Harbor Homeschool 26-27

We're looking forward to a fantastic year of learning, community, and growth. I know this is a long newsletter, but please take a few minutes to review the important information below about our school year. Thank you for being part of the Harbor Family!

Our first days for elective classes are September 3 & 4 (Hybrid starts September 2). New and Returning families are encouraged to attend our Orientation and Open House on August 27 from 6-8pm. (OVA families: you do not need to attend orientation in Oxford!)

Harbor classes are held at Dearborn Free Methodist Church 2801 S. Telegraph Dearborn, MI 48124.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please bookmark this parent page on your computer, as it is a direct-link only for our parents.

• NEWSLETTER: We send out weekly newsletters during the school year.

• Information Page: Bookmark: 2026-2027 Parent Page to see all our newsletters and important information for the year.

• EMAIL: Please add Harbor's email to your email contacts to make sure our messages don’t go to spam:office@harborhomeschool.org and amy@harborhomeschool.org

• PHONE: Add Harbor’s phone number to your contacts: 734-933-1927

• REMIND APP: Type this number: 81010 and text this message: @hhomesc -We will use Remind to let you know about snow days or emergencies.

At Harbor Homeschool, we align our behavior expectations with those of the Oxford School District. To help guide our students in creating a positive and respectful learning environment, we’ve simplified our core rules into three guiding principles:

• Respect Others
  
• Respect Property
  
• Respect Learning

Please remember that Harbor Homeschool is a service provider, not a traditional school. Our instructors are focused on teaching and are not equipped to manage ongoing behavioral issues. When discipline concerns arise, we immediately partner with parents to address the situation. In serious cases, students may be dismissed from on-site classes without prior warnings.

Typical Discipline Procedure:

1. The student receives a verbal reminder about their behavior.
   
2. If the behavior continues, the student will meet with our Family Relations Director, Amy. In most cases, when a student is sent out of the classroom, a parent will be contacted.
3. If a student is sent out multiple times (typically 2–3 times in a semester), a parent will be required to remain on-site during their child’s classes to manage any further issues.
   
4. If behavioral concerns persist even with a parent present, the student will be dismissed from on-site classes for the remainder of the semester. They may continue their coursework online.
   

We appreciate your partnership in helping us maintain a positive, respectful, and focused learning environment for all.

Student safety is our top priority!

Harbor staff assists outside as they are able, but parents/guardians are responsible for student safety before and after school. Please discuss your family’s pick-up plan with your student and walk younger students to and from the building with a parent, guardian, or older sibling.

Doors open 10 minutes before school, and students should not be dropped off before that, as staff are not available to supervise them before that time.

Please use the north drive to enter and the south drive to exit when dropping off and picking up students along the sidewalk in front of the building. Students walking to cars must use the crosswalk and look both ways. Please drive slowly and cautiously, remind students not to run in the parking lot, and make sure all students are picked up promptly.Late fees will apply for repeated late pick-ups.

Thank you for helping us keep our students safe!

Please click the button below to view our policy with your student(s) and sign.

Harbor provides all materials needed for classes (unless otherwise stated). However, we recommend the following items:

Basic Supplies (Bring to Class Each Day):

Please label all personal items

• Backpack

• Pencil pouch

• Sharpened pencils
  
• Folder
  
• Extra set of clothes (K-3rd)
  
• Reusable water bottle (labeled)
  
• Lunch box (labeled)

Students are not required to come in person but we do ask parents to let us know if their student will be absent by emailing us or texting Harbor’s phone 734-933-1927, especially if they will miss multiple weeks.

Medical Action Plans (MAPS) must be filled out for all students with serious medical conditions.

Medical Action Plan Information:
Does your student have a medical condition that we need to be aware of? Make sure you complete a MAP (Medical Action Plan) ASAP. Click HERE for links to all Medical Action Plan forms. Kindly return forms to Jenny Matteson at jenny.matteson@oxfordschools.org AND s.andrewshha@gmail.com

Health & Safety Questions or Concerns:
If you have any questions or concerns regarding health and safety, you can email Sarah at s.andrewshha@gmail.com

Lunchtime is from 11:30 AM to Noon, and all students enjoy lunch together. Kindergarteners will eat in their classrooms, while all other grades dine in the cafeteria in the basement of Harbor.

Please make sure your child brings a labeled lunch box each day. While we offer a variety of snacks and drinks for purchase during lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, no food or snacks are allowed in classrooms at any time.

Pizza Thursdays and Fridays are back! Students can purchase pizza slices on Friday mornings before school for $1.50 per slice.

Pizza and snacks are NOT available for purchase on Wednesdays for hybrid students.

Thank you for helping us keep lunchtime smooth, healthy, and enjoyable for all students!

