Time for a poetry challenge! The staff of The Lighthouse (TVE’s own student-led newspaper) invites one and all to take part in our first ever poetry competition! Don’t be afraid to let your creative ideas run wild and why not show them off? We look forward to reading your submissions and getting inspired by your beautiful words! You could even share your poems with your parkday friends. Here are the rules. First off, YOUR POETRY MUST COME OUT OF YOUR OWN CREATIVE MIND. No quoting Edger Allen Poe, people! Second off, NO EXPLICIT LANGUAGE OR CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS. We will not accept any foul poetry submissions. Third off, WE ACCEPT ALL TYPES OF POETRY! We don’t hold grudges against haikus or anything.
POETRY IS TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE 20th OF DECEMBER.
You can SUBMIT YOUR POEM AT: thelighthousetve@gmail.com
Our staff will decide who wins in each category, then we will email everyone to congratulate them for their hard work and receive an online certificate! ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE POSTED IN THE LIGHTHOUSE NEWSPAPER ON THE 5th OF JANUARY. (Unless you instruct us not to.)
This fall, TVE has hosted yet another wonderful celebration for this fantastic community. This family dance was dedicated to the fall harvest, and I am sure it has created a lot of happy memories for a lot of people. TVE thanks all of those who helped make this special event happen from set up to clean up, and everything in between.
The TVE Leadership team along with their families and a few volunteers showed up around 4:00pm on Saturday, 22nd of October at the Grange to set up for the dance. The kitchen was set up in a cafeteria style. Four tables were set with fall themed tablecloths and were later laid with baked goods and other snacks brought by contestants for the potluck. Two more tables were set to the right of the entrance door for registration and activities such as a scavenger hunt, and glow stick bracelets. There was also a jar of candy corn, for participants to guess how many were in it. Whoever guessed the closest to the accurate number would get the whole jar!
In a far corner of the room there were two more tables draped with more fall tablecloths for the pumpkin painting craft. Those tables were set with aprons, drawing supplies, and flat wooden pumpkin cutouts to draw on. On the ceiling, paper jack o’lantern lights were hung, and the back of the chairs had battery operated candles that gave off a soft, glowing light when it was dark. There were two stages in the room, the smaller one was set up for a photo booth. The backdrop was a full moon with pumpkins and autumn colored leaves, and in front of the stage there was a ring-shaped light. There were also props for the photos such as glittery paper mustaches and bows. On the other bigger stage, the DJ booth was set up. Right outside the building, a section of the parking lot was coned off for games and two more tables. There was Connect Four, big Jenga, and there was even mini golf, but instead of holes you had to hit the ball into a carved pumpkin’s mouth.
All of this was finished by 5:30pm, which gave everyone who was helping set up 30 minutes to change into costumes. People started arriving at 6:00pm for the party in costume, and brought snacks for the potluck. There were all kinds of bright and colorful costumes all the way from flamingos to wicked witches of the west!
Pictures were taken on the little stage in front of the backdrop all through the evening of families and friends in their costumes. At around 6:45pm the costume parade started. Everyone walked all around the Grange in a line to This Is Halloween from the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas.
At around 7:00pm, the lights turned off and the party music started. The first song of the night was I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. People then started dancing, playing games, and getting snacks and hot cocoa from the kitchen. After a few songs in, the DJ paused the music, and the lights went back on so the host could announce the winner of the candy corn jar. The winner guessed 365 candy corns which was the closest guess to the actual number of 377. After that, all the kids and a few adults stood in front of the stage with the DJ booth for a group photo. Then the lights went off again, and the music continued. During all the dancing and snacks, some members of the Lighthouse Press managed to interview six participants about the party. Here they are!
OLIVIA S.
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. I am a Hufflepuff student from Hogwarts.
Q. What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. I love the Harry Potter book series. They’re like, my favorite books ever.
Q. What has been your favorite part of today’s Harvest Dance thus far?
A. I love seeing all my friends and dressing up is really fun, and dancing is my favorite thing to do.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. Probably the Harvest Dance or Spring Fling.
