Safety Training Workshop for the 2018 LS VBS in Scarborough, Ont.

Working with local youths in Waterloo, Ont. - 2017 VBS

For the past two decades, I have been working with young people  in Toronto and its surrounding area.

An icebreaker activity for Safety Workshop participants last week.

Last weekend, I was invited to conduct a workshop in Scarborough. There was a good turnout.

I ran out of the handouts I prepared for the workshop participants and I felt bad that those who came late did not receive anything from me.

The LS camp provides youths with volunteer & employment opportunities

Rather than busy writing down notes during the workshop,  participants should enjoy and focus on the safety training.  Therefore, I promised them that I would post my power point notes here in my blog. Here they are:

Goals of Our Toronto 2018 VBS:

·         Bring kids to learn about God

·         Ensure safety for all campers / staff

·         Provide leadership training and employment opportunities to young people

·         Provide quality programs / experience for kids

We had an excellent turnout for the 2018 safety training workshop 

Important Information on hand for all staff

·        Address, phone number and major intersections of our camp site

·        Name and home /cell phone numbers of director, leaders and counsellors

Registration

Student Information - Parents must complete a registration form for each camper.
When registering new campers, make sure the following student info is clearly recorded on the registration form:

·         Name, age, etc

·         Minimum 2 contact  phone numbers

·         Allergies

·         Contact information

·         Emergency contact phone numbers

·         Learning problems

·         Medical history

·         Serious concerns

·         Serious illness and past history

Important Factor for Keeping Students Safe:

1.  Student Supervision

2.  Safety Procedures

3   Discipline

4.  Good Planning & Preparation

1. Student Supervision   -  Supervisors' Do's

·         Supervision - key to safety

·         Have and discuss clear expectations of students

·         Be Involved with students

·         Be Engaged with campers

·         Alert of situations

·         Circulate among students

Before and After Each Activity

·         Head count

·         Scan room often

·         Know:

·         Students’ names

·         Where YOUR students are

·         What they are doing at all time

·         Aware of strangers coming in the building/ / play area

Student Supervisors - DON'TS

·         Just stand or sit around

·         Talk to your friends

·         Text on cell

·         Appear disinterested

·         Stand with back to students

·         Unprepared for activity

·         Run around getting things ready while  supervising students

2.  Safety Procedures  -  Be familiar with our VBS’ safety procedures for the following:

·         Registration

·         Drop off / Pick up

·         Lunch Supervision

·         Planning & Preparation

Drop off / Pick up Procedures

·         Parents/ Guardians' responsibilities – Must sign in / out of kids each time

·         Camp Staff responsibilities:

·         2 people to receive, sign in / sign out students

·         2 Greeters at the door

·         AM Drop off Procedure

·         Receive students

·         Hang up backpack/ lunch

·         Bring student to activity centre, he/she has something to do

·         PM Pick Up Procedure

·         Bring students to parents at end of the day

Lunch Hour - Lunchroom supervision

·         Students eat with group at table

·         No heating up food for students safety reasons

·         No lunch needs reheating

·         No students in kitchen

·         Volunteers, camp staff use microwave only

·         Do not use oven/ stove

Students must be supervised to:

·         Clean up

·         Put away all Activity Stations before going to next program

Dismissal Time at end of each activity:

·        

      Give kids warning and sufficient time to finish up their current activity

·         Allow children 5 - 8 minutes to clean up activity area/ tables etc.

End of the Day Dismissal

·         Students take :

·         Lunch box, backpack, notes to parents etc.

·         Staff:  Director

·         Greet/ talk to parents about the day

·         Discuss with parents of concerns ASAP

·         Know who are the children for extended hour

·         Set up only 2 of the Activity Centres for children in extended care program

Parents/ Guardians:     •Sign out when picking up child each time

3. Good Discipline = Safety

  Make rules/ expectations and consequences clear to all

·         1^st. warning

·         2^nd. warning

·         3^rd. warning with consequences

·         Suggested Consequences for students with persistent inappropriate behaviour

·         Time out for 10 minutes

·         Quiet corner

·         Do not give child anything to do

·         Student may see it as reward when they are giving something to do

·         Let the child Sit there and do nothing

·         Boredom is a punishment enough!

  3.     Discipline

·         Do not be alone with a child

·         No one on one conversation or disciplining with closed door!

