# K-9 Program



# Courses Required for Grades K-9

The chart below provides important information for the required courses at HCOS for each grade level.

<table id="bkmrk-grades-k-to-4-5-to-7" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Oxygen, Ubuntu, Roboto, Cantarell, 'Fira Sans', 'Droid Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; width: 807px;"><tbody><tr style="background-color: #bbdefb;"><td style="width: 217px;">**Grades**

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**K to 4**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**5 to 7**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**8**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**9**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Bible

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Math

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Science

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Social Studies

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Language Arts\*

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">PE &amp; Health

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Career

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Languages\*\*

</td><td style="width: 153px;"> **No**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Optional**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">Fine Arts\*\*\*

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 217px;">ADST

</td><td style="width: 153px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 153.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 141.5px;">**Yes**

</td><td style="width: 131px;">**Yes**

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<p class="callout info">**\*Language Arts** includes all of the following: Reading, Writing, and Oral Language learning   
</p>

<p class="callout info">**\*\*Languages** includes all language learning that is not a students primary spoken and written language</p>

<p class="callout info">**\*\*\*Fine Arts** can be one of Visual Arts, Music, Drama or Dance</p>

# K-9 FAQs

##### **We have enrolled, talked with the Registrar and Regional Administrator, what are the next steps?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Please view our [New Families: Eight Steps for getting started in K-9](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/new-families-eight-steps-for-getting-started-in-k-9) for more information. </span>

##### **Who is my Regional Administrator?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can see who your Regional Administrator is on the </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">HCOS Website</span>](https://onlineschool.ca/who-we-are/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">We also have a Middle School Administrator for our grade 5 to 9 online courses, which you can find on the </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">HCOS Website</span>](https://onlineschool.ca/who-we-are/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>

##### **When will my support teacher contact me to get the school year started?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Generally, support teachers will reach out to families toward the end of August. They will start by making sure they have your correct email address and then move to ensuring you have resources in place for the upcoming school year as they work with you to build the Student Learning Plan (SLP).</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Support teachers may reach out prior to the end of the previous school year, but the majority of communication starts at the end of August. </span>

##### **How much communication should I expect with my support teacher and online course teacher?** 

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Communication with your support teacher will take place on a weekly basis and will vary between different forms of communication. HCOS teachers will often communicate over email, Zoom, SeeSaw, phone calls, home visits, and various other forms throughout the school year. As a parent, you will be responsible for sending in work samples for your child. Your support teacher will reply and be able to provide feedback and open communication with you through this. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Online teachers primarily communicate with students directly through their feedback on submitted assignments. Parents can reach out to an online teacher at any point via email and at any time during a school year. </span>

##### **Am I able to track where my child is at in their online courses or connect with online course teachers?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Online course progress is available for parents to see for each online course their child is taking. This is done by selecting the ‘Online Course Progress’ button in Encom (our data management system), where you can see all online courses and how much has been completed in each course. </span>

- - - - <span style="font-weight: 400;">It is advised that parents keep track of their child’s progress in each online course, as the year progresses to ensure they are on track to complete the course in a timely manner. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Parents are welcome to meet with online course teachers. Teacher contact information is available through the </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Teacher Directory</span>](https://hcos.wp.kccnet.ca/teacher-and-support-staff/)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> or by clicking on the teacher’s name on the report card tab in Encom.</span>

##### **Do I meet with my support teacher?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Support teachers aim to have at least three home visits a year with their families that are within a reasonable distance (as decided upon with their administrator). These visits are intended to help aid in gathering student work samples, collaboratively building the learning plan for the school year, meeting and (at times) working with students, and general relationship building. </span>

