St. Raymond's Home School Group (HSG) is a group of about 90 families that are linked together by our love of the Catholic Church, and choose to educate our children at home. The HSG is a volunteer-led ministry under the auspices of St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church. Most of us use a Catholic home school program such as Seton or Mother of Divine Grace; however, the beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility that it provides each family – so there are numerous educational options available. Our weekly club days and social gatherings help our children build faith-filled friendships. Our mission is to support Catholic homeschool families.
Adoration/Children's Holy Hour - Holy time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Rosary, song and adoration.
Art Clubs - painting and art appreciation for grades K-12
Field Trips/Camping - Excursions in and around the Metro DC area
Game/Lego Club- All ages. Board games and some theme days (Jeopardy!, Battleship).
Homeschool Information Workshop-an annual outreach to the parish community explaining the how's and why's of homeschooling.
STEM - projects that encourage critical thinking and team building in science and engineering.
Little Flowers/Blue Knights- Catholic program for 5-8 year old girls and boys based on virtues, saints, CCC & scripture-crafts too!
Family Potlucks-themed afternoons of fellowship. We open and close the year with a picnic in a local park.
Parent's Night Out - a chance for parents to get together and enjoy fellowship and fun
TEA - Time for Encouragement and Affirmation. Like Parent's Night out, but with a speaker on general homeschool issues.
Park Days - All ages outdoor fun.
Preschool Activities Club-Activities for 3-4 year olds.
French Club - Learn how to make simple projects
Writing Club Gr 3-8 - A writing club for general skills.
High School Tutoring (fee) for French, Math, Biology Lab, Physics
Q:
What is the mission of the St. Raymond Home School Group?
A:
To provide fellowship and support opportunities for Catholic home schoolers and their parents, to build a sense of community, to share the liturgical year together, and to provide home management resources and support for each other.
Q:
What kind of opportunities does the St. Raymond Home School Group provide?
A:
A listing of the various on-going activities that our group hosts throughout the year can be found in the left hand side bar. The offerings are only as good as the volunteers we get. So if there is something that you would like to see, then you are welcome to start an activity up for us. All that usually takes is an email to the group asking if there are other families interested in joining you. An example that immediately comes to mind is a cooking class for pre-school and early elementary students that was recently implemented by a new member this past year.
Q:
What is the child protection policy for the St. Raymond HSG?
A:
All St. Raymond Home School events taking place on the property of St. Raymond Catholic Church in Springfield, VA, are considered parish sponsored events and therefore subject to the rules pertaining to the Diocese of Arlington's Child Protection Policy.
Any event not taking place on St. Raymond's property will not be considered a parish sponsored event, and therefore not covered by the Child Protection Policy of the Diocese of Arlington. At these non-parish events parents will be responsible for their own children, and are encouraged to take prudent precautions as they see fit.
Q:
Does St. Raymond of Penafort Church endorse the spiritual events that your group holds and advertises?
A:
Spiritual events, unless held on St. Raymond parish grounds, are not to be considered endorsed or approved by Fr. DeCelles or St. Raymond parish, unless specifically noted.
Q:
I want to offer a new club/group and don't have room at my house can I use a classroom at St. Raymond's or the parish hall?
A:
Yes, we can host clubs in the class rooms in the hall (Little Flowers, Book Club, game club, etc). However, in doing so, we must be compliant with the diocese’s child protection policy since many children are dropped off. In other words, you would need to go through the VIRTUS training program if you have not done so already. I do not know all the “ins and outs” about the policy, (except 2 compliant adults are needed), but the coordinator of our parish’s program could answer all your questions. Patti Eckels, the coordinator, is in the CCD office and has all that information as well as the class schedule for this training.
Q:
What are the home schooling laws in Virginia?
A:
Virginia does provide a legally protected right to home school. Details of the pertinent laws can be found at the HSLDA website.
