The Conservatory of Dance & Theatre in downtown Galax invites you to attend an Open House & Fall Registration Monday and Tuesday, August 25th and 26th from 2-7pm. We offer all levels of classical ballet, jazz, tap, acting, tumbling, Kids Rock, Mommy & me, and creative movement for ages 2 ½ - adult. Discounts are available for families and for those who take more than one class. Come tour our studios! Our experienced staff members will be on-hand to answer all your questions. All classes are taught by former professional ballerina Dr Barbara Johnson and her staff of experienced instructors. The Conservatory of Dance & Theater brings you thrilling productions like The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, the Broadway dance musical Cats and annual performances of The Nutcracker. The Conservatory also offers its students special in-studio master classes.

Only one more tax-free day in which to go to Wal-Mart and fight a horde of other parents for cheap school supplies. I think I'll pass.

I'm remembering last year. There I was. Crushed in the school supply aisle with 30 other parents plus carts and offspring. I was snatching at the last few 25-cent, 24-count crayon boxes, when my next-door neighbor yelled at me over the furor: "Have they got any more PENCIL POUCHES?" I threw him a pink one over the heads of ten not-very-cheery shoppers.

He threw it back and bellowed, "Any blue ones? This is for my SON!"

"Sure thing!" I roared. "Need any GLUE STICKS?" He shook his head.

"GO LONG!" I yelled, and he faded back to the index cards for my forward pass.

Are you interested in homeschooling, but don’t know how to start? Do you have a lot questions? There will be a Home School Open House, this Saturday July 12 from 10am-3pm (floating)at the old Vaughan Memorial Library beside the new public library in Galax. Local home educators will be on hand to answer all your questions and provide you with resources, information and parent-to-parent support. If you’re in North Carolina, come to our home school open house on Tuesday, July 22 from 4-6pm at the Sparta Public Library. For more information contact Susan Gleason at sgleason@LS.net

Make yourself visible to many millions, even billions, of people. Managing a web site has never been easier, and you can build your Internet presence without hurting your budget.

You can show pictures of your passions. You can sell your surplus produce. You can rant about the economy. There are people who can be hired to make your home on the web, but the presence you desire is available with minimum impact on your budget — you might do these things without spending any money.

Seating for the two-hour WWW camp is $20. The first camp will be on (Friday) 2008 June 20 at 115 1/2 West Grayson Street. Call 877.465.7638 for more information or future schedules.

The Conservatory of Dance & Theatre in downtown Galax still has spaces available for boys and girls in its summer dance camps and is currently accepting registrations. The weekly camps run at various times from June 16-August 1.

The Conservatory is offering:

• Petite Princess Camps (Ages 3-4),
• Tiaras, Tutus and a Prince (Ages 5-6),
• Intro to Dance (Ages 9-14),
• Dances Around the World (Ages 7-9),
• “Kids Rock” Camp featuring music by Hannah Montana and High School Musical (Ages 5-7),
• “Pop Star” Camp includes a DVD of each student (Ages 8-10),
• Musical Theater Workshop “Hairspray”(Ages 10+) and Ballet Intensives (all levels).

KEEP READING FOR DETAILED INFO.

HOW FARMERS CAN SELL LOCALLY GROWN MEATS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

A NINTH DISTRICT AGRICULTURE CONFERENCE

Congressman Rick Boucher invites all of his constituents in the Ninth District to a local food conference to be held in Abingdon on Monday, July 28 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.  There will be no charge for attendance.  A number of speakers, including growers and retail buyers, will speak on the retail climate for local products, expanding opportunities for marketing, new trends in the marketplace, and other important issues.  To register for this conference, or for more information, call Rep. Boucher's Abingdon office at (276) 628-1145.  Cosponsors of this event include Grayson LandCare and Appalachian Sustainable Development.

The Home School Foundation, the charitable arm of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), announces a new program that is coming to Virginia. It is called the Right Choice Program and is for families that want to begin homeschooling, but who feel they cannot afford it. Executive Director Chuck Hurst reports the Right Choice Program is being launched in three states this year. “It is designed to help young families who have a strong desire to home school, but who are struggling financially, by providing the basic educational resources they need to get started,” he said. There are several guidelines for qualifying: 1. Children must be new to homeschooling and no further advanced in their studies than the 6th grade.

Admittedly a small niche but if you fit, this could be a great opportunity.

The niche is programmers interested in journalism. The opportunity is a full scholarship to a prestigous journalism school sponsored by the Knight Foundation and promoted by PBS.

You can check it out at http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2008/05/still-seeking-coders-intereste.html and http://groups.drupal.org/newspapers-on-drupal

Drupal is the primary CMS (Content Management System) at LSNet where we are currently investigating the use of NetBeans (sponsored by Sun) in the development of Drupal websites.

FRIES Va (April 2008) Naturalist guide Scott Jackson-Ricketts recently led a group of homeschoolers from Virginia and North Carolina on a hike on Seven Springs Farm in Fries. The farm is owned by Terry & Susan Gleason. Jackson-Ricketts showed the students evidence of natural and human disturbance and taught them about topography, ornithology and substrate. Students also learned about various habitats and bio-diversity. Seeing himself more as a mentor, Jackson-Ricketts values the interaction among all participants and the learning that takes place includes him. "Sharing the wonder of outdoors, the life all around us, is my focus," said Jackson-Ricketts.