MITCHELL W.
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. A vampire costume.
Q. What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. Because I think it looks good. And because my grandma made it.
Q. What has been your favorite part of the Harvest Dance thus far?
A. Probably playing outside and dancing.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. Weekly park days.
MAYA
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. Glamrock Freddy.
Q. What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. Because my brother looks like Gregory who is also from the same video game.
Q. What has been your favorite part of the Harvest Dance thus far?
A. The people.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. Parkdays.
ELIZA B.
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. I am Evie from Descendants.
Q What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. I really like the movies, and me and my friend Sophia are both people from Descendants.
Q. What has been your favorite part of the Harvest Dance thus far?
A. Dancing.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. Well, probably the Harvest Dance or the Spring Fling.
SOPHIA S.
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. A Descendants Mal costume.
Q. What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. Well, I really like the movie and I was dressing up as this with my friend.
Q. What has been your favorite part of the Harvest Dance thus far?
A. I think the dancing.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. I like the Spring Fling.
ALEENA
Q. What costume are you wearing?
A. I am wearing a Hermione Granger costume.
Q. What inspired you to wear this costume?
A. I have actually been it for a very, very long time and I am obsessed with Harry Potter, so yeah!
Q. What has been your favorite part of the Harvest Dance thus far?
A. Probably the dancing.
Q. What is your favorite TVE event?
A. I think probably the Harvest Dance or the Spring Fling.
Thank all of you who we interviewed for this article! Those interviews were awesome. After the interviews were finished, everyone who had participated then returned to the dance floor for more music, dancing and fun! Some went to the kitchen for a quick snack. At around 9:30pm, the bulk of people that were there had returned to their homes for the night, so the lights came on and the music stopped. The remaining participants and TVE Leadership started to clean up tables, food, and decor. By the time everything was cleaned up at 10:00pm, people started heading out.
The Harvest Dance was a truly special event that for many, (including myself) is one of the most special days of the year. Once again, we thank all of those who made this all happen. I hope everyone has a wonderful fall and a Happy Halloween!
Hello TVE Community, and hello fall! Isn’t it just so nice to finally have a few not-100-degree weeks? Geez! That sun of ours can be so mean sometimes! Well, now that there isn’t a sizzling noise when we walk onto our front porches, the sunset-colored trees are dropping their leaves at the slightest breezes in front yards which are decorated with pumpkins and scarecrows, waiting for Halloween, which is lurking right around the corner! The TVE Leaders host an annual family dance for this special community, to celebrate this equally special time of year. And now, I am going to subtly tell you IT IS COMING UP PEOPLE! TVE’s annual harvest dance will be held this Saturday, the 22nd of October! It will take place in Danville (further information can be found on the event page in the TVE Facebook group) from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Costumes are highly encouraged, so it’s time to dust off that old Thor costume from 2011 in your brother’s closet. It is also advised that you do not wear any costumes that are too gory or scary, in favor of the many younger attendees that will be present. There will be music, a photo booth, a variety of snacks, games, and even a costume parade! Tickets cost $8 per person, and $25 for 3 people or more. And don’t forget to bring a treat for the potluck! Click on the link below to see the list of snacks needed. Also, note that there will be no actual meals, just snack-worthy items such as chocolate chip cookies, chips, and cupcakes. We hope to see you at the Harvest Dance this year!
What’s that smell? Wow! It sure smells good. Is that the smell of new paper, new pencils, and new notebooks with spines yet to be broken? Wait just a second! That means… (Drum roll) The beginning of the homeschool year has started! (Thunderous applause) And that means that the TVE Lighthouse is up and running again! The Lighthouse staff have put together a fun poetry challenge for all you TVE kids, to kick off this new and fantastic school year! But before I give you the poetry challenge guidelines, let me introduce you to The Lighthouse staff!
THE LIGHTHOUSE STAFF
The Lighthouse newspaper has been up and running, going on two years now, and as of last year, the lighthouse has welcomed new staff members into the group! Here is our new staff thus far!
