Stories to share:
It’s a two-way street when people have authentic relationships.
Often we talk about how mentors support and care for students, but students also learn to care for their mentors, as I saw in a couple of situations this month. One Mentor’s mom was in the hospital—her student expressed genuine concern and wanted an update. I heard her tell her mentor “I’m so glad your mom is doing better!” Another student and mentor have both been facing some big challenges this month. The mentor shared that the student reassured him at their last meeting: “We are both going to get through this stuff. I know we will.”
Developing Empathy
Many of our mentors come from a middle class background; many of our mentees do not. To help our mentors better understand their students, we hosted a Poverty IQ session, presented by Whatcom Dream. Here is one mentor’s response: “I wanted to let you know how much I was affected by the Tuesday Morning workshop on Poverty. The content was compelling, and the conversations and interaction was eye-opening. I thought it was very well-moderated and done with love and acceptance. We all have our stories! And Trudy was so amazing. How I wish that ALL people could have such productive discussions about issues that affect so many of us.”
Mentoring Update:
- 51 active matches (2 students moved/ 3 new matches this month)
- New Mentors: New Mentor Orientation this month: trained 1 male
- Mentor Equippings:
- February 3/4 Understanding the Culture of Poverty (Whatcom Dream presenting) Well attended and well received by mentors.
- March 2/3 Understanding Today’s Youth (Jim Schmotzer, Nooksack Mentor Coordinator)
- Offering Youth Mental Health First Aid Classes: March 14, May 2. Co-teaching with Brian.
- Enjoying working with our colleagues at other schools. We meet each month to support each other and share ideas.
- Continuing to work on Policies and Procedures Manual (goal to finish this school year). This is the final project to complete for our National Mentoring Standards Dedicated Partner status.
Other Activities
- After School IMPROV –solid group of 10 regulars
- Saturday School: Next session will be March 28th—large attendance expected due to seniors making up snow days.
- E-Sports Club on Thursdays. Three BTO mentors have been showing up each week to hang out and play games with the students as well as donate snacks.