Cedar Rapids Home School

Assistance Program

An educational alternative for families choosing to home school.

2301 J Street SW

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

Phone: (319) 558-2088

http://homeschool.cr.k12.ia.us

The mission of the Cedar Rapids Home School

Assistance Program is to provide an educational

alternative that considers the best interest of the

student, benefits home schooling families, meets

the educational requirements of the school dis-

trict, and complies with state law.

Lead Teachers:

Deann Ongie

Anne Suggs

Resource Teachers:

Kathie Duesenberg

Wayne Fritch

Karen Hyland

Laura Reed

Peggy Ziemer

Secretary:

Robin Running Hawk

In This Issue…

Welcome Back/Events at a Glance………………..1

Family Class/CPR Training/YMCA Swim……….......2

Lending Library…………………………………………2

Office News/Class Reminders……………………….3

Workplace Learning Connection/Field Trips ...…..3

GWAEA Tours/Chess Club/Curious George………4

School Pictures/Class Reminders…………….…......5

Family Directory/Frontier……………….…….…….…5

PATT (Parents and Teachers Together)…………….6

RSVPs……………………………………………………..7

SEPTEMBER EVENTS AT A GLANCE 9/22 ~ Monday K-5 Enrichment Classes begin 9/23 ~ Tuesday K-5 Enrichment Classes begin 9/23 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 9/25 ~ Middle School Enrichment Classes begin 9/25 ~ High School Enrichment Classes begin 9/26 ~ RSVPs due to your resource teacher 9/26 ~ Bike Ride ~ 12:30PM-3:30PM 9/26 ~ PATT Candle Sales Order forms/money to HSAP Office 9/30 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 9/30 ~ Tour of Grant Wood AEA 9:00AM

OCTOBER EVENTS AT A GLANCE 10/01 ~ Tour of Grant Wood AEA 3:00PM 10/02 ~ Family Kangaroos/Koalas ~ 1:00PM/2:15PM 10/02 ~ Scholastic Book Orders Due to HSAP Office 10/02 ~ PATT Meeting/Mom’s Night Out ~ 5:30PM/6:30PM 10/03 ~ School Pictures ~ 9:00AM-11:45AM 10/06 ~ CPR Training at Area Ambulance ~ 6:00-8:00PM 10/07 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 10/09 ~ Family Kangaroos/Koalas ~ 1:00PM/2:15PM 10/10 ~ Home School Rollerskating ~ 1:00PM-3:00PM 10/14 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 10/15 ~ YMCA Open Swim ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 10/15 ~ Frontier Orders Due 10/16 ~ Family Kangaroos/Koalas ~ 1:00PM/2:15PM 10/17 ~ Curious George Kaleidoscope ~ 12:30PM 10/21 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 10/23 ~ Family Kangaroos/Koalas ~ 1:00PM/2:15PM 10/24 ~ Heartland Acres Agribition Center ~ 10:00-11:30AM 10/27 ~ The Wright Stuff Kaleidoscope ~ 12:30PM 10/28 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 10/29 ~ YMCA Open Swim ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 10/30~ Family Kangaroos/Koalas ~ 1:00PM/2:15PM

NOVEMBER EVENTS AT A GLANCE 11/03 ~ WLC Job Internship Applications Due to HSAP Office 11/04 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 11/06 ~ Mapping My World Family Class ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 11/06 ~ PATT Meeting/Mom’s Night Out 11/10 ~ Voices from Ellis Island Kaleidoscope ~ 12:30PM 11/11 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 11/12 ~ YMCA Open Swim ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 11/13 ~ Mapping My World Family Class ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 11/13 ~ States Fair ~ 6:30PM 11/18 ~ Chess Club ~ 4:00PM-5:00PM 11/20 ~ Mapping My World Family Class ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM 11/26 ~ YMCA Open Swim ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM

Welcome to your first electronic newsletter for the 2014-2015 school year! Please be sure to read it carefully and return your RSVP either via email or “snail” mail. We want to hear from you even if you are opting out of all the activities. Fall is knocking on our door and soon we will be bundling up for crisp autumn weather. Enjoy these beautiful days and stay in touch!

