Author: HEF Admin

  • ‘Ear flick’ case goes to Supreme Court

    ‘Ear flick’case goes to Supreme Court

    One News July 07, 2010
    Christchurch father Jimmy Mason has been given leave to appeal by the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old was sentenced to nine months supervision and ordered to undergo anger management courses after a jury found him guilty of assaulting one of his two children. The case was widely seen as a test of the anti-smacking laws as Mason publicly claimed he’d done no more than flick his son’s ear. The Supreme Court has just announced it will permit him to appeal his conviction on the grounds that combining two allegations in a single count resulted in a miscarriage of justice. The two allegations are punching a child and pulling his ear. READ MORE
    Family First Comment: This is significant because our original concern with this case was that a father who admitted an ear flick may have been found guilty of assault because of the way the charges were applied. We’ll watch this one with interest.

    HEAR Family First’s reaction to the original verdict

    Got a comment on this issue? Email feedback@familyfirst.org.nz

  • Only 16% see smacking as ‘very high risk’

    Only 16% see smacking

    as ‘very high risk’

    Telegraph (UK) 08 Jul 2010
    Just one in seven UK parents sees smacking as a “very high risk” to children, according to a survey. The poll by The Children’s Society found that only 16 per cent thought that smacking children posed no risk at all to the young. The highest risk identified in the survey of 2,047 adults was letting a child play outdoors late on a summer’s evening without knowing where they were. Respondents were asked to rate how much risk several scenarios posed to children. READ MORE

  • Socials fast-track new case in Ruby Harrold-Claesson’s absence

    Socials fast-track new case in

    Ruby Harrold-Claesson’s absence

    Family’s Lawyer Inexplicably Banned

    The struggle continues for little Domenic Johannson, seized by police from his agonized parents because he was briefly homeschooled, stayed home with his mother as a preschooler, and was reportedly too affectionate and outgoing. Close observers of the Johansson state-sponsored “kidnapping” case believe the Visby Social Board is pushing Swedish courts to fast-track a new series of court challenges in an effort to have the cases quashed long before Ruby Harrold-Claesson wins her way back as counsel to Domenic’s parents, Annie and Christer Johansson.

    Earlier this month, Swedish courts banished Harrold-Claesson from the case after Domenic’s  appointed public “defender” complained to the courts about her participation. Harrold-Claesson, president of the Nordic Committee for Human Rights, is a widely known and respected advocate for families in custody disputes with child protective services, and has won many such cases in Sweden, restoring dozens of children back to the rightful arms of loving parents. She has since filed an appeal to her court ordered removal.

    Word has it the next series of law suits might be heard as early as the second week of July in Swedish courts on the island of Gotland. This new case, challenging the “keeping” of Domenic, was filed on behalf of the Johanssons by Harrold-Claesson just days before she was banished.
    The previous series of cases challenged the initial “taking” of Domenic. In those series of suits, the Johanssons were “represented” by court appointed counsel, resulting in Domenic’s continued seperation from his parents. It is for this very reason Christer Johansson has dismissed the original court picked counsel and sought out the hard-hitting Harrold-Claesson to represent him.

    June 25, 2010 marks the one-year anniversary of the violent seizure of the then 7-year-old child. So traumatized was Domenic by the acts of armed police on behalf of the Visby Social Services board, witnesses tell us he vomited during and shortly after the shocking scene when uniformed Swedish police stormed an India bound jetliner just moments before take off. We are told the boy’s mother, Annie, collapsed during the assault. The family was emigrating to India, Annie’s home country.

    By the end of 2009, the Johanssons had lost all their court appeals challenging the “taking” of their only child. In the December 2009 Chamber Court decision, the court sites as justification the fact that Domenic was home schooled (at the time legal in Sweden), that his parents chose to delay or forgo immunizations (also legal in Sweden) and that the boy had two cavities in his baby teeth.

    Annie is a native of India. She emigrated with Christer to his native country of Sweden in 2001 after an earth quake hit India and the couple lost everything they owned. At the time of the quake, Annie was pregnant with Domenic. The couple always planned to return to India where Annie’s large family resides, and were finally doing so the day Domenic was seized.

  • Sweden’s State-Sponsored “Kidnapping” of 7-year-old Homeschooler Approaches One Year Anniversary

    A Review of the Egregious

    December 2009 Court Decision

    Allowing Social Services

    to Keep Little Domenic in State Custody

    It was one year ago today, June 25, when armed police, at the behest of Social Services of Gotland, stormed an Indian bound jetliner in Stockholm, Sweden, and forcibly removed the Johansson family. Their crime? They had briefly home schooled their only child in a land which looks upon home schooling families with contempt, and just this week passed a new education law making home schooling illegal across the Swedish landscape. This story examines the life of the Johanssons and the December 2009 Swedish Chamber Court Decision which essentially holds a family captive on the Swedish island of Gotland.

    When cultures collide

    Because his mother is Indian, Domenic grew up somewhat different from the average Swedish child, naturally adopting Indian ways and customs. Annie, the now 8 year-old boy’s mother, believes in a simple life where mothers raise their children by hand until school age. Therefore, Annie and her husband Christer never enrolled Domenic in Swedish day care and preschool and were repeatedly harassed by Social Services of Gotland for their choice to raise Domenic at home.
    (Click photos to enlarge.)

