Chaperones

Volunteering

Background Checks are required for all volunteer activities. Start yours here:

Chaperoning gives you a great opportunity to travel with your child to games and competitions. You are also uniquely positioned to take sneaky pictures of your student in action!

How to Volunteer for Chaperone:

You MUST have background check to chaperone! If you are a current NISD employee, do not submit an additional background check, please contact our Chaperone Committee at clarkcougarbandchaperones@gmail.com and let them know of your NISD employee status.

For questions go to the contact form and send a message to the Chaperone team.

Preparing to Chaperone

The functions of the Cougar Band chaperones are:

To support the band directors by providing adult supervision and guidance to the students at band events and activities;
To promote a positive atmosphere of fun and camaraderie among the students;
To help students be prepared for off-campus performances;
To ensure students’ safety by enforcing rules of conduct on the buses and at events;
To provide students with basic necessities like water and restroom breaks;
To ensure the band leaves areas occupied by the students as clean as they were found;
To help students work through any problems that arise and to facilitate solutions.

REMEMBER – OUR JOB AS CHAPERONES IS TO HELP IN ANY WAY WE CAN SO THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE A GREAT TIME, A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND STAY SAFE WHILE PARTICIPATING IN BAND ACTIVITIES!

Do’s and Don’ts for Chaperones:

Do

DO wear your band booster/guard shirt and name tag.
DO deal with students firmly but politely.
DO refer a student to a band director if an issue with the student escalates or a student is disrespectful.
DO bring any student requesting over-the- counter medication to the head chaperone or designated First Aid person. ONLY THOSE TWO INDIVIDUALS MAY DISPENSE MEDICATION TO STUDENTS.
DO bring any student who says they have permission to leave an event with their parent to the head chaperone or a band director. The student and parent must come together to one of these individuals before the student can be released. Make sure the student has made arrangements for his/her uniform and instrument to be returned to the band hall and turned in.

Don’t

DON’T eat in the stands where students sit.
DON’T allow students to eat or drink (except water) while in uniform.
DON’T allow students to wear anything that is not an official part of their uniform (no hats, caps, jewelry – except jewelry described below)
DON’T allow students to go anywhere unchaperoned.
DON’T allow any student to ride a bus other than the one assigned to him/her.

General Chaperone Duties:

Pre-Event

Make sure you have your chaperone badge and bus assignment.
Make sure water jugs are filled with ice and move them to the trailer to be loaded.
Place bus sign numbers on buses, taped to the door and visible from the outside.
Make sure ponchos (if needed), props (if any), podium skirt, plumes, First Aid kit with permission slips, cups/pitchers bag and baldrics are on the trailer.
Check with the head or assistant chaperone to get any special information for that event.
Assist students as needed in the band hall as they prepare for departure.
Before students are dismissed to the buses, two chaperones per bus should go to the buses for student check-in and inspection.
Boarding/Riding Bus Pre-event:
Check each student’s name on the bus roster as they enter the bus and look to be sure they have the following:
All uniform parts: pants, coat, black shoes, hat.
Pit members do not have hats;
Tuba players wear berets.
Black socks and black dri-fit/under armour top and shorts to wear under the uniform.
Instrument, mouthpiece and music.
Larger instruments are loaded on trailer;
Ask students without instruments if theirs is on the trailer.
Flip folder and lyre.
No jewelry except a senior ring, small stud earrings or religious jewelry that cannot be seen while in uniform.
Any other jewelry must be removed.
Re-check for jewelry as students exit the bus.
No nail polish.
- If worn, it must be removed before boarding.
The First Aid kit includes nail polish remover.
Students with long hair must have a means of tucking and securing it up under their hat.
Students may ONLY ride the bus to which they are assigned.
Roll call and take a head count BEFORE the bus leaves to be sure that all the students assigned to your bus have boarded.
Tell the head or assistant chaperone if any students you expected to be on the bus are absent. They’ll check with the band directors about those students.
Wait for the head or assistant chaperone to clear your bus to leave.
Ensure that the students follow the rules of conduct on the bus, including:
Any rules communicated by the bus driver that day;
No eating while in uniform;
Students may not bring food, drinks, candy or gum on the bus.
Keep all hands and heads inside the bus at all times;
No boyfriend/girlfriend-type activities on the bus.
Make sure students are ready to disembark –- fully dressed in uniform including hats and instruments out of cases and assembled –- when the bus reaches its destination.
Make sure the students have everything they need with them as they disembark – full uniform, hat, instrument, music, reeds, lyre, and flip folio.
Make sure students raise the windows if requested by the bus driver.

At the Event

You will be assigned one or more tasks at the event. These are generally:
Stay with the guard as they practice before halftime.
You will have another job assigned for post-halftime.
Distribute water to the students right after they perform.
Escort students to the restroom when the directors call for that break. This is usually done by “stationing” chaperones at strategic locations to and from the restroom.
Make sure students do not loiter in or around the rest rooms.
Take students individually to the restroom for “emergencies”.
Clear this first through the head or assistant chaperone who will clear it with the band director.
Distribute plumes to students before the halftime show and collect the plumes after the performance.
Distribute baldrics (if used) to students before the halftime show and collect them after the performance.
Students must be in uniform AT ALL TIMES during the game.
All chaperones are also responsible for:
Distributing water to the students at various times during the event.
Making sure students don’t eat or drink anything but water during the event.
Keeping the area clean, cleaning up at halftime and at the end of the event.
Assisting students with any issues that may come up.
Remember, the band directors determine whether students can leave the bleachers.
Ensuring students follow the rules established by the band directors.
Making sure only band students, directors and chaperones occupy the stands reserved for the band.
Bring a student who tells you they have permission to leave a game or competition with their parent to the head chaperone or band director.
Make sure the student has made arrangements for their uniform to be taken back to the band hall and turned in.

Post Event / Bus Ride Back

Take a head count BEFORE the bus leaves to be sure all students who came on your bus have boarded.
Make sure the students follow the rules of conduct on the bus’s return trip to school.

Back at the Band Hall

Make sure students close all windows, pick up trash and take their belongings off the bus.
Make sure the bus number signs are removed from the buses.
Walk through the empty bus to ensure nothing is left behind – belongings or trash.
Unload trailer – ice chests, plumes, baldrics, first aid kit, cups/pitchers bag, etc. and return each to their respective storage areas.
Turn in your name tag to the head or assistant chaperone.