HARBOR'S DRESS CODE (adopted from Oxford School District)

In general, clothing should be clean and appropriate for the climate and the situation. The final decision in any situation involving inappropriate attire rests with building administrators.

1. Tops must have straps or sleeves and must cover the student’s entire torso.
   
2. Pants, shorts, and skirts must have an inseam at least 4 inches in length.
   
3. Clothing may not display material that:

• Is materially and substantially disruptive or that school officials can reasonably forecast will create a substantial disruption;
• Is obscene, explicit, indecent, or lewd;
• Promotes the use of or advertises illegal substances
• Incites violence; Contains “fighting words”; Constitutes a true threat of violence.

Consequences: Students who are dressed inappropriately will be asked to change clothing. Parents will be called to bring appropriate clothing or the student may be sent home to change. Ongoing dress code violations may result in student being suspended from onsite classes

If you would like to add or drop a class after schedules have been finalized, a $20 processing fee will apply. This fee helps cover the administrative time and resources required to make schedule adjustments.

Please note that all classes are subject to availability and are not guaranteed until you receive a confirmation email. Submitting an add/drop request does not guarantee placement in the requested class.

Once your add/drop request has been processed, you will receive an email confirmation with your student’s updated class schedule and any applicable self-pay balance. You will not have to pay the $20 if your request cannot be granted.

Add/drop requests will not be processed after the first week of each semester.

We will update our Important Upcoming Dates throughout the school year.

Invoices will be emailed out at least one month prior to the start of each semester. If you have not received an invoice or have any questions about tuition, please email Amy at amy@harborhomeschool.org

Tuition due dates: Tuition must be paid in full prior to the start of the semester

Due to our overhead expenses, we do not give refunds on tuition if a student drops after week 7.

Families with outstanding balances will be unable to return to Harbor until balance is paid in full and/or will lose enrollment for the following semester.

Parents/Guardians: If you would like to stay onsite while your student is at Harbor, please fill out this background check form.
Every time you plan to stay on site, please sign in with Mr. Richard in the lobby. Let us know if you have any questions.

Classes will be on Tuesdays, 12-1pm. Half of our group will do open swim 12-12:30pm while the other half do lessons, and then switch at 12:30-1pm!

Anyone under 6 is required to have an adult in the water for open swim.

Families will have to accept Goldfish Swim policies online. You will receive an email prior to the start of the semester from Goldfish Swim. Go online through Goldfish's enrollment email and sign in (you should have an account already, click forgot password and then use the email we have on file). You can accept the policies from there.

Goldfish Swim School- Canton

225 Sheldon Rd Canton, MI 48187

(248) 450-0752

https://goldfishswimschool.com/canton/

Tentative Meeting dates:

Fall Semester Dates: Sept. 15, 22, 29, Oct 6,13, 20 ,27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec 1, 8, 15

Winter Semester Dates: Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23, March 2, 9,16, 23, April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11

Brand-new violin students: Please make sure to rent a violin for your student to bring on the first day of school. We recommend renting from Shar Music in Ann Arbor https://www.sharmusic.com
Violin rental is $19.99 a month or you can pay for 10 months upfront and receive 2 months free. Students receive a violin, case, bow, a beginner book and music stand with that rental price. Please request to receive the Suzuki Book 1. Please confirm with us once you have received these supplies so that we can also order your student a String Explorer book to use.

Returning Beginner Violin students: If you are a returning violin student, confirm that you have a violin, Suzuki Book 1 and a String Explorer Book 1 that your student can use in the fall semester.

All Violin students: Please label all items so we can return them to you if they get misplaced or forgotten. It's a good idea to mark your violin case with an identifying bright colored or patterned ribbon or tag, so you can quickly see your case (like how people identify their suitcases at an airport).

Are you a Harbor parent or guardian who would be interested in helping bring families and students together? We’re looking for a parent/guardian who would be willing to help lead an independent parent group for Harbor families.

The group would be a way for Harbor parents to connect and organize events, activities, and gatherings for Harbor students throughout the year.

Please note: This would be a parent/guardian-led group and would not be sponsored, organized, or affiliated with Harbor or OVA.

If you’re interested in leading this group, please email Amy at amy@haborhomeschool.org

Harbor Homeschool and Harbor Hybrid will have its own school picture day later this year (date to be announced). We’ll share all the details you need ahead of time to order photos and yearbooks.

Please note: This is separate from OVA’s picture day and yearbook process mentioned in their newsletter. Harbor students are not required to participate in OVA’s photo day unless they choose to.

Please note: Families who selected OVA funding but did not complete enrollment will be moved to self-pay status, and a new invoice will be issued.

If your student is no longer planning to attend Harbor, kindly let us know so we can offer the spot to another student.