Anne, Deann, Karen, Kathie, Laura, Peggy, Wayne & Robin

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November Family Class (Grades 6-12)

Mapping My World

Classes will be held Thursday afternoons

from 1:30PM-3:00PM on the following dates:

November 6, 13, 20 and December 4, 2014

Using Arc GIS On-line, students, in grades 6 - 12

and their parents, will be introduced to basic

on-line mapping tools:

Map manipulation (panning, scrolling, zooming)

Geo-referencing points

Using symbols to label points

Drawing lines

Measuring distance between points of interest

Measuring area

Adding pictures and comments

Layering maps for comparative information

After learning these basics, participants will be

given opportunities to manipulate maps to

learn about recent earthquakes, population

density, household income, etc. By the end of

the class, students and parents will create their

own map of personal interest (ie: mapping lo-

cal restaurants, family vacations, walking trails,

animal migration, etc.). Presentations from lo-

cal GIS users will give students an idea of how

skills in this class can be applied to real-world

careers. RSVP #1

YMCA OPEN SWIM

TIMES 2013-2014 Twice a Month-Wednesdays

Time: 1:30PM to 3:00PM

Helen G. Nassif Center,

207 7th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids

The YMCA generously opens their pool for

home school families during their open swim

times. When families arrive at the YMCA,

please either show your membership card, or if

you are not a member, please sign in on their

activities check-in list stating that you are a

CRCSD Home School family. The check-in list is

located at the front desk. A parent needs to

accompany his/her children at this event. This

opportunity is free.

Dates for October are 10/15 and 10/29

Dates for November are 11/12 and 11/26

High School Students

Free CPR Training It is a requirement of high school

graduation to complete a CPR

course. We are fortunate to have FREE CPR

classes provided by Area Ambulance. The

classes are held on the first Monday of every

month at 2730 12th Street SW, Cedar Rapids

from 6PM – 8PM.

The only fee that you will have is $5.00, which is

the actual cost of your certification card.

Please be sure that you dress appropriately.

You do not need to preregister for these clas-

ses, just show up. However, if you have ques-

tions, please call Area Ambulance at 366-7654.

News from The Lending Library

Featured Items ~ October

The Lending Library has many curriculum

materials for checkout. Some items are

preview items and can be checked out for

two weeks. Other items can be used for

an extended period of time. Please stop in

today and check out our featured items of

the month; curricula. Available curricula items include:

All About Spelling, Reading and Grammar; Life

Pac; Right Smart Math; Explore the Code; Hand

-writing Without Tears; Writing with Ease; World-

ly Wise 3000; Teaching Writing Structure and

Style; First Language Lessons; and much more

in the areas of Language Arts, Mathematics,

Science, and Social Studies for grades Kinder-

garten through high school. If you are looking

for acurriculum, come check out our selection.

***Please remember to return your items on time to allow others to use them as well.

***Don’t forget to browse the “FREEBIES”

shelves. These materials are FREE for the

taking. There are many new items on

these shelves.

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ICN has been replaced with PBS LearningMedia

Have you explored the

NEW PBS LearningMedia?

Visit their site today at

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

PBS Learning Media has taken the place of

ICNs. Families access this site from home.

Please register for all classes and programs in which you wish to participate. Completely fill out your RSVP and give it to your resource teacher on or before Friday, September 26, 2014.

Attention Juniors & Seniors!! Workplace Learning Connection Job Internships ~ Grades 11 & 12

Connect today to tomorrow’s careers!! Gain work experience and know if a particular ca-reer is right for you through Workplace Learning Connection’s Job Internship Program. High school juniors and seniors can get 90 hours of planned and supervised career experiences. Interns learn new skills, apply classroom knowledge in a real-world setting, develop em-ployability behaviors that prepare them for the workplace, and gain insight that will help them make more informed career choices. More information and applications are available at www.workplace-learning.org. Completed ap-plications should be turned in to Karen Hyland in the home school office on or before November 3, 2014. No late applications please.

Office News Our copier is available for use by fam-

ilies who rent our curriculum anytime

between 8:00AM and 3:00PM on

Wednesdays and Fridays. Copies can

be made after 10:00AM on class days; Mon-

days, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Please limit

your copying to 25 copies per visit please.

