March 16, 2018 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI
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In Brief
OLM spelling bee, geography bee winners
KELLY HENSON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
Angela Dierking leads a class of second-graders to fourth-graders in a lesson about basic physics using Lego manipulatives at Gifts Homeschool Co-op at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro.
Homeschool co-ops provide support for Triad homeschool families KELLY HENSON CORRESPONDENT
GREENSBORO — Catholic families in the Triad who educate their children at home are increasingly banding together in cooperatives – small groups that provide positive social interaction for students who see the world as their classroom and their family as their teachers. Kingdom Kids is a preschool co-op (for ages 3-5) that meets every Monday and Wednesday morning during the school year at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro. Each year, there is also an option for a Friday class for rising kindergarten students. Parents rotate teaching and assisting with lessons, field trips and service projects. This year, they have four families involved and two prospective students. Kingdom Kids has been going strong for 17 years, thanks to the dedication of parents like Meg Foppe and Rebecca Pearson-Yates, this year’s coordinators. What attracted Foppe to Kingdom Kids was the hybrid option between traditional preschool and an involved homeschool model. “I felt my child needed more of a structured learning environment, more than I could offer at home at the time, but didn’t think a full preschool program was the right decision either,” Foppe says. “I think Kingdom Kids presents a very unique opportunity for the child as well as the mother, a gradual stepping out of a comfort zone for the child and a community of support for the mother.” For Foppe’s five children, Kingdom Kids has served as a launching pad for future education through Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro. But for other families, it’s the first step in a longer process of home education. Two Catholic Triad area co-ops provide an environment for academic enrichment for years beyond preschool. Holy Family Homeschool Enrichment of the Triad meets at Holy Family Church in Clemmons, and Gifts Catholic Homeschool Co-op meets at St. Paul the Apostle Church. These co-ops see a living Catholic faith as the informing ethos and essential point of connection as they gather
diverse homeschool families. Holy Family Co-op began about a decade ago through the dedication of two homeschool families who wanted more time together for support and enrichment. Greensboro families, like Kimberly Romie’s, drove to participate in and learn from the Clemmons co-op before branching off to form Gifts Co-op a few years later. Both co-ops meet once a week, beginning with daily Mass at the parish and followed by two to three classes for every grade level, preK-12th grade. They also both have a nursery for babies and toddlers ready to get a little independent play away from Mom. These vibrant co-op communities rely on parents to share their talents as teachers and assistants for the classes chosen by the families each year. Jen Waugh and her four children, aged 4-14, are members of the Holy Family Co-op, and she serves as the coordinator this year. The relationship between the co-op and the local parish is important to their success as a community, Waugh notes. “At a recent Mass, our pastor, Father Michael (Buttner), included all the children in his homily by speaking directly to them and then warmly thanked all our homeschooling families for participating in the Mass,” she said. “Our priests and other staff members give us the highest compliment when they proudly recommend our group to any homeschoolers they meet! For that reason, our group continues to grow. We currently have 18 families and approximately 45 students ages 4 to 17, as well as a nursery for children 3 and under.” Waugh’s family has used the classes to enrich their core curriculum taught at home. Holy Family Co-op offers classes divided by age group and includes offerings such as “bell choir, theology, science, logic, geography, and story and craft classes for younger students.” Waugh enjoys teaching science. “Right now I am teaching a class on electricity to grades 4 and up. In past semesters, we have built rockets, dissected a pig and drew life-size models of the human organ systems.” HOMESCHOOL, SEE PAGE 16
WINSTON-SALEM — In Our Lady of Mercy School’s recent spelling bee competition, the winner was sixth-grader Callum Forest, who defended his title as OLM Spelling Bee Champ for the third year in a row. He then went on to win the Forsyth County Non-Public Schools Spelling Bee Championship for the second year in a row. Forest’s win advances him to compete in the televised 2018 Winston-Salem Journal regional competition March 18. He is pictured with Sister Geri Rogers, principal, and Elena Pueschel.
In the school’s annual spelling bee, held Jan. 9, eighth-grader Nancy Rhodes (right) came in first and sixth-grader Amy Okonkwo (left) was the runner-up. Other class representatives were Carson Weaver, fourth grade; Jean Claude Younan, fifth grade; and Ariana Tsehaie, seventh grade. — Tammy Eason
Flynn wins Sacred Heart’s geography bee, advances to State Bee
In addition, winners of Our Lady of Mercy School’s recent geography bee were: first place, Khoa (Kenshi) Nguyen; second place, Miller Aho; and third place, Katherine Brown. — Katrina Capistrano
St. Michael’s geography bee, spelling bee winners GASTONIA — Sixth-grader John Gustashaw (left) was the winner of St. Michael School’s recent National Geography Bee. Runner-up was fourthgrader Jonah Gardner (right). Other participants included Austin Rios, Kyra Osei-Boateng, Zachary Kimmel, Allison Kimmel, Amry Rivera, Sydney Smith, Ariana Tsehaie and Carson Weaver.
SALISBURY — Sacred Heart seventhgrader A.J. Flynn recently won the school’s annual National Geographic Bee and advanced as to the next level of competition April 6 at the 2018 N.C. National Geographic State Bee. He is pictured with Principal Tyler Kulp and Father Lucas Rossi, parochial vicar. He joins 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories invited to compete in the State Bees. Flynn, the son of David and Rene Flynn, will compete to earn a spot at the National Geographic Bee Championship at National Geographic Society headquarters May 20-23 in Washington, D.C. The first-place national champion will win a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, and an all-expense-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour II. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Geographic Bee, developed by the National Geographic Society in 1989 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the U.S. — Robin Fisher WE WELCOME your school’s news! Please email news and photos to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.