MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGER
The Message of Christmas
Dear Friends,
We are at the end of a very different year. We have seen fires, floods, COVID-19 restrictions and many local issues which have directly affected you.
As we recover from the many challenges of the year, it is good for us to consider eternal issues and gain both comfort and perspective.
This is the season to consider God’s great gift of sending His only begotten Son, to Earth, to become a man. The babe born in the Bethlehem stable over 2,000 years ago is the Lord Jesus Christ. The historical event of God becoming a man is called “The Incarnation”. The fact is that God the Son, incarnated - that is - he became a man and fully experienced living as a man. He experienced conception, birth, infancy, adolescence and adulthood.
The New Testament states that with Jesus’ birth, the status of the planet changed. We now had “God with us” (Matthew 1:23) for a set time on Earth. God was now living on the planet, just like all other people.
God the Father had given Jesus multiple assignments to accomplish during his sojourn on Earth. They included:
- Jesus was to experience life as a human being;
- Jesus was to show people how to live God’s way, whilst living in this world;
- Jesus was to show people how to live in union with God, whilst living in this world and
- Jesus was to teach people about God.
However, there was another, less palatable assignment that God the Father had set for His Son.
- Jesus was to suffer and die on a cross to pay the price for the sins of humanity.
The birth of Jesus is the beginning of God’s great plan to extinguish the punishment for our sins. The 33 years that Jesus spent on Earth presented him with both joys and challenges, which ended with (i) a shocking death, (ii) His glorious resurrection and (iii) His ascension back to His Father in Heaven.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus because it was the start of Jesus’ special mission. It enabled us to be saved from our own sins. Matthew 1:21 states: “He will save his people from their sins”. This is the great news of the Gospel.
John 3:16 summarises this special mission and its liberating outcome for us in this way:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but will have everlasting life.”
By believing in Jesus, we are set free from our sins and we become accepted into God’s family. This is why we celebrate. This is why we give gifts, as we imitate God’s example of Him giving His Son as a gift to us, so we too give gifts to our loved ones.
THE KEY QUESTION IS …
Have you believed in Jesus and received God’s gift of eternal life? If not, God invites you to do that now!
So, make sure that you have received Jesus into your heart and life. If you are sure that this is your experience, it is important that you also then teach your children about this great message of Salvation and Eternal Life in Jesus Christ.
We at Australian Christian Home Schooling and all the staff at Christian Education Ministries wish for you, a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yours for Christ and Christian home education,
Terry Harding
Manager.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Christmas Closure
This year, ACHS staff will be taking some well deserved time off. This may affect families differently depending on your needs. Please take note of the information below, to ensure that you are not caught out.
- ACHS Office will be closed from the 24th of December and will reopen on the 4th of January.
- Our teacher Nathan, will be on leave from Wednesday the 16th of December until the 4th of January.
- From the 16th of December until the 24th, we will still have some staff on deck to help with any administrative questions.
- Our warehouse is slowly winding down for closure on the 18th. Any orders placed from here on in, will most likely ship once they return on the 6th of January.
The ACHS Team.
Postage Delays
We have noticed that some of our families are experiencing delays in receiving curriculum orders, as well as mail from our office. This seems to be a more significant issue for our Victorian and Western Australian families.
Please keep this in mind when placing orders leading up to Christmas and into the new year. If you are able to, place your orders well in advance to ensure timely delivery of your student’s materials.
Report Cards
As usual, report cards for semester 2 will be posted in the new year. We ask that any work that you wish to have recorded on semester 2 reports, be posted to us before Christmas. This will ensure that there are no delays in distribution of report cards.
Also to be posted with report cards will be Supervisor Progress Cards (SPCs) and Student Progress Charts (Star Charts), so keep an eye out for these sometime in January.
HIGH SCHOOL MATTERS!
2020 is fast drawing to a close, and considering the year that has been, it is important to be focusing on what is needed for graduating students. For those students wanting to get their certificates at the end of 2020, please contact the Office ASAP to finalise credits as applications can take up to 6 weeks to process.
We are also in the process of finalising plans for our yearly celebration events, under very different circumstances than this time last year. Keep an eye out for more information in your inboxes shortly.
Here at ACHS, we want all our High school students to succeed and be able to be successful in their chosen vocation. We can help families with:
- Career advice
- Subject planning for all our Certificate levels
- Post schooling pathway planning
- University entrance preparation
- Apprenticeships and TAFE support
- Academic support for all subjects
Another really pleasing development is that A.C.E. have made available online, all of the high school subject videos. These can be ordinarily ordered through our e-store as DVD’s, but are quite expensive. Now you can access them all for free through this link below.
https://www.aceconnect.com/video-library
Nathan Roberts
Academic Consultant
Beware of Holiday Reading Loss
Research has shown that over the long break reading skills of students decline significantly. This loss can accumulate to 3 years of lost reading skills by the end of Year 5. It is important to keep your child’s learning process going through the holidays so your child doesn’t lose what he or she has gained this year.
