If you are the Class Coordinator, here is what you will need to do next…
***Short Version***
1. Coordinate all days/times with teacher, volunteers, shared space calendar, and the school calendar http://mathadventures.info/
2. Reserve on shared space calendar (some classes will use the boys & girls club portable)
3. Email dates and names for the year (It really helps to schedule volunteers for the whole year ahead of time and resolve conflicts later!
4. Decide how you will choose games for each session – stemadventures.info has game information & reviews. Also, your teacher may have a curriculum to guide you.
5. Remind volunteers that their session is coming up and let them know what game to play and reserving the game in the art room (on the big calendar).
*********THANK YOU!!*******
****More details if you want them*****
1. Find a day/time that works best. Many of the teachers already have preferred days they would like best… You can find that info here: http://mathadventures.info/
2. How often would your teacher like to hold SA? Twice a month is normal, but some teachers prefer only once a month and others like it every week.
3. Make sure that day and time is available for your class to meet in the shared space. There should be a calendar on the wall in the shared spaces. There is also the Boys & Girls Club portable which may be used for Math Adventures. If your shared space is full, you may check other spaces.
4. Check to see that you have enough volunteers that can make that day and time. It is unlikely the day and time will work for everyone, but you need to make sure that you will still have enough volunteers even if some drop for the year due to the day/time.
5. Use the School calendar to decide on final dates for SA. It should begin in October. Make sure not to schedule for the book fair week or school holidays. Confirm these dates with the teacher. http://mathadventures.info/
5. Mark the Teacher, Day, & Time on the calendars in the shared spaces. Shared space is the open area near the classrooms in each wing. It is also the boys and girls club portable. You will usually use the one closest to your class, but may use a different one if the closest one is taken.
6. Assign the Volunteers randomly to different days. You will need one person to be the game instructor (teach the rules to the class) and you will need 1-2 helper volunteers depending on the complexity of the game and age of the kids (younger kids need more help). You as a coordinator ****Do Not*** need to go to every session, but you may want to go to the first couple to make sure things are running smoothly. Trade off so everyone gets turns instructing games (if they want) and being helpers.
Note: Feedback has shown that assigning dates for the whole year *at the beginning of the year* then trading days when someone can’t make it is far easier for the coordinator than trying to schedule new volunteers for each session as you go through the year.
7. Send me your dates: lindseym@gmail.com
8. Send your volunteers the schedule of days and who is assigned to each day for the year. Emphasize that they can switch dates or find a sub if they are not able to make a date. You may need to help with this part throughout the year.
9. Ask the teacher if they have a curriculum they want you to follow for the year. (you won’t be able to match subjects every time, but you can match quite a bit)
10. Figure out the games. The teacher may want to help you decide the week of a SA session, Game instructors may have a favorite game they want to teach, teachers may want you to figure out games for the whole year, or they may not know what will work best. This is up to you how you do this with the teacher but it is important that you make sure there is a game decided for each session throughout the year. Game information will be up on the website mathadventures.info
11. Make sure the game is reserved on the big calendar in the Art Room so another class doesn’t use it at the same time.
12. Send out reminders 2-3 days before each session to the volunteers that are scheduled for that session. Let them know what the game will be and remind them who will be instructing the game. I found it helpful to put reminders in my own calendar for when to send out reminders. 😉
13. Resolve any conflicts/last minute cancellations.
14. Remind volunteers to review the game online after they finish, especially if they have helpful tips on how to make it go more smoothly. Review on mathadventures.info
It may seem like a lot, but once your schedule is in place, it should be pretty simple from there. If you would like Sanna, Sarada, or I to attend your first Math/STEM Adventures session to help out, please let me know and we will do our best to be there!
Any questions, just ask 🙂
Thank you so very much for being a coordinator for your class. You are what makes Math/STEM Adventures run smoothly for everyone and we are so thankful for your willingness to take on that role!