Alice A. Macomber Primary School

Volunteer Orientation

Kris Delaplain, PrincipalOctober 13, 2015

vol-un-teer n.: a person who voluntarily undertakes a service or duty.

vol-un-teer v. to offer or give voluntarily.

What is a VOLUNTEER?

Macomber Primary School has been fortunate to have a large community of volunteers. We realize that volunteers are an important part of the school but with regards to volunteers we also need to:◦ Provide for the safety of students, staff and others

in the building◦ Maintain academic integrity◦ Sustain accountability by knowing who is working

in the school

Welcome to MAC

Volunteers are among the district’s most valuable assets used to assist schools in providing the best possible education for each student.

Volunteers help:◦ to provide teachers with more time to work with students◦ to enrich children’s learning opportunities◦ to provide individual attention to children who may need

more one-on-one assistance than the classroom teacher is able to provide

◦ to promote a school/home/community partnership for quality education

◦ to assist teachers and support personnel in non-instructional tasks

Volunteers are Important

The Recipe…◦love◦caring◦understanding◦sense of humor◦patience◦hope

The Ingredients…◦students◦staff◦YOU!

Educational Environment

When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.

-Anne Henderson & Karen Mapp

The mission of the volunteer program at the Macomber School is to assist staff in providing a nurturing and supportive first school experience for the young learners in our care.

Mission Statement

Classroom Instructional Volunteer- Works directly with individual or small groups of students. Volunteers listen to students read, reinforce basic math skills or assist students with written assignments.

Classroom Assistance Volunteer- Works with a teacher and performs tasks such as putting up bulletin boards, correcting papers, preparing teaching aids and special learning materials, duplicating worksheets and other jobs which will provide the teacher with more time to plan for and teach students.

Volunteer Opportunities

Field Trip Chaperone - Works with a teacher and performs supervision tasks such as guiding and monitoring a small group of students while on a class field trip.. Must have fingerprinting in order to be eligible.

Art/Music/PE Volunteer – assists related arts teachers

Volunteer Opportunities(continued)

School Council - Assist in the development of the School Improvement Plan. The team plans, implements, monitors and evaluates Silver Creek’s School Improvement priorities.

Garden Club- Assist with planting and maintaining the garden and flower beds in front of the school.

Volunteer Opportunities(continued)

Take time to become acquainted. Recognize this may be a new experience for

you or the teacher. Be a good communicator. Remember, routine tasks are important. Be flexible. We all have different ways of

doing things. Be prompt and 100% dependable. Have fun!

Working with staff…

Call students by name at each opportunity. Closely observe the techniques used by the

teacher. Accept children as they are. Show them you care. Encourage and praise students. Encourage students to do their own thinking. Follow the teacher’s lead. It’s okay if you don’t know all the answers. Keep students on task. Supervise students carefully.

Working with Students…

CORI (Criminal Offender Records Information)◦ Done yearly

Fingerprinting◦ Done once

Orientation

What you need in order to volunteer

All volunteers have a right to know what the District’s expectations are as well as their rights and responsibilities.

That’s what this session is all about!

Giving YOU the information you need!

So let’s get started!

The 1st step to ensuring a successful volunteer partnership is education!

CONFIDENTIALITY

Remember that the information you will encounter while volunteering in the schools is of a highly confidential nature.

As a volunteer, you must respect the confidential nature of anything you see or hear.

Volunteers must protect the teachers’ and students’ rights to privacy.

If you obtained the information in your role as a volunteer…◦ That information needs to stay in the classroom!◦ It doesn’t matter if it’s good news or not-so-good

news.. It is never a volunteer’s place to share ANYTHING

relating to a students’… Behavior Academic progress Personal information

If others ask about your volunteer work, talk about what you do, not who you do it with.

COMMUNICATION

All volunteers are responsible for communicating their needs to the teacher or principal.

Volunteer assignments are scheduled so that teachers can make appropriate plans for you. No walk ins please!

Please share your interests, based on your strengths, with the teacher before starting your assignment and whenever clarification is needed.

Volunteers are also responsible for communicating any concerns they may have.

Concerns you have with staff or other parents/volunteers should be taken to them directly. If that is not possible, or you are unable to come to a mutually agreeable resolution, the issue should be referred to the building Principal

Mutual respect between staff and volunteers is expected and we recognize that there is always room for improvement.

If you have a creative solution or constructive criticism,…tell us! We welcome your comments and encourage your ideas!

DEPENDABILITY

Take your volunteering seriously – the kids you serve do!

Remember that you are included in the day’s lesson plan – the staff and students count on you to be there.

IF illness or any emergency arises, please notify the office staff as soon as possible.

Volunteers are responsible for maintaining a professional attitude.

Every person in the school building must be identified if the school is to be a safe learning environment for the students.

Please sign in each time you come into the building. It is also important to sign out when you leave the school. In the event of an emergency or a drill, the staff must be able to immediately identify who is in the building.

While you are in the building, always wear your ID badge. By wearing a name badge, you will be immediately recognize as a person whose specific purpose is helping staff and students.

Sign-In and Identification

SAFETY

The roles and responsibilities of staff and volunteers are very different.

Among those differences is the issue of discipline. ◦ Discipline is not your responsibility. With the

exception of immediate danger you should refer all disciplinary issues to a staff member.

There is a distinction between reminding students of appropriate behavior or rules, and disciplining.

It is perfectly fine to remind students to walk in the hallways or speak quietly in the library.

But for issues requiring more than a friendly reminder of appropriate behavior, always refer the matter to staff.

Because the physical and emotional safety of our children is of utmost importance…◦ Please avoid putting yourself in the position of

working one-on-one with a student in an unsupervised area.

Should you feel uncomfortable or concerned about any of the information children share with you, please share this information with the child’s teacher immediately.

In an effort to maintain a safe environment, please make certain that all personal possessions are out of the reach of children.

Ask staff members where you can safely store these items while in the building.

It is important to remember that items that we carry and consider harmless or helpful can be extremely dangerous to others, especially children.

Please ask the teacher if there are any allergies with the students you will be working with or in the classroom.

In the cafeteria, there are two identified tables, one for peanut allergies and one peanut friendly.

Please wash hands often.

Life Threatening Allergy Policy

All classrooms are equipped with emergency bags which include first aid materials for staff.

ONLY staff should assist students with incidents involving any bodily fluids. All “accidents” should be immediately referred to the office or custodial staff.

Blood-borne pathogens.

Attend orientation Wear an ID badge Be punctual and reliable Notify school in case of absence. Sign in and out on the volunteer sheet at the

front office. Practice professional ethics and confidentiality. Set a good example of appearance and behavior

for students. Confidentiality extends to social networks and

internet communication.

Responsibilities of a Volunteer