Parental Responsibilities and Expectations

(All Homeschool Connections’ parents are expected to enforce the following rules and expectations:)

• Register for Connections:  Submit a Family Registration Contract once a facilitator confirms you have secured a spot in a class.  Pay the family registration fees to help cover administrative, insurance, and facility expenses. 
• Provide for ONLY Your Family:  Register only children for whom you are the legal guardian.  Do not bring anyone else's children to Homeschool Connections on a regular basis.  This includes day care children, children you are babysitting, or even homeschoolers who are not in your immediate family.  No student visitors are allowed.  Do not take responsibility for another family’s children except in the event of an emergency.  If an emergency comes up and you must be away, ask another parent to take responsibly for your children.  Let your children know, and put a note in your mailbox indicating the responsible parent.  Give a medical release form to any parent assuming responsibility for your children.
• Plan for Your Entire Family:  Plan for ALL of your children.  Siblings (except nursing infants) are not allowed to attend classes for which they are not registered and will be asked to leave.  Study halls and a Monday playroom and nursery are available for your convenience.  Contact appropriate facilitators to make arrangements for all children who are on campus and not enrolled in classes (unless you keep them with you in your vehicle).  Utilization of study halls and/or the playroom requires your assistance/supervision on a rotating basis in addition to your regular job assignments.
• Commit:  Enroll in a class with the intention of remaining in it for the entire school year.
• Help:  Agree to complete at least one organizational job for each day you participate in Connections’ classes.  You may be asked to do additional jobs during the year.  If you are unable to fulfill your assigned job due to an absence, YOU must find a replacement.  Each week you are responsible to do your job and be available and willing to help.  Families with students enrolled in classes at the beginning or end of the day should plan to arrive early to help set-up or stay late to help clean up.  You will be contacted concerning your job.
• Honor Other Families:  Parents should set and enforce appropriate boundaries for their own students regarding attire.  Clothing should reflect modest hemlines and necklines and not be a distraction for the other students or teachers.  We desire an atmosphere of consideration and gentleness in our dealings with one another.   Also, sick/contagious family members may not attend classes.
• Honor Teachers:  Parental attendance in classes is encouraged.  Keep visiting among yourselves quiet and to a minimum.  Limit your coming and going during class time.  Silence cell phones during class.  Enforce rules with your child if a teacher contacts you concerning a disciplinary issue.
• Honor the Church Facility:  Stay out of rooms we are not using.  Stay out of Northlake’s lobby.  Do not interrupt the secretaries at the church office.  In an emergency, call Mary Takle's cell number:  206-890-5374.  Call the church phone only in an extreme emergency.  Eat lunch in the designated lunchrooms.  No eating in the classrooms or hallways.  On nice days, you may eat outside.  Supervise your children and clean up after yourself.  Only working service animals are allowed inside the church.  No dogs are allowed on church grounds.
• Honor our Insurance Required Policies:

  Stay On-Site:  Parental presence is mandatory.  Parents are expected to stay at the church, in class, or in a study hall with their children every week.  Homeschool Connections is a parental supervised activity, not a private school.  Dropping off your children is not acceptable.  For parents of teens only:  If you have only teens (ages 13 and up) on campus, you may partner with one other parent each day to trade responsibility for your teens.  If you choose this option, fill out a “Sharing Responsibility for Teens Form” and place it in your mailbox folder.

  Food Policy:  Be aware of the policies listed below.  On Mondays, only prepackaged, nonperishable foods may be served in a classroom with teacher permission.  On Wednesdays, no eating is allowed in classrooms without board permission, and then it must be prepackaged, nonperishable foods (ask your facilitator, who can get permission from a board member).

  The following is allowed:  pre-packaged cookies or crackers, soft drinks or juice not requiring refrigeration, store bought cakes or cupcakes, and bagged chips or candy.

  
  

  The following items are not allowed:  any protein based food requiring refrigeration (meat, cheese, milk, eggs), salad or side dish requiring refrigeration, all homemade baked goods (cakes, cookies, cupcakes), and fresh fruits or vegetables.

  
  

  Field Trip Policy:  Class field trips are not endorsed, sponsored or sanctioned by Homeschool Connections.   Our liability insurance does not cover activities outside of class nor transportation to or from any such activities.  If you participate in an event outside of Connections' classes with other Connections' families, it is not considered a Homeschool Connections' activity.

• Communicate:  Check the information table and your mailbox folder weekly for updates or news concerning Homeschool Connections.  Notify us if your email address changes.  Our policy is to email only information directly related to Connections.      

Parent and Student Responsibilities and Expectations

(Parents are expected to read and enforce these policies with their children:)

• Plan Ahead:  Arrive five minutes before class starts with sharpened pencils, notebooks, paper, required books and materials, and completed work.
• Follow Your Class Schedule:  Be in class, a lunchroom, or in the study hall at all times while at the church.  Do not run or talk loudly while walking to and from your classes.  Do not loiter in the hallways or outside.   Connections has a closed campus policy prohibiting students from making trips to 7-11 or elsewhere during the day, unless accompanied by an adult.
• Behave Respectfully:  Treat teachers, parents, other students, and church staff with respect at all times.  No physical contact is allowed between male and female students.
• Dress Appropriately:  Prefer modesty over making a "statement" with your clothing, make-up, and jewelry.  Clothing should reflect modest hemlines and necklines and not be distracting to other students or teachers.
• Honor the Church Facility:  Stay out of rooms we are not using.  Stay out of Northlake’s lobby.  Do not interrupt the secretaries at the church office.   Use the church telephone only for emergencies.  Eat lunch in the designated lunchrooms.  No eating is allowed in the hallways.  On nice days, you may eat outside.  Clean up after yourself.  When outside, stay off fences, out of trees and bushes, and off the landscaping.  Reserve the park for children 11 years of age and under.  No bicycles, skates, skateboards, scooters, or roller blades are allowed in the church building or parking lot.  Driving teens must drive safely and slowly through the parking lot.
• Play Ball in Designated Areas:  The coned-off area in the south parking lot at both churches is for supervised games.  Play ball only in this area.  Use only the balls in the designated storage bin.  Only play ball if a parent wearing an orange vest is actively supervising (not from a car) including lunchtime.   

Failure to comply with these polices will jeopardize your privilege to participate in Homeschool Connections' classes. The board reserves the right to deny participation to any family or student.

Last Updated: Friday, March 14, 2008, 11:15:23 PM