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PLEASE NOTE!
Due to Yahoo's taking down of the Geocities community,
this site will no longer be accessible as of October 26, 2009.
Please note the location of the new site
serving Moriches Bay LEAH...
morichesbayleah.webs.com.
About Us
Please read our Statement of Faith
Who We Are...
As you may or may not already know, New York State LEAH (Loving Education at Home) is a Christian organization of New York State home-schooling families. It operates as a collection of local chapter groups, of which Moriches Bay LEAH is one. Our chapter is part of Region 10--Long Island/New York City, and we serve the Shirley/Mastic area as well as the east end of Long Island.
How to Join Our Group...
Joining our group requires joining NYS LEAH (done through our chapter) at an annual membership cost of $25--$15 for NYS LEAH dues and $10 for our chapter dues. Membership in NYS LEAH entitles you to a subscription to The LEAH Messenger, LEAH's quarterly newsletter, and a $20 discount when you join HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). The $10 chapter dues are used to cover our basic operating costs. The amount for the chapter dues for your first year of membership may be prorated--$10 for full-year membership or $5 for half-year membership--depending upon the point during the school year that you initially join. However, the NYS LEAH membership fee is fixed at $15, regardless of when you join. We also ask that you read and sign a copy of our Statement of Faith. Annual membership renewals are collected at the last parent meeting of the year, usually held in May. You may download and print the membership form (which includes the statement of faith) from our Member Forms Download page.
Parent Meetings...
At this time, the location for our first parent meeting for the 2009/10 school year will be the home of our chapter leaders, Mike and Rose Capobianco, in Shirley. These Monday evening meetings will take place four times during the school year, in August, November, February, and May. Because our group serves a fairly large geographical area, we are open to rotating the meeting location. Members are free (if they wish) to offer their homes to host the meetings for the sake of travel convenience. Child-sitting is currently not available.
The dates for our parent meetings for the 2009/10 school year are as follows:
- August 17, 2009
- November 16, 2009
- February 15, 2010
- May 17, 2010
Student Activities...
In addition to our parent meetings, we also have tried to organize regular activities with our children. These activities provide our children with social time as well as opportunities for group field trips, fun science demonstrations, arts and craft classes, and physical activity, not to mention the parents' receiving some weekly support time as well.
Activities have generally been held on Friday afternoons from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M., with some exceptions, depending on the event. The frequency with which our calendar offers these activities directly depends upon the efforts of all of our members. Therefore, in order to avoid having this responsibility fall on the same people all the time, each family is asked to organize one or two of these get-togethers. Please note that there is no need to be intimidated by this. Depending upon your particular interest and level of ambition, it can be as involved as a co-operative class or as simple as a fruit-picking outing or a trip to the park. The important thing is that it provides an alternate approach to learning as well as some get-together time.
These activities are, for the most part, restricted to LEAH members. In the case that the activity calls for a larger head count, and we need to open it up to non-LEAH members, our standard procedure is to inform the other members accordingly. Keep in mind that activities that take place at a location that requires a certificate of insurance should be restricted to LEAH member families.
The Size and Age Range of Our Group...
Our group currently consists of approximately 8 member families, and, although a few of our children are in the elementary grades, we have become a group of mostly older students, with many in junior high and high school. Last year we saw one of our students participate in the commencement ceremony that closes the Annual Long Island/New York City LEAH Homeschool Convention. The year before also saw one, and the year before that saw two. If you have not yet attended a LEAH commencement ceremony, we strongly advise that you do. It is hard to describe the encouragement and inspiration that comes from sharing in the success stories of these families, all glory to God. It will surely convince you to continue in your God-given mission, through to its completion.
Regardless of the size of our group, we always welcome new families. New members usually translate into new ideas, and those new ideas enable our group to change as our needs change.
The Value of a Homeschool Support Group...
As many of us in the group would agree, a network of other homeschoolers can often prove to be one's lifeline--not only for those just starting out, but also for us veteran homeschoolers who may be in danger of burning out. Besides this, it is beneficial for the children to associate with children whose educational experiences are similar to theirs and whose families share a common world-view. In addition to this, we have been blessed to witness another unexpected benefit. Our association has been the ground from which some very close friendships have blossomed, not only among the children, but also among the parents.
If we sound like the group for you, please contact Rose for additional information. We look forward to hearing from you.
Current Officers - as of June 2009...
Chapter Leader: Rose
Treasurer/Membership Coordinator: Cathi
Activities Coordinator: Teri
Librarian: Dawn
Sectretary: Amanda
Page revised Wednesday, June 24, 2009.