Mentors Needed for Hyannis West Students

Program Details:

The Greater Hyannis Civic Association's Supporting Our Youth Task Force (HySOY, Inc) is currently recruiting adults (aged 21+) to mentor kindergarten students at Hyannis West Elementary School for the 2012-2013 school year. 

Time Commitment:

• We would like mentors that can make at least a one year commitment and would prefer a four year commitment--kindergarten through grade 3. 
• Mentors meet with one student for about 1 hour per week between October and May, either before school, after school or during the lunch period. In addition, mentors receive training for 1 hour, one time per month. This provides an opportunity for people who work a 9-5 schedule to see students before school, those working a 7-3 schedule to see students after school, and those with a more flexible schedule to coordinate either of the three times.

Retirees, young professionals, and people with bilingual language skills are urged to apply. Mentors will develop a caring, one-on-one relationship with a student through playing games, talking, eating lunch or practicing social and age-appropriate skills together. Times to mentor include 8-9am, the lunch hour, and 330-430pm. With some times a little earlier and later depending on the student's before and after care program times.

Please see our agency listing under Cape Cod Volunteers for more information about the Supporting Our Youth Task Force or our website: http://hysoy.blogspot.com. For more information, or to sign up to be a mentor, please email: hysoytaskforce@gmail.com or call  508-258-9111. 

Open Volunteer Opportunities

Mentoring:

Spend one hour per week (before school, during lunch OR after school) at Hyannis West Elementary School with a student who could benefit from a mentor. This program runs November through June each year.

Homework Help:

Spend 2.5 hours per week (3-5:30pm) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays OR Thursdays with students in grades 3-5 helping with homework, academic skill building, reading or recreation. Located at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, this program runs through Memorial Day each year.

Board Positions:

Treasurer--We are currently looking for a treasurer to sit on our board. Two meetings (1.5 hours each) per month, as needed accounting including check writing and balancing, deposits and coordinating with the clerk for annual reports.

Grant Writing--looking for individuals with grant writing experience to help on an as needed basis to help fund this FULLY volunteer organization.

Fund Raising--looking for individuals to pitch and implement fund raising events and ideas with board support.

Donations:

Current Needs--

• books in new or like-new condition for children aged 0-12
• healthy SNACKS, packaged, for our Homework Help program which serves up to 28 students each day (Monday-Thursday)
• Board Games for students in Kindergarten through 6th grade
• Gift Certificates or "Sponsorships" to area activities like Barnstable Recreation, dance classes, art classes and sports organization
• Auction Items--goods, services or gift certificates to local businesses to auction at events

To help with any of these areas, please contact Moira Bundschuh, Director, at hysoytaskforce@gmail.com. 

Hyannis Supporting Our Youth Meetings

Everyone is welcome to our Weekly Meetings for Hyannis Supporting Our Youth, Inc. We meet at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, 141 Bassett Lane, Hyannis, MA 02601. Held on Tuesdays, each meeting begins at 6pm with 15 minutes of social time starting at 5:45pm before the meeting.

During our meetings we organize and implement our mentoring, homework help, literacy and sponsorship programs and are always looking for volunteers to help us with this important work of building positive community with our youth.

Here is the general outline for meetings:

1st Tuesday:            Early Literacy and General Program Information
2nd Tuesday:           Homework Help Implementation and Evaluation
3rd Tuesday:            Mentoring Implementation, Evaluation or Training
4th Tuesday:            Sponsorships and General Program Information
5th Tuesday:            As applicable, Training, General Business

For more information, email hysoytaskforce@gmail.com.

Homework Help Timeline

Homework Help will start at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center on Monday, November 26th. It runs from 3-5:30pm and students participate on either Mondays & Wednesdays OR Tuesdays & Thursdays. Permission slips were passed out to Hyannis students on Wednesday, November 7th. Additional copies may be found in the main office at the grade 4 & 5 school and need to be turned in by Tuesday, November 13th.

Volunteers are meeting on Tuesday, November 13th at 4pm to go over skill building activities, the schedule and last minute details.

For more information, email hysoytaskforce@gmail.com.

Hyannis Supporting Our Youth, Inc.
508-258-9111 ~ hysoytaskforce@gmail.com ~ hysoy.blogspot.com

Homework Help Bussing Permission Slip

Hyannis Supporting Our Youth, Inc. is pleased to provide free homework help for students in grades 3-5 at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. Help will be available Mondays through Thursdays (excluding holidays and school vacation days) from 3:00-5:30pm from November 26, 2012 until the end of May. With parent permission, students in Hyannis who ride on a school bus line and have a valid bus pass will be able to be dropped off at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. Students riding the bus must display appropriate behavior to continue riding the bus to Homework Help.

Students can attend either Monday & Wednesday OR Tuesday & Thursday. We will take six students from each bus according to the order in which the permission slip was returned. Once we have six students, additional students will be placed on a waiting list.

At Homework Help, small groups of students will participate in reading, homework help, skill-building and recreational activities. We will provide a small snack such as fruit or a granola bar. Please document if your child has a known allergy to any foods and provide a substitute snack if necessary. Students will be expected to participate in the activities provided and may be dismissed from the program if they are not complying with rules and expectations for the program. Students may be picked up between 4:45 and 5:30pm. If your fourth or fifth grade student is permitted to walk home this must be checked on the permission slip.

