Tuesday, September 4, 2012

About Glory Academy

Glory Academy was created to provide the opportunity for homeschooling students to get together with other like minded peers to learn together, discuss concepts together, inspire one another, work together and make some great friends and memories throughout it all.

Initially, Glory Academy was created because we wanted our own kids to be a part of an LDS based local academy where spirit-filled, thought-provoking discussions are encouraged and important lifelong skills are developed. 

We love this local academy but simply couldn't afford that $900 per month experience for our children. So that's when we decided to create Glory Academy! (We thought maybe others might be in the same boat as well!)


Our main focus with Glory Academy is to give students the opportunity to think, question and discuss concepts, truths and principles with other students. These discussions take place with a mentor who, instead of taking over and telling them what to think, leads the discussions through thought provoking questions, encouraging the students to question and think on a deeper level while helping them to transfer their feelings into thoughts and their thoughts into spoken words. 

Our genuine desire (and goal) concerning the subjects that make up Glory Academy is that as the students philosophize and discuss controversial and important matters with other like minded students, they will not only have the opportunity to think more deeply and solidify their thoughts and standards but their experiences with these subjects will help sharpen their character, strengthen their self esteem, and help push them to think more, do more and be more!


Click here for descriptions of class subjects.

Classes take place from the beginning of October to the end of May.

Academy Location & Mentor(s):

Classes take place in our home in Lehi and are mentored by Claudia Orgill and (depending on his schedule) John Orgill. 

Class Sizes: 

Our classes are kept small - keeping the students to a 15 child maximum count  (this includes our own two children which will be participating).


Monthly Service Project:

Along with including some really great subjects we will also have a once-a-month service project activity which will take place every second Saturday of the month from 1:00 to 3:00.


Place of drop off will be announced ahead of time. Families will be notified whether or not the service project we are doing is something the whole family can attend.

Extra:

At the end of the school year we will enjoy having a end-of-the-school year picnic will all of Glory Academy's students and their families. 


Friend Referral:

Receive $10 off of one month's tuition payment when you refer one (or more) friends our way that end up enrolling their child as well.

Contact:

If you're interested in enrolling your student in our Academy or have any other questions please e-mail Claudia at claudiaorgillathotmaildotcom.

We aren't sure what the interest level will be for this Academy but space is limited to the 12 child maximum for each class therefore we suggest that if you're interested in enrolling your child with Glory Academy, you turn in (by either mailing in or dropping off) your enrollment form and the first month's payment as soon as you are able to do so.

Please e-mail us for our address.

About the Founder's


John and Claudia Orgill have been homeschooling their children ever since their oldest daughter was four years old. They've enjoyed the experiences homeschooling has given their family and look forward to more experiences to come. They currently have four children ranging in the ages of eleven to four years old.

They are the founders and creators of HEV - a website providing online resources for Chrisitan homeschool families. Their video lessons have been used by hundreds of homeschool families and they are continually adding more wholesome content to their site. 

John was once a seminary teacher and enjoyed the experiences he had teaching students the Gospel. He enjoys continually learning new things and starting new businesses. He currently knows Spanish, Portuguese, and some Chinese and German. He loves to learn and has a great talent with teaching students, getting them to think, and inspiring them to make changes within themselves. He has spent 16 years training under a Sifu in the marital art of kung fu. He has earned his black belt in this art. He is currently working as a teacher at Merit Academy (which has proved to be so validating for choosing the homeschooling route!) and is currently training to become a Cisco certified network engineer.

Claudia loves to think outside the box and grew up questioning everything. She enjoys spending time in the kitchen making and selling all sorts of healthy and properly prepared delicious foods. She enjoys reading, painting, writing and being creative. She is a true entrepreneur at heart and loves to see kids become the people Heavenly Father wants them and needs them to become. She is currently looking to enroll in an online college in which she can receive a naturopathic doctor degree.

