This Wednesday, 11 school children from the Wairarapa Home Schooling Association will ask questions of an astronaut on the International Space Station via Amateur Radio, in what will be New Zealand’s second organised contact, though it is number 387 for the ISS. It also appears to be the 1st time a group of home-schoolers have contacted the ISS. Typically, the time allowed for questions is about 10 minutes, and in this time, up to 15 questions can be asked and replies given. The questions are of general interest.
The astronaut the children will be speaking to is American Radio Amateur Mike Finke (KE5AET), this is Mike’s 2nd expedition on the ISS. Mike is a very keen amateur radio operator and has operated from space before. He is one of 9 astronauts on the space station at present. The International Space station orbits the earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 370 km at a speed of 27,000 km/hour. The Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the ISS on Monday 17th November, and is scheduled to stay docked to the ISS for 14 days before returning to earth.
Many volunteer Radio Amateurs around the world have worked for over 12 months to make this Radio contact a success, including those in America who have the responsibility for the scheduling and timing. Other countries involved are Australia and Japan. We must recognise that Amateur Radio on the ISS is secondary to everything else, and there may be something outside of our control that may prevent this contact from taking place; it would be unusual at this late stage, but it could happen.
ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) is a purely volunteer organisation involving people in many countries around the world. It is supported by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), and many other national Amateur Radio organisations, including the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) and the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART).
ARISS is to inspire, at least in some small way, the study of space to school children from all over the world, to speak to an astronaut who is a Radio Amateur and is on the International Space Station.
The Radio Amateurs in New Zealand who are in charge of this contact belong to the South Wairarapa Amateur Radio Club based in Featherston; Peter Norden (ZL2SJ) the New Zealand Co-ordinator for the ARISS program in New Zealand, and Ian Miles (ZL2TZW), assisted by Graeme Nelson (ZL2GDN) of Masterton.
The Wairarapa Home School Association (WHSA) is a support group for many of the home schoolers in the Wairarapa province. WHSA provides a point of communication for events and resources that are in the Wairarapa (and surrounding areas), and for parents to plan events that will provide for educational and social activities for their families. Some families live in remote areas in the farming community and others live in the country towns; Masterton is the main town in the province. The children who will be asking the questions are schooled by their parents, and the ages of the children involved range from 5 to 14 years.
The Wairarapa province which is located about 90 km north east from the capital city, Wellington, and is a rural community consisting of dairying, cattle, sheep, timber, cropping and some fruit growing industries.
Wairarapa is a Maori word meaning “sea of sparkling waters”, from Lake Wairarapa, a fresh water lake in the province.
The contact should be available live on the internet via http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/events.htm, and on radio via various Amateur Radio frequencies around the country.
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By KATIE WYLIE - The Press | Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Babies who face away from their parents in buggies might have their brain development compromised, research has found.
The author of the British research said the practice could leave children "emotionally isolated and language poor". The lack of stimulation talking, laughing and interacting with a parent could also undermine brain development.
The Dundee University study observed more than 2700 parent-child pairs throughout Britain. It found that:
25 per cent of parents using face-to-face buggies talked to their baby, compared with 11% of parents using an away-facing buggy.
Babies were more likely to laugh in a face-to-face buggy.
The heart rates of babies in face-to-face buggies were slightly lower, indicating less stress.
52% of babies in face-to-face buggies slept, compared with 27% in away-facing buggies.
Research author Dr Suzanne Zeedyk said a lowered heart rate or sleeping indicated reduced stress levels in babies.
"Our data suggests that for many babies today, life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful. Stressed babies grow into anxious adults," she said.
"If babies are spending significant amounts of time in a baby buggy that undermines their ability to communicate easily with their parent, at an age when the brain is developing more than it will ever again in life, then this has to impact negatively on their development."
Paediatric Society of New Zealand president Dr Rosemary Marks said the effect on development would depend on the amount of time babies spent in a buggy and whether parents took other opportunities to interact with them.
"Children learn to talk by being talked to, so the more children are talked to, the more language they will learn. Any opportunities parents have for talking to their children is good."
