A separate ticket is required for movies and the Butterfly Encounter. More information for homeschoolers at the Connecticut Science Center can be found here:

httpss://ctsciencecenter.org/community/homeschoolers/.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at (860)520-2153 or send me an email at zzemantic@ctsciencecenter.org.

Zachary Zemantic, Group Sales Representative
Connecticut Science Center
250 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, CT 06103
(860)724-3623 main, (860)520-2153 direct
5.  Homeschool robotics in Holyoke
WHEN
Wednesday, January 16
2-4 p.m.
WHO
Ages: 10+
WHAT
Design, build, and program your own robots!
Robotics is increasingly important as we design robots to play important roles in our society, doing both autonomous jobs and working with people to accomplish our goals. Combining computer science and engineering, robotics skills are in demand in many industries. Robotics is useful, but also a lot of fun!
In this series of workshops, you will learn how to control motors to make your robots move and use sensors to see the environment around the robot. Using LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics parts, we will build robotic vehicles, program them to navigate autonomously on streets and detect things with sensors, and code our own apps to control them.
We will meet on Wednesdays from 2-4 p.m. The total cost for all five sessions is $125. A 50% sibling discount is available. Meeting dates are 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, and 2/13.
 
WHERE
The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC)
100 Bigelow Street, Holyoke
 
 
6.  HSLDA art contest now accepting entries
Homeschooled students aged 7-19 are invited to enter HSLDA’s 2019 art contest. You can find rules and guidelines, and view the gallery of 2018 winning entries HERE. Contest closes February 1.
7.  Ski/snowboard Wachusett group discounts Thursdays and Fridays
Thursdays
Homeschool Thursday is a six-week session that begins on 1/3/19. Our program time is 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursdays. Lessons are one hour and start at 10:00 – or you may purchase season passes through our group as well and ski as often as you like. This will help our group as well as give you a discount! Pricing for student and adults is  HERE.

Online sign-up information:
Program: HOME SCHOOL THURSDAY
Contact Coordinator: NANCY CHANDO
Step One: Go to www.wachusett.com/schoolgroups.
Step Two: To access your program’s order form, enter code HMST.

Programs are open to students 8 years old and up or 3rd grade and above; adults and parents can sign up as well! Parents can ask Nancy about opportunities for students under the age of 8.

Please contact Nancy Chando at (978)930-0324 or nanchando@comcast.net, with any questions, and she will get back to you as soon as possible.

Fridays – Clonlara and CHEC
1. Registration for the The Clonlara Home School Ski Group at Wachusett Mountain has begun!  If you have a student 8 years or older interested in skiing or snowboarding on eight Fridays from January 4 – March 1 (with February 22 off for vacation week), please register on-line at www.wachusett.com/schoolgroups and enter CLHS for the group code.  Parents can register as well.
Please contact Tammy Cassidy at jccustomwoodworking@verizon.net  to receive more detailed information.

2. All homeschool students in grades 3-12, as well as parents/chaperones are eligible for the CHEC ski/snowboard student program. Our group skis at Wachusett Mountain from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays starting on January 4, 2018. The dates are January 4, 11, 18, and 25; February 1, 8, and 15, and March 1.

OR, you may opt to purchase a discount Season Pass through our group and ski at your convenience!

Here are the highlights:

FEES

  • 8-week lift badge $150.00
  • 8-week ski/board rental $110.00
  • 8-week helmet rental $24.00
  • 6 one-hour lessons $60.00
All beginners and novices are required to take lessons.
Lessons are typically at 10:30 a.m.

Bronze Season Passes may be purchased for $369. Discount gold and silver season passes are available, as well.

Card of Wachusett (COW cards) are available at discounts, too. You can purchase a $50 card for $45 through our group!

How do I sign up?

Step One: Go to www.wachusett.com/schoolgroups
Step Two: Parents enter this Program Code to access order form: CHCH

If you have any questions contact your group coordinator:
Kristen Raskett

call or text: 508-736-2515
Please feel free to share this info! It’s on Facebook, too! And let me know how I can help you this ski season!
 
8. 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 2500 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.
9.  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.
10.  Miss a workshop? or forget to buy a recording?
To order recordings from the 2018 convention, just click on ORDER FORM for a printable form; or go to MassHOPE.org and click on Convention, and then on Recordings on the list on the right. For previous years’ recordings, go to the bottom of the Convention page.

11. 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.

12. 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:  https://smile.amazon.com/ch/04- HYPERLINK “https://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!

13.  Submit Box Tops for convention savings!
Want to submit Box Tops for 2020 convention credit but aren’t sure how to proceed? See the detailed instructions below.
Follow us on Twitter?  @MassHOPE is our Twitter handle.
HOW TO SUBMIT BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
You can earn free or reduced admission to the 2020 convention AND support MassHOPE at the same time!  Bring your Box Tops for Education tabs (found on lots of products you may already buy) with you to any MassHOPE function, or mail them to us c/o Anne Smith, 85 Liberty Street, Haverhill, MA 01832. They should be postmarked by December 31, 2019, for 2020 convention credit. You may choose either of the following options, but please note with your submission which you have chosen:
1. Donate all of them.  The proceeds will be used for MassHOPE scholarships.
2. Receive credit for 50% of the value of your Box Tops toward registration for next year’s convention. The remainder will be used for MassHOPE scholarships. In either case, if you designate a MassHOPE affiliated support group, one half of the MassHOPE portion will be donated to that group.

Box Tops should be enclosed in a sealed envelope. Submissions must include all of the following information: name, address, phone number, email address, number of Box Tops enclosed, option chosen, and (if applicable) name of support group that will benefit.

NOTE: If you have any electronic Box Tops that need to be submitted online, send them to us along with your cardboard Box Tops, and we will submit them online for you.
Please keep track of expiration dates. Box Tops take a LOT of time, and a LOT of work on our end to process. Soon-to-expire Tops will probably not get submitted in time for us to receive any credit for them. We currently honor all those that expire no less than two months from when you mail them or drop them off. We cannot guarantee any others. AGAIN: Box Tops need to be at least two months from expiration. (If you submit Box Tops expiring in under two months we may be able to submit them in time for you to get credit, but we cannot guarantee anything.) Contact Anne Smith at (978)372-1339 or ewsjfamily@juno.com with any questions.

(Please do not send us Campbell’s Labels for Education, Kellogg’s Family Rewards codes, or tabs from any other collection program. We collect only Box Tops for Education.)

*     *     *    
 
The MassHOPE Messenger is published by Massachusetts Homeschool Organization of Parent Educators(MassHOPE). Visit our website at masshope.org/.
 
Any questions about items in this e-news can be sent to info@masshope.org. If you know someone who would like to receive our news, or if you wish to unsubscribe or change your e-mail address, please contact us at info@masshope.org.  Items for possible inclusion in the newsletter should be sent to volunteer@masshope.org. MassHOPE reserves the right to edit or reject any items submitted for the e-news.