It's almost time to Spring into Action!

We hope everyone has had a blessed Christmas Season celebrating the birth of our savior and enjoying time with family and friends.

Now we are getting excited to see our REACH family again as the Spring Semester is drawing close. Classes begin Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Thank you to everyone who turned in their enrollment forms with record speed. 

If you are still interested in enrolling for the Spring Semester, please email the REACH address and contact us as soon as possible.

Formation of Advisory Council

When Emily and I began REACH Homeschool Co-op, our plan was to form an advisory council at some point as REACH grew. That time has come. As most of you know, Emily and her family are answering God's call on their lives to relocate. I will miss her wisdom and sense of humor and at the same time am looking forward to what is in store for our futures.

I am happy to announce that the formation of the REACH Advisory Council has begun with its first two members,  Kristey Wiebers and Chris Driggers. They both bring such an attitude of service and passion for teaching children as well as a wide breadth of experience. I am looking forward to working with them as we continue to develop REACH.

See you all soon!

Robin

Let's Party!!

Don't forget this Tuesday, December 1 at 10:00am is our Christmas party! If you have any questions you can direct them to either Alicia who is heading up the elementary party or Shelby, the middle schoolers party. If you don't know how to reach them you can email your questions to the REACH address.

The doors will be open by 9:30 for those that need to set up their stations. Looking forward for a fun time together! Guests are welcome.

Remember that Dec 1 is also the deadline for the registration discount for the Spring Semester. Enrollment forms will be available at the table when you come in and can be turned in at the Christmas Party. Enrollments received after this will have an additional $5 registration fee.

Notices/Reminders:

Spring Enrollment is open and filling up. Don't miss the deadline for the reduced registration fee ending December 1. Enrollments received after that date have an increased fee. Forms can be turned in at the Christmas Party taking place on December 1.

Christmas Party: December 1 at 10:00am. Thank you Alicia and Shelby for heading up the elementary and middle school parties. I know there are many others helping as well. You are all awesome! There are sign up sheets at the admin table to help in some way at the party.

Spring Semester Update:
If you have a student in elementary science, please note that description has been updated. The younger kids do not need a textbook as information will be presented in class with hands on activities. Any additional information will be passed out to them. We are also happy to be welcoming back Demitris Sawatzky to team teach with Jennifer Hildebrandt.

Christmas Party

Our Christmas Party is Tuesday, December 1 at 10:00am at our regular location. This party is annually planned by the students' mothers. Check in at the administration table to get together with the other party animals!

Registration for Spring 2016

Enrollment is now open to currently enrolled families. 

General enrollment begins November 10. 

The early enrollment deadline is December 1.  (Half of the tuition fees are due at that time and will have the reduced registration fee of $15. Enrollments received after December 1 will have the full registration fee of $20.00) 

The deadline is important. It allows administrators and teachers to prepare, so please get your enrollment papers in as soon as possible. Thank you!

Current families: There will be registration forms for your use on the administration table. Your parent contracts stand for the full school year so you do not need another one for the spring semester.

As you read the details in the tabs you will see to send an email of intent to enroll so we can be watching for your papers. Enrollments received after December 1 are more subject to classes being full and will have the additional registration fee of $5.00.

Remember half of the tuition is due with your enrollment forms; the balance is due by January 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

We are looking forward to a great second semester with great families! Let us know if you have any questions.

Registration for Spring 2016

Enrollment is now open to currently enrolled families. 

General enrollment begins November 10. 

The early enrollment deadline is December 1.  (Half of the tuition fees are due at that time and will have the reduced registration fee of $15. Enrollments received after December 1 will have the full registration fee of $20.00) 

The deadline is important. It allows administrators and teachers to prepare, so please get your enrollment papers in as soon as possible. Thank you!

Current families: There will be registration forms for your use on the administration table. Your parent contracts stand for the full school year so you do not need another one for the spring semester.

As you read the details in the tabs you will see to send an email of intent to enroll so we can be watching for your papers. Enrollments received after December 1 are more subject to classes being full and will have the additional registration fee of $5.00.

Remember half of the tuition is due with your enrollment forms; the balance is due by January 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

We are looking forward to a great second semester with great families! Let us know if you have any questions.

Registration for Spring 2016

The Spring Semester 2016 tab will be up soon.