Ava Salado – Editor-In-Chief
Meru S. – Fiction Section Editor / A&E Editor
Lydia I. Martinov – Science Editor
Liam P. – Photographer & Videographer
Olive Pea – Student Life Editor
Don’t forget to check for new articles! Our staff writes up awesome articles that are edited and uploaded to the Lighthouse Newspaper for you to read every other Thursday of the month.
Wait! Hold your horses! Don’t get too excited yet, I will tell you all about the poetry challenge in just a moment, I just need to give you a list of the upcoming events first. Ok, here it is.
UPCOMING EVENTS
All year long – Weekly Parkdays
October 2022 – The Harvest Dance
Spring 2023 – Knowledge Fair
Spring 2023 -The Teen Formal
May 2023 -Graduation and Promotion Ceremony
May 2023 – Not End of the School Year Picnic (NETSY)
TVE Leaders have also organized a fundraiser for the TVE events. The ID Fundraiser runs now through the end of September. You can participate by going onto the TVE Facebook page, where you can get the student and teacher ID form and instructions.
POETRY CHALLENGE TIME!
Alright. Time for the poetry challenge. First off, YOUR POETRY MUST COME OUT OF YOUR OWN CREATIVE MIND. No quoting Edger Allen Poe, people! Second off, NO EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. We will not accept any foul poetry submissions. Third off, WE ACCEPT ALL TYPES OF POETRY! We don’t hold grudges against haikus or anything. POETRY IS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE 23rd OF SEPTEMBER. You can SUBMIT YOUR POEM AT: thelighthousetve@gmail.com. Our staff will decide who wins first place, and whoever gets first place will be messaged personally by a member of our staff to congratulate you for your hard work! ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE POSTED IN THE LIGHTHOUSE NEWSPAPER ON THE 29th OF SEPTEMBER.
Our staff is hoping to see some truly creative poetry pieces on the 23rd of September. Until then:
Hello future journalists! Have you ever wanted to write? Let me elaborate, not just write short ‘thank you’ notes for those gifts your friends gave you at your birthday party or long, drawn out essays about George Washington for school. I mean writing stuff that you are interested in! From Leaping Blennies, flatulence facts, to on-site coverage of Tri-Valley Explorers events. We pride ourselves on being a pretty versatile newspaper. Now, being back from summer break, we are inviting you to be a part of our staff! We accept students from ages 11-18 with a love, passion, and drive for creative writing. Contact us to find out where our bi-weekly meetings are located, when they start and end, and all those other lovely details! At these meeting we will discuss:
First, how to write interesting, engaging, and proper articles.
Second, our upcoming publishing. Are there any TVE events, world events, or just… cool stuff you would like to write about?
And sometimes we just mess around and play fun writing related games and activities!
These are the jobs we have open:
Copy Editor
In addition to writing for the publication, this person is responsible for editing all copies in the newspaper. This staff member is responsible for checking grammar, spelling (including names), and mechanics. Additionally, the copy editor will also be responsible for fact checking..
News Editor
In addition to writing for the publication, this person is responsible for making sure that all news stories are assigned and written on time. Each section editor is also responsible for keeping their section populated with new stories and properly updated with current events.
Sports Editor
In addition to writing for the publication, this person is responsible for making sure that all sports stories are assigned and written on time. Each section editor is also responsible for keeping their section populated with new stories and properly updated with current events.
Op/Ed Editor
In addition to writing for the publication, this person is responsible for making sure that all opinion and editorial stories are assigned and written on time. Each section editor is also responsible for keeping their section populated with new stories and properly updated with current events.
Just because you have a specific title like, let’s say “Op/Ed Editor” does not mean you can’t write something in the “Sports Section”. Your interests are the most important thing! For all jobs what we ask is that you:
Try your absolute hardest to produce good and clean work. Yes, we do have Copy Editors, but it is our job to do our best and reach our amazing potential.
Make sure you have at least one piece of work every month. We publish twice a month. This is not necessarily a “rule”, but we highly encourage it to keep your author juices flowing.
