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For FAQs regarding Membership, click on the Membership section below

For FAQs regarding Specials Day, click on the Specials Day section below (current members: be sure to login first)

For FAQs regarding Specials Day Class Registration, click on the Specials Day Class Registration section below

For FAQs regarding the High School Tutorial, click on the High School Section below

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No, we are not an umbrella or oversight group.  We are a co-operative offering enrichment classes.

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Since we are a non-profit homeschool co-operative run by parents, we do not have any special accommodations for Special Needs Students but we are so glad to have them. Although most of our teachers are not trained in how to handle special needs, we do encourage you to speak to your child’s teachers to inform them of any issues they need to be aware of. Teachers are not required to make special accommodations but we would are happy to help your child have the best experience they can at Specials Day. An open line of communication is very important between the parent, teacher and Specials Day Representative.

We do require parents of Special Needs children and parents of children with severe allergies to stay on the premises in case any issues would arise. If you have a child that you must accompany to classes, please let the Member and Aide Duty Representative know and she will try to work with you for aiding purposes.

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Fees are determined each year by May or June depending on our lease with Friendship Baptist Church. Fees increase based on the increase that the church charges for use of the facility. The membership fee  is currently $65 per year/per family.  This fee is applied to our insurance and administrative costs and allows you to attend field trips and special events such as talent night and field day. Since our facility usage fee has gone up, we will also be using this to pay for the facilities.

For families registered for Specials Day classes, there is a $35 registration fee per semester for each family. Then there is a cost per class.

For our drama production students, there is a registration fee of $25 for the year long class per family.

For our high school tutorial students, there is a registration fee of $40 for the year long classes per family.

Registration fees are used to pay for the facility.

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All classes meet on Fridays at Kirkridge ARP Church, 2236 Old Fort Schoolhouse Road, Manchester, Maryland.  

Specials Day Classes meet for two 10-week semesters in the fall and spring.  High School Tutorial classes meet all year and the Drama Production class meets most of the year with a small break between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The use of the church facility is a privilege. Our co-op is not a church-sponsored activity. All program business shall be communicated only through TGIF board members. If you are in need of something during the day of Specials, please find a board member to help and they will contact the Kirkridge staff if needed. Please remember that we are guests in the facility and that we should conduct ourselves accordingly. Disrespectful and destructive behavior will not be tolerated.

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https://www.homeschool-life.com/md/tgif/documents/Statement of Faith.pdf

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Since we are a co-operative, all members are required to provide service to the group.  All members must complete a member job which include things like planning a field trip, administrative work, or serving on our field day, talent night, or luncheon teams. A member job must be completed even if your children do not attend Specials Day classes.

Specials Day families have additional aiding duties during Specials Day.  Aiding jobs are different from member jobs and are required for all families that attend Specials Day. Since we are a co-operative, we rely on our members to help the co-op run smoothly. The volunteer hours are directly related to how many hours your children are in classes.  Most of our members serve as aides in classes, but we also have a set up and clean up team.

*The minimum number of volunteer hours for Specials Day are as follows:

Children enrolled in up to 2 hours of classes - aide in 1 class for 10 weeks

Children enrolled in more than 2 and up to 4 hours of classes - aide in 2 classes for 10 weeks

Children enrolled in more than 4 hours - aide in 3 classes for 10 weeks

*Please note that under certain circumstances, we may require more volunteer hours. This will be determined before classes begin each semester.

Parents who serve as a teacher during Specials Day for one or two classes have no additional aiding duties. 

Important: A parent or guardian is expected to be available for volunteering during the hours the child/children are in class.

High School Student Teachers and Aides

For first time high school student teachers, the parent of the high school student must be in attendance. An additional TGIF adult will be required to act as the aide. Once the high school student has taught at least one class, and if everything went well for that class, the parent does not need to attend. In that case, there will be a TGIF adult acting as the aide in the classroom. If two high school students are teaching together, a TGIF adult will also be acting as the aide in the classroom. 

Non-TGIF Parent Teacher

If we have teachers who are not TGIF members, they will have a TGIF parent acting as the aide in the classroom.

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TGIF Background Clearance Instructions

All of our adult members and teachers who will be at TGIF on Fridays with the children must pass a criminal background check. Please complete one for each adult that will be in attendance. The cost is $19.95 and is payable by you. If you have had a background check completed within the last three years, you may send me a copy of the report to keep in our files.

This year we are using SentryLink. There are two options for getting me a copy of the report. If you do not want me to have access to your social security number, I will give you instructions on how to get me a copy of the report. Also, you can choose your own company to perform a background check. I will just need a copy of the clearance before classes begin.

Instructions for SentryLink:

1. Go to www.sentrylink.com and click on “create account” under the My Account tab on the right.
2. Enter your email address and make a password for yourself (keep it safe).
3. Enter required information (you must include your SSN).
4. Enter payment information.
5. Under “Reason” select “checking my own record”.
6. Read the user Agreement and check the box that you have read it.
7. Order your report. It takes just a few minutes.
8. Click “Share Your Report” and put in [email protected]. I will receive an email that your report has been completed. I have to login with an id and password to get access to your report. I am the only one with access so it is secure. Or if you prefer to not share your SSN, go to step #10
9. TGIF will get a copy of your report. I will save it as a PDF with the social security number masked so when the report is printed, there will be no SSN#. I will keep the report in the file with the SSN masked. However, I will see your SSN online.
10. Or, after you order your report, do not choose to share it with TGIF.
11. Go back to “My Account” and click “My Reports”
12. Click on the highlighted report and save a copy for yourself.
13. Also in the “My Reports” section, you will need to download the report as a pdf file. Be sure to check the box to mask the social security number.
14. At this point you need to send the report to me. You can attach the pdf to an email and email it to [email protected] (make sure the SSN is masked).

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If Carroll County Schools are two hours late, Specials Day will most likely begin on time. Please check your email for updates.

If Carroll County Schools are closed due to weather, classes are canceled.

If Carroll County Schools close early due to weather, afternoon classes will be canceled.

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TGIF offers tutorial classes for high school students. These classes meet all year on Fridays for a total of thirty-two weeks. Classes are offered based on what the families request and whether or not we have tutors for the classes.

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Yearly membership fee - $65

High School Registration fee - $40 (used to pay for the extra weeks that we use the facility)

Class Cost: $300 + supplies and/or lab fees

Text costs are the responsibility of the family

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Send an email to Cara Lemenager, our High School Tutorial Representative, at [email protected] for more information.