Below, you will find a permission slip to fill out and return to the school office. We will contact you once we receive the returned permission slip. We look forward to getting to know your child!

Sincerely,

Moira Bundschuh, Director

Hyannis Supporting Our Youth, Inc.

~building positive community with our youth~

Hyannis Supporting Our Youth Homework Help Permission Slip

(Please print clearly)

Student Name: ___________________________ Parent Name: _______________________________

Address: ________________________________ Parent Name: _______________________________

Telephone # to reach a parent during the hours of 3-5:30pm: _________________________________

Email Address:           ________________________________________________________________

Any known Allergies: ______________________    Student’s Bus Name(required): _______________

Day Preference:          Monday/Wednesday               OR                  Tuesday/Thursday

People allowed to pick up my child: (Name & Telephone #):            Walk Home Allowed: Yes/No

________________________________________ ________________________________________

________________________________________ ________________________________________

Parent & Student Expectations

This program is for homework help and skill-building. We offer a safe and caring environment for students to gain academic success through working with many student and adult mentors. While this is a free service, we have set up expectations to help the program run more smoothly. In our second year, we have gathered the feedback and suggestions from parents, students and volunteers to ensure that each student is utilizing the program to his or her fullest potential.

The schedule for the program will have students rotating through Homework Help, Skill Building and Reading stations. Attendance at these three stations is mandatory for continuation in the program and students should not be picked up until after these are finished. In addition, students will participate in recreational activities led by a Barnstable Recreation Staff person throughout the program.  Students will be provided healthy snacks donated by the Sunrise Rotary Club of Hyannis, Greater Hyannis Civic Association and Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Parents are asked to make a photocopy of their student’s report cards and MCAS reports and give them to the Homework Help Coordinator. Parents/Guardians will be called if his/her student is not in attendance on a scheduled day. It is very important that we have an up-to-date phone number where someone can be reached between 3-5:30pm.

Expectations

While students are present at the program, they will be expected to participate fully and engage in the activities presented. While this is not an extension of school, this is a place for children to develop confidence in academics through small group and peer interactions. We hope that they will try their best and learn how to ask questions and find answers. Students should be respectful of each other and the volunteers at the program.

•          Students should always have their homework agenda and/or folder. If homework is not assigned, this needs to be clearly marked in the agenda. Students will be given skill-building assignments if they do not have homework.
•          For each academic station, students will receive a daily assessment of effort. For students who do not display effort in two of three stations for one week, they will receive a warning. The second week of non-effort will result in a week suspension from the program. The third week will result in suspension for the remainder of the grading period. Parents can reapply for the following grading period.
•          Mutual respect is expected of all students and volunteers. If a student is disrespectful, a phone call will be made and a meeting will be set up if deemed necessary. If poor behavior continues, students will be asked to leave the program.

Late Pick Ups

•          If you are under 15 minutes late, you will receive a warning
•          The second time you are late for pick up your child will be suspended for one week of the program
•          If you are over 15 minutes late your child will be suspended for one week of the program
•          After the week suspension, additional lateness will result in suspension for the remainder of the grading period
•          The third issue will result in permanent dismissal from the program

We are really looking forward to our second year! Working with the kids last year has reinforced our belief that our Hyannis children are special.

Update:

11/12/12

1. Large Group Meeting for ALL volunteers will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13th at 4pm at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. We will go over the list of students, check lists, sign in/out sheets, the tentative volunteer schedule and how to help with skills, reading and homework.
2. Homework Help will begin on Monday, November 26th. It is Mondays-Thursdays from 3-530pm on regular school days following the Barnstable Public School schedule.
3. If you are on this list and are UNABLE to help with Homework Help for the 2012-2013 school year, please REPLY to this message and say UNSUBSCRIBE. This will help us to know who is able to volunteer. 
4. If you are volunteering this year, check the schedule below (or tomorrow at the meeting) and make sure these are the times that you can do. If you cannot do each week, you will not be on this list but we would still LOVE to have you volunteer when you can make it. We cannot have enough volunteers, so if you are able to help 1, 2 or three times per month--we still want you! Feel free to join us whenever you can.
5. Also, if you are an adult volunteer and have not filled out a CORI and SORI check at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, you need to do this. Please drop in any weekday between 830 and 330 to pick one up--go to the reception desk as you enter the building and tell them you are volunteering and need a criminal background check form, fill it out and they will take a copy of your license as well. 
6. If you know of other people that would like to volunteer we can use a few more adult volunteers and at least 3 more high school volunteers. Feel free to forward this message to your friends or invite them to the meeting tomorrow. 
7. Please look at the schedule and think about if you could coordinate on any day. We would like to get coordinators for Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. This means that you would:

• Take attendance--students will be arriving on one bus from Barnstable United (grades 4 & 5) and another bus from HyWest (grade 3)
• Hand out snack--once for grades 4 & 5, once for grade 3
• Call home for students that are absent and leave a message saying that they are absent
• Be the point person for the day and take any information from volunteers and parents
• Help out where needed