Stay respectful in all you say and do. Let’s always keep in mind that not everyone’s passion comes with immediate perfection, we are doing our best and no one will ever be put down, mocked, made fun of, or scrutinized. Also, we promise that we will never be asked to read, spell, or do anything on the spot. I know how hard it can be when you are asked a question you are not comfortable answering. This is a comfortable space!
In your writings, we ask to stay away from political or ethical “touchy” topics and, of course, refrain from using any profanities, inappropriate subjects, gory pictures and so on. But to be honest, I know you all are too cool for that!
We invite anyone who has any questions or who would like to join to come — and see a meeting in action! This club will be in session until June 1st, 2023. From the Lighthouse staff to you, “we hope to see you there!”
This year, TVE’s Promotion and Graduation Ceremony took place on a beautiful sunny and slightly breezy day on the 22nd of May at the San Ramon Senior and Community Center to celebrate the promotees and graduates of 2022.
At 1:00pm, the TVE leaders and their families arrived to prepare for the ceremony. White folding chairs were placed in neat rows on the grass in front of the gazebo. Blue, gold, white and black balloons were filled with air then were tied together to make a long clustered line and put behind white letters that said “GRAD”, black tablecloths covered a few shaded picnic tables to put the decorations and sweets on. Also a TV, microphone, and speakers were set up. At 2:15pm, all the event participants arrived for rehearsal. When the rehearsal ended, everyone had a short amount of time to do a few last minute things before 3:00pm, when family and friends showed up. Everyone took their places, then the ceremony began. The MC started the ceremony off, and after that the audio visual specialist played Pomp and Circumstance, and the 5 graduates and 16 promotees walked down the aisle and sat in their seats.
Photo by S. S.
When the music quieted, one by one the promotees started walking up to the gazebo and receiving their certificates of promotion, had their photographs taken, and then went back to their seats. Once all 16 of the promotees had done so, it was the graduates turn. The AV specialist would play the senior video for a graduate, then the graduate and their parents would go onto the gazebo, and the parents would make a speech, then the parents would graduate their seniors. This process was repeated for all five graduates, then all five graduates gathered on the front steps of the gazebo, turned their tassels and tossed their hats into the air.
Photo by S. S.
After some more pictures were taken, the promotees joined the graduates and the photographer took a few group photos.
Then the MC announced that there were cookies, and everyone swarmed the tables and grabbed the cookies. Most of the cookies were homemade!
2022 Promotees and Graduates
KINDERGARTENERS:
Madison A.
Summer A.
Audrey C.
Killian D.
Alexia S.
Ayah H.
FIFTH GRADERS:
Aleena H.
Lydia M.
Anik P.
Ahniya S.
Sophia S.
EIGHTH GRADERS:
Ford H.
Zoe M.
Isabelle O.
Ava S.
SENIORS:
Zephyr D.
Brianna K.
Breanna M.
Josie S.
Jacqueline T.
Congrats to all of TVE’s 2022 graduates and promotees! TVE wishes you a wonderful summer.
Special thanks to Rose Killion, Sarah Mero, Jenni Norton, Nicole Pate, Sheri Salado, Dana Skikos for everything from the 150 folding chairs, to the cookies, and to TVE’s AV specialist, Bryan Mero, for making TVE’s events run smoothly.
What is it like to run a homeschool support group with over 700 homeschooling families?
I interviewed Rose Killion, a home educator, who joined the Tri Valley Explorers (TVE) homeschool Leadership Team in 2016.
Killion said her favorite part of being on the TVE Leadership Team is creating all the amazing events for the community. She also said her least favorite thing is missing part of the dances while she is sitting at the registration table. “But the benefit is that I get to say ‘Hi’ to every person that walks in the door,” she said.
Killion was recruited to the Leadership Team because they thought she would be a good addition. Killion said, “I decided to join TVE Leadership because I wanted to contribute to this amazing community.”
She also said that she has enjoyed being a part of TVE’s Leadership for the past 6 years, and will “miss being a part of this team as our homeschooling journey ends for my family in June.”
