Parent Volunteers
INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteering at Walter Hays: There are any number of ways that parents can volunteer at Walter Hays from working in the classroom to serving as a lunch time playground aide to assisting in the Library. The PTA, in partnership with the teachers, recruits volunteers to assist in essential school wide programs such as health and safety related concerns as well as fundraising, events, and communications. Parents are invited to volunteer during the Back to School Coffee held on the first morning of school, at Back to School Night held during the first month of school, and on an as needed basis. Certain requirements are expected of volunteers including:
- Sign In: Each volunteer must sign in and get a badge at the front office before going to their respective volunteer job.
- Proper Insurance for Field Trips: All field trip drivers must have a transportation form on file in the school office. The minimum auto insurance requirements are $100K/$300K public liability/bodily injury per occurrence, and $5K medical per person. All children must be secured in seatbelts on field trips, and children under 13 must not be seated in front seats of vehicles with passenger-side air bags.
Volunteer Parent Aide Program: The Walter Hays Site Council has established a parent volunteer aide program to match up interested parent volunteers with classroom teachers to assist in a number of classroom duties. These volunteers work in classrooms, other than their own child’s classroom, and assume duties beyond those generally assigned to normal classroom volunteers. Anyone interested in working as a parent volunteer aide should contact the principal or the secretary.
The Family-School Partnership Act: Effective January, 1995, this law allows parents to take time off from work to participate in their children’s school activities. The law covers employees in companies with 25 or more people at the same location. With reasonable notice, employees can take up to 40 hours, no more than 8 hours per month, to volunteer in classrooms each school year. Contact your employer to see if you qualify.
WALTER HAYS PLAYGROUND VOLUNTEERS
Playground volunteers are an essential part of a successful playground experience during the lunch recess. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your PTA Vice President of Health and Safety. S/he works with the administration to ensure that the necessary volunteers are provided each day. Lunchtime Playground Volunteer training is provided each fall.
When volunteering, please check in at the front office in order to obtain a playground vest, and a first aid kit.
1st – 3rd Grade Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. Daily except Wednesday
4th – 5th Grade Lunch 12:05 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Daily except Wednesday
1st – 3rd Grade Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. Wednesday
4th – 5th Grade Lunch 12:05 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. Wednesday
PLAYGROUND VOLUNTEER GUIDELINES
Our students learn much on the playground. We work to give them the support they need to behave in a responsible, kind and inclusive manner in and outside the classroom. The primary goal of Playground Volunteers is to ensure that our students are safe. Always involve a yard duty supervisor when physical aggression or injury is involved. Also, if you feel you need assistance or guidance, please feel free to ask a yard duty supervisor
We encourage our students to independently resolve their conflicts. As a Playground Volunteer try to get the students to resolve their conflicts using The Walter Hays Solution for Conflict Resolution.
- Cool Off - Take time to cool off
- Talk – Share how you felt
- Listen – Learn how the other child felt
- Brainstorm - Think of ways to solve the problem
- Agree – Choose an idea you both like best
The goal is for students to learn how to “Talk It Out” on their own without the assistance of an adult. If they need assistance, remind them of these steps to resolving their issues, make sure they are respectful of each other, offer suggestions if they are stumped.