NOW!! Youth Bowling League

Hermitage Lanes Announcement

League Starts Sunday Jan. 27  4pm   For More Info or to SIGN UP - call 883-8900

Hermitage Lanes
3436 Lebanon Road
Hermitage, Tennessee 37076

Homeschool Trip to Costa Rica

 ...organized by Carolina Homeschooler

 

Explore Costa Rica with us!

Join us for our March 2014 trip to Costa Rica! We'll get to see amazing wildlife, zip-line through rainforests, hike through cloud forests, frolic in hot springs, go horseback riding on the slopes of a volcano, meander through the forest canopy on hanging bridges, visit a family farm and learn about local culture, experience Costa Rican ranch life, play at the beach, and more! (Children must be at least six years old to attend and participate in all the activities.)

In order to confirm our current rates, we must reach our group minimum by next Thursday (January 31). For more information and to register, visit our website.

Tennessee Historical Records available

Early Tennessee Legislative Records Now Available Online in a Convenient Searchable Database

(Published: January 23, 2013)

Tennesseans who want to get a glimpse at the foundations of our state’s political and social history can do so with the help of a new resource from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The Early Tennessee Legislative Records database is now online, providing an index to records from as early as 1793 through the 1840s. These papers chronicle the most important events in Tennessee history of that era, including the formation of county and boundary lines, the mustering troops for war and amendments to the state constitution.

Researchers of the Early Tennessee Legislative Records can see, for example, how the first legislative attempt to ban slavery in Tennessee was drafted and failed in 1819. Many of the documents indexed in the collection have not been seen since the original clerks folded them away at the end of the legislative sessions. Included in the records are acts, original bills, failed bills, resolutions, amendments, messages, petitions from citizens, and tally sheets showing how members voted on the issues.

During this period, the legislature dealt with matters now considered quite personal. Divorce petitions, disputes over land boundaries and requests to recognize illegitimate children all appear in the early legislative records. Genealogists and historians can learn a great deal about early Tennesseans and their lives from these files.

“This is an exciting addition to TSLA online collections, because the Early Tennessee Legislative Records are such a rich source of information about the beginning of our state,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “In addition to these records beginning with our state's infancy, when Tennessee was merely the ‘Territory South of the River Ohio,’ TSLA also houses all the subsequent records up through the most recent General Assembly. The Legislative Records are a veritable gold mine for historians and average citizens alike.”

While the majority of the records indexed date from before 1830, newer records will be added on an ongoing basis. This is a collection that is constantly growing. The Early Tennessee Legislative Records index can be found online at phttp://tennsos.org/TSLA/rg60/

Burn Notice STEM Science Challenge

(I do not watch Burn Notice so can not endorse it.  I do, however, like good STEM contests with great scholarships. :)  )

  Website for Burn Notice Science Challenge

USA Network and Burn Notice are giving high school students across the country the chance to test their science knowledge and creativity! To enter, students must solve a safe yet compelling challenge that your favorite character on the show might face, such as covertly communicating with other operatives, surveilling enemy territory and gathering intelligence on adversaries. Grand Prize winners will receive a $10,000 scholarship, meet cast & crew of Burn Notice and be recognized on USA Network! The Burn Notice Science Challenge encourages learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and shows that science can be fun, interesting and rewarding! Good luck students!

LOUD AND CLEAR

Just because spies often have to work alone, doesn't mean they don't have to communicate with each other. The secrets you uncover are useless if you can't transmit them to your superiors, and any large scale operation is destined to fail if you can't coordinate with other operatives in the field.
There's a vital piece of information you need to get from one of your fellow operatives. Only problem is, you can't be seen meeting with each other. It's up to you to find a way to communicate without alerting your enemies. Assume all phone lines and computers are being monitored, so the only way to communicate will be to improvise something.
Whatever you construct must allow you and your fellow operatives to communicate covertly across a distance of at least 100 feet, with at least one man-made barrier separating them.

EYE IN THE SKY

Since the Civil War, spies have turned to the skies to gather information on their enemies. Today, the U.S. government spends billions of dollars on keyhole satellites that can read the headline off a newspaper and unmanned aerial drones that can identify an enemy combatant from a mile above. These technologies are incredibly useful in the world of intelligence gathering, but completely useless to a spy who needs one on the fly.
Your mission is to get surveillance on an enemy compound. Only problem is: it's surrounded by 20-foot walls and using a ladder to peek over may attract some unwanted attention. Find a way to improvise your own aerial drone to get surveillance photos of the inside of the enemy compound. Try to only use repurposed supplies because buying anything too specific to your task will definitely raise suspicions. Find the most creative way to build your drone and deploy it.