Copies can be made at other locations for a

small fee per copy. GWAEA $.10/$.50; CRPL

$.15/$.75; Staples $.11/$.49; Kinkos $.12/$.59.

Important Class Reminders If your child arrives after 8:45AM, please

have him/her stop into room 124 to sign up

for lunch. If your child will not be attending

class for any reason, or will be leaving early, please

call the CRHSAP main office at 558-2088. Please do

not call your resource teacher because she/he may

be teaching or out of the office and not receive the

notice. Thank you!

Heartland Acres Agribition Center

2600 Swan Lake Blvd.

Independence, Iowa Friday, October 24th, 2014 ~ 10:00AM–11:30AM

$3.00 per guest payable at the venue

We are very excited to be going to Heartland

Acres Agribition Center for the very first time.

Located in Independence, Iowa, Heartland

Acres offers a myriad of interesting areas to visit

and learn from. Students will be able to grind

their own corn to later feed the animals, experi-

ence the history of agriculture in Iowa, see a

collection of classic cars, and visit the

“Machine Shed” featuring antique agricultural

equipment up to modern machines like Big

Bud, the largest tractor on the planet. That is

just the beginning – there are animals, a one

room school house, a large windmill, and more.

Families are welcome on this field trip. Plan on

about an hour travel time from Cedar Rapids

(Map Quest said 45 minutes from Wilson School)

to arrive by 10:00AM.

If you want more information about this amaz-

ing place, visit the website at

www.heartlandacresusa.com. There is a tab

called “Educational Resources” which has a

very good educator’s guide that is printable, if

you are interested.

You are welcome to bring a picnic lunch to eat

after our tour, if you wish. Directions from Cedar Rapids:

Take I-380 north to the Urbana exit (#43)

Take 150 north (Jamestown Ave.) to Independ-

ence

Take Highway 20 west to Exit 252

Take the ramp toward Independence

Turn right on Iowa Ave.

Turn Left on Swan Lake Blvd. RSVP #2

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Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District

not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only),

marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeco-

nomic status (students/program only) in its educational pro-

grams and its employment practices. There is a grievance pro-

cedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District em-

ployees with questions or a grievance related to this policy

should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319-

558-2421, jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. The District mailing

address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.

Tours of Grant Wood Area

Educational Association (GWAEA) One of the best educational support services

available to every home-school parent is the

Grant Wood Area Education Association.

(GWAEA)

Two tours of the facilities and resources are

planned for those involved with the HSAP.

Select which date and time are best for

you. GWAEA is located at 4401 Sixth Street SW,

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. Mr. Wayne will meet

families just inside the front entrance (closest to

6th Street) and then introduce families to Dean-

na Weber who will be giving the tours. Free

parking is provided around the perimeter of the

building.

Tour dates:

Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 9:00AM

Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 3:00PM

Tours will include:

Classroom Library

Professional Library

Teacher Workroom (die-cuts/lamination

poster printing/3-D printer, and more)

On-line Catalog Reservations

Checkout Area

To be better informed before your visit,

check out the GWAEA on-line GWAEA: http://www.gwaea.org/

GWAEA: On-line Card Catalog: http://

medten.aea10.k12.ia.us/htbin/wwform/040/wwk770

GWAEA Home School Resources:

http://www.gwaea.org/parstu.html

If you cannot make either of these two times

and would like to tour GWAEA,

please contact your resource teacher

who will be happy to set up a home visit/tour.

Just a Reminder……… Our ‘States’ Learning Fair will be held on

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Set up: 6:00PM-6:30PM

Visit displays: 6:30PM-7:15PM

Oral presentations: 7:15PM-8:00PM

We are looking forward to all the information you will

display and you will present. If you need a packet,

please contact your resource teacher.

Please let us know your ‘state’ soon………Miss Peggy

Barrow

Berquam

Busch

Chaplin

Crist

Habenicht

High

Kadlec

Lewis

Lindgren

McFarland

Chess Club

Chess Club starts Tuesday, September

23rd. Whether you are a beginner or

an advanced chess player, you may

attend Home School Chess Club on

Tuesday afternoons from 4:00PM-5:00PM at Wil-

son School. Fourth grade and up only please.

