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Room Parent Roles and Responsibilities
- Each Class or Grade will have two parents selected to serve as
room parents for the entire school year.
- As a room parent, the volunteer automatically earns 20 hours of
service for the year.
- Primarily responsible for coordinating the lunch volunteer
schedule for each month of the school year. Normally, a monthly
calendar with open dates is distributed to all of the classroom
parents either via e-mail or via handouts in the school folders.
Suggestions for electronic calendars include copying the school
calendar with closed and early dismissal dates and filling it as
volunteers sign up for various days.
- In the past, it has worked well to divide the calendar months
between the two room parents, either two months at a time or every
month. As the calendar gets updated, it is recommended to send a
reminder copy to the parent volunteers and to the teacher.
- Room parents are typically responsible for coordinating the
collection of money and donations for various fundraisers like silent
auction baskets, teacher and aide gifts and classroom parties.
There
are several options for doing this:
- Send notices and/or e-mails to the parents when money or donations
are needed.
- Collect a fixed amount from each family at the beginning of the
school year to avoid multiple requests for donations throughout the
year. Please be clear on what this does and does not cover. Typically,
this money is used to cover the cost of teacher and aide gifts at
Christmas and/or the end of the school year and incidental classroom
party costs. This money typically does not cover the teacher
breakfast, silent auction basket donations, etc.
- Room parents are responsible for coordinating the teachers
breakfast once during the school year. Each grade is assigned a
different month to host the teacher's breakfast. Each class is asked
to contribute breakfast items on their assigned day to provide the
teacher's breakfast. The room parents coordinate what food is brought
to ensure it is balanced. The school has requested that the food be
set up in the teacher's lounge no later than 7:45am the day of the
breakfast.
- Room parents assist the teacher with party planning throughout the
year and sometimes coordinate classroom birthday parties. Please
confer with your teacher to see how she prefers to handle classroom
parties and birthday celebrations. Room parents, in conjunction with
the school nurse, are requested to ask parents to be mindful when
sending in party food of any food allergies that may exist in their
classroom.
- Room parents send correspondence (via e-mail or flyers) to parents
or telephone parents, if needed, regarding special events in the
classroom and school.
- Room parents support the teacher and his/her aide with any
classroom activity that requires parent participation and therefore
should stay in close contact with the teacher either via e-mail or
notes.
- Room parents should discuss birthday celebrations with the teacher
at the beginning of the school year to reach a common understanding of
how and when they will be celebrated. Some teachers prefer to have all
children with birthdays in the same month celebrate together on a
designated day. In this case, the room parents are responsible for
contacting the parents of the birthday children to discuss what they
would like to provide for the celebration (e.g. snacks, cupcakes,
etc.). Other teachers prefer to leave this decision up to the
individual parent who may decide to send in a special snack or treat
for the entire class in honor of their child's birthday.
- Room parents may use the paper products and supplies that are
located in the storeroom off of the gymnasium for events such as the
teachers breakfast or a special classroom party that was awarded as a
prize for most box tops or Race for Education money raised. Please
coordinate access and use of these items with the Cafeteria Manager,
Mrs. Ruth Carmichael.
- Room Parents may have special responsibilities because of their
grade (e.g. Second grade room parents traditionally coordinate a First
Eucharist celebration, Seventh grade room parents traditionally
coordinate a breakfast for the graduating Eighth grade class.)
- All room parent volunteers must complete the Archdiocese of
Baltimore Application for Volunteer Service, receive a copy of A
Statement of Policy for the Protection of Children & Youth and receive
and review the Code of Conduct for Church Personnel in the Archdiocese
of Baltimore.
- To volunteer in any capacity where the parent may have contact
with the children without the supervision of a teacher or staff
member, the parents must also submit the Volunteer Criminal History
Screening Consent Form and attend a STAND training session. These
sessions are offered in the evening near the start of the school year.
- All volunteers are expected to act respectfully and charitably in
all encounters related to their service to the school. Children and
others are to be spoken to and treated in a manner consistent with the
teachings of Jesus.
- Confidentiality is to be maintained in order to respect the
dignity and privacy of every student.
- Volunteers should dress modestly and appropriately for all
functions related to school.
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