John and Claudia both love to teach and inspire students. They believe that Heavenly Father is in need of a different kind of people and that He needs more of his children to be spiritually strong, morally firm, clear thinking and adequately skilled.

They believe that there are great changes that will be taking place in our country and in society and these changes will require such steadfast, skillful and God-loving people to help make America the sacred and rightfully protected place God intended it to be - a place where future generations can raise their families in safety, in peace and in hopes of having a bright future.

They are excited about Glory Academy and are genuinely interested in helping homeschool students step up, do hard things, learn essential skills and become useful servants of God!

Monthly and Daily Schedule

Generic Monthly Schedule:


Do these days not work out for you? We want to be able to fill the classes so please let us know if there's another day that works better for you ... we may end up accommodating to that instead.


Daily Schedule:






Monday:

~ Spiritual Devotional
~ Science
~ Famous Speeches
~ Written Communication
~ World History
~ Recitation
~ Lunch (12:30)

Wednesday:


~ Devotional
~ Math (Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe)
~ Debate
~ Self Challenge Sharing Time
~ Philosophy
~ Lunch (12:30)

Each Senior student will need the following items:

1. Two, lined notebooks.
2. Push pencils.
3. Scriptures.
4. One three ring binder.
5. A lunch.
6. A backpack or bag to keep these items in.






Tuesday:

~Devotional
~Math Basics
~Poetry/Story Making
~Learning to Read
~Character Building Short Stories Discussion Time
~Team Building Activity/Game

Thursday:

~Devotional
~Nature Stories
~Writing 
~Memorization
~Biography
~Artistic Endeavors: Music, Art, Theatre

Junior class students will need:

1. One lined notebook.
2. Pencils.
3. Bottle/container of drinking water.
4. One three ring binder.
5. A backpack or bag to keep these items in.


Description of Subjects

Glory Academy's Senior Class subjects are as follows:

Devotional:

Each day we will open with a devotional where we read from the Book of Mormon, discuss with the group what we're learning and are taught by the devotional leader. 

Each student will have the opportunity to be the devotional leader who is put in charge of a particular devotional and is the one  who will read a section out of the scriptures, teach about it and lead the devotional discussion for that day. 

At the end of each devotional (or during it), if a student feels the need to bear their testimony they are welcome to do so. 

Having a devotional first thing that day before we jump into our subjects, opens the school day with the spirit, allowing hearts to be set in the right place which, in turn, allows learning to take place at a more rapid pace.


Philosophy:


Although there will be one particular time period where we "do" philosophy (which is where we ask questions about and discuss simple and thought provoking questions such as, "What makes something you say true?", "What makes someone a real hero?", "What makes a person beautiful/handsome?", "How do you know who your friends are?" and other questions) most of the other subjects we'll be learning include philosophy to some extent as well. 

The word philosophy means "lover of wisdom". Philosophers investigate life, ask questions and search for answers. It is our desire to create individual philosopher's as the year progresses. We believe that as we incorporate philosophy into each subject there will be given new meaning to seemingly ordinary things. 



Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe:


Each student will have the opportunity to discuss universal mathematical truths and concepts based on Michael Schneider's teachings. Together students will learn how beautiful math concepts take place in nature, art and human physiology. 

They will work together to solidify their ideas and begin to understand, to a small extent, how God created the Universe.

Students will learn and do the workbook activities from the book The Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe written by Michael Schneider.




Debate:

Good debate skills in good people are essential to the survival of freedom. Without that element, the unstudied people eventually side with the logic of evil and freedom slowly collapses. Good people with good debate skills don’t just win arguments, they help people see truth and expose folly for what it is. We need so much more of this today and we believe it is among this group that many of these heroes will arise. 

To promote good in government, communities, and society, we need good people who are also good debaters and this subject will help to develop just that. Debate skills will be taught and the students will be provided with the opportunity to take part in their own mini-debate tournaments. 


