Extraordinary Innovation Labs–Upcoming Events

Does your middle school or high school student have an interest in any of these areas?

• Strategy Games
• Hands-on Activities
• Using Power Tools
• Marketing
• Graphic Design
• Public Speaking
• Web Design
• CAD/3-D Graphics
• Technical Writing
• PowerPoint
• Programming
• Engineering
• Technology
• Robotics

If so, then you are invited to come check out the Extraordinary Innovation Labs BEST Robotics Team. Our team is seeking new members, and we would love to have YOU! We need both boys and girls ages 6th-12th grade.
BEST is more than just robots. It’s all about Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology. There’s something for everyone from graphic art to public relations to web design and more. Students don’t even have to touch with the robot if they don’t want to! There are also opportunities for leadership development, and team membership will enhance your college and scholarship applications.
Old and new members are encouraged to join us for our upcoming team meetings in April and May. Team members will learn and/or improve various skills that will help the team work more effectively during robotics season next fall. (Please note that new parents are expected to stay and attend a parent meeting while their student is attending the team meeting.)
All team meetings will take place from 7:00-8:30pm at Extraordinary Education Center, 9522 Carraway Lane, Magnolia, TX 77354.

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APRIL 1^st – GEARS WITHOUT TEARS
Join us for a hands-on overview of gears, how they work and how they can be used to create robots and even moving parts for displays, etc. Super fun learning gears with LEGO!!

• Learn, why, where and when to use gears
• Learn how to calculate simple and compound Gear ratios
• Get “hands on” experiences building examples of different types of gears using LEGOs to reinforce the ideas discussed

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APRIL 22^nd – SHOP SCENE (BARN TIME)
Join us for a overview of barn shop procedures, tools and their use, and maybe even some hands-on practice.

• Safety rules
• Proper attire for working in a shop environment
• Square, tape measure, hand tools, power tools, cutting, drilling, etc. 
• Proper tools for the job  (wood, plastic metal)

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MAY 13^th – SKETCHING SURVEY
We’ll cover simple sketching techniques to present your ideas to others. A picture is worth a thousand words.  Many well-known companies have started with a simple sketch of an idea!

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MAY 27^th – BRAINSTORMING & RESEARCH
We’ll cover how to have a productive brainstorming session with other team members and stay on track.
We’ll also cover research methods available today.  Engineers utilize resources available to the best of their ability. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel - unless you want to be a wheel expert!

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All team members both old and new are also encouraged to attend the BEST Re-Boot Camp in June for a fun week of skill-building and team-building.

EIL BEST Robotics RE-BOOT Camp
presented by Extraordinary Innovation Labs BEST Robotics Team
June 2-6, 2014 (Mon-Fri)
9:00am-4:00pm
Ages: 6th-12th grade
- $150/camper (New EE BEST Robotics Team Member)
- $25/camper (Previous EE BEST Robotics Team Member)
Students in this camp will develop many of the skills necessary for a successful BEST Robotics contest season. The camp is open to girls and boys entering grades 6-12.
Prior robotics experience is not necessary.
Skill focus areas will include:

• Use of various power tools
• Robot construction
• Programming
• Problem solving and mini-challenges
• CAD Drawing
• Presentation skills
• Team-building activities
• and more!

EE Open House & Fall Preview–TUE 3/25

With the first day of spring comes planning for SUMMER CAMPS and FALL CLASSES. Come on out and see what’s going on at Extraordinary Education this summer and next fall!

Several Fall Preview events are planned to help families get ready for the 2014-2015 school year. These events are designed to allow parents and students to meet the teachers, gather information about their classes and ask questions to help them determine the best classes for their needs.

A New Family Overview will also be presented during each event to help new families understand how our program works and to answer common questions.

Teachers will be set up with displays and information in the “large” portable from 6:30-8:30pm, and a New Family Overview will take place from 7:00-8:00pm in one of the portable rooms across the deck.

• TUESDAY, MARCH 25th
• TUESDAY, APRIL 8th
• THURSDAY, APRIL 24th
• WEDNESDAY, MAY 7th

Make your plans now to attend one of these informative events and be sure to bring a friend!

EIL Robotics Meeting 3/18

Extraordinary Innovation Labs is the new name for The Woodlands Homeschoolers BEST Robotics team. The next team meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00pm.

