our lady of peace volunteer orientation · hmmmmmm, that's a tough one (pause to allow the...
TRANSCRIPT
Our Lady of Peace School
Parent Volunteer
Orientation
You are one of the many keys
needed to open the future of our youth.
Opening Prayer
And the Lord said,
"Let the little children come unto me."
Lord; guide our steps as we work with each of the young leaders at the school so that we might follow in your path.
Grant us your wisdom and patience so that we can understand best how to help them learn.
Help us to remember how special all learners are and that they are each made in your image.
Amen.
WELCOME As partners in the important process of helping your
children learn, educators and parents form a powerful
team.
As a volunteer at Our Lady of Peace School, we feel
confident that you will find it to be a satisfying
experience.
Everyone who comes into the school has a valuable
part to play in making this the very best learning
environment it can be for the students.
When we work together, not only do the students
benefit a great deal but also our own lives are
enriched.
Enjoy your time here with us and do not hesitate to
let us know how it is going.
Piece of the Pie
• When you are in volunteering, remember, you
are seeing only a small slice of the pie of what
may be happening in the class.
Possible Jobs For Volunteers
Classroom
Member of School Council Executive
Learning Commons
Technology
Field trips
Food events
Special days
Catholic Community of Caring projects
HELPFUL INFORMATION Parking is available across the road from the school
and at the community centre parking lot.
In the interest of security, please stop at the officeevery time you are volunteering to sign in and pick up your nametag.
Your workspace will be determined by the staff member for whom you are volunteering.
In keeping with school protocol, we ask that you do not bring younger siblings when you are volunteering.
Please feel free to enter our Staffroom for a refreshment while you are volunteering. (We ask that you avoid lunch time as staff members often have confidential documents that they may be working on.)
DECISIONS ABOUT THE USE
OF VOLUNTEERS Individual teachers shall decide whether they wish to
utilize the services of volunteers.
Volunteers are here to support and supplement work that is already being done with our school, volunteers are not there to replace paid staff,
Volunteers are asked to NOT use their presence in the school as an opportunity to dialogue with teachers concerning their own child’s situation.
All volunteers’ work is done under the direction and immediate supervision of a teacher.
Each volunteer has the right to refuse a task if they feel that they are not properly prepared to do what is required
After an initial orientation, volunteers should direct their questions or concerns to the staff member with whom they work.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Maintaining confidentiality is crucial for everyone working at the school. It is important to remember that children’s problems or responses are not to be shared in the community.
Volunteers must not share information about students, staff, or other volunteers with other people.
In the course of their service in schools, volunteers may learn personal facts about students, their families and their problems. As a result, volunteers must agree to keep this information confidential and not discuss it with people in, or outside the school, other than the school administration
ENCOUNTERING
PROBLEMS . . .
If volunteers have a problem with a student, they should redirect the matter to the student’s teacher.
If volunteers have a problem with a teacher, discuss it first with that teacher, and if necessary, then speak with school administration.
POSITIVE ROLE
MODELING
Remember that you are a model for problem
solving, decision making, showing respect for
others and many other processes.
Volunteers are expected to try their best to build a
school climate that will reflect the Catholic
commitment of the school.
PLEASE BE RELIABLE
The teachers and students rely on your support. You
are missed when you cannot fulfill your commitment.
We understand that due to unforeseen circumstances
it is sometimes impossible for you to attend, however,
we greatly appreciate advance notice so that we can
make other arrangements.
Please call the school to notify the teacher.
ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU
ARE NOT SURE
The teachers carefully select the activities they ask
you to do with the children. All of the activities are an
integral part of each child's program.
This means that it is important to have consistency
between activities done with the teacher and those
undertaken by volunteers.
The best way to ensure this is to ask and get
clarification.
INFORM THE TEACHER
Please jot down the child's spontaneous discoveries
about an activity, special difficulties or particular
insights so that you can share them with the teacher.
Inform the teacher should problems occur while you
are volunteering.
In some cases, this may mean asking an individual to
return to the classroom until you have a chance to
touch base with the teacher.
SCHOOL RULES
Remember our school rules and refer to them when it is appropriate.
The role of volunteers is assistance . . . not evaluative.
CLASSROOM SAFETY
Upon entering the classroom, please ensure you
familiarize yourself with the following safety issues:
Emergency exits and procedures
Medical/allergy issues in the class
Procedures for washrooms, drinks
All volunteers are expected to participate in Fire
Drills, Lockdowns and/or Evacuations if any should
occur while they are in the school.
CONSISTENCY
As mentioned earlier, consistency is an
important part of maintaining an effective
learning environment
ACTIVE LEARNING
The most effective learning for children occurs
through personal experience and active involvement.
This means that the learners must be the "doers of
the action." They must be the ones to hold the
pencil, turn the pages, cut the lines and make the
decisions.
Please remember that whatever the children can do
for themselves they should do, even if it is quicker
and easier for an adult to do it.
LANGUAGE
Language is powerful. As a volunteer the type of
language you use can serve to encourage student
risk-taking and task ownership. It can also serve
to undermine confidence and discourage effort. It is
very important to be aware of the type of language
that will facilitate the former rather than the latter
type of student response.
I wonder what would happen if ……..
What do you think? What do you usually do?
Hmmmmmm, that's a tough one (pause to allow the
learner to take the lead)
FIELD TRIPSField trips are a vital component of the learning process.
Some of the expectations we have are as follows:
Punctuality is crucial.
Be aware of the goals and objectives of the field trip so that you can enhance the children's learning experience.
You are responsible for the safety and well being of the students in your group.
Discipline and control of the students must be maintained at all times.
Any incidents must be reported to the teacher promptly.
We can only take a limited number of volunteers on a field trip.
Volunteer Health and Safety
Information
Health and Safety on our premises is of the
utmost concern. We consider Occupational
Health & Safety legislation to be the
minimum requirement.
Responsibilities:
The volunteer must ensure that they
have received the appropriate training
in Health & Safety to ensure that they
are competent to perform all required
work in a safe manner.
The volunteer must immediately
report ALL accidents, incidents, and
near misses to a staff member.
Rights:
Volunteers have the right to know about
hazards/conditions which could cause
immediate serious injury to any person.
Volunteers have the right to refuse unsafe
work if the worker believes that it will
cause an imminent danger to the health or
safety of themselves or another workers.
Emergency Response:
Each work site has its own response plan.
Be sure to go over this with a staff member
and become familiar with it prior to
commencement of work.
Rules:
While on site the following rules apply:
Sign in/out at the main office
Wear a visible Visitor ID tag at all times
Walk, do not run
No smoking on school district property
Forms:
Please advise the office that you have
reviewed the information and you are
prepared to sign the following forms:
Volunteer Acknowledgement Sheet
Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement
Volunteer Health and Safety Information
Sheet
Volunteer Acceptable Use Policy for
Network (Internet, Intranet, server) Use
Driver Authorization
If you are volunteering to drive junior high
students to and/or from athletic events you
are required to sign a Volunteer Driver
Authorization form.
A copy of your insurance and passenger
endorsement rider must be provided.
A driver with six demerit points or more
cannot become a volunteer driver.
Thank you for giving your
time.
Together we are providing
students with opportunities and
opening many doors in the future.