Mentor Coordinator Report
Stories To Share:
“Tea Time”
Every year that I work at the middle school, I get to learn and relearn a few things. The most common lesson that shows up is vocabulary, as many of the mentees provide me with translations. On the recommendation of a bunch of students in the program, I have provided a few of the most prevalent terms from the middle school lexicon with relevant translations. The first is “Tea.” “Tea” is a shortening of the old phrase “Spill the Tea” and refers to gossip or information shared to parties unrelated. “Huzz” is used as a title for a person who someone has a crush on. “Peak” is a descriptor that is used when something has achieved the pinnacle of something. A bunch of other words and phrases are used between the students and they assure me that I am too old to understand them. But the students in the program wanted people to know some basics!
“Interviews”
Middle school students like to talk badly about schoolwork. It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a student in possession of a good amount of homework, must be in want of summer vacation. Complaints range from, “It’s too hard!” to “I will never use this in real life!” However, when a student joins the program, they get the chance to practice one of the most practical skills in life, interviews. Mentors and mentees must complete an interview before being matched in the program. We use the interview as a base of knowledge to help find good matches. Finding out what the mentees like to do for fun, their thoughts about school and if they are a dog person or a cat person are instrumental to finding them a match that they will enjoy! I use the opportunity to help the mentees practice talking about themselves and explain that they will be doing interviews for most of their lives. Not only do they get to join the program but they also get a free lesson in a practical skill that they get to keep using in the future.
Highlights:
Stats
Current Matches: 29 (1 New match Pending)
New matches this month: 3
Closed Matches this month: 0
Waitlist: 8 Students (7 girls / 1 boy)
Upcoming:
Spring Break Apr 6th – 10th
End of the year field trip – May 12
Number of Current Matches: 29
Submitted by Samm Van Kirk – vankirks@lynden.wednet.edu