“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

2016-2017 Family Handbook

“The true aim of education is to order a child’s affections--to teach him

to love what he ought and hate what he ought... We have been charged to

cultivate the souls of our children, to nourish them in truth, goodness, and beauty,

to raise them up in wisdom and eloquence.

It is to those ends that we labor.”

- Sarah MacKenzie, Teaching from Rest-

Table of Contents

2016-2017 Heritage CalendarPage 3

Statement of FaithPage 4

Vision and PhilosophyPage 5

Parental InvolvementPage 6Volunteer Hours, Weekly Work Page7

Character training, Assessment, Page 7-8

Assignments, CommunicationPage 9

Attendance, Illness, Weather and Cancellation PoliciesPage 10

Arrival/ Departure, SecurityPage 11

What to Bring and What not to Bring, Dress CodePage 12

Lunch, Facility, Behavior, Discipline Page 13

Disagreements and Communication Page 14-15

Tuition, Fees, Payment Page 15-16

2016-2017 School Calendar

September 8 - Mandatory Parent Meeting, 7 pm

September 12 - First Day of Classes

October 24/25 - Fall Break

December 12/13 - Last Day of Classes

December 19 - Concert & Art Show

January 9 - Classes Resume

February 20 - Winter Break

March 27/28 - Spring Break

May 11 - Concert & Art Show

May 15/16 - Final Day of Classes

May 17- End of year picnic- Lawrence park, 12-2 pm

*Our schedule provides a one week break every 5-7 weeks throughout the school year. (This creates flexibility for family travel, rest, extra review, etc. )

There are 30 class meetings in the Heritage calendar for 2016-2017.

Statement of Faith

The following is the foundation of beliefs upon which Heritage Learning is based. These beliefs will be unapologetically taught in various ways through all grade levels, and will be considered primary doctrines of Heritage Learning. In the chance that any types of other secondary or divisive doctrines arise, they will be referred back to the family for final authority.

  1. We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and the final authority in matters of faith and life. We believe that the Bible derives its authority from God its author, and not from the opinions of men.
  2. We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that the God we serve is the creator and sustainer of all things, and the source of all truth. He is all powerful, all knowing, holy, righteous, just, good, loving, and full of mercy.
  3. We believe that the Father is begotten of none. He is the eternal Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author of salvation, the Father of all who are begotten into newness of life through faith in Christ.
  4. We believe in the true deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God. We believe in His virgin birth, in his sinless life, in His miracles, in His atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, in His bodily resurrection from the dead, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind and that salvation comes only through Him, by grace alone, through faith alone.
  5. We believe that, because of Adam’s sin, all mankind is in rebellion against God. For the salvation of such lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, through the blood of Jesus Christ, is absolutely necessary. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, who gives Christians the daily strength and wisdom they need to walk according to His will and to grow in holiness.
  6. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and that good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the necessary fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith.
  7. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: those who are saved to the resurrection of life and those who are lost to the resurrection of destruction.

Our Vision:

Heritage Learning exists to partner with homeschooling families as they seek to raise children who passionately pursue wisdom and virtue. Upholding a Biblical worldview, the Heritage community provides its families with a weekly opportunity to build relationships, learn from excellent teachers in a classroom setting, and benefit from academic structure and accountability.

Our Philosophy:

Heritage Learning is classical in its educational approach.

The goal of education, since ancient times, has been the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by feasting the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty. The classical approach, characterized by exposure to history, literature, art, and language, has produced the greatest thinkers, leaders, and scientists in the Western world from the time of the Greeks until the late 19th century, including America’s Founding Fathers. Seeking to nurture and train the whole child in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, classical education prepares the student for an adventure of lifelong learning by teaching him how to think.

Over the years, education in America has moved away from this classical approach to learning, pursuing more of a career training path. It has given up education as primarily a means of training the mind. In the 1940's, Oxford scholar Dorothy Sayers, author of The Lost Tools of Learning, remorsed, “Is it not the great defect of our education today that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils ‘subjects,’ we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think? They learn everything, except the art of learning.”

Believing that the art of learning, the habit of thinking, the growing together in wisdom and virtue are best carried out in a community of faithful friends, Heritage works to provide a classical education steeped in rich traditions.

