HCECF - Homeschool Cooperative

This will be our third year competing at the Elementary (grammar stage) level and our second year competing at the Middle (logic stage) level. We're looking forward to the new challenge and theme which which will be released in Fall 2008.  Donations are needed to make this program a continued success.

SECME: Lighting the Torch to Empower Future Leaders

The kids of HCECF have completed their second SECME season. Our grammar stage (elementary) team competed for the second year. This was the rookie year for our logic stage (middle school) team. Both teams competed in mousetrap cars, water bottle rockets, balsa wood bridges, essay and a poster contest. The competition was fun with 369 kids representing various local schools - 20 of these were the homeschooled kids from HCECF. All the kids did well and we're proud of their hardwork and sportsmanship; with this, they have shown that they are our indeed our future leaders and we are so proud of them.

We finished the SECME event with 

• 3rd Place Balsa Wood Bridge

HCECF's 2007-2008 SECME entries

• Elementary (HCECF's grammar stage) - 3 mousetrap cars, 3 balsa wood bridges, 3 water bottle rockets, 2 essays, 3 posters, 1 banner
• Middle (rookie year) (HCECF's logic stage) - 1 mousetrap car, 1 balsa wood bridge, 1 water bottle rocket, 1 essay, 1 poster, 1 banner

 We're looking forward to next years (2008-2009) season and already thinking of ways to improve.

Your donation will help make our SECME program a success. All monies collected are used to purchase supplies for the SECME team.

 

SECME: Launch Pad for the Next Generation of Explorers

2006-2007 was HCECF's rookie year entering the SECME competition. We were the only homeschool group represented and competed against public schools from three counties - Orange, Seminole & Volusia.

HCECF entered 9 judged contests at the elementary level and won medals in two of them, plus an honorable mention in a third.

• 1st Place Solar Car
• 2nd Place Balsa Wood Bridge - congrats to the Sunrise Elementary 1st place team who beat us by 1 lb.
• Originality Balsa Wood Bridge

We also entered the non-judged banner parade.

http://mep.cecs.ucf.edu/2007SECME/winners/SecmeElementary.asp

2007 HCECF SECME entries - 1 mousetrap car, 1 solar powered car, 2 balsa wood bridges, 2 egg drop, 3 posters, banner

The complete line up of events this year included mousetrap cars, essay, poster, web design & search, brain bowl, egg drop, mathematics competition, balsawood bridges, solar powered cars, water bottle rockets and the non-judged banner spirit parade.

Special thanks to ASCE for sponsoring our Solar Powered Car event in 2007!

"SECME, Inc., a premier pre-college (K-12) alliance, links engineering universities, school systems, and corporate/government investors. Its mission is to increase the pool of historically under-represented,* under-served, and differently-abled students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. "

"For its first 22 years, SECME was an acronym for Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering. In 1997, the name was changed to SECME, Inc. SECME is chartered in the State of Georgia as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation. From the beginning, its National Office and administrative home has been in the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in midtown Atlanta."

HCECF is planning on sending both and elementary team and a middle school team to the SECME regional competition in 2009!

Businesses who would like to contribute towards offsetting the costs of this program and receive their name and website listed in both the HCECF website on the Partners in Home Education page for 2008 AND next year's  yearbook, please see the suggested donation amounts below. We'll also display our sponsors information at the competitions where possible. In kind donations are also gladly accepted.

• Team Entry fees - $300 general ($200 elementary + $100 middle school) 
• Essay - $25 general
• Poster - $50 general (posterboard, art supplies, frames)
• Banner Competition - $50 general (fabric, poles, art supplies, ) 
• Bridge Competition - $100 general, Curriculum $185, Basic start up materials set $345
• Mouse Trap Cars - $100 general, Curriculum $185, Basic start up materials set $380
• Water Bottle Rockets -$100 general, Curriculum $185, Basic start up materials set $330
• Team Shirts

Thank you!

2008 HCECF SECME entries
Elementary - 3 mousetrap cars, 3 balsawood bridges, 3 water bottle rockets, 2 essays, 2 posters, 1 banner

Middle - 1 mousetrap car, 1 balsawood bridge, 1 water bottle rocket, 1 essay, 1 poster, 1 banner

Watch for us at the 2009 event!