Mothers at Plunket's Papanui parenting course favoured having their babies facing them, but said it was difficult to find buggies that made it possible.
Micayela Hunter liked being able to talk or sing to five-week-old Zara, but said it would be hard to find a suitable buggy when her daughter grew.
"I read about the benefits of having them face you, but it's quite funny, because that's not what's on the market," she said.
"It's just the accepted thing that they all do face the other way."
Course facilitator Kate Husband said parents buying buggies should also consider ventilation and colour to ensure babies did not overheat.
The next newsletter is attached. (because there are no notes this time I am adding this below instead of in a pdf)
Warm regards,
Genevieve
ID088 - Wedding Reception - Part 1
10 Nov 2008
In the weeks leading up to the wedding people would ask my family and I, “Are you stressed?” And in the week before the wedding people would say to us, “Now, don’t tell us that you aren’t stressed!” Days before the wedding someone bought us all little stress balls to squeeze.
And yet these comments had my family and I all flummoxed. We weren’t stressed. Rather we were really enjoying this time leading up the wedding.
We were not relieved of stress because we had handed the whole wedding over to a wedding planner and were now simply sitting back sipping pina coladas while waiting for the big day to arrive.
No, the wedding was a project that my whole family took on and we were blessed with a great deal of help from our church and from friends. We did the wedding on a budget and tried to be resourceful and creative to keep outgoings minimal. Friends donated bunches and bunches of lavender which was made up in bundles for each table at the reception.
More lavender and help was given to make wedding favour lavender bottles as well. And a friend also helped us to make chocolate cameos which were put at each place at the reception. We fashioned the reception meal after a very successful Reformation Day party dinner our church had put on. The dinner was fresh breads and buns, cold meats, cheeses and soup-very simple, but hearty, and much talked about. We figured it was the perfect menu for our reception since we would be self-catering and needed to keep preparation as simple as a meal like this allowed. Dessert was wedding cake, fresh fruit, fruit kebabs and after dinner mints. A baker at our church made all the fresh bread for us and women from church and other places made the soups-big jobs considering we were catering for 350.
One of Dad’s friends heads up a church youth group which is very service-oriented. He said that under the oversight of a talented woman he knew, the young folks could prepare and serve the food at the reception-that it would be a great service activity for the group. We gladly accepted this offer of help. It was a real blessing.
Our church loaned us lots of tables, chairs, plates and cutlery for the reception dinner and a friend with a flat-bed truck along with a crew of others helped us to transport it all to the reception venue the day before the wedding. Another friend was just closing up a portable and homebased cafe and catering business. She loaned us screeds of equipment to make life easier for the folks who were preparing and serving the food at the reception.
Our family was ever so grateful for all this help. And delighted because it made the wedding so much more of a community affair. It was very significant to me that the community I had grown up in and been influenced and nurtured by would take part in so important a step in my life.
Apart from all this help-and we couldn’t have pulled off the wedding without it-my family and I believe the occasion was so pleasant and stress-free because of:
A. Dad’s leadership. He initiated all the strategy meetings and kept things underway.
B. The way my family embraced the wedding as a family project. We had worked together on things before and enjoyed working together. It was natural to now work on the wedding together.
C. The way my sister, Charmagne, and I were at home. We weren’t having to juggle outside work. We could dedicate a lot of time and energy to the wedding in the relaxed atmosphere of our home. This was pretty key. Charmagne did a lot towards the wedding. She made and decorated the wedding cake, designed and made my wedding dress, her bridesmaid dress, the flower girl’s dress, my sister Gracie’s dress, the 14 maiden daughters dresses (drafted and cut out all though only sewed up two), cravats/European ties for Pete and his groomsman, boutonnieres for these two and Pete’s and my mothers, Mum’s outfit and she put together a feather basket for the flower girl and with the help of another friend assembled all the flower bouquets for herself, myself and the maiden daughters. And this is just the beginning! If either of us had been out working 9-5 then I think the time before the wedding would have been stressful. But it wasn’t and this was a wonderful and unanticipated blessing of being daughters at home.