    In Sweden, it is the rare child who does not attend day care soon after birth while mothers rejoin the workforce. Domenic and Annie were the exception, and not the rule. Therefore, their way of life attracted attention. Mother and child remained home with each other daily, enjoying the most natural of relationships. Yet shockingly, in the December 2009 court decision to continue holding Domenic in state custody, the fact that Domenic was never placed in day care was held against the family. According to the December 2009 court document, “…the parents have taken a risk with not letting Domenic participate in child care and schooling.” When, in the history of humanity, has it been a “risk” for a mother to raise her child at home herself?

    “Lives in the shadow”

    The court has clearly held Annie’s position as a foreigner in Sweden against her. You see, Annie’s native tongue is English, yet she has learned to speak and read some Swedish over time since emigrating to the country in 2001. On the other hand, Christer speaks both Swedish and English fluently, as does Domenic. Over the years, Christer has done most of the translating and speaking for Annie. Gotland Socials have interpreted Annie’s reliance upon her husband to communicate for her as a weakness, as cited in the December 2009 court document, stating, “Annie Johansson lives in the shadow of her husband.” If you moved to a foreign country with your spouse, who grew up in that country, would you not also be heavily reliant upon your spouse if you did not speak the language well? Would such a reliance make you an unfit parent?

    Mother earns Masters but “lacks ability”

    Annie received her BA from the University of Poona in 1994 and then her MA from the University of Pune, 1996. She also pursued additional education by earning a First Class diploma in Advertising and Public Relations, also in 1996, from the Bombay Institute of Management Studies, as well as a diploma of Distinction in Information and Systems Management from Aptech Computer Education school in 1998.  Yet, Social Services of Gotland managed to convince the Chamber Court judge that while Annie has the “will” to be a good mother, she, a multi-degreed individual, hasn’t the “ability.” The December 2009 Chamber Court decision states, “Christer Johansson and Annie Johansson have a will to act as good parents but lack ability.” Do you have a Masters degree, or perhaps just a Bachelors degree? If so, did your degree take a certain amount of knowledge, self-discipline, maturity and “ability” to obtain?

    A bereaved mother’s “present state”

    According to the Johanssons, in the fall of 2008 Social Services of Gotland began actively investigating and harrassing them after the family notified the local school of their intent to home school Domenic for a brief time prior to their move to India. Compulsory school age is 7 in Sweden. Domenic turned 7 in September of that year. At the time, home schooling was still legal in Sweden. In light of the pending emigration to India, the Johanssons were acting in the best interest of their son by making an educational choice which would naturally minimize disruption to his studies while they moved.

    Even though home schooling was at the time legal in Sweden, many in positions of governmental authority are against the practice, as demonstrated just this week when on June 22 the Swedish Parliament approved a new Education Act making home schooling illegal in Sweden. In 2008, the Johanssons were met with resistance to their home school plans from officials at the local Gotland schools, as well as from employees Social Services. Thus, the interrogation and investigation of the Johanssons began. Because it was their legal right, the Johanssons stood their ground and home schooled Domenic through his first school age year.

    By the school year’s end, the harassment from Social Services took its toll on Annie, but she persevered nonetheless. However, since Sweden has “kidnapped” her son, Annie’s health has greatly deteriorated, as noted in the December 2009 decision, “Her present state strongly affects her ability to be a parent.”

    Let’s consider this in context: By December 2009, the Johansson family had been terrorized by the Social Board of Gotland for more than sixteen months; had their home swarmed and searched by armed Swedish police; had been pursued by armed police, at the request of the Social Board, to the very tip of the tarmac at an international airport; had watched helplessly as armed police stormed the jetliner upon which they were passengers; had been forcibly removed from the airplane; once back in the airport had been tricked into allowing the Socials to separate Domenic from them by stating they were simply taking him “to the room next door” only to find out minutes later that he had been wisked out of the airport and was headed back to Gotland and into forced foster care. They had endured numerous meetings with the Socials pleading for the return of their son; were lied to when told he’d be returned in three days; were accused of neglecting him because of two cavities discovered in his baby teeth, after the fact, during those three days in state custody; they’d been through three levels of court cases attempting to have their son returned to them; they’d not been allowed to see their son except for one hour every five weeks. All of this trauma perpetrated by the state, and the Chamber Court judges Annie’s fitness as a parent based upon her “present state.” How ironic that the same people who created terror and chaos in the Johansson’s lives are those who now claim that Annie is unfit to parent in her “present state.” The Swedish Social Services of Gotland have violated and torn apart a peaceful and loving family. Now they punish that family for their suffering.

    Parent’s agony labeled “lack of skill” during supervised visits

    The December 2009 decision indicates that Domenic and his parents do not know how to interact with each other during state-supervised visits. Specifically, the document states, “Both Christer and Annie Johansson show a lack of skill…There is a lack of dialogue and interaction from both sides.”