##### **How do I share work samples with support teachers?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This will depend on whether the course is an individualized course or an HCOS online course. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">For individualized courses, parents send work samples to their support teacher using a variety of tools including, but not limited to, email, SeeSaw, FreshGrade, and in person home visits. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">For HCOS online courses, students submit work online directly in the course and will also upload completed work samples to a management tool called Moodle (which uses a simple drag-and-drop method for adding completed documents)</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">(Moodle is still there for the next year 2023 for students who are finishing old courses; otherwise, we have transitioned to Brightspace). </span>

##### **How is a plan built for my child’s school year?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Your support teacher will work with you to build a</span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;"> Student Learning Plan (SLP)</span>](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/understanding-your-student-learning-plan-%28slp%29)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> for your child, each school year. The SLP is done collaboratively with the parent, support teacher and the student. It is the support teacher’s responsibility to write this and upload it in Encom (our data management system at HCOS). The SLP will outline the plan for each course for the year and will be worked on throughout September and part of October. Once the SLP is finalized and agreed upon, parents sign in acknowledgement that this is the plan for the school year. </span>

##### **Will I get to choose my support teacher?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Regional Administrator (RA) for your area will assign a support teacher to work with you.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Parents can make requests and the RA will take this into consideration when they are assigning a support teacher.</span>

##### **How much funding do I get for resources and lessons?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The amount of funding received will depend on your choice to pay for tuition or not. Please check out this page on </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Tuition and Bursary: Family FAQs</span>](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/tuition-bursary-family-faqs)

##### **Are there additional activities and resources for my child at HCOS?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The answer is a big YES! We have a variety of face to face programs available to students and these vary depending on where families live. All options offered in areas around BC are listed on the HCOS </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Learning Groups website</span>](https://onlineschool.ca/programs/learning-groups/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">. These range from single events, to longer camps, to full one-day-a-week campus based programs running the majority of the school year. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">We also have many additional, free resources available through our </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Learning Commons website</span>](https://hcslearningcommons.org/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">. This includes books and ebooks that can be signed out, online subscriptions largely paid for by HCOS, Unit Study Kits, resource suggestions for each grade, and other free resources are available throughout the school year.</span>

##### **What is a reasonable amount of time to spend on school work each day?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This largely depends on the age and ability of a student. A very general guideline would be thirty minutes of seated work time per grade for the core academic subjects. For example, a grade 5 student would spend three hours each day working on Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Second Language resources. The other four subjects (Christian Studies, PE and Health, Career Education, and ADST) would be completed largely through activity based learning.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This general guideline needs to be considered as just that, a very general approach as each student will have a learning plan designed to meet their individual needs and abilities. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Parents are encouraged to review this with their support teacher and online course teacher as they will be able to offer insights and suggestions on how best to organize a work day. </span>

##### **What is an ‘Individualized’ course?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">An individualized course is one that a parent delivers to their child in a home learning program that has the oversight of an HCOS support teacher. For each Individualized course, the support teacher will build the Student Learning Plan, and will gather work samples and provide feedback and assessment throughout the year. Students will receive two report cards a year. </span>

##### **What is an ‘Online’ course?** 

<span style="font-weight: 400;">An online course is one that is primarily completed online. Each online course has a subject specific specialist teacher who manages the course, marks and gives feedback on assignments, holds office hours for student support, and gives report card marks and feedback twice a year. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Online courses are also available in two formats, asynchronous and synchronous</span>

- - <span style="font-weight: 400;">Online Synchronous - this option uses the online courses that HCOS has written, and also has the added benefit of weekly zoom meetings with the course teacher. The student cohort in these classes work together at about the same pace, beginning in September and finishing in June.</span>
    - <span style="font-weight: 400;">Online Asynchronous - this option also uses the same online course as the synchronous course, but students have the flexibility to work at their own pace. Typically, these courses begin in September and finish in June. Students can start at different times, but we don’t advise to leave it too late in a school year to start them. These courses can also be finished earlier than year end if a student works at an advanced pace. </span>