The team will continue to meet twice a month during the “off season” to learn new skills and work on outreach and fundraisers such as the team’s summer Lego Robotics camp and MineCraft Camp. The team is open to boys and girls ages 12-18.

Come find out this unique learning opportunity is all about!

NCFCA Speech Event in Tomball

NCFCA is hosting a regional speech and debate tournament at Rose Hill Christian School in Tomball, March 20 -22nd.  Over 200 students and their families are attending!

Over 100+ volunteers from the community are still needed to serve as judges at the tournament. Judging is about a 3 hour time commitment and involves simply listening to students’ speeches and debates and offering written feedback. No experience in speech or debate is necessary... we give you an orientation and all the tools you need to judge.

We understand that asking folks to volunteer their time is no small thing, so one way we seek to accommodate you is through our judge hospitality staff. They provide meals all day so that you can come on your breakfast, lunch or dinner hour.

Rounds run from 7am to 8pm all day Thursday, March 20 - Saturday, March 22nd at Rose Hill Christian School. People can come on any of those three days at a time that is convenient for them. Please sign up to judge at  www.ncfcajudges.com and contact Amy Beach cbeach3@comcast.net , the judge coordinator, with any questions!

A word about the students you will be investing in: 

NCFCA is a nationwide homeschool speech and debate league training students 12 - 18 to develop critical thinking and speaking skills necessary for leadership. Many of these students are studying to be good communicators because, like you, they desire to be leaders in their communities. They have spent much of their FREE time studying apologetics, government, the 1st amendment, and federal election law! Please come and encourage them in their endeavors and we think you will be encouraged by what you hear!  Learn more at the NCFCA website at www.ncfca.org.

On behalf of these students and their parents, we thank you!

Sincerely,

Amy Beach
Judge Coordinator
Houston/Tomball Qualifier 2014
cbeach3@comcast.net
281-546-4873

PLEASE NOTE: This is a community event. It is not an “EE sponsored” event. This information is being passed on for those who may be interested. Please contact Amy Beach at the contact info listed above with any questions.

NCFCA offers many opportunities for students to develop not only public speaking skills but also critical thinking, interpersonal skills and awareness of apologetics, social issues and current events. You will enjoy watching these amazing students. Bring your own students with you so they can be inspired!

Summer Camp Schedule Online Now!

We have been working hard to get the summer camp schedule finalized, and I think you are going to be very happy with the result! Additional camps may be added, but here is a link to the line-up so far:

Summer Camps 2014

We are still working to get all of the sign-up pages and camp descriptions live on the website. If would to reserve a spot in any of these camps before online enrollment is active, please send an email to office@extraed.org and we will be sure to get you on the list.

Super Screener! Second Chance 3-19-2014

SUPER SCREENER IS COMING BACK!

Kristy Bailey, RN is coming back to Extraordinary Education March 19th at 12:30pm for some re-screenings and is available to EE families who did not get to take advantage of this service in February.

Super Screener offers vision, hearing, spinal, and pre-diabetic screening (no needles!). Screening is $25/student (ages 4-18) with family discounts and single-mom discounts available.

If you would like to reserve a screening spot, email Kristy Bailey at info@superscreener.org or call 936-777-4925.

SUPER SCREENER WANTS TO BE YOUR HERO!

FALL 2014 PRE-REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Currently enrolled students may now begin enrolling in Fall 2014 classes! Enrollment is ONLY open to currently enrolled families for the remainder of March. Enrollment will open to new families as of April 1st, so be sure to reserve your spots soon! Please see the page below for the proposed schedule and the link to pre-register.

http://www.extraed.net/fall_2014_spring_2015

Pre-registration does not require a deposit to hold your spot.
A deposit is required by APRIL 15th to continue to hold your spot. After April 1st, a DEPOST must be received within 10 days of enrollment in order to continue to hold your spot in the class. Non-paid spots will be released to new enrollments. With EE’s continued growth, class space is expected to become very tight especially in our more popular classes.

PLEASE NOTE: Class information including class descriptions and other details are not yet available in ClassJuggler. We are working to upload this information, but with well over 100 classes it does take time! We aim to have everything uploaded and visible within ClassJuggler by the end of March. Please use this SPECIAL FORM or the link on the EE website to select your classes during the pre-registration period. We are very sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.