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First, thank you for your interest in Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Homeschool Co-Op.  Let's start with our Mission Statement. 

"We are homeschooling community supporting each others' call to educate our children within the tenets of our Catholic Faith by offering a parent-run, family-supporting homeschool Co-Op."   That's us!

Here are some of the specifics of how we accomplish our mission. 

We meet once a week at a local parish for 28 weeks during the academic year (Sept-May).   We start our day with Morning Mass, Morning Prayer/ Announcements & continue our day with (3) academic class periods for all families.  Many families stay for lunch/ recess.  In the afternoon we offer (2) class periods of elective/ enrichment classes.
 

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* All our participating parents must complete the diocese's Child Abuse Awareness training either by completing the free online program, Shield the Vulnerable , or attend a "Protecting God's Children" course offered through the Diocese of Manchester.  

* Parents are either in a classroom as the Lead Teacher (LT) or as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for all AM class periods.  All parents are expected to lead or co-teach at least one class, preferably in their area of expertise or a subject they would have taught at home. 

* Parents are expected to take an active part in the community of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom (OLSW) by participating in Parent Meetings, offering suggestions for improving or enhancing the OLSW community, & adhering to & suppporting the policies & procedures in the Family Handbook.

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We are both the parents & the teachers at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.  In the role of teacher, we are to follow the teachings of the Magisterium.  Since it would be presumptious to assume that a non-Catholic would be familiar with the teachings of the Church, it would be unfair to expect a non-Catholic teacher to be able to adhere to & pass on to the students these teachings. 

It is for this reason that our participating families are required to be practicing Catholics.

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In our morning session, we usually have a Science, History*, & another academic class for all our students.  Students sign up for all three morning class periods.  On rare occasion, a high school student can opt (with parent's permission) to have a study hall instead of a class.

*We teach our HISTORY in a 4 yr cycle- this year we will be studying American History. 

Our afternoon elective classes: 7-12th Art**, 1-6th Art,** Media Arts, Drama, & Building Club (Legos, etc).  Our electives are not required classes & are usually enrichment classes.  These classes change from year to year, depending on what our parents are willing to offer.

** We hire an Art Tutor for these 2 art classes. 

NB- As a co-op, our final class schedule is dependent upon the involvement of our parents & volunteers.

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For this year we meet throughout the academic year following the local public school system for winter & spring breaks.  We will break for Thanksgiving, for a 4-week break around Christmas, and for  a 3-week break around Easter. We conclude our academic year in May.

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8am   We start our day with Morning Mass.

8:30   Set up classrooms

9am   Morning prayer & announcements, three morning class periods, morning recess

12:20 Lunch & recess

1pm   elective class period

2pm  elective class period

3pm  clean up & call it a day  

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We have a Dress Code for all students who attend Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.  We dress modestly & respectfully.  The students wear mostly blue & white to show respect to Our Lady, under whose mantle we are dedicated.  

The "Why?" behind the Dress Code.

• It is an outward sign of our unity as a community
• It is a sacrifice (a type of 'dying to self') to honor Our Lady, under whose mantle we are dedicated
• It is a sign to our brain that this is a special time with special clothing (We would wear different 'special clothing' to attend a BBQ.)
• It is to decrease the distractions that draw us away from learning; whether by distracting others with our selection of attire or by being distracted by the selections of others.
• It is easier to get dressed on co-op morning when there are no decisions about what to wear.  Many families find it easier to have a set of "co-op clothes" for each child/ student.  The Dress Code only applies to students 1-12th grades.  Participating parents are expected to adhere to the Dress Code with the exception of the color restriction.

Please see the Family Handbook for the details of the Dress Code policy.  (Family Handbook is available when the Family is enrolled in Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Co-Op.)

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Yes, we do!  

In the 1st semester we start our year with our KickOff Picnic (Aug/ Sept), we attend the Bishop's Homeschool Mass (Sept), We have an Advent Party (Dec).

In the 2nd semester, in addition to many families joining a local skiing program (Jan/ Feb), we enjoy a Roller Skating Party (April), Crowning of Mary/ Last Day Party (May), & our Grande Finale (May).

We give special recognition to our First Communcants & our Confirmandi at the Crowning of Mary.  We give special recognition to our graduating 8th & 12th graders at our Grande Finale.  These are some of our community-building traditions.