MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGER

An Attitude for the Times.

Dear Friends,

We have all been challenged by the Corona Virus. How we respond to this challenge is critical. Will we respond by fear or by faith?

In my last letter to you I encouraged you to protect you and your family from the secular materialism and atheism, which pervades our society. Ironically, we are now looking to protect ourselves again; this time from the Corona virus.

Thankfully, our nation’s leaders have established safety measures of hygiene, distancing and isolation, to counter this threat to health and life. However, the virus also brings a massive economic threat, which comes at an exorbitant cost to our livelihoods.

We must ask the oft-quoted question “How shall we then live?” in the face of threats to our lives and livelihoods?

Our national recovery will take a long time. So, I want to encourage you to adopt an attitude of faith in God, during this crisis.

Di and I attended our Church’s online service on Sunday, where the Pastor read and applied Psalm 91 to our lives at this crucial time. This Psalm tells us of God’s protection to those who have made the Lord, the Almighty God, their refuge and their first love. If you are relying on God, Psalm 91 promises you that He will:

• answer your prayer when you call to Him
• be with you in time of trouble
• protect you when you are under attack

This is great comfort to followers of Jesus.

If you are not connected to God in the way Psalm 91 describes, you can start NOW. What have you got to lose? What can you offer that is better than having God working with you in your life? God loves people so much. He loves you so much. He wants to do life with you.

So, we still need to address the question, if God is for us, “How shall we then live?”

We can trust God’s promises. They do not fail, nor do they fade with time. For that reason, I want to finish with some relevant quotations from God’s Word.

Jesus said,

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1

He is still telling us to not be troubled in our hearts. We live by faith in Him.

However, anxiety can creep into our hearts. It is part of the human condition. If you feel any anxiety during this time, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that the fear is not from God. He has given us a spirit of Power, Love and a Sound Mind. It says:

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”

So, Christians are not to hold onto an attitude of fear, dread, timidity or even faithlessness. That is not from God. We have God’s power and love and our thoughts are to be confident, that we are protected, safe and that we have a future.

As home schoolers, we are to protect our families and to go on with our family’s education. During this crisis, we are to:

• walk closely with the Lord for protection – (Psalm 91)
• not allow our hearts to be troubled. We are to believe in Jesus – (John 14:1)
• live in power and love and hold fast to direct our minds to God’s safe and saving promises (2 Timothy 1:7)

We are to adopt and maintain this attitude of faith in God during this crisis. We are to let it shape our behaviours as parents and we are to model it and communicate it to our children. This is the advantage of us teaching our own children.

ACHS is still open, although we are complying with all required national and state health measures. We are pleased to support you as you continue to function in your high and holy calling of educating your children.

Yours for Christ and Christian home education,

Terry Harding

Manager.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Postage Safeguards

In the current climate, we at ACHS are doing all that we can to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our staff. To this end we ask that you reconsider your need to send items via registered post. When a parcel is sent registered post, it requires a staff member to visit our local post office, as they are unable to be delivered in person to our office to be signed.

For those who use registered postage to ensure the delivery of your results, there are a couple of steps that you can undertake to ensure that all results are recorded should a parcel accidentally go missing in the post.

• The first and most important measure, is to ensure that all results are recorded accurately on the Supervisor’s Progress Card
• Secondly, some families also choose to keep photos of the tests that they send in, just in case.
• Return tests and attendance monthly.

HIGH SCHOOL MATTERS!

February saw ACHS celebrate with students at our Celebration Evening in Melbourne and our first ever QLD Celebration event.

Our Melbourne event was in a new location and on all accounts was a fantastic afternoon and evening. We had students graduate from ABC’s right up to year 12. A huge congratulations to all the award recipients but in particular our Graduates, Sarah Grosbois & Kate Verzeletti (ABC’s), Samuel Fuentes (Year 10) and Rachel Fuentes (Year 12). We are all looking forward to seeing more of you at the next one.

It was also fantastic to hear from Alumni, Esther Harding, on all the wonderful work she has been up to since graduating from ACHS.

ACHS Melbourne “Class” of 2019

Our first ever Brisbane celebration day was such an amazing time of fellowship and amazing food and coffee. It was so good to put faces to names and spend time in a relaxed environment. Hopefully we will have some graduates to celebrate with at our next event.

Dr Harding sharing on the history of home schooling at the SE QLD celebration Lunch

ACHS would like to thanks Bundoora Conference centre, La Salita Italian Restaurant and Twin Rivers Café for their warm hospitality and support for our events.

