Homework Help & Hoops

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

St. John United Church of Christ (UCC) - Collinsville is pleased to sponsor the 20th annual FREE after-school tutoring program, Homework Help & Hoops (HHH)! This program is for 1st-6th grade students who do not receive special services at school but could still benefit from some individualized

instruction. The first day of HHH is Tuesday, September 29 and it will run through December 8, 2026. We will resume on January 26 and will end on March 25, 2027.

The Tuesday program for 1st-4th grade students starts immediately after school until 5:00 p.m., and students get a snack, one-hour of one-on-one tutoring, and enrichment activities. The Tuesday program for 5th & 6th grade begins immediately after school and includes 20 minutes of free play in our full-size basketball gymnasium and 40-minutes of one-on-one tutoring. Wednesday and Thursday tutoring is available for 1st – 6th grade students from 3:00 pm until 5:00 p.m. in one-hour increments (on the hour.) These sessions include a snack, 40-minutes of one-on-one tutoring, and 20-minutes of computer-based learning reading instruction. We are excited this year to be partnering with the Reading Success Center to offer an on-site computer lab where students will have access to MindPlay subscriptions and complete individualized game-based reading activities. You can learn more about the program at mindplay.com.

It is the responsibility of the parents to provide transportation to and from HHH. Students MUST be picked up promptly each week or risk being dropped from the program. We follow the Unit #10 school calendar, so if there is no school due to a holiday, teacher’s institute, or snow day in the Collinsville School District, there will be no HHH.

You can learn more about our program and what we have done to date on our church website stjohnucc-collinsville.org under the HHH tab, or by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Spots are limited, so please select times your child would consistently be able to attend. If you have questions about which program/days to choose, please contact me at 618-405-5831.

Click the button on your left for the form (2-sided) that needs to be completed and turned into the church office by September 22 if you are interested in your child participating in HHH. Enrollment in our program is on a “first come, first served” basis. I would recommend dropping off your paperwork at the St. John UCC office open Monday through Thursday from 9:30-3:30, but you may also mail the forms to 307 W. Clay St., Collinsville, IL 62234. DO NOT SEND THE FORMS BACK TO THE SCHOOL. The number of students we can enroll depends on the number of volunteer tutors we recruit. We will notify you as soon as a spot is available for your child to start.

St. John UCC received a grant from the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis for the HHH tutoring program for the 2025 –2027 school years. It requires the parents to briefly meet with us to discuss the children’s measurable outcomes. These meetings can be done in person or via phone and take 15-20 minutes. I will contact you to schedule a time.

We hope you will consider letting your child participate in Homework Help & Hoops. This outreach of St. John UCC has given an academic boost to more than 700 children in our community to date, and we would love to help your child succeed as well!

In hope and service,

Mandi Voegele