    Since Domenic’s seizure, Annie and Christer have battled the fight of a lifetime against forces with seemingly unlimited power and resources. They are allowed to see their only child for one state-supervised hour every five weeks, and are permitted to speak with him for one state-monitored ten minute telephone call every two weeks. During these times of fleeting interaction with their son, Annie and Christer are severely restricted in what they can say and do in Domenic’s presence and they are watched constantly.

    During one visit, Annie, overwhelmed by her emotions at seeing her son after such a long separation, began to cry. Instead of understanding and sympathizing with the pain Domenic, Annie and Christer were experiencing, the attending social worker threatened them, telling them if Annie cried again the visit would end immediately. Can you imagine being threatened to lose your one precious hour every five weeks with your child simply because you’ve behaved naturally, as a brokenhearted mother who is losing her child? Is it any wonder all three of them, Domenic, Annie and Christer, don’t know what to say or how to conduct themselves under the ever present microscope of an attending social worker? Yet, in the December Chamber Court decision, this family is accused of having a “lack of skill” in meeting each other under impossible conditions. Again, this family is punished for suffering created by the state.

    How far must we stretch our imagination to understand the strain a parent-child relationship suffers once social services removes a child from his home? Since their separation, Domenic, Annie and Christer have suffered great turmoil and impossible adjustments. Looking forward to beginning his new life with his parents and large family in India, Domenic instead was forced to live in a stranger’s house in Sweden. At the time he would have begun school in India, he was forced to begin school in Sweden. On his 8th birthday, the heartbroken boy was denied permission to see his parents. When his first Christmas away from home arrived, he was again denied permission to visit or even talk by telephone with the parents he’s always loved and adored. Instead, Domenic was forced to celebrate his birthday and the holiday season with strangers while the social workers surrounded themselves with family, friends and loved ones.

    There are other restrictions, as well. The Johanssons are not allowed to bring gifts or treats for Domenic. Christer’s elderly father and wheelchair-bound mother, Domenic’s grandparents, close and dear to him since birth, accompany the family to the state-supervised visits. Unaccountably, at times these gentle people found themselves kept out of the visiting room. No explanation or reason given.

    According to the Johanssons, the family has been instructed always to smile when they see Domenic and never to talk about the separation. In essence, they are expected to act as if everything is perfectly fine when they see their son. They are not at liberty to tell Domenic that they do not agree with his living in foster care. They are not at liberty to tell him they are fighting to bring him home. Instead, according to the Johanssons, they are to interact with their son in such a manner that would obviously lead little Domenic to believe his removal from his family is perfectly acceptable to his mother and father.

    We have no idea, however, what social workers are telling Domenic. If his mother and father are not allowed to speak of the separation and are not allowed to tell Domenic they are fighting for him, does that not leave Domenic to wonder what his parents are thinking? Doesn’t that leave a little boy totally confused about what has happened and at the mercy of whatever message the social workers and foster parents choose to tell him? Children often naturally blame themselves for family difficulties. If Annie and Christer are not allowed to reassure Domenic that he is loved, cherished and wanted back home, isn’t this little boy open to very serious and long-term psychological damage?  We also wonder what might be happening in Domenic’s foster life which perhaps he has been forbidden to share with his parents.

    It is clear why Domenic, Annie and Christer do not know what to say or do when they see each other. This family has become nothing more than puppets on the strings of a heartless puppeteer. They’ve been threatened into doing and saying as little as possible when visiting Domenic. The question remains: what has Domenic been told or gone through which has caused him to no longer interact naturally with his parents? Why does Domenic now suffer huge gaps in his memory, as noted by his distressed parents?

    National Health Care – How a man’s conscientious efforts to regain health were used against him
    Sweden is a socialist country. The country’s health care is administered by the government, as opposed to private health care where patients enjoy doctor patient privacy. In a socialist system, your health record is the government’s business.

    In the Domenic Johansson case, Christer’s health records from years previous were eventually used against him. After the earth quake and the family’s emigration back to Sweden, Christer suffered a major depressive episode. Yet he did the right thing. He recognized his condition and sought help from the Swedish health system. After a psychiatric evaluation, Christer received the anti-depressant medication Seroxat (also known as Paxil). Unfortunatly, this drug can have severe side effects and Christer fell victim to some of its worst, including dependency.

    Once more, Christer did the right thing. He recognized his further deteriorating condition and sought help from the Swedish health system again, at which time he was offered the popular Swedish depression remedy: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). A well informed and intelligent man, Christer already knew the dangers of ECT and turned the psychiatric clinic’s offered remedy down. Christer found he had only one choice: to wean himself off Paxil, which he succeeded in doing over several months.

    Unfortunately for Christer, health records of Swedish citizens are not private. Any government agency or employee, it seems, can obtain a citizen’s records. As in countless other state child protective cases, Christer’s health records were obtained by Visby Social Services and the often conflicting diagnoses of Christer’s mental health condition in 2003 and 2004 have been used against him in 2009. In response, Christer requested a new psychiatric evaluation. Dated October 11, 2009,  the newest psychiatric evaluation documents the history of Christer’s struggles and provides a new evaluation and conclusion by Visby Adult Neuropsychiatry Department. According to the report, which was submitted in full to the Chamber Court,  Christer is said to be healthy and completely free of any mental illness or other diagnosis.

