Mentor Coordinator Report
Stories & Quotes To Share:
Persistent Puzzling
A match that has been meeting for just about a year had a really fun breakthrough during their first meetup this year! After becoming frustrated and overwhelmed by a puzzle last year, the student had decided that puzzles “weren’t her thing.” But, when I put out a new 300-piece puzzle this year, however, she decided to give it another try. To her mentor’s amazement, she completed nearly half of the puzzle during their first meeting, finished it during their second, and then immediately started working on another new puzzle during their third meeting. It was so encouraging to see her approach a previously frustrating task with persistence and confidence. Moments like this give a glimpse of growing executive-functioning skills—sticking with a challenging task, developing a strategy, tolerating frustration, and experiencing the satisfaction of completing something she once thought she couldn’t do. And it shows grit and growth!
Reunited
One of our mentor-mentee matches had a really meaningful reconnection this month. The student left our school midway through last year to attend school online, so I was excited when she surprised me on the first day of this school year by stopping by my office. She immediately asked about seeing her mentor again and shared that she was hoping they could reconnect. I reached out to her mentor, who was excited to hear from her and eager to pick things back up. They had their first meeting last week and they simply picked up right where they left off nearly 7 months ago.
Highlights:
• 27 current matches, 1 new match this month
• 6 mentors on waitlist
• 4 mentees on waitlist (2 signed up this week!)
Missy’s highlight:
At the start of the school year, mentors and students are continuing relationships that have become important to both of them. Many students will swing by my office in the first couple days of school to ask when mentoring is starting back up because they are ready to see their mentor again after the long break!
The fall is also a busy time for new matches. Last week, I visited all of our freshman English classes with our school counselors to introduce Be The One and explain what mentoring looks like. The counselors then meet individually with students during their “minute meetings” and ask if they would like a Be The One mentor.
Last year, this process gave me a list of nearly 40 students to follow up with. I’m looking forward to seeing how many new students I can connect with this year, especially since we have such a large freshman class. The next couple months typically bring an influx of new matches. I expect this year to be the same!
Upcoming:
•Nov 16th, Monday evening, 6:30-8:00 pm AND Nov. 17th, Tuesday morning, 9:00-10:30 am
•Mentor Equipping (#1 of 4 total this year) with Jake Leland of Lynden School District. Nov 16/17. Topic: Drug & alcohol use in teens
Number of Current Matches: 27
Submitted by Missy Rus – melissa.rus@nv.k12.wa.us