Science:


Students will get the chance to delve into deep scientific topics and discuss each principle with those around them to a deeper understanding of the workings of science.

These science classes will be based on the lessons from Joy Hakim's book, The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way.

Her lessons will give students a historical background on the evolution of scientific thought, introduce them to the scientists and their contributions to science today, and challenge their reasoning skills. Fun stuff indeed!






Self Challenge Sharing Time:

Self Challenge sharing time will give each student the opportunity to share something that they been working in front of the other students. 

Whether it's art, poetry, a story, a piece of music, a speech or telling about a service project all students are welcomed to share that special something that they've been working on. 

This opportunity will not only inspire them to work harder on things (as they see what others are accomplishing) but will leave each student feeling a sense of accomplishment and will increase their belief in themselves and what they're capable of accomplishing.


Famous Speeches:


There are many amazing famous speeches given by people ranging from Martin Luther King to George Washington to Susan B. Anthony to Abraham Lincoln that affected people to the core and helped to change history.

This subject will provide the opportunity for its students to listen to, pick apart and discuss in depth these most memorable and breath taking famous speeches.







World History:

Every country has a story and every story is worth hearing about and learning from. George Santayana's famous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." applies beautifully to how we feel about the importance of learning world history. 

Each country overcame serious challenges but how did they overcome them? Were they successful in their methods? What could they have or should they have done differently? How do the things we learn from other countries apply to America today?

Questions like these are discussed as we learn about each country.



Written Communication:


In order to be able to help make changes in our society or successfully fulfill our duties in life, our ability to communicate solidified thoughts and ideas is an important skill to have in order to accomplish those feats. 

We feel that written communication is just as important. Handwriting, writing, grammar skills, and touch typing are skills that will be focused on throughout the year to help the students acquire good written communication skills.




Recitation:

The idea for a class on recitation came to us as we read from Anne of Green Gables. One of Anne's subjects in school happened to be recitation - where she'd memorize special pieces of literature. 

Recitation is simply the act of reciting something from memory. Our brains are amazing mechanisms that help us interact with the world around us. It's been said that you cannot draw out of a child, or anyone else, what is not there to begin with. 

So by memorizing pieces of literature we are filling our mind with rich language and bits and pieces of wisdom therefore having something with which to draw out. Something we can use to make good decisions, strengthen us in times of weakness and be better able to improve the world around us.


Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."

Although there is a power in the truth of the scriptures which cannot compare to any other literature we cannot help but feel that Elder Scott's quote can apply to any edifying or inspirational written thought or piece of literature. 

During the recitation class we will work on memorizing pieces - creating "friends" that will "help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."


Lunch:


After four hours of working, learning and discussing things together I'm sure the students would agree that a nourishing lunch and some pleasant chatting time would be quite welcomed. A half hour of lunch time will provide just that for the students.

It is our desire that relationships will be strengthened and students will be an inspiration to one another as they grow, learn and set an example of spiritual strength, maturing character and a serviceable spirit toward one another.

                                          ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Glory Academy's Junior Class subjects are as follows:

Devotional:


We will begin the day with a mini devotional to help set the right spirit and atmosphere for the day. Students are encouraged to participate in scripture reading discussion and the scripture reading itself. 

Having a devotional first thing before we jump into our subjects for that day, opens the school day with the spirit, allowing hearts to be set in the right place which, in turn, allows learning to take place at a more rapid pace.







Math Basics:


For Math Basics we'll be going over skip counting (counting by 2's, 5's, 10's, etc.), adding and subtracting, carrying numbers, fractions and other math concepts that will naturally fit into the school year or that we've noticed the students need to work on. 








Poetry or Story making:


We're going to have a great time for our Poetry or Storymaking subject! Not only will we work together on writing some pieces of poetry and some stories but we'll illustrate pictures for these pieces and create our own little books for each writing. 