Minney

Murray

Opperman

Purrington

Robinson

Seale

Sebast

Wacker

Wilkins

Woodcock

Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center

Kaleidoscope Series ~ A Buck ($1) a Ticket

Curious George Tickets

Friday, October 17, 2014 at 12:30PM

We were able to accommodate everyone

who signed up for Curious George before our

payment due date.

The following families will receive a voucher to

attend the performance. Please pay Robin in

the CRHSAP office to receive your voucher

and performance information.

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Lights! Camera! Smile!

Annual School Pictures

Friday, October 3, 2014

9:00AM -11:45AM

Wilson School Room 123

Ages 3 and Up are Welcome

Please RSVP to your resource teacher by 9/26/14

On Friday, October 3, Life Touch Photographers will be at Wilson School to take school photos. They will begin taking pictures promptly at 9:00AM and will continue until 11:45AM. As soon as your family arrives, all of your children will have their pictures taken.

Student IDs are available to all students through Lifetouch photography. A picture packet pur-chase is not necessary to get an ID. Lifetouch fliers and payment envelopes will be sent home on or before the week of September 29th for those children that attend enrichment classes. We will also have payment envelopes available for you to fill out on October 3rd.

Credit card payment is only accepted when you have contacted the phone number on the Life-touch flier prior to October 3. They will then issue you a code to enter on your child’s envelope. RSVP #3

Check out the website

below for local activities

http://www.cedar-rapids.com/events/

Physical Education ~ Elementary School Students

All students who are attending HSAP elementary enrichment clas-ses at Wilson Middle School partici-

pate in PE each week. Please send sneakers every week for PE. Thank You!

Family Directory for CRHSAP Use Only

Each school year CRHSAP publishes a Family

Directory which lists your family name, your

students’ names, which day your child at-

tends class, the quadrant/town in which you

live, your phone number and email address.

This information is used to set up car pools &

contact families.

*CRHSAP will not publish or share street ad-

dresses or information in this directory with

anyone outside of the program. RSVP #4

Important Class Reminder: If your child will be not be attending class for

any reason, or will be leaving early, please call

the main office at 558-2088. Please do not call

your resource teacher as she may be teaching

and not receive the notification.

Permission to Leave

from Classes Please notify us in writing if there

are any changes in your child’s

normal method of transportation

home. If they will be leaving with someone else,

please include the name of the adult. If they

will be walking somewhere, please include the

location to which they will be going. Thank you!

E-Registration If you have not completed/updated your Power School online registration, please do so ASAP! Thank you!

Frontier Buying Club The first order date is

October 15th! If you would like to order from our Frontier Buy-

ing Club, catalogs and order forms are located

in the Lending Library. You can also access the

catalog on-line at frontiercoop.com. You place

your order with us and Frontier delivers to Wilson

School for you to pick-up. We will notify you

when your order is ready. People who have

signed up will receive an email from Anne

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PATT Meetings and Mom’s Night Out

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Location: Pizza Ranch, SW Location

PATT Meeting ~ 5:30PM • Dinner ~ 6:30PM

Please join us at Pizza Ranch for our monthly PATT Meeting and Mom’s Night Out.

Please contact Autumn Plummer @ 319-651-5252 for more information or to reserve your spot. Moms’ Night Out is a great place to relax and get to know other homeschooling moms.

You are welcome to attend PATT meetings, Mom’s night out dinners, or both, as they fit into your

schedule. Watch each month’s HSAP newsletter for location information.

Mark your calendar now with our future PATT meeting dates/Mom’s Night Out: 11/6, 1/8, 2/5, 3/5,

4/2, 5/14.

Home School Roller Skating The October home school roller skating at Super Skate, located at 5100 Northland

Ave. NE in Cedar Rapids, will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014, 1PM-3PM. The cost

is $5.75 per skater. If you have any questions, please contact the rink at 377-3767.

Hope to see you there!

White Lights Candle Sales

White Lights candle sales are our current PATT fundraising event. Remember to

keep selling candles. Orders are due on September 29th by 11AM in the home

school office. The student selling the most candles will win a prize package!

