How to use the Portfolio:

[HLA]

The Portfolio features are optional. However, a well done portfolio can significantly increase a student's chances of college placement and scholarships.

We're happy that HSRO makes the portfolio available because it's a great place to enter activities as you see fit. It's up to each teacher to decide how to use the Portfolio. But we recommend entering any extra curricular activity and accomplishment that your students achieve. If you have used the portfolio feature through high school we will automatically print a copy of it, seal it and sign it, and send it along with the official transcript.

We recommend the Portfolios more for High School than anything else, because many colleges and universities are impressed with a list of extra curricular activities that a student accomplished in grades 9-12. Sometimes the list (sort of like a resume) of activities, clubs, field trips, special projects, accomplishments, etc. can tip the scales in your favor. It's a great addition to the High School Transcript. And all we have to do is print it and send it with the transcript when you get ready to start enrolling in colleges.

[Rebecca in TN]

I have seen a couple of links to your forum explanation of what the portfolio feature is, but I cannot find the actual place to access the portfolio so that I may begin entering information. Please help.

Blessings,
Rebecca

[HLA Staff]

It's available once you login into HSRO, under the main student layout.
First, follow the Grade Reporting steps: http://www.homelifeacademy.com/phpBB3/v ... .php?t=134

Then just click on "Portfolio," located under the student's name, to enter information.

SAMPLE:

[HLA Staff]

More specifically...

The protfolio may include anything you want to remember that is extra curricular - like accomplishments, activities, projects, crafts, etc. It does not need to include descriptions of regular courses since those are standard. For example, the portfolio does not need an explanation of your U.S. History course. However, it is a great place to record what you learned on a field trip to a civil war museum. (If you're like most parents, these become places where WE learn just as much as our kids! Maybe more! So you might say the portfolio is for our memory as well.)

For K-8th grades it is more of a place for recording memories; like journaling. It does not need to have official sounding descriptions or anything like that. Mainly, it will be a great keep sake for you later down the road. You'll be able to look up any previous year and "remember when" with your kids. Print it and put it in your memory books or photo albums!

For 9th-12th the portfolio becomes a more formal record of accomplishments, activities, projects, etc. which we can print, seal, and send along with the official transcript. Colleges and universities love it. It is like getting a record of all the classes a student completed (official transcript) WITH a complete resume (offiicial protfolio). Both of these accompany a copy of the diploma, all three embossed with the HLA school seal. If your student is not college bound the portfolio can be sent to tech colleges, employers, or simply kept as a record for later use.

So have fun! Use it as much or as little as you would like or need to.

Here is an example of a High School Portfolio. It highlights this student's love for percussion:


Church Activity
Church Usher
Evan serves our church as an usher on designated months.

Community Service
Volunteers with the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home
Evan helps whenever needed by sorting food, gym time with the younger boys, and assisting his sister with volunteer art classes.

Community Service
Community Service with the King's Daughters and Sons Home
Evan has "adopted" a patient whom he writes and visits regularly.


Private Percussion Instructor
Evan teaches percussion lessons to students.

Academic Competition
National Homeschool Honor Society
Evan has served as Vice-president his Sophomore year, and secretary his Junior year.

Musical Performance
Victory Marching Band
Evan has served as an ensemble leader and Drum Major. In May 2003, he received the Student Leadership Award. In May 2001, 2002 and 2003 he received the "Most Practice Time" Award.

Musical Performance
HiS Homeschool Choir
HiS Choir is a homeschool choir meeting weekly. The director, Mr. John McWhorter, teaches all aspects of vocal music. Evan has been a member from seventh grade through the present, and an ensemble member from 9th grade through the present.

Musical Performance
Charter Member of POWR Percussion performance group
POWR Percussion is a percussion ensemble performance group that practices on average 6 hours per week. In Sept. 2003, they placed 1st runner up in the Mid-South Fair Youth Talent Contest (out of 502 acts). They perform in productions such as Bellevue Baptist Church (Memphis, TN) Singing Christmas Tree, and perform whenever asked at other events around the area. They play all types of percussion instruments, from classic drums to trash cans, brooms, etc. STOMP-style.

[Rebecca in TN]

David,

You have helped me tremendously with understanding the portfolio option. Thank you for taking your time to explain it so well.

Blessings,
Rebecca

[April]

I have a few questions about the homeschool reporting online. Some of the things i can not remember specific dates for... like when miles did volunteer work at the nursing home, what day we went to the fountains and had a tour of worlds fair park, etc. do the dates matter all that much?

Also, can we do souly a portfolio or do we HAVE to enter grades as well as a portfolio? I would like to do more of a portfolio with grades as pass/ fail and needs improvement, good, great, etc. occasionally.

Can i delete the old info from last year or does it need to stay on there?

I thought I'd respond to this post (since it's kind of my area with the school). The grade reporting area may seem intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's really quite easy.

In the portfolio area, the specific dates are not nearly as important to us (and to colleges) as the event. You can make an educated guess as to when your student completed the event. (No one's going to cross-reference your portfolio with a calendar, and then call you up to verify that Johnny did in fact help pick up trash in the park on Thursday, Nov. 8th, 2003, or anything like that!) The portfolio for younger kids is more of a way to log the "special" field trips and book reports and other fun things that your student does. For the high schoolers, it serves as a resume of extra curricular activities for colleges to look at when deciding on admission and scholarships.

For grades K-8, we do allow parents to use the pass/fail system instead of the ABCDF system. I strongly urge parents to use both the portfolio and to enter grades, especially with subjects like math, English, etc. But, even there, you can use the pass/fail system.

Finally, you CAN NOT delete the old info from last year. If you do, you will erase everything your student did last year. The system is set up to keep a "running tab" of everything your student has done, and it shows up in one continuous blob on your home page. I know there's a lot there, and it's kind of hard to decipher what you're looking at, but when we print off the transcripts it will be organized. The transcripts print off year by year and are much more streamlined than what you see on your screen.

We hope to one day have Dan Johnson (the man who built HSRO and HLA) to build us our own grade reporting site that we can cater to the needs of our families. For now, we need to use this site, and it's worked great so far.

I hope this helps you all. If you need more information on the grade reporting site, please visit our FAQ on grade reporting: http://homelifeacademy.com/phpBB3/viewf ... a64d987997. Or, feel free to email me or David anytime!

April

April Parkerson, Records
http://www.homelifeacademy.com
PO Box 34758
Memphis, TN 38184
(888) 560-0774

records@homelifeacademy.com

[prayerworks4me]

I have always kept activity notes on each child in a calendar -- I recently came across a box of calendars from over the past 3-4 years... could I list my kids' activities & such in the portfolio section of previous years?

Like one date from Apr 2004 says: "Haley got her 1st official job-- Mucking Stalls at a local farm! She gets paid 1/2 in cash & 1/2 in ridding lessons"
Other dates have swim meets & results, mission trips & details of duties, fundraisers, spelling bee's, scouting, etc... Oh how those days seem to have flown by!

Please let me know if this is ok.

Blessings,
CJ

[HLA Staff]

Hi CJ! Sure!! This is great stuff for a portfolio. Those days do fly by. Cherish each moment. And enter all you'd like online and keep it there as long as you'd like!