    Even with this latest psychiatric evaluation demonstrating Christer’s depressive illness, as well as the severe side effects he’d suffered from the psychiatric medications are safely in the past, the court continued to insist in its December decision that Christer suffers from psychiatric illness. Surprisingly, the written decision attributes this “diagnosis” as “…according to the social services’ understanding a factor that affects Christer Johansson’s ability to care.” Evidently, the opinion of a professional psychiatrist with Visby Adult Neuropsychiatry Department holds little weight in the Chamber Court at Stockholm over an “understanding” by personnel at Social Services of Gotland.

    Terrorized into submission
    While Annie and Christer stood their ground against Visby Social Services of Gotland in defense of their parental rights to raise and school Domenic at home, after the boy was seized the Swedish LVU system soon had Annie and Christer terrorized into complete submission. As recorded in the December 2009 Chamber Court decision, Christer was obviously a man brought to his knees.

    The Decision records Christer as agreeing to everything Social Services of Gotland demanded. The Johanssons agreed to enroll Domenic in school, to obtain all immunizations, to provide any other health and psychiatric care deemed necessary by the social board for Domenic. They even went so far as to agree with the social board that Domenic was psychologically delayed as a direct result of not attending day care, preschool and the first grade. The Johanssons were exactly where Visby Social Services wanted them: in complete submission. A Court truly concerned with the child’s wellbeing, however misguided, would here have concluded that with full cooperation from the family in every possible therapeutic suggestion, the need to remove the child should no longer exist. But this was not the aim of the Social Services.

    Catch 22: cruelty at its utmost
    By December 2009, six months after their precious son was ripped from them, Christer was a man willing to cooperate fully with Visby Social Services, in an effort to restore Domenic to his family. In a sworn statement before the Chamber Courts, this father agreed to follow the entire care planned devised for Domenic, with the exception that Domenic’s care be provided while he continued to live in mandatory foster care. The Johanssons were willing to do everything and anything Social Services of Gotland demanded, so they might finally have their son restored home.

    The most cruel aspect of this case is boldly recorded in the December 2009 Court decision. In a Catch 22 scenario, the Johanssons lose their son if they agree to the entire LVU care plan, which includes mandatory foster care; and the Johanssons lose their son if they agree to the entire LVU care plan, with the exception of mandatory foster care. In conclusion, the court wrote, “Question is therefore if needed care can be given voluntarily. In the care plan is, among other things, said that Domenic should be placed in a foster home which Annie Johansson and Christer Johansson have not agreed to. Chamber Court can therefore state that needed consent to needed care is not present. In such a case, the Provincial Court’s decision to give Domenic care according to LVU should stand. The appeals should therefore be denied.”

    In other words, the Johanssons submitted to every demand of the Social Services of Gotland. Those demands included what some would describe as a coerced court admission that they had made wrong choices for Domenic as accused by Social Services. The demands also included that the Johanssons must agree to everything in the LVU care plan, including mandatory foster care for their son. Therefore, they were damned if they submitted to all demands and damned if they did not. The maximum possible compliance was obtained from this suffering family, including denying their own natural way of life. Then, when they were in complete submission, they were denied everything.

    How to understand this case?

    The plain and simple facts are these: A loved, fortunate and healthy child was taken without legal process from his parents for indeterminate (and faulty) ideological reasons. His family was then punished for the trauma they had experienced, and because they did not simply acquiesce in the loss of their child. There is nothing legal, nothing logical, and nothing just in this scenario. That it could happen in a modern and supposedly democratic nation defies belief. Any free citizen of good will, in any country of the world, should be concerned when a government has the power to act in this way unhindered. This case should concern all of us. All parents, all families, and all who believe in human rights and human dignity.

    Sweden’s State-Sponsored “Kidnapping” of 7-year-old Homeschooler Approaches One Year Anniversary

    Please visit this website often to see what you can do to help out: http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com

  • Ruby Harrold-Claesson has been removed from Domenic Johansson’s case in Sweden

    Our good friend Ruby Harrold-Claesson has been removed from Domenic Johansson’s Case in Sweden. Please read the two reports below. One from the HSLDA and the other from WND.

    Ruby Harrold-Claesson

    Judge banishes family’s custody lawyer

    Chief of Nordic Committee for Human Rights told she’s off case

    An internationally known human-rights lawyer who had agreed to work on the case of a Swedish family whose son was taken into custody by agents of the government social-services program for being homeschooled says she has been banished from the case. Ruby Harrold-Claesson, the president of the Nordic Committee for Human Rights and a well-known advocate for families in disputes with social-services agencies over the custody of their children, had been working on the case of 9-year-old Dominic Johansson, who was taken in a state-sponsored abduction in mid-2009. His parents, Christer and Annie, had been in a dispute with local government officials over their plans to homeschool him as the family prepared to move to India, Annie’s home country. Police, with instructions from social services, on June 25, 2009, boarded a jet preparing to depart on an international flight to India to take Dominic into custody, where he’s been since. An e-mail from Harrold-Claesson obtained today by WND confirmed she would appeal the determination, and Christer Johansson told WND, also by e-mail, a new lawyer had called him to introduce himself. “So I said, ‘Hold on a little, where is my lawyer Ruby?’ He said she was removed from the case by the court [be]cause our son’s lawyer made a complaint against her.”
    He said the court apparently removed Harrold-Claesson because the lawyer made an attempt to see the child in the school setting where social-services agents have put him. “I will not accept any other lawyer than Ruby,” Johansson told WND. “I just can’t start over again. “Funny thing, Ruby has been asking the social services for the case documents, investigations and all, but they refused to send it to her. This lawyer on the other hand got it all before I knew about him.
    “I will refuse this lawyer and demand Ruby to be accepted!” Christer Johansson wrote…

