Student Volunteering and Service Learning
Year 9 and 10 Students
If you are in Year 9 or 10 and you volunteer you can now register your hours as part of the DEC Student Volunteering Awards and receive a ceritificate in recognition of your service. This certificate can be added to your portfolio and your work experience in your resume.
Volunteering is an activity you do of your own free will to meet genuine needs. Although you often learn new skills and knowledge, you receive no payment or advantage for your efforts. Volunteering involves giving your own time to help others. Many students see volunteering as 'doing good stuff', putting a smile on other people's faces and generally helping out. See the document "what is, what isn't" for details on what activites and hours are considered to be volunteering.
The DEC Student Volunteering Awards program encourages all students in NSW Public Schools to undertake a minimum of 20 hours of volunteering during the time they are enrolled in Years 9 and 10.
In appreciation of this contribution to the community, students will receive Certificates (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond respectively) for completing 20, 40, 60 and 80 hours of volunteering. A new certificate - Black Opal - acknowledges students that achieve 150+ hours of volunteering. Certificates are awareded at Balgowlah Boys Campus Presentation Day in December.
Your volunteering data (what you've done and how long you've volunteered) must be kept on the PSVA database. See the short guide to using the PSVA database to help give you an idea of how to enter your information.
If you experience difficulty entering the details on the database, you can complete the logsheet and the Volunteering Coordinator at school will assist you with entering the details.
Login with your DEC username and password.
Select "Add a New Activity" from the menu and follow the instructions on the right of the screen.
Let the Volunteering Coordinator at school know you have entered details so the hours can be validated by the school and you are then eligible to receive the relevant certificate.
Students in Years 7, 8, 11 and 12
The DEC Student Volunteering Awards are only open to students in Year 9 and 10 at present.
Students in Years 7, 8, 11 and 12 can still be recognised for your volunteering efforts and receive a certificate as part of the Balgowlah Boys Student Volunteering Awards. As the database does not extend to students in other years, students in Years 7, 8, 11 and 12 will need to submit the completed the logsheet to the Volunteering Coordinator.
The Volunteering Coordinator at Balgowlah Boys Campus is Ms Dibley (TAS Faculty).