Enrollment is now open to currently enrolled families. There will be enrollment forms on the administration table for your use, or you may print one off of the Parent tab. Your parent contract stands for the entire school year so you do not need another one for the spring semester. The early enrollment deadline to get in on the reduced registration fee is December 1. Half of the tuition fees are due at that time. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

General enrollment begins November 10. 

The Spring Semester tab with detailed information will be up soon. Attending the fall semester is not a prerequisite for attending in spring, watch for details coming soon and email if you have any questions.

We are looking forward to a great second semester!

Fire Drill

Parents, we will be conducting a fire drill this coming Tuesday at 10:45am. If you are not familiar with all the exits or where the Marshal Area is, there is a map you can reference at the administration table when you arrive. Your parent orientation email sent at the beginning of the year also had a map attachment. If you are in a classroom or the nursery, please follow the directions of the teacher/director. Thank you in advance for your help in running through this safety issue.

Areas of Parent Partnership

Thank you to everyone helping out in some capacity at REACH. A co-op means working together and we appreciate your efforts in doing that. As you know it is foundational to our co-op to have parents participate in some way. The ways are varied and it does not mean that you have to teach a class, but we do need more parents taking turns assisting in a class. Our goal is to have enough rotating through areas so that everyone serves and everyone gets a break.

Our desire is to have 2 adults in every classroom every week; that means one parent volunteer in with the lead teacher. We have this in almost every one of our classrooms and would like to close up the gaps for the rest. Please see the sign up sheets at the admin table and look for areas you can plug in.

We are happy to announce that Alecia O. has taken on the role of Parent Partnership Coordinator. She will be happy to help you find a place or to chase you down if you don't. (Just had to throw some humor in there!) She will coordinate with the Nursery Director to make sure that the nursery is covered and then if there are extra hands ask if someone would be willing to assist an hour in a classroom. Thank you for your help in making a great environment for our students!

A Few Notes...

Pizza lunches: 

We have a great volunteer who stepped forward offering to pick up pizzas every week; so there will be 2 pizza sign up sheets on the table. One will be for orders for the following week. The other one will have the current weeks orders on it to mark off as you pay. It is important that everyone pay for their order by11:00 so that our pick up person can be all set to go and not be chasing money down. Remember the new price is $5.50.

Spring Break: 

We match our Spring Break to Cornerstone Testing Dates. Those have been set as March 21, 22 and 23; so REACH will not meet on Tuesday, March 22.

Lost and Found: 

A few items have been left at the church. They have been placed above the coat racks in the hallway. Please check and see if you have anything there. It is helpful to have items labeled. Thanks!

Orientation Letter

An orientation letter was emailed to all families of enrolled students. It has helpful information, timely reminders, and a map of the facility. If you enrolled but did not receive this please let us know. Excited to see you soon!

Enrollment for Fall Semester 2015

Welcome to REACH. Take a moment and look around and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at reachhomeschoolcoop at gmail dot com.

We are currently accepting enrollments for the Fall Semester; however there are some class size limitations so email your intent to enroll as soon as possible. The discounted registration deadline was June 15. All enrollments received after that date have a registration fee of $20 per family. 

Half of the tuition is due with your forms of enrollment, the balance is due by August 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

Check out the parent tab and Fall Semester 2015 tab for more details! We are so excited for this coming school year! We have several new teachers and classes! 

Early registration ends today!

Enrollments received after today, June 15, will have a registration fee of $20 per family.

If you send an email of intent to enroll by today, June 15, you can still submit the $15 per family registration fee.

Half of the tuition is due with your forms of enrollment, the balance is due by August 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

Check out the parent tab and Fall Semester 2015 tab for more details! We are so excited for next year! We have several new teachers and classes! 

Take a moment and look around and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at reachhomeschoolcoop at gmail dot com.

Welcome to the REACH website! 

Take a moment and look around and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at reachhomeschoolcoop at gmail dot com.

We are in full swing accepting enrollments for Fall Semester 2015. Thank you to everyone who has gotten their enrollment paperwork in so quickly! Remember if you haven't yet, that enrollment is set to close on June 15 as long as space allows. Please get your papers in (and email us that they are on the way so we will look for them) as soon as possible. While it may not be impossible to get a place after June 15 it will cost an additional $5.00 registration fee & it is disruptive to the planning process for teachers. So timely enrollments are appreciated & helpful.