We don’t want your child to start studies next year with a mild case of “rusty brain”
Keeping children reading reduces summer reading loss. It also helps children develop better reading habits and learn to love reading.
Here are some strategies to encourage your child to read during the holidays.
- Find a topic your child enjoys
- Make reading a part of your everyday routine
- Get a library card
- Plan a trip to the bookstore
- Read aloud with your child
- Read a book that has a movie that your child would like, then watch the movie
- Start a new series of books
- Read graphic novels or comics (these can help children who struggle with reading)
Celebrate Your Family’s Victories for 2020
Please make sure that you CELEBRATE the end of your academic year, as a family. It is a great thing to have home schooled your children this year, so please celebrate the victories. You may have had a student who:
- finished the ABCs course or
- learned their addition or multiplication tables or
- improved their handwriting or spelling or
- finished primary school (end of PACE 1072) or
- completed the typing/keyboarding course or
- memorised several Scripture passages or
- read several books or
- wrote 4 essays or
- finished year 10 or 12 or
- gained entry to university
Whatever you do, find a real reason to celebrate each of your children at the end of this year. Look for a strength or an improvement in each child and encourage them in it.
2020-2021 Holiday Break
Holiday time is a time for you and your family to take a break. In other words, have a rest.
During your break, let’s say early in the New Year, it is a good idea for you to get ready for the 2021 academic year.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Review your ACHS 15 minute Training DVD to refresh your mind about our procedures.
- De-clutter your work area (where you keep the score keys, test keys, supervisor progress cards, novels, Goal Cards, ABCs materials etc.)
- Get the children to de-clutter their learning areas
- Maybe some fresh paint, new pictures, a new mat etc.
- Do you all need new pencils, pens, pads, paints, highlighters etc.?
- New Bibles?
- New Score Keys?
- Dust off your computers, keyboards etc.
- Clean up your computer hard drive, defrag etc.
- Clean out your filing cabinet or other filing system.
- Plan some outings
- Plan for your children to do the ACHS Life Skills Program
May you enjoy your break time, these holidays. May it be filled with much love and laughter.
Bal-a-Vis-X
Here is a WONDERFUL exercise which will assist in your child’s personal development. It is called “Bal-a-vis-x”.
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.
Why not try “Bal-a-vis-x” during the holidays? It may be one way to avoid “Rusty Brain” during the holidays. J
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.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- When listing your items, list them clearly and accurately.
- Maths SK 1037-39, 1040-42, and so on.
- English SK 1037-39, 1040-42, and so on.
- 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.
FOR SALE
____________________________________________________________________________
Score Keys $2 Each or $1 Each for the Lot
Maths SK: 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012
English SK:1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012
S/Studies SK: 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012
Science SK: 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012
W/Building SK:1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012
Postage to be paid by the buyer.
Contact S. Neale on email [email protected]
____________________________________________________________________________
Score Keys $2 Each
Maths SK: 1020, 1021, 1022, 1023, 1025
English SK:1022, 1023, 1024, 1026, 1028, 1030, 1031
Lit & CW SK: 1025-27
S/Studies SK: 1019, 1020, 1023, 1024, 1025-27
Science SK: 1024, 1028-30
W/Building SK:1027, 1028, 1030
Bible Reading SK: 1025-27
Postage to be paid by the buyer.
Contact Anita on 0400 099 698 or email [email protected]
____________________________________________________________________________
Score Keys $2 Eachor$1 for Australian Score Keys
Maths SK:1052-54, 1055-57, 1058-60, 1061-63, 1073-75
Trigonometry SK: 1133-35, 1136 38
English SK:1055-57, 1058-60, 1061-63, 1067-69, 1073-75
Lit & CW SK:1064-66
Science SK: 1052-54, 1055-57, 1058-60, 1061-63, 1067-69, 1070-72
Physics SK: 1133-35, 1136-38, 1139-41
S/Studies SK: 1061-63, 1067-69, 1070-72
World History SK: 100-102
Economics SK: 1139-1141 (1-3), 1142-1144 (4-6)
W/Building SK:1067-69, 1070-72
Etymology SK:1100-1102
Old Testament Survey SK:115-117
Basic Greek SK:121-126, 127-132
Basic Greek Handbook
Bible Reading SK:1052-54
Score Keys $1 Each
Maths SK:1060
S/Studies SK:1049A, 1050A, 1058A, 1059A, 1060A
Postage to be paid by the buyer.
Contact Kate on 0420 929 006 or email [email protected]
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:
December 2020 Attendance Sheet