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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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An application for enrollment with the
Home School Legal Defense Association for your review
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A transfer of student
records request 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 (April to September), 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) Included in this mailing we will also send our STAA Handbook which
includes our recommendations for organizing your year, records and
daily routines. It is also accompanied by curriculum guides for each of your
students 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 Course of Study Planning Appointment and jot down any
questions you may have for your advisor.
3)
With the assessment evaluations in hand, we recommend completing the "Before You
Begin Homeschooling" section of the STAA Handbook 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"
section, call to set up your Course of Study Planning appointment with your advisor.
4) If you enroll in our Report Card & Transcripts Option we will
send an expanded version of our STAA Handbook that includes
information and forms about submitting grades and progress to earn
semester report cards, transcripts and diplomas from St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy. |
