January - February 2023
IT’S A BRAND NEW YEAR!
It’s a brand new year! Don’t you feel like a brand new you? A healthier you? A happier you? A more productive you? New year, new you…indeed. Sometimes it seems like every December 31, I begin to wonder if I might become someone brand new on January 1 – someone without the foibles, flaws, and struggles of the previous year, or maybe the previous several years. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could wake up in the new year, and really be totally new people? If only it worked that way.
In this new year, are you feeling like a new you? Or are you maybe feeling a bit like it’s all hopeless? God’s word to His people – and to us – in Isaiah 42 reassures us there are no lost causes. Verses 1-3 say it this way: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” The idea of bruised reeds might be lost on those of us who don’t have much experience with reeds. But, I think smoldering wicks are something many of us understand (like the remnants of your Christmas candles). For the people in exile who felt like smoldering wicks, God promised not to snuff them out. They were valuable to him. God promised to lift up the lowly and oppressed, to bring about mercy and justice. If you are feeling a bit like a smoldering wick, God promises this to you too. You are important to God. The beautiful thing about smoldering wicks is that they only need a breath to fan them into flame. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, I believe that God is whispering that breath over each and every one of us and inviting us to blaze. God does not see us as lost causes, and God promises that on this journey as we follow our God, there will be no solo travelers. Verses 5-6 of Isaiah say this: “Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you.” God takes us by the hand and goes with us. Through the difficult times – and in the good ones – God promises that we will never walk alone. We travel together, and God promises to take us each by the hand and go with us. There are no lost causes and no solo travelers in the kingdom of God. And, God is transforming the old you into the new you. God is in the business of making all things new – even us. Verse 9 says, “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” We aren’t dispensable in God’s eyes – we are precious, valuable, beloved children of God. Those foibles and flaws are worth working on. God would rather work in us than start over. It’s a New Year, and even though sometimes I think I’m still just the same old me, I’m eager to see what new things God is going to do – in me, in you, and in the world.
UPCOMING HCCA EVENTS
Jan. 3
> Registration for testing opens
Jan. 15
> Deadline to submit second quarter reports
Jan. 19
> First graduation ceremony meeting - mandatory - 6:30pm
Reminder
We are unable to process your application until all of the application steps have been completed and all of the registration records have been received. After review of your application, a confirmation letter of the student’s acceptance will be emailed.
ACADEMY CONTACTS
Julie Blank, Academy Director
Georgia Wolfe, Academy Database
Phone: (719)278-9135 x4
VISIT US AT THE HCCA TABLE
Julie Blank is available Tuesdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm; and only by appointment on Wednesdays.
All HCCA families receive three hours of consultation for free! To schedule a consultation, please email Julie at academydirector@hche.org
Important to know!
Beginning in January 2023, families who do not enter their quarterly reporting information by the deadline will be charged a $10 late fee. Any family that does not enter information two quarters in a row will be unenrolled from HCCA. The information you put in the quarterly report section is very important. Your quarterly reports are evidence that your student is progressing through the curriculum and through the school year. This is why HCCA requires a detailed report each quarter, we hold ourselves and our families to a higher level of accountability. It is important that parents input all required information each quarter. If you have questions about quarterly reports or curriculum in general, please contact us.
Graduation News
The HCHE graduation ceremony has been scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 2023. Registration for the graduation ceremony is open as long as space is available; registration is $220 per student. To register now, click HERE. Before you register, you need to have: a graduate biography of 750 words or less; four pictures (a baby or toddler picture for the video (required), a school age picture for the video (required), a senior picture for the video (required), and a head and shoulders picture for the program (optional)); and a scripture or quote for the program, if desired. The first of two mandatory meetings is scheduled for January 19, at 6:30pm at NLC.
Potential graduate parent(s) are required to meet with the HCCA Director for a graduation consultation. Fill out the Intent to Graduate form then email Julie at academydirector@hche.org to make an appointment.
2023 Testing Information
It’s almost testing time! The State of Colorado Homeschool Law requires that students be tested or evaluated in odd grades (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th). What you may not know is that your student’s readiness is determined by you, not by the student’s age or what grade he or she would be in an “organized school situation.” If you have any questions about this, please contact us. When a student is at a high school level (9th -12th), they have the option of using the SAT or ACT college placement exams in place of another standardized test. The SAT and ACT are offered several times a year. Please CLICK HERE for more information about the ACT and CLICK HERE for more information about the ACT. If your student is not college bound, they are not required to take the SAT or ACT.
Registration for the Terra Nova test through HCCA is now open. Testing is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 9-10, from 9:00am-12:30pm. Space is limited, so register now (HERE) The Academy relies on our wonderful volunteers, parents like you, to help us administer the test. These are minimally compensated volunteer positions which are paid directly on the last day of testing. Proctoring requires only two half days of your time in the spring. If you are interested in helping, leave a message by calling 719-278-9135 x4, or send an email to AcademyDirector@HCHE.org. There is also an option that may be selected on the testing registration form indicating your desire to volunteer.
Do you need a report card or transcript for extracurricular activities?
Please fill out a REQUEST after you have input your second quarter information.