why on earth would you Home School? March 14-15 2014 Providence Renewal Centre 3005-119 St. Edmonton, AB Western Canadian Catholic Home School Conference Schedule -Sign Up for an Adoration TimeAdoration will continue day and night Thursday, March 13 5:30 Supper 6:00 Registration 7:00 Holy Mass (Main Chapel) Fr. Paul Moret Evening Prayer and Benedictionw/ Fr. Goutier & Fr. Jacobson 8:30 to 10:00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament begins Confessions Friday, March 14 7:30 to 8:30 Registration, Rosary 8:00 Breakfast 8:45 Conference Opening MC Glenn Spiess 9:00 Home Schooling Simplified Bonnie Landry 10:00 Break 10:30 Holy Mass (Main Chapel) 11:30 Vendor Display Opens 12:00 Lunch 12:00 to 1:30 Confessions 12:30 to 1:15 Panel Discussion: Beginning to Home School Fr. Joseph Jacobson w/ Fr. Joseph Goutier & Dcn. Paul Croteau ·Sandra Taillieu ·Wendy Novakowski Moderator: Christine Aalbers 1:30 Teaching Canadian History via Historical Fiction 2:30 Break 3:00 My Conversion Story Bonnie Landry Fr. Joseph Jacobson 4:00 Break 4:30 Waltzing Through Writing 5:30 Supper 5:30 to 7:00 Confessions 7:00 Parenting and Home Schooling Panel (& popcorn) Social time (Social Room, 2nd floor) 9:30 Vendor Display Closes ·Fr. Joseph Jacobson ·Paul van den Bosch ·Therese McDonald ·Barb Moroney Bonnie Landry Moderator: Glenn Spiess Saturday, March 15 7:30 Rosary 8:00 Breakfast 8:00 Vendor Display Opens 9:00 Strengthening Marriage 10:00 Break Melissa Guzik 10:30 Holy Mass (Main Chapel) Archbishop Richard Smith Deacon Guy Germain, MC 12:00Lunch 1:30 Home School Dad On the sidelines or in the game? 1:30 Used Curriculum sales close 3:00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament ends Jean Duteau Strengthening Family for the Cross Fr. Joseph Jacobson 3:00 4:00 Vendors Close 4:00 Conference Closing Remarks Glenn Spiess Conference will be recorded by Northern Rain Studios Speaker Bios Bonnie Landry Bonnie Landry lives in the little hamlet of Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island, with her husband, Albert, and their family. For the past 22 years, home schooling has been a way of life for them and their seven children, aged 26 to 7, and they still have a few more years to go. Bonnie presents several workshops each year on various topics, but her main goal is sharing ideas on simplifying the home school journey. Writing is one of many passions, which include motherhood and family life, hospitality, gardening, and ballroom dancing. She’s written Great Books to Study Canadian History and has published a book, just out on Kindle and available soon on Amazon as hard copy: Homeschooling Simplified: Dictation Bonnie has started a blog to support her writing and speaking. www.ohthatssimple.blogspot.com Home Schooling, Simplified: Staying focussed on what really matters Defining “what really matters” in family life enables us to stay focussed on the big reasons for home schooling. Parents are concerned primarily with what kind of people they will raise: People of faith, integrity, honesty, empathy, compassion. Busy-ness and distraction is one of the ways we lose sight of what we really want for our families. The “tyranny of the urgent” should not be the state in which families are run. This talk is about recognizing the pitfalls that create disorder and discord in our day and practical advice on how to actively change chaos and clutter (emotional, spiritual or temporal), into a more joyful, peaceful environment. Teaching Canadian History Through Historical Fiction Historical fiction is a delightful way to engage children in history. Reading beautiful literature aloud brings the whole family into any book and into any era. This talk is about how to read a book so it becomes the curriculum, with specific examples from Canadian history, and suggestions for the “tools of the trade” in order to make the most out of historical fiction. Bonnie’s book, Great Books To Study Canadian History is published by Excellent Resources. Waltzing through Writing Writing can create a lot of angst in children, and parents, too. Writing requires ideas: What to write about, what words would say it best. When people are young, the most difficult thing about writing is developing ideas and how to get them down on paper. We need to model and foster good reading, thinking, and analyzing skills in order to increase a child’s ability to actually write. Bonnie’s book, Homeschooling, simplified: teaching children writing is available on amazon, kindle or paperback. Speaker Bios Father Joseph Jacobson Fr. Jacobson was born in Milwaukee in 1940, the son of a Lutheran pastor. He studied theology in Strasbourg and was ordained in 1965 for service in Alberta. That same year he and Carolyn were married, and they subsequently were blessed with two children, Brad and Theresa. In 1985, after serving four parishes in Alberta and home schooling for 2 years, Pastor Jacobson was elected the first Bishop of the Alberta Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, serving 150 parishes and 200 clergy. During this time, he co-chaired the Lutheran-Catholic Theological Dialogue for Canada. In 1994 Bishop Joseph and Carolyn retired to a small farm in Central Alberta, where 6 years later they were received into full Communion with the Catholic Church, later followed by Brad and Theresa’s families. Through the special provision of Pope John Paul II, Fr. Joseph was ordained to the Priesthood in 2007, serving as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan and Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral Parish. My Conversion Story Father Jacobson will recount the compelling story of his journey to Christ, first through his family life, his study and work as a Lutheran pastor and bishop and then realizing that through all this he was being drawn into full communion with the Catholic Faith. Strengthening Family for the Cross Father Joseph alerts parents to the serious challenges facing families and provides clear direction for being faithful, positive, and consistent; contrary to so much of the world around us. In a theme introduced by Pope Benedict, developed by Father Jacobson, and recently echoed by Pope Francis, grace confronts evil, and provides 1 source of great hope and joy in 4 areas of significant trial. Father Joseph provides a template by which parents may be successful and grow into role models for others who are facing trials. Melissa Guzik Melissa received her Masters of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology from McGill University and is licensed as a Canadian Certified Counsellor through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She has worked with addictions and mental health over the past 10 years, and currently runs a private