PLANTARIUM VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

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signups

Sign up to Teach Lessons! Just below are Signup Genius links for the respective grades! You may prioritize what best fits your schedule or which lesson plans interest you. Save-the-Date for Training Sessions on December 2nd and 3rd.

Kindergarten | First Grade | Second Grade | Third Grade | Fourth Grade | Fifth Grade

Also, click for Signup Genius link to join the Committee, where you will coordinate, advertise, communicate, and plan.

Volunteer Teachers

Thank you for volunteering to teach in the Planetarium for your child’s class. We couldn't run 144 lessons per year without your support! 

As a volunteer teacher, your responsibilities are as follows: 

  • Attend a Planetarium Training and Complete the MCPS Child Abuse & Neglect training. 

  • Sign up to teach a specific date/time/lesson

  • Use the Google drive and lesson plans to prepare your presentation

  • If you are teaching the dome, schedule some practice time so you know exactly what to do during your lesson. If you are teaching the lecture, make sure you have all props and materials ready to go. Feel free to work with the other parent scheduled for the same lesson or work independently. 

  • Send a follow up email (also in the google drive) to your class so parents know what their child learned in the planetarium that month. Most teachers prefer to include this in their weekly newsletter, but you can figure out what works best for your classroom.

Training

All volunteers MUST attend a training before teaching in the planetarium. Check the planetarium use calendar for upcoming dates. Training sessions are broken up into two sections. The first hour is to share information with you and the second hour gives you an opportunity to get brief hands-on experience working the dome. Typically, you will still need to schedule some individual practice time before your particular lesson, so you know exactly how to use the dome for your lesson. 

Schedule Practice Time

If you are teaching the dome, please try to get into the planetarium for some practice before your lesson to ensure success! Practice time can be scheduled from 8:45am to 4pm on regular school days. Practice time cannot be scheduled during evenings (unless we are permitted for a special training event) or on weekends. We allow volunteers at least 15 minutes prior to their class to set up, so do not schedule practice time during the 15 minutes before another class is scheduled to be in the Planetarium. Also, limit scheduled practice times to 1 hour a day to allow everyone time to practice. You must send your preferred practice date and time to your class coordinator. Check the planetarium use calendar for availability.

MCPS Volunteer Requirement:

Abuse / Neglect Training – MCPS requires all school volunteers to complete this on-line training course regarding abuse & neglect,   prior to volunteering.  It requires approximately 20-30 minutes to complete and can be found at the following link:            https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer

Class Coordinators

Thank you for volunteering to coordinate the Planetarium volunteers in your child’s class. Class coordinators provide a vital link between the teacher, parent volunteers, and the Grade Coordinator. 

As Class Coordinator your responsibilities are as follows: 

  • Attend a planetarium training so you have a decent understanding how the planetarium works. (If you aren't teaching or going into the school and you are purely coordinating, you don't need to complete the MCPS training). 

  • If any classes are not covered by volunteers, work with class parents to communicate the need for volunteers in their class. If a class doesn't have volunteers to teach the class, it will be cancelled. If a class needs to be rescheduled, work with your Grade Coordinator to get it on the calendar as soon as possible. 

  • Once you know who all of your volunteers are, please confirm that they have completed BOTH the MCPS training and the planetarium training. 

  • Send practice time requests to your Grade Coordinator as requested by the volunteers in your class. Please first check the request against the planetarium calendar to make sure the planetarium is available at the requested date and time. 

  • One week before each session, please confirm with the parent(s) assigned to teach and your classroom teacher that they are aware of the upcoming date and still available to be in the Planetarium, as scheduled. Please CC Nicole Cohen and your Grade Coordinator. If a parent indicates they are no longer available, please try to find another parent to take the spot. You may even want to ask the parent originally assigned to find another parent to fill-in for them. In any case, please do your best to find a parent to teach on the day/time assigned. If you absolutely cannot find a parent to teach a scheduled session, contact your Grade Coordinator for assistance.

  • Saying “Thank You”  Wood Acres has been able to provide 6 Planetarium sessions to each classroom ever year for almost 30 straight years (We even kept it up virtually during Covid). We couldn’t do it without the dedication of over 100 parents every year. At the end of the Planetarium year for your class, please send an email to the entire class and your teacher thanking the parents, by name, who volunteered to teach in your class. For an example of a thank you email, please click this link. Please be sure the edit the data as appropriate for your grade and class.

Grade Coordinators

Thank you for volunteering to coordinate the Planetarium volunteers for your child’s grade! Grade coordinators provide a vital link between class coordinators and the Planetarium Committee. 

As Class Coordinator your responsibilities are as follows: 

  • Attend Monthly Committee Meetings

  • Attend a planetarium training so you have a decent understanding of how the planetarium works. (If you aren't teaching or going into the school and you are purely coordinating, you don't need to complete the MCPS training). 

  • Gather all practice time requests submitted by Class Coordinators and send them to Nicole Cohen for confirmation and addition to the google calendar. 

  • Review each lesson in the google drive the month before it takes place. Raise any questions or concerns to the committee and submit requests for supplies. If there is something unusual or different about the lesson (think Walk of the Planets in 2nd Grade), ask your class coordinators to communicate with their volunteers. 

  • Support your Classroom coordinators

  • Keep track of missed classes and anything that needs to be rescheduled so no classes miss a planetarium lesson. 

  • Keep in mind that sometimes parents are willing to teach a lesson to multiple classes once they have prepared the materials. For example, once I prepare a lesson, say 1st grade lesson 2 for my daughter's class with Ms. Tuck, I can easily teach the same lesson to Ms. Ladd's class if they are having trouble finding a volunteer for that lesson, even if I don't have a child in that class. It may also be helpful to connect volunteers so they can share materials, props or ideas.