Principal Kimberley Tempest said the program was born out of feelings of extended disconnect between staff and students, highlighting a need to re-establish the relationship.
”I ran the idea past our student leadership team and they immediately jumped on board,“ she said.
“Because we say every staff member cares, every staff member is part of the student mentoring.”
Students meet with their mentor in groups of five to 10 people from a mix of year levels once a week for a casual chat throughout the school year.
The program’s design was a collaboration between students and teachers, which is set to help the program address the needs of both groups alike.
Ms Tempest explained mentors will change every year so at the end of a six-year period, students will have six other people they can talk to on top of other available supports.
“It’s not meant to be anything super deep, it’s just a relationship. You have someone that cares about you and you’re going to talk to for the rest of the year,” she said.
Year 11 student Caitlyn Knight said the support was needed as the students returned to in-person learning.
“Coming back to school, I needed someone to not just talk to but to have someone to rely on as well as at school to ask questions,” she said.
The program is also different in that it isn’t designed to address students experiencing issues, but rather to support everyone.
“It was more for the people who weren’t struggling because they’re not noticed as much, so like if people are struggling they’ll go to wellbeing, but this is just more to have a chat,” Year 12 student Chelsea Alexander said.
Ms Tempest said the core of the program is to build connections between students from all year levels and staff, so everyone gets a chance to interact where they might not otherwise be able to.
“It allows a connection where there’s no ulterior motive, it’s just a connection for connection’s sake,” she said.
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