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Once we receive fees and registration,
we mail you our Welcome Packet that includes a student skills
assessment for each of your students. This is a set of very informal
tests addressing reading, grammar, composition and math, and we advise
you to take two or three days at your kitchen table at an easy pace to
complete them.
In addition to the assessments our
Welcome Packet includes:
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A brief list of suggested reading
about homeschooling
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An application for enrollment with the
Home School Legal Defense Association for your review
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A request form for transfer of student
records to send to your student's previous school
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A return envelope addressed to St.
Thomas Aquinas Academy for the completed assessments
Our
program is not a one-size-fits-all program. Your curriculum planning
advisor reviews the assessments looking for academic strengths and
weaknesses and learning styles to place each of your students in the
appropriate levels and types of materials. The assessment process can
take as little as three weeks if the assessments are completed and
returned within the week you receive them. The later in the homeschool
high season (May to August), the longer it can take. The sooner
you send the assessments in to the Academy, the sooner your advisor
can get started with setting up your personalized curriculum plan!
1)
When we receive your completed assessments, we sketch out written
remarks about each child’s academic strengths and weaknesses and basic
learning style and make recommendations for starting points in subject
areas.
2) Attached to the written remarks you will also find our "Before You
Begin" hand-out to help you start focusing in on academic goals for
each child in general and the coming year in particular. After you
have completed the exercises in the "Before You Begin Homeschooling"
hand-out, call to make a phone appointment with your advisor.
3) Included in this mailing we will also send our Program Packet which
includes our recommendations for organizing your year, records and
daily routines. It also includes a curriculum guide for each of your
students’ grade levels with personalized recommendations. The
curriculum guides suggest what books to use, why to use them, how to
use them, how often and how long. Detailed course plans for many of
the subjects and/or texts are attached. Read through the guides in
their entirety before your curriculum interview and jot down any
questions you may have for your advisor.
4) If you enrolled in our Report Card & Transcripts Option we will
send an expanded version of our Program Packet that includes
information and forms about submitting grades and progress to earn
quarterly report cards, transcripts and diplomas from our school. |