Hello and welcome to Gilbert Public Schools VIK program!

I am Nicklaus Neff, the site

coordinator of Boulder Creek elementary and six year VIK veteran. Working for VIK is a series

of wonderful and crazy events that will string together and fly by faster than you know it. Don’t

let that scare you though. While there will be days that are stressful, more often than not, you

will find that working for VIK is a great journey! And, the best part about working for VIK is

that you will never be alone, your staff, your team, will always be there to support you!

Formalities:

Starting with some formalities, our supervisor will have already gone over the basic rules

and regulations with you, such as dress code and things of that nature. However, within your first

month or so of working, your site coordinator will have you complete the online ‘safe schools’

training that will further elaborate on specific elements of the workplace. While these training

sessions are not the most fun or engaging, they are a vital part of your workplace knowledge, and

you may even find yourself using some information in your daily life.

Daily functions:

Your daily shift at VIK will be split into two sections, your AM shift, and your PM shift.

In a best case scenario, the staff you work with in the AM shift will also be there in the PM shift,

but realistically that is not always the case. School events, substitutions, and sickness can get in

the way of having a consistent staff at your site. However, the one person that should stay

consistent is your site coordinator. For all intents and purposes, they are your day to day boss. In

short, your AM shift will consist of kids steadily coming in until the school bell rings, which at

that point you will have cleaned the site with them and will then release them to go to class. The

PM shift is the opposite, where kids are released to us and they will steadily go home until our

closing time, where we will lock up and go home. Both shifts will consist of us playing with and
entertaining the children by playing games, sports, doing art or science projects, and eating

snacks.

Daily structure:

The General structure of the day will be directed by your site coordinator, and may vary

from site to site. Each school has somewhat different cultures than the other, but overall, they

will have the same general structure, layout, and staffing. Kids come in in the morning until you

have them all, and in the afternoon, you start with them all and they drop off until all have gone

home.

Informal rules:

Our supervisors will have covered the general formal rules, and the safe schools training

videos will have covered everything else in more detail, but the informal rules of your site will

be picked up and often modified over time. Some sites do not start active games, sports and the

likes, until after snack time, and other sites will let the kids have responsible free reign on their

activities. Working at VIK is typically a very casual experience, so you shouldn't stress too hard

on the fine details, it really boils down to, ‘is it fun and is it safe for the kids’. As long as you

operate within that mindset, you should be alright!

Company language:

A quick memo on some language that you might hear working at VIK. VIK stands for

very important kids, sites refer to the schools where the VIK program is being held. Site

coordinators or site leaders are your shift managers, activity leaders and the employees under

them, and student workers and the ones under them. Your supervisor is the person who oversees

all the sites within a given range, they will have been the person that interviewed, trained, and
hired you. Active refers to active games that are physical such as basketball and the sort. Some

sites may have more jargon, but it is not typically an issue.

First day tips:

On your first day you will be introduced to the staff working at that particular site, and

the staff should give you a rough outline of how the day will go. Most employees know their

sites and their kids very well, so they will inform you of anything you need to be aware of such

as a kid with an allergy or particular trigger. Once the kids arrive it would be best to introduce

yourself in the way you would like to be known. This is typically Mr or Ms then your first name.

Your staff will help walk you through the day as it goes on. VIK has a fairly relaxed atmosphere,

with our main goal being to have fun with the kids, so as long as they are having fun and staying

safe you will do well.

Culture:

As covered previously, the culture at VIK is relaxed. We are there to have safe fun. The

only time you are expected to be formal is with parents, and even that runs on a case by case

basis, many parents are just happy and thankful for putting up with their little rascal. Most

employees will give you a phone number or at least give you some line of communication. This

is typically only used for emergencies like running late, being sick and so on. Many employees

end up becoming out of work friends, but it is important to not let a friendship or lack thereof,

disturb the fun of the kids. Meaning your conversations with staff should not take priority over

taking care of the kids.

Social aspects:

Due to the nature of our job we tend to need to be social. With the kids, parents, staff, and

supervisors, communication is key. Everyone should be kept in the loop and if something is
wrong, you communicate that to your site coordinator and your supervisor. There are no dumb

questions, and there are no dumb activities, trust me I have seen some weird projects in my time

working here. So, do not be afraid to bring things up to your site leader, they will be more than

happy to help implement new and creative ideas and projects.

Overall, our goal here is to have fun with the kids. We tend to keep things light, and we

treat everyone with dignity and respect, from the 5 year olds to our supervisors, everyone

deserves our time and attention. Stay safe with the kids and do not break any major rules and you

will have an amazing time working for VIK. As I have said, the worst days here are still better

than the best days at most other organizations!