Vacation Bible School, in depth

Vacation Bible School has three paths. Each has its own rules.

• Campers. A parent registers children ages 5 to 12 in the language session they choose. The form asks for shirt size, allergies, medical notes, an emergency contact and every required waiver. It then shows the total, a sibling discount when one applies, and a field for a discount code. The form saves progress, so a parent can leave and return.
• Adult volunteers. An adult answers questions about Safe Environment clearance and availability. The adult ranks at least four stations and signs with a typed name.
• Teen volunteers. A teen ages 13 to 17 applies first. A parent completes the registration only after the parish approves the application.

A registration moves through a few states. Pending Payment means the family still owes money, and a Pay Now button finishes it. Registered or Paid means it is complete. Admitted means staff placed the child in a group. Waitlisted, Withdrawn, Expired and Refunded close the story.

A family that leaves before it pays keeps a saved registration. The page shows a refund deadline, and the parish gives no refund after it. When a grade, a childcare group or the adult volunteer pool is full, the family can join a waitlist and pays nothing while it waits. Staff set capacity for each grade, for childcare and for adult volunteers, and they watch registered, reserved and waitlisted counts change.

A teen application passes through clear stages on the VBS admin screen. Pending Review waits for staff. Info Requested waits for the teen. Awaiting Reg means the application is approved but the parent has not registered the teen. Denied and Expired end the application. After registration the teen shows as Waitlisted, Pending Payment, Needs Approval or Active.

Two separate approvals apply. Staff first approve the application so the parent can register. Staff then approve the teen as an active volunteer. Only then can staff assign the teen to a station.

The approval has a deadline. A nightly timer expires approvals that the parent did not use, and staff can extend many of them at once. The grid also flags a teen who is not linked to a person record, and a possible duplicate. Staff resolve both before they approve. Anyone can check an application status with the teen email or the parent email.

An adult who says they are not cleared shows as SE Pending. The parish cannot assign that adult a station until staff check the clearance. The page lists training dates and a renewal link.

Staff open a kiosk from a private link. A link that is missing or expired shows Access Denied. The volunteer chooses a homeroom, or a shared kiosk for all rooms, and enters a name to show who is on duty.

• Check in. A volunteer scans the QR code on the child's badge, or searches by name, family code or registration. The kiosk shows the room and a red ALLERGY mark.
• Check out. The adult gives the family pickup code. The kiosk shows the family and refuses the check-out when the child belongs in another room.

Each family sees the pickup code on its registrations page, with a button to print a badge. The page also lists payment history and merchandise orders.

Payments handles the fees and discount codes, and a parent pays at checkout. The VBS admin panel keeps attendance, stations, merchandise and messages for the event in one place.