Parents’ Volunteer Program: Lunch Duty, Before and After School Care
At school, our first responsibility is the children. We are here for them. Safety is a primary
responsibility of the teachers while students are in classrooms and in the school building.
It is a primary responsibility of the duties, while students are on the playground.
Ultimate responsibility for the students lies on the Principal who is in charge of generating a
clear plan of student safety in the school.
It is your right and responsibility
As parents, it is your right to know that your children are safe in the school at all times. At the
same time, it is your responsibility to help us keep the children safe in the school at all times,
and therefore, to participate in the Volunteer program of Saint Patrick School. It is critical for
the success of the school that each family participates in the school as volunteers.
Our Service Hours Program is an opportunity to get work done, support student learning, model
service to others, meet other parents and build community. Every family commits to 30
Service Hours between 07/01/10 and 6/30/11.
Parent volunteers are a much needed and very welcome enrichment to our Saint Patrick School
program. We ask every parent to examine their particular interests and talents and offer their
services to the school.
Please prayerfully consider what you have to offer the children and community at Saint Patrick
School. We all have a part in our school. Please actively join us this year and help us to build
the city of God. As volunteers you will be helping us to lower our costs and it is fun to be
involved with other parents in the school your children attend.
Before becoming a volunteer in Saint Patrick School Program, you should:
1. Receive the Diocesan Code of Conduct Training (schedule at the beginning of the school
year) or
2. Complete the yearly renewal online after taking the class
3. Have a background check by Washington State Patrol
4. Take the volunteer training class schedule at various times the first weeks of the school
year
5. Acknowledge all responsibilities assigned as duty
6. Be fully able and capable to perform the assigned duty
7. Be able to follow all directions from duty supervisor
8. Have good communication skills and able to report to supervisor
9. Easy to work with
10. Show compassion for children and their learning process
11. Be part of the solution, no part of the problem
As a volunteer:
1. Sign in at the school office when you come as volunteer.
2. Wear at all times the green badge (Trained Volunteer).
3. Collect a fanny pack and a walkie-talkie if you will be helping as lunch duty or outside
lunch duty.
4. When leaving the school grounds, sign out at the school office and leave in the
corresponding place the badge, the fanny pack and the walkie-talkie.
5. Go to your assigned duty without disrupting any class, session, meeting, or
conversation.
6. If you are going to a classroom, do not disrupt the learning environment by remaining
quiet and not greeting your child or other people you might know, as children get easily
distracted.
7. If you are going to help in a classroom, you need to have a designated duty prior to
reporting to duty.
8. It will be a benefit for all if we know you are coming to volunteer in the school so we can
prepare for it. Please, let us know as much in advance and sign up for the volunteer
opportunities we send home periodically in the newsletter.
9. You have many opportunities to show your talents in the school.
10. A detail list of those opportunities will be posted in the school website, will be mailed to
you in the welcome letter, will be promoted at the Back to School Night Parent Meeting
and will be sent home periodically in the family envelope with more opportunities.
11. Unscheduled volunteers will not be allowed to go into the classrooms.
12. Volunteer opportunities are not to be used as occasions for teacher or student
evaluation.
13. When you go into a classroom, you have a partial observation of what is happening,
please don’t assume any conclusions.
14. Keep discretion and confidentiality in all the papers, documents, situations you might
observe while in school.
15. If we observe that a volunteer is not helping properly in a classroom, the Principal will
assign other duties to the volunteers.
Things you should never do:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Disrupt the class you are going into as volunteer
Disrupt the learning environment of the students
Greet your child with a hug or call him/her apart when you come in the classroom
Focus only on your child’s work
Take away the child’s opportunity to perform an specific activity (open a box, write the
name, etc.)
6. Observe/evaluate specific children’s classroom performance
7. Observe/evaluate the teacher
8. Talk to other parents about what you saw in the classroom
9. Break the confidentiality you are granted when you come in the classroom
10. Pop up in the school, sign up as volunteer and surprise the teachers as the volunteer of the
day.
Volunteer Opportunities:
1. Answering phones from 7:30am to 8:00am
2. Preparing materials for teachers (cutting paper, organizing workbooks, stapling, putting
together, etc.)
3. Photocopying
4. Entering attendance records in computer
5. Before school duty (7:25am to 8:00am)
6. Cleaning cafeteria after lunch (12:35pm to 12:55pm)
7. After school statue duty (2:50pm to 3:10pm)
8. Lunch duty (12:00 pm – 12:30 pm)
9. Lunch recess duty (12:10 pm – 12:55pm)
10. Attend field trips with students
11. Fix meals for trips, retreats or celebrations
12. Drive students to and from places
13. Correcting papers – per teacher request
14. Help in classrooms. Important note: this is only to do assigned specific duties. As being in
the classroom is a very delicate topic, we will be very clear and selective on the volunteers
that will help in the classroom.
15. Help students one on one with a specific assigned matter a student might need to work on,
or would benefit from some extra help. It could be in the same classroom or in the
hallways.
16. Read to students
17. Fall Book Fair: setting up and selling of books
18. Spring Book Fair: setting up and selling of books
19. General school maintenance (in the summer time or when needed)
20. Keeping up the school building and grounds (as needed)
21. Sports coach: volleyball (girls), basketball (boys or girls), soccer (coed.), softball (girls),
baseball (boys)
22. Room parents – two per class, who will be the contact between the teacher/school and the
other classroom parents
23. All fundraising events that happen throughout the school year, such as: Fun Run, Auction,
Raffle Ticket, Irish Games
Lunch duty
1. Sign up in the office
2. Put on the green badge
3. Get a fanny pack and a walkie-talkie (sometimes, not all duties will have a fanny pack,
depending on the number of duties).