To read more about our philosophy, distinctives, and method, visit our website or click here.

Parental Involvement

Because Heritage Learning exists to supplement and complement the work of parents in the home education process, we partner with you! Although you have employed teachers to help with the instruction of your child, we are not a replacement teaching service. Heritage expects and encourages parental involvement in the following ways:

  1. Attend the Mandatory meeting in September. There will be a $50 fee if you are not present.
  1. Attend any seminars offered by our teachers in early September (SWR, morning time,etc). This is optional, but recommended.
  2. Hold your child accountable for completion of all work and preparation for tests, quizzes, and labs. You will be asked to sign completed work and/or grade assignments with the answer keys provided. Students should not grade their own work!
  3. Know what is going on in each class each week and to know what assignments are due/complete/incomplete. This can be accomplished by checking the online gradebook (5th grade and up) every week and the assignment posting every week. We can’t stress this enough.
  4. Prioritize your life so that your child can be successful in his academics. This means that you will have to say no to good things.
  5. Parents of elementary students: you will need to spend time daily with your child completing assignments. Parents of middle school and high school students: you should be supervising and checking completion and quality of assignments daily.
  6. Drop off and pick up your children from Heritage on time.
  7. Observe classes at any time and assist in the classes when needed.
  8. Fulfill your volunteer hours when scheduled.
  9. Communicate with Teachers regarding questions about student's work, participation, etc. Please be respectful of time when you visit with a teacher, knowing that we all are busy with family life.
  10. If you have an important issue or disagreement to communicate with the staff at Heritage, please do so, in a gracious manner, from Tuesday-Friday. Mondays are very busy days for the teachers with class preparation and responsibilities and we will be able to visit with you on another day. Thank you for your consideration of this matter!
  11. Read and be familiar with the Family Handbook (available at heritagelearningkalispell.com).

Volunteer hours:

As Heritage has grown, we have become aware of the great value in having families working alongside of the teachers and students in our efforts at Heritage Learning. For this reason, families will be required to commit to two volunteer hours per class registered, up to a maximum of 15 hours per family during the 2016-2017 school year. These hours will help to keep costs down, allow the teachers to get to know the parents, and allow parents to see what goes on at Heritage. Details regarding volunteer hours and sign up will be provided at the Mandatory Parent Meeting in early September.

In addition to the volunteer hours, we would really like to have each of you in the classroom at Heritage for 1-2 hours in the first 2-3 months of the school year. Although we will not require this, it is strongly encouraged. The parents who have come to class are amazed at what goes on at Heritage and they have informed us that this should definitely be a mandatory component at Heritage. It was far easier for them to follow up on the work at home when they knew what the classroom environment was like. Please, please take part in serving in the classroom. We can always use an extra set of hands!

Weekly work: Your child will have work to complete at home each week. Please know that the Heritage teachers have put a significant amount of time into class preparation and we do expect prepared students. This means that:

1. You will need to spend time every day working on assignments at home. If you are too busy to help your child with assignments, or if you want an easy year of homeschooling, Heritage is not a good fit for you and your child will become discouraged.

2. You get to learn at home with your child but you do not have to plan out assignments! This is one of the best parts of being involved at Heritage; you will have high quality instruction from gifted teachers, you will finish a whole year of homeschooling, you will to work hard and learn more than you ever did in school, but you will not have to invest hours into prep time, curriculum hunting, or lesson plans!

3. Your child will only get out of class what he/she puts into it! It is discouraging for a student to come to class unprepared. Coming with incomplete work teaches irresponsibility and disrespect for the teacher. On the other hand, students who are prepared enjoy engaging in the material with their classmates. They have a great sense of satisfaction in what they have learned and worked for. We can not inspire a passion for learning if your child is not learning at home. Please, please help your child daily with assignments!