Enrollment is open. Enrollment deadline is June 15.  (Half of the tuition fees are due at this time.)

Enrollments received after June 15 are more subject to classes being full and will have an additional registration fee of $5.00.

Half of the tuition is due with your forms of enrollment, the balance is due by August 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

Check out the parent tab and Fall Semester 2015 tab for more details! We are so excited for next year! We have several new teachers and classes! 

We are looking forward to a great year with great families! Let us know if you have any questions.

Registration for Fall 2015 

Open Enrollment begins May 1. Enrollment deadline is June 15.  (Half of the tuition fees are due at this time.)

The deadline is important. It allows administrators and teachers to prepare, so please get your enrollment papers in as soon as possible. As you read the details in the tabs you will see to send an email of intent to enroll so we can be watching for your papers. Enrollments received after June 15 are more subject to classes being full and will have an additional registration fee of $5.00.

Half of the tuition is due with your forms of enrollment, the balance is due by August 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

Check out the parent tab and Fall Semester 2015 tab for more details! We are so excited for next year! We have several new teachers and classes! 

We are looking forward to a great year with great families! Let us know if you have any questions.

End of Year Party Tonight, May 2!

Come and celebrate a great 2014-15 school year with your friends tonight, May 2 from 6:30–7:30pm. We are making a sweet change from previous years and instead of a pot luck meal, we will have an ice cream/dessert bar! 

There will be a few games/toys for the younger kids to play with. If there are any projects students or teachers would like to display there will be tables set up for that.

Grandparents or other guests are welcome.

End of Year Party!

Come and celebrate a great 2014-15 school year with your friends on May 2 from 6:30–7:30pm. We are making a sweet change from previous years and instead of a pot luck meal, we will have an ice cream/dessert bar! There will be a sheet at the admin table this Tuesday to sign up to bring your favorite type of ice cream/toppings, etc. Grandparents or other guests are welcome.

Registration for Fall 2015 

The Fall Semester 2015 tab is up! We are so excited for next year! We have several new teachers and classes! There are a few details we will be adding but the bulk of the information is there for you. Registration will open up first to currently attending families.

Registration timeline:
Enrollment is open to currently attending families April 22.
Enrollment is open to everyone on May 1.
Enrollment deadline is June 15. (Half of the tuition fees are due at this time.)

The deadline is important. It allows administrators and teachers to prepare, so please get your enrollment papers in as soon as possible. Enrollments received after June 15 are more subject to classes being full and will have an additional registration fee of $5.00.

Half of the tuition is due with your forms of enrollment, the balance is due by August 1. If you need to discuss a payment plan, please contact an administrator.

We are looking forward to a great year with great families!

Creative Arts Class

A creative Arts class has been added to the schedule for next year. This class will be offered opposite the PE class for each of the grade groups, 1-3 and 4-6. It will be an invigorating mixture of art, music and drama.

Fall 2015 Schedule

Check out the News on Next Year tab. A schedule for the upcoming school year has been posted! Details will continue to be added so stay tuned!

REACH Welcomes New Teacher for Expansion into Middle School for 2015—2016

We are happy to welcome Laura Ericson as teacher of our upcoming 7th and 8th Grade Science class. We asked Laura to introduce herself to REACH parents:

“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

To me education is not about the presentation of information for information sake – filling the bucket.  Educators should teach a student: how to learn, how to think for one self, how to pursue an interest – lighting the fire. Filling the bucket does little more than produce test results; but developing the burning desire to learn frees the student from the mentality of the masses.

As students begin to learn independently, all educational information, “truths,” facts, theories, etc. need to be measured and weighed against the Word of God. The Bible and the ability to learn are the tools our students can always take with them; and as they pass from the influence of the educational instruction provided and/or arranged by their parents, these tools will serve them well.

Our goal as parents and educators should be to create students that are able to freely think for themselves, and have the confidence that any subject and/or fact, can and should be tested against God’s word.  These students may be marked by secular society as “brainwashed;” but I believe any student, so guided, is able to resist secular thought; and is thus freer to learn and think for him or herself.

“Apply your mind to instruction and correction, your ears to words of knowledge” – Proverbs 23:12

I have been involved with home schooling for the past 21 years, both with my own children and as an instructor of science & math for other home schooling families.  My children have graduated from high school and college, one is an engineer the other an artist; both have worked or sold work around the world.

