Word Up (High School / Intensive English Centre)
We are looking for volunteers to help school students with their literacy and forge a path to higher education. Strong literacy skills are essential for learning, independence and to participate fully in society. A child who does not acquire these basic reading skills will struggle with school work and be at risk of dropping out of high school.
As a Word Up (High School / Intensive English Centre) volunteer, you will provide literacy support to small groups of students in the classroom. With your guidance, students will work through reading materials selected by schools to enhance students’ fluency and reading comprehension. Your interaction with the students, for whom English maybe a second language, also provides an excellent opportunity to develop their confidence with conversational English.
Who should volunteer?
Join this volunteer program if you are:
- Passionate about reading and literacy
- Interested in helping students aged 13 to 16, many of whom come from a non-English speaking background
- Comfortable working with small groups of students
- Available to volunteer each week for the duration of the program
Read the position description (PDF).
Program dates
The Word Up program runs for 14 weeks, in two blocks:
|
|
Start Date |
End Date |
|---|---|---|
|
Block 1 (6 weeks) |
Monday 30 April (Semester 1, Week 8) |
Friday 8 June (Semester 1, Week 13) |
|
Block 2 (8 weeks) |
Monday 30 July (Semester 2, Week 1) |
Friday 21 September (Semester 2, Week 8) |
Volunteers must be available for all 14 weeks in order to participate.
Time commitment
Volunteers will need to be available for one 3-hour period per week during the hours of 8.30am – 3.30pm, Monday – Friday. This period includes 1 hour of volunteering in school, and 2 hours of travel time to the school. You will volunteer at the same time each week.
At some schools, you can volunteer for longer than 1 hour per week.
You can download (PDF) a table of the volunteering times on offer in 2012.
Where
Volunteers are placed at one high school or Intensive English Centre for the duration of the program.
Cost
Compass will reimburse transport costs / mileage to a maximum of $20 per week.
Training
Full training is provided. Please click here for further information.