If you have any feedback or requests for us when it comes to celebration events, please do not hesitate to email me at nathanroberts@achs.edu.au . These events are planned and shaped around the feedback and requests we get from you. The more we receive the more we can action. Some feedback we are contemplating is moving the events to the end of the year and a NSW celebration event, but we need more requests for these to gain traction.

Nathan

HAPPY EASTER - Celebrate Life in Christ!

Easter is celebrated around the world at this time. It is more than chocolate and Easter holidays. Easter is the time that Christians remember and celebrate the death, burial and THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM OUT OF DEATH. It is THE pivotal issue of Christianity. If Jesus was still dead, there would be no Christianity.

The Scriptures tell us that God has fully overcome death. He accomplished this by Jesus going through the experience of His own death and then majestically rising up out of that death. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates to all of humanity and to the myriads of angels and to the forces of darkness, that death has no authority or power over Him. He is the Lord of Life. One of His names is “the Life” (John 14:6).

Those of us who are followers of Jesus are declared to be “in Christ” and thus have His eternal life. Death is not the cessation of our existence. Because Jesus is alive now, we have the guarantee of life after our death – “Eternal Life”. God invites all people of all nations into this relationship with Him.

It is important as a Christian educator, that you celebrate the beauties of the resurrection of Jesus, with your children. Here is an Easter project your children may enjoy.

Terry made this video last year. In it he talks about the importance of the resurrection of Jesus in History. Why not watch the video and then take on the challenge to create your own Time Line! Terry allowed a scale of one metre to 1,000 years. Be sure to include the birth dates of you and your children, so that they get a perspective on His-Story.

ANZAC DAY

25^th April is ANZAC Day. On this day, we celebrate the sacrifices which the members of both Australia’s and New Zealand’s armed forces made in various theatres of war. This year we will celebrate ANZAC Day with correct social distancing due to the COVID-19 crisis.

ANZAC Day is so special to all Australians. We all have relatives who have served in the military forces on our behalf. Commencing from the participation of our forebears prior to Federation, then as the Nation of Australia, Australians have participated in many and varied theatres of war. These include the Boer War (1899-1902), the Chinese Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901), through two World Wars, Russia, Malaita, Spain, Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, the Gulf War, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and ISIL. There are other theatres of war not named here.

It is estimated that 102,930 Australians have been killed, 226,060 wounded and 34,733 have been taken as prisoners of war, in these theatres of war, since Federation in 1901.

While we remember our military men and women, who have sacrificed a period of their lives or who have lost their lives for us, this sacrificial giving of oneself clearly reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, God in the flesh, who gave His life for us.

Jesus said, that to give one’s life for a friend is a demonstration of the greatest love.

“Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

We are grateful for the sacrifice that Australians have made in order to protect the Australian people and to preserve our freedoms. This is why we celebrate ANZAC Day.

MOTHER’S DAY - Celebrate Life & Nurture

Mother’s Day is a wonderful time to celebrate mothers and motherhood. Mothers are the bearers of life. Our mothers are the ones who have given themselves in so many ways so that we as their children can live, and live life well.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 the Apostle Paul describes how he and his team of teachers taught the Christian converts at Thessalonica. In this passage he states that being a teacher involves embracing the best attributes of mothering and of fathering. Verses 7 and 8 list several features of motherhood, which are the dynamics of producing well-developed children. Mothers are to be:

• gentle
• nourishing
• loving
• affectionate
• imparters of spirituality
• imparting their very souls or lives

to their children.

In home schooling, the majority of front-line educators are the mothers. Home schooling could not exist without the thousands of mothers who give their lives for this special ministry of educating their children in and around the home and their local community.

We give thanks to God for our mothers – and no wonder we make them a cuppa in bed on Mother’s Day! Let’s show our appreciation to all of our mothers on this special day.

At ACHS, we salute our mothers. Keep on keeping on ladies!

2020 ACC/ACHS Canberra Excursion

Recently one of our students was able to attend the Australian Christian College and Australian Christian Home Schooling excursion to our national capital. Our students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. This included Parliament House, National Electoral Education Centre and The Australian War Memorial. They were also able to immerse themselves in interactive education at places like the Australian Institute of Sport, Questacon Science Centre and the National Zoo.

This was such a fantastic trip for all involved and we would love to have more ACHS students attend the next excursion in 2022. If your child will be in upper primary in 2022, contact ACHS for more information. ACHS will endeavour to assist with the cost of the trip through assistance from the Australian Government and fundraising ideas.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship Education. To assist our families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $310 (this is dependent on your location) per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

COVID-19

The next few months are going to be a challenge to all Australians. It looks like most children in Australia will be doing their academic work at home. It is important to keep within the guidelines that our national and state leaders have prescribed.

