Computers, Computers....

by Ted Gerk

I know that many of our families have been anxiously awaiting news on how we will handle computer equipment and supplies.

HCOS is please to announce an agreement with “The Source” (Semiahmoo Mall in South Surrey) which should provide all the needs of our families.

Manager Egon Frank will work directly with HCOS families in ensuring that they have access to the computer equipment they need, as well as any computer related supplies.

As you know, the government has specifically stated that any equipment is loaned to a family, and remains the property of the school. In keeping with this guideline, HCOS will utilize the services of Assured Lease, and lease the equipment on behalf of the family. Monthly lease payments will be deducted from the budgeted family or student account. (HCOS will retain ownership of any computer equipment, and will arrange with the parents to sign an agreement attesting to that fact.) The lease of equipment will be over 3 years, with the potential of HCOS selling the equipment to the family for fair market value at the end of the lease.

The computers we have access to, both desk top and lap-top, are internet ready and basic to the needs of our students.

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Hints for Organizing for the 2006-07 School Year

by Janet Rainbow

There have been times when I felt like the word “organizing” was close to a swear word. I would love to think of myself as a free spirit checking out each new day to see what God has planned for me and rolling on from there. I have always fought against strict organization. One of the pluses to me of homeschooling my children was I thought I didn’t need to feel tied to a schedule. We could get up when we wanted, work when we felt like it, etc … I am sure you are getting the picture or can identify with me. I started my first year thinking- so what if we take a day off here and there we will make up for it later. Suddenly it was April and I realized that if we were going to finish some of the books we were going to have to work really hard and now it was spring and we wanted to be outside enjoying the weather. I had learned that valuable lesson – “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” (Sue Savard) Over the next few years I found that taking some time to plan my school year actually gave me more freedom. Here are some things I did that I hope you find helpful.

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Solving the Crisis in Homeschooling

by Reb Bradley

In the last couple of years, I have heard from multitudes of troubled homeschool parents around the country, a good many of whom were leaders. These parents have graduated their first batch of kids, only to discover that their children didn't turn out the way they thought they would. Many of these children were model homeschoolers while growing up, but sometime after their 18th birthday they began to reveal that they didn’t hold to their parents’ values.

Some of these young people grew up and left home in defiance of their parents. Others got married against their parents' wishes, and still others got involved with drugs, alcohol, and immorality. I have even heard of several exemplary young men who no longer even believe in God. My own adult children have gone through struggles I never guessed they would have faced. 

Most of these parents remain stunned by their children’s choices, because they were fully confident their approach to parenting was going to prevent any such rebellion. Some were especially confident, because as teens these kids were only obedient.  Needless to say, the dreams of these homeschool parents have crashed, and many other parents want to know what they can do to prevent their own children from following the same course.

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Course Registration is Now Open!!!

by Chris McGrath

Heritage Christian Online School is happy to begin signing up students from Grades 5 to 12 for their online courses. The list of all our courses with descriptions and necessary resources is available at http://www.onlineschool.ca/courses/. You can view samples of our courses at http://www.onlineschool.ca/samples/.

Course selection is done through our new upgraded student information system called Encom. For returning families, your old Encom username and password remains the same. For new families, you have received an Encom username and password in the e-mail announcing your student’s acceptance into HCOS. Clicking this link (http://encom.onlineschool.ca/) will take you to the login screen, where you enter your username and password. From there you will be able to see your students' profiles where you have the new and exciting opportunity to sign up for Online Courses. The sooner you are able to sign up, the sooner we will be able to order and ship the course materials to you.  If you require assistance, feel free to contact our Tech Support department at 1-877-630-8324 or tech@onlineschool.ca.

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HOW TO DISCIPLINE MY CHILDREN AND GET THEM TO DO WHAT I WANT

by Neil Williams

The overall Problem as it appears to us.  This is where we usually start out:

1.    Situational:  Children are misbehaving, demanding, selfish, arrogant, fighting, pushing, testing, noisy, talking back, exhibit plain disobedience.  House is a mess with a lack of control, order and peace.  Lack of help from spouse.  Other people frown on me and my kids.  “Mount Sinai” is the favourite Broadway show:  with the giving of the law, loud voice, special efforts - like throwing things, manipulations, etc.  Everyone else is quivering before the “almighty god.”  It has also been heard around the house:  “Because I am your mother…” “Why are you so selfish?” “Because I say so…” “You live in my house, you will do as I say…” “I don’t care what you…” “Didn’t I just tell you…” “Stop wining…” “No!…” “Judge Dread” is the favourite movie:  There is no God, there is only the Law…..I am the Law.”  Mr. Tyrant uses discipline to bring about control, order, and his sovereign plan.  Mrs. Doormat “protects” her children by not disciplining,  She is fearful of her husband.  Husband rejects her and she would hate to face her child’s rejection and anger in response to discipline.  Yet she resorts to her own manipulations: “You don’t love me…” “Nobody cares for me…” “I care too much for my children…”  She prefers to put up with “Jumanji” rather than engage her children.  Mr. Tyrant doesn’t have the time after all he is a busy and important man.  He is in control at work all day, things are ordered, but back at home - well that would take faith!  His work encompasses his life because he has no ability or desire to be at home for too long.  Mrs. Doormat is ruled by her child’s opinion of her and doesn’t want to deal with more rejection.  “At least I should give my children a break after what they have to put up with from their father.”  Discipline is simply too hard to bare.  Both are distant from their children.

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PO "Stuff" !

by Ted Gerk

As you already know, Ministry of Education guidelines mean that we can no longer reimburse a parent for school-related costs. The tech support staff at HCOS have been busy addressing this issue, and I am pleased to report that parents can now track their purchases, online, in Encom. Under the section "Additional Resources" we are able to enter in data relating to purchases for curriculum and other school-related functions such as music lessons, etc.

This allows both you and our office to see roughly where the budgeted amount per student is. While not necessarily the final word, it does give some guidelines for a parent when deciding any additional curriculum purchases.

We've also been working on getting more vendors to accept our PO system. Most are eager to assist in this regard, but diffciculties arise when chosing anything from a foreign country, ie the USA. In most cases HCOS can purchase such resources if the parent submits the complete order form to the school. We can then submit it for the parent along with payment.

Now, what about swimming, karate, etc? We've been working on that aspect as well. This fall, HCOS teachers will be issued credit cards that will allow them to pay for such lessons if they cannot be invoiced directly to the school. Each teacher will take care of their own students, and will assist our office by entering the data in Encom.

All in all we are trying to streamline the process to assist families in the schooling of their children. While we cannot assist in every situation as before, we are doing our best to be as helpful and resourceful as you have come to expect.