As we do this the students will learn basic poetry and story writing concepts that will give them some skills they can use as they continue writing more pieces on their own!




Reading:

Learning to read opens up a whole new world of learning, exploration and adventure for a child. For this subject we'll be using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 easy Lessons" and Reading in  a Nutshell's phonics program. 

Taking into account that each child will be at a different reading level, those students who already know how to read will have the opportunity to buddy up with a child that needs their help and through that will be given the opportunity to teach and serve a fellow student.





Character Building through Short Stories:


There are so many wonderful bits and pieces of wisdom that can be learned from great writings from the past. For this subject we'll simply read a carefully selected short story and discuss what we've read. 

Depending on the story and the situation we may even do an activity based on what we've learned from that story.






Team Building Activity -or- Game:


Playing a game with other like minded students is a great way to learn to work together, play together, and learn to work as a team in order to be able to win! 

For this subject we'll be playing  a team building game or activity that will help develop some great communication & problem solving skills.






Nature Stories:


There is so much to be reverent about in nature. There's so much that speaks of God's power, intelligence, and of His love for us. If there's one thing this world is missing its a society that has a deep respect and reverence for the beauties of this earth. 

For this subject we'll be reading and discussing carefully selected nature stories or nature articles. We'll also be keeping a nature journal (which the students can add to at home) and will study nature around us, going for simple nature walks in the open walk way areas behind our house and around our neighborhood and enjoying the outdoors together.



Writing:


There's a lot to learn when one is young once it comes to writing. For this subject we'll be learning how to write our lower case and upper case letters, write neatly, and will be doing some copy work. 

We'll also enjoy doing some writing activities such as writing a letter to someone special, writing advertisements for a product, or writing a newspaper article.







Memorization:


Susan Wise Bauer said that the student "who memorizes poetry will internalize the rhythmic, beautiful patterns" of the English language. These patterns then become "part of the student's language store, those wells that we all use every day in writing and speaking." Without memorization, the student's "language store", Bauer says, will be limited: memorization stocks "the language store with a whole new set of language patterns."

Michael Knox Beran stated that, "In addition, such exercises etch the ideals of their civilization on children's minds and hearts. The memorization and recitation of the classic utterances of poets and statesmen form a part of a tradition of learning that stretches back to classical antiquity, when the Greeks discovered that words and sounds-and the rhythmic patterns by which they were bound together in poetry-awakened the mind and shaped character." 

We wholeheartedly agree with both of their outlooks on the matter and will enjoy helping students to memorize wholesome bits of poetry or other edifying writings.




Biography:


There are so many amazing people from history to learn about. We will we enjoy learning about their fun adventures or their heart wrenching trials and will discuss the things we learn from their stories which will help the students to apply what they're learning from these great people into their own character.







Artistic Endeavors:


"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." This quote is something most artists would agree with. For this subject students will have the opportunity to "lose themselves" to a piece of art as they create something deeper within themselves and learn more about who they are, what they like, and how they feel the need to express themselves artistically. 

For this subject we'll enjoy being artistic in several ways whether it be through music (where students will listen to a piece from a particular composer and learn about that composer), art (where the students will learn about a specific artist and art technique and have the opportunity to try that art technique themselves) or theater (where the students will have the opportunity to learn and act out a short play).

We are very excited to start up Glory Academy and look forward to providing opportunities for great educational experiences to take place for each student!

Enrollment Information

Enrollment for Glory Academy's Senior or Junior class is $50 per month, per student. 

(Refer a friend(s) who also enrolls their child with us and you'll get $10 off that month's enrollment fee.)

Would you like to enroll more than one child? The first child will be $50 per month and any child after that will be $40 per month.

Once again, we aren't sure what the interest level will be for this Academy but space is limited to a12 child maximum count for each class therefore we suggest that if you're interested in enrolling your child with Glory Academy, you turn in (either by mail or drop off) your enrollment form and the first month's payment as soon as you are able to do so.

