Family Involvement

Volunteerism

Introduction	Library Assistance and Wish Book Program
Parent Involvement Association  (P.I.A.)	Field Trips
Room Parents	Annual Giving
Classroom Volunteers	Auction
Parent Educator Program (PEP)

Introduction
Volunteerism has a long history at Seven Hills. Parents support the school with financial contributions and generous donations of time and talent. Seven Hills depends on creative and energetic volunteers to keep maintenance and fundraising costs low, and to keep dollars flowing to our academic programs. The high quality and wide variety of programs at Seven Hills are possible because of this generosity and commitment.

Within the annual registration process parents review all the volunteer jobs available and indicate the area(s) of interest. Administrators and event/program leaders do their best to include all volunteers.

Each family is asked to serve a minimum of 16 hours of community service to the school.  A refund of the $350 community service fee will be returned to you when the 16 hours of volunteerism is completed. You are responsible for reporting your community service hours. The hours will be noted in half-hour increments on forms available in the Administration Office. Any exemptions to this policy must be approved by the Business Manager and/or the Headmaster. A complete explanation of the Community Service Fee and refund policy will accompany your preference sheet.

Every parent will want to share in some aspect of life at Seven Hills, and there are jobs both large and small, of short and long duration, that need a parent volunteer. Below are just a few of the many ongoing projects and activities which offer opportunities for service throughout the year.

Parent Involvement Association  (PIA)
All parents and guardians are automatically enrolled in the PIA and there are no membership dues. Meetings are held monthly. The Seven Hills PIA works closely with the school administrative staff to organize events, plan and implement fundraising, and keep communication lines open within the school community.

Room Parents
The position of Room Parent is rewarding and enjoyable, a commitment of time and energy. Room Parents assist classroom teachers with parties, field trips and special programs. Toward the end of the year, the current room parents and faculty give the room parent coordinator a list of names as potential room parents for the next year.  Anyone interested in being a room parent is encouraged to contact their Room Parent or the Coordinator by May 1. Room parents are selected for the next year from this list. We attempt to choose new room parents each year so a greater number of parents have the opportunity to participate in this important role.

Parent Classroom Volunteers
Occasionally, individual teachers request parent volunteers to help facilitate activities in the classroom. These activities may include weekly visits or a one-time activity such as a play or field trip. Arrangements to help with these requests are made with the individual classroom teacher.

Parent Educator Program (PEP)
The Parent Educator Program is a nationally recognized health, safety and drug awareness program administered to grades 1 - 5. Parents interested in this program are trained and then team-teach the curriculum in the classrooms. This extremely important program is aimed at keeping our children informed and safe.

Library Assistance and Wishbook Program
Volunteers are needed year-round in the library to help with re-shelving, cataloging, preparing new books and repairing used books.

To honor a special moment in your child’s life such as a birthday or graduation, you are encouraged to donate a book to the library in your child's name. Not only does this recognize a milestone in your family’s history, the gift book enriches our students’ reading resources and enlarges our library collection with books for all ages and tastes. This program is a delightful way to recognize that reading and libraries are important to our lives. Binders of annotated books and a complete listing of titles can be obtained from the librarian.

Field Trips
Field Trips are an important aspect of the curriculum at Seven Hills. They are carefully chosen and planned to enrich the classroom learning experience, and in this light are extensions of the learning environment.  Parent chaperones make the experience successful and fun for all of students. Please familiarize yourself with the following guidelines in order to be a more effective field trip chaperone. 

Before Departing:

• Please arrive at school early and be ready to leave on time. There is usually a tight time schedule, with scheduled tours, classes, and activities.
• If you have an emergency and have to cancel your participation, please follow these guidelines. If you know 24 hours or more in advance, please find a substitute and notify the teacher of this change. In the event you need to cancel closer to the time of the field trip, please call a room parent as soon as possible so that alternative plans can be made.
• Listen carefully to the teacher’s instructions. She may have activities for you to follow, directions for supervision and/or meeting places.

 Travel by Bus:

• Please model appropriate bus behavior for the students. Students will follow your example.
• Please sit facing forward with your back against the back of the seat. It is important to keep your feet and hands out of the aisle, as the bus driver uses the aisle to see out the back of the bus.
• There is no eating or drinking on the bus unless approved by the driver.
• Be observant of the students, and when necessary help the teachers remind them to sit forward, talk in low voices and keep their feet and hands out of the aisle.
• On ECE bus and driving field trips, please do not use phones, iPads, or other electronic devices to keep children busy.

Travel by Car:
Seven Hills provides bus transportation for all field trips and activities. On those rare occasions when there is an exception to this policy, the following guidelines must be followed:

• Each student under 60 pounds or 6 years of age must be in a federally-approved car safety seat.
• Students may not ride in the front seats of cars with passenger air bags, and each child must have his own seat belt.
• Students may not ride in the back of pick-ups.
• Parents driving on field trips must provide the school with a copy of a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance, description of car and car license. Please give this information to your teacher prior to participating in field trips.
• When driving to and from field trips, please drive straight to the field trip site and straight back to school when finished. Teachers need to be aware of where the students are at all times, and unauthorized side-trips can be worrisome.

At the Field Trip Site:

• Your responsibility on a field trip is supervision of children. Remember the activity is a learning experience and you need to be involved with your group of children. The teacher is counting on you for this support.
• You may have directions from the teacher about specific areas to cover or point out to the children or you may use your own experience and knowledge to help them engage in what they are seeing and doing.  Please stay with the group unless you and the teacher agree otherwise.
• Timelines are very important.  Be aware of when the children will eat, snack, attend lectures or classes, and meet for departure.
• Often there is a gift shop or store at the field trip destination. We ask that you do not purchase treats or souvenirs for your group unless you purchase for the entire class.

Annual Giving
The Annual Giving Program, initiated by trustees and parents and coordinated by the Director of Development early each fall, is one of the school’s most important fundraising campaigns. The funds raised through the Annual Giving Program not only support the budget, they also allow for enhancement of school programs.  100% participation by Seven Hills parents is the goal. Board, faculty and staff participation has typically been at 100%.

Auction
The Auction, held each spring, is the other major fundraising event. Auction proceeds help balance the school budget when necessary, and support long-term efforts, such as the endowment or capital projects. We need everyone's participation, via volunteering and attendance, to make this event a success.