Joe Berg Seminars
Rules for Participation and Volunteer Guidelines

1. Satisfactory scholastic standing must be maintained. Satisfactory scholastic standing is considered to be maintenance of a grade point average of 3.0 on academic subjects. Scholarship may be reviewed at the end of each grading period.
   
2. Punctuality and courteous conduct at the meetings are expected. Participants are expected to check in no later than 7:00 P.M., listen attentively to the lecture, and participate actively in the discussion period. Students should always dress appropriately. If ties and heels are ever expected, such as for a visit to the symphony or theater, students will be forewarned.

   The Guest speakers are donating their time. The participants are expected to treat them with respect because of their command of the topics they are discussing. Active involvement in the discussions will result in greater learning. Expressing appreciation to the speaker is always appropriate.

3. Students must attend at least 75% of the seminars. There will be six (6) seminars each in the spring of the Sophomore year and in the fall of the Senior year. A Sophomore or Senior may miss two (2) of the six seminars and a Junior may miss three (3) of the twelve. Obviously, 2/3 does not equal 75%, but only one allowed absence seems inadequate. These absences are for emergencies and are all that are allowed. There is no differentiation of excused or unexcused absences.

   The seminars offer valuable experiences that are wasted by empty seats. Seniors will receive a letter to include with their college applications describing their participation in Joe Berg.

   In setting up the seminar calendar, holidays and exam schedules of the Duval County Public Schools are avoided. It is impossible to also miss all of the holidays and exams of the private schools. Careful advance planning is needed by students and parents of all seminar members to make sure that the minimum attendance requirements will be met.

   Parents, please help the students to plan responsibly and allow for the unexpected emergencies that will occur. Help them to understand that the best of intentions cannot substitute for appropriate actions. Occasionally, there may be a seminar scheduled to which the other seminar group is invited. Attending such a seminar will count as a make-up for the visiting seminar members. This happens very rarely because of space constraints. Nevertheless, there will be no individual make-ups. The Joe Berg program operates on a very tight budget and the staff cannot handle individual student attendance problems. Please do not request it.

   In addition to the calendar that is included here, the students are mailed an announcement telling the time, place, and usually the speaker for each seminar. This is necessary because both groups take many field trips. If a student's address or phone number changes, he or she must give the new information to the Joe Berg secretary at UNF, at (888) 859-9240.

   If a student does not receive a letter announcing a given seminar, he/she must call Ms. Davron King (at 724-9695) to get the needed information. If the meeting is elsewhere, there will be no one at the Museum of Science and History to tell the students where to go. If the student does not come to the announced seminar location, he/she will be counted absent. Students, please be responsible.

4. All members must assist at a Museum of Science and History event at least once during each of the sophomore and junior years. The shifts are usually 3 hours long and on weekends. Choices of dates and sign up sheets will be available at the seminars. It's better to not procrastinate.

Location and Frequency of Meetings

The meetings will normally be held bi-weekly in the Science Theater of the Museum of Science and History. Other locations will be pre-announced.

1. Check in by 7:00 P.M.
2. Lecture
3. Discussion or question period
4. Adjournment at approximately 8:30 P.M.

Volunteer Guidelines For Joe Berg Seminars

The Museum of Science and History utilizes its volunteers for a variety of services to the Museum. As a volunteer you are expected to represent the Museum as if you were an employee. We realize that you are giving your time and effort without monetary compensation so we want to make your volunteer experience enjoyable. Only a few guidelines are in place to assist with that experience, and they are as follows:

1. If you sign up for an event, you are committed to that event.
   
2. If you can not attend an event for which you have volunteered, please call in advance. We realize situations will occur which are out of your control. All we ask is the courtesy of a phone call
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3. If you must call to cancel and receive the volunteer coordinator's voice mail, please leave your name, phone number, and that you are a member of Joe Berg.
   
4. Please dress appropriately. A polo shirt and khaki pants for the men, and a nice blouse and pants for the women is acceptable. Jeans, cut-off shorts, T-shirts, and tank tops are unacceptable. Dress shoes are also acceptable. Please do not wear sneakers. If your volunteer commitment requires maintenance or cleaning, you will be notified in advance. In most instances you will be greeting guests at the front door. You will be the first people our Museum patrons will see. Please dress accordingly.
   
5. A sign-in book is located at the front desk. It is a black binder with six sub-sections. Joe Berg is section six (6). Please print your name, date, hours worked, and the event worked. Please be punctual. We request that you arrive ten minutes before your scheduled time (i.e. a 10:00 event means you arrive at 9:50). If you fail to sign in or out, you will not get credit for that event.
   
6. Sign-up sheets will be posted in the meeting room prior to your meeting. They will be located on the office door next to the outside entrance door. Please do not create extra spaces on the sign-up sheet. We know how many volunteers we need so any extra spaces will be detected.
   
7. IF YOU SIGN UP FOR AN EVENT, YOU ARE COMMITTED TO THAT EVENT!!

   
   Please do not hesitate to call Ramie Stradley at 396-7062 ext. 229 if you have any questions or concerns. On behalf of the Museum and myself, I would like to thank you in advance for your time and commitment to MOSH.