IMPORTANT NEWS: Registration Reminder, Grants, Year-End Events, Make-Up Classes & More

(1) Registration for Compass Fall Classes opens tomorrow morning, Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 am. A 10% early registration discount is available through June 30.

(2) Paper Schedules: For Compass families who picked up paper worksheets of the schedule, there have been 4 changes to high school classes:

  • Heather Sanderson will return to Compass to teach her beloved Shakespeare workshop on MacBeth on Mondays from 11:00 am – 12:55 pm in the fall.
  • The 90 minute, Friday science labs for Chemistry, Biology, and Geology have been moved 30 minutes earlier to 9:30 am to remove the conflicts with many 11:00 am classes that students need.

(3) Virginia Learning Acceleration Grants: Compass has been approved as a Vendor for these funds. Grants are available in the amounts of $1500 or $3000 per child age 5-19, and homeschooled children are included. Parents can read more and apply for the grants HERE. Compass has been in communication with the DOE and confirmed that these grants can be used for any Compass classes or private tutoring in English, math, science, history/social studies, or foreign language. Some classes, such as cooking, chess, PE, art, acting, or music may not be paid for with the grant money. Compass classes that qualify are noted online with an asterisk (*).  At the time of registration, parents must check out any pay for non-grant eligible classes in one transaction and grant eligible classes in a second transaction. Compass will post guidelines for using grant funds by 9:00 pm Monday evening.

(4) Family Accounts: Before registering for classes on May 16, please log into your family account to update any information, especially your kids’ age-aligned grade level for 2023-24. Please make sure your cell phone number, address, preferred email address, emergency contact, etc., are up-to-date. In addition, please check to see if any credits that you expected show up in your account. Locate your credit voucher number for use when checking out for classes and remember that all credits on file expire May 31, 2023.

(5) Last Week: This week, May 15-19, is the final week for most Compass classes. A handful of classes had their final meetings last week. Several classes have make-up sessions scheduled for next week, May 22-26 because of instructor absence or illness. Make up classes will meet at their regular day and regular time May 22-May 26 as follows:

  • All About Astronomy (2 make-ups, 5/25 & 6/1)
  • American History
  • Art in Action (Wed section)
  • ASL I
  • ASL III
  • Beginner ‘Bots (Tue section)
  • Cracking Codes Cryptology (2 make-ups, 5/25 & 6/1)
  • Integrated MS Science
  • Globetrotters Kids’ Geography
  • Junior Art Studio- 10am (Wed section)
  • Junior Art Studio- 11am (Wed section)
  • Jr. Engineering with LEGO (Tue section)
  • Machine Makers
  • Nature Quest (Tue & Wed, all sections)
  • Number Ninjas (2 make-ups, 5/25 & 6/1)
  • Outdoor Survivor (Tue & Wed, both sections)
  • Planetary Science
  • Robot Fab Lab (Tue section)
  • Rhythm Rocks Drumming
  • Starting with Strings
  • String Ensemble

(6) Picnic & Park Day will be held Thursday, May 25, from 12:00 pm- 4:00 pm at Bready Park in Herndon. Compass families who attended classes in 2022-23 or new families who have registered for 2023-24 are invited to join us. Read more about Picnic & Park Day and RSVP HERE.

(7) Compass Homeschool Quads Chess Tournament will be held on Wednesday, May 24, from 10:00 am- 12:30 pm, and only 6 spaces remain. The tournament is open to any homeschooled chess player age 6-16 in the metro DC area. Register HERE.

(8) Newspaper: A full color edition of the Compass Collaborative student newspaper will be sent out by email in the next week.

(9) President’s Volunteer Service Award: Compass and northern Virginia-area homeschooled students ages 6-18 can track their volunteer service hours to earn a PVSA commendation and medal. This award is noteworthy on college applications. Completed hours can be counted as far back as Sept 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023. Read more details on the award webpage and sign up HERE.

(10) Alpha Rho Chapter, National Homeschool Honor Society: Alpha Rho is accepting new members in 9th-12th grade (or 8th graders taking high school classes). AR meets 2X per month for a business meeting with speaker and a service project. Applicants must submit application and standardized test score to demonstrate academic accomplishment. For more information and application, see the chapter webpage.

(11) Compass Clubs: Compass kids and teens interested in enrolling in other clubs should watch for an email in mid-August with club details and sign-up information. Compass parents who are willing to lead or facilitate a club or team should contact Compass in late spring/early summer to discuss.

(12) Tutoring/Transcript Services: Get caught up this summer with one-on-one or small group tutoring with a Compass teacher. Rising seniors can get help compiling their transcript this summer. Contact Compass for more information.