Please e-mail us for our address.

The enrollment form can be found below. 

(copy and paste the following into Word)


Student’s Name________________________________________________________________

Parent’s Name_________________________________________________________________

Telephone: Home:_____________________________________________________________

Telephone: Cell:_______________________________________________________________

Allergies or Food Restrictions:____________________________________________________

Emergency Contact:____________________________________________________________

Important information about your child:___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Who referred you to us?_______________________________________________________

I will do my best to follow (or have my child follow) Glory Academy’s four rules:

1.    Students are to be respectful to the teacher and the other students.
2.    Students are to be well groomed and dressed. 
3.    Students are to come prepared to learn.
4.    Students are to be dropped off and picked up on time.

And I will not hold you responsible for any injury that my child may inflict upon him/herself. J

Parent Signature & Date:_________________________________________________________

Academy Rules

We aren't determined to be super strict however we do feel that some rules ought to be in place to help create order and develop a fantastic learning environment. Our rules are as follows:

1. Students are to be respectful to the teacher and the other students. Both students and the mentor are taking time out of their regular routine to learn/teach one another a good amount of respect is in need in order to make this experience as great as it can be. Please understand that we have the right to dismiss and deny enrollment of any student that may be a distraction to the class or is disrespectful to either the peers or mentor (or both). Reimbursement for that months payment will be denied for that month if this is the case.

2. Students are to be well groomed and dressed. Although focusing on our outward appearance is something most of society cares far too much about we feel that there is a balance that needs to be met. If we're taking care of ourselves on the outside and keeping ourselves presentable then we feel better about ourselves on the inside. By feeling better on the inside we will be better prepared to put better effort into what we're doing and we will learn more than we otherwise would.

3. Students are to come prepared to learn. We have done our best to keep the supplies the students will need to a minimum. In order to help keep order within the learning environment students need to be stocked up on the supplies that have been listed for them. 

4. Students are to be dropped off and picked up on time. Drop off and pick up times for Senior students are at 8:30am and 1:00pm, Monday and Wednesday. Drop off and pick up times for Junior students are at 8:30 am and 12:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday

We appreciate you making sure that your child is aware of these 4 simple rules.

Thank you.

Monthly Service Project

The monthly service project will be announced for each month. You will be able to find current information for each months service project on this blog post.

Service project for the month of October is still to be decided and will be announced after the school has begun.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

About the Founder's


John and Claudia Orgill have been homeschooling their children ever since their oldest daughter was four years old. They've enjoyed the experiences homeschooling has given their family and look forward to more to come. They currently have four children ranging in the ages of eleven to four years old.

They are the founders and creators of HEV - a website providing online resources for Chrisitan homeschool families. Their video lessons have been used by hundreds of homeschool families and they are continually adding more wholesome content to their site. 

John was once a seminary teacher and enjoyed the experiences he had teaching students the Gospel. He enjoys continually learning new things and starting new businesses. He currently knows Spanish, Portuguese, and some Chinese and German. He loves to learn and has a great talent with teaching students, getting them to think, and inspiring them to make changes within themselves.

Claudia loves to think outside the box and grew up questioning everything. She enjoys spending time in the kitchen making and selling  all sorts of healthy and properly prepared delicious foods. She enjoys reading, painting, writing and being creative. She is a true entrepreneur at heart and loves to see kids become the people Heavenly Father wants them and needs them to become.

John and Claudia both love to teach and inspire students. They believe that Heavenly Father is in need of a different kind of people and that He needs more of his children to be spiritually strong, morally firm, clear thinking and adequately skilled.

They believe that there are great changes that will be taking place in our country and in society and these changes will require such steadfast, skillful and God-loving people to help make America the sacred and rightfully protected place God intended it to be.

They are excited about Glory Academy and are genuinely interested in helping homeschool students step up, do hard things, learn essential skills and become useful servants of God!