Information for Spring 2012

Spring 2012 Add Form
Spring 2012 Returning Student Registration Form
Spring 2012 Course Descriptions
Spring 2012 Class Grid (full classes are RED, classes with 1-3 open spots are YELLOW, and classes with 4 or more openings are BLUE.
Spring 2012 Tuition Information
Spring 2012 NEW Student Registration Form
Spring 2012 NEW Family Registration Form
Spring 2012 Co-Op Information 
Spring 2012 Parent Student Contract
Teacher Biographies

Registration is Now Closed

Thanks to all who participated in Spring 2012 Registration. We’re looking forward to a wonderful semester. Spring registration is now closed. Fall 2012 will be held in March and April. Please watch this website for details.

Withdrawing From a Class

Please note that when you withdraw from a class, pre-paids are non-refundable. Pre-paids include the materials fees and first month's tuition for the class. 

Exiting the Building

Greetings,

Here are a couple of quick reminders to relay to your children.

1) If your students exit the building through the break room, they are allowed to be in the area on the breakroom side of the building only and as far up as the picnic tables.

2) High school age students cannot check out a middle school age student for a break. High school age students can only check out their siblings at the end of the day. Middle school and Elementary age students must have an adult present outside. If a parent wants to take their child outside, that is perfectly fine but the parent needs to sign them out and be present while they are outside. Any students who go out through the break room must come back in through the break room.

3) The only door that a student is allowed to exit through at the end of the day is the courtyard door by the scanner. If you have prearranged with your High school age child to meet you, they are not allowed to go around the building or exit a different door. This rule helps us make sure that your child is safe.

Just last year [not at our co-op] a child ran away from home, and was picked up from a co op. I don't know how this story ended, but we don't want this type of thing to happen.

Please help us by abiding by the rules and encouraging your children to do so. If you are willing to break a rule, your child will think that a rule, (whether ours, yours, or maybe even the law)that they don't particularly like, or is inconvenient, doesn't need to be obeyed.

One more note. I spoke to those that were found in offense of the rules. ALL were respectful to me.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

ID Cards and Building Entry

Good Morning TC families,

I think yesterday (Orientation) went pretty well considering how many new families we have. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

I wasn’t in the orientation meeting yesterday, so Beth may have mentioned this, but I wanted to be sure that everyone knows where to enter the building. The only door for us to enter through is in the back of the church. If you park in the back of the church, and come down the stairs toward the church. You will see a courtyard in front of you. Go toward the courtyard. Enter through the door on your right. (Not the doors on the back of the church.) The doors are usually open by about 7:45. If you arrive before then, you may have to wait until we have things set up to scan you in/sign you in. Please be patient. Sometimes there will be a line first thing in the morning, especially if students are having to sign in.

We are in the process of switching over from mag stripe ID cards to bar codes. We thought we might have it ready when classes started, but we have run into a glitch or two. So we will be using the old cards for now. Hopefully, we will be ready to use the new ones in a week or two. I’ll let you know when we are ready.

In the mean time, if you are a returning family, and have your old card, please bring it and plan to use it for now. For new families, since it will only be a week or two, we are asking you to please sign in when you arrive. We will have sign in sheets for you to sign-in on at the scanner table.

If you are a new family, and did not get your picture taken for your ID card yesterday, we will still be taking ID pictures in the library tomorrow and probably the next week.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Break Room Limits

TC Parents, It came to our attention during this past school year that we have an overcrowding problem in our breakroom during the lunch hours (11, 12 and 1). Therefore, we will have to limit the number of students allowed to be in there during those hours. We are offering as many classes as possible during those hours, so hopefully, if students are not scheduled for lunch, they will be in class, and we will only have students in the breakroom who are there to eat lunch.

Building Code regulations allow us to have 90 people in the breakroom at any hour, but during the 12 o’clock lunch hour, which is the busiest, we will use two extra rooms downstairs to hold up to 30 extra students. We don’t want to cause problems for anyone, and we are doing everything we can to make room for more students. Please understand that this is not our choice, but is a plan that we must implement for the safety of your children.

We need your help in the following ways:

1. Schedule your children in classes during this time (11am-1:30pm) except for a 30 min lunch break. 
2. Record all breakroom times on your registration form. *Remember all breakroom times more than the allowed one hour plus 30 minutes for lunch must be paid at $25 per student per extra hour. 
3. If your children only have classes early in the morning, and then again late in the day, please consider picking up your children during this “down” time and taking them with you off campus. 
4. We will be recording students in the breakroom each hour with a limit, so once we reach the limit, we will have to cut off enrollment in the lunch room, just like we do for classes, and not allow any more students into the breakroom during that period. 
5. Another option might be to plan classes for just the morning and be finished before lunch, or plan classes for just the afternoon, and come after lunch.

Again, please know that we are doing this to ensure your children’s safety.