    Read more here: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=165361

    Please sign this petition if you have not already signed it. Click here:  http://rohus.nu/en/?English_information:PetitionIf you have signed this petition please also make sure that your signature is not in this invalid list.
    Thanks.

    Sweden Denies Due Process to Family

    In a stunning display of bureaucratic indifference and contempt of due process rights, a local Swedish court has removed a highly qualified attorney from the Johansson case… Appointed only after much back-and-forth with the judicial system, attorney Ruby Harrold-Claesson has now been removed from the case after she attempted to visit Domenic’s school with his parents just a few weeks ago. Harrold-Claesson is president of the Nordic Human Rights Committee and a well-known human rights attorney in Sweden who specializes in working with families whose children have been taken away from them by the state. Following her attempt to visit Domenic, social workers immediately retaliated by cutting off all phone contact. Unlike most Swedish lawyers who are, in all cases, both appointed and paid for by the courts, Harrold-Claesson aggressively and tenaciously fights an often uphill-battle against social services agencies, guardians ad litem and judges that just go along with the recommendations of social workers. She has taken a number of cases to the European Court of Human Rights. HSLDA Staff Attorney and Director of International Affairs Mike Donnelly commented that this action goes against the basic notions of fairness. “Ruby’s dismissal by the court is shocking in light of the most basic understanding of fairness and due process,” said Donnelly. “One of the principal requirements of due process is that a person be represented by counsel of their choosing, to a fair and impartial judiciary, with an opportunity for a full and fair hearing of all the disputed facts. By removing Harrold-Claesson, the court has dramatically interfered with Mr. Johansson’s right to counsel and called the fairness of the entire process into question.”

    Read more here: http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Sweden/201006140.asp

  • Coming Events for April

    Coming Events for April – June

    *******

    Sat 17 April 2010

    Top of the South Conference in Tasman Bay

    Venue: Tasman Bible Church Cnr Coastal Highway and Williams Rd, Tasman

    Contact: Rose, 03 526-6767       evenings only or                topofthesouthreg@live.com

    Cost: $5.00 per family

    Programme:

    8:45am Venue opens

    9:15am Welcome

    9:30 – 11am

    Craig and Barbara Smith: Home Education – Getting Things Into Perspective

    11am Morning Tea

    11:30am Two Electives

    Craig Smith:  A Christian Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education

    Barbara Smith:  Changing the Heart of a Rebel  (For preventing rebellion, and dealing with it as a Christian)

    12:30pm  BYO Lunch, View Resources

    1:00pm Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Is it Possible to Discipline Children in our Undisciplined Society?

    Barbara Smith: Training our Children’s Minds, The Tools of Learning, and Motivation

    2:30pm PM Tea, View Resources

    3.00pm Two Electives Combined

    Craig and Barbara Smith: Training our Children/Youth to be Pure and Raising our Daughters to be Godly Wives and Mothers

    *******

    Tue 20 April 2010

    Coffee & Dessert Evening in Hokitika

    Venue: Hokitika Church of Christ, corner of Sale and Stafford Sts, Hokitika

    Time: 7:00 pm
    Cost: $5.00 per family

    Questions and Answers with Craig and Barbara Smith

    Please bring your favourite dessert to share.

    Anyone wanting individual time with Craig or Barbara, or both? They are available during the day of the 20th. Let Sonya know and she will arrange a time when you can meet with them.

    Contact: Sonya McGarvey           Ph: 03 755-5300    mcgarveyls@snap.net.nz

    *******

    Thurs 22 Apr 2010

    An Evening in Te Anau

    Venue: Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Te Anau Terrace, Te Anau

    Time: 7pm

    Contact: Nancy, 03 349-8166, gnbarnes@xtra.co.nz

    Programme:

    7pm Keynote with Craig “Home Education – Getting things Into Perspective.”

