Links to items on this page:

High School Cross Country
Knox Youth Sports
Sea Scouts Ship 300
American Math Contest For High Schoolers
Upward Basketball
Join Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts
Knoxville Christian Youth Bands
American Heritage Girls
Boy Scout Troop 911 and Venturing Crew 22
4-H
Earth Scouts
Knox CPR
S.A.L.T. Club

High School Cross Country

Attention all Home School Runners:
It is now possible for home schoolers to participate in local (Knox County and surrounding counties) High School Cross Country meets. The race distance for boys and girls is 3 miles or 5 km; the season begins August 30 and lasts through mid-October. Even though we will have to participate as unattached athletes, we would like to form a team to promote camaraderie, provide coaching, hold organized practices, and assist athletes with registration and entry requirements. If you are interested, please contact Chuck Weber (584-2375, webercf@bellsouth.net).

Back To Top

Knox Youth Sports

We are very interested in giving homeschooled children the opportunity to play team sports at KYS. We offer 3 sports this fall--baseball, flag football, and lacrosse. Please check out the web page below for details. Hope to see some of your children soon!

Best regards,
Wayne Christensen
Knox Youth Sports 
P.O. Box 10964 
Knoxville, Tenn. 37939 
865/584-6403 
www.KnoxYouthSports.com 

Back To Top

Sea Scouts Ship 300

Here is a great opportunity for boys and girls, ages 14 to 21, to learn about sailing in a fun and safe environment.

Sea Scout Ship 300meets at the Concord Yacht Club, 11600 Northshore Drive "where the sailboats are." They would like to invite all interested home schoolers ages 14 to 21 to join them. No prior scouting experience or sailing experience is necessary. This Ship currently has a few home schooled Scouts members including Carolyn Golzales, who placed in International Sea Scout Competition and Zachary Crane.

Want to see some photos? 
Sailing 1
Sailing 2
Sailing 3

This unit has a fleet of fourteen boats all kept in working order. As with any Scout unit, we require at least two adults present at all activities. Membership fee is $10 individual membership in the BSA, $1 individual accident insurance premium, and a donation to the ship maintenance fund.

If you would like more information, please contact Tom Newman at the Boy Scout Council Office at 588-6514, or see the following websites:

www.seascout.org (National website of Sea Scouting)

www.concordyachtclub.org, scroll about half way down the page "Sea Scout Ship 300"

If you have questions, or would like more information, you can contact George at ship300sails@yahoo.com.

Due to the nature of this group, please note that they do not have facilities to handle special needs youth.

George Hubbell, Committee Chairman, Sailing Club Sea Scout Ship Freedom 300, B.S.A.

Back To Top

American Math Contest for High Schoolers

The American Math Contest is a test taken by students all over America . Just to say you've done it will look good on your transcript. And it is a good way to get some math test practice in before taking SATs / ACTs. You need never tell anyone your scores - I only release results to parents, but I do announce who the winner is in our local contest. If you score high enough you could make the National Honors Roll.

Cedar Springs Homeschool Support Group will be administering this test (AMC 10 for 9th and 10th graders and AMC 12 for 11th and 12 graders) on February 12, 2008 at 9am. Venue : Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church.

The AMC 10 / 12 is a 25 question, 75 minute multiple choice examination in secondary school mathematics containing problems which can be understood and solved with pre-calculus concepts. Calculators are not allowed starting in 2008.

For more info go to http://www.unl.edu/amc/whatswhat.shtml. There are certificates/medals for the tops scorers in our group. Past tests are available for practice. (Just ask me)

Cost - $8 per student.

To register email merylvdm@gmail.com. Payment must be received by Tues 11 December. Make checks out to Cedar Springs Homeschool Group and mail to 7417 Lawford Road , Knoxville , TN 37919

Thanks, Meryl van der Merwe

Back To Top

Upward Basketball

We will be having another season of Upward Basketball here at First Cumberland this year. We will begin with sign ups and evaluations the week of November 17th. Upward Basketball is for those in K-6th grades.

Our tentative schedule is:
Nov. 17-21 Evaluations
Dec. 15-19 First week of practice
Jan. 4-9 Second week of practice
Jan. 10 First games
Feb. 28 Last games
Mar. 1 Awards

We again will ask your permission to provide information to you to give to your group for this church program. Either Steve Summers, Pastor Kevin or myself will be in contact with you regarding this in the next few weeks.

