Co-op FAQ

For those of you interested in the co-op here is a few of our most frequently asked questions. Be sure to check it out, and if you still have more questions, feel free to email us.  Thanks for looking!
FAQ

Co-op Planning Meeting

'Tis the season for co-op planning meetings!  Eugene Christian Homeschool Co-op (formerly known as Eugene First Class) is hosting two planning meetings which are coming up soon.  

Our co-op gathers each Friday (beginning October 5 for a 9-week session) for the purpose of enrichment and fellowship, and always striving to be a reflection of Jesus Christ to the community. We understand that only by God's grace and provision can this be attained.  We look forward to many more years of education and fun! The main mission of our co-op is:

• Assisting parents (who are ultimately accountable for training their children - Proverbs 22:6) by providing instruction in a variety of academic, character and creative pursuits from a Biblical Christian perspective;

• Inspiring a love for learning in a safe and respectful environment; and

• Encouraging all who participate to be a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In order to best communicate to and obtain commitment from our members (or potential members), we will be offering two crucial information/planning meetings.  If you would like for information about our co-op, or are already planning to attend this fall, please select from one of these dates to join us at Garden Way Church, 231 N. Garden Way, Eugene (Room 21/22):

Thursday, August 30th @ 7pm    OR

Tuesday, September 4th @ 7pm

Please attend these meetings with ideas of classes you'd like to see, as well as classes you'd be willing to teach.  If you desire to participate in co-op but these dates absolutely will not work for your schedule, please email us at lighthomeschooling@gmail.com or to get more information about the co-op.  These meetings are not only for new or prospective members to attend but there are enough changes from last year that returning members also need to attend one of these meetings. 

Sincerely,

Cynthia, Dani, Janny and Traci

Eugene Christian Homeschool Co-op

Leadership Team

Important information on HB 4016

Update 2/18/12:  HB 4016 Passed the Oregon House of Representatives WITH the amendments proposed by OCEAN Network.  This means that volunteers and independent teachers/tutors will NOT become mandatory reporters.  For more information visit OCEAN's Facebook page.


Today we have a guest post from local homeschool mom, Katie Thiel.  Katie has been actively following and opposing HB 4016 and has graciously agreed to share her knowledge with us!

HB 4016 would criminalize and punish volunteers who fail to properly report signs of abuse.  

The well-intentioned crafters of House Bill 4016 are attempting to legislate a solution to the very great evil of child abuse.  However, one of the unfortunate truths about governance is that when we attempt to legislate right behavior we often fail to further promote the type of behavior that we wish to see, and burden those who would already act rightly with unintended consequences.  We must carefully weigh the cost/benefit analysis of such legislation before we enact it.  HB 4016 fails to provide a benefit which will outweigh the burden, particularly in the case where volunteers are included in the legislation. 

This bill will create more problems for church or service groups trying to recruit and retain volunteers. Volunteers will have to weigh the good they can do in a volunteer capacity against the legal risks they run if they do not accurately assess possible signs of child abuse.  It is not reasonable to additionally burden those who are already giving of their time and efforts without compensation. 

Organizations would be responsible to train their volunteers -- even occasional volunteers -- on mandatory child abuse reporting requirements. This is in addition to the background checks these organizations already do on potential volunteers. The law is also so broadly written that it targets tiny organizations, like homeschool co-ops, and individual providers, like piano teachers, who may not have access to adequate training or resources to provide it.  If a volunteer is not trained adequately and does not report when they should, the organization or provider may be liable in any number of unforeseen ways.  The volunteer is subject to criminal and civil penalties. 

On the other hand, volunteers are not professionals, which may contribute to insecurity about their ability to accurately assess a situation. This will undoubtedly result in an increase of unsubstantiated reports, thus increasing the workload on an already overwhelmed Department of Human Services This will draw away attention and resources from valid reports that need immediate intervention, potentially increasing the risk of harm to children in Oregon. It will certainly increase the likelihood of innocent families undergoing the trauma of needless child abuse investigations which already happen too frequently in Oregon.

Recent current events have raised awareness among the general public and organizations alike. A real solution is already in motion as large financial legal penalties are causing organizations to implement effective policies to prevent child sexual abuse.  Individuals are alert to the reality of child abuse and continued efforts at community education should be taking advantage of this opportunity to speak to the public conscience. More legislation is not the solution.

