Conference Summary

Thank you to all those that attended our Conference on the Rock 2011.  Those of you that didn't make it missed a great time.

Donna Ward was an inspiring speaker.  She shared sessions on the importance of loving your child, making geography and history come alive through using great resources and techniques, and the importance of including good books not only for learning but also for enjoyment.  She also had an excellent display of many wonderful resources on her Northwoods Press vendors tables.

Doug Ward, Donna's husband, gave an update on HSLDA and discussed the importance of joining HSLDA for your own peace of mind and also to support others who homeschool to help promote homeschooling as a viable option.

Calvin Smith convincingly made the case for the importance of Genesis and the origins of life.  He showed how everyone comes to conclusions on these matters by using the same facts, but their interpretation of the facts is what makes the difference. Calvin had a great display of books and videos available through Creation Ministries International.

Alfred MacLaren presented the rationale behind the A.C.E.  (Accelerated Christian Education) program and how the program works.  He was available at his table for discussion throughout the conference.

Stephanie Jackson returned with a table of Math-U-See material and was avaiable for discussion and consultation throughout the conference.

Rod and Staff once again brought their big beautiful display of resources and representatives were also avaiable for discussion and consultation throughout the conference.

As recommended by attendees at last years conference, lots of time was built into the schedule for people to browse the vendor tables and to talk with one another.  This is always a favourite part of conference.

Children ages 3-11 enjoyed their time playing in a supervised play room during the conference and the teens took advantage of the youth room and also took in a special session with Calvin Smith.

The conference closed with a passing of leadership for CHENL.  Lorne Robinson explained that he and his wife, Cathy, were stepping down from leadership in CHENL as their youngest child has now graduated and they would no longer be actively homeschooling but they would continue to support the homeschooling community in anyway they can.  Lorne introduced Dean Stairs as the new chair for CHENL. Dean is a homeschooling dad of a large family.  While not a native Newfoundlander he fell in love with the place when stationed here during a term with the armed forces and decided to make Newfoundland his home.  He has a great vision for the future of CHENL. Be watching for an explanation of his vision soon.