December 2020

Volunteer Website Volunteer Coordinators Timeline of Events FL Department of Education

Hi All: I hope everyone had a phenomenal Thanksgiving break enjoying family and much needed relaxation. Although volunteers are still not allowed on campus, I know many of you are being creative with utilizing your volunteers. Please send me your fabulous ideas for the newsletter so I can share with other coordinators.    I know everyone is working hard and stretching yourselves beyond your day-to-day tasks. Please remember to pencil in 'me' time, especially during this holiday season. Read a book, go to the beach, watch Lifetime movies...REST! As always, I encourage everyone to check the Volunteer Coordinator website periodically to see due dates, Timeline of Events, materials, etc. and to never hesitate to contact me with any questions and/or concerns by reaching out to me at 561-738-2780, or by sending me an email at stacey.oak@palmbeachschools.org. And please always know that I truly appreciate all of you! On behalf of myself and the Communications Department, we would like to send holiday wishes to all. We hope you have a beautiful, safe season filled with love and happiness. Stacey

What's New - FLDOE Updates Although FLDOE is not recognizing many awards this year, the District would still like to recognize the Five Star Award and the Outstanding School Volunteer Award. Please contact me with your Five Star coordinator's name as they change often and I do not have a solid list of the Five Star coordinators for this school year.

Horace Mann Grant Every year Horace Mann awards two $500 grants to Florida Association of Partners in Education (FAPE) members for community projects in their district. This year Gove Elementary School won for STEAM Ahead: At Home! and Park Vista Community High School won for Love Serving Autism. Thank you to Dora Lopez and Teresa Ramirez, Volunteer Coordinators from Gove Elementary School and to Arnie Rich, Volunteer Coordinator from Park Vista Community High School for submitting the applications. We are so proud - Congratulations!

FAPE Logo Contest Florida Association of Partners in Education (FAPE) is creating a new logo. To participate in FAPE's logo contest, the student must currently be in 9th - 12th grade. I will form a committee that will pick two finalists to send to FAPE. All school districts in Florida can participate. There will be one winner who will win $500 and the student's school's art or graphic department will also win $500. There will be two honorable mentions and they will each receive $150. Please click here for the guidelines, disclaimer, and release form. The due date is Tuesday, January 5, 2021. I cannot accept any entries after this date as we still have to judge all entries and send the two finalists' entries to FAPE (their due date for me to get them all information is January 15, 2021).

5-Star Ceremony The School District of Palm Beach County presented the Five Star Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 5.

Timeline of Events Our Volunteer website has a Timeline of Events, along with a list of events from the Florida Department of Education Family and Community Outreach Calendar, as well as from the Volunteers and Business Partnerships Calendar. All dates and events are subject to change.

Policies and Procedures Be sure to read Policy 2.065 Visitation Protocols on District Property Due to COVID-19. Always have your new volunteers complete an application on VIPS. Make sure they sign in and out every time they are working at a school. And always have each of your volunteers show their ID at the front desk so it can be scanned through Raptor for a background check.

Volunteer Coordinator Training I'm happy to report that all schools are in compliance regarding the Volunteer Training. During this school year, if someone else is helping you, please have them take the training as well. The training through eLearning is mandatory for all school-based volunteer coordinators. The training course provides participants with strategies and guiding principles that help enrich the School District Volunteer Program. Follow these steps to access the training: • Click the PeopleSoft tile in the Portal. • Click My eLearning. • Click Find Learning on the left-hand side. • In the search bar, type: Volunteer Coordinator Training. • Click the Enroll button to sign up for the course.