The next Texas Home School Coalition Association Capitol Day is March 14th. The deadline to register has been extended to March 7! Make plans now to attend and lobby UIL legislation! (Click on the graphic to download the registration form.)

The upcoming March 14 Capitol Day will include the addition of a workshop dedicated entirely to explaining the nuts and bolts of the process a bill goes through to become law. We will also present a fun demonstration (including student participation) helping students learn what goes on during a hectic day in a Capitol office.

March Capitol Day attendees will lobby on pending legislation relevant to home schoolers, HB1569, which concerns participation in UIL activities. (Read about the history of the UIL and why this bill is in agreement with the UIL’s original intent.)

Capitol Days are excellent times to work toward fulfillment of the “Good Citizenship” requirement. At Capitol Days, students (and parents!) get to see firsthand the processes involved in running a government body. We hope that our children will be the next leaders of Texas and the United States; early exposure to the political world gives them a running start and a vision of what is possible!

Home school graduate Cassandra Phillips reports on the February 6th Capitol Day in the article linked below.

The following message comes from FEAST (Family Educator’s Alliance of South Texas) in San Antonio.

Marcus Moran, beloved son of Richard and Grace Moran and brother of Sam and Angelica, played on the varsity team for the FEAST Patriots. His brother, Sam, still plays on FEAST's junior varsity team.

On Thursday, February 22, 2007, he collapsed while playing basketball. At the age of 17, Marcus took his last breath on the way to the hospital and went home to be with Jesus.

As we are told in I Thessalonians 4:13, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”

A memorial fund will be set up for Marcus Moran, and this information will be posted on the website as soon as the account has been established.

Please remember to pray that the Lord will sustain Richard, Grace, Sam, and Angelica Moran during this time.

A Texas home school mother recently commented that she is having trouble getting the “Good Student Discount” for her son’s auto insurance. If she is a member of Texas Home School Coalition, she has an advocate with hefty credibility!

Have you joined Texas Home School Coalition Association yet? (Click on the graphic for more information about who we are and what we do.) Often we just get busy and we don’t get around to some of the IMPORTANT things because we’re so busy dealing with the URGENT ones. However, now’s the time, because once you join, you’ll be eligible to take advantage of all the discounts and benefits we offer to members. THSC Association is continually adding not only more member discounts to its Member Benefit Package but also new ways to make joining more manageable.

Check out the ways it has gotten even easier to budget for your membership! We still offer $15 off the annual membership price of $85 for members of local home school support groups. In addition, an auto-renewal option gives another $5 in savings. Our newest budgeting tool is our monthly payment plan. You can now spread your payments throughout the year. The base price still includes the discounts.

To learn about these options or to join, you can call our office at (888) 200-4903 and speak to our friendly, helpful staff or send your questions by email to staff@thsc.org. You can download, print, complete, and mail or fax your application and order form. Mail completed application to THSC, PO Box 6747, Lubbock, TX 79493 or fax to (806) 744-4446. If you would like to join or renew your membership, you can still join online, but the payment plan options are not yet available at the web store.

Extended Deadline

Three thousand dollars in prize money and an opportunity to represent the Lone Star State as a spokesperson for the beef industry is all in store for this year’s 2007 Texas Beef Ambassador Speech Competition.

Open to youth in Texas between the ages of 17 and 20, the contest asks contestants to deliver a five-to eight-minute speech pertaining to the positive aspects of beef consumption and the beef industry, to promote the nutritional, economic, environmental, and versatile uses of beef. (Click on the graphic to see their rules and eligibility requirements.)

Top winners will be awarded a total of $3,000 in prize money. In addition, the first-place winner will be given the opportunity to represent the state at various speaking engagements during the year and at the National Contest, to be held in the fall of 2007.

Register now – the deadline is March 2. The contest will be held March 24, 2007, in Ft. Worth. For more information about the Texas Beef Ambassador Program, contact Melissa Muegge at (979) 277-8614 or visit them online.

In keeping with its mission to serve the home schoolers of Texas, Texas Home School Coalition has established a scholarship fund for Texas home school graduates who attend Patrick Henry College. The required information must be completed in order to be considered for scholarship money from this fund. The deadline for submission of an application is April 2, 2007 (postmark date).

The winner of THSC’s PHC Scholarship will be recognized at the Annual THSC Awards Banquet in Irving on April 27.

THSC continues its Good Citizenship Program, which rewards students for their participation in the political process and helps them fulfill the requirement of a “course in good citizenship.” (See What Is Good Citizenship?) Certificates are printed, upon request, for students who have volunteered at least forty hours in Voter Registration, Political Party Process, Campaign Process, and Legislative Process, in any combination. Each year the program culminates with rewards presented at the annual THSC Awards Banquet.

At the Awards Banquet, this year to be held on April 27 in Irving, the student who has volunteered the greatest number of hours in any one area (or has registered the most voters) over the last twelve months will be presented the award for that area.

The volunteer hours may be tracked on a form that can be downloaded and printed as often as needed. Eight hours will be granted students for each Capitol Day attended. Please note that, while certificates will be issued upon request at any time, the awards will be given based on hours worked between April 1, 2006, and April 1, 2007. The forms must be postmarked or e-mailed no later than April 10 if students are to be considered for an award.

John Taylor Gatto is a former NYC Teacher of the Year. Since leaving the public schools, he has written several books and many articles revealing the downside of government-run education and proposing better means of schooling our children and ourselves.

Tim Lambert clarified Texas’ policies regarding withdrawal of students from public schools for an Amarillo high school. A school official had told a family member that she was “required by the State of Texas to request a court date” because the parent had not “properly withdrawn” her son by completing the school’s withdrawal forms.