{"id":3543,"date":"2015-04-15T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2015-04-16T16:55:31","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T20:55:31","slug":"volunteers-of-vbcps-christin-neels-humberto-zuniga-kim-wells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/volunteers-of-vbcps-christin-neels-humberto-zuniga-kim-wells\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteers of VBCPS: Christin Neels, Humberto Zuniga, Kim Wells"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeople see middle school as hands off,\u201d\u00a0says parent volunteer Christin Neels.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Neels and volunteers like Humberto Zuniga and Kim Wells have a different mindset about lending a helping hand in middle schools.<\/p>\n

Soon after her family\u2019s military relocation to Virginia Beach, Neels attended the division\u2019s State of the Schools event where Dr. James Merrill, superintendent at the time, spoke about decreased funding and increasing mandates for public schools. Four years later, Neels still remembers how the event prompted her search for ways to support her two daughters\u2019 elementary school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I listened to Dr. Merrill talk about that $40 million budget shortfall and he listed all that schools and teachers are expected to do here in Virginia \u2013 well, basically you are raising the kids for us,\u201d said Neels. \u201cAnd it was a jaw dropper; it really was. So if I was leaving my children at their front door, I figured I would try to do whatever I could to take a load off schools. I thought, \u2018How can I help?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Neels started by assisting the guidance counselor at her daughters\u2019 elementary school.\u00a0\u201cI saw how busy she was,\u201d said Neels, \u201cso any time she needed an extra pair of hands, especially whenever they needed a hand with display cases or bulletin boards, I was happy to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

When one of her daughters transitioned to middle school three years ago, Neels found ways to volunteer her time at the secondary level. \u201cShe has such a creative spark,\u201d said Kempsville Middle School principal Patti Jenkins. \u201cShe uses her creative talent to decorate for dances, make posters, advertise fundraisers and ramp up student enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>
Kempsville Middle Volunteer of the Year Christin Neels is known for her creativity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jenkins is especially grateful for Neels\u2019 efforts to spotlight Kempsville\u2019s emphasis on literacy and reading. It was Neels\u2019 idea to track progress in the school\u2019s Race to Read campaign with handmade displays for students, staff and parents that she updates regularly. Neels was also instrumental in bringing more attention to a fundraiser that helped establish an interdisciplinary STEM-based library for the school\u2019s eighth-grade English and science teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolunteering doesn\u2019t have to be sitting in a classroom,\u201d said Neels when asked about encouraging others to volunteer.\u00a0\u201cThere is no job that is too small. If it makes a teacher\u2019s job easier, just raise your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Humberto Zuniga raised his hand to help at his son\u2019s new school, Bayside Sixth Grade Campus.\u00a0Similar to Neels, Zuniga volunteered at his son\u2019s elementary school and wanted to continue his support at the middle school level. When he attended Bayside\u2019s open house event,\u00a0the retired U.S. Navy critical care registered nurse asked how he could be of service.<\/p>\n

\"Humberto<\/a>
Humberto Zuniga, Bayside Sixth Grade Campus Volunteer of the Year, supports middle school readers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since that outreach,\u00a0Zuniga has been a weekly volunteer in Maureen Stolte\u2019s independent reading class.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Z models fluent reading, provides opportunities for students to read aloud and supports students as they work on skill-building activities,\u201d Stolte said. \u201cHe plays a key role in reaching struggling readers who have faced years of frustration…With his caring and dedicated assistance, the students see the value of reading and have the undivided attention of a volunteer who is supportive and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe teachers don\u2019t have enough time,\u201d said Zuniga of his volunteer service. \u201cThey can\u2019t always spend quality time with each student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zuniga noted that building trust with Stolte\u2019s students was an important first step. Now, \u201cthey know I am there to help them, and it is a good feeling to see how the students have grown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Growing out of middle school is Kim Wells\u2019 daughter who will join her brother in high school next year. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to stay here,\u201d said Princess Anne Middle School (PAMS) volunteer Wells.<\/p>\n

\"Princess<\/a>
Princess Anne Middle Volunteer of the Year Kim Wells is the concessions coordinator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI love this school,\u201d Wells explained on her way to the gymnasium concession stand. \u201cEverybody here is so wonderful \u2013 the custodial staff, administration, teachers, the kids. This place makes me happy, and they are so appreciative of their volunteers. So, I\u2019m staying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also appreciative of Wells\u2019 service are PAMS event attendees because she works tirelessly to ensure that refreshments are available at all athletic contests and special events.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Wells has become a fixture at any event where concessions are sold,\u201d said PAMS principal Alex Bergren. \u201cHer commitment, hard work and efficiency have helped the PTA raise thousands of dollars which have been spent to support instructional and extracurricular programs, as well as fund a teacher grant program the PAMS PTA developed to support innovative instructional practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

PAMS sixth-grade teacher James Arnett joins Bergren in praising Wells who also devotes time each week to make photocopies for the sixth-grade math team.\u00a0\u201cMrs. Wells makes a sincere effort and succeeds at taking things off our plates,\u201d Arnett said, \u201cand her daughter is not even in any of our classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I can do it because they can focus on their teaching,\u201d said Wells, echoing the sentiments of fellow middle school volunteers Zuniga and Neels.<\/p>\n

Wells noted she was not always as involved in her children\u2019s schools as she would have liked, but she is glad to be able to make the commitment now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows my kids the importance of participating in the larger community,\u201d Wells reflected. \u201cInteracting with other parents, teachers and administrators on a regular basis, you get an understanding of your child\u2019s daily activities, and you learn the trends of school life that can help you communicate with your children,\u201d she added. \u201cIt is never too late to start volunteering.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find ways you can get involved, visit the division\u2019s Get Connected page at <\/em>vbschools.com\/getconnected<\/em><\/a> and find volunteer opportunities available in VBCPS schools. For more information about the <\/em>Volunteers in Education<\/em><\/a> program as a whole, visit the page to learn more about the service of VBCPS volunteers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeople see middle school as hands off,\u201d\u00a0says parent volunteer Christin Neels. Thankfully, Neels and volunteers like Humberto Zuniga and Kim Wells have a different mindset about lending a helping hand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[26,68,117],"class_list":["post-3543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections","tag-bayside-6","tag-kempsville-middle","tag-princess-anne-middle6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3543"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3550,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions\/3550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}