MERRILLVILLE
HIGH SCHOOL
INTERNSHIP
PROGRAM
INTERNSHIP HANDBOOK
Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Behavior & Attitude . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Confidentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Time Sheets & Daily Logs. . . . . . .4
Problems & Concerns . . . . . . . . . .5
Non-Compliance Policy. . . . . . . . . 5
Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Absences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
MHS Policies/Procedures. . . . . . . 7
Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MHS Contact Info . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Internship Contact Info . . . . . . . . 9
My Internship:
Mentor/Site Supervisor: ___________________________
Phone #: ________________________________________
Web site/Email: __________________________________
Company: _______________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
__________________________________________
Start Date: _______________________
End Date:
_______________________
Notes:
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FORMS:
Congratulations on your Internship!
(available from Mrs. Row or downloaded from the Internship Web site)
http://merrillville.schoolwires.net/Page/1063
Time Sheet & Weekly Log
Request for Absence
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Merrillville High School
276 East 68th Place
Merrillville, IN 46410
Main #: 219-650-5307
219-650-5391 (FAX)
Mrs. Row, Internship Coordinator
Phone: 650-5307 ext. 7175
Email: srow@mvsc.k12.in.us
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SCHEDULE:
The Internship schedule (calendar) will reflect both the
classroom seminars and the hours you spend at your intern site.
You will attend 1st and 2nd hour classes each day at MHS.
Seminar days: For the first two weeks of the semester and once a
week thereafter on Mondays, you will spend 3rd hour with Mrs.
Row for a working lunch, orientation and concurrent classroom
instruction. After seminar, you will immediately leave for your
intern site arriving no later than 12:00 pm.
Regular (non-seminar) days: After you have gone to your 1st and
2nd hour classes, you will leave school, eat lunch on your own
and arrive at your intern site no later than noon. You are
expected to arrive at least 5-10 minutes early each day. Each day
you will work in this program until 3:00 pm. Lunch is eaten
BEFORE you get to your intern site. No lunch or breaks are
allowed at the work site during the work day.
DRESS:
Since you will be in a real-world office environment, you need to
dress appropriately. You want to make a good impression! No
jeans, sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts or sneakers are allowed.
Obvious body piercing, tattoos, abnormal hair color, or the like
are NOT acceptable. Avoid trendy attire you may wear out
while with your friends.
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Use common sense! Each day you present yourself in the real
world, you are to look and act professional and perform to the
best of your ability.
EVALUATIONS:
BEHAVIOR & ATTITUDE
Your intern mentors/site supervisors have agreed to personally
mentor you. This means they will give up efficiency and
productivity in their business to take the time and teach you the
tools of their trade. Ask questions and watch them closely.
Learn the valuable skills and strengths they have agreed to share
with you. Treat them with the highest respect. Opportunities
like this don’t come around often in one’s life – appreciate the
gift you have been given!
GRADE:
Your grade is based on a number of factors including, but not
limited to:
Follow the MHS Student Behavior Code for this opportunity as
an extension of the regular school program. You represent not
only yourself and your family in your community, but
Merrillville High School as well. Do y our best to abide by these
expectations to avoid a non-compliance slip.
Keep your personal life, interests and friends out of the
workplace. This means no personal cell phone calls, no personal
email and no personal time on their computer. NEVER use your
mentor’s resources to charge your phone or electronic device!
If you find yourself with “downtime”, you are REQUIRED to
contact your mentor immediately to ask for another assignment.
Unless your primary mentor sends you home for a disciplinary
reason or the absence has been approved in advance, under no
circumstances are you to show up late to work or leave early.
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Your mentor/site supervisor and I will evaluate your internship. This
will be instrumental in determining your grade.
Your total productive hours in work (min of 120)
Your total productive hours in Seminar (min of 20)
Your performance at work
Your performance and completed assignments in Seminar
Your observations (minimum of three)
Your overall workplace presentation/attitude
Your communication
Your willingness to own, accept and correct mistakes/errors
Your compliance with expectations, contracts and agreements
The timely submission of your weekly time card
Your mentor evaluations
Your teacher evaluation
MHS POLICIES & PROCEDURES:
All MHS policies and procedures whether contained in the
student handbook and/or otherwise adopted by the
Merrillville Community Schools will be strictly adhered to
and enforced during the student internship.
“If you don’t come to school, you can’t go to work!”
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Do not participate in gossip. Always be positive and cheerful!
VISITS:
From time to time, I will come to your intern site and observe you “on
the job” to make sure everything is going well. Most of these will be
surprise visits. You are expected to be on task when these visits occur.
Regardless of when I come to visit you, please feel free to contact me
with any concerns, problems or good things that happen. I want this
internship to be meaningful and enlightening for you. Your sharing
will be the highlight of my day!