##### **Can I use a combination of online courses and individualized courses?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Yes! HCOS is set up to be flexible: we want to meet each child's learning needs.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">We offer online courses from grades 5 - 12 and you are welcome to choose online courses as an option for your child. (We encourage students in grades five to seven to limit their number of online courses and to work with their support teacher when selecting them.)</span>

##### **Does HCOS offer summer school?**

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Summer school is offered for students in Grades 8 and 9 for asynchronous (self paced) online courses. </span>

##### **Does HCOS offer a Homeschool Registered Program?** 

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Heritage Christian Online School welcomes and supports registered homeschoolers by providing some support and parents can check out all the details on the HCOS website on our </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Homeschool Registered page</span>](https://onlineschool.ca/admissions/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span>

# K-9 Programs - Overview

Thank you for your interest in our Kindergarten to Grade 9 Program at Heritage Christian Online School. Outlined below are the options available to you in our school. Our mission is to develop innovative Christ-centered educational opportunities for learners to explore and embrace God's unique purpose. This statement guides what we aim to do as a school in living out our [Values](https://onlineschool.ca/about-us/our-mission-values/ " ") and Vision as we work to provide educational support in your home learning adventure.

There are two Home Education programs offered through HCOS. These are Registered and Enrolled and you would have applied for one of these when you filled out an application. Below is a brief outline of these two programs and related details, please read up on the program you applied for.

##### Documentation to be sent to HCOS office

- Copy of birth certificate
- Care Card Number
- Curriculum Agreement (Enrolled only)
- Residency Form

## Registered Program

Our Registered Program has been designed for families that desire to provide education for their children at home separate to the guidelines of the British Columbia Ministry of Education curriculum. Registered students receive minimal support from HCOS and you can read more on this at [Support for Registered Families](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/registrar-office/page/registered-families-support) . Also, please see our website for more information on what it means to be [Homeschool Registered. ](https://onlineschool.ca/enrollment-options/homeschool-registered/)

## Enrolled Program

Our main program offered to families for support in their home learning is our Enrolled Program. This program is our fully supported program that partners you with a British Columbia Certified Teacher to build an educational program unique to each student. This is done through the resource budget available to Enrolled families, the building of a Student Learning Plan at the start of the year, and regular assessment and reporting on student progress throughout the year. This information will be reviewed with you in a General Intake Session and a phone call with your Regional Administrator.

<p class="callout info">If you would like to read up on more information related to our programs at HCOS, you can go to our [Information for Families](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families) book in our online resource SOPHIE. The majority of the information in SOPHIE pertains to our Enrolled Program.</p>

#### HCOS Support in our Enrolled Program

##### Your Support Teacher's Role

- Your child’s Home Room teacher at HCOS is your main contact point with the school and is responsible for your child’s educational program. They also support families through prayer, encouragement, and educational program guidance
- Communicates with you regularly (emails, phone calls, feedback on work samples submitted, home visits when possible and desired)
- Collaborates with you on a Student Learning Plan (SLP) starting in September and it may be adjusted throughout the year
- Provides assessment through regular feedback on work sample submitted weekly, Interim Grade Reports as needed, and Report Cards at the end of our two terms (end of January and end of June)

##### Resource Budget

- PO numbers will be given which may be used through a variety of vendors
- Once curriculum for core subjects (Science, Socials, Language Arts, Math &amp; Languages when applicable) is established, curriculum budget may be used for lessons and other resources
- PO numbers can be found in Encom

##### Learning Commons

- Learning resources and kits
- Online Library of resources
- Online subscriptions

##### Learning Groups

- In-person and virtual learning opportunities 
    - Long term - Community Connections, Community Connections Plus
    - Short term - Learning Camps

##### Curriculum Consultant and Packages 


- Our consultant can meet with you to work through specific resource questions as your Support Teacher will work on overall program planning
- Curriculum Picks curated by our Curriculum Consultant provide ideas for common resources for each grade level

##### Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Testing

- Students enrolling in grades 4 and 7 are required to write the FSA tests in October and these are written at each family's home

##### Online Courses 

- Online courses are available for grades 5 to 9

##### Weekly Contact With Support Teacher

- Phone calls, SeeSaw/Freshgrade, Zoom calls, texts, or other agreed upon methods
- Face-to-face visits when possible or desired
- Weekly sharing of work samples and activities as guided by your support teacher

# New Families: Eight Steps for Getting Started in K-9

#### WELCOME! 

You're signed up with HCOS. You've talked with a Regional Administrator, and your child has been accepted. Here are the next steps.

