Welcome Back To International Friends

Hello, Friends. 

Labor Day ends the summer and all vacation recreation and kicks off the fall season in the United States. We celebrate with parades, bar-be-cues, pool closing parties, and outdoor fun. Enjoy this weekend!

Our Kid's Conversation group is hanging in there to the bitter end. Our last class is September 2.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS MEETINGS BEGIN SEPTEMBER 5-9 ON ZOOM

We are closing out the school year. New Zoom links are being created. We are continuing on Zoom so we can continue to meet with our Friends who may not live close enough to get together in person.

• Register by clicking here to join our classes and meetings.
• Find out more about our classes and meetings.

You will need to enter a valid phone number to receive a confirmation text to assure you are a real person.

Use the text field for "Parents" to type in your information if it does not fit in the provided fields. Don't worry if you are not signing up for the Kid's Conversation. 

Please email me if you run into any problems so we can solve them! We hope to meet you!

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Section 1

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Be sure to read more about this important and very relevant amendment. This amendment covers all forms of slavery as well as involuntary servitude (often called forced labor or human trafficking in current vernacular). The historical background discusses the 

accommodate: fit your needs, provide the right space 

all-American: having American characteristics and qualities (a pun)

vernacular: language or dialect spoken by people

workaround: way to overcoming a problem or limitation in a program or system that is not the intended use

International Friends 2022-2023 Year Registration Is Open

Hello, Friends.

Out with the old and in with the new!

American Sign Language has our last meeting of the summer this week.

Kid's English has two more meetings this summer: our last meeting is September 2.

Register to get the new Zoom link for the Fall.

Our registration is open for the 2022-2023 year! CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED.

We are looking forward to meeting with you this year. CLICK HERE to see our class offerings.

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;–the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;–The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.–]The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

Election of our president was carefully prescribed by our founders. This Amendment supersedes Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution when there was a tie for the office of president. Read more here.

prescribed: state authoritatively, stipulate

supersedes: take the place of or replaces

Back to Business

Hello, Friends.

International Friends staff met last week and we are looking forward to starting classes after Labor Day. This year we are beginning on Zoom with after Labor Day. I am learning the new sign up system, but will be posting a link in the next update (and emails).

As we are coming out of the pandemic, we are finding that we have many new resources (like Zoom) and Friends all around the world. Settling into a niche that works for you is important to us. Please tell us what you like about our correspondence as well as our class offering or what you would like to see. We have sister sites American English Quick Start. What do you want to know? What do you need to know? Email Carolyn.

New COVID Guidance From the CDC

Studies show that 95% of people in American have some level of immunity against COVID. The new strains present a lower risk of death or severe illness than the earlier strains. If you are exposed, you do not need to quarantine, but wear a mask for 10 days and test on day five. If you do test positive, isolate for five days and if your symptoms have improved and you no longer have symptoms, you can come out of isolation, but should wear a mask for the next five days (until day 10). If you test negative on two tests, you can discontinue wearing the mask. These new guidelines allow schools to remain in session and reduce disruptions to daily living.

The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

• The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

• This amendment states that private parties cannot bring suit against a state where they are not citizens. The history and legal cases informing this amendment are critical and extends to foreign governments. The history and decisions within this amendment are interesting and apt in today's environment.

• American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EDT, Zoom

• We call "listening" to someone signing "reading". Less than one in twenty people in the United States are deaf or hard of hearing. We are practicing using YouTubes and conversation with each other. 

Kid's Conversation: Friday, 5:30-6:00 PM EDT, Zoom

Our friends had a lot to share about the United States and Indiana. Everyone is wrapping up their breaks and are getting back to school.

apt: appropriate

commenced: initiated

discontinue: stop

equity: legal equity does not equate to legal fairness or justness, but to a particular body of rules that originated through a special system of the courts.

Back To School Busses

 Hello Friends. 

Most of our students are back to school or are going back this week. 

We are continuing American Sign Language and Kids Conversation through August. Look for announcements for our fall classes beginning after Labor Day (September 5).

Students and Riding the School Bus

Back to school means the school busses are out and running. Here is a great page from Whitehall Schools in Ohio about students and safety and respect. 

And here is an article on School Bus Safety for our Children from the Hamilton County Reporter  

More Local Fun

Just because we are busy with school, does not mean we aren’t out enjoying life. There is so much to do!

Movies a at Midtown in Carmel are scheduled through December. Click to see the dates and for more information. 

Visit Hamilton County has links to events and activities in our county. Some of these include 

Floral Design Classes at Oberers

The Eleventh Amendment to The Constitution of the United States 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Simply said, if a right (or power) is not in the Constitution (either conferred or forbidden), and a need rises to decide what is and is not legal, then decisions and the laws are made locally by the states or the communities.it is a local right and responsibility.

Read  more to understand why this is such an important amendment and to understand  current events in discussion regarding the role of the Supreme Court and individual states.

local: belonging to a specific area

running: driving their route

simply said or simply stated: straightforward, to cut to the chase, 

Hello August!

Hello, Friends.

The summer is flying by! August is here. That means it’s back to school time. Hurry! We need a last minute get away. We need new clothes, back packs, pencils, notebooks, shoes. Here at International Friends, we are continuing our partnership with Cornerstone Lutheran Church. The new registration software should be easier for you to sign up. Stay tuned for more information.

Weather and Fashion Memes

The last few, cooler days remind us that fall is not far away. People are already looking forward to sweater weather and pumpkin spice everything. Of course, there are Dad joke memes to suit!

If you are not ready for the cooler weather, maybe you will be happier to think about this Husky meme.

The Tenth Amendment to The Constitution of the United States 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Read more about this right. The balance of power between the federal, state, and local government is asserted.

Our Summer Meetings continue to delight us. 

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30, Zoom

We watched videos of songs and marveled at our ability to read all the different people and their signs. Finding people to practice our skills is our goal.

Kid's Conversation: Friday, 5:30-6:00, Zoom

We had a great discussion about accents and versus pronunciation. The 

asserted: stated as a fact

delight: make happy

flying by: going fast

get away: take a holiday or vacation

last minute: impromptu or sudden

marveled: be amazed

to suit: fitting (hahaha get the pun!)