·         If a child is crying

·         Only 1 counselor &1 volunteer stay with the cryingchild

·         Do not overdo it with too much attention

·         If a child is hurt

·         Talk to child calmly

·         Calm child down

·         If no immediate danger - Ask child to get up and walk slowly by him herself

4.       Planning and Organization

·         Preparation is the Key to Safety! Good Planning = Safety

·         Plan ahead

·         Plan with partner,

·         leader/ volunteers

·         Assess needs of campers

·         Find out  interests

·         Plan activities –

·         Relevant/ interest

·         Plan ahead

·         Get everything 1-2 days before lesson/ activity takes place

·         Do not go shopping or gathering material on the day of lesson

Camp Staff:

·         Ask Parents to:  Label hats, lunch box, coats, shoes etc on the inside of the item, not outside

·         Discuss  concerns with Camp Director/Supervisor

Camp Director

·         Meet regularly with group leaders, staff/ volunteers

·         Plan and discuss camp activities and students/ issues

·         Communication with parents regularly at drop off/ pick up time

 Call parents to discuss if there are concerns.

 Have fun and remember to pray for your students and the VBS each day!

 R.T.
S    Safety Training Day at LS, Scarborough
J     June 23, 2018
J
       

Visiting Centre Island in Toronto with Our Out of Town Friends

Living in Toronto, Canada's largest city, we often receive a few visitors from out of town.

The CN Tower and Roger Centre as seen from the ferry to Central Island, Toronto, Canada

Recently we hosted a couple from British Columbia for a week and took them around to see a few places.

One of my favourite places we often take our out of town guests  to visit is Centre Island, where we could easily spend a whole day and the experience is always enjoyable for everyone.

To avoid the traffic congestion in downtown Toronto, we parked our car at the subway station closest to our house and took the public transit to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.

I haven't  been to the ferry terminal for a little while. We discovered some nice artwork at the terminal.

Mosaic murals at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, Toronto

The statue  of Jack Layton at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, Toronto

We saw mosaic murals depicting the various things representing Toronto as well as a life size sculpture of Jack on his bicycle.

We took time to remember Jack Layton, a Canadian beloved politician who passed away during his time as the Leader of the Federal New Democratic Party.

A short and breezy ferry ride to the islands.

The ferry ride was a short one to Centre Island.

The ferry took us to Centre Island, one of the three islands.

Centre Island was closed for a period of time last year due to damages done by the flood.

It was good to see Centre Island open for business this year.

Many things seemed to be back to
normal. 

The kids' rides were operating as before.

I was happy to see the Canoe Ride  operating in full capacity!

The Canoe Ride was our sons most favourite ride on the island as we all screamed and got wet when the canoe plunged down at the end.

There were many visitors to the islands that day and numerous were riding around the island.

We wished we could have rented one of those rental vehicles but the lineups were too long.

We had set aside a day for this excursion to explore the island with our friends.

We took our time to hike leisurely and enjoy the activities.

Centre Island is also home to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

Another thing we enjoyed doing was snacking on the island.

The Rectory Cafe used to be a small place offering coffee/ tea and cookies. We always stop at this cafe  whenever we visit the island.

Now, it has been transformed into a much nicer place with better furnishings.

















There was a much improved menu as well and we enjoyed our healthy snacks there!

We could take a break, rest, eat without feeling guilty!

Taking a break at the Rectory Cafe on Centre Island, Toronto

We had a very pleasant day on the island and our friends totally enjoyed themselves too!










R.T.
Centre Island
Toronto
Week of May 21, 2018

Getting to the Hearts of Children Through Bible Plays at a Richmond Hill Church, Ontario

The weekend before going to Ottawa, we were busy taking part in a large scale evangelical event for two nights  at a church in Richmond Hill, Ontario.











Planning for a city wide event and ensuring the safety of the children who would be entrusted to us was not an easy task.










There were a lot of hard work, planning and meticulous  organization involved
prior and during the event.

A number of subcommittees were created to carry out the various tasks.

Pastor Teresa and her team have spent months planning an interesting children's program for both evenings.

 There were songs, group games, video puzzles, a wedding banquet presentation, bible plays and even a fun fair on the second evening.

We had a few meetings to go over the logistics of receiving between 200 to 400 children anticipated at the event.







For my part, the most important thing was learning and  memorizing my lines.  I am not good at memorizing lines as I don't have a good memory.











Fortunately we had a few scheduled rehearsals so we could go over our parts a few times.

 The cast also worked to help each other to improvise if anyone forgot his/ her lines.

The evening came and we were all excited!

In the main sanctuary of  RCCC there were over three thousand adults present for the special message.

In the gymnasium,  we received over 200 children and were assisted by 70 volunteers!

There was as much energy in the room coming from both the audience and from our team.

The children's evanglistic meetings for both of the evenings went really well. We only needed to improve on the sign out procedures at the end as a large number of parents came to take their children home all at the same time.

Our team work at the Richmond Hill church reminded us of my mission trips to Cambodia where we also worked with about 200 children. I praise God for giving us this opportunity to serve Him again right at our doorstep!

R.T.
RCCC, Richmond Hill
Ont. Canada
May 11 & 12, 2018