See you at Thursday Connection,
Yours in Christ,
Kevin L. Wood, Pastor

Back To Top

Join Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts

Scouting: The ULTIMATE Adventure

Boys who are rising 1st through 5th graders as of Fall 2007 and their families are invited to join Cub Scouting, a family program of fun, adventure and family values! Visit www.scoutparents.org for more information.

Boys who are rising 6th graders, or are 11 years old through 17 year olds are invited to join Boy Scouting. 

Boys AND Girls ages 14 to 21 are invited to join Venturing, a high adventure, co-ed program.

Scouts at all levels can enjoy time at Day, Twilight, or Summer Camps this summer!!

For more information, contact:

Tom Newman 
Toqua District Executive 
Phone: (865) 588-6514 
Email: tnewman@bsamail.org 

Back To Top

Back To Top

Knoxville Christian Youth Bands

My name is Greg Laughon and I am the President of the Knoxville Christian Youth Bands Board of Directors. KCYB is a Christian-based instrumental music organization primarily for home school students who would like to participate in a band program. I would like to offer the KCYB program to you and your home school families as an opportunity to experience instrumental music. We will be starting a new Training Band in January for students who are interested in playing a band instrument. We have other bands available for students who already have some instrumental music experience. Please visit our website www.kcyb.org for more information or feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Greg Laughon
President, KCYB Board of Directors
938-6398 home
292-3897 cell

Back To Top

American Heritage Girls

Dear all,

We are very grateful to God and the mentoring of our "mother" troop TN131 in Maryville for being able to start a Knoxville branch of American Heritage Girls this past school year - TN0215.

From the fall organizational months & a January '07 official start we have enjoyed badge work, campouts, "Bedtime with the Beasts" at the Zoo, joining and award ceremonies and marching in our first 4th of July Parade! (see: http://picasaweb.google.com/AHGtroopTN215/4thOfJulyParade07?authkey=dV-47fxYWLU )

Even more blessed than these activities -- we have watched our daughters form good friendships with like-minded girls who desire to put Christ and a Christian culture first, against what our world offers. We are excited about what He is planning to do this next year and in the years to come.

To summarize: We are a home schooling troop that meets in West Knoxville on 2nd & 4th Fridays from 1:15 to 3:00P. We are nondenominational but are a Christian organization -- Jesus Christ is our head! For more information about AHG see the national website www.ahgonline.org For additional information on our troop and a look at our calendar for 07-08 see our own website www.ahgtn0215.org. 

God bless your discernment on whether to join and who to forward this email to!

It is important that you attend this Thursday evening if at all possible. If you are unable to attend please reply with any questions and any intentions to join. The troop size may need to be limited depending on the response and number of volunteer leaders.

We now have all groups represented in our troop!

K = Pathfinders 
grades 1-3 = Tenderfoot 
grades 4-6 = Explorers 
grades 7-8 = Pioneers  
grades 9-12 = Patriots (Pioneers and Patriots currently meet together).

Hope you all can come Thursday. Please RSVP to one of our leaders listed below so we can estimate amount of registration folders needed!

Pat von Clef, Communications/ Secretary (539-6635) for the Board of Troop TN0215 
Kim McCready (690-8841) & Lydia Donahue (288-0528), Co-Chairs 
Susan Melhorn, Treasurer & Advancement manager 
Joannie Ham, Unit Leaders Representative

-- AHG Troop TN 215

2 Thessalonians, chapter 2:15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.

Back To Top

Boy Scout Troop 911 & Venture Crew 22

These Scouting units are looking for a few good men and women. The men must be between the ages of 11 and 17 for the Boy Scout Troop and the Venturing Crew is looking for men and women between the ages of 14 and 20. These are youth led units in which the Venturing Crew is an extension of the Troop. The units plan, meet, and implement the Scouting program together.

These units are very experienced in Hiking, Backpacking, Cycling and Canoeing having completed two canoeing trips into the Canadian wilderness in the past two years and several 50 mile bike trips. The units are youth led and the youth elect their own leadership and plan the program, thus the above activities can be expanded upon.

These units meet at Sacred Heart Cathedral and School on Northshore Dr. on Tuesdays from 7:00 until 8:30. We meet in the youth room which is located in the back of the school near the gym.

