Discover what is happening on all 5 school campuses with Be The One.
Ferndale High School
A veteran mentor is walking through a tough season of life. She mentioned to us that Be the
One has been an “anchor” in her life and has brought “bright moments” . Her mentee shared
some positive changes they made at school and told her mentor that her encouragement was
the cause of it! When the mentor missed a couple of meetings, it warmed her heart that her
mentee missed her and was so excited to see her upon her return. Another mentor said it so
well: She believes she gets more out of the experience than her mentee and that it is an honor
to meet with her mentee every week. The positive experiences are felt both ways!
During and after shots of the newly decorated “window room” in the BTO Lounge! The mentor and
student created and implemented the plan to make the window room a more inviting space for BTO
pairs. They decided to make holiday masks after all their hard work.
I noticed a mentor snuck their mentee into their mentor badge photo! Laughed out loud when I saw it!
Total: 33 Mentoring Pairs (2 more than last month)
Program Development
2 Part-time BTO Coordinators at FHS – Annie Anderson works Mondays and Tuesdays.
Michele Barmore works Thursdays and Fridays. Either Annie or Michele works on
Wednesdays.
December BTO Orientation – 1 person attended FHS training and is continuing to
become a mentor. December Orientation – 2 are scheduled for upcoming training
Presentation in 4 health classes scheduled for December 4 th /5 th . 10 students filled out
an interest card.
Passed out the new BTO Merch to mentors. Loving the new colors and logos this year!
Asking for mentor/mentee input to create an inviting space in BTO Lounge. Hoping
mentors/mentees will utilize space more often based on implementing their feedback.
Mentor and mentee decorated the window room in the BTO Lounge. (See pics)
Mentor Coordinators check in with each other and collaborate on a regular basis.
Lynden High School
Stories to Share:
“I love her!” A first-generation senior girl wanted a mentor who could help her with college plans,
applications, scholarships, and understanding financial aid. A college professor who recently joined
the mentor pool seemed like a great fit, and coincidentally, they both share the same first name. By
the end of their second meeting, they had completed an outstanding scholarship essay that the student
can use for multiple situations which really captures her unique characteristics, challenges, and
ambitions. While checking in with the student, she exclaimed: “I love her! I think she is just the right
person to help me with college stuff. Plus, I really like her name!”
“He’s cool!” A senior boy with unique needs requested a mentor right after our Veteran’s Day assembly,
and I didn’t have any available people to match him with. Fortunately, an experienced mentor returned
to the pool just in time to meet this student. They both have outgoing personalities and share a love
for sports and outdoor activities. In checking with the student after an initial meeting, he responded:
“He’s cool!” I’m glad we could get things going for him so quickly. He also mentioned to his girlfriend
how “cool” his new mentor is. Turns out, they had a little bit of a headstart because they met at
Saturday School the week before and remembered each other.
Celebrating the holidays together. This month mentors and students enjoyed checking out the holiday
hall decorations covering the school and talking about their favorites. Many also did special activities
together, such as decorating cookies or making a craft project. A number of mentors brought small
gifts for students, and several students brought surprises for their mentors, too. My office felt full of
holiday cheer.
Highlights from this month:
68 matches—incredible!
3 new matches made for students who had been on the waitlist
Saturday School Dec. 2 nd Good attendance with over 55 students. Denny McHarness led the
breakfast crew. Pleased to see that so many students I work with took the opportunity to
attend and get caught up on schoolwork.
Mentor Café Day Dec. 4 th We invited Lynden mentors to meet at the Inn in Lynden, where we
enjoyed a more informal gathering of mentors to discuss their roles, give suggestions, and share
cookies. New mentors especially enjoyed learning from those more experienced.
Merch is here! Students and mentors enjoyed receiving their new shirts. People especially
enjoyed the new designs and color options. Felt like Christmas handing them out!
Mentor Equipping Dec 11/12 Anxiety and Depression, with Jordan Feigal. We had 28 mentors
attend, along with coordinators. Many positive comments from the attendees about how much
they learned!
Christmas break begins on Friday, Dec. 15 th . We return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 2 nd .
Upcoming:
New Mentor Orientation Jan. 16 th , from 9:00-11:00 at LMS
January 23 rd : Area Coordinator meeting
January 20 th : Saturday School
January 25 th : last day of this semester. Students will change classes and have different
electives, so I will have to figure out new mentoring schedules for the second part of the year.
Lynden Middle School
Stories to Share
7 New Matches in 2 Weeks
The 2023-24 school year started off slow in terms of finding new mentors for the program. We were not able to match students quickly who were waiting on our wait list. However, November and December were booming, and we saw a great amount of volunteers step forward. In just two weeks, we made 7 new matches at the middle school. Things are looking up for 2024, and we are on pace to smash our all-time record for mentoring pairs at the middle school in one given year. The new goal is 50 mentoring pairs!
Birthday Surprise
Some mentors bring birthday gifts for their students, which is a nice gesture. This goes above and beyond their duty as caring adults. One mentor took it a step further and surprised her mentee with a birthday
celebration. The mentor came early to decorate a table and lay out gifts. When the student saw her surprise, she was overwhelmed and quite happy by the care her mentor was showing her. On top of that,
they celebrated with a donut to commemorate their 50 th mentoring hour together. The student really loves spending time with her mentor. The mentor truly shows empathy and friendship!
Gingerbread House Disaster
A student and mentor tried to build a gingerbread house for the holiday season, but they had an epic failure.
Walls were not sticking together, and candy was falling off left and right. Finally, they had to borrow a glue gun to make any kind of progress. Overall, it was a complete disaster, but the mentor and student were laughing the entire time, and that is a success. Laughter is a great way for a pair to grow closer together.
Mentoring by the Numbers at LMS
37 active matches at the middle school (most the middle school has ever had)
7 new matches were made this month
5% of the students at the middle school have a mentor
7 Students on our wait list, waiting for a mentor
15 potential students interested or referred to the program
270 hours of mentoring so far this school year
Program Update
Recruiting and Training New Mentors: We did not have enough new mentors for a New Mentor
Orientation, but we did inherit a few mentors from the Lynden Christian program.
Lynden Christian High School
FIVE pairs meeting weekly at Lynden Christian Schools (3 at HS+ 2 at MS)
ONE new middle school match started in December
ONE match will resume 2nd semester in January
THREE students have been referred or are interested in having a mentor
December brought new BTO merchandise and snowflake crafts! Be The One put in the
order for new merch with a new design and I was able to deliver them to each of the matches
before break. One new pair started after Thanksgiving and they were able to meet
consistently throughout December as well- I knew they were going to get started so we put
in their merch order as well and they were able to open their new stuff together. The match
that is slated to pick up in January was also able to meet a few times in December and were
happy to catch up again after having a few months off.
When school resumes I have a few students to check in with at the middle school and
hopefully we will be able to get them matched with a few of our waiting mentors.
I brought in some beads and pipe cleaners and a few of the matches chose to make some
snowflakes while they chatted!
Nooksack Valley High School
TBD
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