Team Manager Tip #4
Before your team begins meeting on a regular basis, hold a meeting with both parents and students. This meeting should be about expectations. Discuss the following:
1. Sharing of costs (what sum can each family contribute toward solution of the Challenge?)--the team's challenge will be to stay within the budget!
2. Sharing of snacks and beverages. Consider having each family bring a supply to your home, and you can dole it out as needed.
3. Discuss everyone's schedule. Make special note of vacation times, concerts and competition dates for other activities. If some team members will be absent from the Tournament, discuss with the team that it will need to plan for this as part of its solution.
4. Discuss behavior expectations. These include regular attendance of meetings and respectful behavior. Make it clear that if a team member is not behaving constructively, you will ask the parent to pick him/her up. In fact, have the team draw up its own behavior contract, with consequences spelled out. Point out that joining the team is a commitment, and that the team does best when everyone is there.
5. Ask whether a parent is willing to be an Appraiser.
6. Ask whether a parent can videotape a dress rehearsal and/or Tournament performances.
7. Ask for suggestions about meeting locations.
8. Let parents know you may need help with transporting props, costumes, etc. and with making trips to stores for materials...or for donated/recycled items. (The younger your team is, the more assistance you will need with these errands.)
9. Ask parents what skills they have that might lend themselves to a mini-workshop, such as tool safety, sewing, electricity, etc. Please note that parents may NOT make suggestions that contribute in some way to the solution of the Challenge. If this happens, the team is honor-bound to discard these ideas. Parents need to know this. Parents may demonstrate general skills on non-Challenge related materials.
10. Let parents know that sometimes you will meet just for fun, not just for Destination ImagiNation. This creates team spirit! Suggestions are a pizza party, board game night, roller skating, bowling, popcorn and movie night, and so on. (Point out you may need help with transportation.) Some teams even arrange to attend a drama production together, which benefits them in more than one way!