There will be an information meeting on Tuesday, October 3rd in the youth room. The units are currently meeting at a parent’s house to prepare for the fall camporee, and will not be meeting at the church until October 3rd. If you would like to visit or participate in the camporee, please contact the unit leader below.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Thomas Pendleton or Tammy Sammons
865-789-4997 865-300-5150
Thomastr911@yahoo.com 

Back To Top

4-H

You might think of 4-H as an outdated agrarian organization and shudder at the idea of raising a sheep in your backyard. (So did my mom!) 4-H indeed did start as a club for kids in farming communities, but today it is a globally recognized organization for students 4th through 12th grade living in any setting with any talents.

Alan Shephard, Walter Mondale, Johnny Carson, Reba McIntyre, Jim Davis, Al Gore, Orville Redenbacher, Faith Hill, Johnny Cash, and Pat Nixon. All of the above were 4-Hers and that merely dents the list of famous 4-H alumni.

Above all 4-H produces leaders and responsible citizens, as it encourages kids to develop their individual unique talents (whether that may be history, chess, or Spanish). And 4-H is fun! For home schoolers especially, 4-H is a great place to hang out and make friends.

Curious? You're welcome to come to the West Knox Home School 4-H Club's first unofficial meeting of the year on September 4th at 3pm. We will be having a Q&A session to give you the chance to find out everything you might ever want to know about 4-H. Don't worry if you can't make that meeting. We meet the first Tuesday of every month at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in the Fireside Room (in the Family Life Center building) at 3pm. Anyone from 4th to 12th grade is always welcome, as are their parents!

And if you live near Halls ... another home school 4-H group meets in that area: First meeting - Friday, September 7, 2007, 11:00am-1:00pm at the Halls Library. Contact: Hannah Hopkins (WRITE2U18@aol. com)

If you have questions, feel free to email me! (banyanausa@hotmail.com)

Thanks, Rachel van der Merwe --Vice President of the West Knox Homeschool 4-H Club--

Back To Top

Earth Scouts

I'm forming an Earth Scouts (ES) group locally, and would like to extend the opportunity to all home schoolers, ages 3 to 13, in Tennessee because 1) the concepts taught are similar to what most parents either already believe in or are concerned about 2) information about Earth Scouts is on the web at www.earthscouts.org, including a yahoo group with more information & data base, and 3) the "facilitators" guide and/or age group specific handbooks can be easily downloaded, 4) another way for home schoolers to get together.

This type of boy/girl scout organization concentrates on respect for nature, human rights, peace & nonviolence, participatory democracy, economic justice in a pro-active manner.

There currently aren't any groups in this state (what a shame!), even though it's easy to do either in a family or local group setting of 5 to 15 individuals. The program starts with age 3 and can be done in a multi-age group setting. Most group meetings are 1 time a month or as the participants choose.

The Material is simple and ready to use. Uniforms not required as there are directions included for making "badge belts" or "scout scrap books" out of recycled or natural materials. Kids can earn achievement badges or stickers. I must say that not all the principles have badges/stickers yet, but there's nothing stopping us from developing them. I know I will as Melisa progresses, and individualism is encouraged.

If this works, there's an invitational flyer in the database. If not, contact me and I'll forward it, or you can visit www.earthscouts.org  for more info.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Love & Blessings Dianne

For more information on Earth Scouts, contact Peg Loflin at gloflin1@bellsouth.net 

Back To Top

Knox CPR

Teens getting involved in Tomorrow's future....Today!

For those of you who do not know, Knox CPR is a Conservative politics club for youth starting at age 10. We do community service projects, get involved in local and national elections, and do voter registration drives.  

For more information call Staci or Kaity Proctor at 865-376-4147. Or feel free to e-mail me at kitty_k8s@yahoo.com. Thanks and have a great week!

-Kaity Proctor

Back To Top

S.A.L.T. Club

It is with great excitement, anticipation, and also great alarm that I am writing to you! If you have been following the current events of the state legislature this past spring regarding the House Bills that have come before the House Education Subcommittee, you know that WE ARE IN TROUBLE with homeschooling in TN! We are facing the most difficult situation for the homeschooling movement that we have had in many, many years! In the early spring, we faced a situation with a bill that was eventually defeated that would have demanded state testing for the 'gateway' end of course tests, and also for graduation of our homeschool students. These tests would have been based on the public school curriculum, a situation that would be grossly unfair to our homeschool students, and would have eventually resulted in dictating the curriculum we choose to educate our children. Praise be to God! It did not pass!