Friends and enthusiastic supporters of Pete’s and my
courtship, the Schultz family, wrote and recorded a
blessing song for us. They couldn’t attend the wedding but
we played the DVD of the song at the reception.
May the Lord be Glorified
(Pete’s and Genevieve’s Song) Groom (imagine a male voice singing):
From this moment till I die, I will love you as my life
(Ephesians 5v28, 33)
I will leave my family, and will cleave only to thee
(Genesis 2v24, Ephesians 6v31)
With God’s Word I will wash you, I will lead and protect you
(Ephesians 5v26)
As God’s faithfulness is true, with His strength I will be too
(Lamentations 3v22, 23; Psalm 119v90) Bride (imagine a female voice singing):
From this moment till I die, I will be your chosen bride
(Romans 7v2-3; Proverbs 18v22)
And these vows that I will say, bind our hearts in Christ
always
(Ephesians 5v31, 1 Peter 3v7)
I will love and reverence you, and I will submit to you
(Ephesians 5v22, 33; 1 Peter 3v1)
As God’s faithfulness is true, with His strength I will be too
(Lamentations 3v22-23; Psalm 119v90)
Together:
Now our hearts are one in Christ, and heirs of the grace of
life
(Malachi 2v15; 1 Peter 3v7)
What God has joined together, let no man put asunder
(Matthew 19v6)
With God’s blessing we will seek, to raise Godly offspring
(Genesis 1v28; Malachi 2v15)
Now as we live man and wife, may the Lord be glorified
(1 Peter 5v10-11)
May the Lord be glorified
Pete and I treasure this blessing song, particularly the
prayer it contains that the Lord would be glorified by our
marriage.
During the reception my brother, Zach, initiated toasts to Mr and Mrs de Deugd and to my parents as well-honouring and thanking them. My brother, Alanson, toasted Pete and I. We also had speeches by Mr de Deugd, Dad, the best man and Pete. And Dad read out some blessings from people who had played a significant part in my life and who were unable to attend the wedding. I hope, Lord willing, to share these in future newsletters.
For the Greater Glory of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Written by Sprittibee on November 16, 2008 – 9:43 am -
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite homeschool blogs before midnight (in your time zone) on Friday night this week! The polls are set to close automatically and we’ll hopefully have winners listed on Saturday the 22nd. We realize that there are many who have had a few issues with getting in their votes due to network and poll problems, so feel free to go to a friend’s home or the library to get that last category taken care of or to vote entirely if your PC at home is not cooperating. We are sorry for the inconveniences - and are well aware of them because even some of our own members have the same issues. Don’t let that stop you from casting your vote!
Good luck to all the homeschool-friendly mamas and dads out there who were nominated. We treasure your contribution to the homeschool blogosphere and look forward to getting to know all those we didn’t know before! Regardless of who wins, I know my blogroll just got fatter! How about you???
You will receive both of these ebooks when you subscribe to the Homeschooling with the Trivium newsletter. This offer is only for new subscribers to Homeschooling with the Trivium and is good only through November 30. Go here to subscribe.
In addition, if you subscribe to Christian Logic’s Fallacy Detective News you will receive two lessons from the logic textbook The Thinking Toolbox by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn (Lessons 12 and 13, along with exercises and answer key). This offer is only for new subscribers to The Fallacy Detective News and is good only through November 30. Go here to subscribe.
Welcome to all of you who have subscribed to the Issacharian Daughters newsletter over the past few weeks. It is wonderful to have you join us!
To give a little bit of history: I began the newsletter late in 2006 at the encouragement of my parents, Craig and Barbara Smith, and under their oversight. At the time, I was living with my family, helping my father in his ministry, assisting my mother in the home, preparing for marriage, working to strengthen my family and disciple my siblings and build relationships with younger girls in my church. My desire with the newsletter was to provide encouragement and exhortation to young ladies at home and even to provide an opportunity for the young ladies who receive the newsletter to get to know one another through the introductions they would share. You will find many introductions online at http://www.issacharian.com and are also welcome to email an introduction to me to email out with the newsletter.