However, HB 4016, however good intentioned, is overly burdensome and unreasonable in its response to what is admittedly a terrible problem. This bill will be unlikely to achieve its goals and will instead be fraught with unintended consequences. Good organizations will decide to cut beneficial programs because of the new costs and risks associated with this bill.  Talented, caring volunteers will step aside from their efforts because of the additional burden of legal liability. Frivolous lawsuits will be filed and mistaken investigations will be made.  Truly endangered children may be be ignored while those that should be helping them are investigating baseless reports. There are already 27 categories of professional occupations required to report child abuse. In addition, under current law, a volunteer is always able to report evidence of child abuse.  Laws regarding child abuse should be targeted toward punishing the perpetrators, not folks who are in good faith volunteering their time to help children.

Please read the bill.  Understand the threat it poses to volunteerism and homeschool families in Oregon. Then contact your legislature and ask them to oppose House Bill 4016. Thank you.

Katie Thiel

Thank you, Katie, for your words of wisdom.  For more information on HB 4016 you can visit OCEAN Network (While you're there, sign up for their email alerts!).  Or you can read the bill on the Oregon legislation website HERE.

First Class Planning Meeting for Spring Term

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It's about that time of year again, when we all start to get very busy and turn our focus towards the holidays, friends and family.  Though it seems early to be thinking of spring term already, at First Class, we want to get our planning done early so we all have the break free of that kind of thing.  That said, there will be a planning meeting held for spring term of Eugene First Class Christian Homeschool Co-op on Dec. 2 immediately after our co-op classes for the day.  This meeting will be held at Garden Way Church at 1:15pm.  Childcare will be provided.  If you're interested in joining First Class for spring term which will run Feb. 24 through May 11, please come join us for the meeting.  Everyone is welcome.  We are a Christian co-op, providing three class periods for children ages nursery through 12th grade, on Friday mornings at Garden Way Church.  

For more detailed information on the co-op, please click on the co-op link at the top (inside the crayon.)  

Hope to see you all there!

November Meeting - Wreath Making

LIGHT 2011 Christmas Wreath Making

November 12, 2011

Come make a beautiful & unique Christmas wreath with us.  You can keep it for yourself or give it as a gift!

Supply List:

12 in wreath foam form – Michaels, Joanns, Ben Franklin.  Check for coupons and sales and get yours early.  These places don’t carry a huge supply of them.

1 bag of 200 floral pins – Look like a large staple.  Wal-mart $1.00

At least 2 yards of 1 ½ to 2 in wide ribbon of your choice

2 packages of brown coffee filters – The basket kind.  Target has a good price on theses.

Total Cost: Around $10.00

(Click HERE for a printable supply list)

If you truly don’t feel like making a wreath, bring whatever project you are working on.  It will be a great time of Fun, Fellowship and Craftiness!  As always, meetings are at Norkenzie Christian Church (map on sidebar!) from 9:30am to 11:30am.

We should have pictures of a completed wreath up soon!

*** Our meetings are geared towards mom and are, therefore, rather boring for children.  Due to liability issues, LIGHT cannot provide childcare so we encourage you to try and find it elsewhere.  If you need to bring your children, though, they are welcome.  However, they will not be allowed to leave the meeting room.  Norkenzie Christian Church has graciously allowed LIGHT to meet in it's facility and we have adopted the policy of leaving the building in better condition than we found it.  Therefore, we need to contain our activities to the Fireside Room.  So, please bring a quiet activity for them to do off to one side so that they do not disrupt the meeting. 

*** You are welcome to come to a meeting and see if LIGHT is a good fit for your family.  However, after your first meeting we ask that you either become a member or be prepared to pay $5 per meeting.  If at any point in the future you decide to become a member, any $5 fees you have paid (during the current school year) will be applied to your membership fee.

Late Registration For First Class

Hi There!


So sorry the First Class Registration Day was posted with little notice.  There is still room in most of the classes.  For late registration, please contact Cory Alverts at 541-349-9523 or Cynthia Johnson at 541-688-9489.  You will need to first have joined the National First Class Homeschool Ministries at www.fchm.org, before you call.


