We just checked into our hotel in Hamilton and are preparing to take a look around this afternoon.

If you notice me, don’t hesitate to say hello!  And don’t forget about the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents’ conference next weekend, Sat. May 3, in Toronto!

Close to 1,200 high school students from across Ontario will have the opportunity to experience the living and learning environment of the University of Guelph as part of the annual Interaction Conference running on campus April 24 and 25.

Hosted by Admission Services, the recruitment conference begins at 10 a.m. in Rozanski Hall.

Students can choose two sessions from more than 40 offerings run by U of G students, faculty and staff. Some of the sessions include “Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: A Glimpse at the Very Small”, “Wal-Mart’s Coming to Smallville- What Will Happen to Retail Space?” and “Family Secrets and the History Detective.”

Registration starts at 9 a.m. and includes a $25 fee per student, which also covers the lunch.

For additional information please visit our Interaction website or call 519-824-4120 Ext. 58713.

No indication of a registration deadline, or whether the program is already filled. But, if you’re looking for a last-minute pre-university experience (and, just a reminder that Guelph has a great, detailed homeschool admission policy!) or making a list of things to plan for in future years, this promises to be an interesting activity!

To register, print out the registration form and mail it to the address indicated, along with your payment made out to The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents.

More information available at the conference website.

Saturday, April 5 – Kitchener Waterloo Christian Home Educators’ Conference

Friday/Saturday, April 25/26 – Ontario Christian Home Educators’ Convention

Saturday, May 3 – O.F.T.P. Diversity in Education Conference

This will be my fourth year of presenting the University Admissions seminar around the province at conferences as well as smaller venues. While it’s not exactly old news, if you’ve seen it before, should you attend again? Here’s how to decide:

• The basic format/content of the presentation is the same. I’ll discuss any news and updates since last year, but essentially the purpose of the seminar is the same: describe the ins and outs of applying to university as a homeschooler.
• I recommend this presentation for families who have (ideally) 3 – 4 years before they need to go through the application process. This allows you to plan your high school studies with the university application in mind. However, if you’re currently going through the process of applying of university, you’ll probably have a lot of questions personal to your specific situation that you never would have had when you were in the general “finding out about the process” stage. I’m perfectly happy to answer these very specific questions in the seminar as well, since these “case studies” can be very informative for the group. So you may wish to attend again if the process is more “real” to you this time. But *please* remember that this is a general information session and the rest of the audience wants to walk away with more than the details of your situation.
• A good part of the session will be answering audience questions, so I never know what I’m going to be hit with, and you never know what you’re going to learn! (Don’t worry — I know how to keep things on topic and relevant to the group.) If you felt that you benefited from the Q&A portions of the session last time you attended, then you may be interested in what pops up this time.

Most of you have never seen the Standardized Tests for University Admission seminar, since it has only been presented once before (KWCHEA 2007 Conference). What can you expect to see here?

• Disscussion of the following standardized tests: SAT, ACT, SAT subject tests, AP (Advanced Placement) and CLEP exams. We will not be discussing the GED, CAT or IB programs because these are not generally used in university admissions for homeschoolers. Some post-secondary schools will have provisions for using other test results, but the “big five” are the ones accepted/recognized (to varying degrees) by all Ontario universities.
• How to choose the testing program that works for your situation including sample test questions
• Test prep strategies and resources
• We will not be discussing university admission in general. This seminar is solely for information about the standardized test path to university entrance.

If your child plans to present standardized test scores for university admission, I would strongly suggest attending this session. Canadians are generally ill-informed on these options because the SAT isn’t a normal part of the Canadian high school experience.

Hope to see you in April or May! Get your questions ready, and feel free to submit any questions to me ahead of time that you’d like to see answered.

Saturday April 5, 2008 – KWCHEA Conference
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. University Admissions for Homeschooled Applicants
3:00 – 4:15 p.m. Standardized Tests for University Admission

Saturday April 26, 2008 – OCHEC Convention
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. University Admissions for Homeschooled Applicants
12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Standardized Tests for University Admission

Saturday May 3, 2008 – Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents (OFTP) Conference
Tentative date – schedule not finalized

Due to my hectic travel schedule between now and the conferences, I’ve requested to only give the two admissions related seminars this year. I am planning a couple of new seminars, but I’d rather not be putting the final touches on them in Finland, right before the conference!

The University Admissions seminar will be more or less the same one I’ve given since 2005, just updated to keep pace with the changing times. What ends up being really valuable, I think, in these sessions is the Q &A. Every time I give this session, a question prompts me to add something else to the program for next time.

The Standardized Testing seminar was first given last year at KW and had all the buzz of the U.A. seminar when it was new. Since I know only about 30 or 40 of you have ever seen it, I highly recommend coming if you’ve already seen the U.A. seminar, but yet still want the comfort (and comedy!) of a signature Sarah performance. I don’t pretend to understand it, but I can tell you that people seem to leave my sessions in a good mood, relaxed and with much less fear of the whole university admissions process. If standardized tests such as the SAT Tests, ACT, and/or AP exams are in your future, I highly recommend trying to fit this into your schedule.

When details of the O.F.T.P. conference have been finalized, I’ll post the details. So far, all signs point to May 3, which would give us a great excuse to be back in Toronto for a Blue Jays home series over Joe’s birthday weekend! I have yet to confirm details of my speaking, but so far I think they want me.