A new school year brings new books, new routines, and, for many families, a whole new way of studying. That is exactly why your high school advisor offers seminars at the start of each year, as a courtesy to enrolled families: no one should have to puzzle out the STAA study system alone when we can walk through it together. The seminars run from August through October, but they are not meant to be attended all at once. The High School Orientation Seminar belongs in Preparatory Week A or B, while the Semester Reporting Seminar can be saved for the later weeks, once your family has settled in. There is no need to overwhelm yourself with too many orientation and getting-started ideas at one time. Here is who attends which and how to reserve a seat.

High School Orientation Seminar

For high school students and their teaching-parents. This seminar walks through the STAA study system: how to use your study guides, where to find online quizzes and course forums, and how to navigate the Student Zone. A stack of new books and a thick study guide can feel like a lot on day one; an hour spent here turns it into a plan, and most students leave eager to begin. Attend as soon as your books and study guides have arrived, so the tour matches the materials in your hands. Orientation seminars are provided as a courtesy to the enrolled families.  Attending a seminar does not use any of the advisor appointments in your St. Thomas Aquinas Academy enrollment package.

Register: High School Orientation Seminar

Semester Reporting Seminar

For teaching-parents whose students participate in the Transcript Option. This seminar walks through the semester reporting process: the report forms, work samples, and deadlines that build your student’s transcript, so that the record of your student’s good work is as strong as the work itself. This one keeps well: plan to attend after the school year is underway, once your packet of Semester Reporting forms and work sample labels has arrived in the mail. Students may attend, but Semester Reporting seminars are designed for teaching-parents.

Register: Semester Reporting Seminar

Live Class Students: Your Orientation Is Automatic

Students registered for live classes are automatically signed up for Book Check Meetings in Week B, where we discuss the books for their classes and cover live class orientation topics, and they will receive reminders about the date, time, and how to connect to the Zoom meeting. It is a friendly first look at the semester and a chance to meet the voices you will be studying alongside. No registration is needed; just write them on your calendar so your family knows you will need a quiet space at that time. Live class students new to STAA’s high school courses should also attend a High School Orientation Seminar during their Preparatory Weeks.

Open Office Hours

Questions do not wait for scheduled meetings, so your high school advisor holds open office hours for the quick ones. These are open to teaching-parents and students alike. They are open Zoom meetings, not private one-on-one advisory sessions, so bring the kind of question you would be comfortable asking in front of fellow homeschoolers; hearing other families’ questions is often half the value. Students need their parents’ permission before joining an Open Office Hours meeting.

Seminars and office hours are two threads in a larger net. Every course page on the Student Zone has its own Q&A forum, so questions can be asked as you go: about the study guide, the readings, the quizzes, the assignments, or anything else connected to the course. For private conversations about high school planning or semester reporting, use your family’s enrollment package code to arrange a one-on-one meeting with your advisor. Private tutoring to help with STAA Study Guide assignments is also available. Between the study guides, the forums, the seminars, the office hours, and your advisor, there is always a place to bring a question.

Open Office Hours are provided as a courtesy to member families currently enrolled at St. Thomas Aquinas Academy.

Join Open Office Hours

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