Berrien Springs Virtual Academy Partnership
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  • Program Basics
  • Registration
  • Classes
    • Berrien BookShark
    • Field Trips: In-Person Bonus Experience
    • Virtual Classes >
      • Virtual Class Guidelines
      • Bonus Virtual Classes
      • Middlebury World Languages
      • Virtual ARTistic Pursuits
      • Virtual Piano Prodigy
      • Michigan Virtual
      • The Animation Course: Animation or Drawing Courses
      • Typing Quest
      • Zoom Chess
      • Login Sites
    • Animal Husbandry >
      • Building Leadership
      • Circle C Stables
      • Patsy Little: Horsemanship
      • Red Bud Gypsies Ranch
      • Spring Creek : Horse Knowledge
    • Art Classes >
      • Architecture
      • Decor Painting
      • Roti Roti Art Center of Buchanan
      • Ceramics/Pottery >
        • Brushes and Basics: Purple Giraffe Pottery Studio
        • Ceramics
        • Wheel Fun Pottery!
      • Circle C with Shelly Adkins: Collaborative Art
      • Be Creative with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
      • Prosper Arts: Art and Photography Classes
      • Design Street in Plainwell
      • Drawing and Painting Classes: see tabs >
        • Niki McNeil: Art Classes
        • Elementary Art
        • JLN Studios: Acrylic, Watercolor and Pastels
      • Glass >
        • Glass Fusing
        • Water Street Glassworks
      • GVNCP: Art Classes
      • Krasl Art Center
      • Outer Space Art at Lake Michigan STEAMWORKS
      • Photography >
        • Photography
        • Adventures in Photography with Katie
        • Photography with Robert Ritzenthaler
        • Prosper Arts: Photography
    • Critical Thinking (formerly Chess) >
      • Puzzles, Logic and Critical Thinking
      • Chess
    • Dance: Fine Arts >
      • Benton Harbor Dance Studios
      • Coloma Dance Studios
      • Decatur Dance Studios
      • Dowagiac Dance Studios
      • Niles Dance Studios
      • Sawyer Dance Studios
      • South Haven Dance Studios
      • St. Joseph Dance Studios
      • Stevensville Dance Studios
    • CTE: Career and Technical Education
    • Drama >
      • Acting
      • CMW: Children's Music Workshop
    • Foreign Languages >
      • Lotus Chinese
      • Dos Mundos Spanish
      • I Heart Spanish
      • American Sign Language 101
    • Humanities >
      • Re-enactment Arts >
        • Historical Crafts at Tillers International
        • Ground Zero: Target Archery
        • Martial Arts
    • Life Skills >
      • Joel Bennett: Baking and Cooking
      • Crochet: with Niki McNeil
      • Sewing and Quilting: Robin English
      • Prosper Arts: Sewing
    • Music >
      • Music: Intensive Lesson Labs >
        • Cello
        • Guitar
        • Percussion
        • Piano
        • Violin
        • Voice
        • Other Instruments
      • Music: Group Classes >
        • Berrien Springs Public School - Band or Choir
        • Citadel : Kindermusik and Ukulele Classes
        • Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra
        • The Music Academies - Niles
        • West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts
        • Shoreline Music Classes
        • Victoria Kreiter: Group piano
    • Nature/Environment >
      • Birding and Beyond
      • Love Creek: Outdoor Explorers and Eco Warriors
      • Backyard Farming
      • GVNCP: Nature Classes
      • Survival Skills 101
    • Physical Education >
      • Physical Fitness & Sports >
        • Aquatics: ALL water-related classes
        • Archery: Fitness in Archery @ Ground Zero SJ
        • Basketball: Andrews Jr. Cardinals
        • Basketball: Rodney Hoops/ Harbor Impact
        • CrossFit
        • Fitness Classes at the BH/SJ YMCA
        • Golf: Andrews Jr. Cardinals
        • Gymnastics >
          • Acro, tumbling at dance studios
          • Elite Sports Academy
          • Infinite Gymnastics at Andrews
          • Power In Motion
          • The Club for Gymnastics
        • Hockey: Youth League
        • Ice Skating: Learn to Skate: Garden Ice Arena
        • Life RX: Teen Strength/Conditioning
        • Martial Arts
        • Disk Golf: Andrews Jr. Cardinals
        • Pickleball: Andrews Jr. Cardinals
        • Rock Climbing
        • Soccer: Andrews Jr. Cardinals and Red Arrow Soccer Club
        • Softball: Dugout Dolls
        • Tennis: Group Lessons
        • Girls Volleyball: Andrews Jr. Cardinals
        • Volleyball: Ground Zero
      • Swim and Gym Locations
      • Swimming or Diving Lessons: AU
      • Swim Lessons: SouthShore
      • Swim Lessons: YMCA, Bridgman
      • Swim Clubs
    • Technology >
      • FLC Tech Classes
      • HAM Radio Licensing and Communication
      • Photography with Robert Ritzenthaler
      • Robo-Tech Zone of Michiana: VEX Team
    • Vocational Education >
      • Autoshop and Intro to Construction
      • Bicycle Repair
      • Carpentry, Remodel and Tools
      • Lifeguarding and Junior Lifeguarding
      • Tom Hurst: Woodworking
  • Dual Enrollment / CTE
    • What is Dual Enrollment?
    • Andrews University
    • Glen Oaks Community College
    • KVCC - Kalamazoo Valley Community College
    • Lake Michigan College
    • Southwest Michigan College
    • CTE
  • Meet your Mentor
    • Mentor Bios
    • Mentor Evaluation Tools
  • Contacts / Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Homeschool Links of Interest
    • Social Networking & Homeschool resources
    • Standardized Testing Opportunities
Homeschool Links of Interest:
*The following links & resources are provided solely as as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply our affiliation, endorsement, or adoption of any site or any information contained therein.


