Mt. Pleasant Classical Academy

In May our Science Olympiad team will travel from Delaware to Kansas, 1,350 miles west for the National Science Olympiad competition. But just imagine for a moment —- fifteen kids, two coaches, two chaperones; flying or driving 2700 miles; food and hotel for five to seven days; it all adds up to quite allot of money. Most homeschooling families I know do not have an extra $1000 sitting around for such a trip for their child. And for us, we have two kids going—yikes!!!

Our team, in addition to trying to get our kids ready for the higher and tougher competition they will encounter at Nationals, is also trying to fit in fund raising activities. Each student is writing to at least five local companies asking for them to sponsor our team; we are approaching family and friends for funds, and soon we will spend time selling water ice or washing cars to raise funds. It has been hard this week to try to balance SK’s time between writing letters, attending sessions with teachers, re-building his build events to met the requirements at National, and our normal Classical Education coursework; ……it has been stressful to say the least. At least I was able to walk a 1-1/2 mile walk this afternoon, after all our walking around UD’s campus.

Now, if you are so moved to contribute or have a company that would be able to help this team get to Nationals all contributions are tax deductible through our 501(c)(3) organization, DHEA (Delaware Home Education Association), www.dheaonline.org. If you would like to sponsor our team, please leave me a comment and I’ll send you more details of how to go about doing such. Oh, and here’s SK’s latest letter:

My Science Olympiad team earned the privilege at the Delaware Science Olympiad competition to represent Delaware at the National Science Olympiad competition in Wichita, Kansas in May. My participation in Science Olympiad has helped me learn about various science topics, building skills, research skills, and project management skills. My personal places in Delaware were a 1^st in Storm the Castle, 2^nd in Rocks & Minerals, 8^th in Mission Possible, 10^th in Heredity, and 11^th in Food Science. I would appreciate your sponsorship of our team to help us attend the National Science Olympiad competition.