Thanks for your help with this,

Thursday Connection Board

More Information on 11:00 to 1:30 Break Room Issues

We want to keep you updated on the status of the lunch/break room. We have requested that no students plan to be in the break room between 11am and 1:30pm other than for a 30 minute lunch due to our number of students who need to be in there during those times to eat lunch. If you have scheduled a break between 11 and 1:30, we are asking that you make other arrangements. Please make this easy on us and give it some thought and then email us or call to let us know what you would like to do. We are not trying to be difficult, but we must keep the available space for those who need to eat lunch during the lunch hours. Please contact Claire at claire@thursdayconnection.org, if you would like to schedule another class; or see the options below if you want to keep your schedule as it is.

At this time, our 12pm "lunch room" only has a few space left for those eating lunch. If you have not yet registered, please try to schedule your child's day so that lunch is either at 11 or 1, or plan to make other plans for your child during this time.

At this point, lunch room space as well as class space is first come, first serve. If you schedule a lunch at any time and there is not room, you will be contacted so that you can make arrangements.

Here are a few options:
a.) Buy a lunch/bring a lunch but eat in an empty room with your student; please be mindful to be a good steward of the facility and pick up your trash
b.) Go home for lunch and come back for the rest of your classes.
c.) Take your student to lunch and have a nice conversation.
d.) Bring a lunch and enjoy the FCPC grounds if the weather permits; please be mindful to be a good steward of the facility and pick up your trash

Application for Teen Service Hours

If you have a mature high school student who absolutely can not find a class choice between 11 and 1:30, please consider having them do community service. Below is the application for any student who would like to do this. Bring your completed apps to Claire. The types of things that we can offer for community service are assisting in the childcare areas, assisting with lunch serving and clean up, assisting in the church office with any clerical work that they may need, assisting teachers, assisting the Silent Auction committee, special project committee. Please do not apply unless you are well behaved, mature, and trustworthy. You must commit to doing this job for the entire semester. Teen Application for Service Hours

Tuition Information

Please remember that tuition is due on the first Thursday of each month. If you’ll bring your checks already made out, you’ll save yourself some time on Thursday. You don't need to place them in an envelope. Just drop them in either tuition box; there is one near the scanner and one on Claire's table. Thank You Very Much!!

Did you know that you can write your tuition/ materials fees for the whole semester at any time? If late fees or multiple checks are an issue for you, paying all at one time may help you.

Class Schedules

Please make sure that your child has his/ her schedule on his person. We have stickers available on the sign in table that can be placed on the back of the ID badges-this is the preferred method for us to be able to help the children find their way around. This is especially important if you are a new family or if your child will have a different schedule than first semester.

Classes Using Engrade

If your students are in classes that use Engrade.com for grading / assignments, please make sure they have signed themselves up on the website. Many students have not yet done so and therefore cannot access homework assignments, nor receive messages sent out by the teachers.

Students need to select a username and password, and then use the access code provided by their teacher to link them to their classes. If they experience difficulties, they need to contact the relevant teacher.

Ms. Bowman's Classes

Here is the website for Ms. Bowman's Forensic Science, Adobe Photoshop and Thinking Outside The Box Classes: www.usaschool.us

Family Liaison

Thursday Connection has a contact person for those interested in joining our group. Ellen Kimball is our liaison for new families. She will be happy to answer questions for any new families interested in our group. Ellen may be reached at  ellen@thursdayconnection.org. 

Weather and Illness Reminder

If Knox County Schools close due to winter weather, we will do likewise. We do not delay if they delay-we run on a regular schedule. If they close for Flu or sickness, we do not close.

Please keep you children home if they have any symptoms of illness-this is very important in the light of the flu invasion we’ve had in east Tennessee. We will be instructing our teachers to send any children that they are concerned about out of the classroom. We will be calling parents for pick up of sick children, but at that point other children will have already been exposed, so please take a good look at them in the morning and if it seems possible that they might be coming down with something, please keep them home.

The Thursday Connection guidelines about sickness are copied below, but mostly if you (as a volunteer) or your child have a fever or a bad cough or vomiting or diarrhea, please make arrangements to switch shifts with another volunteer or if it’s your child who is sick, do not bring your child to co-op. We don’t want you to share your sickness with others. Thanks!

1. Illness:

a. Excessive cough or runny nose—clear, yellow, or green from nose, throat or eyes. The only exception to this is allergic symptoms that have been diagnosed as allergic by a doctor. If your child has a bad cold and you can alleviate their symptoms with antihistamines and/ or cough suppressants, so that they are not “shedding” the virus constantly throughout the day, they are welcome to attend.

b. Bacterial infections that are treated by antibiotics—please make sure that your child has been on the antibiotic regimen at least 24 hours before returning to class—this would include such things as pink eye and strep throat.

c. Vomiting, diarrhea, or fever—your child should be symptom free for at least 24 hours before coming to class.

d. Rash—do not bring your child to class with any rash UNLESS it has been diagnosed by a doctor as non-contagious.

Thanks for cooperating.

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