    8pm two electives
    Craig: “Is it Possible to Discipline in Our Undisciplined Society.’
    Barbara: Christian Parents Preventing and Changing Rebellion in a Child’s Heart”

    *******

    Fri/Sat 23-24 Apr 2010

    “Refresh” Conference in New Plymouth

    Speaker: Rosie Boom

    www.boomfamily.co.nz

    Venue: Northpoint Baptist Church, 116 Mangati Rd., Bell Block

    Cost: $30 (includes am & pm teas)

    Contact: Sue, 06 758-5294, innesnz@xtra.co.nz; Helen, 06 754-7158, powicks @gmail.com

    Friday: Family Concert by Rosie Boom & Family, 7-9pm

    Programme:

    9:00am — Venue Opens, Resources

    9:30am — Rosie Boom: Joy in the Homeschool Journey

    10:30 — AM Tea

    10:50 — Rosie: The Gift of Values (how to nurture character in our children’s lives)

    12:30 — Lunch

    1:00pm — Resource Stalls open

    2:15pm — Rosie: Building a Strong Family

    3:15-6:00pm — View Resources

    *******

    Sat 24 April 2010

    Full Day Workshop in Invercargill

    Venue: Rosedale Bible Chapel       Cnr Bourke & Exmouth Sts    Invercargill

    Contact: Joy Gibson               Phone: 03 214-4493             briangibson@clear.net.nz

    Costs: $15 / family or $5 / session

    Programme:

    9:00am Venue Opens, Resources

    9:15am Welcome & Notices

    9:30-11am Two Electives

    Craig Smith: The Christian Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education

    Barbara Smith: Avoiding Burnout — Keeping Going When the Going Gets Tough

    11:00am AM Tea, View Resources

    11:30am Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Choosing or Developing Your Own Curriculum

    Barbara Smith: Training Our Children’s Minds, The Tools of Learning and Motivation

    1:00pm BYO Lunch, Resources

    1:30pm Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Changing the Heart of a Rebel (for preventing rebellion and dealing with it as a Christian)

    Barbara Smith: Training Our Children to Worship

    2:30pm PM Tea, View Resources

    3:00pm Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Training Our Children/Youth to Be Pure

    Barbara Smith: Raising Our Daughters to Be Godly Wives and Mothers

    4:30pm View Resources. End

    *******

    Mon 26 April 2010

    Dunedin Home Education Seminar

    Venue: Musselburgh Baptist Church, 131 Musselburgh Rise, Dunedin

    Time: 10am-3pm & 7-9pm

    Cost: $15 per family, which includes the Children’s Programme

    Contact: Dunedin Committee on register4dunedinseminar@gmail.com or Katie, ph. 03 489-2349,

    Programme:

    10am — Registration & Resources

    10:15 — Welcome & Notices

    10:30-12 — Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Home Education — Getting Things into Perspective

    Barbara Smith: Home Education  through Secondary and Preparing for Tertiary

    12-1 — Lunch. Tea & Coffee provided.

    1-2:30 — Two Electives:

    Craig: Changing the Heart of a Rebel

    Barbara: Avoiding Burnout: Keeping Going When the Going Gets Tough

    2:30-3 — PM Tea & Resources

    (3pm-7pm: Free to go home)

    7-9pm — Two Electives

    Craig: Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education from a Christian Perspective

    Barbara: Training Our Children’s Minds: Tools of Learning and Motivation

    *******

    Tue 27 April 2010

    Half Day Workshop in Oamaru

    Contact: Tani, 03 434-9253, tani.newton@paradise.net.nz

    Venue: Elim Church

    Cost: $10 per family or $5 per session.

    Speakers: Craig & Barbara Smith

    Programme:

    1pm — Registration & Resources

    1:30 — Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Choosing or Developing Your Own Curriculum

    Barbara Smith: Training Our Children’s Minds

    3pm — PM Tea & Resources

    3:30 — Two Electives:

    Craig: Changing the Heart of a Rebel

    Barbara: Training Our Children to Worship

    4:30-5 — Q & A Session

    6:00pm — Pot Providence Tea

    8:00pm — Two Electives:

    Craig: The Christian Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education

    Barbara: Training Our Daughters to Be Godly Wives & Mothers

    *******

    Wed 28 April 2010

    Workshop in Timaru

    Venue: Connect Community Church, Intersection of College Rd and Harper St., Timaru

    Cost: $5 per family per sessioin or $15 per family for all the 4 sessions.

    Contact: Rachel, 03 686-3393   or thelittles@maxnet.co.nz

    Programme:

    1:45pm — Arrive & Welcome

    2:00 — Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Getting Things into Perspective (Schooling vs Education, Character Training, Tutoring/mentoring, Developing Vision)

    Barbara Smith: Avoiding Burnout: Keeping Going When the Going Gets Tough (Symptoms, Causes, Strategies)

    3:30pm — PM Tea & Resources

    4:00 — Two Electives:

    Craig: Choosing/Developing Your Own Curriculum

    Barbara: Training Our Children’s Minds: the Tools of Learning and Motivation (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric Stages of a Classical Hebrew / Interpersonal Education)

    5:30 — BYO Dinner Time

    6:30pm — Two Electives:

    Craig: The Christian Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education

    Barbara: Creating Your Own Library and the Vital Nature of Reading Aloud

    7:30pm — Keynote Address

    Craig: Home Educating Through Secondary and Preparing for Tertiary and the Workforce

    8:35pm — Q & A Session

    9:00pm — Supper

    *******

    Thur 29 April 2010

    Home Education Workshop in Ashburton

    Venue: Ashburton Baptist Church, cnr Cass & Havelock Sts., Ashburton

    Cost: $5 one session, $10 Single, $15 Family

    Contact: Melanie, 03 030-6564, midcanthomeeducators@gmail.com

    Programme:

    1pm — Registration & Resources

    1:15-2:45 — Barbara Smith: Avoiding Burnout: Keeping Going When the Going Gets Tough

    2:45-3:15pm — PM Tea & Resources

    3:15-4:30 — Craig Smith: Home Educating Through Secondary and Preparing for Tertiary and the Workforce

    4:30-5:00pm — View Resources

    *******

    Sat 1 May 2010

    Workshop in Christchurch

    Venue: Bishopdale Reformed Church, 90 Highsted Rd., Christchurch

    Cost: $15.00

    Contact: Angela McDowell, ph. 03 383-0652 pm only; andrew. mcdowell@xtra.co.nz

    Programme:

    9:00am Venue Opens, Resources

    9:15am Welcome & Notices

    9:30-11am Two Electives

    Craig Smith: The Christian Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education

    Barbara Smith: Avoiding Burnout — Keeping Going When the Going Gets Tough

    11:00am AM Tea, View Resources

    11:30am Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Choosing or Developing Your Own Curriculum

    Barbara Smith: Training Our Children’s Minds, The Tools of Learning and Motivation

    1:00pm BYO Lunch, Resources

    1:30pm Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Changing the Heart of a Rebel (for preventing rebellion and dealing with it as a Christian)

    Barbara Smith: Training Our Children to Worship

    2:30pm PM Tea, View Resources

    3:00pm Two Electives

    Craig Smith: Training Our Children/Youth to Be Pure

    Barbara Smith: Raising Our Daughters to Be Godly Wives and Mothers

    4:30pm View Resources. End

    *******

    Mon 3 May 2010

    Evening Meeting in Blenheim

    Venue: The Community House in Riversdale, 131 Budge St.

    Cost: Donation

    Time: 7:00pm

    Contact: Sandy, 03 578-1296, home_spun3@live.com

    Informal Q & A time: with Craig & Barbara Smith, including college & university entrance.

    *******

    Fri/Sun 28-30 May 2010

    Patchwork of Grace

    Retreat

    Venue: El Rancho, Waikanae

    Speaker: Rosie Boom

    Cost: $165 per person, includes all meals from Sat Breakfast through Sunday Lunch.

    Contact: Gayle McDonald, lotsamacs@xtra.co.nz

    This is an opportunity for you to spend a weekend away from the burdens and stresses of homeschooling life and take some time out to fellowship with other like-minded mums. You will receive inspiration and encouragement for your homeschool journey.

    *******

    Fri/Sat 25-27 June 2010

    Heart Retreat

    Matamata

    *******

    For more on Craig and Barbara’s talks go to:

    and

  • Mums Still Smacking, Want Law Change not Discretion – Poll

    MEDIA RELEASE

    31 March 2010

    Mums Still Smacking,

    Want Law Change not Discretion – Poll

    Family First NZ says that almost half of our mums of young children have admitted smacking illegally in the past 12 months, and three out of four mums want the government to adopt a law change rather than rely on police (and CYF) discretion.

    These are the key finding of research commissioned by Family First NZ. The Curia Market Research poll surveyed 1,000 people, and also found continued confusion over the legal effect of the law.

    “This poll confirms that the Prime Minister has not reassured parents. They are still concerned that he is willing to retain a law which he admits is a ‘dog’s breakfast’, badly drafted, extremely vague, and had to whip his MP’s to support.”

    “Immediately following the referendum last year, polling showed 52% wanted a law change and 27% supported no law change but greater discretion as suggested by the PM. That has now almost returned to the 80% benchmark of opposition to the law that has been present for the past 5 years.”

    _________________________________________________________________

    KEY FINDINGS

    Extensive support for a law change across all demographics (4 out of 5 people)

    3 out of 4 say the law is not at all likely to help reduce the rate of child abuse

    Only 1/3’rd of respondents actually understand the law correctly

    45% of mums of under 12’s have smacked illegally in past 12 months

    1/4 of mums more likely to vote for political party that commits to changing law

    _________________________________________________________________

    “A law that requires so many compromises, guidelines, helplines, reviews, and parent education could be easily fixed with a simple amendment. That’s what parents deserve, what they want, and what the politicians should respect and act on,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    As a result of this poll, Family First is continuing to call on the government to adopt ACT MP John Boscawen’s private members bill which is similar to National MP Chester Borrow’s proposed amendment. National MP’s were supporting this amendment until they were whipped to vote for Sue Bradford’s bill at the last minute.

    The poll was conducted between 24 and 28 March 2010 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.2%.