The purpose of this page is to help new to HCOS families get started in their school year. Hopefully, following this step by step guide will make the start of the new year as smooth as possible for you.

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 1: Connect with your Support Teacher</span>

Your support teacher is your primary connection to the school. They are responsible for collaborating with you in planning your year. They support, encourage and empower you in your home education journey. Your support teacher will help you choose and order curriculum for the year. They will, also help you with weekly input and guidance and help answer all your questions. Your support teacher will collect work samples throughout the year and will provide formative assessment (feedback). Your support teacher will write report cards for your children and play a large role in your child's educational journey as they work to support you.

##### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Regular communication with your Teacher</span>

It is very important that you work out a system for *communicating regularly* with your support teacher. The most used options include email, phone calls, texting, and reporting programs such as SeeSaw. The more your teacher knows about the work your children are doing and the areas you need help with, the better they are able to support you. Good, regular communication and relationship building is what makes the Enrolled Program work best.

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 2: Get into Encom</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Encom is our school database. It is where we house student applications, documents, Student Learning Plans (SLPs), report cards, Proof of Work, your curriculum spending account, and more. It's also where you choose any online courses. You will have received your Encom username and password in your "Welcome to HCOS" email (that is an important email to hang onto).</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Here is the link to the [Encom How To page](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/encom).</span>

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 3: Work together with your support teacher to create Student Learning Plans (SLPs) for each of your children.</span>

The Student Learning Plans (SLPs) are very important documents. It is the main document that reflects the education plan for the year for each of your children enrolled and is specific to each student. Collaborating to write the SLP is usually your first contact with the support teacher. It's important to remember that the SLP is a living document, meaning that it can be revisited and revised during the school year. Parents are required to sign off on the SLP once it has been completed.

Please view [Understanding your Student Learning Plan (SLP)](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/understanding-your-student-learning-plan-%28slp%29) for more information.

Please view our [required courses](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/courses-required-for-grades-k-9) for course requirements for students in K-9.

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 4: Order your resources and sign up for courses </span>

How do you purchase curriculum? Your support teacher can help to guide you through this process.

[HCOS Curriculum Picks](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/chapter/curriculum-picks) (For families who do not know where to start when it comes to selecting print curriculum, we have put together a collection of kindergarten through grade 9 print curriculum resources).

##### **Vendor Purchases**

The HCOS website has a list of vendors who accept HCOS PO#s. After reviewing the resource choices with your teacher, you can order those from one of the approved vendors.

Here is the link to the [Vendors and Ordering page](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/resources-and-curriculum "vendors and ordering").

##### **Non-Vendor Purchases**

New guidelines have changed how HCOS can process the purchasing of resources from companies that do not accept HCOS PO#s. For more information please see our [Curriculum Purchasing Procedures. ](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/new-curriculum-purchasing-procedure "Opens internal link in current window")For a list of vendors which do accept HCOS PO#s please go to our [Resource Vendor Directory](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/resource-vendor-directory).

For more information, visit [Purchasing Process for Parents](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/purchasing-process-for-parents).

##### **Computer / Tablet Leases**

Computers, tablets and iPads can be leased through our computer lease program: [Computer On Loan Agreement](https://onlineschool.ca/fileadmin/Onlineschool.ca/user_upload/downloads/ComputerOnLoanAgreement.pdf "information and forms"). Please note that you must obtain your support teacher's approval in order for the lease request to be processed.