Character training: One of the things that we have realized is that we won’t get very far if all we have is a high view of academics, even if is is coming from a Biblical worldview. Our focus, you will notice, even in our grading and course evaluation, is a great deal on building character. At Heritage, just like you probably do at home, we view academics as an important means of character development as we raise our children for the Lord. Andrew Kern of the CiRCE Institute says, “School is not about school. Homeschooling is not about school. It’s about pursuing wisdom; it’s about becoming virtuous beings; it’s about soul transformation.[1]” Here are a just few opportunities that we can encourage your children to be more like Christ:

  1. Turning in neat work, on time, teaches responsibility.
  2. Working diligently in class and at home, even at hard tasks, teaches discipline and perseverance.
  3. Listening and paying careful attention in class teaches preference for others and submission to authority.
  4. Interacting with other students teaches kindness, and at times, self-denial.
  5. Arriving on time, prepared for the day, teaches respect for others and attention to detail.
  6. Using our minds for in-depth study teaches us about God, and allows us to serve.

Grades and assessment: All students grades 5 and up will receive grades in most classes. We believe that assigning grades is a great way to develop character traits including discipline, responsibility, hard-work, honesty, etc. We want Heritage students to love learning, to work hard, and to take ownership for their study!

We use an online grade book at Heritage. You will receive log-in information for jupitered.com in September (for students 5th grade and up). Here you will be able to see up-to-date grades for your 5th grade and up students. At the end of each semester you will be able to print a report card. Please check grades often so that you will know if your child is keeping up on his/her work. This is one of the primary means of weekly communication with your child’s teacher. Each student will receive a grade for class behavior, as follows:

Assignments: Weekly assignments will be posted on our website under Assignments early Tuesday morning. The password to access the page is: ______. Please do not share access with families outside of Heritage. Be sure to check assignments on Tuesday morning so that you can plan your week accordingly.

Also on the assignments page you will find links to teacher contact information, family contact information, class lists, and more.

Communication: Here are some of the ways that we are intentionally working to keep communication open with you as parents:

❖Mandatory parent meeting, September 2015. We feel very strongly that this is an important means of communication.

❖Online grade book: jupitered.com. Each student (5th grade and up) has an account. Please check this at least once each week.

❖Invoices will be sent out monthly via email. Angela Nye will be taking care of our billing this year.

❖Weekly assignment postings with class information for EVERY CLASS. This can be accessed on the Assignments tab of our website on Tuesday mornings following a Monday class day.

❖Teachers are accessible by phone or by email. Please refrain from calling in the morning and early afternoon as most of us are schooling our own children. Be prepared to leave a message and receive a return phone call.

❖We communicate about important dates and events primarily via email. If your email address is incorrect on our contact sheet (available as link on the assignments page), or if you have not yet received email communication from Heritage, please let us know immediately. We do expect that you will check your email daily throughout the school year. We will not send unnecessary communication because we do not want to burden you.

❖Communication between Heritage families: We do publish up-to-date Heritage contact information as a link on the assignments page of our website. This is accessible to current Heritage families only. Please be respectful in your use of email and/or phone communication. Many people do not like to email/text/chat frequently. We can help each other to protect school and family time even as we build relationships!

Absences: If your child is absent please contact your child’s teacher to let her know the reason for the absence and to obtain any pertinent information that was missed (contact information can be found on our teachers page). Make sure that you check your email or the website assignments page so your student can keep up with the work assigned. If you know in advance that you will be absent, please let your child’s teacher know.

Illness: Attendance at Heritage is very important. However, if your child is sick, please keep him/her at home to rest, and to avoid contaminating other students. Keep your child at home in these circumstances:

  1. He/she has vomited or had a fever within the 24-hours prior to a Heritage class day.
  2. He/she is sick with a highly contagious sickness (e.g., "pink eye", ring worm, head lice, etc.) Student should be completely free of all contagious symptoms before returning to class.
  3. He/she is sick with a highly contagious sickness (e.g., strep throat, etc.) and has not been on a prescribed antibiotic for at least 24-hours.

Weather and Heritage cancellation: In the case of inclement weather be sure to check the homepage of our website for class status; cancellations will be posted by 6:30 am. In the event of emergency travel only and/or District 5 school cancellation, Heritage classes will be cancelled.

In the past we have had to cancel classes due to a scheduled funeral at the church, an event that always takes precedence over our classes (the church will always try to schedule this type of event on a non-Heritage day). We have also cancelled due to severe illness among our staff and students. In the event of class cancellation, for any reason, a make-up day WILL NOT be scheduled and no monetary refund will be issued. Assignments for the week will be given; be sure to check the website by Tuesday morning.