Volume 26 Issue 8 24 Mar 2017 26 Adar 5777

Pilot Mentoring Program

Suzanne Plume – Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator

Mentors needed for Pilot Mentoring Program

What do we need?

We need public spirited volunteers from the community to spend some time mentoring one of a small number of Year 10 students.

Our mentor program involves students being paired with professionals or experts in the area of their career interest.

The program is designed to give students insights into the real world of their selected area of advanced learning. They will observe, talk with, and work closely with a person in the field they select. Hopefully, they will also learn new and challenging technical concepts in the field of their interest. These experiences will help with career and university choices as well as enabling the exploration of possible life goals.

Who:

We have students aged 15 – 16, who are interested in the following range of fields.

  • Medicine, film or detective pursuits
  • Arts, creative writing and poetry
  • Digital Media, Google Photoshop, Architecture and Design
  • Economics, Political Science
  • Science, Mathematics, Engineering
  • Marketing, advertising, human geography (e.g. world issues – poverty, lack of education)
  • Journalism, writing or music (but not as a professional musician)
  • Music and also medicine (a combination a love of problem solving, mathematics and medicine would be great – perhaps by exploring Bio Mechanical Engineering)
  • Engineering.

What does the commitment entail?

Thirty minutes contact fortnightly for a term (ten weeks). After the initial meeting contact can be via Skype and/or email.

Who are we looking for?

Good mentors are honest, trustworthy and active listeners, meaning they will engage with the mentee during each session, focus on the issues identified by the mentee and help the mentee set goals.

Good mentors also have a network of colleagues and collaborators who could open doors for their mentees, help jump-start their careers or just explain how the system works.

The school will require a Working With Children Check. As a volunteer, this is free. Any meetings will take place at school at lunchtimes. Skype sessions will be during the school day.

We’d love to have members of our community volunteer for this activity – you would connect with young, energetic and dynamic students who are about to embark on selecting their HSC academic program and are looking for advice in a range of areas. If you are able to help, please contact Ms Suzanne Plume at splume@emanuelschool.nsw.edu.au before the end of Term 1.