God has given me both a gift and a passion for the subjects of math and science. I can never seem to learn enough about these subjects, basically I am a nerd. 

I’m enthusiastic about the subjects of math and science.  I firmly believe that if God did not create the universe, math and science as we use them today, would not be possible.  I hope my enthusiasm and nerdy point of view come across in the presentation of my lessons and labs. My mission is to teach my students; that science and the Word of God can be and should be studied at the same time.

I have also taught math and science at Heritage Christian School (HCS) here in Topeka. I worked at HCS for two years.

Exploring Creation with General Science – Part 1 will be taught this coming school year 2015-2016

Using Apologia Ministries’ Exploring Creation with General Science textbook, 

TOPS cards, Legos, along with videos about volcanoes and dinosaur fossils; we will study the following topics.

History of science

Scientific method

Simple machines

Archeology

Geology

Paleontology:

   Fossils and fossil records

Exploring Creation with General Science – Part 2 will be taught the following school year 2016-2017

Using Apologia Ministries’ Exploring Creation with General Science textbook, 

Janice Van Cleave labs, K’NEX, along with videos about life and many systems of the human body; we will study the following topics.

Classification of life

Energy

Human body

Human body systems

   Digestive

   Nervous

   Circulatory

   Respiratory

   Urinary

   Lymphatic

Teacher Meeting this Tuesday, April 14 

Teachers, remember to meet this Tuesday at noon in the Literature classroom. Thank you!

Classes to Meet in Lower Level April 7.

This coming Tuesday, April 7, classes will meet in the lower level of the church. (The gym is a voting site for the city elections; thus we will not be able to access the rooms on that end of the building.) The nursery will be available as usual upstairs, as well as a parent lounge and optional study hall room off of the main church lobby.

Signs will be posted outside of the rooms and there will be a map on the admin table in the lobby. Please use the main church entrance (under the awning) for this week.

REACH Welcomes New Kindergarten Teacher

We are excited to welcome Billie Manderick as the Kindergarten teacher for this coming school year! Billie is a retired Kindergarten teacher who was missing pouring into the lives of children. She is known for her unique teaching style that meets children where they are at and helps carry them forward. You will appreciate her passion and skills as she works with the students.

Billie will be joining us for lunch this week. Please take advantage of the opportunity to meet her. Preschool parents, this is a great chance to ask her questions and get some ideas about next years class!

Used Curriculum Sale Some information to share: Subject: {Cornerstone Family School} Homeschool Used Curriculum Sale May 19, 2015 (3-7pm) Here is a link for an event page on facebook. This page should be able to be seen by anyone as it is public. You DO NOT need to be on facebook to see this page. Please feel free to share, email or call folks with information. We want to get the word out and have a really GREAT SALE! Thanks! Maureen Mulder  Lori Brewster is the contact for reserving tables. Private message her on facebook or here is her email. lori.brewster@gmail.com ...This will be at her Church, Town and Country Christian Church. https://www.facebook.com/events/1550334531892809/

Calendar Reminders! 

Picture day: March 10. The information we have for this has been posted on the REACH FB site.  We do not have a lot of details, however the photographer should be able to answer all your questions on site. The main thing to know is that you do not need to come at a different time than your first class of the day. Students will be pulled throughout the day to have their picture taken. 
If you forgot to fill out a form, you can do that upon arrival. Depending on how dressed up you plan to be, you might bring a change of clothes especially if your child is in PE class.

Spring Break: March 17. REACH will not meet; have a wonderful break!

Classes to Meet in Lower Level March 3.

This coming Tuesday, March 3 classes will meet in the lower level of the church. (The gym is a voting site for the city elections; thus we will not be able to access the rooms on that end of the building.) The nursery will be available as usual upstairs, as well as a parent lounge and optional study hall room off of the main church lobby.

Signs will be posted outside of the rooms and there will be a map on the admin table in the lobby. Please use the main church entrance (under the awning) for this week.

Teachers, watch for an email with your room assignments. Thank you.

Speech Class Begins March 3

The first of our 8 week courses concluded this past week. Students of the 1st—4th Grade Flat Stanley Literature class enjoyed making Flat Stanley cookies to wrap up this popular class.