practice, working with adolescents, adults, and couples. Melissa is the co-author of To Know, Love & Serve: A Path to Marital Fulfilment, a Catholic book designed to assist couples in strengthening and healing their marriage. Melissa also provides group counselling for the spouses of individuals with addictions related to sexuality. She is the founding President of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association of Canada. Melissa has been married for over 10 years and has been blessed with three children. Strengthening Marriage Melissa Guzik, MA, CCC, will talk about faith-filled and practical ways couples can strengthen their marriage as a foundation for strengthening their family, all in the midst of the busy-ness of homeschooling. Contact: Melissa Guzik, MA Counselling Psychology, CCC Individual, Marriage, & Family Counsellor 780-996-5750 [email protected] www.melissaguzik.com Speaker Bios Jean Duteau Jean Duteau is a homeschooling father of three: Marc, 18; Katherine, 13; and Jomari, 11. He has been married to his wife Barbara, for 21 years and hopes for many, many more. He works out of his house as a computer consultant and thus the entire family is together 24/7. This brings its own rewards and challenges. He has tried to “help” his wife homeschool in many different ways throughout the years and hopes that other fathers can learn from his experiences. Home School Dad: On the Sidelines or in the Game? As a Dad who has one homeschool grad attending college and two more still learning at home, Jean has “helped” his wife in a number of ways throughout the years. Some of those ways have been more helpful than others, so Jean wants to inspire other fathers to realize what dads can bring to the home learning experience. He says: “If we are a part of our family, then we need to do our part; we can not sit on the sidelines. However, we also can’t take over like we are wont to do. If we ‘get in the game’ and recognize what our position on the home schooling team is meant to be, we can help make the experience smoother and more fruitful for our wives and children.” Homilies Thursday Mass and Evening Prayer Father Paul Moret spent his formative years as a member of a large family, living in the Edmonton Cathedral Parish. As a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, he has very successfully applied his own early formation to his work with young people and families, through Our Lady of Victory Camp, Living Water College of the Arts, Legion of Mary, Live-In, and Youth Mannafest. He is a strong supporter of home schooling families and currently serves as the pastor of St. Matthew’s Parish, Edmonton. Friday Mass Father Joseph Jacobson Saturday Pontifical Mass Archbishop Richard Smith Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Archbishop Smith studied at St. Mary’s University and at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. Ordained to the priesthood in 1987, he pursued further studies in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, earning a Licence in 1993 and Doctorate in 1998. He served in priestly ministry until being ordained Bishop of Pembroke in 2002. Archbishop Richard Smith was formally installed as seventh Archbishop of Edmonton on May 1, 2007, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. He is past president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Panel Panel: Beginning to Home School Christine Aalbers is a mom who has graduated from home education. 18 months ago the last of her 3 children went on to further education beyond home schooling. She will be guiding the discussion for the New Homeschooling Panel and brings experience: as a mom that brought children home from school, as a parent whose children have completed their education at home and moved on to the big wide world, and as a mom who cherishes helping others to love their kids and constantly get better at teaching them. Sandra Taillieu is a full-time home educating Mom who lives on an acreage in central Alberta with her husband Richard and their four daughters (ages 4, 7, 9 and 11). The girls have always schooled at home and it’s been an adventure all the way. Sandra is a prairie girl who was raised on a farm in Saskatchewan where she developed her passion for family, music and food. She went to public school for years, but all the important stuff she learned at home from her Mom and Dad. Wendy Novakowski and her husband Paul have 6 children and a 3-year-old granddaughter. They presently live in Fort Saskatchewan, although Paul’s work and the flexibility of home schooling have allowed them to live as far afield as Australia. Among the many initiatives undertaken by their family during their 20 years of home schooling, Wendy has made presentations on the importance of strong parent-child relationships. Panel: Parenting and Home Schooling Glenn Spiess has been pleased to be part of the WCCHSC planning team for the past 3 years. He has spent the last 20+ years working in the education field and has worked extensively within the home school community as a home school facilitator. He and his wife Susan have 3 children whom they have always home schooled. Father Joseph Jacobson brings to this panel discussion a wealth of pastoral background, combined with his own family life. Before home schooling was well known or respected, he and his wife, Carolyn, home schooled their children, and they have watched with admiration the effects of home schooling in their grandchildren. Paul van den Bosch and his wife, Mary, have been married more than 30 years and have been home schooling for 20 of those years. They live in Red Deer and have seven children, three adults and four still at home. In addition to his work as a home school Facilitator, Paul is one of the directors of the Alberta Home Education Association (AHEA). Therese McDonald and her husband have been home schooling for 20 years. She has deliberately chosen to let curiosity loose in the lives of their four children. Therese says, “Once I’ve inspired my children, offered guidance, infused relevance, and imparted faith and reason, I get out of the way and let a holy wind carry the seeds of learning in many directions.” Barbara Johnson Moroney and her husband Paul live with 3 of their 8 children in Calgary, and have been enjoying becoming grandparents 3 times in the last 18 months. Before becoming a home schooling mother, over 25 years ago, Barb was educated as a dramatist and a lawyer, both of which have come in handy. She and her family love the classical approach to home education and have developed their own version of it. They focus on the long haul, and try not to let the current challenges distract from their long term goal of raising strong Catholic adults. r x e N ea Y t