HIGHLIGHTS
   

Mentoring in the Middle Grades

Estrella Pe A. Nabua, Assistant Principal for the Intermediate

Posted Monday, 18-Sep-2006 8:59 AM

              Xavier School, inspired by St. Ignatius’s charism of “cura personalis” gave birth to the mentoring program, a system designed to ensure that each individual student is known, helped and guided by a mentor.

              The mentoring program was formally launched last July 31 coinciding with the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  This program is being implemented in Grades 4 and 7.  The mentors in Grade 7 are class advisers, subject teachers from Grade 7 and a few teachers from Grades 5 and 6.  We also have counsellors and librarians participating and contributing their time and effort to this program.  There are about 32 mentors equally distributed among the sections in Grade 7 with four mentors in each section and the class adviser taking the helm as the mentor-in-charge.  The current mentor to student ratio stands as one mentor is to nine or ten students (1:9-10) in each class.

              The mentoring program usually takes place during the advisory period, which is the first period every Monday and lasts for about 40 minutes.  The first activity the program had was a sort of getting-to-know-you activity where the students talked about their respective baby pictures.  On the other hand, the mentor also talked about his/her picture when he/she was still a student and shared with the mentees the experiences of the mentor while growing up as a student.  Future activities of the program will provide occasions for the mentor to personally know his mentees and for the students to familiarize themselves with their respective mentors.

              To equip the mentor with knowledge and skills for the work at hand, training sessions were held on topics like the rationale and objectives of mentoring, what mentoring is all about, facilitating and listening skills and getting-to-know-you activities.

It is expected that this program will enable the school to nurse the light of everyone.

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