Killion isn’t the only Leadership member retiring from the team, nearly HALF of the leadership team will be retiring this summer as their children age out of homeschooling and venture on to the next chapters in their lives. That will leave all the work to the few people who will remain. Nicole Pate, who has worked side by side with Killion for the past 3 school years said “I think TVE will have big shoes to fill when Rose and the other retiring Leadership Members depart.” Imagine! Only a few people running a community with over 700 homeschooling families! Leadership is looking for recruits, if you are a homeschooling parent in the TVE community now’s your chance to volunteer. Helping the TVE Leadership host even one event brings joy to the families and friends in the community. Here are the events hosted by TVE in order:
NBTSY (Not Back to School Year Picnic)
The Harvest Dance
The Winter Holiday Party
The Spring Fling
The Teen Formal
The Graduation and Promotion Ceremony
NETSY (Not End of the School Year Picnic)
Weekly park days in various locations
Photo by T. Salado
You can volunteer to help with an event today! If you are interested, please contact Nicole Pate on the Tri-Valley Explorers Homeschool Support (TVE) Facebook group admin page. The TVE Leadership Team hopes to hear from you soon!
The Spring Fling took place at the Danville Grange on February 19, 2022 from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. It was a drizzly Saturday evening and was hosted by TVE. The TVE leadership team and a few members of the TVE community arrived at 5:00pm to set up. There were bright rainbow banners tied up above the many large windows, bright and colorful tablecloths draped over the rectangular tables. Long wavy red, green, blue, and purple streamers hanging down over doorways and bouquets of purple, blue, and yellow flowers that Ava Salado put together, all from her garden.
Then the food came out.
Boy was I happy, because that gooey pizza was exactly what my nose wanted to smell. Some people grabbed food while others waited for the party. At around 6:30pm, people started to arrive. There were nearly 80 Spring Fling attendees! Some people played the cup toss, where you bounce ping pong balls off the table and try to get it into the cup worth the most points. There was also toilet toss,(which was very popular, even amongst the adults) and toilet paper was flying everywhere! The kids played ring toss, where there were short pool noodles that were taped with duct tape to form rings, and a few of those rings had short pool noodles taped to them so you could stand them up to make poles to throw the rings over.There were also face gems that the attendees had fun putting on their own or other people’s faces, a colorful photo booth that had paper photo props of mustaches, top hats, and glittery golden bows, and a spring flower craft where you would decorate your own foam flower with glitter sequences and other craft items, and of course, the glow sticks.
Photo by Sheri Salado
The party started with the cupcake walk. The DJ played music, and when it stopped someone called out a number, and whoever was standing on that number won a cupcake. Then everybody lined up, taller in the back, shorter in the front, and took a few terrific group pictures.
Then the DJ said something like, “I am going to play a couple of dance party favorites that you should know, otherwise, where have you been for like, the past 20-30 years?” Then the house lights went out, and you could see all the glow sticks glowing in rainbow colors all around the room. Everybody shrieked and shouted in excitement. The DJ got the dance party started by playing the YMCA, and then the Macarena. Everybody either danced the choreographed dances to the songs, or made up their own dances. When those songs were over, more people went over to the games and crafts, and grabbed food from pizza to popcorn and even cotton candy. Some of the kids formed a line by holding each other’s hands and ran around the dance floor, while others made long strings of glow sticks (that didn’t work very well and kept breaking apart, but they used it anyway) and used them to jump rope and do the limbo.
The Spring Fling was an excellent and wonderfully colorful way to get together and kick off the spring season of 2022 for the TVE community. It was also just a hugely fun way to spend time with friends and family.
Hello TVE! The Lighthouse is back! After about a year on hiatus, we have finally returned with a whole plethora of our latest articles (and some new surprises) made by our fresh batch of writers. We are so excited to bring back The Lighthouse TVE with newbies ready to shock you, amaze you, and delight you with their incredible writing skills! We are proud to introduce:
Read more about these amazingly talented kids in Our Staff! We are also still open to new members of our staff! Just contact us and we can see what job is best for you. Journalism can give you confidence and courage to try something new, do something creative, and be something you didn’t know you could be.