In July 2007 I entered into a courtship with a young man by the name of Peter de Deugd. You can read about this courtship online on the Issacharian website in one of the past newsletters. We married in February 2008. Just before the wedding, I put the newsletter on hold while I settled into married life. When I commenced sending it out again about a month ago it was with a report about married life and an announcement of a wee blessing on his (or her!) way!
I was requested to do a series of newsletters focusing on my wedding. You said you were interested in what we did and how we did it and why we decided to do it that way. Well, thank you for this interest! This series on the wedding has started already. The next one is attached. And the series will continue for a little while still. While these newsletters do tell you about the wedding, I hope to also weave in other topics of interest such as modesty, Titus 2 relationships with younger girls, the blessing of sisters and more.
Introductions
Dear Genevieve,
Thank you so very much for your God-centered posts. Your testimony, first as a unmarried woman and now as a wife, has been of great encouragement and challenge to me. I am 21, the oldest of eight, and am privileged to have, on my dad’s side, the heritage of many generations of godliness (my mom is a first generation Christian). It is my deepest desire to fulfill God’s purpose for me on this earth, and to faithfully pass on the charge to the next generations—praying even that they would be more holy, Christ-centered, and effective for the Lord than I may ever be. I’m sure you know the perfect storm of desires that this vision can raise, and how hard it can be to let God purify those desires through waiting and “hopes deferred.” But I keep asking Him to let His will be done in my life as it is in heaven, and I know that He will keep giving me what I need to be faithful one moment at a time – whether I’m facing good times or hard ones. Again, I so appreciate your faithfulness to Him in the years following your “return home.” It is a needed reminder to me that none of us are islands, and that I will probably influence more people than I know, whether in my faith or my unbelief. I so want my influence to be for His glory, because nothing else is worth pursuing (even though the devil tries to tell me otherwise!).
The Lord’s richest blessings on you as you give birth, and learn more how to serve Him in this new season of your life! May you and Pete continue laying good foundations for the time to come, that you may lay hold on eternal life.
Love in Christ,
JC
Name: Jessica Bernhardt
Introduction: I’m a 24-year-old stay-at-home daughter in Harvard, IL, USA. Vision Forum Ministries has been so instrumental in my life, and my whole family’s life. We’ve enjoyed their ministry and products for years. The book “So Much More” by the Botkins has influenced me greatly. I’ve read it 3 times now, and feel I need to just keep re-reading it and working on applying the principles continually. It really made me realize that I didn’t have very many of my own convictions, and that I needed to EMBRACE biblical womanhood and make it MY OWN passion. I also have “Return of the Daughters” which is a great blessing as well. I still feel like I have so much to learn. God has shown me so much, and I feel I fall so short.
I have three younger siblings, ages 21, 8, and 5. I primarily do the cooking, cleaning, and help with whatever. God has shown me over and over the importance of my unmarried years. and His great and perfect plan for me, as I’ve had the chance to minister to several families in the body of Christ, who have either young families or many children. I spend time in their homes, mostly cooking/baking for them, babysitting, and helping with anything. Last year I was able to help my grandma care for my grandpa as he fought cancer, and now I spend time with her as she is widowed. Since I’ve graduated from HS, I’ve been able to spend time with about 25 children and their families, and that number still grows. God has always been faithful to bring families to me in stages that need help, and then He’ll bring others to move on to, who need the help more.
I look forward to being encouraged by your newsletter. I found your site from visionarydaughters.com (the Botkins). May God bless you abundantly ~ Jessica
Although it is late spring, the mornings can still be FREEZING. so bundle up before venturing outside to hang washing or pick lettuce.
Note all the DARLING baby clothes from op shops
Craig and Barbara Smith and their 8 home educated children: Genevieve (born 1980) and Pete (married 2008); Zachariah (1981) and Megan (married 2005 with Cheyenh 2007); Alanson (1984); Charmagne (1987); Jeremiah (born Mitchell 1992 and now adopted); Jedediah (born 1997 and now adopted);
Kaitlyn (born 2000 and now adopted); Grace (born 2005 fostered).
We use a Biblical/Hebrew/Classical approach to our home education.
