The Mentoring Project

The Bishops’ High School Old Students’ Association, in collaboration with the Bishops’ High School, established a mentoring programme for students in the 2002/2003 Form 3 of the Bishops’ High School. The BHSOSA envisaged that such a programme would foster links between former and current students. Additionally, the Association expected the programme to contribute to the development of a sense of identity and self-esteem of the current students as they explore their performance in and out of school with a former student acting as mentor.

The BHSOSA instituted the programme on a pilot basis during the second and third terms of the 2002-03 academic year.

Objectives

• To foster development of positive values, attitudes and behaviours of the student
• To promote development of a healthy self-esteem and self-image
• To explore the nature and limits of relationships
• To encourage the student in the selection/identification of a role model
• To facilitate exploration of goals, visions, wants and needs.

The downloads from this page include the essays written by the Third Formers.

The Report on the Evaluation of the Pilot can be downloaded here

BHSOSA/Tutorial High School Old Students Association/UNICEF Project

The first phase of the mentoring programme was launched in 2002.
The Second Phase of the Mentoring Programme commenced in October 2005. This initiative is important for several reasons :-

• This is the first partnership between the BHSOSA and the Tutorial High School OSA
• This initiative is the first of the BHSOSA to receive support from a donor agency – UNICEF
• The BHSOSA has now expanded the scope of its interventions to include the wider community

UNICEF provided support for the following activities

• Orientation workshops for the prospective mentors OSA
• Development workshops for the Parents of mentors
• Workshops for the first form students, including the mentees

These documents have been re-organised from the old BHSOSA website. Please feel free to use them as you see fit for your own mentoring projects

Documents for Mentors and Parents (from 2002)

Documents from the 2005 UNICEF Project

Transition from Primary to Secondary

ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research project carried out in New South Wales, Australia. The research participants were ‘resilient’ final year primary school and first year high school students who, through semi-structured interviews, discussed either their expectations or experiences of transition from primary to secondary school. Some important findings regarding transition challenges are presented and the children’s (and their parents’) responses to these issues are discussed. The question is posed: how ethical and feasible is it to introduce radical school reform in the early years of high school when the voices of those who stand to be most affected by it are strongly in favour of the status quo?

Reports from the Mentoring Project

BHSOSA/Tutorial Mentoring Project – Co-ordinator’s Report for October 2006.

he October phase of the Project began with 42 forty-two listed pairs of listed Mentors/Mentees with the following breakdown:

Active Relationships 34
Inactive Relationship 5
Terminated Relationships 3

Mentors continued to work during the August vacation and contact was maintained. Intervention by the Co-ordinator to force commencement, reactivation and renewal of relationships is to be the priority activity of the Co-ordinator during the months of October and November. Sourcing of new mentors continues to be an ongoing activity.

Despite these setbacks, Mentors in general have indicated that they are quite willing to continue the Program since the have more available time. Those who asked to be released from the Program have indicated that they would be quite willing to serve in perhaps another year’s time. In some cases have conflict of time ahs been the deciding factor in their decision while another expressed frustration in trying to make the relationship work.

Some Mentors have indicated that they have seen changes in the behaviours of the Mentees and feel that if they continue to work with them, better results can be gained.
The teachers of Tutorial High also expressed this observation. They have noted generally that there have been improvements over the last term in the children’s academic performances and general deportment. This has inspired other classmates who are not Mentees to lift their performance standards. However, like all children, there have been deviations from expected behaviours that are dealt with if and when they occur.

Mentoring relationships have progressed beyond the expected over time. Mentors have inducted as honorary family members with the bonds strengthening over time. There have been the celebrations of birthdays, christenings and achievements to name a few. These events in Mentors and Mentees opinions have made their relationships interesting.

These relationships have occurred in both schools and have progressed to the entire family and not just a relationship centered on the child. This would provide interesting material for the Model and future Mentoring activities.

These activities however need to be monitored to ensure that they do not extend beyond the preferred boundary of mentoring.

Co-ordinator’s Report for the period November 1st to December 15th 2006

ovember commenced with 39 listed cases. Mentors continue face many challenges but have persevered in their endeavours to help the children.

The breakdown of relations status as at December is as follows:
Active relationships 9
Inactive relationships 7
Unconfirmed relationships 18

Six (6) cases that were either terminated or inactive during the previous month have to be followed up. New Mentors may have to be assigned to some of those cases.
Prospective mentors Tandika Stephens and Jonelle Ashby were contacted and hopefully those relationships will commence in January 2007.

E-mentorship has commenced in December 2006. Four children who indicated their interest were contacted and to date one has responded. Two Mentors, Dawn McDonald and Eve Drayton have indicated their interest. Ms. McDonald has assigned a Mentee and this relationship’s progress will be managed to ensure its success.

Mentoring Outreach

Students of the Mentoring Class of Tutorial High School-Mentees and non-Mentees- were invited to participate in the UNICEF Workshop on November 20th 2006 at Le Meridian Pegasus. The Workshop dealt with the Report on Violence against Children. The children were asked to present role plays which deal with violence against and abuse of children in the community, the home and the workplace.

The children presented their thoughts on the problems by highlighting the realities of the various forms abuse in the home – the verbal and physical abuse by the frustrated parent-, the abusive and violent conduct of the minibus conductors and drivers which result in rape and the treatment of students by teachers who seek to vent their frustrations. Their treatment of the subject matter was well received by the Workshop’s participants and formed part of the subject matter for group discussion. Literature on the subject was given to them to supplement what they had learnt.

The experience for the children was interesting. Most of them had never attended any function at such a venue or had even had the opportunity to participate in any capacity in any event of that nature. For them, it would be a lifetime experience.

The children were accompanied by their Form Mistress and the Co-ordinator to the day’s activities.

A meeting was organised of mentors on November 18th 2006 at Tutorial High School.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the relationships, and find ways of encouraging the relationships while responding to the challenges which arose.