Your children will be at home. For ACHS families this is the norm, so they are used to that. However, after they finish their PACE work, they, like all other children will still face the same restrictions of social distancing and possibly isolation.

Here are a few reminders as you address the way you may want to operate at home.

Establish your routine

Make the routine work for you. The routine is not your slave master. You are driving it. A good routine is your servant.

Set daily goals

Remember to use your student’s Goal Card. If you have not done this before, review the Parent Training Video and follow the guidelines.

Converse with your child about Learning

Don’t forget to quiz your child, vocabulary checks, Checkups, Self-Tests etc.

Check if your child is Worried

Be careful of exposing them to too much negative COVID-19 information via TV, Internet etc. Don’t have the TV news on too much or during academic work time.

Control the Narrative - Especially on the Internet and TV

ALWAYS monitor how much time your child spends online and what your child is watching online or on TV. Make sure that you control the narrative. You are the boss, your child is a child (even your teenagers). You are in charge.

Encourage Physical Exercise

But remember to keep the social distancing protocols

Use special privileges wisely

e.g. let them play with Lego, read favourite books, do hobbies etc after their academic goals are completed.

Breaks during Academic work

Make sure that your child has sufficient “chill out” times for breaks, snacks, recreation and exercise during their academic time.

Bal-A-Vis

Here is a WONDERFUL exercise which will assist in your child’s personal development. It is called “Bal-a-vis-x”. We looked at this activity last year and we would encourage you to take it on board again this year.

Using bouncy, rubber balls you can encourage your child to develop coordination skills and cognitive growth. It is cheap, effective and it’s a lot of fun, it can be addictive as children seek to perform more difficult manoeuvres.

There are plenty of videos to teach you variation and development.

Check the first 2 videos which are quick and give you a good idea of Bal-a-vis-x.

The third vid gives you a deeper understanding of this great new form of exercise.

FACEBOOK UPDATES

Hi Families!

Just wanting to send everyone a quick update to let you know about what we are planning for our closed Facebook Group this year.

Continuing this year, I will be posting new videos weekly. You may also see some videos from Nathan and Matthew! They will be short thoughts and reflections to provide a space to encourage one another.

If you would like to become a member of our Facebook Group but haven’t been added yet, just send us an email or click on the link below. Then keep an eye open for the weekly videos.

ACHS Closed Facebook Group

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Karen

Log-O-Phile

We use spoken and written words every single day to communicate ideas, thoughts, and emotions to those around us. Sometimes we communicate successfully, and sometimes we’re not quite so successful. A good vocabulary can help us say what we mean. Here are some new words to add to your student’s vocabulary.

Scripture Memory

At the start of lessons every morning, have your children read aloud, with you, the Monthly Scripture Memory Passage. Have them read either from their Bibles or from a printed sheet. Adjust the size of the passage to fit your child’s age and skill level. This exercise should only take a minute or so.

After a single, aloud reading every day for a month, your child may have memorised the passage. If not, they may need some dedicated time to practice e.g. at night after dinner etc.

When your child can say the Scripture passage to you by heart, record this on your Supervisor’s progress card and the Monthly Attendance Sheet. Put a Bible sticker on their Star Chart and don’t forget to give them a reward for this important achievement.

You are free to use any version of the Bible for this activity. You may wish to download an electronic version of the Bible, for printing the Scripture passages for your child to learn, or you may click on the passages below for a printable version.

Trading Post

Trading post will continue to be a place where you can connect with other families, who might be looking for 2nd hand score keys or resource materials. You may email us here at ACHS with your advertisements, and we will endeavour to list as many as we are able. When sending us items to be listed for sale, please follow these important guides:

1. Used PACEs and PACE tests are NOT ALLOWED to be resold. Only used score keys and resource materials such as literature books may be advertised through the trading post.
2. Ensure that you provide accurate contact details. The ACHS office does not manage the transactions listed in the trading post. If you would like people to buy your items, provide them with the best way to get in contact with you.
3. When listing your items, list them clearly and accurately.
   1. Maths SK 1037-39, 1040-42, and so on.
   2. English SK 1037-39, 1040-42, and so on.
4. It would also be advisable if you are able to identify if the Score Keys are edition 3 or 4. As there may be differences in content between editions 3 and 4, it will assist you in finding a buyer.

Attendance Sheets

Keeping a record of your children’s attendance to their learning is an integral part of the procedure here at ACHS. Not only does it form part of your record keeping requirements for your homeschool registration, but it helps us see an overall picture of how the students are working. You may download the attendance sheets here:

April Attendance Sheet

May Attendance Sheet

June Attendance Sheet