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42



    Sign up now to received FREE email updates of issues affecting families – be informed! http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/Sign_Up

  • Top of the South Conference in Tasman Bay: Sat 17 April 2010

    Sat 17 April 2010

    Top of the South Conference

    in Tasman Bay

    Venue: Tasman Bible Church Cnr Coastal Highway and Williams Rd, Tasman

    Contact: Rose Sutherland Phone 03 526 6767 evenings only or topofthesouthreg@live.com Cost: $5.00 per family

    PROGRAMME:
    8:45am Venue opens, Resource Table

    9:15am Welcome

    9:30 – 11am          Craig and Barbara Smith: “Home Education – Getting Things Into Perspective”

    11am Morning Tea

    11:30am Two Electives
    Craig Smith:  “Dad’s Essential Role in Home Education – from a Christian Perspective”
    Barbara Smith: “Changing the Heart of a Rebel”  (For preventing rebellion, and dealing with it – Christian presentation)

    2:30pm  Lunch – BYO, Resource Table

    1: 00pm Two Electives
    Craig Smith: “Is it Possible to Discipline Children in our Undisciplined Society?”
    Barbara Smith: “Training our Children’s Minds”, “The Tools of Learning”, and “Motivation”

    2:30pm Afternoon Tea, Resource Table

    3.00pm Two Electives Combined
    Craig and Barbara Smith: “Training our Children/Youth to be Pure” and “Raising our Daughters to be Godly Wives and Mothers”

    (Q’s and A’s can be included in this session.)

  • Hamilton Home Schooling Conference – all welcome – great talks for all parents

    Sat 6 March 2010

    THEN Conference Hamilton

    Venue: Hamilton Sth Baptist Church, 131 Ohaupo Rd, Hamilton

    Contact: Margaret, Phone: 07 843 5656, THENmail@gmail.com

    Costs: $20 THEN member, $35 nonmember, $40 on-day

    Registrations close: Sunday 28 February 2010

    (you can still turn up on the day and pay the on-day registration)

    Vendors: Home Education Foundation, Learnex, CES Books and more.

    Programme

    9am Open for Registrations including on the day registrations

    10am Start and Welcome

    10.05am – 10.30am Craig Smith — Keynote Address

    10.30 Morning Tea, Vendors Open

    11.00am – 12.00pm Session 1

    Craig Smith: Getting Started in Home Education: In this presentation Craig Smith covers the details of getting your child out of school, different approaches to home education, curriculum materials and the legal aspects of home education. For those new to home education this is a great place to get an over view.

    Wintech, University and Vision College reps: Preparing for Tertiary

    Rowena Powell: Reading, the Reluctant Reader and Maths Reluctant: Rowena home educated her own children and now specializes in teaching reading writing and maths to children who need extra help. Her workshops usually have a hands on approach to how you go about helping children to master the art of reading writing and maths.

    Barbara Smith: Coping with/Avoiding Burnout: During this presentation Barbara Smith will look at the symptoms and causes of home school burnout and strategies for avoiding it. Many of us worry about whether what we are doing is right, is there a better way and strive too hard. Barbara will lead us to an understanding of what home education really calls us to.

    12 pm Lunch BYO. Tea and coffee provided

    12.45 pm – 1.25pm Session 2

    Craig Smith: Is it possible to discipline children in our undisciplined society? It will be very interesting to hear what Craig has to say here. He is right; society is undisciplined. How do we teach discipline to our children in a world that mocks it.

    Barbara Smith: Books, Great books and more books: How is your home library coming along? From her years of home education experience Barbara will share her wisdom of what it really is worth spending your money on to develop your home library. What books are of greatest value? And Why?

    Gladys Billings: Teaching Writing: Gladys is the home schooling mother of Anna (15) and David (15).
    If our child is a good reader we naturally think they will be a good writer. But this does not always follow. Writing is a skill which any child can acquire so as to express themselves creatively or in essays. For the last 4 years Gladys used Andrew Pudewa’s wonderful user-friendly Excellence in Writing material to teach children how to write.

    Johanna Whittaker: Lapbooking and Unit Studies: Johanna is the home schooling mum to Nathan (10) and Grace (12). She discovered the creativity, fun and convenience of Lapbooking when undertaking unit study work with her children. They have been making lapbooks for about five years, subjects ranging from butterflies to India. If you just want to find a way to conveniently record and store project work in an attractive innovative way, then investigate this workshop.

    1.30pm – 2.30pm Session 3

    Craig Smith: Dads: The dad’s essential role in home education is what Craig will explore during this session. The father’s input into home education and family life is vital. Craig as father of a large family will share his wisdom and experience and hopefully inspire other dads to get more involved in their children’s education.

    Margaret Evans: Homeschooling on the Smell of an Oily Rag: Margaret is a mother of 6, who has home educated her family over 22 years, much of that time while on the DPB. Can it be done without spending much money, and how do you choose what to spend the little you have on? Alison Kinghorn, who home educated her three children, will also have some input.

    Barbara Smith: Training our Children’s Minds: Barbara takes the grammar, logic and rhetoric stages of classical education and applies it to the Hebrew/interpersonal approach to learning which results in a very interesting and informative workshop.

    Katherine Baxendine: Home schooling Large Families: Kathy is married to David. They live on a dairy farm in Matamata area with their 11 children who range in age from 19 years to 15 months. Along with Kate Molloy (mother of 8 children) Kathy will lead the workshop whereby they will share ideas and tips that have helped them in their homeschooling.

    2.40pm – 3.15pm Panel of homeschooling parents, and homeschool graduates – chaired by Craig Smith.

    Close and thank yous

    Afternoon tea and vendors stalls open until 4pm