DO NOT DISTURB

When you're spying on foreign soil, it's not a question of if your home will be searched, but when. That's why spies have to take some extra security precautions. Scaring the intruders away won't do you any good... what you want is the opportunity to find out who they are.
Build a makeshift alarm system that can covertly alert you when someone's breaking in and find a way to catch a picture or video of him/her without him/her knowing. Going to the store and buying a consumer alarm system or surveillance equipment will raise some red flags, so make sure whatever security system you build is either made from seemingly innocuous materials, or repurposed from other easily obtained household items.


HOW TO ENTER
You must be in grades 9-12 and may enter as an individual student or as a team of two or three. You also must have an adult teacher, science professional or other adult (non-relative) as a mentor/advisor who will authorize and sign the ethics and academic integrity statement and certify that safe practices will be employed by the students at all times.
Please submit a 1,500-word maximum essay on only one challenge that includes the following:

• Present a detailed plan for solution to selected challenge scenario
• Describe how you would build device/system using materials readily available
• Justify what items and materials are needed for solution
• Detail the amount of time expected to develop and execute solution
• Show supportive research with proper citations (all works of others must be referenced and URLs must be included for any Internet sources)
• Use a scientific principle in the approach to solution or show how the scientific method can be used to achieve solution, and must include one or more of the following: technology - demonstrate the use of technological equipment; engineering - display the application of engineering principles; and math - show an equation or law of physics.

Students also have the option of submitting a drawing or design detailing the solution. Drawings must be uploaded in jpg, gif or png format.
Don't forget to enter by February 15, 2013, 11:59 PM ET!
USA's judging panel will select up to 25 finalists based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrates Application of STEM Skills & Principles (40%)
• Originality & Creativity (30%)
• Complexity of Solution (20%)
• Clear Presentation of Ideas, Spelling & Grammar (10%).

Click here for Official Rules & details.

Scholastic Books Warehouse Sale

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Register now and receive a valuable coupon for an extra $10* or $25* off! Dollar Days are here! BIG savings on hardcovers, paperbacks, and school supplies. Registration Now Open! Join us for our special book sale exclusively for school and district employees, homeschool directors and teachers, Book Fair chairpeople, and school volunteers. You'll find deep discounts on selected hardcovers, paperbacks, and school supplies. •   Maximize Title I funding and purchase order dollars. •   Huge Savings! Sale items priced $5 and under -- hundreds of items $2.00 or less. •   Great way to refresh school, home, and classroom libraries! •   Every item preselected for our Dollar Days Sale is priced 50%-80% off! Find a Sale Near You & Get Additional Savings! Dollar Days Sale applies ONLY to preselected items marked down for clearance. * $10 off your $50 purchase or $25 off your $100 purchase. **Preferred payment methods: credit cards, checks, purchase orders, and Scholastic Dollars. Note: Items purchased with Scholastic Dollars do not qualify for further discount pricing and will sell at the full cover price.

Shakespeare Uncovered on Nashville's Public TV

Nashville Public Television promo (1:50) for 6-part documentary series, SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED, from Thirteen/ WNET, New York. Series premieres January 26, 2013 on NPT.

Belmont Home School Science Discoveries Spring Session 1

Session 1   Thursday, January 24, 2013         11:00 am -12:00 pm, Hitch 101/102

Dr. Steve Robinson

“Gravity”

Students will investigate the properties of gravity with hands-on experiments in this laboratory-based experience.

Grades 1-6

Enrollment Limit: 18 students

For more information contact:

C. Steven Murphree, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Belmont University

1900 Belmont Blvd.

Nashville, TN  37212-3757

steve.murphree@belmont.edu

615-460-6221

615-460-5458

Adventure Science Center's Collector's Day

COLLECTORS' DAY

March 9, 2013 

Do you have a great Pez collection? Collect antique dolls or doorknobs or spatulas? Do you have a passion for rocks or all things Elvis? Adventure Science Center is pleased to announce a call for entries for its annual Collectors' Day, March 9, 2013. ASC is seeking individuals (youth included) with interesting, personal collections of objects appropriate for its family friendly audience to view and enjoy.

