PARENT HANDBOOK

Volunteer Handbook

The protocol for volunteering at Midtown West is: Always think of every child in this school building as your child. Remember that you are volunteering in the school to provide help and support to the staff so that they can be more successful in creating a safe and nurturing academic environment. The many volunteers that are welcomed into the MTW family come to help all the children at Midtown West. Think of the old maxim, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Having volunteers in the building allows us all to give a lot of love and attention to particularly needy children.

 
10 Steps to being a successful volunteer at MTW

1. Your purpose as a volunteer at MTW is to assist the staff.
2. Encourage children to share and play cooperatively and speak to each other respectfully.
3. Try to use the same child friendly vocabulary that is used throughout the school, i.e., talk about making good or bad choices, refer to the “behavior choice” rather than being negative about the child…
4. Be pro-active in helping children avoid unnecessary or aggressive conflict by remaining vigilant in watching the children and assessing their “play.” Help them to refocus their energy on another type of activity if you notice games getting aggressive or out of control.
5. Keep moving around the cafeteria watching over and offering help to all the children. (Please do not sit at the table and eat lunch with your child or get so engrossed in conversation with children or adults that you are unaware of what is going on around you.)
6. Utilize a staff member to invoke all disciplinary actions. Parents can be placed in an uncomfortable & awkward position if they are placed in the role of the disciplinarian. You can stop inappropriate behavior, guide and encourage more appropriate behavior but allow the staff member to enforce the disciplinary action that is taken.
7. If you witness a child doing something inappropriate … such as playing on the staircase, running in the building…and you don’t feel comfortable talking to them your self – speak to a staff member and ask for help. Don’t ignore it. Be a pro-active member of our “village.”
8. No personal toys are allowed in the school. Personal toys tend to cause too much dissention between children. This tension can most easily be avoided by banning them. You can tell children to put their toys away (they know that toys are not allowed) but if a toy needs to be taken way from a child – ask a staff member to take care of removing and holding a toy.
9. Always model appropriate behavior. Violent, aggressive or bullying behavior either verbal or physical will never be tolerated at MTW.
10. Learn the cafeteria & playground rules and help children to follow them.

Cafeteria Rules for Children

• Children must remain in their seats throughout the lunch period.
• They must raise their hand to ask permission when they need to get up from their seat, i.e., getting water, a spork, more food, to wash their hands or to use the bathroom. Children are not allowed to get up to go talk to another child.
• If a child gets up without asking permission -- tell a staff member.
• Children should respect you, each other and their environment. They should not speak disrespectfully or trash the cafeteria by throwing food or dumping food on the floor.
• Children should use their “indoor voices.”
• Children should clean up after themselves at the end of their lunch period when the whistle blows.

Further guidelines for volunteering in the cafeteria:

• Help children get their lunch boxes and sit down at their designated class table.
• All children must be given a tray of food if they did not bring lunch from home – even if it is thrown away full/not eaten.
• Open milk containers, lunch boxes and packaged food, if needed.
• Direct children who receive school lunches to walk to the line when their class is called to line up…. (no running in the cafeteria)
• If needed, help hand out milk cartons to children who receive school lunch, help guide children to the different food sections at the cafeteria windows
• Children should always be encouraged to take food from each section -- entrée (meat/fish/pizza), fruit and milk.
• Make sure you keep circulating around the tables monitoring the children and offering support as needed. Try not to become so involved in a conversation with children or adults that you stop monitoring the children’s behavior and needs.
• They should raise their hand for permission if they need help and/or if they need to go to the bathroom, wash their hands, get something….They should not visit friends at different tables.
• Some kindergartners need to be accompanied to the bathroom so they do not linger.
• Always speak respectfully to the cafeteria staff. They are required to follow strictly enforced and monitored regulations from the Board of Education, Department of Health and NYS and Federal government agencies. If a seemingly simple request is refused – assume that they are limited by the many regulations. If any problem arises, seek immediate help from an MTW staff member supervising lunch.

 Playground Rules for Children

•  Children should only drop kick balls across the playground if they are in an organized kickball game.
• Kicking wild balls or other “unsafe” play should be reported directly to a staff member.
• Soccer play must stay inside boundaries.
• No dodge ball or ball tag.
• Ball play should stay in the open yard area, not the enclosed area.
• Ropes are for jumping only -- no tug-of-war or tying around anyone or anything.
• Slide down the slide only. No climbing up the slide.
• Children only cross the monkey bars in one direction from south to north, towards the building.
• Children must ask permission to go inside to get a drink of water or to use the bathroom.