ABSENCES:
Please remember that you are expected to be at your intern site during the
hours on your schedule. Arrive 5-10 minutes early each day. Don’t leave
at the end of the day until you’ve cleared it with your primary
mentor/supervisor and notified Mrs. Row. Always be punctual and
dependable!
If you are ill or unable to come to school without advance notice (sick or
emergencies), you need to call Mrs. Row first thing that morning so she
(and she alone) can inform your mentor that you will not be there. You
will be given her cell phone number for this specific purpose. If she does
not answer or it goes to voice message, it means she is already at school
and we all know how limited cell reception is here at school. You are
required to contact her personally (one-on-one) so you must telephone her
at school before your absence is approved. Her phone number is 219650-5307 ext. 7175. Failure to directly speak with her will result in an
“unexcused” NO-CALL, NO-SHOW and non-compliance.
If you know you’re going to be absent in advance, a Request for Absence
form (available from Mrs. Row or website) must be completed at least 2
days prior. If your internship is at Methodist Hospital, a minimum of one
week’s notice is required.
During your internship, your mentor owns your time. Show them
you’re a good investment and you are serious about this internship and
by association, your career.
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Refrain from loud talking or laughing. Knock on closed doors.
Do not chew gum or eat food while on duty. Do not smoke
anywhere at any time.
Do not use company phones for personal calls. Do not use your
cell phone on the job. Do not have others call you. NEVER
charge your phone at your mentor’s expense. f you are expecting
an emergency call, notify your supervisor and Mrs. Row ahead
of time. Keep your personal life out of the workplace.
Do not bring anyone else to the intern site unless permission has
been granted in advance by your supervisor/mentor.
Do not discuss race, religion, sex or politics. Avoid jokes that
are in poor taste.
Report only to the area where you are assigned. Do not roam.
Accept duties, supervision and criticism graciously. Remember
your age and inexperience. Conduct yourself in a dignified,
courteous and considerate manner at all times. Respect others.
SEMINARS:
Attend all seminar classes as scheduled and complete required
assignments on time. This is concurrent classroom instruction while
you are interning. They go hand-in-hand, equally important in your
grade and this experience.
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CONFIDENTIALITY:
Remember, you’re in the real world with competition, trade
secrets and proprietary information. You have a responsibility to
protect the information shared with you by your mentor/site
supervisor. Don’t discuss or reveal any of this to anyone else.
Disclosure of your mentor’s proprietary information will result in
termination from the program. Maturity and wisdom are
valuable assets that pertain to your intern site’s private and
privileged information.
TIME SHEETS & DAILY LOGS:
Each week you will complete a time sheet and daily log documenting
the activities in which you participated, specific incidents you observed
and the hours you were there. These are due Monday mornings at
seminar to Mrs. Row. Late timesheets are subject to non-compliance.
These weekly reports are required for you to receive credit for your
internship.
Your weekly time sheet/daily log will reflect the time you actually start
work and the time you stop work (no earlier than 3:00 pm unless preapproved). You do not get credit on your time sheet for idle time or
waiting around for an assignment. In other words, don’t show up 30
minutes early and spin around in an office chair waiting for the job to
start and then put it on your time card! Idle time requires a call to your
supervisor advising them you need another assignment. There is a
great deal of trust in filling out your time sheet and violation of this
trust will result in a non-compliance slip.
Follow all of the organization’s policies and procedures – dress
code, safety procedures, time schedule, (remember…no breaks
or lunch), etc. It is good to ask questions if you are unsure!
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PROBLEMS OR CONCERNS:
Discuss problems or concerns with your assigned
supervisor/mentor AND Mrs. Row. Remember, others cannot
read your mind. Make a point to talk about your experiences one
on one each week with Mrs. Row. Mrs. Row is your direct
supervisor and 1st line of contact. Your mentor is your primary
supervisor at the job site. When in doubt, talk to Mrs. Row!
Communication is key!
NON-COMPLIANCE:
Any time you fail to follow rules and expectations, breach a
contract, are late to work, leave work early, take a lunch or
break, not submit on time or misrepresent your hours/time on
your time card, fail to turn in your Seminar assignments on time,
properly fail to notify Mrs. Row of an absence, fail to follow
directions or guidelines and/or any other procedure or policy
relevant to the internship, you will sign a non-compliance slip.
Refusal to sign the form will still carry the same consequences.
Upon the issue of the 4th slip, you will be withdrawn from the
program with an F grade.
Step 1: Warning
Step 2: Phone Call home
Step 3: Conference with student and/or parents
Step 4: Removal/termination from program
TERMINATION:
Your intern mentor/site supervisor doesn’t owe you anything. In
fact, you are indebted to them for this opportunity. Failure to
comply with program guidelines, business guidelines or school
policies and procedures may finally result in removal or
termination from the Internship program. Failure to successfully
complete the internship program will result in a failing grade.
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