Need to receive therapy or special services from your resident district? You may need to register your homeschool with the state.  Check HERE.

Homeschooling through High School
As a homeschool family, you decide not only which classes your children will take in order to fulfill state graduation requirements, but grade and assign credit as well.  
Michigan Guidelines for homeschooling: 
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/home_schools_122555_7.pdf
Michigan Merit Curriculum: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Complete_MMC_FAQ_August_2014_467323_7.pdf

What does your student need to graduate?
Generally speaking, 1 credit = 1 year of coursework/class time.  Some high schools grant 1 credit for one semester of a college level class, some do not.  For example, you are required to have 4 credits of Math, which normally equals 4 years of Math - you can see that they stipulate that a student has to show that they have taken math in their senior year. The foreign language 2 year requirement doesn't apply until the graduating class of 2016.  Many schools will allow foreign language taken in 8th grade to count if it was a high school level class, plus one year during their high school career.

Terrific website for general beginning homeschool information and resources: www.fiscaltiger.com

Transcripts:
There are a number of great resources for making your own transcript, but here is a recommended resource:
Setting the Records Straight by Lee Binz, copyright 2010, available on Amazon and elsewhere.

This is a template Bethel College has generated for Homeschoolers enrolling in their programs.  It is an Excel document and if you load it as such, it will do the calculations for you. Transcript template - click on the Bethel Template which will bring up an Excel template

College resource links (not supported or provided by the Partnership):
Arizona State University Online: https://asuonline.asu.edu/admission/home-school​
Parents may find this  useful to home schooled students who wish to pursue a college education. Since ASU Online offers hundreds of accredited online degree programs, transitioning to college from a home school environment is easy and natural.

Additional educational resources: 
Business/Math/Economics:

https://online.rider.edu/online-masters-degrees/masters-business-administration/business-money-math-games-k12-students/.  Rider University
TestingMom.com
​

Can homeschool or private school students participate in competitive public school sports?
No. Disqualification from competitive sports is a decision made by the MHSAA, not the districts.  Decisions regarding choir and band are up to the district since they are considered elective classes.  Gym class is an elective.  Homeschool students are allowed to take any elective a school offers in their resident district.  Sports are not an elective, they are an after-school offering that parents pay for in part.  Public school competitive sports cannot be an option for homeschoolers unless the student is taking 4 daily classes at their resident school building, which qualifies them to be counted by the school enough to satisfy MHSAA requirements.  Alternative education students (those full time through the Virtual Academy and Discovery Academy) are also disqualified from school competitive sports. 

Fun camps and other things to do during summer.....
  • GBSRD - Greater Berrien Springs Rec Dept: gbsrd.org   Offers a host of sports opportunities
  • Citadel Dance and Music Center: 925-1099, www.citadelDMC.org: private lessons and Summer Strings Group Classes
  • Jaier Soccer Camp... http://www.jaier.com/soccer-camp---2012.html​
  • Bridgman Aquatic Center swimming (free to Bridgman/Lake Twp residents)... http://www.bridgmanschools.com/aquatic-center/index.html
  • Bridgman offers (as do many of the neighboring communities) many sport camps... http://www.bridgmanschools.com/athletics/summercamps.htm
  • Library summer reading programs are great too!! (ie: http://www.bridgmanlibrary.org/bridgman/summerreading.asp).   www.lincolntownshiplibrary.org
  • Five Pines: http://www.fivepines.org/daycamp/index.html​
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