##### **Online Courses**

If your student is taking any online courses, you can choose courses in Encom using the [Course Selection Instructions](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/course-selection-instructions "choosing online courses") (note: although this link refers to high school courses, the process is the same for Grade 5-9 online courses). After you do this once, you will need to have your support teacher do any other online course sign up for your students.

<p class="callout info">Visit the page titled [Logging in to Brightspace and Accessing Course Pages](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/logging-into-brightspace-and-accessing-course-pages) if you need assistance setting up your student's Brightspace username and password for the first time. Reach out to your support teacher for additional help as needed.</p>

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 5: Check out the Learning Commons</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Learning Commons is our library. This is where you can find a variety of resources that can add to your home education with minimal to no costs. You can sign out physical books, eBooks, and audio books. We also have unit kits for Science and Social Studies. HCOS pays for many subscriptions, which both enhance and reinforce learning in all subject areas. To find out more information on our subscriptions, head to the [HCOS Subscriptions](https://learningcommons.ca/subscriptions/) part of the Learning Commons site.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Your "Welcome to HCOS" email will also contain your login information for our Learning Commons. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Related links:</span>

- <span style="font-weight: 400;">[ Learning Commons General Information](https://hcslearningcommons.org/ "Learning Commons General Information")</span>
- [Learning Commons Access](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/learning-commons-%28library%29/page/learning-commons-instructions-for-enrolled-dl-patrons "Learning Commons")

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 6: Subscribe to your region's </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learning Groups e-alerts </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">We have many Learning Group activities around the province. Everything from writing workshops, robotics, drama, field trips, to one day a week campus programs happens in Learning Groups. It is important to subscribe to Learning Groups for your region so that you will receive notifications of upcoming events. </span>

- <span style="font-weight: 400;">Click this link to the Learning Groups page. [Learning Groups](https://learninggroups.ca "Learning Groups")</span>
- <span style="font-weight: 400;">On the top menu bar, choose &lt;Get E-ALerts&gt;</span>
- <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fill in the information for the region that you wish to receive notifications for.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Most events can be paid for using your child's resource budget funds.</span>

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 7: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Set a daily schedule</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You will find the greatest success if you have a set schedule and location to do your school work. </span>

##### <span style="font-weight: 400;">**When scheduling for the year**</span>

- <span style="font-weight: 400;">look at the total number of weeks (usually 30-36) and then divide your lessons so that you will complete the resource on time. Do this for all of the courses. Online courses have a built in scheduler to help and be sure to factor in holidays.</span>

##### <span style="font-weight: 400;">**Schedule your week**.</span>

- <span style="font-weight: 400;">This largely depends on the age and ability of a student. A very general guideline would be thirty minutes of seated work time per grade for the core academic subjects. For example, a grade 5 student would spend three hours each day working on Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Second Language resources. The other four subjects (Christian Studies, PE and Health, Career Education, and ADST) would be completed largely through activity based learning.</span>
- <span style="font-weight: 400;">This general guideline needs to be considered as just that, a very general approach as each student will have a learning plan designed to meet their individual needs and abilities. </span>
- <span style="font-weight: 400;">Parents are encouraged to review this with their support teacher and online course teacher as they will be able to offer insights and suggestions on how best to organize a work day. </span>

#### <span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 8: Note the important dates </span>

For specific information about deadlines and due dates please go to our SOPHIE page: [Important Dates.](https://sophie.onlineschool.ca/books/information-for-families/page/school-calendar-for-families-20212022 "Important Dates")

It's useful to have these dates on hand so that deadlines aren't a surprise.

You CAN do this!! You're ALREADY doing this. You've been teaching your child(ren) since the day you came home from the hospital. This is just taking another step. Your support teacher and our school are all committed to your success, and most importantly, Jesus is walking with us every step of the way.

*If there are other items that you would see as being useful that we should add to this page, please contact your support teacher or Regional Administrator.*