4. Follow directions from the school duty responsible
5. Help clean up tables
6. Make children independent – tell them to try once, if they cannot make it, then help them.
Playground / Outside duty
There are 2 or 3 duties scheduled for outside recess. Parents who come as volunteers at
different times are on an inconsistent basis.
The following are guidelines for the parent volunteers. Please be familiar with these before you
volunteer as playground/outside duty.
1. Sign up in the school office.
2. Wear the green badge, as trained volunteer.
3. Upon arrival, please check in with the playground duty supervisor in the Office, the
Cafeteria or the Playground.
4. If for any reason you cannot make it, find a sub and call the school office to notify them of
the change.
5. You might receive a fanny pack and/or a walkie-talkie.
6. Use the walkie-talkie only on channel 1. Call another duty, the office or any staff person on
this channel.
7. Never leave the playground during duty without notifying the playground supervisor.
8. If a child is injured and ANY blood is present, that child MUST be cared for by a designated
First Aid Team member (Principal, Vice-Principal, Playground Supervisor, Athletic Director,
Secretary or parent volunteer trained in First Aid). For your own protection, NO parent
volunteer may treat a wound where blood is present.
9. In case of serious injury (possible broken bone, loss of consciousness, etc.) DO NOT MOVE
THE CHILD, stay with the child, and send someone to find the playground supervisor.
She/he will be able to contact the proper authorities.
10. Students are allowed to go into the school building only to go to the bathroom with a pass
which are in the front pocket of the fanny pack. Students might ask duties on site for the
bathroom pass.
Visitors
1. Parents are welcome to visit St. Patrick Catholic School any time.
2. If parents want to visit their student’s classroom, there should be a prior arrangement made
with classroom teacher.
3. Parents, as well as all persons not enrolled as students, must identify themselves at the
School Office before visiting the school.
4. All visitors must put on a yellow visitor badge.
5. After the visit, the visitor must sign out at the office.
6. Parents picking up a child for a medical appointment must also report to the School Office
and not directly to the child's classroom.
It is in this spirit of the value of VOLUNTEERS that we seek to involve all of you in helping to
staff the fundraisers and activities that fuel our school. “Many hands make light work.” This
saying is never more appropriate than in the task of raising and educating our children in the
spirit of Jesus Christ. This is a very fundamental stewardship issue that teaches our children by
our example what is really important in our lives.
Volunteers: Other important information
Walkie-talkies:
Duties receive a walkie-talkie from one of the staff duties. After duty is over, you should return
the walkie-talkie to the person who gave it to you.
Personnel who have a walkie-talkie at all times:
1. Mr. Vegas
2. Mr. Cruz
3. Ms. Arlene
4. Ms. Deborah
5. Mrs. Nuñez
6. Staff duties (3)
Fanny packs:
Contain:
1. A vest (you must put it on at all times while on duty)
2. A set of gloves (if you use them, supply more or tell the office to supply them)
3. A bag with Band-Aids and sterilized cloths
4. Kleenex, and hand sanitizer (if you use them, supply more or tell the office to supply them)
5. A whistle
6. Bathroom passes
Volunteers and visitors
1. Must sign in at the office
2. Have to put on: Visitor, Trained Volunteer or Untrained Volunteer badge
3. Visitors: only allow to make presentations required by teachers or Principal – do not need to
be trained and do not need to perform volunteer duty
4. Trained volunteers: know all the rules and stipulations about coming in classrooms, outside
duties responsibilities and have received the code of conduct training
5. Untrained volunteers: have received none or part of the training. We consider untrained
volunteers those grandparents, granduncles and grandaunts, or family visitors who come
during the duty time accompanying the parents to perform their duty.
Badges for Visitors and Volunteers
1. Visitors: Yellow badge
2. Trained volunteers: Green badge
3. Untrained volunteers: Orange badge
General Duty Information
1. There is a Duty Supervisor for each day of the week. This supervisor:
a. Checks all assigned duties are in place
b. Calls assigned duties to duty, if need be
c. Solves the need of an extra duty if there are not enough duties: by calling another
person or by staying in place
d. Once it has been confirmed that all corresponding duties are in place and fulfilling
their assigned duties, the Duty Supervisor may leave the area.
2. Teachers should:
a. Walk the students to the door and double check there is at least one duty in place
when students go out to recess.
b. Send their students at the time assigned for their recess.
c. Pick up their students on time after recess.
d. Contact the office if, occasionally, they are not going to be on time for their duty.
e. Carry with them a fanny pack while on duty.
f. While on duty, they must carry a walkie-talkie with them.
g. While on duty, they must put on the vest.
3. __________________________ will distribute the fanny packs and walkie-talkies to the
assigned duties the following times:
a. Before school duty
b. Kindergarten Morning Recess
c. Kindergarten Lunch Recess
d. Afternoon Recess
4. _________________________ will be responsible for restocking the fanny packs every
Wednesday or as needed.
5. Mrs. Biebrich will distribute the fanny packs and walkie-talkies to the assigned duties the
following times:
a. 1st – 4th Morning Recess
b. 5th – 8th Morning Recess
c. 1st – 8th Lunch – Recess
6. After your duty is over, you should return the fanny pack to the person who gave it to you.