Thanks,


Dani
Director Eugene First Class

First Class Planning Meeting TOMORROW!!!

The planning meeting for the LIGHT First Class Eugene Co-op will be held on:
Day: Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Time: 7pm
Place: Garden Way Church, 231 North Garden Way - Eugene, OR 97401

Fees for this coop are as follows:
$25 per family per year to become a national member of First Class Ministries.
$25 per family per year to LIGHT to run the coop - this fee covers LIGHT membership also.
Each class has a small cost of $4 per term in addition to any material fees for classes that have them. Some classes have a required text.

If you are interested in participating in this coop, please come to the meeting with ideas of classes you'd like to see taught, and with ideas of classes you are willing to teach. Not everyone must teach but teachers do get to register their children in classes first so there is a benefit to teaching, particularly if classes fill up. We will be scheduling a teacher orientation meeting at a later date. This is when the teachers will be able to walk through the classrooms and suggest the ones they feel would work best for their class. We will not be touring the facility at the planning meeting. If you will be bringing any of your children to the meeting, please plan quiet activities to occupy them during the discussion as there will not be childcare. However, we prefer this to be a parent meeting only.

I am pleased to announce that the Director of Happy Valley First Class in Portland, Michelle Law, as well as their Field Trip Coordinator, Jennifer Keikkala will be coming down to help us run this meeting. I'm sure you'll all enjoy them, they are both very fun people with a lot of energy and enthusiasm to share with us about First Class. You will also have an opportunity to meet Norm Fox, the Education Minister at Garden Way Church. Please be sure to thank him for the church's willingness to host our co-op.

If you have not checked out the class schedule yet, please do so before the meeting (see post below for a link to the document). If you still have basic questions about First Class and how the co-op will be run, please come a little early to the meeting to get that information. So, invite your friends and come to the meeting. It would be helpful to have an idea of who is coming, so if you have a chance, please email lighthomeschooling@gmail.com with a quick, "I'll be there." If you're interested in participating but can't make it, I need to know that too. Light refreshments will be served.

Hope to see you there!!

First Class Update

Our First Class Co-op is coming right along! Now that Garden Way has agreed to partner with us in this venture, we have been busily working on a class list and schedule.

Click HERE for a tentative class list.

***If you cannot access the document at the above link, please email lighthomeschooling@gmail.com (or click the button on the right side bar!) for a PDF copy***

Several people have committed to teaching, but we still need a few more people to teach a class. Some class ideas are:

Building Class (LEGOs, Knex, etc.)

Sign Language

Book Club

Cooking

Cake Decorating

Fairy Tale Theater

Armor of God

Zoo Science

Physics

Dr. Seuss

Geography

Maps

Grossology (digestion)

Pirates

Colonial Times, World War II or any period of time

Sewing

Knitting

Wood Working (make a project but no power tools)

Board Games (ages 6+) – we’d divide into age groups within one class

These ideas are just to get you started thinking of your own ideas. Go to the library, pick a book that is interesting to you and break it down into 8 classes. Don’t forget Rainbow Resources and Homeschooling in the Woods for ideas. If you use or purchase your own materials for the class, those are yours to do with as you like. If you pass the cost of materials on to the kids as a materials fee, then the co-op would own the materials for use in a class at a later time.

You can also find additional class ideas on the First Class website: http://www.firstclasshomeschool.org/pages/uploads/LeadersFiles/Friday_School_Class_Ideas/FCHM-CLASS%20IDEAS.pdf

We also need "bargain hunters" to help us find LEGOS, Knex and other building materials. If you think you could help us out, contact lighthomeschooling@gmail.com for more information and budget details.

We will be scheduling a planning meeting in the next week, so watch your emails for the date and time. The meeting will be held at our co-op location, Garden Way Church, 231 N Garden Way, Eugene, Oregon.

We're looking forward to an exciting new year!

See you soon =)

New Website

Hello Light Members,


We have made the switch over to a blog format for our website. Hopefully this can be a place that is more interactive. We hope to have lots of good homeschool information and support here.  This little place on the web will be updated throughout the summer.  You can also look for us on facebook where we will have more frequent posts and information.  Please have patience with us as we get settled here.  
Blessings,


LIGHT