Further guidelines for volunteering at recess:

• Supervise all children and keep your eyes moving around the playground to observe all that is taking place. Pro-active intervention before an activity gets out of control is often the most successful.
• Please accompany any child that needs to go to the nurse or send one partner you think is dependable.
• You are encouraged to organize and monitor games with the kids. The kickball games can always use a referee.
• Adults should be stationed around the playground monitoring the play going on, i.e., in both fenced off sections, in the open school yard and by the steps leading down to the 47th Street sidewalk. (The gates to this sidewalk must remain open as a fire exit so it is vital that they are vigilantly monitored for egress & access to the school yard.

Being a Chaperone on Field Trips and Overnights

There are a few things to consider before deciding whether or not to be a chaperone on a field trip or an overnight. First, the purpose of you being on the trip is to help facilitate a group’s curriculum study as well as their safety. Second, please consider how active a participant your child will be if you are on the trip. Lastly, your role will be a supportive one. You must take directions from the organizational staff as well as the MTW teachers.

• Your purpose for being on the trip is to support the teacher and the curriculum study and to help keep the children safe.
• Always be available to join your group at the start of each activity and stay with your group through the entire period.
• Try to wear a name tag so that the children, staff members and other volunteers can identify you easily.
• Remind children that they are representing Midtown West. That carries some responsibility. They should always be polite and respectful to each other, the chaperones and the new people they encounter. Model and encourage this appropriate behavior.
• Children should be actively engaged in the learning experience. Encourage participation and enthusiasm by being a positive role model. Students will pick-up on any negative behavior or attitudes.
• Adhere to and help enforce any rules, guidelines or safety measures set down by the teachers or organizational staff.
• Allow the instructor to be in charge. If you disagree with the instructor about something bring your concern to your classroom teacher. Please do not contradict the instructors in front of the children.
• Assist children in making their trip a positive experience. It may be the first experience some children have in the country environment or an overnight without a family member. Try to be nurturing, supportive and sensitive to their needs.
• Always check with the teacher and defer to the teacher’s decision in making promises about souvenirs and special food choices. Avoid taking a small group or just your child to the gift shop or McDonald’s.
• Check in with your teacher regularly for updates and directions on how to support their curriculum work and the safety of the children.
• Even during “down time” the chaperone is still on duty monitoring appropriate behavior. Supervision during free time is one of your most important roles and often the task in which you receive the least assistance or direction. Be aware of your group at all times.
• If you need to leave your group for any reason, make certain the children are being appropriately supervised. Communicate with the other chaperones and teachers. Accidents are most likely to occur during unstructured time, so it is very important to make sure the students are adequately supervised at all times.
• Please refrain from smoking, talking on cell phones or having personal conversations during “class activities.”
• Keep an “eye out” for allergic reactions. (First time allergies have sometimes developed in country environments. Err on the side of caution. Report anything to the teacher that looks or feels unusual, i.e., wheezing, persistent coughing, red-watery-itchy eyes, sneezing.)
• Encourage thorough hand washing to prevent the spread of germs and environmental allergens.
• It’s a good idea to have a traveling First Aid Kit and sunscreen.

Help Children to Follow the Bus Rules
Children should:

• stay in their seats at all times
• always wear seat belts
• use indoor voices
• clean up after themselves
• never throw anything on the bus

Before leaving the bus check under their seats, overheads and in luggage compartments for lost or forgotten items.

 

Trip Prep for Parents – What every parent should consider before sending their child on the class trip

• If your child is sick (throwing-up, running a fever either the morning of or the night before, experiencing severe asthma or allergies.) Do not send them on the trip. A child should be fever free for 24 hours before going on an overnight trip. Teachers have often been pulled away from the entire class for hours or even entire days to tend to the needs of a sick child.
• If your child is prone to car sickness, warn the teacher and the other chaperones. Provide bags, wipes, paper towels and saltine crackers.
• If your child has known allergies, provide your teacher with specific, detailed instructions and information concerning the medical issues, including, names and directions for medications along with the pediatricians contact information.

 

September 2008