What opportunities will I get?
The chance to do in-person or online interviews with interesting people
Professional experience that will help you in whatever career you choose
Fulfill your lifelong dream of yelling “hold the presses!” and it actually works
In The Lighthouse, what will I learn?
The true meaning of proper journalism
How to compose articles, interviews, and news specials
The importance of teamwork in a real life work setting
There are also some new surprises we have up our virtual sleeve, like:
– Nature Section
– A whole new story for the Stories Section
– Comic Strip
– Personal Music Share
– Personal Poetry Share
– Personal Art Share
– and much more!
These Personal Shares will allow the student writer to show off their interests and talents to the rest of the community! Just send whatever the child would like to submit to thelighthousetve@gmail.com . Also, we would love it if you have any articles that you would like to submit. You could write about something new you learned, or something you think is interesting that you would like to share, in fact, we have one of those today! Click here to read our very first submission from one of our Knowledge Faire attendees.
We will be posting every other Thursday so keep one eye, two eyes, or even three eyes (if you’re an alien) out for our new postings! Along with The Lighthouse, Tri-Valley-Explorers is back too! With the amazing second ever Spring Fling that just happened this past Friday, Teen Formal, Graduation coming up, and much more… we will be busy!
If you are reading this, thank you so much for sticking with us through the ups and downs of the journalism life. All the kids are so very excited to either try out a new hobby or continue with their writing passion. Thank you and happy writing!
The TVE Knowledge Faire was a great opportunity for students in the TVE community to share things that they have learned about. It was very colorful, and absolutely packed with knowledge that ranged from farts to paper towels, and even rabbits!
The Knowledge Faire took place on a very windy Thursday, March 10th 2022, and was held at Athan Downs San Ramon park. It was so windy that the participants had to tape and weigh down their presentations so they wouldn’t be blown away!
Awards were given to the Best Of Show and Runner Ups for each age group.
Photo by Sheri Salado
Best Of Show for years 4-7 was Adelynn S., age 7,
Runner Up was Kaylee M., age 4.
Best Of Show for ages 8-18 was Ava S., age 14, and
the two Runner Ups were Lydia M., age 11,
and Olive P., age 11.
Photo by Sheri Salado
I managed to get a few interviews with some of the Knowledge Faire attendees!
ADELYNN S.
Q: WHAT’S YOUR NAME?
A: Adelynn.
Q: HOW OLD ARE YOU?
A: 7.
Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO A PRESENTATION ON BOBCATS?
A: Because bobcats are my favorite big cat.
Q: CAN YOU SHARE SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT BOBCATS YOU HAVE
LEARNED?
A: Bobcats are smaller than Northern lynxes and they live in parts of Canada, the USA and Mexico.
EMMET M.
Q: WHAT’S YOUR NAME?
A: My name’s Emmet.
Q: HOW OLD ARE YOU?
A: I’m 9 years old.
Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO A PRESENTATION ON FARTS?
A: Because I really like farts, I like pranking people with farts, and farts are actually really interesting.
Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING FACTS THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT FARTS?
A: Termites fart the most out of anything, and birds actually don’t fart at all.
AVA S.
Q: WHAT’S YOUR NAME?
A: Ava S.
Q: HOW OLD ARE YOU?
A: I am 14.
Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO A PRESENTATION ON BEES?
A: Because I’ve always been interested in bees, and I thought it was a problem that I kind of wanted to find out a solution for their decreasing population
Q: DID YOU LEARN ANY FUN FACTS ABOUT BEES WHILE DOING THIS PRESENTATION?
A: I did not know that 90% of bees were solitary, that was very surprising because when you think of bees you think of hives and honey, but there were a total different world of bees, so I thought that was really fun to learn about.
This year’s Knowledge Faire was very special, and we’ll just have to see if next year’s talented scholars can top this one! Hope you can join us at the next one. You won’t want to miss it!
If you missed the Knowledge Faire, you can check out this video brought to you by The Lighthouse photojournalism team.
The Lighthouse 