Please fill out the event application and return it to ASC by email (collectors@adventuresci.com), fax (615-862-5178), or mail no later than February 1, 2013. If possible, please include a photo(s) of your collection. Space is limited so sign up now!

Download the application.

Registration deadline is February 1, 2013

Selected collectors will be notified by ASC by February 15, 2013.

WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge...Homeschool Month 2012

Free Printables esp for teachers...

(Cheri's note:  Kevin Savetz is "The Printables Guy" and he offers a complete selection of websites brimming over with templates and forms and other goodies that are available to download and print --FREE!  The following is taken from his newsletter.)

Teacher's Printables

With a new semester in full swing, I wanted to highlight some of the nearly 30 new classroom printables I've added to TeachersPrintables.net.

There are new checklists on which to mark off learning goals, a daily weather chart, a printable postcard, absence reports, a show and tell notice, a classroom birthday chart, music practice schedule (great for parents and band teachers), a detailed school transcript, and even a college budget planner. For math class, there are blank addition and multiplication charts, counting by 10s, a place value worksheet, and activities for the 100th day of school.

I've also added a new seating chart, this one with a circular arrangement. Have you heard of Flat Stanley ? It's a fun project where students watch a paper friend travel the globe as a writing and geography exercise. He's now on TeachersPrintables.net!

There are also various printable rulers, which are great to send with homework so students don't have to hunt for a ruler.

TeachersPrintables.net now has 355 printables in PDF and DOC (Microsoft Word) format, from classroom management and parent communication forms to blank lesson plans and graphic organizers.

I enjoy making these printables available to teachers, especially knowing what a tight budget they have. Everything on the site is available to download and print for free individually. I also offer a single-classroom license of the entire collection for $27; a whole-school license is $67. The collection includes everything on the site, plus a selection of bonus printables such as lined, graph, penmanship, and note-taking paper - more than 400 documents in all.

***************

New Printable Paper

Wow! With the latest round of additions, PrintablePaper.net has reached a milestone, exceeding 1,000 papers available to instantly download and print. In the years since I launched the site in 2008, I've covered all the basics, such as lined and graph paper. Plus, there are lots of specialty papers: music staff, columnar pad, dot, penmanship, notes, calligraphy, storyboards, and calendars. PrintablePaper.net also has printable games, score sheets and tons more templates for home, school, and business.

I've had so much positive feedback on my papers for crafting (such as knitting and quilting) that I've now added 51 new papers for beading. The beadwork layout paper includes patterns for lots of popular designs such as herringbone, peyote, brick and their many variations. These patterns are appropriate for seed bead, cylinder bead, and other projects.

All of the papers are free to download and print as PDFs, and often in DOC (Microsoft Word) format as well. Some categories (such as budgeting forms and score sheets) have the option of a free PDF or a $4 premium DOC version that can be edited and customized.

Adventure Science Center Summer Camps

Early Registration Now Open for Members

If you’re not currently an Adventure Science Center member, sign up now to take advantage of early registration—as well as exclusive discounts—for ScienceQuest summer camp programs. Spots fill up quickly, so don’t miss this unique opportunity! Membership info>> For non-members, general registration for ScienceQuest camp opens on Jan. 28. Choose from any of our exciting camp programs May 28 – Aug. 9, or click here for more info:

BIOKIDS For campers who want to be a doctor or veterinarian. Learn about life and health, study bones, use microscopes and do a dissection.

BUILD IT! Triumph over a variety of engineering challenges. Design and create a boat, bridge or marble coaster.

SHERLOCK SCIENCE Learn forensic science by using logic and technology to solve mysteries. Extract DNA and analyze samples from a “crime scene.”

ROBOTICS 101 What makes a robot tick? Design and build fun models of machines and animals, experimenting with everything from mechanics to motors and sensors.

IT'S WILD! Explore volcanoes, magnets, critters, crystals, and loads of amazing things about our home planet, plus go on a field excursion.

MUSIC CITY SCIENCE (Grades 7-9 only) Plan a route, choose the day's team leader, then head out on MTA buses to explore the sights and sounds of Music City USA from a science perspective.

ScienceQuest Camp at Adventure Science Center provides a wide range of enrichment programs for science lovers in grades K-9. Programs combine science, technology, engineering and math in ways that encourage kids to actively discover and examine concepts for themselves.

Camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with early drop-off and late pick-up available.
For more information, visit adventuresci.org/camps, email camps@adventuresci.com or
call (615) 862-5177.