Parent Survey Please fill out the parent survey on the next page and return it with your RSVP to the home

school office by Friday, September 26, 2014. We are looking for volunteers for our upcoming

events. Come join the fun!

Home School T-Shirts

Thank you to everyone that has purchased our new homeschool t-shirts! We are very excited

about these awesome t-shirts! PATT sponsored a design contest last spring and Allena’s design

was chosen as the winner. Great job Allena! We have placed our 2nd order of shirts and will

have a few extras on hand for you to purchase even if you didn’t preorder. Please contact

Melissa at 845-7035 or brente@southslope.net to see if she has your preferred size in stock. These

come in several colors, in youth and adult sizes, and are just $8 each right now. Buy yours today!

REMEMBER TO SAVE YOUR BOX TOPS, SOUP LABELS, AND HYVEE RECEIPTS

Please turn them into the HSAP office on a regular basis

Clip, Save, Donate, Support CRHSAP

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YOUR Group To Support...YOUR Home School

A few hours of your time will make 2014-15 PATT activities better for everyone. Please mark any area of interest; you will be contacted with details. Thank You!

___ Box Tops for Education: Select any or all of the following: __ Select monthly take-home collection sheets for HSAP families (September–May) __ Write newsletter reminders/updates (September–May) __ Pick up collected Boxtops from HSAP office and bundle into groups of 50 (early October and early Feb-

ruary) __ Mail Boxtops for payment (mid-October and mid-February)

___ HyVee Cash 4 Students: Receive communication from HyVee about program. Write reminders for the HSAP newsletter. Pick up collected receipts from HSAP office every month, prepare for submission to HyVee, and turn in receipts in April.

___ Holiday Extravaganza: Select any of these for this early December event: __ Silent Auction helper (during event): Help Coordinator as needed at event

__ Bake Sale contributor: Donate baked goods

__ Bake Sale helper: Work in bake sale area during event

__ Sound Coordinator/Technician: Set up and run sound for kids’ performance

__ Set up helper: Set up tables and chairs the afternoon of the event

__ Tear down helper: Put away tables and chairs immediately following event

__ Publicity: Create and/or help distribute fliers and electronic announcements

___ Summer Bowling Pass Coordinator: Get info from Westdale Bowling center in February; update or create new info/sign up flier for March distribution; take orders & payment to Westdale Bowl in late April; pick up passes in early May; group passes by family and give to HSAP staff for distribution in early May

___ Home School Books & More Sale: Any or all for this June event

__ Publicity: create and/or help distribute fliers and electronic announcements

__ Set up: set up tables and signs for sale area and/or help sellers with item drop off

__ Work sale: tally purchases; take payments; help customers as needed

__ Tear down: prepare unsold items for pick up; put away tables, chairs, signs

___ Summer Park Coordinators: Select park dates & locations (April); publicize to HSAP families (May); arrive at park early to get picnic area and put out sign; welcome attenders and help people get acquainted.

___ I would like to help decide what activities PATT offers and how funds are spent.

Name:

___ PATT can contact me by e-mail at: _______________________________________

___ CRHSAP staff can share my contact info (phone, e-mail, address) with PATT.

THANK YOU!

Please return this survey to the HSAP office by Friday, September 26, 2014

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RSVP #2 Heartland Acres Agribition Center

Friday, October 24, 2014 ~ 10:00AM –11:30AM

Yes _____ No _____ Total # Children _____ Total # Adults _____

RSVP #1 Mapping My World Family Class

Thursdays, November 6, 13, 20, December 4 ~ 1:30PM-3:00PM

Yes_____ No ______ # Attending ______

RSVP #3 School Pictures

Friday, October 3, 2014

Yes_____ No ______

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

Students First/Last Name __________________________________ Grade Level _______________

RSVP #4 Family Directory

YES _____ NO _____ Family Name ___________________________________________________________________

Student(s) Names _______________________________________________________________

Class Day ______________________________________________________________________

Quadrant/Town in which you live ________________________________________________

Phone number __________________________________________________________________

Email Address _____________________________________________________________

E-mail Address ~ Please print neatly to clarify if a symbol is a letter or a number, dash or underscore.