But, just when we thought the battle was over, another issue arose, in which the TN Dept. of Education employees began telling various state employers and a college that our Category IV school diplomas (Gateway, among others) were 'not worth the paper they're written on'. In reality, the TN Dept. of Education does NOT have any jurisdiction over Category IV schools because they are church-related and NOT under any state regulations, and these employees have been corrected, but the damage has been done. It will continue to be an ongoing problem, as the Dept. of Education has no authority to validate the Category IV diplomas, until new legislation can be passed that will provide recognition by state employers of Category IV diplomas. To date, we have had a police officer in Roane County where we live, that has been restricted to a desk job with all of his arrests and court cases pending, as he has been told that he must get a GED, since his diploma from Gateway is worthless, despite the fact that he went through police program at a local community college with flying colors! There has also been a daycare worker who lost her job with a state agency because her diploma was declared worthless, and ITT Technical Institute in Knoxville has refused admission to a Category IV homeschool graduate based on advice from the Dept of Education. In May, Mike Bell and Dennis Ferguson were able to get legislation passed in the House Education Subcommittee that would have recognized Category IV diplomas, but the bill was stalled out in the Calendar and Means Committee and dropped for lack of support. They will try again in the next upcoming legislative session next January.

If you watched the video cam of the live feed from the House Education Subcommittee session on the diploma discussion, it was obvious that we have several legislators that are VERY MUCH opposed to homeschooling in the House Education Subcommittee that will use ANY and ALL of their resources to undermine us at every turn. This is despite the fact that we have enjoyed long-cultivated support for many years from BOTH sides of the aisle. We HAVE to realize that we have dangerous opponents to homeschooling in our state legislature! It is HIGH TIME to SOUND THE ALARM and to prepare for the upcoming war on homeschooling that we ARE going to face over the next several years! Our state homeschooling associations are doing EVERYTHING they can to GET YOUR ATTENTION!

Toward that end, I want to tell you about an exciting opportunity that we have to REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE! We have been asked to form a NEW CIVICS CLUB for FAMILIES to focus on state and local issues that affect us as CHRISTIANS here in TENNESSEE. We are calling it S.A.L.T. Clubs for Salt and Light in Tennessee. Our mission is to 'Bring the Salt and Light of Christ to Tennessee'. We want to unite with other families that are concerned for our communities and our state to make a difference in the civic and political arena through involvement in hands-on activities and ACTION. S.A.L.T. Club will be for family members from all ages from babies to grandparents to work together on civics action projects, and also to come and learn together about the many aspects of civics and government (for example: The Branches of our State Government, How a Bill Becomes a Law, etc.)

This year our focus will be on “How We Can Help to Save Homeschooling in TN”. Please come to the SMHEA Curriculum Fair on Friday, June 27th and Saturday, June 28th to find out all about our new S.A.L.T. Club. We will be presenting a skit and an informative workshop on “The Homeschool Heroes of Tennessee”, where you will learn all about the pioneer homeschoolers of Tennessee and the price they paid FOR YOUR FREEDOM, and then explore how WE can protect those freedoms for which they paid so dearly. The S.A.L.T. workshop will be at 3pm on Friday and 1pm on Sat. in Room A at Farragut Middle School.

I would also strongly encourage you to please DON’T MISS the SMHEA annual meeting this year, “Home Education: The Coming War”, where Cory Bennett will give you the latest updates on the current crisis in homeschooling at 12 noon in Room A on both days.

You will also want to hear State Representative Mike Bell on “Defending Home Education Freedom” at 1pm Friday Room A, and former State Senator and F.A.C.T. (Family Action Council of Tennessee) director, David Fowler on “Real Life Civics” in Room A at 2pm Friday. At 4pm in Room A, there will be an excellent video presentation, “Exposing a Trojan Horse” that will tell you all about the state’s latest tactic to get you back into the public education system with virtual schools (public home schools). You can also see the video at 11am Sat.

I am attaching a copy of our new flyer for the S.A.L.T. Club. Please distribute it to all of your Christian friends, and come and find out more at the workshop. You can get ALL the information about the SMHEA Curriculum Fair at www.smhea.org. Hope to see you there!

In His Service,
Staci Proctor

Back To Top

  Can't find what you're looking for? Check the Site Map!

If you have questions for our Administrator, email mary@thursdayconnection.org.

If you have questions about Registration or Tuition, email wendy@thursdayconnection.org.

If you are new to Thursday Connection and have questions, email manuela@thursdayconnection.org.

Questions, Comments or Suggestions about the website may be emailed to webmaster@thursdayconnection.org.

Website and all content Copyright © 2006-2007 Thursday Connection Home Schoolers' Cooperative