Beginning March 3 is Speech Class for the remaining 8 weeks  of the semester. This class is in the same time slot as the Flat Stanley Literature class was (12:30-1:25) and is open to 1st through 6th graders. If you have not already registered but are interested, please send us an email. The class will review some of the things learned last year and continue to  build on those skill sets. Various techniques are used to enhance students speaking skills making this a fun and effective class.

Mark your calendars! 

Picture day: March 10. Details will be posted soon. There is also information at the administration table for you. There are forms to fill out and return before picture day to help prepare the photographer.

Spring Break: March 17. REACH will not meet; have a wonderful break!

Snow Day! No school today, 

Tuesday, February 17.

We will take a snow day today. While our standing policy is that we close if  USD 437 closes; with the amount of concerns and absences we have heard of today we believe this is in the best interest of everyone. Take care and we will all get together next week!

Valentine's Day Party: February 10!

Have fun creating a Valentine's box/bag as a receptacle for the Valentine's you exchange with your friends. Remember to put your name on it. We will have 2 groups exchanging. The elementary kids among themselves and the KinderPrep group among themselves. 

Elementary students: On February 10 place your box/bag on the tables in the entry way when you arrive. We will celebrate after lunch. Some of the afternoon only students will not be here so the elementary count is 27.

KinderPrep students: Take your Valentine's and box/bag to the KinderPrep room. Your teachers will orchestrate your party. You will have 14 students.

 There will be a special treat in the nursery for the toddlers.

Pizza Lunch is On

Someone has come forward to be our pizza pick up person for tomorrow, January 27, so if you had signed up for pizza plan to bring your $5 and enjoy.

Lunch for January 27

Lunch this coming Tuesday is scheduled to be a pizza option. We have lots of sign ups for pizza, however; no one signed up to be the one to go get the pizzas. I know many are not able to leave at that time (approx. 11:15). We need to find out if we have anyone available to do this. We have been giving the pizza option every other week. We could reduce it to the first week of every month if every other week is too often for drivers; or maybe it doesn't work this semester.

Please email by Sunday night if you would be able to be the pizza pick up person for this Tuesday, January 27. I will confirm here Monday morning whether we will have pizza or if everyone needs to pack their lunch.

Going forward we will need a volunteer signed up on the sheet by the day we sign up for pizza.

Thank you!

Valentine's Day Party!

Every year we have enjoyed giving our students an opportunity to have a little fun with Valentine's Day. This year we will celebrate on Tuesday, February 10.

Have fun creating a Valentine's box/bag as a receptacle for the Valentine's you exchange with your friends. Remember to put your name on it. We will have 2 groups exchanging. The elementary kids among themselves and the KinderPrep group among themselves. (We will have student counts on the administration table for you.) There will be a special treat in the nursery for the toddlers.

Elementary students: On February 10 place your box/bag on the tables in the entry way when you arrive. We will celebrate after lunch.

KinderPrep students: On February 10 take your Valentine's and box/bag to the KinderPrep room. Your teachers will orchestrate your party.

Welcome!
It was great to see everyone again and meet some new friends!

This coming week, January 13, is pizza for lunch if you signed up on the form.  Remember to bring $5 and not to pack your lunch unless you want something on the side. ( If you did not sign up at the administration table for pizza, you will want to pack your lunch. The restaurant has asked that we call in advance so we take the orders the week before.) As long as we have a volunteer to go pick up the pizzas we will be offering this every other week.

History and Science students should have received an email. If you do not get one please let us know.

Thank you to everyone's willingness to fill in areas of parent partnership. The more people we have, the more rotating we can do to allow everyone free time. Please keep looking at the sheets each week and see if there is an area you can assist. Art 1 and PE 1 are two classes full of the younger ages so an extra adult available in those rooms is appreciated.

Forgotten art work. Some art work was left last week. You can find it on the shelves above the coat rack in the hallway.

School Resumes Tuesday, January 6

It's almost time!

Be sure to look under the semester tab for your class descriptions and check that you know what to bring to class with you.  If you have any questions you can email us.

Please stop by the administration table when you arrive to check in, see the sign up sheets and complete any paperwork if needed. The first week of school will be a sack lunch day. There will be a sign up sheet if you want to buy a $5 pizza for January 13.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone again and meeting some new friends after our Christmas break!